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THE NEW YORK
PUBIIC LIBRARY
ASTOR. LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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BIOGRflPHlCALi RHD HISTORlCflb
CYCLOPEDIA
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Deliawai^e CoUHty, PehHsyliVahia,
COMPRISING
A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COUNTY,
Bv SAMUEL T. WILEY.
Author of Histories of Niagara County, New ^■orlc; Preston and Monongalia Counties, VV'est Virginia; P'ayctte, Westmoreland,
lllair, Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania, etc.
TOGETHER WITH
NEARLY FOUR HUNDRED BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE PROMINENT MEN
AND FAMILIES OF THE COUNTY.
REVISED AND EDITKD
Bv WINFIELD SCOTT GARNER.
♦ ♦ ♦ ct'
ilhtatx'ateb.
GRESHAM PUBLISHING COMPANY:
RICHMOND, IND., AND NEW YORK.
1804.
T-: • NZV; YORK
FU: !C LIBRARY
837868A
ASTOB, LENOX AND
TIUDEJS FOUNDATIONS
R 1936 L
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PRESSES OP
I. CULLATON &. CO.
RICHMOND. IND <r
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. r ' ' : r 3'fitablle stmdy than tbat of tbe lives of tlbose wlsfi) leave tteeni
-.;;:_--:, - ikiijg the aMBmty, State aisd Biatiom what they are te>-dlaj;
I'zz ^z . ^ 3ke rap the Mstocj of each, axe hot the resdit of the
■ r. : -; : 1 ; : . : - ^ ^ ; : a of the deeds of its imdiridisial citizeiiBS. It iis receig-
- _ r :::-;;■ ^ : - - : ^ - ^ ; : ; f facts amd dates devoid of csmmed^gsm sx anamge-
mratf'iiTi g j^im^ 2 — cuQiinfiiofliis^ fi&iniiDcoAeQ i ' r '-^THSg its soQSEces sm tine feur-oM plasty sts oioitlet
BUD tine oceajn of the fujituiiei'"'
Hist«»y is a soemce amid has its laws; histoij ansd hoEsgiaphj ace iBsepajtaltlj cssm-
iDtected, as the latter fcmras the basis of aM historical stmctiiiQre, antKit is the omly meaaiDs &S
pieservifflg; pia so ig i al amid anicestial histoiy im pemnaaeimt foimiL la iradivniiiiiaJl jaiDeiimoiir swi
peisoaial mairative off this Toliiiiiiie is tseasmiied amd pceserved the life stQsy af tSiKOse vh.&
laid tine cosimer stome of civilizatioiiu <an this soil, 3n™H off tHimnaif whssi afifiexwaitS nniauie the
histocy of DdDawasei cooomltjr. It camumot Sail to be attssctiTe to thiose whcsi c&tEie. afiter ws,.
amd wiM ptove off gieat valnie im tiraciiiiig limeage. ComtQampsisaiy fciogKapEty Jmas feeeai givemi
inn cQsiDiiDectDonii wnth aMcsstiral Ibin^Jiata w^ amid tthuos is pceseiiiited tf^^ lives si€ tho^e im tlDe ocesent
as wdl as itHiiinfafi» im the past, who have beem identified wittbi tBoe growth aiiid develb'jiiiiiieiiJt
(of tibe oonnnitty — a fittttinag; hosme ffdar migaidly eveiry great icKimistirj" whicfei laSsasir amd capitail cam
set inn mnottioiiiip amid a ridh aimd pwaspertnuns HamcH wBnere nmcutal shkI Braiits-llllgFtiTrra'll proagress keeps
pace Wulth innianittinBLe, aiffTvmmiim MPi nmatll amd mnvmims JInnall prm^Ii^SS^
Xhe geuslfflgy giveia is Bafcij'n'i Hmiaimlv faasuni frtJiKj" ■voEoniies af die Sec:" _ ^t-t-Og^cai Sar-
vey off PeBamsylvamia, wMfe ttlte rosfieir cfi thajse wfeo gave t&sir Eves irt cta-i^i of th& lUfflBDa
has beem carefinnlUiv oQxampilled faiDiag aM availaMe sesmsEss of jM^sarmiSEiesm- Tlce elass^s^
^aii i^ ji i i r fs , off popimlatsom, rMiaroi imfaii iiiiiiii i."c amA agntoiJtiaiEe teOIl ^^"e't'f (awni scoirv wittltiQcdi liEeed qi£
explamatBoniL
Ijg iimpiaiirttamce: smd imtterest the In^fiiQBj off Ps3rasvihraii£aL ^ eternal icn tiffiait? (sfi any at&er
State off the KepoMnc, amd its earliest chaptror — As fgRwwffirTg ofi Owynprr amd C&e sSdiLe-
nmpm» ofi Delaware eawmmttv — is Bim(ifliig ]ni eTiics »M»!^ tO) tT^Tl1g' jnniiper nmi^istamdiaig fflf trftp- mm^iiCjr
pailitBcall stmncttiimre, itlfaiifr reaches i r i i'i i " iiii the Delaware Cfis tbe OEim.
PHrBILISeEMS.
( OHTEIMTS.
• HISTORICAL.
PACES
HisTOKiCAL Sketch of Delaware County. . . . 17-150
CHAPTER I. — Geographical Description — To-
pographical Features — Geological Struct-
ure — Mineral Localities 17-33
CHAPTER II —Botany -Climatology- Quad-
rupeds — Birds — Fish 33-27
CHAPTER III —Aboriginal Inhabitants —
Dutch Occupation — Swedish Settlement —
Dutch Invasion — English Conquest and
Erection o£ Upland County 27— iO
CHAPTER IV. — Penn's Purchase — Voyage
of the Welcome — Upland named Chester —
County of Chester — Provincial Capital —
First Assembly — Welsh Tract — Swedes in
1093 — Circular Boundary Line 41-47
CHAPTER V. -Penn's Work — Inter-Colonial
Wars and Associators — Acadian Exiles. . . 48-51
CHAPTERVI— Beginning of the Revolution-
Quaker Neutrality — Battle of Brandywine
— British Ravages — County Seat Removal
to West Chester 51-58
CHAPTERVII— Erection of Delaware County 58-59
CHAPTER VIII —Whisky Insurrection —Sec-
ond War with England — Cotton andWoolen
Manufactures u9-63
PAGES
CHAPTER IX— Delaware County Institute ■
of Science — Haverford College — Ten Hour
Movement — Early Railroads— Great Flood
— ViUanova College — County Seat Re-
moval to Media G.'-C8
CHAPTER X— The Civil War — Regimental
Histories — Naval List C8-78
CHAPTER XI —Ship-building— Ivy and Glen
Mills — Pennsylvania Military Academy —
Swarthmore College — Pennsylvania Train-
ing School — Crozer Theological Seminary —
Burd Orphan Asylum — New Industries. . . 78-80
CHAPTER XII —Bi- Centennial of Penns
Landing — Later Railroads — House of Ref-
uge — Williamson School — Oil Refining —
Electric Railways — Progress of the County 81 -85
CHAPTER XIII —Courts — Members of the
Delaware County Bar — Public Buildings —
Civil and Judicial Lists 85-98
CHAPTER XIV — Schools — Churches and
Temperance Organizations 98-103
CHAPTER XV.— Early Practitioners of Medi-
cine — Medical Societies — Registered Phy-
sicians 103-105
CH.\PTER XVI.— Financial - Postal — Po-
litical and Historical 105-108
coyTEN'ii;.
CHAPTER XVII. — Slaves and Redemption-
ers — Early Iron Works and Paper Mills. . 108-110
CH.\PTER XVIII. — Census Statistics — Pop-
ulation, Manufactures and Agriculture. .. . 110-113
CHAPTER XIX. — Chester City 113-131
CHAPTER XX.— South Chester, Upland and
Eddystone Boroughs 121-123
CHAPTER XXI —Media Borough 123-127
CHAPTER XXII— Aston, Bethel, and Bir-
luingham Townships 127-130
CHAPTER XXIIl. — Chester and Concord
Townships 130-132
CHAPTER XXIV. — Darby Township and
Darby Borough 132-133
CHAPTER XXV. — Edgmont and Haverford
Townships 133-135
CHAPTER XXVI —Lower Chichester Town-
ship and its Villages of Trainer's and Lin-
wood, and Marcus Hook Borough 135-137
CHAPTER XXVII. — Marple, Middletown.
Nether Providence and Newtown Town-
ships 137-141
CHAPTER XXVIII —Radnor Township and
its Suburban Village of Wayne 141-1-12
CHAPTER XXIX. — Ridley Township, and
Rutledge and Ridley Park Boroughs 142-143
CHAPTER XXX.— Springfield, andThornbury
Townships 143-145
CHAPTER XXXI.— Tinicum. the Island Town-
ship 145-14G
CHAPTER XXXIl — Upper Chichester, Up-
per Providence and Upper Darby Town-
ships, and Lansdowne and Clifton Heights
Boroughs 146-150
CHAPTER XXXIII.— Miscellaneous 149-150
CONTENTS.
T^ IOGrMPHIGAL
i
A
PAGE
Armitage, George L 212
Armstrong, John W 223
Armstrong. A. B 157
Armour, Stephen L 195
Ashmead, Henry Graham 318
Ayars. Benjamin D, jr 418
B
Baker. J Engle 436
Baldt, Frederick 185
Barnard, Hon. Isaac D 417
Bartram, John 407
Bartleson, Zachariah T 494
Baxter, Albert 218
Beatty, John F 210
Bird, William, M D 354
Black, J Frank 233
Blaine, Edward 201
Blakely, William S 324
Boon, Jacob, M. D 328
Booth, John Wesley 384
Booth, John W 453
Booth, Robert 252
Boulden, William M 376
Bowen, William Henry 221
Bowen, Zaccheus M 414
Bradley, Frank A 480
Brewster, Joseph F 258
Broomall, Hon. John M 406
Brown, John T 269
Brown, Ellen E , M D 345
PAGE
BuUard. Hon. Orson Flagg ... 342
Bunting, David S 299
Burton, Samuel J 158
Burns, David H 240
c
Calhoun. William, jr 177
Campbell, Maj. James A G 230
Cams. Robert 413
Carson, William 432
Carr, Elwood T 464
Cass, Rev. John A 49]
Cassin, John 401
Chadwick, Hon. Robert 205
Childs, George W 500
Clayton, Hon. Thomas J 451
Clyde, John Edward 273
Cochran, John 498
Cochran, Henry 382
Cochran, Archibald A 356
Cochran J. Engle 206
Conard, Bayard A 437
Conrad, Rev. Thomas K., D. D. 446
Cook, James ... 162
Cox, Edwin L 397
Craig, Jacob, jr. 165
Crawford.Cornelius, C.V , M D. 335
Crosby, Rear Admiral Pierce.. 397
Crothers. Samuel R . M. D 313
Crozer, John P 431
Cullingworth, John Rhoades. . . 173
Custer, Bethel Moore 467
D
PAGE
Davis, Horace B 235
Deemer, John J 381
DeLannoy. Clarence W . M D. . 455
Denis, Geffroy P 259
De Silver, Joseph Tillinghurst. . 272
Dickerson, Edward 392
Dolbey, Conrad K 225
Donald on, Henry L 190
Downes, Richard H 323
Drayton, George 428
Dyson, Joseph 416
E
Edwards, George 497
Egbert, Joseph C. B S.. M D.. 237
Evans, Franklin J , M D 271
F
Fallon, George P 274
Flickwir, Richard Flower 334
Forwood, Francis F.. M D 460
Forwood. Jonathan Larkin,M.D. 469
Foster, Prof. Charles F 282
Frazier, Nathan Standish 363
Fulmer, Jacob 462
G
Galloway, John L 435
Gary, John H 411
Garrett, John Lentz 211
Garflner, James 325
CdNTENTS.
PAGE
Gartside. Amos 30G
Gilmore. Capt. ] Campbell.... 351
Grayson, George 383
Gray, Col William Clemson. . . 280
Graham, Hon. Henry Hale.... 404
Green, William H , sr 348
Green, Job L lUG
Green. William H., jr 4oG
Green, Taylor 3'.>2
Greenwood Samuel 279
Cirundy, John P 391
H
Haas. Emil Oscar 344
Haldemm, Thomas J 375
Hall. Charles F 424
Hall. Edward H 496
Hall. William H 253
Hand, Rev. Matthew A 209
Hannum, Robert E 492
Hare, John J 314
Hargreaves. Thomas 466
Harrison, John Wilkinson 422
Harrison, Frank W 434
Hart, Alexander 460
Harvey, Orlando 315
Haser, Franz Xaver 192
Hathaway, Hiram, jr 301
Heacock, Lewis R 323
Henderson, Matthew 486
Hendrixson, Isaac F 224
Hetzel, George C 373
Heyburn, Caleb Ring 355
Heyburn, Hon. George E 478
Hill, William Andrew 347
Hinkson. William 254
Hinkson, John B 181
Hippie, Harry L 363
Hood, Rev. Robert H 438
Horning, George L 247
House, Amos Wickersham 167
Houston, Capt Thomas J 155
Houston, Charles B 153
Howard, Abel 394
Howard, Frederick Avdelotte. . 238
FACE
Howard, George Washington . . 275
Huddell, Joseph H 284
Hunter, Peter 196
J
James, Levi G 183
James, S. Pancoast ..... 331
Jefferis. Daniel Worrall, M.D.. 291
Johnson, W. W., A B, M D. . . . 483
Johnston, Edward H 471
Jones, Nathan 475
K
Kelly, William C 366
Kennedy, Jeremiah J 440
Kerlin, John H 377
Kiefer. Albert Charles 472
L
Ladomus, William P 186
Larkin, Hon. John, jr 371
Larkin, Horace F 412
LaRoche, M. F 168
Layman, Thomas .\aron 346
Leary, John 480
Leary, William J 487
Lewis, Albert P .' 332
Lewis, Isaac T 376
Lilley, John, jr 311
Lindsay, George Brooke 191
Longbottom, Smith 476
Long. F. Farwell, M.D ,. 251
Loughead, Clifford T 174
M
Magill, Edward H , LL. D 262
Maison, Robert S , M. D ;. 170
Mallison, George 404
Martin, Howard L 357
Martin, William H 401
Mason, Harry G 248
Mathues, William L 408
McAldon. Joseph 401
McCafferv, Hugh 159
PAGE
McCardell, S. C 326
McCoy, Charles S 444
McClenachan, W. I Blake 293
McClure. John 178
McCuUough, Samuel Boyd 485
McDade, Capt. Joseph 242
McDowell, W 483 ^
McDowell, Thomas A 293 /
McDowell, Wesley S 251 ,''
Mcllvain, Samuel 257
Meckert, J. W 490
Memminger, William M , M.D. 402
Mercer. Robert P.. M D 194
Messick, Joseph 215
Miller, Lewis 289
Miller Lewis J 290
Mitchell William K 477
Mitchell, Ferris Abner 474
Monroe. Frank W.. D. D S 302
Moore. Thomas 213
Morton, Hon. John 395
Morrow, Henry Frederick 156
Myers, James Monroe 444
N
Neal. Charles G 305
Newsome, Daniel 234
o
Ogden, Henry 450
P
Pancoast, Rev. Samuel 385
Patton, Rev. William R 500
Pechmann, K T. William 427
Pendleton, Garnett 367
Pennington, Samuel B 392
Pennell, Jonathan 388
Pennell, Walter C 331
Price. Hannah Jackson, M D. . . 200
Price, John C 203
Price, William Gray 239
Porter, Admiral David D 443
Provost, William, jr 223
CO^^TENTS.
R
PAGE
Rawcliffe, Jesse W 443
Reaney. William B 4?3
Reilly. Richard 453
Rhodes, John C 468
Riddle, Samuel 163
Riley, Harry S 363
Roach, John 264
Roach, John B 264
Robinson, William F 387
Roberts, Charles 338
Ross, George 481
s
Salmon, William V 296
Savidge, Frank Raymond 243
Sawyer, H. H 473
Schaffer, William I 316
Schiedt, John D 494
Schmidt, Frank 170
Scott, James 454
Senior, George 356
Sheldon, John 395
Shortlidge, Prof. Joseph 421
Slawter J, Henry 495
Slawter Clayton R 486
Smedley, Charles D , M. D 459
Smith, Evan Russell 478
PAGB
Smith, Frank 358
Smith, George, M D 450
Smith, James S 433
Sproul, William C 303
Starr, Samuel, MD 189
Stiteler, George J 228
Stroud, John H 292
Swayne, Howard R., M. D . . . . 294
Sweeney, Maj. Frank G , C E. 463
Sykes, William S 241
T
Targett, Archibald F, MD 445
Taylor, James Irvin 171
Temple, James H 333
Tomlinson, Arthur H 364
Trainer, J Newlin 425
u
Ulrich, William Baggs, M.D .. 216
V
Valentine, Elmer 320
Vernon, Frank S 283
w
Wagner, Emil Christian 160
Wallace, John A 285
PAGE
Wand, Otto 4O6
Warrall. Charles T 483
Ward, J,M B , M D 451
Washabaugh. Col Perry M ... 226
Watson, James Wesley 337
Way, John R 295
Weaver, John H 431
Webb, W. Warren 488
Webster Richard G , V S 489
Wells, George Miles, M D 161
West. Benjamin 403
Wetherill, Richard 204
Wheeler, Rev. Henry, D D 499
Whittaker, George S 415 ■
Wiegand, George 188
Wilby, Thomas 314
Williams, John J 261
Williams. Capt William H 182
Williams, J. B 249
Williams, Capt. John J 398
Wilson, Joseph Osgood 373
Wood, Lewis N 175
Wood, George W 156
Wood, John A 327
Worth, Joseph Adams 484
Y
Yarnell, Gasoway 439
Young, Wilson B 407
CONTENTS.
^LiliUSTRATIOHS.
PAGE.
State Capitol at Harrisburg Frontispiece
Ashmead, Henry Graham facing 318
Ayars. Benjamin D., jr " 418
Baxter, Albert " 213
Black, J Frank " 233
Bowen, William H " 231
Boon, Jacob, M, D ■' 328
Bunting. David S " 391)
Cochran, J. Engle .- " 206
Conrad. Rev, Thomas K. D. D " 446
Court House at Media " 86
Deemer, John J " 381
Drayton. George " 428
Gartside, Amos " 306
Gartside, Benjamin " 311
Green, William H.. jr " 456
Greenwood. Samuel " 379
Haas. Emil O ■ 344
PAGE.
Hinkson, William facing 354
181
247
153
155
196
371
168
408
290
364
Hinkson, John B
Horning. George L
Houston, Charles B
Houston, Capt. Thomas J.
Hunter, Peter
Larkin, Hon. John, jr....
La Roche, M F
Mathues, William L
Miller, Lewis J
Roach, John
Roach, John B between 261-369
Riddle, Samuel facing 163
Old Town Hall at Chester on 103
Smedley. Charles D., M D facing 459
Trainer, J. Newlin " 425
Ulrich. William B., M.D " 216
Williams, Capt. John J " 398
HISTORICAL SKETCH
-OF-
Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
CHAPTER I.
GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION — TOPO-
GRAPHICAL FEATURES GEOLOGICAL
STRUCTURE — MINERAL LOCALITIES.
INTRODUCTION.
THE territory embraced within the boun-
daries of Delaware count}- lias had an in-
teresting and eventful history.
For nearly one hundred and fifty years after
Cabot planted the standard of England upon
the dreary coast of Labrador, and beside it
placed the banner of a free republic — his
native Venice — the Indians remained undis-
puted masters of the soil of Delaware county,
which the English claimed by the right of the
discovery of the North American continent.
In 1638, the challenged but uninterrupted In-
dian rule on the west bank of the Delaware
river was broken, when the " Kalmar Nyckel"
and the "Gripen" furled their sails on the
noble stream whose name the county now
bears, and the Swedish colony they bore
bought lands from their savage inhabitants,
whose ownership of the soil of the new world
was alike denied by the gay cavalier of Vir-
ginia and the stern Puritan of New England.
The territory of Delaware county was a
part of New Sweden that lay between the
Dutch possessions in the valley of the Hud-
son, and the English settlements in the water-
girt lands of Maryland. With the decline of
Swedish power on the political chess board of
the old world. New Sweden was destined to
finally become the property of the strongest
of its two neighboring rivals. New Sweden
became a battle-ground of nations, where
almost bloodless campaigns, during twenty
years, had successively changed its ownership
between Holland and England until 1673,
when the Cross of St. George was placed in
triumph over the flag of the Dutch, and New
Sweden and New Netherlands were both swept
from the map of the new world.
Almost half a century of Swedish govern-
ment on the Delaware bay and river was suc-
ceeded b}' about a decade of Dutch dominion
and nearly twenty years of English rule, and
then came the founding of the "Quaker Pro-
vince" on the Delaware, whose fame soon be-
came world wide, and whose first general
assembly met in Chester, the present metrop-
olis of Delaware county and the oldest town
in the State of Pennsylvania.
In the great Revolutionary struggle "that
tried men's souls," a number of the men who
served from Chester county in the Continental
army were from the present territory of Dela-
ware county, on whose soil was fought the
memorable battle of Brandywine. In every
war of the Republic since the days of the
Revolution the sons of Delaware count}' have
done themselves honor by bravery and daring,
and during the late civil war hundreds of
them sealed their patriotism with their lives.
17 )
18
BIOGBAPHY AND UISTOSY
Delaware county lies in the southeastern or
seaboard district of Pennsylvania — the garden
spot of the State — and possesses that splen-
did water power, whose utilization has given
to her the proud pre-eminence of being one of
the most important centers of manufactured
goods in the great manufacturing district of
the United States that stretches along the
Atlantic coast from Maine to Maryland.
Not alone for manufactures is the county
noted. It is also distinguished for its numer-
ous and excellent educational institutions, and
the intelligence, culture and morality of its
people.
GEOCR.APHICAL DESCRIPTION.
Delaware count}*, Pennsylvania, is bounded
on the northeast b}' Montgomer}' and Phila-
delphia counties ; on the southeast bv Glouces-
ter count)', New Jersey, from which it is sep-
arated by the Delaware river; on the south-
west by New Castle county. State of Delaware ;
and on the northwest b}- Chester county. It
is the smallest county in PennS3'lvania, except
Philadelphia, and has an area of one hundred
and ninety-five square miles, or 124,800 acres.
Its average length is nineteen miles and width
sixteen miles.
The geographical center of tlie county is
north of Media, in Upper Providence, w-hile
the center of population lies south of the
county seat, and in Nether Providence, being
drawn southward b}' the heavy population in
Chester city and the railroad towns near the
Delaware river.
The county possesses a mild climate, has
charming scenery, and contains excellent farm-
ing land, while small fruits and vegetables do
well. No mountains traverse its territory,
which possesses a large number of fine springs
and is drained tow-ard the Delaware river by
five large creeks, whose excellent water-power
drive the wheels of many large cotton and
woolen mills and other important manufac-
turing establishments ; but the western part
is broken up into small hills, that terminate
at the western edge of the tidewater district
that lies along the river.
.\s a political division Delaware count}' lies
in the extreme southeastern part of the State.
It forms the Third representative, the Ninth
senatorial, and the Thirty-second judicial dis-
trict of Pennsylvania, and with Chester county
constitutes the Sixth Congressional district of
the State.
TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES.
The surface of Delaware county is rather
undulating and in some parts quite hilly, ard
with a slight exception in Radnor township,
slopes a little east of south toward the Dela-
ware river. In a parallel line with the Dela-
ware river, and about three miles back from
that stream, there is an abrupt rise in the
slopfe known as a "water shade." From
along the summit of this "water shade" fine
views can be obtained of the river and of some
of the New Jersey country.
The county is drained principally by the
Delaware river system through its five large
creeks: Cobb's, Darby, Crum, Ridley, and
Chester ; while a small part of the southeast
section has drainage by Naaman's creek and
the southwest township of Birmingham by
Brand} wine creek, both of which last named
streams empty in the Delaware river through
the State of Delaware. Two small parts of
Radnor township, in the northwest, are drained
by the Schuylkill system through its tributary
streams, Gulf and Mill creeks. These creeks
are all good mill streams, and the first five
above mentioned before leaving the hill coun-
try to pass into the tidewater belt of the county
below the "water shade, "have acquired suffi-
cient fall to run the large mills and factories
that are scattered all along their banks for
over five miles up from the river.
Smith gives the elevation of the source of
Cobb's creek as 392 feet above tide; Ithan,
399 ; Darby, 440 ; Crum. 520 ; and Ridley, 520.
The marsh lands and meadows bordering
on some parts of the Delaware river would be
OF DELAWARE COUXTY.
10
inundated at high tide but for artificial banks
tliat hav'e been built for their protection.
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE.
The following characteristic sketch of the
geolog)' of the county is given by Prof. J. P.
Lesley :
"The oldest or fundamental hornblende
gneiss is laid bare in three isolated areas : the
northern spreading through Radnor and New-
town, into Chester county ; the middle spread-
ing from southern Newtown, Edgmont, Thorn-
bury, northern Middletown, and northern
Concord ; the southern spreading across As-
ton, Bethel, and U. Chichester into the State
of Delaware. These areas are separated and
surrounded by the Chestnut Hill micaceous
and garnetiferous schist country holding the
serpentine beds. An irregular line through
Haverford and U. Darby to Chester creek
(two and one-half miles from its mouth) di-
vides this countr}' from the triangular area of
Manaj'unk and Philadelphia mica-schists,
which no doubt extends southward beneath
New Jerse\'. The count}- has a rolling sur-
face averaging 450' A. T., but drops to a
terrace of 200' A. T., and then to the mud
flats of the Delaware. Patches of old Bryn
Mawr gravel remain in various townships on
the divides at 400' A. T. Patches and streaks
of brick clay remain on the t'errace, and are
extensively wrought. Brick clay (holding
bowlders) passes also under the river mud.
Cobb's creek (along the eastern line). Darby
creek, Crum creek, Ridley creek, and Chester
creek,- cross the countr)' from northwest to
southeast, flowing in rock-cut channels, or
tortuous glens, presenting a lovely variety of
picturesque scenery, and affording a consider-
able amount of valuable mill power. The
geological exposures are numerous; but the
rocks are so metamorphosed, decayed, crum-
pled, cross-laminated, and probably faulted,
that in the absence of fossils, and of well de-
fined mineral strata like limestone and iron
ore, it is not easy to arrive at any definite
opinions respecting the order of their super-
position, or the classical system to which they
belong. Under an appearance of vertical
stratification, they really lie almost horizontal,
as may be seen at Griswold's "granite"
quarry in Darby, Ward's quarry in Ridley,
Deshong's quarries in Nether Providence, and
the Avondale quarries in Nether Providence
and Ridley townships, lithograph views of
which are published for the purpose of show-
ing the true structure in Report C, 5, on
Delaware county. It is undoubtedly the real
structure throughout the count}-. But, as the
general dip (as shown along the Schu}lkill
river) is north or northwestward, carrying the
Philadelphia schists under the Manayunk
schists, and these again under the Chestnut
Hill schists, it is hard to understand why all
three should not be regarded as descending
beneath the isolated areas of "older" horn-
blendic gneiss. A serpentine belt extending
from Chester creek at Lenni (or Rockdale)
past Media to Darby creek in Radnor town-
ship, nine miles, has been quarried for build-
ing stone. It consists of separate and parallel
outcrops ; and at least twentj'-seven other
local exposures of serpentine in various town-
ships are marked upon the map, all of them in
the Chestnut Hill schist area, and apparently
belonging to the upper part of that series.
Castle Rock, in Edgmont township, is a
huge exposure of enstatite (anhydrous serpen-
tine), of picturesque aspect, and doubtful
geological structure. (See plates in Report
C, 5.) Extensive mines of kaolin are worked
at the west end of the county, and an outcrop
of pure feldspar rock in Concord township is
exploited for the use of dentists. (See num-
erous heliotype views of the kaolin mines in
Report C.) Mineralogical cabinets, public
and private, have been amply enriched with
fine specimens of corondum, trevwlite, actinoliti',
asbesius, beryl, chrysolite, garnet, thcmicas, feld-
spars and quartzes, toiirmaline, andalusite, fibro-
lite, cxanitc, staurolite, stilbite, sepiolitc, marmo-
' ///(', chrysotile, dciveylitc, dainoitrite, jejf'erisile.
20
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTORY
mar gaiite, apatite, autunite, jnirabilite, tnagnesiie,
bismiithitc. inenaconite, magnetite, chroniitc, ru-
ti/e, moly/'dite, e^v. , from numerous exposures
in different parts of the count}-. A small
percentage of gold has been obtained by
analj'sis from the brick clays : a few small
deposits of iron ore have been tried and aban-
doned ; no other ore seems to exist in the
county. A few small local exhibitions of trap
have been noticed."
Prof. C. E. Hall in his general geology of
the county, in 1885, uses the following order
of description: Alluvium, gravel and cla\',
ferruginous conglomerate, serpentine, lime-
stone, feldspar and kaoline, sandstone, and
mica schists. He bases his description on
the following sketch map constructed on data
compiled by Dr. George Smith :
Delaware river gravel,
clay.
I- Alluvium, gravel, clay
Ferruginous congloraerote (Bryn Mawr gravel.
Trn/'.
Dolerile.
6
>
Q
s
j::
a.
;-<
£
n
s
3
f
Equivalents of the Chest-
nut Hill, Manayunk and.|
Philadelphia groups.
I
Serpentine, limesto'e, gar-
netiferous schist, corru-
gated ligneous schists,
■ and micaceous sand-
stones, hornblendic
gneiss, f eldspathic, mica-
l cacous gneiss.
Mica schists, hornblendic
gneiss, gray granitic
gneiss.
[Coarse mica schists and
■1 gneisses, teldspathic and
[ hornblendic gneiss.
S'
Hudson river group.
Hydromica slates, usual ly
greenish color, with len-
ticular bodies of milky
quartz.
Cambrian Limestones and Potsdam Sandstone, not
represented in Delaware county.
Laurentian. Granitic and hornblendic syenites.
We condense the following brief account
from Professor Hall's general geology:
The swampy ground has but a limited area,
and the northern limit of the most recent
alluvium deposits is not sharply defined.
Gravel occurs throughout the central and
southern portions of Upper Darby township,
is almost universal in Darby, and the southern
third of Nether Providence, and the older
gravel underlies the more recent alluvial de-
posits of Tinicum island and the region ad-
joining the Delaware river. Clay occurs at
Morton station, in South Chester, and near the
mouth of Crum creek. Gravel and clay wholly
overlay Ridley township, cover the southern
half of Upper Chichester and all of Lower
Chichester, and the general northern limit,
although somewhat indefinite, extends through
Upper Darby, Nether Providence, Chester and
Upper Chichester townships.
The ferruginous conglomerate (Bryn Mawr
gravel) of the tertiary period, is composed of
fragments of the metamorphosed crystalline
rocks. The areas of this formation are gener-
ally small and isolated, with poor exposures.
Small areas occur at Media, Llewellyn, and
Clifton, while larger areas lie in the central
portions of Haverford and Marple townships
and in the southwest portion of Concord town-
ship. When the conglomerate was deposited
it would seem that the margin of the tertiar)'
ocean was somewhere along a line through the
central or northern portion of Delaware count}'.
No doubt the Delaware river has been the
means of a great portion of the erosion of this
formation.
Serpentine (talc enstatite, &c.,) is irregular
in distribution, and many of its areas are shal-
low saucer-shaped s\nclinal basins. Serpen-
tine areas occur in Radnor, Newtown, Edg-
montjMarple, Upper Providence, Middletown,
Concord, and Nether Providence townships.
Limonite is found with serpentine, and also
chromic iron exists in many areas, while cor-
undum is associated with the serpentine in
Middletown township.
OF BELAWABE COUNTY.
31
Limestone occurs in a narrow belt in the
northeastern portion of Radnor township and
at the kaoline works, in Birmingham town-
ship, where it is coarse and crystaUine. The
limestone in this county seems to belong to
the serpentine horizon.
Feldspar and kaoline are found at a few
points in the county. Kaoline is extensively
mined in Birmingham township, where the
openings are located on a branch of Beaver
creek, and southwest of Brand^wine Summit.
The kaoline is of fine quality and the mining
of it forms a prominent industr\' of Delaware
count)'. Feldspar has been mined in Concord
township, and occurs loose in the soil near
Brandywine Summit, but it is impossible to
trace its beds on the surface for any distance
as the feldspathic rock has no e.\posures and
decomposes very rapidly.
Sandstone and schistose sandstone occur in
Edgmont township, close to Dilworthtown.
Similar to it are sandy slates which occur
along Darby creek, and have been quarried
for whetstones in Marple township. Indica-
tions of a similar rock are also found in the
vicinit\' of Crum creek on the west side of
Marple township.
The mica schists and gneisses which are
stratigraphically uppermost are those which
are associated with the serpentine. The
schists and gneisses seem to fade into each
other and a definite sub-division is rendered
impossible. It is also impossible at the pres-
ent time to define a line between the lower
gneissic rocks of southeastern Delaware county
and the schists of the serpentine group. The
distribution of the mica schists is exceedingly
irregular. Schistose rocks occur in Radnor,
Newtown, Edgmont, Thornbury, Concord,
Haverford, Darby, Upper Darby, Marple,
Nether Providence, Chester, Birmingham and
other townships. In a part of Newtown
township the schistose rocks form a terrace
upon the Laurentian syenites. Hornblendic
gneiss is well exposed at different places in
the northern part of the county, and exposures
2a
of feldspathic garnetiferous gneiss occur on
the West Branch of Chester creek.
By the geological map of Delaware county,
issued in 1882 to accompany Professor Hall's
report of progress, we find that the mica schist
region embraces three-fourths of the territory
of the county and its southern boundary line
extending from Stony creek, between South
Chester and Marcus Hook, in an irregular line,
northeastward to Echo mills, N. 40°, W. 10°,
on Cobb's creek. Professor Hall refers to
this map in his work and especially calls
attention to it, as illustrating the mica schist
region better than a written description could
do. Bv this map the mica schist region is
represented as composed of partly blended
areas of South Valley Hill talc mica slate,
Chestnut Hill schists and slates, syenite and
granite (Laurentian? ), and hornblendic slate
and gneiss ("black rocks"). This map also
represents five small areas of trap in the
northern part of Upper Darby township ;
three near Wayne Station, in Radnor ; one
near Howellville, in Edgmont ; and one above
Glenn Mills, in Thornbury.
Smith's geological map of the count}', issued
in 1862, was remarkably correct, and its loca-
tions of rocks in the main have been but little
changed by the geologists of the Second Geo-
logical Survey of Pennsylvania.
MINERAL LOCALITIES.
The following are the mineral localities of
Delaware county as reported in 1885, in the
Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania :
Pvrite {Iron Pyrites) — In Chester township.
Chatcopyrite ( Copper Pyrites') — Chester.
Corundum — Aston, Middletown.
Menaceanite — Chester, Marple, Middletown.
Spinel — Upper Providence (doubtful).
Magnetite — Marple, Middletown.
Chromite ( Cliromic Iron Ore) — Marple, New-
town, Upper Providence.
Rutile — Birmingham, Edgmont, Middle-
town.
Limonite — Newtown, Middletown.
BIOGMAFBT AJTD JEOSTOST
tfleJ I'Bifg- Jfiui^zm^s^ — Bediel Darry.
iTj^yi-XLii — ChesffT.
Am^tiyst — Ascon. Cbsscsx. Cosicarti. Mar-
p.-r-. lilG7~^hO-LV-
Smaky QatBrts — Besiidv Upper Dsarbv.
-:— BedieL
--^. -_--:- — RaiinflF-
^r^nr QaoF^ — MMMIetEMTO- Uppar Pswvi-
I-irntgimgas Qmmris — Ag«-«ir»^ CoracesEd. E<ia-
HKKLE. Msrple. MM&flJeEowa. Xewto«m. Rad-
ntr 7 ■ : : err. Ur - ' - : :e.
_ - J. r7 — il2_r;.z ______ j;;ib-i.
Emstaiiie — EdgmoiiE. Middletowru New-
- ^_etowii- Xewto "S~a-
- rtown. Nfcrw Lown,
Ri_i:: _ _z _; _ j, :.
~ ' - :er. Concnsd. iliddletowT!:. Rid-
— EdgtnoQt, MflddleEown.
Cj^r^r — As::' - " ■■
Darby. HiTer- : ; _ _ : _ _ -^- --
fieM.'
; — - .- r_ .__.-- .; _:.; . ^H.f-
dletown.
.. . - Ihsster. iliij_e:;-^— . Ttombary.
Orikixlms^ — BstheL Birnungfaani. Che^er.
CoEbcc- Nether Pro-
Tidencr i __;::__ "re.
Tau-rwtmlime — AsBoa. Middfetown, Ridley,
Sprmffeld-
AnJtiliiiite — Sorinsfield. Uoner Pro vi^ience.
Maiple.
-^ ' rV-i— . Chcscer,
Cc: ._; ^ -:, ;_ -. R:i_r7.
Cjamiu — Darbv. HaTerford. Ridley.
- ~ ■ . Haverford, MiddkrEown.
Tdlc. Siialiie — AsEon. BetheL Marpte, Mid-
dletowB. Ne&ier Providence. Newtown. Rad-
nor.
Sefittlztd — CaocoEd.
Serfemtimi — CcMscard. EdgS-C-r. Marple,
Middleto-sTt. Rsdaor. ThoralKLCy. Upper Pro-
TJdeice.
MtBnm^ie — Radnor.
dbysatSe — U^i^ Psovidi^sce.
Diwtjliie — Racbtor.
KtmBaite — Binni-giiajn, Concxrrd.
Dmmavriii — .Isrc-. Ridley.
Jeferzsit! — ilic iietawn.
Jifixrgmrzte — Asttn.
Aftztiii — Ridley. SpringSeld.
Aazux::^ — Chester.
J/i ' - — Chesta-.
I . ; -■: :^ : :.-.V — C hester.
Sniich in his fcisfaMT issteed ia 1S62, gives a
list s~ follows «rf the mraerals in the cotmty :
Quartz ootnmoii .iiinpidqnartz. smoky qnartz.
blue qoarfz. fecFBginocs quartz, amethyst.
giccii qaaitz, dbalcedony. jatsper. dmsy quartz.
comadfBB, Seldspar ■ common. . moonstone.
liiisestOBe (Com.pact ms^esian . limestoae.
rrystalline primary., mica, backfaol; -
zeryl, chlorite, rntile, kyanite. staar::_^T
antiio|ryIite, actyncriite. serpsitiBe, tremolite,
asbesnxs. magnesite. talc. {Rcxc^ite. an; _:
sire. yT"' — sr^te. garnet, horabistde, p}T;^e.
re, bfowa bematite, magnetic iron,
p . sulphnret of molyfadena. femirrr-
c_^ -^z^2X copper, bog iron ore, zois::e.
pipe clay, apatite, sdioci, ochreoos clay and
spinelle.
CHAPTER II.
HOTANT—CLIMATOLCKW— QUADRUPEDS
BIRDS — FISH
BOTAXY.
The botany of Delaware connl^^ is nearly the
same as that of Chester cotmty. and Dr. Dar-
lington's "Flara Cestrica ^ of the latter county
was used by Dr. Smith as the basis of his
C2taio£~ie of plants for this county, which was
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
23
arranged according to Gray's "Manual of
Botan)' of the Northern United States."
We condense from Darhngton and Smith
the following orders and species of phseno-
gamous and cryptogamous plants of Delaware
county, omitting the Latin names and giving
only those species haxing common English
names.
PH.iNOG.AMOUS OR FLOWERING i'I..\.\ls.
CLASS I- — EXOGENOUS PLANTS.
Ra>uiitt!ilai-fa-^\\Tg\n's bower, tall ane-
mone, windflower, liverwort, anemone, mea-
dow rue, floating crow-foot, spearwort, com-
mon butter-cup, tall crow-foot, marsh mari-
gold, wild columbine, larkspur, yellow-root
and black snakeroot.
Magnoliacie — . Sweet bay and tulip-poplar.
Anonaceie — Papaw, near Darby creek, on
the Maris farm in Marple township.
Mcnispermacece ■ — Moonseed.
Bcrberihacca — Pappoose root and May
apple.
Xymphieacece — Splatter dock.
Saiaceniacem — Side saddle flower, a very
rare plant in Tinicum township.
Paparaceie — Common poppy, Mexican pop-
py, celadine and blood-root.
Fiimiraccic — Dutchman's breeches and com-
mon fumitor}'.
Cruciferace~~^\2ssti cress, spring cress,
American water cress, sickle-pod, hedge mus-
tard, white mustard, common mustard, whit-
low-grass, horse-radish, wild fla.x, pepper
grass and shepherd's purse.
Violacece — Green violet.
Droceracea — Sundew.
Hyperiacea — St. Andrew's cross, St. John's
wort, and pineweed.
CaryophyllaceiT — Deptf ord pink, bouncing
Bet, wheat cockle, sandwort, chickweed, great
chickweed, swamp stitchwort, forked chick-
weed, and carpetweed.
Portulacacea — Purslane and spring beauty.
Malvaceif — Common mallow and rose
mallow.
Tiliaceie — American linden, on Darby creek
and other streams.
Liiiacece — Wild flax.
Oxalidacece — Violet sorrel and yellow sorrel.
Geraniacece — Cranesbill.
Balsatninacece — Pale touch-me-not and spot-
ted touch-me-not.
Rutacea — Paradise tree.
Anicaidiacea — Staghorn sumac, common
sumac, poison sumac and poison vine.
I'UaceoR — Fox grape, chicken grape and
American ivj-.
Rhamiiaceie — Buckthorn and Jersey tea.
Celastraci'd' — Waxwork, burning bush and
strawberry tree.
Sapindacete — Bladder-nut, sugar maple and
red maple.
Polygalacece — Seneca snake-root.
Leguminosece — Wild lupin, rabbit-foot clover,
red clover, white clover, low hop clover, large
hop clover, lucerne, common locust, clammy
locust, pencil flower, wild bean, wild indigo,
Judas tree, wild senna, wild sensitive plant
and hone}' locust.
Rosacece — Red plum, sloe, Chickasaw plum,
Morello cherry, wild cherry, black wild cherry,
nine-bark, cinque-foil, strawberry, common
raspberry, high blackberr}-, dewberry, swamp
blackberry, sand blackberry, swamp rose, wild
rose, sweet-briar, Washington thorn, summer
haw, cockspur thorn, English hawthorn, scar-
let-fruited thorn, American crab-apple, choke-
berry, apple tree, pear, serviceberrjand quince.
Onagracae — Evening primrose and enchant-
er's nightshade.
Grossulace — Wild black currant, red currant
and garden black currant.
Saxifragea — Earlj' saxifrage, swamp saxi-
frage, alum root and Bishop's cap.
Hamanie/acecB — Witch hazel and sweet gum.
Umbelliferce — Cow parsnip, common pars-
nip, fennel, cowbane and sweet cicel}'.
Araliacdte — Spikenard.
Cornacea — Dogwood and sour gum.
Caprifoliacea — Coral honej'suckle, horsegen-
tian. common elder, black haw and arrowroot.
24
BIOQRAPHY AND HISTORY
Rubiacde — Goose-grass, wild licorice, but-
ton-bush, partridge-berry and innocence.
Valerinaceu- — Corn-salad.
Dipsacea — Wild teasel.
Compositce — Iron weed, elephant's foot, bone-
set, mist flower, Robin's plantain, elecampane,
bitter-weed, clot- weed, articlioke, Spanish-nee-
dles, wild chamomile, yarrow, common daisy, fe-
ver-few, tanse^', everlasting, fire-weed. common
thistle, yellow thistle, Canada thistle, burdock,
rattlesnake root, dandelion and sow thistle.
Lobfliaceie — Cardinal flower.
Ericaccie — Black huckleberrv, cranberry,
dwarf huckleberry, teaberry, trailing arbutus,
pipsissewa and Indian pipe.
AquifoUaceu- — Holly and black alder.
EbenaceiE — Persimmon tree,
Plantaginaceic — Broad leaved plaintain and
buckthorn.
Leniibulacea — Bladderwort.
Bignoniacea; — Catawba tree.
Orobanchaci'ic — Beech drops.
Scrop/iuhiiaced? — Common mullein, French
mullein, ranstead, snake's head, monke}'-
flower and painted cup.
Labiate — Spearmint, peppermint, blue curls,
horsemint, common balm, American penn)'-
royal, cat-mint, ground ivy, hoarhound and
mugwort.
Borraginacece — Blue weed.
Hydrophyllacece — Water-leaf.
Polemoniacece — Jacob's ladder, wild sweet
William and mountain pink.
Convolvulacew — \\'ild sweet potato, morning
glory and love-vine.
Solanaccic — Bitter sweet, nightshade, ground
cherrj- and jimson weed.
Gentianaceie — Centuarj', fringed gentian,
soap gentian and waxwork,
Apocy?iacc'u' — Indian hemp,
Oleacea — Pivet, white ash, red ash and
water ash.
Aristolochiact'ce — Wild ginger.
Fhytoloccaceie — Common poke.
Chenopodiaceie. — Lamb's quarters and worm
seed.
Polygonacew — Prince's feather, lady's thumb,
door-weed grass, wild buckwheat, climbing
buckwheat, curled dock, bitter dock, golden
dock, and sheep sorrel,
Laiiracea — Sassafras and spice wood.
Loranthaccr — Mistletoe.
Sauriiracce — Lizard's tail.
Urticacecc — Slipper\- elm, white elm, red
mulberr}-, white mulberr)', common nettle,
richweed and common hop.
PUjiitanacece — Buttonwood.
JiiglaiidaLCa- — White walnut, black walnut,
shellbark, thick shellbark, hickory, pig-nut
and bitter-nut.
Cnpuliferie — Post-oak, white-oak, rock chest-
nut, chinquapin oak, willow-oak, true Spanish
oak. black-jack black oak, pin oak, scrub oak,
scarlet oak, chestnut, beech, hazelnut, water
beech and ironwood.
MyricaceiE — Sweet-fern.
Beiiilaceo: — Black birch and alder-bush.
Salicaceiv — Willow, basket willow, weeping
willow, quivering aspen, Athenian poplar,
Lombardy poplar and silver poplar.
Coiiifeiie — Yellow pine, white pine, juniper
and red cedar.
- ENDOGENOUS PLANTS.
Aracece — Indian Turnip, swamp cabbage
and golden-club.
Typhaccic — Cat-tail.
Lemnacete — Ducksmeat.
Hydrochardiaceic — Tape-grass,
Orchidacecc — Orchis, putty - root, yellow
lady's slipper and purple lady's slipper.
Amaiyillidacea: — Star-grass.
Indacea — Blue flag and slendei blue flag,
Smilacetv — Greenbriar and carrion-flower.
Liliacece — Asparagus, Solomon's seal, small
Solomon's seal, copper lily, star of Bethle-
hem, field garlic, and blue bottle,
Melanihai-ea — Bell-wort and white helle-
bore.
Juncaceic — Common rush.
Grdiiiini'w — Timothy, herd-grass, povert}'-
grass, red top, orchard-grass, green grass, blue
Oh DELAWAJ^E COLWTY.
25
grass, wild oat, velvet grass, sweet-scented
vernal-grass, fox-tail grass, burr grass and
wood-grass.
CRVPTOGAMOL'S OR 1 I.OWERLESS PL.ANTS.
CLASS III. ACROGENS.
Equisetacfic — Scouring rush.
Filices {Ferns) — Maiden's hair, walking
leaf, sensitive fern, and adder's tongue.
Lycopodiacete — Ground pine.
Miisci {Mosses) — Has over one hundred
species.
Hepaiicic — Has over fifty species.
CLIMATOLOGV.
The climate of Delaware count\- varies but
little from the climate of southeastern Penn-
s\ Ivania.
Every few years, since the settlement of the
county, there have been cold winters, hard
freezing and deep snows.
The Delaware river was frozen to an unus-
ual depth in 1633, 1657, 1681, 1704, 1730,
1739, 1764, 1770, 1780, 1784, 1792, 1807, 1810,
1827, 1855, 1858, 1866, 1875, 1^80 and 1892.
Snow fell three feet in depth in 1704 ; three
feet in 1740; over four feet in 1760 ; and over
three feet in 1831. A heavy snow fell on
May 7th and 8th, 1846, and very violent snow
storms occurred on March 20th and 21st.
1868, and in 1890.
Unusually warm winters were experienced
in 1790, iSoi, 1824 and 1873. while the records
of coldest weather show that the thermome-
ter stood five degrees below zero in 1791 ;
seven degrees below zero Februarj' ig, 1810;
ten degrees below zero on Januarx' 7, 1866;
and several degrees below zero during the
cold weather of 1892-93.
The jear 181 5 is known as the "year with-
out a summer," and 1838 and 1893 are re-
corded as drought years.
From 1849 to 1857 Joseph Edwards kept a
weather record, and the average annual tem-
perature for that period of time was 51.072
degrees, while the precipitation of rain and
snow water averaged 44.12 inches per year.
But the record of greatest importance, by
far, in connection with the weather in Dela-
ware county, is that of the great freshet of
August 5, 1843, that swept with resistless
fury a portion of the streams. Nearly a
quarter of a million of dollars' worth of pro-
perty was swept away by the angry torrents
on Darl)y, Ithan, Crum, Ridley, Chester and
Brandywine creeks, while to increase the
horror of its ravages, nineteen persons were
drowned in the mad rushing waters. Particu-
lar accounts of this freshet must, however, be
referred to the histories of the townships in
which it occurred.
QUADRUPEDS.
The quadrupeds of the county, as given b\-
John Cassin in 1862, are thirty-three in num-
ber : Gray bat, brown bat, large gray bat,
Caroli. little shrew, larger shrew, gray shrew,
common mole, star -nosed mole, red fox,
weasel, mink, skunk, American otter, rac-
coon, opossum, cat squirrel, gray squirrel,
red squirrel, ground squirrel, flying squirrel,
ground hog. musk-rat, common rat, mouse,
common field mouse, marsh field mouse,
white-footed mouse, jumping mouse, rabbit,
porpoise and wliale.
There is record of a whale having been seen
at two different times within the waters of the
count}', while the porpoise has occasional!}- '
ascended the Delaware river as high as I\farcus
Hook, and the American otter was once in
Crum creek. Bears, deer and wolves w-ere
numerous when the count}- was first settled,
and were killed as late as 1750 in the thinly
settled portions of several of the townships.
In addition to making a list of the quadru-
peds of the county, John Cassin also gave
much time to preparing a list of birds which
seems to be very full and exhaustive. His list
includes two hundred and forty-three birds, as
follows : Turkey buzzard, duck hawk, pigeon
hawk, sparrow hawk, goshawk, Cooper's hawk.
26
BIOGBAPHY Ayn HISTOIiY
sharp-shinned hawk, red- tailed hawk, red-
shouldered hawk, broad-winged hawk, rough-
legged hawk, black hawk, marsh hawk, golden
eagle, bald eagle, fish hawk (osprey), barn
owl, great-horned owl, screech owl, long-eared
owl, short-eared owl, barred owl, little owl,
snow owl, vellow billed cuckoo, black billed
cuckoo, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpeck-
er, red-cockaded woodpecker, yellow-bellied
woodpecker, great black woodpecker, red -
bellied woodpecker, red-headed woodpecker,
flicker, humming bird, chimney bird, barn
swallow, cliff swallow, white-bellied swallow,
bank swallow, rough-winged swallow, purple
martin, whip-poor-will, night hawk, kingfisher,
great-crested flycatcher, wood pewee, Traill's
flycatcher, green flycatcher, yellow-bellied fly-
catcher, least flycatcher, robin, wood thrush,
Wilson's thrush, hermit thrush, olive-backed
thrush, alicia, blue bird, gold-crested wren,
ruby-crowned WTen, tit lark, black and white
creeper, blue yellow-backed warbler, Maryland
yellow throat, Connecticut warbler, mourning
warbler, black-throated green warbler, black-
throated blue warbler, yellow-crowned war-
bler, Blackburnian warbler, bay-breasted war-
bler, pine-creeping warbler, chestnut sided
warbler, blue warbler, black-poll warbler, sum-
mer yellow bird, black and yellow warbler.
Cape May warbler, red-poll warbler, prairie war-
bler, Kentucky warbler, worm-eating warbler,
blue -winged yellow warbler, golden -winged
warbler, Nashville warbler, Tennessee warbler,
golden-crowned thrush, water thrush, large-
billed water thrush, redstart, hooded warbler,
Canada flycatcher, black-cap flycatcher, wax-
wing, cedar-bird, yellow-breasted chat, red-
ej'ed flycatcher, Bartram's vireo, short-billed
vireo, warbling vireo, white-eyed flycatcher,
solitary flycatcher, yellow-fronted vireo, butcher
bird, mocking bird, rufous thrush, cat bird,
great Carolina wren, Bewick's wren, marsh
wren, short-billed marsh wren, house wren,
wood wren, winter wren, gray creeper, nut-
hatch sapsucker, red-bellied nuthatch, brown-
headed nuthatch, blue -gray gnat catcher.
tufted titmouse, chickadee, smaller blackcap,
shore lark, scarlet tanager, summer red bird,
pine grosbeak, purple finch, yellow bird, sis-
kin pine goldfinch, red crossbill, white-winged
crossbill, linnet, snow bunting, Lapland long-
spur, Savannah sparrow, grass sparrow, yel-
low-winged sparrow, white-throated sparrow,
white-crowned sparrow, snow-bird, chipping
sparrow, tree sparrow, field sparrow, song
sparrow, Lincoln's finch, swamp sparrow, fox
sparrow, black-throated bunting, rose-breasted
grosbeak, blue grosbeak, indigo bird, cardinal
grosbeak, cheewink, bobolink, cow-bird, red-
winged blackbird, meadow lark, hanging bird,
orchard oriole, blackbird, crow blackbird, ra-
ven, crow, fish crow, blue jay, wild pigeon,
turtle dove, pheasant, partridge, whooping
crane, great heron, white crane, snowy heron,
Louisiana heron, blue heron, least bittern,
bittern, green heron, night heron, white ibis,
glossy ibis, golden plover, black-bellied plover,
killdeer, little plover, pharlarope, woodcock,
snipe, red -breasted snipe, gray -back, red-
backed sandpiper, jack snipe, little sandpiper,
little snipe, semi-palmated sand piper, sander-
ling, willet, tell-tale, yellow-legged snipe, soli-
tary sandpiper, spotted sandpiper, field plover,
godwit, curlew, marsh hen, \'irginia rail, rail,
little yellow rail, little black rail, coot, Amer-
ican swan, wild goose, brant, mallard, black
duck, sprigtail, green-winged teal, blue-winged
teal, shoveller, summer duck, black-head duck,
lesser black-head, canvas-back, pochard, but-
ter ball, ruddy duck, shelldrake, red-breasted
merganser, hooded merganser, pelican, crested
cormorant, black-backed gull, herring gull,
ring-billed gull, laughing gull, lesser black-
headed gull, loon, crested grebe, horned grebe
and smaller grebe.
Eagles are seldom seen, while hawks and
crows are becoming scarcer ever\- year. As
early as 1700, the legislature passed an act in
which a reward was offered for the killing of
blackbirds and crows, at the rate of three
pence per dozen for blackbirds and three
pence for each crow.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
KISH.
Most of the sixt}' species of fish, listed bj'
Prof. E. D. Cope, as native to Chester county,
are to be found in the Delaware river and its
tributaries in Delaware county. Black bass,
gold fish, carp, salmon and California salmon
have been introduced in some parts of the
county, and shad are still in the Delaware
river.
Of the larger fish at the time of the early
settlements were : whales, sharks, seals, stur-
geon and eels. As late as i8og, a medium
sized whale was caught in the river near
Chester, and in April, 1833, three seals came
up close to Chester, near which place one of
them was caught in a shad-seine. At different
times man-eating sharks haveDbeen seen and
caught in the Delaware river above Chester
city, and in 1876 one of these fearful monsters
of the deep was seen in the river between
Chester city and Little Tinicum island. The
eels of early days are reported as of great size,
and some of them were said to be nearlj- six
feet in length and of proportionate girth. As
late as 1869. a three foot eel, that weighed
ten pounds, was caught by Capt. Peter Boon.
CHAPTER III.
ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS — DUTCH OC-
CUPATION—SWEDISH SETTLEMENT —
DUTCH INVASION— ENGLISH CONQUEST
AND ERECTION OF UPLAND COUNTY.
Of the two great prehistoric races who lived
and loved and warred within the present ter-
ritorial limits of Pennsylvania — the Mound-
builder and the Indian — only the latter ever
seems to have set foot on the soil of Delaware
county.
The Mound-builder, so named from the vast
mounds that he erected and whose ruins still
exist in several States, was a semi-civilized
race whose mighty empire extended from the
east bank of the Mississippi to the heart of
the Allegheny mountains. Out of earth the
Mound-builder erected fortifications and tem-
ple, altar, effigy, and tomb-mounds. The
dim, mysterious Mound-builder, either from
Asia or fabled Atlantis, must have passed in
the height of prosperity and power from the
Mississippi valley to the sunnier plains of Mex-
ico and Peru, or met a fate of extinction by
famine, pestilence, or war with the Indian,
his successor in the proprietorship of the soil
of the United States.
The origin of the Indian is a matter of con-
jecture and speculation. Presumably of Asi-
atic lineage, he was likely the second wave of
population that swept from the old to the new
world, across the icy waters of Behring strait.
The Huron-Iroquois family of Indian nations
were settled on the great water-ways in New
York, when the Spanish, English, Dutch and
French made their first settlements along the
Atlantic seaboard, and by strategy and prow-
ess in war, had won mastery and supremacy
in the northern part of the great Indian em-
pire of the new world, that stretching for nine
thousand miles, from pole to pole, rivaled
imperial Rome during her golden age, in
territory, population and rich mines.
At first the Huron-Iroquois consisted of five
nations, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas,
Cayugas and Senecas. In 1712 they were
joined by the Tuscaroras from the Carolinas
and became the celebrated Six Nations of
American history. Feared and dreaded by
all other Indian nations, their fearful battle
cry was heard from under the frowning walls
of Quebec to the swamps of the Carolinas and
the canebrakes of Louisiana. They were
successful in war with every Indian rival, and
among the tribes who sunk beneath the prow-
ess of their arms and became their vassals
was the Leni Lenape or Delawares.
The Delawares, after being conquered by
the Iroquois or Fixe Nations, continued in pos-
session of the soil of southeastern Pennsyl-
vania, as tenants at will of their New York
masters, yet enjoyed a larger measure of
28
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
freedom than their brethren in the central and
northern parts of the State. They were not
allowed to engage in war, were placed on a
footing with women, but received a guaran-
teed protection as incident to their vassalage,
although often subjected to the intrusion of
Iroquois parties who came to fish and trade.
The Minquates, a branch of the Iroquois, and
who resided on the Conestoga, made the most
frequent visits to the banks of the Delaware
river, where they were a menace to the Dela-
wares, and after 1642, a source of annoyance
to the whites.
The Leni Lenape, or Delaware, that resided
within the present boundaries of the county,
were divided into small tribes, generally occu-
pying tributaries of the river. Each of these
tribes was often known to the whites by the
name of the stream on which it was located.
The tribe having its lodges on Crum and Rid-
ley creek, in the vicinity of Chester, John Hill
Martin says, were the Okrhockings, 3.n(i he refers
to a warrant, at Harrisburg, which was issued
in 1702, granting them a reservation of five
hundred acres of land near Willistown, Chester
county.
By 1755 the Delawares had left the county,
and the last representative of the tribe in Ches-
ter county and southeastern Pennsylvania,
"Indian Hannah," died near West Chester,
March 20, 1802, at seventy-one \ears of age.
Although the first settlers came in contact
with all of these tribes, traveled over their
paths through the forest and were at their vil-
lages, yet they failed to either make record or
hand down to the present through tradition
the names of the tribes and the locations of
their trails and villages. The stirring events
of rival settlement and opposing claims of
ownership between Holland and Sweden ab-
sorbed the attention of the early historians of
the county, to the utter neglect of its Indian
history. Their neglect permitted the fast-
fading traditions of tribe and village and of
■ chief and trail to pass from recollection and
sink into oblivion.
DUTCH OCCUP.'^TION.
Holland is the most common English name
of that countr}' in Continental Europe which
is nationally designated as the Kingdom of
the Netherlands, and whose spirit of commer-
cial enterprise led to the discovery and ex-
ploration of the Delaware bay and river.
With the discovery of Delaware bay is asso-
ciated the name of one of the world's greatest
discoverers — Henry Hudson — who carried
the flag of Holland into the new world, where
he eventually found that great body of water
which bears his name, "at once his monu-
ment and his grave."
Henry Hudson, the celebrated English nav-
igator, after ha^■ing made two unsuccessful
voyages in the employ of London merchants,
in search of a northern passage to the East
Indies, entered the service of the Dutch East
India Company with the same object in view.
He sailed from Amsterdam on April 4, 1609,
in a yacht called the " Half Moon " ( " Halve-
mann"), of eighty tons burden. Failing to
reach Nova Zembla, on account of fogs and
ice, he abandoned his original object and
sought to seek a northwest passage to China
through the new discovered lands west and
southwest of Icelaml and Greenland. It is
said that Capt. John Smith suggested to Hud-
son the idea of a passage extending from the
Atlantic coast at some point south of Vir-
ginia. However it maN'be, of truth or fiction,
as to Smith's influencing Hudson to visit the
North American shore in search of a short
water route to China, )'et the latter cruised as
far south as the mouth of the Chesapeake
bay, and then turning northward ran into the
mouth of Delaware bay "about noon of Fri-
day, August 28, 1609, a warm clear day."
Finding numerous shoals, he listened to the
advice of his officers to give up the explora-
tion of the bay, as they were convinced that
"he that will thoroughly explore this great
bay must have a small pinnace that must
draw four or five feet water, to sound before
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
29
him." By this decision the possibility of
Dutch occupation on the banks of the Dela-
ware bay and river was postponed for nearly
fifteen years, during which period New Ams-
terdam was founded and monopolized nearl\'
all emigration from Holland. On the morn-
ing of the agth Hudson put to sea, and seven
days later discovered " the Great North River
of New Netherland" that to-day bears his
honored name.
The next year after Hudson had discovered
the Delaware bay, it was entered by Capt.
Samuel Argall, who is said to have named it
Delaware bay in honor of Thomas West, Lord
De La War, then governor of Virginia. In
1610 it is claimed that Lord Delaware visited
the bay, and that he died on shipboard off
"the Capes," when on a second visit in 1618.
Between the two asserted visits of Lord
Delaware, the bay was visited in 1614 by
Capt. Cornelius Jacobz Mej', in the Fortune,
a vessel owned by the city of Hoorn, which
was to have exclusive privileges of trade dur-
ing four voyages with any "new courses, ha-
vens, countries or places " discovered by Mey.
This voyage of Captain Mey seems to have
terminated in no wise advantageous to the
city of Hoorn, and he left the bay after nam-
ing the two capes at its entrance — Cape Cor-
nelius and Cape Mey (now May)- — after him-
self.
After Mey's departure the bay remained uu-
visited for two years, and then its waters were
ruffled by the prow of the Restless, the first
vessel built by Europeans in this country.
The Restless (Unrust) was a small yacht,
forty-four and one-half feet long by eleven
and one-half feet wide, of sixteen tons burden,
built at the mouth of the "Manhattan river"
and commanded by Capt. Cornelius Hendrick-
son, whose report of his explorations received
but little credence in Holland. Some histor-
ians accept his report of exploring the Dela-
ware river as high as the mouth of the Schuyl-
kill as correct, while others pronounce it false
and claim the description that he furnished
was obtained from the Indians along the Dela-
ware bay. If he actually made the voyage he
is entitled to the honor of having first discov-
ered the territory of Delaware county.
In the meantime in Holland, where the pol-
itical and social condition of the people must
be considered in connection with the physical
conformation of the country, steps had been
taken to establish trading posts in every part
of the New Netherlands. To secure this ob-
ject the great Dutch West India Company
was incorporated in 1621. As the results of
the wide reaching policy of this company,
many trading posts were established to con-
trol the fur trade with the Indians between
New France and Virginia. The country on
the Delaware received a due share of atten-
tion, and in 1624 the company sent Captain
Mey in the ship New Netherland with several
persons to establish a fortified trading post on
the "South River." He built Ft. Nassau,
near the mouth of Timber creek, in Gloucester
county, New Jersey. While this post was es-
tablished for trade and not as a nucleus of a
settlement, yet, according to the deposition of
Catelina Tricho, taken in 1684, at New York,
there were four women who married at sea
and went with their husbands to the Delaware
and were with them there until the temporary
abandonment of Ft. Nassau.
A year's occupation of Ft. Nassau was ter-
minated by an order for its vacation, as the
garrison was needed to re-inforce the colony
at Manhattan. A temporary need called for
a desertion of Ft. Nassau, but the Dutch did
not contemplate an abandonment of the coun-
try, and now perceived the necessity for estab-
lishing settlements in order to hold the fur
trade, as the English traders were encroach-
ing on their territory both from the north and
south to engage in competitive barter with
the Indians.
This state of affairs led to the founding of
settlements by the Dutch West India Com-
pany, who sought to introduce the feudal ten-
ure of lands in the New Netherlands, where
30
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTORY
tlie \vealth\- immigrant who could in four
years plant a colon)' of fifty souls, \vas to be-
come a Patroon, or absolute owner of a large
tract of land. The Patroon could have a river
front of sixteen miles and an extension back
into the countrj? as far as "the situation of
the occupiers will admit." If his lands were
on both sides of a river, eight miles front was
only to be accorded him, and he was to be
supplied with as man}' blacks as the company
could conveniently furnish.
While the policy of making settlements was
under discussion in Holland, Samuel Goodj'n
and Samuel Bloemmaert formed a company
for settlement on the Delaware, consisting of
themselves and David Preterszen De \'ries,
Killian Van Rensselaer, Jan De Laet, Matthys
Van Keulen, Nicholas Van Sittsright, Harneck
Koek, and He)'Ddrick Hamel, all directors of
the West India Companj- except De ^"ries.
They purchased a tract of land sixteen miles
square, extending from Cape Henlopen north-
ward toward the mouth of the Delaware river.
To this tract of land Capt. Peter He3'es, in
the ship Walrus, conveyed a small colony in
the winter of 1630-31. The colonists settled
on Lewes creek, where they intended to es-
tablish a whale and seal-fisher}- station as well
as tobacco and grain plantations. They built
a fort, which they called Ft. Oplandt, and
named their settlement Swanendale, or Valley
of Swans, "because of the great number of
those birds in the neighborhood." In 1632
De Vries came with additional emigrants, but
found the fort a charred ruin and the bones of
the settlers bleaching in the sun. He adroitly
induced an Indian to remain over night on
his vessel, and from the savage obtained an
account of the capture of the fort and the mas-
sacre of the settlers. The particulars of the
destruction of the colony, as related by the
Indian, we give in the language of De \'ries,
who says : "He (the Indian) then showed us
the place where our people had set up a
column, to which was fastened a piece of tin,
whereon the arms of Holland were painted.
One of their chiefs took this off, for the pur-
pose of making tobacco-pipes, not knowing
that he was doing amiss. Those in command
at the house made such an ado about it that
the Indians, not knowing how it was, went
away and slew the chief who had done it, and
brought a token of the dead to the house to
those in command, who told them that they
wished that they had not done it ; that they
should have brought him to them, as they
wished to have forbidden him not to do the
like again. The\- went away and the friends
of the murdered chief incited their friends, as
they are a people like the Indians, who are
very revengeful, to set about the work of ven-
geance. Observing our people out of the
house, each one at his work, that there was
not more than one inside, who was lying sick,
and a large mastiff, who was chained, — had
he been loose they would not have dared to
approach the house, — and the man (Gillis
Hossett) who had command standing near
the house, three of the stoutest Indians, who
were to do the deed, bringing a lot of bear
skins with them to exchange, sought to enter
the house. The man in charge went in with
them to make the barter, which being done,
he went to the loft where the stores lay, and
in descending the stairs one of the Indians
seized an axe and cleft his head so that he
fell down dead. They also relieved the sick
man of life, and shot into the dog, who was
chained fast and whom they most feared,
twenty-five arrows before they could dispatch
him. They then proceeded toward tlie rest
of the men, who were at work, and going
amongst them with pretensions of friendship,
struck them down. Thus was our young col-
ony destroyed, causing us serious loss."
On New Year's day, 1633, De Wies con-
cluded a treaty of peace with the Indians,
whom he was too weak to punish for their
destruction of Swanendale, and sailed up the
river to Ft. Nassau, where he refused to bar-
ter with the Indians for furs, saying he wanted
beans. He was told to go to Timmerkill,
OF DELAM\ABE COVJS'TY.
31
opposite the site of Philadelpliia, where he
could obtain corn, but before sailing he was
secretly warned by an Indian woman, to whom
he had given a cloth dress, that if he went he
and his men would be attacked and probably
murdered like the crew of an English vessel
that had gone there a few months prior to that
time. De\'ries. however, went, and being fore-
warned, prevented an attack on his vessel by
the Indians, whom he reproached for their in-
tended treachery, and after concluding a treaty
with them, sailed to Virginia, where he ob-
tained sufficient provisions to last him on his
voyage to Europe. When De Vries left the
capes there was no European on either the
Delaware ba}' or river.
Two years after De\'ries left, in 1635, George
Holmes, with his hired man, and Thomas Hall
and about a dozen other Englishmen left Con-
necticut to take possession of Ft. Nassau, but
the Dutch being apprised of the movement
immediately garrisoned the deserted post, and
when the English arrived Xhey were taken
prisoners. Thus the projected New England
settlement was prevented, and the prisoners
were sent to Manhattan, where they were al-
lowed to permanently settle.
On February 7, 1635, the Patroon owners
of the Swanendale lands re-transferred them
to the Dutch West India Companj' for 15,600
guilders (§6,240). Thus private enterprise on
the part of the Dutch ceased on the Delaware,
and but little is known as to how Ft. Nassau
was garrisoned for the next three years, at the
end of which time a contestant for the South
River territory appeared in the Swede. The
period of Dutch colonization and settlement
on the Delaware was at an end, while the
second period of Dutch rule there that com-
menced seventeen years later was one only of
government over a subjugated people of an-
other nationality for less than two years.
SWEDISH SETTLEMEXT.
After the alleged pre-Columbian discoveries
of portions of the North American continent,
came its practical discovery by Columbus, and
Spain was the first nation to discover, to con-
quer and to colonize any part of this country,
but England soon won from her the mastery
of the sea, which caused the '-sun of Spanish
world dominion to set as quickly as it had
risen." In the colonization of this country
Spain had powerful rivals in England, France
and Holland, who claimed large areas of ter-
ritory by discovery and settlement ; but the
last claimant for colonial possessions on the
territory of the I'nited States was the bold
and warlike Swede of the Scandinavian pen-
insula, who based his right of possession of
lands discovered by others, alone upon settle-
ment and purchase from the Indian.
Swedish settlement in this country was con-
fined to the planting of a colony on the Dela-
ware on lands claimed by both the Dutch and
the English, although the latter had not yet
attempted any forcible possession of New
Netherlands.
The monarchs of the old world sought to
establish grand kingdoms in the new world
that should bear names expressive of the per-
petuit\-, progress and power of the parent
kingdoms in Europe, and so upon the map of
the western and new found world appeared
the names of New Spain, New France, New
Netherlands and New England. The Swedes
were equally ambitious with the Spanish,
French, Dutch and English of founding a
mighty kingdom in the new discovered lands
toward the setting sun, and Gustavus Adol-
phus, the greatest of the line of Swedish kings,
turned his attention to America, where he
hoped to found a New Sweden — an ideal
empire in which religious freedom should exist
and human servitude should never be intro-
duced. It seems that Gustavus Adolphus had
selected no particular place along the Atlantic
coast as an objective point of settlement, and
as late as 1635 the Swedes had considered the
coast of Guiana and Brazil as possessing the
most favorable attractions.
Gustavus Adolphus, in 1624, invited Wil-
BIOORAPKY AXD HISTOBY
liam Usselinex, an ex-director of the Dutch
West India Company, who had visited Sweden,
to remain in the Swedish kingdom. Ussehnex
had drafted the plan of the Dutch West India
Company, and when he was cast aside by
younger rivals he came to Sweden, where he
planned a Swedish West India Company,
which was to be chartered by Gustavus Adol-
phus. This company was to be a commercial
organization, whose object to form a colon}' in
"foreign parts" met with the Swedish king's
warmest approval. His death at the battle of
Lutzen left the project to be carried out by
Axel Oxenstierna, the great chancellor of
Sweden.
In 1635, Peter Minuit, who had been pre-
viously removed as governor of New Nether-
lands, entered into a correspondence with the
Swedish authorities, and in all probability
suggested the South or Delaware river as a
favorable region in which to plant a colony.
Two years later he went to Sweden, which he
left on August 9, 1637, in command of the first
Swedish expedition to America. His ships
were the " Kalmar Nyckel" and the " Gri-
pen" — a man of war, and a sloop, or tender,
while his Swedish colonists were styled in a
Dutch state paper as being mostly banditti, a
statement to be accepted with a considerable
degree of allowance. In the latter part of March
or the earl}' part of April, 1638, he landed
near the present site of Wilmington, Delaware,
where, on the Elbe, now Christiana creek, he
erected ' ' Fort Kristina, " so named in honor of
Oueen Christiana, then ruler of Sweden. The
fort was stocked with provisions and goods
for barter with the Indians, and placed under
command of Lieut. Miins Kling. Minuit, be-
fore erecting his fort, had purchased from the
Indians a tract of land of several days jour-
ney, on the west bank of the Delaware river,
which included the present territory of Dela-
ware count)'. Minuit was warned b)' Kieft,
the director-general of New Netherlands, not
to occupy the territor), but knowing the weak-
ness of the Dutch, he gave no heed to the warn-
ing, and established the first permanent set-
tlement on the Delaware. Concerning the
fate of Minuit, Smith says that he died at "Ft.
Kristina," and Ashmead states that he started
to return to Europe, and was lost at sea on the
"Flying Deer," a Dutch vessel which he had
visited near St. Thomas, in the West India
islands.
For two years the infant settlement on the
Delaware was left to take care of itself, and
then it was reinforced by a second colony of
not a very desirable character. In 1639, Cor-
nelius Van Vliet, a Dutch captain, was given
command of the " Kalmar Nyckel," which
had returned to Sweden, and was ordered to
seize on married soldiers who had evaded ser-
vice or committed some crime and carry them
and their families to New Sweden, as all
efforts to procure willing emigrants had failed.
^'an Miet proved to be inefficient and negli-
gent, and, on complaint of the crew, was dis-
charged, his place being supplied by Capt.
Pouwell Jansen, a Dutchman, who displayed
considerable energy. Jansen arrived at "Ft.
Kristina" on April 7, 1640, and bore as pas-
sengers Lieut. Peter Hollander, who had been
appointed governor of New Sweden, and Rev.
Reorus Torkillus, the first Swedish clerg\man
to come to America. This second colony set-
tled some four Swedish miles below Christi-
ana, and liut little is known of affairs on the
Delaware for the next three years, except that
in 1642 a general sickness prevailed.
In 1641 the " Kalmar Nyckel " and "Chari-
tas" brought a third colony to New Sweden
of forest-destroying and other crime-com-
mitting Finns, and with them Swedish emi-
gration in form of colonies to Christiana
ceased.
The next and fourth colony was destined to
make the first permanent settlement in the
State of Pennsylvania, although some claim
that the Dutch settled in Montgomerx' county
previous to 1642.
Smith states that the English had attempted
a settlement before 1642 at Salem creek, in New
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
33
Jersey, and built a trading house on the west
bank of the Delaware, opposite Fort Nassau,
prior to the coming of the fourth Swedish
colony, but that the Swedes and Dutch united
and broke up the settlement and burned the
trading house.
The fourth colony left Gottenburg on Novem-
bejT I, 1642, in the ships " Fama"and " Swan,"
and under the command of Lieut. -Col. John
Printz, who had been commissioned governor
of New Sweden, on August 15, 1642, with a
yearly salary of twelve hundred dollars in
silver and an allowance of four hundred and
six dollars for his expenses. Governor Printz
arrived at Fort Christiana on February 15,
1643, and in a short time removed the seat of
government from Christiana to Tinicum island,
within the present boundaries of Delaware
county, where he built Fort Gottenburg, and
afterwards erected his mansion-house, known
as Printz Hall. Around Fort Gottenburg the
principal inhabitants had their houses and
plantations.
Governor Printz received ample plenary
powers from the youthful queen of Sweden,
and was to govern New Sweden, to preserve
amity and correspondence with foreigners and
other natives, and to render justice without
distinction. His instructions embraced the
care of the colony while at sea, and the gov-
ernment of the province after landing. He was
to colonize the English, at Ferken's Kill on the
east side of the Delaware river, under Swed-
ish rule, or remove them. He was to comport
himself as was agreeable to the Dutch at Fort
Nassau, as they were not attempting to occup}-
the west side of the Delaware river, but to re-
pel force by force if necessary in case of Dutch
invasion. He was to protect Jost de Bogard's
Dutch settlement, some three miles from Fort
Christiana, and see that the Swedes furnish
the Indians with things they required at lower
prices than those they received from the Dutch
or English. He was to promote agriculture,
and increase tobacco culture and cattle and
sheep raising, and the cultivation of the vine,
3
while salt niaking and the location of minerals
were to be carefully looked after. He was to
control judiciously the Indian peltr}- trade, es-
tablish whale fisheries and investigate the sub-
ject of raising silk-worms. With such ample
powers and so many things to look after, Gov-
ernor Printz held an important and responsi-
ble position, and his administration was rea-
sonabh" successful considering the condition
of the colony and the Dutch and English op-
position he had to encounter.
Governor Printz secured the control of the
Delaware river, above Tinicum island, by the
erection of Fort Gottenburg, and his next move
was to render Fort Nassau almost useless to the
Dutch by building Fort Elsenburgh at Salem
creek, on the east side of the Delaware. His
third move was to erect, in 1643, a grist mill
on Crum creek, where the holes sunk in the
rocks to support the frame work are still to be
seen, near the Blue Bell tavern on the Darby
road. This mill was a great improvement on
the windmill that was used previous to its
erection. Printz also examined several water-
falls w'ith a view of erecting saw-mills, but
gave up the project, as he had no saw blades.
Between 1643 and 1645, some of the Swedes
settled at Chester, which they called Upland,
and shortly thereafter the Finns must have
become residents along the river front at
Marcus Hook, which section was marked as
" Finland " on the early maps.
The emigrants to New Sweden were of three
classes : Freemen, servants for a designated
term of service, and vagabonds and malefac-
tors, who were sent as slaves to the Delaware
and dwelt apart from the rest of the inhabi-
tants. In 1647 there were but one hundred
and eighty-three whites in the Swedish settle-
ments on the Deleware, and six thousand nine
hundred and twenty pounds of tobacco was
sent in the Golden Shark to Sweden.
Printz was often overbearing and insolent,
yet during his administration, which ended in
1653, New Sweden saw its palmy days. When
he sailed for Sweden he placed the govern-
34
BIOGRAPHY AXD HISTORY
ment in charge of John Pappegoya, who had
married his daughter, Armigart, a prominent
character in succeeding years in tlie history of
New Sweden.
Pappegoya held the reins of government but
a few months, when he was reheved by John
Claude Rysingh, who arrived on the Eagle on
May 21, 1654. Vice Governor Rysingh signal-
ized the commencement of his administration
by an act that violated his instructions and fur-
nished a plea for the Dutch invasion of the
succeeding year. About 1651 Governor Stuy-
vesant, of the New Netherlands, took steps to
buy all the Swedish lands on the Delaware of
Indian chiefs, who claimed to be the lawful
owners, and then proceeded against Printz's
remonstrance to erect Fort Cassimer, on the
west side of the Delaware bay, near the site of
New Castle, Delaware, which rendered the
Swedish Fort Elsenburgh useless, and com-
manded the river above Fort Christiana. Rys-
ingh injudiciously invested Fort Cassimer, and
compelled its surrender, on Trinity Sunday.
In honor of the day, Rysingh called the cap-
tured fort the "Fort of the Holy Trinity."
Rysingh concluded a great treat)' with the
Indians on June 17, 1654, which was faithfully
observed by the Swedes and the savages, and
commenced measures for the improvement of
the colony that were short-lived on account of
his first official act of capturing Fort Cassimer.
The news of the capture of Fort Cassimer
aroused great indignation in Holland, where
the erection of that fort was not fully approved.
Stuyvesant was ordered to recapture the fort
and drive all the Swedes from both sides of
the river who would not become subjects of
the government of the New Netherlands.
On September g, 1655, Stuyvesant appeared
with a fleet of seven vessels carrying six hun-
dred men before Fort Cassimer, which was re-
duced by the nth. Fort Christina was next
taken, and Fort Gottenburg surrendered after a
siege of fourteen days. Rysingh charged the
Dutch with unwonted cruelty and the ruthless
destruction of valuable propert}-. John Paul
Jacquit was appointed by the Dutch as gov-
ernor, and Fort Gottenburg was abandoned.
Shorty after Jacquit became governor, the
Swedish ship Mercury arrived with one hun-
dred and thirty emigrants to whom the Dutch
refused permission to either land or to pro-
ceed up the Delaware river. Finally the Swedes
through the inflaence of Pappegoya ( Governor
Printz's son-in-law) induced a number of In-
dians to come on board the vessel, and knowing
that the Dutch would not fire on the savages,
boldly weighed anchor and sailed past the fort,
landing at Christiana.
The expenses of the Dutch expedition to
conquer New Sweden had been so heavy to
the Dutch West India Company that in the
summer of 1656, in order to discharge a part
of its debt to the city of Amsterdam it
ceded all of its Delaware river territory from
Bombay Hook to Christiana creek to the bur-
gomaster of that municipality. This ceded ter-
ritory' was known as the City's colony (New
Amstel), while the land north of that creek was
designated as the Company's colony.
Georan Van Dyck became sheriff of the Com-
pany's colony and failed in several attemps to
gather the Swedish settlers into villages. Beek-
man, vice-director of the Company's colony
also sought to concentrate the Swedes into vil-
lages and likewise failed. In 1659 there was
estimated to be two hundred families of Swedes
and Finns in the Company's colony, aggregat-
ing about one thousand of a population. The
seat of justice was removed from Gottenburg
to Fort Altena, which was six Dutch miles from
the Swedes mill on Crum creek, and the Swed-
ish magistrates, who had given in their adher-
ence to the Dutch, were continued in office. On
December 22, 1663, the cit3'of Amsterdam, in
full payment of the debt owed to it by the
Dutch West India Company, received a deed
from the latter for all its remaining territory
on the Delaware river. The authority of the
city of Amsterdam was of short duration —
only nine months ere it was overthrown by
a new contestant for power on the banks of
01" BELAWAJii: COUNTY.
35
the Delaware — the world-conquering English-
man.
ENGLISH CONQUEST.
B)- the right of Cabot's discovery England
had always claimed the territory on the Dela-
ware, but on account of home dissensions did
not attempt an exercise of authority over it by
force of arms until 1664. Charles II., of Eng-
land, on March 12, 1664, granted the territory
of the States of New York and New Jersey to
his brother James, Duke of York and of Al-
bany, and by a subsequent grant conveyed to
him the territory of the State of Delaware, 3et
he never granted to him the territory of Penn-
sylvania, which he held from 1664 to 1682.
The Duke of York immediately fitted out
an expedition for the conquest of his new coun-
try. It consisted of four war vessels and four
hundred and fifty men, under the command of
Col. Richard Nicolls, and sailed on May 25,
1664, from Portsmouth, England. In the lat-
ter part of August this expedition arrived at
New Amsterdam, which surrendered on Sep-
tember gth, and was named New York, in honor
of the Duke of York. The remainder of the
Dutch settlements along the Hudson river
passed peacefullj- into the hands of the Eng-
lish, and Fort Orange was named Albany, in
honor of James' dukedom of Albany.
The next step of the Duke of York, after se-
curing control on the Hudson, was to take pos-
session of the Delaware river territory and thus
complete the conquest of the New Netherlands.
On the 3rd (13th new style) of September, 1664,
Sir Robert Carr, with the frigates Guinea and
William and Nicholas, set sail for the Delaware,
and after a long and tedious voyage arrived in
that stream on the last day of September. Carr
passed the fort at New Amstel without an ex-
change of shot, and then summoned the Dutch
to surrender. The town authorities agreed
after three days' negotiations to surrender, but
D'Hinoyossa and his soldiers refused, "where-
upon," Carr says in his official report: "I
landed my soldiers on Sunday morning follow-
ing & commanded y' shipps to fall downe
before y^ Fort wi"'n muskett shott, w"' direc-
tions to fire two broadsides apeace upon y"
Fort, then my soldiers to fall on. \\'hich done
the soldiers neaver stopping untill they stormed
y- fort, and soe consequently to plundering ;
the seamen noe less given to that sporte, were
quickly wi"'in & have gotten good store of
booty ; so that in such a noise and confusion
noe worde of command for sometyme ; but for
as many goods as I could preserve, I still keepe
intire. The loss on our part was none ; the
Dutch had tenn wounded and 3 killed. The
fort is not tenable, although 14 gunns, and
w^out a greate charge w*^*" unevitably must
be expended, here wilbee noe sta3'ing, we not
being able to keepe itt. " In Colonel NicoU's
report to the secretary of state he says that
the storming party was commanded by Lieu-
tenant Carr and Ensign Hooke ; and notwith-
standing the Dutch fired three volleys at the
English, not a man was even wounded in the
attack. After the fort was captured. Sir Rob-
ert Carr landed from the Guinea and claimed
the property in the fort as having been won by
the sword and belonging to him and his troops.
He did not even stop with that demand, but
after selling all the soldiers in the fort as slaves
to Virginia, he also did likewise with many
citizens of New Amstel (presumably Dutch),
and distributed most of the negroes belong-
ing totheDutch among his troops, as well as one
hundred sheep, sixty cows and oxen and forty
horses. To this ruthless despoliation of per-
sonal property Carr added the confiscation of
much real estate and granted a number of the
farms of the Dutch to his officers and the com-
manders of his sliips. The Swedes seemed to
have escaped being plundered by Carr's troops,
and the Dutch but received the same measure
of treatment that they had meted out to the
Swedes in 1655.
Ashmead, in concluding his account of the
English conquest of the Delaware river coun-
try in 1664, says: "When the standard of
Great Britain floated from the flagstaffs over
the captured Dutch forts on the Hudson and
36
BIOOBAPHY AND HISTORY
the Delaware, it marked the supremacy of the
Anglo-Saxon race on the North American con-
tinent. As authority was then exercised from
Maine to Florida, on the Atlantic coast, by a
homogeneous people, it made possible the great
nation that was born to the world a century
later."
Colonel Nicolls did not approve of Carr's
course of action, and served as governor of
both New York and the Delaware for nearly
three years. Smith says that his administration
" was conducted with prudence and judgment ;
his efforts being especially directed to the pro-
motion of trade." During Nicoll's adminis-
tration "beavers continued to be used as cur-
rency ; and in the payment for imported goods,
the standard value fixed on each beaver, by
the governor, was eight guilders, or 13s, 4d."
In May, 1667, Col. Francis Lovelace suc-
ceeded Nicolls as governor, and two years
later an insurrection broke out, headed by
Marcus J acobson, known as the "Long Finn,"
and Henry Coleman, also a Finn, and a man of
property, who was then residing among the In-
dians. No over tacts of treason were commit-
ted by these two insurrectionary leaders, who
contented themselves with "raising speeches
ver}' seditious and false, tending to the dis-
turbance of his Majesty's peace and the laws
of the government." Several other Finns and
the " Little Domine,'' Rev. Laers, and Mrs.
Pappegoya, were implicated in this insurrec-
tion. Coleman escaped, but his property was
confiscated, and the Long Finn was captured
and placed in irons. The Long Finn was
tried and sentenced to be publicly and se-
verely whipped, branded in the face with the
letter R, and sent to "Barbadoes and some
other of those remote plantations and sold."
In January, 1670, he was put on board the
ship Fort Albany, bound for Barbadoes, where,
without doubt, he was sold into slavery. This
insurrection, whose leaders were Finns, prob-
ably' occurred below Upland, in the district
then known by the name of Finland.
After the Finn insurrection affairs pro-
gressed with but little interruption until the
summer of 1671, when the Indians committed
several atrocious murders. Governor Love-
lace took wise but firm measures to check
further Indian outrages. In November the
Indian sachems and William Tom, clerk of the
court on the Delaware, held a council at the
house of Peter Rambo, at Upland. The
sachems promised to deliver the murderers in
six days. One of the guilty Indians escaped,
and the other, when taken b\' the two warriors
sent b}' the sachems to effect his capture,
placed his hands over his eyes and said, "Kill
me," which was done. The body of the dead
Indian was delivered at Wiccaco to the Eng-
lish, who sent it to New Castle, where it was
hung in chains.
The English rule on the Delaware was tem-
porarily interrupted by the war between Eng-
land and France against theUnited Belgic Pro-
vinces, which lasted from 1672 till February 9,
1674. During the second year of this war, on
July 30, 1673, New York and its dependencies
on the Delaware surrendered to the Dutch
fleet under Admiral Evertsen. Peter Alrichs
was appointed commander on the Delaware,
with instructions not to confiscate the prop-
erty of any one who would take the oath of
allegiance to the Dutch government. At the
same time three courts of justice were estab-
lished by the Dutch on the Delaware — one at
New Amstel (New Castle), one at the Hoern
Kill, and one at Upland, whose jurisdiction
extended provisionally from the "east and
west banks of Kristina Kill upwards unto the
head of the river." The reestablishment of
Dutch authority on the Delaware was com-
plete, but in less than a year, by the treat}- of
peace made on February 9, 1674, between
England and the Netherlands, the latter agreed
to give up New York and Delaware to the
Duke of York.,
On October i, 1674. English authority was
reestablished in New York, and Capt. Edmund
Carr was sent to New Castle as commander
on the Delaware. On September 25, 1676, the
OF I)i:LA}VAIiE COUNTY.
37
Duke of York's laws were promulgated on the
Delaware, and a court was appointed at Up-
land. On March 25th of the preceding year
(1675), Robert Wade, the first member of the
Society of Friends to reside within the present
boundaries of Delaware county, purchased an
estate at Upland. Three years prior to this,
in 1672, George Fox, the founder of the So-
ciety of Friends, passed through the county
in returning from a religious visit to New
England. Thus was founded on the territory
of Delaware, by Robert Wade, the Society of
Friends, which was soon to play an important
part in the planting of the English race on the
Delaware and the founding of the great " Key-
stone State.''
ERECTION OF UPLAND COUNTY.
The district and afterwards county of Up-
land, by one account, derived its name from
Upland, its seat of justice, named from being
situated on high or up land ; while another
account states that the word Upland is de-
rived from the Sweedish word u/>sa/a, and
was so named by some of the Swedes, who
came between 1638 and 1642 from the Swedish
province of Upsala, whose capital city of
Upsala, in the midst of a vast and fertile
plain, is the seat of the oldest university of
Sweden, and during the middle ages was an
ecclesiastical capital of Scandinavia and north-
ern Europe.
Upland was settled at some time between 1 642
and 1645, as Andreas Hudde, then the Dutch
commissar}' on the Delaware, speaks of houses
not far from Tinnekonk (Tinicum). Martin
says among the original Swedish owners of
land at Upland were: Dr. Laurentius Carolus,
Neals Matson, Leals Lawson, James Sandi-
lands, Just Danielsen, Jurien Keen, Hans
Juriensen, Israel Helms, and the Swedish
church.
The first seat of government in Delaware
county was at Tinicum, where justice was dis-
pensed by Governor Printz from 1642 to 1654.
The next year the Dutch conquered the prov-
3 a
ince and removed the seat of government to
Fort Cassimer. The Dutch established a court
at Fort Altena about 1658. On September
12, 1673, there was established by the Dutch
Council at New York, "One court of justice
for the inhabitants of Upland, to which pro-
visionally shall resort the inhabitants both on
the east and west banks of Kristiana Kill and
upwards unto the head of the river." This is
the description of the limits of the extent of
the Upland district. In 1676 Governor An-
dross appointed three courts on the Delaware,
one of which was to be at Upland. This
court met on No\ember 14, 1676, and its first
act was to order that Mr. Tom, the former
clerk, should deliver unto the present clerk,
Eph. Herman, the records of the former court.
Mr. Tom had kept these records in bad shape
and they were returned to him to straighten,
which he had not done at the time of his
death, and since which time they have never
been found.
On November 12, 1678, we have the first
official mention of the county of Upland.
At a meeting of Mr. John Moll, president of
Newcastle court, with the justices of the Up-
land court, held at Upland on that day, a divis-
ion was confirmed and extended ; the county of
Upland was" to begin from y'= north sydeofOele
fransens Creeke otherways Called Steen Kill,
Lying in the boght above y^ verdrietige hoeck,
and from the said Creek ou&r to y° singletree
point on the East syde of this River." In
one direction. Upland county extended as far
as settlements had been made ; and although
the authority of the Duke of York to govern
New Jersey had been resisted by Fenwickand
others, it had been maintained on the ground
that the sovereignty of the country did not pass
to Carteret and Berkeley, the purchasers of the
soil.
At the November court of this year the jus-
tices decided to levy a poll-tax of twenty-six
gilders upon each tydable (taxable) person,
which included every male inhabitant in the
county between the ages of sixteen and sixty
38
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTORY
years, except the justices, who were by the
duke's laws exempt from the payment of taxes,
except for the support of the church. This
levy was to be collected by the high sheriff be-
fore the 25th of the following March, and in-
stead of money he was authorized to receive
" wheat at fyve, Rey and barley att four Gil-
ders ""^ scipple, Indian Corne at three gilders
~^ scipple, Tobbacco at 8 styvers ^ pound,
porke at Eight and bacon at 16 styvers f ft:
or Elce In wampum or skins att pryce Cour-
rant; The Court further ordering and Im-
powring the high Sherrife,Cap°EdmondCant-
well, to Receive and Collect the same sume of
26 gilders from Every Tydable in the annexed
List."
"A List OF THE TYDABLE P-'SONS.
ATT TAOKANINK (TACONY).
oele neelson & 2 sons 3
hans moens .
Erick Poulsen
Christiaen Tomasse
Casper fisck
Peter Jookum & serv'
hans Jurian
michill fredericks
Justa Daniells & servant .
Jonas Juriaensen
Hend ; Jacobs upon y' Isl**
Erick Cock lSc servant
moens Cock
Peter nealson
gunnar Rambo
Lace Cock & servant
michill nealson
andris Swen & father
oele Swenson his servant
Swen Swensen & son
John Stille
Swen Lom
oele Stille
andries Benckes
Jan Mattson
Carried forward. 33
Brought forivard 33
dunck Williams
Tho ; Jacobs
Jan Claassen & 2 sons
mathias Claassen
franck walcker.
Will Thomasse
Peter matson
Jan Boelsen
Jan Schoeten
Jan Justa and 2 sons 3
Jonas nealson & son 2
Peter andries & son 2
Lace Dalbo
Rynier Peterssen
oele dalboo
andries Boen
Swen Boen
Pelle Rambo Junior
andries Rambo
Richard Duckett
Mr. Jones y" hatter
Soseph Peters
Jan Cock
Peter Cock, J unior
harmen Ennis
arian andries at Peter Ramboos
ATT CARKOENS HOEK.
andries homman & son 2
Pelle Erickson
Benck Saling
andries Saling
Laers Boer
hans Peters
Pelle Puttke
harmen Jansen
hendrick holman
CALKOENS HOEK.
mort mortenson Junior
Bertell Laersen
moens Staeckett
hans Jurian
hendrik Tade
Carried forward. 80
OF DELAWARE COUITTY.
39
Brought forivard 80
andries bertelson .
Jan Bertelson
Jan Corneliss" & son
mort. mortense, Senior
Lace mortense
neels matson
anthony matson
hendrick Jacobs
Jacob hendricx
UPLAND.
Claes Schram
Robberd Waede
Jan hendricx
Rich : Bobbinghton ,
James Sanderhng & slaue 2
John Test & servant 2
Jurian kien
Rich : noble
Neels Laerson & son
lienr}' bastings
Will : woodman & servant
John hayles
mich : Yzard
MARR : KILL (MARCUS HOOK).
Jan Jansen
will : orian
Daniell Linsey
morten Knoetsen
Knoet mortensen
albert hendricx ,
Oele Coeckoe
Carell Jansen
oele Raessen
Thom : Denny
John Browne
Rich : fredericx
hans Oelsen
Tho : harwood
Jurian hertsveder.
Andries Inckhoorrn
Rodger Pedrick
Cristaen Claassen.
Jacob Clocker
Carried forwaid. 126
Brought forward 126
EASTERN SHOURE.
oele Dircks. . i
will Bromfield i
Juns Justafs. i
Lace Colman i
hans hofman an his 2 sons 3
Peter freeman i
moens Junsen i
Poiill Corvorn i
136
136 Tydables in Upland Jurisdiction."
Upon a close calculation, by the number of
tythables, the whole population did not exceed
six hundred, of whom about two hundred and
fifty resided in what is now Delaware county.
In 1680 the seat of justice was removed from
Upland to the town of Kiugsesse, which, accord-
ing to Smith, was in the late township of Kings-
essing, in the county of Philadelphia, while
Edward Armstrong locates it in the immediate
vicinity of the Swedish mill that was erected
b}' Governor Printz, near the Blue Bell tavern,
on the Darby road. There seemed to have
been no opposition on the part of the settlers
at Upland to the removal of the county seat to
Kingsessing, where it only remained until the
succeeding year, when Penn bought the Del-
aware river country and the court for the
county was again convened at Upland.
After having briefly passed over the eras of
discovery, pioneer settlements and rival con-
quests, it may be of some interest to present
a list of the rulers on the Delaware from the
first settlement in 1624 to the purchase of Penn
in 1681.
GOVERNORS AND DIRECTORS OF NEW NETHERLANDS AND ON
THE DELAWARE.
Terra of office
Cornelius Jacobsen Mey, Director 1634-1635
William Van Hulst, Director 1635-163C
Peter Minuit, Governor 1626-1633
David Pieterzen De Vries, Governor 1632-1633
Wouter Van Twiller, Governor 1633-1638
Sir William Kieft. Governor 1638-1647
Peter Stuyvesant, Governor 1647-1664
40
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
GOVERNORS OF THE SWEDES.
Peter Minuit 1638-1641
Peter HoUendaer 1641-1643
John Prinz 1643-1653
John Pappegoya 1653-1654
John Claude Rysingh. .- 1654-1655
DOMINION OF THE DUTCH.
Peter Stuyvesant, Governor of New Netherlands and of
the settlements on the Delaware 1655-1664
Andreas Hudde, Commissary 1655-1657
John Paul Jacquet, Director 1655-1657
COLONY OF THE COMPANY.
Goeran Van Dyck 1657-1658
William Beekman 1658-1663
COLONY UNITED.
Alexander D'Hinoyossa 1663-1664
DOMINION OF THE DUKE OF YORK.
Colonel Richard Nichols, Governor 1664-1667
Robert Carr, Deputy Governor 1664-1667
Robert Needham, (Commander on the Dela-
ware) 1664-1668
Colonel Francis Lovelace 1667-1673
Captain John Carr, (Commander on the Dela-
ware) 1668-1673
DOMINION OF THE DUTCH.
Anthony Colve, Governor of the Netherlands. 1673-1674
Peter Alrichs, Deputy Governor of the Colonies
on the west side of the Delaware 1673-1674
DOMINION OF THE ENGLISH.
Sir Edmund Andross 1674-1681
[The commanders on the Delaw'are during this period
were Captains Edmund Cantwell, John Collier, Chris-
topher Billop and Anthony Brockholst.]
Of these different rulers, Stuyvesant, Printz,
Rysingfi and Andross were the most noted.
Peter Stuyvesant was a son of a clergyman
in Friesland, and lost a leg in the attack on
the Portuguese island of St. Martin, where he
won praise for courage and received censure
for misjudgment. " He was autocratic in
manner, decided in speech and prompt in ac-
tion." He was a strict churchman, and true to
the interests of his company and the New
Netherlands as he understood them. He stood
for the company against all rivals, either home
or foreign. His forced surrender to the Eng-
lish galled his proud spirit, but it was una-
voidable. He made his home in New York
after 1664, and died at eighty years of age.
John Printz was a man of good education,
rose rapidly in militarj' rank in the Prussian
and German war, and after disgracefully sur-
rendering the fortress of Chemnitz in 1640,
was tried and broken of his rank in the army.
He was appointed governor of New Sweden,
August 16, 1642, and after his return to Europe
was made a general, and in 1658 became gov-
ernor of the district of Jonkoping. He died
in 1663, leaving no male issue. His daughter,
Armigart, married John Pappegoya. Smith
says of Governor Printz that he " posessed
many qualifications that fitted him for the
position he occupied. His plans were laid
with good judgment, and were executed with
energy. He managed the trade of the river
with the natives so as to monopolize nearly
the whole ; and while the jealousy of the
Dutch on this account was excessive, he suc-
ceeded during his whole administration in
avoiding an open rupture with that govern-
ment. But he was imperious and haughty,
and sometimes gave offense, especially in
personal interviews, when a milder course
would have better befitted the occasion."
John Claude Rysingh came into prominence
only by the accident of becoming acting gov-
ernor, and in that capacity committing the
blunder that swept New Sweden out of exist-
ence as an independent province of the new
world. He received a grant of land in Upland
and passed out of notice in the future of the
province.
The representative of the British govern-
ment to receive from the Dutch the provinces
of New York and Delaware was Major Ed-
mund Andross, of Prince Rupert's dragoons,
who had been distinguished in the wars in
Holland. He was made governor of the Duke
of York's territories in North America. An-
dross was afterward knighted, and while known
in colonial histor)' as a tyrant, yet did much
to give a solid form of government to the
counties on the Delaware.
OF DEL A WAEE COUNTY.
41
CHAPTER IV.
PENNS PURCHASE— VOYAGE OF THE WEL-
COME—UPLAND NAMED CHESTER-
COUNTY OF CHESTER— PROVINCIAL CAP-
ITAL—FIRST ASSEMBLY— WELSH TRACT
—SWEDES IN 1693— CIRCULAR BOUNDARY
LINE.
penn's purchase.
In the English settlements and conquests of
the Atlantic seaboard, southern colonization
was commenced b}- the Cavaliers at Jamestown.
Northern occupation dates to the landing of
the Roundheads or Puritans, on Phmouth
Rock, and central settlement was inaugurated
by the Dutch at New York, as the outgrowth
of commercial enterprise, by the Catholic, in
Maryland, in behalf of religious toleration, and
by Penn, the Quaker, on the Delaware, in the
interests of universal liberty.
A few Quakers were settled at Upland and
Marcus Hook before Penn sent his first ship
to the Delaware, and among the nf were : Rob-
ert Wade, Roger Pedrick, Morgan Drewet,
Wm. Woodmanson, Michael Izzard, Thomas
Revel, Henry Hastings, William Oxley,
James Browne, Henry Reynolds and Thomas
Nossiter.
Charles II. of England, on March 4, 1681,
signed the great charter which gave to Wil-
liam Penn the province of Pennsylvania, now
one of the most populous and important
States of the Union. This grant was made to
Penn in lieu of sixteen thousand pounds that
the king owed to his father, the distinguished
Admiral William Penn. Soon after receiving
his charter Penn sent his first cousin, William
Markham, to the colony as his deputy gov-
ernor. Markham came to New York in June,
1681, and on August 3d of that year was at
Upland, where he selected for his council,
Robert Wade, Morgan Drewet, William Wood-
manse, William Warner, Thomas Fairman,
James Sandilands, William Clayton, Otto
Ernst Cock and Lasse Cock, nearly all of
whom were residents of the present territor}-
of Delaware county.
VOVAGE OF THE WELCOME.
On August 30, 1682, William Penn sailed
from Deal, England, for Pennsylvania, on
board the ship Welcome, in company with
over one hundred passengers, most of whom
were Quakers. While the Mayflower bore the
Pilgrims to a rock-bound coast and the rigors
of a winter which many never survived, yet the
Welcome, although bearing the Quakers to
fertile lands in a warmer climate, was scourged
with smallpox, from whose ravages thirty of
their number died.
No complete record of those who came with
Penn on the " Welcome " has been preserved,
but Edward Armstrong, several years ago pre-
pared from various sources a tolerably complete
list, the names of which are here given. It is
likely that, including children, the number
was over one hundred :
" The captain of the ' Welcome ' was Robert
Greenaway. He died April 14, 1685.
"The passengers were :
"John Barber and Elizabeth, his wife, a
daughter of John Songhurst, of Shipley, county
of Sussex, England. He is supposed to have
died on the voyage.
"William Bradford, of Leicester, England,
the earliest printer of the province. Among his
earliest publications was an almanac, printed
in Philadelphia in 1687. He subsequently re-
moved to New York and established The New
York Gazette, the first newspaper published in
that city.
William Buckman, Mary, his wife, and chil-
dren, Sarah and Mary, of the parish of Billing-
hurst, Sussex.
"John Carver and Mary, his wife, of Hert-
fordshire.
"Benjamin Chambers was sheriff of Phila-
delphia in 1683.
" Thomas Croasdale and Agnes, his wife,
and six children, of Yorkshire.
"Ellen Cowgill and 'family.'
42
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
"John Fisher, Margaret, his wife, and son
|ohn.
' ' Thomas Fitz water and wife Mary, and chil-
dren, Thomas, George, Josiahand Mar}'. His
wife and children, Josiali and Mar\', died on
the passage.
" Thomas Gillett.
"Bartholomew Green.
" Nathaniel Harrison.
" Cuthbert Hayhurst, his wife and family.
He was from Yorkshire.
"Thomas Herriott, of Hurst-Pier-Point,
Sussex. He is supposed to have died on the
voyage.
" John Key.
"Richard Ingels. was clerk of the provin-
cial council in 1685.
"Isaac Ingram, of Gatton, Surre}'. He is
supposed to have died on the voyage.
" Thomas Jones.
"Giles Knight, Mary, his wife, and son
Joseph, of Gloucestershire.
"William Lushington.
"Jeane Matthews.
" Hannah ^Nlogdridge.
" Joshua Morris.
" David Ogden, probably from London.
"Evan Oliver, with Jean, his wife, and chil-
dren, David, Elizabeth, John, Hannah, Mary,
Evan and Seaborn, of Radnorshire, Wales.
The last named was a daughter born at sea,
almost within sight of the Capes of Delaware.
" Pearson. It was at his suggestion
that the name of Upland was changed to Ches-
ter. His first name is supposed to have been
Robert.
"Dennis Rochford, of the county of Wex-
ford, Ireland, and wife Mary, daughter of John
Heriott, and daughters Grace and Mar\'. Both
of the latter died at sea.
"John Rowland and Priscilla, his wife, of
Billinghurst, Sussex.
"Thomas Rowland, of the same place.
"William Smith.
"John Songhurst, of Sussex. He was a
member of the first assembly, a writer in de-
fense of the Quakers, and an eminent minister
in his societ}'.
"John Stackhouse and Margery, his wife,
of Yorkshire.
" George Thompson.
"Richard Townsend, wife Anne, daughter
Hannah, and son James, who was born on
board the 'Welcome' in Delaware river.
"William Wade, of the parish of Hankton,
Sussex ; probably died on the voyage.
"Thomas Walmesly, Elizabeth, his wife,
and sons, Thomas and Henry, a daughter, and
three other children. He was from Yorkshire.
"Nicholas Wain, wife and three children,
of Yorkshire.
"Joseph Woodroofe.
"Thomas \\'rightsworth and wife, from
Yorkshire.
"Thomas Wynne, of Flintshire, \\'ales.
He was speaker of the first two assemblies
held in Philadelphia. Chestnut street in Phil-
adelphia is said to have been originally named
after him."
Ashmead takes exception to Pearson as
coming over in the Welcome, and cites the
early Quaker records to show that no member
bv the name of Pearson was here in 1682, and
that the two Thomas Pearsons mentioned as
early settlers came after 1682. Martin also
claims that there was no one by the name of
Pearson on board the W^elcome.
On October 27, 1682, Penn landed at New
Castle, and took formal possession of the three
lower counties, and on the next day left New-
Castle and reached Upland, where he landed
off the mouth of Chester creek, opposite the
house of Robert Wade, with whom he resided
for some time. He was the guest of Wade at
the "Essex House" but for a short time, and
then went to New York. On his return tradi-
tion says that he took up his residence at
Boar's Head Inn, where he lodged during the
time that he remained at Chester, which was
the greater part of the winter of 1682-83.
During his brief stay at Chester Penn
changed the name of the town of Upland to
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
43
that of Chester, and determined upon a loca-
tion for the capital of his province, two acts of
his life the reasons for which have been the
subject of much controversy upon the part of
the different historians of Delaware count)'.
UPLAND NAMED CHESTER.
Clarkson, in his "Life of Penn," which,
however, was not published for nearly a cen-
tury after the death of William Penn, states
that Penn, upon his arrival at Upland, turned
to his friend Pearson and said: "Providence
has brought us here safe. Thou hast been the
companion of my perils. What wilt thou that
I should call this place?" and that Pearson
replied "Chester," in remembrance of the
city in England from which he came. And
Clarkson further states that Penn answered
that Chester it should be called, and that when
he came to divide the land into counties, one
of them should be called by the same name.
Smith does not question this statement of
Clarkson, but Ashmead denies its authenticity
upon the grounds that there was no Robert or
any other Pearson that came in the Welcome
with Penn, that none of the writers before
Clarkson mentions such a change and that
Penn three weeks after his arrival issued his
proclamation for an election for a general as-
sembly to convene at "Upland," showing at
that time the name was not yet changed to
Chester. Penn in all probability changed the
name of the town from Upland to Chester
within a few weeks after his arrival " in defer-
ence to the desire of the English settlers who
had 'overrun' the town, the major part of
whom had come from that locality (Chester)
in England."
While Penn deprived the Swedish county of
a name recalling the pride and glory of an old
city and a great seat of learning, he gave it one
associated with memories of the early historj'
of west England, where the ancient city of
Chester was known in remote times by the
Welsh name of Caerlleon Vawr, which meant
the great camp of the legion on the Dee, and
indicated a Roman origin as old if not older
than that of Upsala, in Sweden. Chester on
the Dee, twenty miles from the open sea, stands
where three Roman roads converged, and where
the renowned XXth legion of Rome was en-
camped as early as the second century. It
was fought over by Britons, Danes and Saxons ;
was swept by the great plague of 1647, is mem-
orable for its terrible siege, lasting from 1643
to 1646, and has often been honored by the
presence of its monarchs. But not to the glory
of its military record or to the proud distinction
that it is the only city in England which still
retains its walls perfect in their circuit, was the
city of Chester indebted to the honor of hav-
ing the first town of Pennsylvania named after
it. It was the memories of many scenes of
peace and hours of sweet communion with ab-
sent friends passed within its walls, that caused
the English Quakers to wish its name to be
given to the forest-surrounded town of Upland,
in the new world.
COUNTV OF CHESTER.
Chestercounty was created by William Penn
in 1682, and tradition says on November 25 of
that year. The present territory of Delaware
county continued to be a part of Chester from
1682 to 1789, a period of one hundred and
seven years.
The first record of the boundaries of Ches-
ter county that we have is in the proceedings
of the council held at Philadelphia on April
I, 1685, in which the boundaries of Chester
county are officially prescribed as follows :
" The county of Chester to begin at the mouth
or entrance of Bough Creek upon the Delaware
River, being the upper end of Tinicum Island,
and soe up that creek dividing the said Island
from y" Land of Andros Boone & Company;
from thence along the several courses thereof
to a Large Creek called Mill Creek ; from thence
up the several courses of the said creek to a
W. S. W. Line, which line divided the Lib-
erty Lands of Philadelphia from Several Tracts
of Land belonging to the Welsh and other In-
44
BIOOBAPHY AND HISTORY
habitants; and from thence E. N. E. by a line
of Marked Trees 120 perches, more or less;
from thence N. N. W. by the herford (Haver-
ford) Township 1000 perches, more or less ;
from thence E. N. E. by y" Land belonging to
Jno. Humphreys no perches, more or less ;
from thence N. N. W. by y'= Land of John
Eckley 880 perches, more or less ; from thence
continuing the said Course to the Scoolkill
River, wch sd Scoolkill River afterwards to be
the natural bounds."
Penn obtained ownership of the territory' of
Delaware county from the Indians by two pur-
chases, the first before 1684 and the second in
16S5. The first purchase was made from Se-
cane and Icquoquehan Indian Shackamakers
and owners of the land between Manaiunk,
als Sculkill and Macopanachan, als Chester
river. The lands bought were between the
" said river beginning on the west side of Man-
aiunk, called Consohochan and from thence
by a westerly line toy" said river Malopan-
akhan. " For this territory Penn gave 150
fathoms of wampum, 14 blankets, 65 yds. duf-
fills, 28 yds. Stroud watrs. , 15 gunns, 3 great
and 15 small kettles, 16 pr. stockings, 7 pr.
shoes, 6 capps, 12 gimbletts, 6 drawing knives,
15 pr. cissors, 15 combs, 5 papers needles, 10
tobacco boxes, 15 tobacco tongs, 32 pound
powder, 3 papers beads, 2 papers red lead,
15 coats, 15 shurts, 15 axes, 15 knives, 3obarrs
of lead, 18 glasses and 15 hoes.
The second purchase was made by Penn in
1685 through his agent from Lare Packenah
Tareekham Sickais Pettquessitt Tewis Esse-
panaik Petkhoy Kekelappan Feomus Macka-
lohr Melleonga Wissa Powey, Indian kings
and owners of the lands from Quing Quingus,
called Duck creek unto Upland called Chester
creek. They sold these lands back as far as
a man could ride in two days with a horse for :
20 guns, 20 fathom match coat, 20 fathom
Stroud waters, 2oblankets, 20 kettles, 20 pounds
powder, one hundred bars lead, 40 tomahawks,
100 knives, 40 pairs stockings, i barrel of beer,
20 pounds red lead, 100 fathom wampum, 30
glass bottles, 30 pewter spoons, 100 all blades,
300 tobacco pipes, 100 hands of tobacco, 20
tobacco tongs, 20 steels, 300 flints, 30 pair
scissors, 30 combs, 60 looking glasses, 200
needles, i skipple salt, 30 pounds sugar, 5 gal-
lon molasses, 20 tobacco boxes, 100 jewsharps,
20 hoes, 30 gimlets, 30 wooden screw borers,
and 100 strings of beads.
PROVINCIAL CAPITAL.
Although some of the earl}^ historians can-
not agree as to whether Penn originally con-
templated to establish his capital at Upland
or found it on the high ground where Phila-
delphia now stands, just above the confluence
of and between the Delaware and Schuylkill
rivers, yet a careful examination of his instruc-
tions to his commissioners, Crispin, Bezer and
Allen, will show that he originallv intended to
found the proposed capital city of his province
at Upland. He only abandoned his purpose
when he learned of Lord Baltimore's persistent
claim to the territory on which Upland was sit-
uated, and then determined to build a city
farther up the Delaware, The famous inter-
view in the Sandilands' or old assembly house,
between Penn and James Sandilands, could
not have been in connection with the purchase
of the latter's land at Upland to build a cit}'
on, as Penn had abandoned the idea of found-
ing his capital at Upland before sailing from
England, on account of it being in the debat-
able territory between him and Lord Baltimore.
FIRST ASSEMBLY.
The first assembl}' of Pennsylvania was
called b)' Penn on the T8th day of November,
1682, to meet at Upland on the 6th of De-
cember. On that day the assembly met, and
among its most important acts were the an-
nexation of the "three lower counties (now
the State of Delaware), and the provision for
the naturalization of the inhabitants thereof,
as well as the Swedes, Finns, and Dutch set-
tlers in Pennsylvania." The assembly on the
third day of its session received from Penn
OF DEL A WARE CO VNTY.
45
the "Printed Laws" prepared by learned
counsel and printed in England, and the
"Written Laws or Constitutions" in shape
of ninety bills, out of which were passed the
sixtj'-one chapters of "the great body of the
laws."
Among the earlier historians of the county
and of the State the impression prevailed that
the first general assembly of Pennsylvania,
which convened at Upland, met in the court-
house, or house of defense, as it was then
called. Smith and Martin credited the court-
house with being the meeting place of the first
assembly, but Ashmead doubted the fact, and
secured evidence from the "Travellers' Direc-
tory," published in 1802, and other authentic
sources, to show that the first general assembly
of Pennsylvania met in the residence of James
Sandilands, then known as the "double
house." Watson and Day writing on the
subject credited the first meeting house of the
Friends as being where the first assembly met.
In August, 1893, some working men en-
gaged in e.xcavating for a build, ng on the site
of the old Sandilands house, came upon the
old walls of that buildmg, and in clearing
them awa}^ found evidence of the size and
adaptabilit)' of the house, which they sup-
ported, for a place of meeting of such a body
as the first assembly of Pennsylvania. The
discovery is related in a leading newspaper as
follows :
"The foundations of the old house were
uncovered a few days ago when workmen were
excavating for a block of stores on Edgmont
avenue, just below Third street. The founda-
tions were immediately identified by Historian
Henry Graham Ashmead and a number of old
residents, who recollected having been told of
the exact location of the old building, which,
when it was erected, was the largest structure
in the colony. The foundations were in a
good state of preservation, and showed that
the building had a frontage of fifty feet on
Edgmont avenue, with two entrances, the
steps for which were found, and extended
back toward Chester creek, a distance of forty-
two and a half feet. An addition, fourteen by
thirty-four feet, was also shown. The bricks
of the old structure, local history relates, were
brought from a brickyard on the site of New
Castle, Delaware, where an industry was
maintained b}- the Swedes. The house was
erected prior to 1675 by the Sandilands fam-
ily, who were among the earliest settlers on
the site of Chester. In 1675 James Sandi-
lands kept a tavern in the house, and it was
here that the first tragedy, of which there is
an authentic record, occurred in the common-
wealth. Sandilands was tried in 1675 for 'he
murder of a drunken Indian whom he was
ejecting from his premises and injured fatally.
A special court was convened and Sandilands
was acquitted. An old corner stone was found.
In it was a number of paper documents which
immediately upon being exposed to the air
crumbled to dust, and nothing could be learned
as to their identity. An old coin was also
found, but it was so corroded that nothing
could be seen of the mintage. The contractor
will polish up the coin and try to discover the
date. The old house fell down nearly a cen-
tury ago, and the ground was afterward filled
in, but the existence of the walls was not
known until they were uncovered last week.
As late as 1802 the walls were still above the
ground; and a historian, writing in 181 7, says
that the house was built of oyster-shell lime,
which became ruinous and the building gradu-
ally crumbled away. Historians consider the
excavation of these walls one of the most im-
portant historical finds in Pennsylvania for a
generation."
WELSH TRACT.
In 1684 Penn granted forty thousand acres of
land on the west side of the Schuylkill riverto a
number of Welsh, who afterwards claimed they
had Penn's solemn promise that they were to
constitute a barony or county of their own. A
part of this tract when surveyed included the
present townships of Haverford and Radnor.
The Welsh, when called on for taxes and for
46
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
jury service in Chester county, refused to pay
the one or render the other, appeaUng to the
governor to make their territory an indepen-
dent county, which they claimed had been
promised them by Penn. There is nothing to
show what disposition was made of their ap-
peal, but the strong arm of the law was invoked,
and the}' were compelled to pay taxes and do
jur}- service in Chester county.
SWEDISH INHABITANTS IN 1693.
In Acrelius' "History of New Sweden," on
page 190, is given a list of the Swedes living,
in 1693, on the Delaware river, in Pennsyl-
vania. Tliere were one hundred and eighty-
eight heads of families, with a total population
of over eight hundred. The heads of farnilies
were : Hindrich and Joran Andersson and two
Johan Anderssons, John Arian, Joran Bag-
man. Anders and Bengt Bengtsson, Anders,
Johan and Lven Bonde, Lars Bure, William
Cabb, Christian and Jacob Classen, Jacob
Clemson, Eric, Gabriel, Johan, Capt. Lasse,
Mans and Otto Ernst Cock, Hindrich Coil-
man, Conrad Constantine, Johan Von Culen,
Otto and Peter Dalilbo, Hindric Danielsson,
Thomas Dennis, Anders Didricsson, Olle
Diricksson, Staphan Ekhorn, Eric, Goran and
Matte Ericsson, Hindrich Faske, Casper.
Fisk, Mathias De Foss, Anders and wddow of
Nils Frendes, Olle Fransson, Eric and Nils
Gastenberg, Eric Goransson, Brita, Gos-
taf, Hans, Jons and Mans Gostafsson, Johan
Grantum, Lars Hailing, Mans Hallton, Israel
Helm, Johan Hindersson, jr. , Anders Hin-
dricksson, David, Jacob and Johan Hindrics-
son, Matts HoUsten, Anders Homman. An-
ders, Frederick, Johan and Nicholas Hopp-
man, Hindrich Iwarsson. Hindrich and Matts
Jacob, Hindrich Jacobsson, Peter Joccom,
Didrich, Lars and Simon Johansson, Anders,
Jon, Mans, Nils and Thomas Jonsson, Chris-
tiern, Hans, Joran and Staphan Joransson,
Lasse Kemp, Frederick Konig, Marten Knuts-
son, Olle Kuckow, Hans Kyn's widow, Jonas
and Matts Kyn, Nils Laican, And Persson
Longaker, Hindrich, Lars and Lars (2) Lars-
son, Anders and Mans Lock, Antony Long,
Robert Longhorn, Hans, Lucas and Peter
Luccasson, Johan and Peter Mansson, Mar-
ten (senior). Marten (junior), and Matts Mar-
tenson, Johan and Nils Matsson, Christopher
Meyer, Paul Mink, Eric Molica, Anders,
Jonas and Michael Nilsson, Hans Olsson,
Johan Ommerson, Lorentz Ostersson, Hin-
drick Parchon, Bengt, Gostaf and Olle Pauls-
son, Peter Palsson, Lars and Olle Pehrsson,
Brita, Carl, Hans, Hans (2), Lars, Paul,
Peter and Reiner Petersson, Peter Stake,
alias Petersson, Anders, Gunnar, Johan, Peter
(senior), and Peter (junior) Rambo, Matts
and Nils Repott, Olle Resse, Anders Roberts-
son, Paul Sahlunge, Isaac Savoy, Johan
Schrage, Johan Scute, Anders and Boor Se-
neca, Jonas Skagge's widow, Johan and Matts
Skrika, Hindrich Slobey, Carl Springer, Mans
Staake, Chierstin, Johan and Peter Stalcop,
Israel and Matts Stark, Adam, Asmund, Ben-
jamin, Lucas and Lyloff Stedhani, Johan
Stille, Johan, Jonas and Peter Stillman, Olle
Stobey, Gunner and Johan Svenson, William
Talley, Elias Tay, Cliristiern Thomo's widow,
Olle Thomasson, Olle Thorsson, Hindrich,
Johan, Lars and Matts Tossa, Cornelias, Ja-
cob, Jacob (2), and William van der Weer,
Jesper and Jonas Wallraven, Anders Weinom,
and Anders Wilder. Many of these were resi-
dents of what is now Delaware county.
CIRCULAR BOUNDARY LINE.
Long before Penn received his grant for
Pennsylvania, Lord Baltimore had made de-
mand upon the Dutch for all land h'ing south of
the fortieth degree of north latitude, while the
controversy between Penn and Baltimore over
their boundary line was one that descended
from father to son, covering nearly a century.
The boundary line between Upland and New
Castle counties in 1678 was at Oele Francen's
creeke, now Ouarryville creek, in Brandywine
_hundred. New Castle county, Delaware. This
line was superseded in Peun's charter, March
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
47
4, 1681, by a circular line as follows : "on the
south b}' a circle drawn at twelve miles' dis-
tance from New Castle northwards and west-
wards into tlie beginning of the fortietli degree
of northern latitude and then by a straight line
westwards to the limits of longitude above
mentioned."
Penn desired Markham, who bore a letter from
the king to Lord Baltimore about the latter's
northern boundar}' line, to meet Lord Balti-
more and settle the disputed boundary line be-
tween Pennsylvania and Maryland. After sev-
eral ineffectual attempts to meet, a final meet-
ing occurred between Markham and Lord
Baltimore at Upland on Sunday, September
24, 1682, when the instruments of both parties
were set up to see how thej' would agree, when
one of the Maryland parts' took an observation
and reported that Upland was thirty-nine de-
grees forty-five minutes north latitude. The
next morning Lord Baltimore desired to go up
the river to the beginning of the fortieth degree
and run from there westward, which Markham
declined on the ground that Baltimore could
have no claim on the river twelve miles north-
ward of New Castle, because Penn's charter
fully covered all land on the Delaware above
that point. Baltimore claimed his own grant,
made prior to Penn's, and declared he would
take his own wherever he found it. The gov-
ernors then parted, and Baltimore, as he de-
scended the river, landed at Marcus Hook and
notified the inhabitants not to pay any more
quit rents to Penn, as that place was within
the boundaries of Maryland.
While Penn and Baltimore could not adjust
their boundary line, the court at Chester, on
March 14, 1683, declared Naman's creek to be
the division line between Chester and New
Castle counties. This division continued ten
years, and then, on August 9, 1693, the provin-
cial council of Pennsylvania declared in a reso-
lution that "the bounds of New Castle county
shall extend northward to the mouth of
Naman's creek and upwards along the south-
west side of the northmost branch (excluding
the townships of Concord and Bethel ), and not
to extend backwards of the said northmost
branch above the said two townships."
Eight years after the division line was des-
ignated by the council, the three lower counties
petitioned Penn to have the circular boundary
line run. Penn granted the petition, and
December 4, 1701, Isaac Taylor, surveyor of
Chester county, and Thomas Pierson, sur-
veyor of New Castle county, met in the pres-
ence of Caleb Pusey, Philip l^onian and Rob-
ert Pyle, justices of Chester county, and Cor-
nelius Empson, Richard Halliwell and John
Richardson, justices of New Castle counly,
and ran the circular division line. They be-
gan "at the end of the horsedyke next to the
town of New Castle" and measured due north
twelve miles to a white oak marked with twelve
notches, and standing on the lands of Samuel
Helm, on the west side of the Brandywine
creek. From this white oak they run east-
wardly and circularly on a twelve mile radius
until the}' readied the Delaware river on the
upper side of Nathaniel Lample3''s old house
at Chichester. Returning then to the notched
white oak, the surveyors ran the west part of
the line westward and circulatory on the same
radius until they came to a marked hickory
standing near the western branch of Chris-
tiana creek. The cost allowed b)- the grand
jury of Chester county for this survey was
twenty-six pounds and nine shillings.
Ashmead corrects an erroneous impression
that Mason and Dixon afterward ran the cir-
cular line, and in concluding his account of
the circular boundary line between Delaware
county and the State of Delaware says : "As
stated before, no survey of the circular line be-
tween Delaware and Pennsylvania has been
made since that run by Isaac Taylor and
Thomas Pierson, in 1 701, and it may be asserted
without fear of contradiction that no person
at this time knows exactly where the line di-
viding New Castle county, Delaware, and
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, is, and where
it enters the Delaware river."
48
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOBY
CHAPTER V.
PENN'S WORK — INTER-COLONIAL WARS
AND ASSOCIATORS — ACADIAN EXILES.
pen'n's work.
The Puritan swept King Philip and his
tribes from the face of the earth, and extended
New England to the Hudson. The Cavalier
crushed Powhattan's thirty-tribe confedera-
tion, and carried westward his line of settle-
ments in \'irginia and the Carolinas to the
Blue Ridge mountains; but Penn, by treaties,
secured at a trifling cost the peaceable posses-
sion of his province to the Susquehanna river,
while his rivals won their lands by a great loss
of life and an immense e.xpenditure of wealth.
Theirs was the old story of conquest and sub-
jugation. His was the new- lesson of pur-
chase, peace and prosperity.
William Penn established liis colon}' upon
the broad principles of Christian charit\' and
constitutional freedom, and a powerful and
prosperous State grew up as the success of
his experiment, which had been pronounced
impracticable and visionary by all the philos-
ophers and statesmen of his age. The only
defect in his magnificent scheme of govern-
ment was, that while he provided for universal
suffrage, he did not provide for universal free-
dom b_v prohibiting human servitude within
the bounds of his great province. But in all
probability, if Penn had lived to have seen the
evils of slavery that grew with its extension,
he would have been the first to demand the
emancipation of the slave.
William Penn returned to England in 1684,
and five years later was deprived of his pro-
prietar}' rights, because he was suspected of
adherence to the fortunes of James, who had
been driven from the throne by William,
Prince of Orange. His province was restored
to him in 1694, ^^id in 1699 lie revisited his
American colony. He remained two years,
and then w-as suddenly called to England to
oppose a parliamentary proposition to abolish
all proprietary governments in America. He
never returned, being prostrated, in 171 2, by
a paralytic disorder that terminated his life
on July 30, 171S, when he was in the seventv-
fourth \-ear of his age.
Time in his flight has numbered over two
centuries since William Penn set foot on the
present great and populous State of Pennsyl-
vania, and the results of his work on the Dela-
ware are truthfully given on the tablet in
Independence Hall, on which is inscribed,
"William Penn, born in London, October
14th, 1644, laid the foundations of universal
liberty A. D. 1682, in the privileges he then
accorded the emigrants to Pennsylvania, and
thus enabled their descendants to make the
colony the Keystone State of the Federal
Union in 1789."
INTER-COLONIAL W.ARS.
In the colonial histor}' of this countr\- there
were four great wars, known by the name of
the Inter-colonial wars:
I. King Williams' war, 1689-1697.
II. Queen Anne's war, 1702-1713.
III. King George's war, 1744-1749.
IV. French and Indian war, 1 754-1 763.
During these wars, while the northern bor-
ders of New York and the New England States
were ravaged by fire and sword, and while the
Virginia and Maryland frontier was raided
by Indian war parties, the settlers of south-
eastern Pennsylvania suffered no molestation
and felt no alarm of invasion until 1747 and
1748, during which years French and Spanish
war vessels threatened the towns along the
Delaware.
From 1 718 up to 1747 there were but few
events of importance in the history of Chester
county beyond a proposed removal of the
Provincial capital to Chester, the enlistment
of redemptioners, and the raising of troops for
a Canadian expedition.
In J728 several members of the general
assembly were rudely insulted in Philadelphia
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
49
and obtained the passage of a resolution re-
questing the governor and council to select
another town in the State for a capital. The
council recommended Chester "if the house
on farther experience shall continue in the
sentiments," which it seems they did not, as
likely this move on their part frightened into
respectful behavior those Philadelphians or
others who had offered the insults. In 1739
James Mather, in the borough of Chester, and
Henry Hockley and Henry and Lazarus Fin-
ney, in the county, enlisted fifty-eight re-
demption servants for an English expedition,
that sailed to ravage the Spanish settlements
in the West Indies. For the time of these re-
demptioners the loan office, in 1741, paid
^,5'! 5 IIS. gd. In 1746 the crown ordered
four hundred men to be raised in Pennsjdvania
to take part in an expedition for the conquest
of Canada. One of the four companies raised
in this State was Capt. John Shannon's. It
was recruited in New Castle and Chester
counties along the Delaware, lay at Chester
for some time, and then went into cantonment
at Albany, New York, where it remained near
a year, and suffered severely a part of the time
for clothing and provisions.
In 1747 a French privateer entered Dela-
ware bay and captured several vessels, and
the next year the Spanish privateer St. Mich-
ael, carrying twenty-two guns and a crew of
one hundred and sixty men, not only entered
the bay, but came up the river as high as New
Castle. The tide and a calm being against
the St. Michael, she went down the river and
lay for some time in the bay, where she re-
mained for a short time and captured several
vessels.
ASSOCI.^TORS.
During the 3'ears 1747 and 1748 Chester
county had a voluntary military association,
called into existence by alarms of invasion on
the seaboard, which was a part of the " As-
sociators" that was thoroughly organized
throughout the inhabited part of the province.
The " Associators " were Pennsylvania's great
training school for the Revolutionary war.
The "Associators'' were organized by volun-
tary effort, because the assembly would not
pass any effective military law. Chester
county had two associate regiments, whose
officers were :
Colonels. — William Moore, Andrew Mc-
Dowell.
Lieutenant-colonels. — Samuel Flower, John
Frew.
Majors. — John Mather, John Miller.
Captains.
David Parry. John Mather.
Roger Hunt. James Hunter.
George Aston. John Miller.,-
William McKnight. William Clinton.
Moses Dickey. Thomas Hubbert, jr.
Richard Richison. George Leggitt.
Andrew McDowell. Job Ruston.
John McCall. William Bell.
George Taylor. Joseph Wilson.
James Graham. Henry Glassford.
Robert Grace. William Boyd.
Hugh Kilpatrick. William Reed.
John Williamson. William Porter.
Lientenants.
Isaac Davis. James Mather.
Guyon Moore. Charles Moore.
Robert Morrell. George Bentley.
Robert Anderson. Morris Thomas.
John Boyd. John Rees.
John Cuthbert. Thomas Leggitt.
John Cunningham. Joseph Smith.
John Culbertson. Robert McMuUen.
John Vaughan. James Cochran.
William Darlington. Robert Allison. ~
John Kent. John Culbertson.
William Buchanan. Thomas Hope.
James McMakin. Robert Mackey.
Ensisns.
Nathaniel Davis.
William Little.
Edward Pearce.
Samuel Love.
James Montgomery.
John Hambright.
George McCullough.
James Scott.
50
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Robert Awl.
Francis Gardner.
Jacob Free.
William Gumming.
John Johnson.
Joseph Talbot.
Benj. Weatherby.
Thomas Brown.
William Carr.
Anthony Prichard.
Archibald Young.
James Dysart.
Rowland Parry.
Joseph Parke.
John Emmitt.
John Donald.
Thomas Clarke.
John Smith.
In the fall of 1748 a gene;:al sickness, that
was a true pleurisy, prevailed in the county,
and of those who were attacked with it, but
few recovered.
Three years later, in 1751, a parliamentary
act was passed to correct the calendar then in
use, and by its provisions Wednesda}', Septem-
ber 2, 1751, was to be followed Thursday Sep-
tember 14, 1 75 1. Pennsylvania accepted this
change, as also did Chester Monthly Meet-
ing of the Friends, who also provided that Jan-
uary should be the first month of the year in-
stead of March, as the3-had computed time from
1682 according to the 35th section of the great
law, passed in that year, whicli read as follows :
"35. And Beit further enacted by the au-
thority aforesaid, that the dayes of the Week
and y° months of the year shall be called as in
Scripture & not by Heathen names ( as are vul-
garly used) as the first. Second, and third da3's
of y" Week, and first, second, and third months
of y'^ year, and beginning with y" Day called
Sunday and the month called March."
During the first of the two Inter-colonial wars
Chester count's had been called on for neither
men nor means. In the last years of the third
war her citizens had been alarmed bj' the
threatened capture of her sea-board towns, and
when the fourth or French and Indian war had
been fairly commenced in the western part of
the province some apprehension was felt on
the Delaware. In 1755 Chester was one of
the four eastern counties called on for sixty
wagons for the use of Braddock's army in its
march on Fort Du Ouesne, and after the fatal
battle of the Monongahela, two companies
were hastily raised in the county by Captains
Isaac Wayne and George Aston, and marched
into Northampton count}- to guard the frontier
families therefrom expected Indian attacks.
In 1758 Gen. John Forbes captured Fort Du
Quesne, and in his army were three companies
that contained Chester county men. Captain
West's, Haslet's and Singleton's. Capt. John
Haslet was of New Castle count}', and in his
company were the following men from Chester
county: Peter Allen, William Boggs, James
Brieslin, Edward Gallagher, Thomas Harvey,
John McAfee, James Thomas, and Samuel
White. In Capt. John Singleton's company
were many Chester county men, and of those
from the borough of Chester were : Samuel
Armitage, William Bevard, David Coupland,
ThomasCallican,ThomasConnolly,JolinCross,
John Cruthers, Hugh Davis, William Foster,
William Henry (drummer), William Kenned}',
Terence Keal}', John Long, Edward McSorley,
Patrick Roe, John Richeson, John Shannon,
Edward Sheppard, and David Way.
In 1759 Gen. John Stanwick was ordered
to build Fort Pitt on the ruins of Fort Du
Quesne, and was to receive a certain number
of soldiers and teams from Pennsylvania.
Chester county was required to furnish sixty-
four wagons and two hundred and fifty-six
horses, for which a certain rate of compensa-
tion was to be paid the owners. The county
furnished no inconsiderable part of these teams,
although Stanwick wrote that Chester, as well
as Bucks county, had only given him nominal
assistance in wagons and horses. Of the
Chester county men in Stanwick's army, we
have the names of seventeen, who served in
the following companies : Capt. John Mather,
junior's", Capt. Robert Boyd's, Capt. James
Armstrong's, and Capt. Jacob Richardson's.
In Captain Mather's company were: John
Gorsel, Evan Jones, Jacob Kirgan, and Hugh
Wallace. In Captain Boyd's company were :
James Campbell, James Darragh, Samuel
Fillsoji, James Hamilton, George Matthews,
Robert Sandford, John Small, John Travers,
OF belawahjE county.
51
and Jolm Willson. In Captain Armstrong's
company were : William Moore and James
Parr. In Captain Richardson's compan)' was
William Cassiday.
ACADIAN EXILES.
P'rom 1755 to 1 76 1, a subject that deeply
interested the citizens of Chester county was
that of the maintenance of a certain number
of the Acadian exiles, whose wrongs and suffer-
ings have been immortalized in Longfellow's
"Evangeline." The ancestors of these Aca-
dian exiles, or French neutrals, from Nova
Scotia, had become conditional subjects of
Great Britain when their country was con-
quered by the English in 171 3. The Acadians
were not to be required to take up arms against
France, but in 1755, because a few of them
were found in arms in the cause of the French,
Governor Lawrence demanded that the whole
Acadian population, over seven thousand in
number, take an unconditional oath of allegi-
ance to the British monarchy, which they re-
fused to do, as it was a violation of the treaty
of 1713. Governor Lawrence then confiscated
their real estate, burned their houses, and
transported them to different parts of the
British North American colonies, instead of
sending them to France, where they asked to
be sent.
Five hundred of these poor Acadians were
sent to Pennsylvania, where they suffered
greatly, in the different counties in which they
were placed. Nathaniel Pennock, Nathaniel
Grubb, and John Hannum were the commis-
sioners named to distribute the Acadians sent
to Chester county, where but one family was
located in each township. Having little or.no
means of their own, these injured people be-
came a charge upon the public, and, to add
to their distress, in 1757 the assembly passed
an act to bind out their children, which they
bitterly opposed, as they were principally
Catholics and did not wish their children
placed under the influence of those of a dif-
ferent religious belief. In 1761 it was found
that the support of these exiles had cost Penn-
sylvania seven thousand pounds from the time
the}' had been landed up to that year. After
1761 they soon became self-supporting, and
were no longer a burden to the province.
CHAPTER VI.
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION ~ QUAK-
ER NEUTRALITY BATTLE OF BRANDY-
WINE — BRITISH RAVAGES — COUNTY
SEAT REMOVAL TO WEST CHESTER.
BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION.
The story of the Revolution has been told
too often to need repetition on these pages.
The whig element of population in Chester
county was very active in the beginning of the
Revolutionary struggle in urging the province
to resistance of the tyrannical measures of the
British ministry.
Chester was selected as the first point on the
Delaware where a customs officer was stationed
to board vessels and enforce the due observ-
ance of the revenue laws. In 1771 a confiscated
schooner was taken by force from the customs
officer, and on Christmas, 1773, the tea ship
Polly, following another ship, came to anchor
at Chester, as no pilot would dare to run her
up to that place on account of the excited con-
dition of the people along the Delaware. The
Polly went from Chester to Philadelphia, where
the people refused to allow her cargo of tea to
be landed, and the vessel had to return to Lon-
don with her duty bearing tea, whose selling
price would have been cheaper than that of the
untaxed article then sold in Pennsylvania, but
this reduction mattered nothing as the people
were opposing taxation without representation,
which principle was involved in the landing
and sale of the tea at any price however reduced.
On June 18, 1774, a meeting was held at
Philadelphia, and a call for a continental Con-
gress was advocated. On June 28th, a circular
52
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
letter was issued by a committee appointed by
that meeting, for county delegates to meet in
Philadelphia on July 15th. This letter was sent
to Francis Richardson, Elisha Price and Henry
Hayes, of Chester county, who on July 4th is-
sued a call to the voters of the county to meet
at the court house on the 13th, " to choose a
number of our best and wisest men as a com-
mittee for this count)' " to meet the delegates
from other counties to consider the affairs of
the province. The meeting on the 13th passed
resolutions pledging due faith to King George
III., condemning parliament for shutting the
port of Boston, demanding the free use of their
own property: asserted the protection of the lib-
erties of America as a duty due to their poster-
ity, calling for a congress of deputies, recom-
mending the purchase of no merchandise
brought from Great Britain under restrictions,
and recommending generous contributions to
the suffering brethren at Boston. The meeting
appointed the following persons, or a majority of
them, as the committee from Chester county to
the Philadelphia convention of delegates :
Francis Richardson, Elisha Price, John Hart,
Anthony Wayne, John Sellers, Hugh Lloyd,
William Montgomery, Francis Johnston, Wil-
liam Parker, Richard Riley, Thomas Hockle}-.
Robert Mendenhall and John Fleming. Of this
committee, Francis Richardson, Elisha Price,
John Hart, Anthony Wayne, Hugh Lloyd,
John Sellers, Francis Johnston and Richard
Riley attended the Philadelphia meeting of
county delegates, which asked the general as-
sembly to appoint delegates to the Continental
Congress then in session. Elisha Price was a
member of the committee which presented
this petition to the general assembly that acted
favorably on the same and promptly' appointed
eight delegates, two of whom, John Morton
and Charles Humphreys, were residents of the
present territory of Delaware county.
The Continental Congress of 1774 recom-
mended that the importation of all English
goods should be prohibited, and that no article
should be exported to that country after 1776
unless parliament should repeal the obnoxious
law against which the American people com-
plained. On December 20, 1774, a meeting
was held at the Chester county court house,
which gave their approval to the measure rec-
ommended by the Continental Congress, and
appointed a large committee to act for the
county in the furtherance of the congressional
recommendation.
During the year 1774 the people of Chester
county contributed liberally to the fund that
was raised in the colonies for the relief of the
necessities of the people of Massachusetts,
occasioned by the enforcement of the Boston
port bill.
On the 23d of January, 1775, the Provincial
Convention met at Philadelphia, and the del-
egates present from Chester county were : An-
thony Wayne, Hugh Lloyd, Richard Thomas,
Francis Johnston, Samuel Fairlamb, Lewis
Davis, William Montgomer}-, Joseph Mus-
grave, Joshua Evans, and Persifor Frazer.
This body recommended to the assembl}' the
passage of a law prohibiting the future impor-
tation of slaves.
TheChester county delegates returned home
and held a meeting at the house of Richard
Chej-ney in the interests of the abolition of
slavery, and appointed another meeting at
David Coupland's for May 31st, but ere that
time arrived the news of Concord and Lex-
ington had set the land aflame, and the
prophecy of Patrick Henry had become his-
tory. The minions of Lord North's minis-
tr}' — against the better sense of the people
of England — had provoked the colonies to
armed resistance. The news of Lexington
was the call to arms in Pennsj'lvania, and
Anthony Wayne was foremost in Chester
county in raising troops and arming them.
The assembly appointed a committee of safety,
of which Anthon\- Wayne, Benjamin Barthol-
omew, Francis Johnston, and Richard Riley
were the members from Chester county. Rifles
and ammunition were scarce, yet the arming
of the troops went forward as rapidly as pos-
OF DEL A WABE COUNTY.
53
sible, and of the four rows of vaisscaux-de-
frise thrown across the Delaware river, at the
suggestion of Dr. Frankhn, one was sunk
within the present territory of Delaware
county, and extended across the main channel
of the river, opposite the upper end of Hog
island. Richard Riley urged the placing of a
line of obstructions across the river at Marcus
Hook, a movement that Wayne warmly com-
mended, but it was never done.
In September, 1775, the committee of Ches-
ter county, of which Anthony Wayne was
chairman, met, and notwithstanding the po-
litical tendency of the people was toward in-
dependence, yet they issued a disclaimer of
any idea of separation from the mother coun-
try. Some members of this committee should
have been politicians enough not to issue such
a paper. Wayne, however, might be excused,
as Ashmead sums up his political and military
capacity finely when he says, "Wayne, who
was an admirable soldier, but a wretched pol-
itician."
On January 2, 1776, Wayne was appointed
colonel of the Fourth Pennsylvania battalion,
five hundred and sixty strong, which rendez-
voused at Chester, and then marched to New
York. Soon after Wayne's departure. Col.
Samuel Miles arrived near Chester with a regi-
ment of one thousand riflemen, to harass the
British if they attempted to come up the Dela-
ware river toward Philadelphia.
Powder mills were started up through the
county, and there is record of five battalions
of militia in the county, having one thousand
eight hundred and thirty firearms, and com-
manded as follows :
First battalion. Col. James Moore.
Second battalion. Col. Thomas Hockley.
Third battalion, Col. Hugh Lloyd.
Fourth battalion. Col. William Montgomery.
Fifth battalion. Col. Richard Thomas.
As the months of April and May passed,
public affairs were rapidly shaping themselves
toward the separation of the Thirteen Colonies
from the mother country.
4a
Onthe i8th of June, 1776, a provincial con-
ference was held in Philadelphia, to which
Chester county sent as delegates : Col. Rich-
ard Thomas, Maj. William Evans, Col. Thomas
Hockley, Maj. Caleb Davis, Elisha Price,
Samuel Fairlamb, Capt. Thomas Levis, Col.
William Montgomery, Col. Hugh Lloyd, Rich-
ard Riley, Col. Evan Evans, Col. Lewis Gro-
now, and Maj. Sketchley Morton. This con-
ference provided for an election of members
to a proposed constitutional convention, and
adjourned on the i8th, after all the delegates
had declared their "willingness to concur in a
vote of the Congress declaring the United Col-
onies free and independent states."
At a meeting of the Chester count}- com-
mittee, held at Richard Cheyney's house, in
Downington, July i, 1776, the following ap-
pointments were made in the battalion of the
Chester County Flying Camp, which was or-
ganized that day ;
Captains — Joseph Gardner, Samuel Wal-
lace, Samuel Culbinson, James Boyline, John
McDowell, John Shaw, Matthew Bojd, and
John Beaton.
First Lieutenants — William Henry, Andrew
Dunwoody, Thomas Henry, Benjamin Cul-
binson, Samuel Lindsay, Allen Cuningham,
Joseph Strawbridge, and Joseph Bartholomew.
Second Lieutenants — Robert Filson, William
Lockard, Thomas Davis, Samuel Hamill, Jere-
miah Cloud, Joseph Wherry, David Curry
and Alexander McCarragher.
Ensigns — William Cunningham, J ohnGrard-
trensher, John Filling, Andrew Curry, Thomas
James, Lazarus Finney, Archibald Desart,and
John Llewellyn.
The field-officers appointed were Col. Wil-
liam Montgomery, Lieut. -Col. Thomas Bull,
and Maj. John Bartholomew.
On July 4, 1776, when the Declaration of
Independence came up for adoption or rejec-
tion, it was sanctioned by the vote of every
colony and of the Pennsylvania members pres-
ent that day, Benjamin Franklin, John Mor-
ton and James Wilson voted in the affirmative
54
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
and Thomas Willing and Charles Humphreys
in the negative.
John Morton and Charles Humphreys were
from what is now Delaware county.
QU.iKER NEUTRALITY.
The contest for violated rights had now
passed into a war for separation and independ-
ence. This change in the nature of the great
struggle led to the division of the people of
Chester county into three classes ; whigs,
torys and neutrals. The neutrals comprised
the Quakers, or Friends, who, true to their
principles of non-resistance, were perfectly
passive as a people throughout the Revolu-
tionary war, yet they advocated the colonial
side until arms were taken up, and then con-
tributed of their means to relieve the wants of
those who suffered in the struggle.
Smith, in speaking of the neutral course of
the Quakers, or Friends, in the Revolutionary
struggle, says: "When it became necessary
to resort to 'carnal weapons' the Quakers, who
had before been active, withdrew from the
controversy, and a very large majority of the
Society assumed and maintained a position of
passive neutrality throughout the war. Still
there was a considerable number who openly
advocated a resort to arms. Even within the
limits of this little county (Delaware), one
hundred and ten young men were disowned
by the Society for having entered the military
service in defense of their country. Doubtless
the Society furnished its proportion of tories,
but the number was greatly exaggerated at the
time by those unacquainted with Quakerism.
Such persons construed their (Quaker) testi-
monies against war, and their dealings with
members who participated in it, as indirectly
favoring the enemy. Their refusal to pay
taxes exclusively levied for war purposes, was
especially viewed in this light."
Many of the younger Quakers were in favor
of the Colonial cause, but the older members
were for a passive course and circulated ex-
tensively a "testimony'' against war, which
was claimed to have "exerted an influence
against the patriots, and gave aid and comfort
to the enemy."
BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE.
The military events in Chester county from
the Declaration of Independence up to the
battle of the Brandywine, while not of great
importance, \'et were of unusual interest to
its residents. Shortly after the Declaration
all the lead obtainable was gathered up for the
army, even the leaden window and clock
weights, and in November troops were ordered
to rendezvous at Chester, as it was feared that
a British fleet might come up the Delaware to
capture Philadelphia. During December the
reverses of the Continental army caused doubt
and almost despair of Colonial success, and
in Chester county but little could be pur-
chased with Continental money, the Quaker
inn-keepers having pulled down their signs on
the Lancaster road to avoid receiving Con-
gress money. On April 14, 1777, Colonel
Smith reported that Chester county then con-
tained five thousand men capable of bearing
arms, and ten days later Congress ordered
fifteen hundred militia to rendezvous on the-
Delaware. After one or two false alarms the
British fleet entered the Delaware, but finding
it hazardous to sail up that river it went to the
Chesapeake bay. Washington thereupon broke
camp, and on August 24th arrived at Chester,
where a considerable body of militia had been
gathered. The next day Washington marched
to Wilmington, and took position on the east
side of Red Claj' creek. In the meantime
Gen. John Armstrong was placed in command
of the militia that was being concentrated at
Chester with a view of harrassing the rear of
the British army. On September 8th Howe
made dispositions to turn Washington's right
and cut him off from Philadelphia, but the
American commander, detecting the British
move, retreated to the high ground at Chadd's
ford on the east side of the Brandywine creek.
Washington drew up his army so that the
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
55
center, under tlie command of Greene, and com-
prising the brigades of Wayne, Weedon and
Muhlenberg, and Maxwell's light infantry,
rested on Chadd's ford, where a battery of six-
guns commanded the crossing, and slight earth-
works and a redoubt had been thrown up. His
left wing comprised the Pennsylvania militia,
under command of General Armstrong, and
stretched two miles through " Rocky Field "
to Pyle's ford, where Colonel Eyr», with two
militia artillery companies, had his cannon
planted to command that crossing. The right
wing of the army stretched two miles up the
Brandywine from Washington's headquarters,
and was composed of three divisions of two
brigades each, commanded by Sullivan on the
right, Stephens in the center, and Stirling on
the left.
On the nth of September, 1777, Howe
marched his army in two columns against
Washington, Cornwallis commanding one and
Knyphausen the other. A heavy fog shut out
Howe's movements from the Americans and
he daringly dispatched Cornwallis with his
left wing up the Brandywine to cross above
the forks and turn Washington's right. Col-
onel Ross first observed the column of Corn-
wallis on its march and sent word of its move-
ment through Sullivan to Washington, who
instantly determined to cross the Brandywine
and shatter or capture Knyphausen's division
before Cornwallis could return to its support.
Greene had sent his advance guard across the
stream and Washington was preparing to cross
when Sullivan sent him a note saying that
Major Spear had come from above the forks
and that Cornwallis was not in that locality.
This caused Washington to fear a n/se on the
part of Cornwallis, who might then be in sup-
porting distance of Knyphausen, and he coun-
termanded the order to cross.
About two o'clock Justice Thomas Cheyney
arrived at Chadd's ford and reported to Wash-
ington that he and Col. John Hannum that
morning saw a large British force moving to
Jefferies' ford, on the east branch. By this
time came a note from Sullivan stating that
the enemy was in the rear of his right. Thus
the brave and gallant, but slow and neglectful
Sullivan had failed to make a proper recon-
noisance and allowed Howe to use again the
strategem which had given him victory on
Long island.
Washington immediately secured a guide in
the person of Joseph Brown, a resident of the
community, and started for Sullivan's division
by the shortest way.
Howe accompanied Cornwallis, and crossing
the East Branch at Jefferies' ford found the
American troops hastily forming in a strong
positon on a hill above Birmingham meeting
house. Sullivan liesitated in his dispositions,
Stirling and Stephens moved with prompti-
tude, but Debarre made a blunder in getting Sul-
livan's division in position, leaving a half-mile
gap in the line and the British then turned the
unformed right. The left next gave way and the
brunt of battle fell on the center, where Sulli-
van exhibited great personal courage and re-
pelled five separate attacks. Sullivan had
his artillerj' in the center, which was finally
compelled to retreat.
When Washington reached the field he ral-
lied a number of troops on a height to the north
of Dilworthtown,whereLafayette was wounded
while rallying a disorganized line.
Washington before starting had ordered
Greene to move to Sterling's aid, and one of
his brigades — Weedon's — made four miles in
forty-five minutes and formed in Sandy Hol-
low or Dilworth's Path, a narrow defile flanked
on both sides by woods. Here Greene opened
his ranks to let Sullivan's artillery and flying
troops through and closed again to receive the
British, who made charge after charge. Late
in the evening Greene fell back in good order
toward Chester.
After Washington left Chadd's ford, where
General Maxwell's brigade had crossed in the
morning and given Knyphausen's advance a
warm reception, Wayne easily held his po-
sition until near sunset, when Knyphausen
56
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
forced his wa}' across the stream, and Wayne,
who had not a thousand men that had ever been
under fire, was compelled to retreat with the
loss of part of his artiller_v and stores. Arm-
strong's militia division fled at the same time
toward Chester, where Washington's entire
force had retreated.
Washington never made a detailed report
of his loss at Brandywine, and Howe's report
of the British loss as only 578 killed and
wounded, is regarded as not being correct.
On the next day after the battle Washington
retreated through Darby to Philadelphia, and
three da5's later left Germantown and marched
to Goshen church, where on the i6th Wayne
attacked the right of the British army. In a
few minutes the battle would have been gen-
eral but for the breaking of a heavy rain storm
which separated the armies and wet Washing-
ton's ammunition to such an extent that he
retreated to Yellow Springs and then retired
across the Schuylkill.
After the battle of the Brandywine the main
part of the British lay at Dilworthtown for
five days. A part of it, under Cornwallis,
on the 13th marched past Concord meet-
ing house and camped at Village Green, while
a detachment occupied Chester. On the 15th
Cornwallis marched b}' the way of the present
villages of Glen Riddle, Lima and Howellville
to Goshen church, where on the i6th he joined
Howe who had left Birmingham meeting house
and marched by the way of the Turk's Head
tavern, now West Chester.
When Howe took Philadelphia on Septem-
ber 25th, his fleet had come up the Delaware
as high as Chester, and he then bent his ener-
gies to capture the American forts command-
ing the river between those two places, as he
had to have an open water way to bring sup-
plies to his army.
Washington sent General Potter to Chester
county with a body of troops to annoy the
British and cut off their supplies as brought
by land from Chester to Philadelphia.
Howe's first attempts at clearing the river
were unsuccessful. Col. Dunop was defeated
at Red Bank, an unsuccessful attack was made
on Fort Mifflin, and the frigate Augusta and the
sloop of war Merlin were destroyed while en-
deavoring to remove obstructions in the Dela-
ware. But Cornwallis effected the opening of
the river, and with six thousand men, on Novem-
ber 20, 1777, took possession of Fort Mercer,
that had been evacuated the day before, while
eight armed Colonial vessels and two floating
batteries were destroyed to prevent them fall-
ing into the hands of the British.
HRITISH RAVAtlES.
From the nth to the i6th of September,
1777, the British army took and destroyed
one hundred and ten thousand dollars worth
of property in Chester count)- that was re-
ported, but the amount is supposed to have
been much larger, as the Quakers were the
heaviest losers, and generally refused to fur-
nish any estimate of their losses. The in-
habitants of the county suffered continual
loss at the hands of the British during all the
time that Howe held Philadelphia.
In the September losses, it is said, were
three hundred and eighteen horses, five hun-
dred and forty-six cattle, one thousand four
hundred and eight}- sheep, nine thousand and
sixt3--two bushels of wheat, and over ten
thousand bushels of other grain, besides five
hundred and fifty tons of haj'.
In the territory of the present county of
Delaware the losses were reported as follows:
Township.
Birmingham ( part of ) ^5,844
Thornbury (part of) 787
Chester 2,742
Chichester 87
Aston 1 , 245
Concord . 961
]\Iarple. 217
Newtown 86
Ridley 639
Edgniont 504
Haverford I7733
Darby 1,475
Radnor 1.499
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
57
After the British evacuated Philadelphia
there was but little of military interest that
happened in Chester count}', until the close of
the Revolutionary war. During that entire
struggle there was but little security of prop-
erty in the county. The Americans plundered
the tories and Ouakers, and what they bought
from the whigs was paid for chiefl_v in Conti-
nental mone3'that rapidly depreciated in value
until it was worth but a few cents on the dol-
lar. The British took everything in their way
of the whigs and Quakers, and often did not
spare the property of the tories. Two or
three false alarms were raised of a British fleet
being bound for the Delaware river, and the
militia was ordered to be in readiness to take
the field.
In 1779 Capt. Matthew Lawler raised a crew
of over one hundred men at Chester for his
privateer brig, the ''Holker," which in July,
1780, off the coast of New Jersey, engaged
and captured the loyal privateer "Lord
Rodney."
' On March 30, 1780, Col. Robert Smith was
appointed county lieutenant, and Col. Thomas
Cheyney, Louis Gronow, Andrew Boyd,
Thomas Levis, and Robert \\'ilson as sub-
lieutenants, and during that year requisitions
were made by the council on Chester county for
flour, forage, wagons and five hundred militia.
In 1782 a wagon train of British goods pass-
ing through the county under a protection flag
from Washington, for the British prisoners at
Lancaster, was seized on some alleged viola-
tion of the passport by those in charge of the
goods. The matter was brought to the atten-
tion of the council and of Congress and the
goods were turned over to the secretary of war.
In 1782 occurred the famous battle off the
capes between the American vessel Hyder Ali,
commanded by Capt. Joshua Barney, and the
British ship General Monk, in which the latter
was captured and was brought to Chester.
From 1780 to 1786 occurred the contest over
removing the county seat from Chester to some
more central part of the county.
The militia of Chester during the latter part
of the Revolutionary war were divided into
eight classes, and when a class was called out
those belonging to it who could not go paid a
fine, varying from fifteen to fifty pounds for
two months' service. The proceeds of these
fines were used in employing substitutes, which
in some regiments nearly equaled the number
of those regularly drafted.
The officers and number of men enrolled in
the eight battalions of Chester county were as
follows :
ist. — Lieut. -Col. Thomas Bull, Maj. Peter
Hartman ; number of men, 672.
2d. — Lieut. -Col. John Bartholomew, Maj.
Cromwell Pearce ; number of men, 873.
3d. — Lieut. -Col. George Pierce, Maj. Ed-
ward Vernon ; number of men, 510.
4th.— Lieut. -Col. Richard Willing, Maj.
William Brooke ; number of men, 670.
5th. — Lieut. -Col. John Gardner, Maj. John
Culbertson ; number of men, 623.
6th. — Lieut. -Col. David McKey, Maj. Sam-
uel Evans ; number of men, 484.
7th. — Lieut. -Col. Isaac Taylor, Maj. John
Craig.
8th. — Lieut. -Col. Joseph Speer, Maj. John
Boyd ; number of men, 570.
The captains in the above battalions, serv-
ing at different periods, were : Thomas Car-
penter, Joseph Mendenhall, W^illiam White-
side, Joseph Luckey, Hugh Reed, John Boyd,
John Bryan, David Curry, Robert Corry,
Thomas Taylor, Joseph Johnston, Sampson
Thomas, Jonathan Rowland, Evan Anderson,
William Harris, Isaac Thomas, Alexander
Lockart, John Craig, Thomas Levis, John
Flower, Jonathan Vernon, John Lindsey, Ed-
ward Vernon, John Pitts, Mordecai Morgan,
Joseph Bogg, John Fleming, and Captains
Cypher, Wilson, Hister, Boylan, Morrell,
Moore, Smith, Cochran, Henry, Marsh, Mc-
Closkey, Quin, Kirk, Price, Kemp, Pierce,
Huston, Dunning, Allen, Graham, Denny,
Barker, Elton, Scott, Beatty, Griffith, Carroll,
HoUman, Brumback, Barber, Snyder, Eyry,
58
BIOGEAPHY AND HISTORY
Cummings, Jenkins, Kincaid, Corbie, Hays,
Williamson, Blackburne, Colby, Ramsay, Mc-
Kee, Fulton, Evans, Black, Ramage, and
Strode.
COUNTY SEAT REMOVAL TO WEST CHESTER.
For nearl}' a century the citizens of the wes-
tern part of the county made no serious objec-
tion to the county seat being situated on the eas-
tern edge of the county. But on Januar}' 28,
1766, a petition was presented to the assembl}-
asking for the removal of the seat of justice to,
and the erection of, a court house at some point
near the center of the county. Petitions and
counter-petitions were presented upon the sub-
ject, but no action was taken ; and the Revo-
lutionar}' war caused the matter to rest until
1780, when the assembly, on the 20th of March,
passed an act empowering William Clingan,
Thomas Bull, John Kinkead, Roger Kirk, John
Sellers, John Wilson and Joseph Davis, or
any four of them, to buy land at some conven-
ient place in the county and erect a new court
house and prison, and then to sell the old
court house and prison in the borough of Ches-
ter. They purchased a lot of land in east Cain
township froniRosanna Sheward,but never pro-
ceeded to erect buildings, as it is said that a
majorit}' of them were opposed to the removal.
On March 22, 1784, a supplement to the orig-
inal act was passed, substituting John Han-
num, Isaac Tavlor and John Jacobs, who were
active removalists, in place of the first named
commissioners ; and it contained a clause re-
stricting them from erecting the court house
and prison "at a greater distance than one
mile and a half from the Turk's Head tav-
ern, in the township of Goshen, and to the
west or southwest of said Turk's Head tavern,
and on or near the straight line from the ferr}'
called the ' Corporation ferry,' on the Schuyl-
kill, to the village of Strasburg." On Ma\- i,
1784, Benjamin Trego, of Goshen township,
made a deed to the commissioners for a lot to
erect county buildings on, for the sum of five
shillings. Work was immediately commenced,
and by winter the walls of the court house
were nearly completed. The anti-removalists
procured a suspension act, to be passed on
March 30, 1785, which the removalists so
far disregarded as to continue work on tlie
new court house. This course of action an-
gered the people of Chester to such an extent
that they organized an expedition to go and
tear down the new court house. Major John
Harper led this force, which was equipped
with a field piece, a barrel of whisky and
plenty of small arms. He halted his force and
planted his cannon near the courthouse, which
was garrisoned by a considerable body of armed
men, under command of John Hannum ; but
a truce was called, and Major Harper's force
was allowed to enter and inspect the building,
after which it retired peacefully, as tradition
says, upon the promise by Colonel Hannum
that work should cease until the legislature
should take action upon the subject — a prom-
ise kept only until the anti-removalists were
out of sight. The suspending act was repealed
March 18, 1786, and on September 25th an
act was passed directing William Gibbons, the
sheriff, to remove the prisoners from the old
to the new jail. The new county buildings
were completed by fall, and the first court was
held on November 28, 1786, when West Ches-
ter (The " Turk's Head ") began her existence
as the county seat of Chester county.
The old court-house and other county build-
ings in Chester were sold to William Ker-
lin, on March 18, 1788, for four hundred and
fifteen pounds.
CHAPTER VII.
ERECTION OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
Immediately after the removal of the county-
seat to West Chester, the anti-removalist party
took steps toward securing the erection of a
new county with Chester for its capital, out of
the southeastern part of Chester county and
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
59
their efforts met with success that in three years,
on September 26, 1789, they secured the ap-
proval of an act authorizing a division of the
county of Chester and the erection of the south-
eastern part thereof into a new county by the
name of Delaware County.
A portion of this act reads as follows :
"Whereas, the inhabitants of the borough
of Chester, and the southeastern part of the
county of Chester, having by their petitions set
forth to the GeneralAssembly of the State, that
they labor under many and great inconveni-
ences from the seat of justice being removed
to a great distance from them, and have prayed
that they may be relieved from the said incon-
veniences by erecting the said borough and
southeastern parts of the said county into a
separate county ; and as it appears but just and
reasonable that they should be relieved in the
premises.
"2. Bi- it enacted, etc.. That all that part of
Chester county lying within the bounds and
limits hereinafter described the same shall be,
and the same is hereby erected into a separate
county ; that is to say. Beginning in the middle
of Brandywine river, where the same crosses
the circular line of New Castle county; thence
up the middle of said river to the line dividing
the lands of Elizabeth Chads and Caleb Brin-
ton, at or near the ford commonly known or
called Chad's ford; from thence on a line,
as nearly straight as may be, so as not to split
or divide plantations, to the great road leading
from Goshen to Chester, where the Westtown
line intersects or crosses the said road ; and
from thence along the line of Edgmont, New-
town, and Radnor, so as to include those
townships, to the line of Montgomery county,
and along the same to Philadelphia county
line, and along the same to the rjver Delaware,
and down the same to the circular line afore-
said, and along the same to the place of be-
ginning, to be henceforth known and called by
the name of ' Delaware county. ' "
Birmingham andThornbury townships were
divided by this act, which, however, made pro-
visions, that the parts falling in each county
should each constitute an independent town-
ship and retain the name of the original town-
ship from which it was taken.
"By the provisions of the act John Sellers,
Thomas Tucker and Charles Dilworth were
appointed to 'run and mark the line dividing
the counties of Chester and Delaware,' and
they scrupulously performed their duty."
The running of this line severed a fraction
of territory from the rest of the county of
Chester, being the land in a northward half
mile sweep of the Delaware between Smith's
bridge and the circular line of New Castle
county, Delaware. In order "not to split or
divide plantations " a more crooked line could
hardly have been run than the line that divides
Delaware from Chester county.
On November 30, 1789, the inhabitants of
Thornbury township petitioned the legislature
to be reannexed to Chester county, but the
petition was ordered to lie on the table.
In the meantime (on November 3d) the old
court-house and jail were bought by Delaware
county from William Kerlin for ^"693 3s. 8d.
The first election in the new county was at
Chester in October, and the first court was
held on February 9, 1790, and the new county
was then fairly launched upon its career amid
the counties of the great Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, whose creation but ante-dated
its birth by a few years.
CHAPTER VIII.
WHISKY INSURRECTION — SECOND \A/^AR
WITH ENGLAND-COTTON AND WOOLEN
MANUFACTURES.
WHISKY INSURRECTION.
Some two or three events succeeding the
formation of the county need notice before tak-
ing up the history of the whisky insurrection.
The citizens of the newly formed county of
60
BIOGRAPHY AND mSTORY
Delaware soon found that the cost of separate
government was far higher than what the}' had
expected, but they paid their taxes, although
grumbhng at unnecessary county expenses.
The maintenance of the great highway, from
the State of Delaware, through Chester, to
Darby, was a heavy burden on the taxpayers.
The county was unable to keep this road in any
kind of condition in the winter season, and the
legislature finalh', in 1799, on account of the
road being principall}- used by outsiders, al-
lowed the county commissioners to erect toll-
gates on the same for the term of five years,
the toll being from two cents for a man and
horse, up to twenty-five cents for a coach, car-
riage or wagon with four horses.
On April 9, 1792, the Philadelphia & Lan-
caster Turnpike Company was incorporated.
The making of their road, the first turnpike
road in America, was immediately commenced,
but was not finished until 1794. Four miles
of this road is in Delaware county, and the av-
erage cost of the road was $7,516 per mile.
In 1793 the yellow fever almost depopulated
Philadelphia, and the cry of distress from that
sorely afflicted city met with a sympathetic
response from the heavilj' taxed citizens of
Delaware county, not ten thousand in number,
who contributed 81,291.57 to the relief of the
sick and the needy of the "Cit\' of Brotherly
Love."
The next year, 1794, witnessed the culmina-
tion of the whisky insurrection in southwest-
ern Pennsylvania, where it had been brewing
for three years, and of the five thousand two
hundred troops that Pennsylvania was to fur-
nish toward its suppression, twenty cavalry-
men and sixteen artillerymen were to come
from Delaware, which finally sent a troop of
horse, which is stated to have numbered ninety-
six.
The whisky insurrection was the first rebel-
lion against the United States government. It
was confined to Fayette, Washington, West-
moreland and Allegheny counties, Pennsyl-
vania, and Monongalia and Ohio counties, Vir-
ginia (now West Virginia). Its undeveloped
elements of strength were such that Alexander
Hamilton, in a letter, said that it endangered
the very foundations of the newly established
republic ; but it died for want of military lead-
ers, when the United States army came into
its territory. The settlers of the disaffected
district were largely Irish and Scotch-Irish,
who cherished traditions of oppressive acts b}'
excisemen in the land of their forefathers, and
were opposed to all excise taxes. After the
Revolutionary war they secured the repeal of
the excise act of 1772, and in 1791, when Con-
gress imposed a duty of four pence per gallon
on distilled liquors, they openly defied the law,
and illtreated those who attempted to collect
the excise tax. Washington issued a proclam-
ation in 1792, warning all to submit to the law,
and Congress, in 1794, amended the law, yet
the insurgents continued to resist and to de-
mand the absolute repeal of the act. This led
Washington to issue a second proclamation,
commanding all insurgents to disperse, and at
the same time calling for an army of nearly
thirteen thousand, to be raised in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Maryland and ^'irginia, to sup-
press the insurgents, who were then in arms
in the disaffected district. This army, when
it reached southwestern Pennsylvania, found
that the shrewd and good common sense of
the insurgents, when they found themselves
without leaders of any military ability or ex-
perience, had caused them to disperse. No
opposition was encountered, and no further
trouble was ever had there in the collection
of the duty on distilled liquors.
Capt. William Graham, of Chester, raised a
company of cavalry in and around that place,
and when he was ready to join the expedition,
the ladies of Ridley township presented his
company with a beautiful white silk flag.
One well acquainted with the history of the
whisky insurrection states that the argument
of the insurgents was that grain could not be
taken over the mountains or 2,000 miles down
the rivers with any profit unless it was con-
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
61
verted into whisky ; that a tax of four pence a
gallon on whisky made in southwestern Penn-
sylvania was one-fourth its value, while if made
on the banks of the Brandy wine it was per-
haps less than one-eighth of its value ; and that
" the injustice of being obliged to pay as much
excise out of two shillings, with difficulty pro-
cured, as other citizens better situated have to
pay out of perhaps three times that sum,
much easier obtained, comes home to the un-
derstanding of those who cannot comprehend
theories "
The mililar)- leader of the insurrection was
David Bradford, a native of Maryland and a
prominent lawyer in Washington county. He
became extensively known, and wielded an im-
mense influence. He was admitted, in 1782,
and the year after was appointed district at-
torney. At the time of the adoption of the
Constitution he was a zealous federalist.
When theconvention of the four western coun-
ties met at Pittsburg, September 7, 1791,
Bradford was one of the three representa-
tives from Washington county. He was one
of the committee calling the people to ren-
dezvous at Braddock's Field, August i, 1794.
There he was unanimously elected the major-
general to command the forces of the insur-
rdctionists. When the government issued the
amnesty proclamation, all the citizens were
included except Bradford. He fled to Bayou
Sara, in Louisiana territory, then in possession
of Spain, and died there about i8og. ?Ie was
respectably connected, being a brother-in-law
of Judge James Allison, the grandfather of John
Allison, late register of the treasury of the
United States. In Louisiana he became a suc-
cessful planter, and won his way to wealth and
a fair social position. A granddaughter be-
came the wife of Richard Brodhead, United
States senator from Pennsylvania, 1851-57, and
a son is said to have married a sister of Jeffer-
son Davis.
From 1794 up to 1804 there was nothing of
unusual interest happening in the county. In
the latter named year a farm of one hundred
and thirty-seven acres adjoining the site of
Media was purchased for a county home. For
the next eight j-ears the county grew slowly in
population and wealth, and the farmers sought
to increase their crops by the fertilization of
their land. Gypsum was first used, but being
exhaustive of the soil, lime was substituted in
its place with the best of results.
SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND.
The orders of council against our commerce
and the impressment of our seamen, on the
part of Great Britain, led to the declaration of
war against that countr}' by the United States
on June 18, 1S12. This war is known as the
second war with England, or the war of 1812.
Opinion in Delaware count)' was not en-
tirely in favor of the war, and on August 22d
a large meeting of federal-republicans was
held at the court-house, at which the war was
condemned and the country was appealed to
to make a change in the Democratic adminis-
tration and save a protracted war. This meet-
ing, however, amounted to nothing beyond
passing resolutions.
The militia was held in readiness to march
on short notice to protect Chester, and stay
any attempted expedition by the way of the
river against Philadelphia, but there was no
such real need during the entire war.
In September, 1814, after the failure of the
British to take Baltimore, steps were taken to
fortify the Delaware river to protect Philadel-
phia. Below Marcus Hook earth works were
quickly thrown up to command the river shore.
Earth works were also thrown up between
Crum and Ridley creeks, to command the
Queen's Highway.
In October a cantonment was located at the
high ground just back of Marcus Hook cross-
roads, called Camp Gaines and afterward Fort
Snyder. Major-general Worrall had com-
mand, and several thousand three months'
men were in camp.
Delaware county furnished six companies of
drafted and volunteer troops :
63
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOMY
NAME. CAPTAIN. REGIMENT.
Mifflin Guards Samuel Anderson 1st.
Delaware County Fencibles, .James Serrill 32d.
First Company William Morgan
First Company. . John Hall Cjth.
Fifth Company James Lackey 65th.
Sixth Company .Benj. Wetherby 65th.
All danger of invasion having passed away,
the encampment was broken up in December,
1814, and the companies were discharged.
After the close of the war the county grew
slowly for the next decade, during which there
were two events of importance, one the es-
tablishment of the Delaware County bank, in-
corporated in 1814, and the issue, in iSig. from
the office of Butler & Worthington, at Chester,
of the Pi's/ Boy, the first newspaper published
in the county.
COTTON AND WOOLEN M.\NUKACTURES.
" In the new era of industrial progress which
was coming, the county of Delaware occupied
no secondary position in the story of that time,
but it marched abreast of the Commonwealth
in the movement which has resulted in placing
Pennsylvania in the fore-front of manufactur-
ing States."
The first cotton mill in the county was op-
erated in 1798; by Nathan and David Sellers
of Upper Darb}-. In the same year Isaac Oak-
ford had a fulling mill and calico stamping
works at Darby, and in 1 8 10 the Bottomly family
started a woolen factory in Concord township,
while Benjamin Smith and William Stedham
had commenced spinning and carding at Siter's
clover-mill, near the Spread Eagle tavern.
About 1812 Dennis Kelley and a Mr. Wiest
built a small stone factory on Cobb's creek,
which during the war of 1812 ran day and night
for long stretches.
After the second war with England many
old grist mills were changed into cotton and
woolen factories and filled with crude ma-
chinery. The result of these injudicious e.x-
periments was that these establishments all
passed into the sheriff's hands and were
closed. In 1821 there was but one cotton
factory running successfully in the county, and
it was that of Wagstaff and Englehorn, the
formerof whom was a practical cotton spinner
from England.
Thus ended in 1821 a crude experimental
stage, which was succeeded by the permanent
establishment of cotton and woolen manufac-
turing, and it was inaugurated by the introduc-
tion of the power loom and skilled operatives.
In the five years from 1821 to 1826 the in-
crease was wonderful. In 1821 there was one
cotton factory. In 1826 there were fourteen
woolen mills, twelve cotton factories, and one
power loom mill, or twenty-seven establish-
ments, employing seven hundred and sixty-
three hands.
Thus was firmly established the great indus-
try of Delaware count}' whose loom products
to-day are in every market in the land.
CHAPTER IX.
DELAWARE COUNTY INSTITUTE OF SCI-
ENCE — HAVERFORD COLLEGE — TEN-
HOUR MOVEMENT- EARLY RAILROADS
—GREAT FLOOD VILLA NOVA COLLEGE
—COUNTY SEAT REMOVAL TO MEDIA.
DELAWARE COUNTY INSTITUTE OK SCIENCE.
An important' event in the history of the
county was the organization, on September
21, 1833, of the -'Delaware County Institute
of Science," under whose authority and direc-
tion the first histor}' of Delaware county was
published. It was organized bv the associa-
tion at first of five persons; George Miller,
Minshall Painter, John Miller, Dr. George
Smith and John Cassin.
The early history of this institution is best
told in the language of Dr. George Smith, the
historian, and one of its founders : " The object
of the association was to promote the study and
diffusion of general knowledge, and the estab-
lishment of a museum. The number of mem-
OF DEL A WAIiE COUNTY.
63
hers gradually increased, and when it became
necessary for the institution to hold real estate,
application was made to the supreme court
for corporate privileges, which were granted
on the 8th of February, 1836. A hall of very
moderate pretensions was built in Upper
Providence, in the year 1837. Lectures were
also given in the hall for some time after its
erection. The museum embraces (1862) a re-
spectable collection of specimens in every de-
partment of the natural sciences, and particu-
larly such as are calculated to illustrate the
natural history of the county. It also embraces
many other specimens of great scientific or
historical value. Nor has the establishment
of a library been neglected; and although the
number of books it contains is not large, it is
seldom that the same number of volumes is
found together of equal value. It has not
failed to observe and record local phenomena
and to investigate local facts ; and the useful-
ness and value of the natural productions of
the county have, in more than one instance,
been established by laborious scientific in-
vestigations."
The hall was formally opened in September.
1836, when Dr. Robert M. Patterson, then
director of the United States mint, delivered
an interesting address.
In 1867 the present fine two-story brick
building in Media was erected, and the insti-
tute removed to the hall which occupies the
entire upper story. The building and lot is
worth $30,000, and the library contains four
thousand volumes, while its rare ornithological
collection has been greatly increased in value
and extent by the recent donation of the col-
lection of the late Isaac Worrall. The col-
lection of gold, silver and copper coins is
ver}' fine.
Dr. George Smith was president of the in-
stitute from its organization in 1836 up to his
death, in 1882, and then was succeeded by
Hon. John M. Broomall, the present incum-
bent. The present librarian is Lewis S.
Hough, A.M., a courteous gentleman and the
author of several interesting works on financial
subjects.
H.-WERFORD COLLEGE.
While the Friends had always maintained
e.xcellent schools from the time they came to
the Delaware, yet they made no attempt to
found a college in Delaware county imtil 1832,
when prominent members of the Society in the
middle Atlantic States sought "to provide a
place for the instruction of their sons in the
higher learning, and for moral training, which
should be free from the temptations prevalent
at many of the larger colleges:" This move-
ment led to the purchase of a tract of land in
the northern part of Haverford township, on
which, in the following year, was erected
"Founder's Hall," the first building of the
present Haverford college, which was then
opened under the unpretentious title of " Hav-
erford School," although a full and high col-
legiate course of study was inaugurated at the
opening session. In 1845 the children of
others than Quakers were admitted, and to-day
Haverford college, with its man}' stately and
graceful buildings, is situated in one of the
most beautiful parks that any college in Amer-
ica can boast, and ranks with the leading edu-
cational institutions of the land.
Of the institution it has been beautifully
said: Haverford's aim is "to teach high
thought and amiable words, and courtliness
and the desire of fame, and love of truth and
all that makes a man."
The year following the establishment of
Haverford college witnessed the acceptance
of the common school system by fourteen
townships, and its rejection by seven town-
ships of the county. Meetings were held for
and against free schools, and two years later,
in 1836, thirty-three petitions from Delaware
count)', containing ten hundred and twenty-
four names, were presented to the legislature,
asking the repeal of the school law, while thir-
teen petitions, bearing eight hundred and sev-
enty-three names, were sent to the same body,
remonstrating against the repeal of the law.
64
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
TEN- HOUR JIOVEMENT.
While the school controversy was at its
height, an agitation of the ten-hour movement
was inaugurated in Delaware county by a meet-
ing on February 20, 1836, at the Seven Stars
tavern, "\'illage Green, of operatives of the
cotton-mills on Chester creek. Lewis Cornog
was president, and John Ha\nes secretary of
this meeting, whose object was to oppose the
long-hour system of work enforced by the cot-
ton mill operators. Althougli the Chester
creek operatives struck, nothing came of their
action, and the old system continued for ten
years longer. The movement then was pushed
with energy in Philadelphia and ;\Ianayunk,
and a correspondence was opened with the
operatives of this county, who again met at
the Seven Stars and perfected an organization,
which met weekly until a law was passed, to
take effect on July 4, 1848, making ten hours a
legal day's work in all cotton, woollen, fla.x,
paper and glass factories in the State.
Many factories stopped in Delaware county,
when the ten-hour law went into operation,
and when the\- resumed ignored it. The op-
eratives failed to get the benefits of the law,
and after holding many meetings and sending
two delegates — John Wilde and S. jNI. Chal-
lenger — to New England, where they consulted
with General Butler, they received more at-
tention at the hands of their employers. Finally
the law was observed and obeyed by all the
operators and the mill-owners in the county,
and the fourteen and fifteen-hour day of mill
work was a thing of the past.
EARLV R.\ILROADS.
Following close upon the founding of noted
institutions of science and higher education in
the countj', and the adoption of the ten-hour
system for the benefit of the working classes,
came the introduction of the railroad to super-
cede the slower methods of travel by stage
coach and canal boat.
Early travel was by means of horses and
boats. Some time between 1780 and 1790
stage lines were established from Philadelphia
to Wilmington and Baltimore by the way of
Chester. A special stage line was established
from Chester to Philadelphia about 1830. and
a line of stages was then on the road from
Philadelphia to New London and Baltimore
by the way of Concord.
While the stage coach lines were developing
by land, river navigation grew from canoe and
shallop to sloop and packet. In 1790 John
Fitch ran a steamboat called the Perseverance
on the Delaware river. The Perseverance,
although nearly twenty vears ahead of Fulton's
Clermont, was so defective in construction that
it was continualh' breaking down.
But in 1834 stage coach and steamboat and
pike and river in Delaware county had a con-
testant for travel and traffic in the railroad. In
thatyeai that part of the Pennsylvania railroad
that passes through Haverford and Radnor
townships, was completed by the State under
the name of the '•Columbian Railroad." On
Wednesday, February 28, 1834, the first train
of cars from Lancaster to Philadelphia passed
overtheroad, drawn by '' Black Hawk, " which
was built in England, and was the first loco-
motive used on the road.
On April 11, 1835, the Delaware Branch
Railroad Company was incorporated to con-
struct a railroad from Chester along Chester
creek to intersect with the Pennsylvania ex-
tension at West Chester.
In 1836 the Philadelphia and Delaware
County Railroad Company, which had been
incorporated April 2, 1831, obtained legislative
sanction to increase its capital stock, and
changed its name to that of the Philadelphia.
Baltimore and Wilmington Railroad Company.
The company obtained the right of way from
the Delaware State line to Wilmington, and
proceeded to construct its road from Philadel-
phia to Wilmington, which was opened on
January 14, 1838, to public travel. Its first
track which was from Gray's ferry to Chester
is now leased to the Philadelphia and Read-
ing Railroad Company, and its present track
OF DELAWAJ?!: COUNTY.
65
between Philadelphia and Chester was built
in 1870-71.
GREAT FLOOD.
There is historical record of floods in what
is now Delaware county in 1683, 1705, 1740,
1795, 1822, 1830 and 1839, but none of them
or an}' one since has approached anyways near
to the flood of Saturda}', August 5, 1843, which
is known as the great freshet or flood.
On the morning of the 5th a moderate rain
set it at seven o'clock, and continued until two
o'clock, when a great cloud seemed to have
burst over that part of the country drained by
the waters of Chester, Ridley, Crum and Darby
creeks. Fields and roads were flooded and an
angry swelling tide of waters rose in the creeks
just named, which swept bridge and dam and
mill and factory like straws before it in its wild
rush riverwards. Thirty-two bridges were
destroyed or seriously injured, the Knowlton
cotton mill swept away, other mills and fac-
tories badly damaged, private houses swept
away and nineteen lives lost, ere the waters
subsided. The county commissioners were
almost dumbfounded by the damage and de-
struction of bridges, and asked the legislature
to exempt the county from State tax for one
year, which request was refused. Loans were
made, and in a short time both public and pri-
vate damage was repaired. Particular ac-
counts of this flood will be found in the his-
tories of the townships where it occurred.
VILL.\NOVA COLLEGE.
The Augustinian college at\'ilIanova, in Rad-
nor township, is the property of the Catholic
Brotherhood of St. Augustine,and was founded
in 1842 by Rev. John Possidius O'Dwyer,
O. S. A., who served as its first president.
The first college buildings comprised a two
and one-half story stone house, the former resi-
dence of John Rudolf. A new college hall
was built in 1849, which now constitutes the
east wing of the main college building that
was erected in 1873. Villanova college is a
fine structure, surrounded by beautiful and
5
extensive grounds. It was founded for the ed-
ucation of the laity in the classics, arts, sciences
and polite literature, and in 1848 was em-
powered to grant degrees the same as other
colleges and universities in the United States.
Since 1842 this college has had students from
nearly every State and territory in the Union,
and from Mexico, the West Indies, South
America, and several European coimtries.
Villanova college was named in honor of
St. Thomas, of \'illanova, the great archbishop
of Valencia, in Spain, and the first patron of
learning in the western hemisphere, who
founded, on September 21, 1551, the univer-
sity of Mexico, the first school on a grand
scale that was established in the Americas.
In addition to the college at Mllanova, there
are a convent, with novitiate and study house,
and a magnificent church of Gothic architec-
ture.
The stately pile of buildings at Villanova are
supplied with spring water, lighted with gas,
and heated with steam.
MEXICAN WAR.
The most important event directly after the
great flood and the founding of Mllanova col-
lege, that attracted the attention of the people
of the county, was the Mexican war. During
that struggle, in 1846, the Delaware County
Gra3s, commanded by Capt. John K. Zeilin,
offered their services to President Polk to go
to Mexico ; but their offer was refused, as the
Pennsylvania quota was filled before it was
received.
COUNTY SEAT REMOVAL TO MEDIA.
The first agitation of a removal of the county
seat of Delaware count}^ it is said, was due to
Robert Frazer, a lawyer, who was defeated for
a nomination by delegates from Chester and
some townships near it. Radnor township
was nearer to the count}- seat of Montgomerj'
county than to Chester, and this in connection
with the fact that taxes were lower in that
county than Delaware, caused the people of
66
BIOOEAPHY AND HISTORY
that township to petition for annexation to
Montgomery county. This caused alarm in
other northern townships and they agitated a
removal of the county seat to some point near
the center of the county as a means to hold
Radnor township.
Mr. Evans, of Chester coimty, on March 21,
1821, presented nineteen removal petitions to
the legislature, and ten days later Mr. Lewis
presented twenty-five remonstrances. No ac-
tion was taken on either, and the removalists
made no further effort for nearly twenty-five
years. In 1845 the public buildings at Ches-
ter needed a large amount of repairs, and the
removalists again became active to prevent
those repairs being made. They called a
meeting at the Black Horse tavern on Novem-
ber 22, 1845. This meeting issued a call for
township delegates to convene there on De-
cember 6th, to choose the county property,
Black Horse, Rose Tree, Chester or Beau-
mont's Corner, as a place suitable for a county
seat.
Each township was to elect two delegates,
and on December 6th, the following delegates
were present :
Birmingham — Dr. E. Harvey, J. D. Gilpin.
Chester — J. K. Zeilin, Y. S. Walter.
U. Chichester— Robert R. Dutton.
Concord — M. Stamp, E. Yarnall.
Edgmont — E. B. Green, George Baker.
Marple — Abraham Piatt, Dr. J. M. Moore.
Middletown — Joseph Edwards, Abraham
Pennell.
Newtown — Eli Lewis, T. H. Speakman.
N. Providence — R. T.Worrall, Peter Wor-
rall.
U. Providence — Emmor Bishop, Thomas
Reese.
Thornbury — Eli Baker, Daniel Green.
Tinicum — Joseph Weaver, jr.
From Aston, Bethel, Darby, Upper Darby,
Haverford, Radnor, Ridley and Springfield
townships no delegates were present. A vote
was taken and gave eight votes for the count}'
property, six each for Black Horse and for
Chester, and two for Rose Tree. After sev-
eral more votes had been taken the county
propertj' received twelve votes, a majority of
the delegates present. This result was not
accepted by the anti-removalists and a bitter
contest was waged over the matter through
the county newspapers. A reconciliatory meet-
ting was held on December 30th at the hall of
the Delaware County Institute of Science, and
petitions were put in circulation asking the
legislature to pass an act providing for a popu-
lar vote on the question of removal. A bill
was submitted to the legislature, in which the
site of the new county seat was designated,
and John Larkin, jr., the member from Dela-
ware county in the house, although in favor
of removal, opposed the bill in the shape in
which it was presented and secured its defeat.
In 1847 the legislature passed an act submit-
ting the removal of the county seat to a point
within half a mile of the county property, and
not over a half mile from the State road, to a
popular vote, which was taken on October 12,
1847, in the different townships, with the fol-
lowing result :
TowNsm,.... „ Fo'- , Against
Removal. Removal.
Aston 89 129
Bethel 10 72
Birmingham 62 21
Chester 50 319
Upper Chichester 4 72
Lower Chichester 12 92
Concord 83 70
Darby 55 91
Upper Darby 168 32
Edgmont 150 o
Haverford 147 3
Marple 124 13
Middletown 223 17
Newtown 118 i
Upper Providence .129 2
Nether Providence 113 30
Radnor 152 40
Ridley 19 152
Springfield • ■ 14 10
Thornbur}' 116 5
Tinicum 2 19
Totals 1942 1 100
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
67
Although there was a majorit}- of seven hun-
dred and fifty-two votes in favor of removal,
the anti-removalists did not abandon the con-
test, and determined to coBtest the validity of
the act providing for the election on the grounds
that it had been submitted to the \ote of the
people in like manner to a vote that was taken
under an act of the legislature, in the town-
ships, on the question of the sale of spirituous
liquors within their respective boundaries, and
which was illegal, as the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania decided that the act under which
it was taken was unconstitutional.
In the meantime an act was passed on April
9, 1848, confirming the removal of the seat of
justice, but containing a proviso that declared
the act should not go into effect until the
Supreme Court had decided "the question
as to the constitutionality of the act under
which it had been voted upon by the people.
At the December term of that year the case
was argued, and at the following spring term
the Supreme Court held the act to be consti-
tutional."
The commissioners, in pursuance of the re-
moval act, soon purchased a tract of forty-
eight acres of land adjoining the count)' farm
for five thousand seven hundred and sixty dol-
lars. Laying out the town of Media on this
tract, they proceeded to erect public buildings
on one of the lots, and sold the remainder of
them at a great profit to the county.
In 1851 the public buildings were completed,
and the court records were removed from
Chester to Media, where the first session of
court held at that place commenced on Mon-
day, November 24, 1851.
The selection of the site of Media for a
county seat had something to do with hasten-
ing the project of a railroad from Philadelphia
to West Chester, to pass through the territory
of Delaware county. The West Chester &
Philadelphia Railroad Company was incor-
porated April II, 1848, and in the autumn of
1856 had built their road as far as Media.
By the close of that year the road had reached
Lenni, and on New Year's day, 1857, was at
Grubb's Bridge, near the site of Wawa. On
Tuesday, November 11, 1858, the road was
completed to West Chester, where two days
later a celebration was held in honor of its
completion.
The building of the West Chester and Phil-
adelphia railroad partly led to the construc-
tion of the Philadelphia and Baltimore Cen-
tral railroad from Grubb's bridge to Chadd's
Ford. The Philadelphia and Baltimore Central
Railroad Company was incorporated March
17, 1853, and between January 3, 1855, and
the close of the year 1858, constructed their
road from Grubb's bridge to Chadd's Ford.
This road afterward became the property of
the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore
Railroad Company, and was later transferred
by that corporation to the Pennsylvania Cen-
tral Railroad Company.
The location of the county-seat near the
geographical center of the county was no real
detriment to Chester, whose true progress and
successful development was to be in manufac-
tures, and did not lie in the hotel and business
patronage of persons attending courts and
transacting legal business in the county offices.
The new county-seat location had a decided
and beneficial effect upon the development of
the northern part of the count}-. It led to the
building of Media, the early construction of
the West Chester and Philadelphia railroad,
with its continuous line of prosperous villages,
many of which will become places of future
size and importance, and gave an impulse to
farm cultivation and rural road improvements
that have made the country, for miles surround-
ing it, a beautiful sight to look upon by the
traveler and the tourist.
While the northern part of the county,
from 1845 to i860, was rapidl}- developing,
the southern part was also growing, and
made rapid strides of progress toward great
wealth and abundant prosperity. Chester,
instead of retrograding when the seat of
justice was removed to Media, entered upon
68
BIOGEAPHY AJVn HISTORY
her present remarkable career of commer-
cial prosperity, which was inaugurated, about
1850, by John P. Crozer, James Campbell,
John Larkin, jr., and John M. Broomall.
Chester, up to that time, was surrounded by
large farms, whose owners would not sell a
foot of land at any price. "Death and debt
have no respect for conservatism, and by de-
grees these agencies worked in behalf of the
change that was dawning." John P. Crozer
and John M. Broomall bought the Kerlin farm,
which they laid out into streets, and the former
erected the first of his Upland cotton mills to
the northwest of the town. James Campbell
changed the old prison and work-house into a
cotton mill, and John Larkin, jr., bought a
part of the Cochran farm, which he laid out
in streets and squares, and on which he erected
over five hundred dwellings and several cotton
mills. Thus were launched the great manu-
facturing interests of Chester, whose popula-
tion, in the decade between 1850 to i860, in-
creased from one thousand six hundred to
four thousand six hundred, nearly trebling
itself. The entire southern part of the county
was profited by the spirit of enterprise that
was transforming Chester village and borough
into a city and a manufacturing center, and
neatness, taste and evidences of thrift were to
be met with on nearly every farm in the tide-
water region of the county, from Philadelphia
to the Delaware State line.
Industry, thrift and progress marked all sec-
tions of the county from the Brandywine to
the Schu}'lkill.
Delaware county was slowly but steadily
developing into one of the most beautiful and
wealthiest counties of the great Common-
wealth of Pennsylvania.
But this fair picture of the county's pros-
perity, whose colors were brightening every
day by the establishment of some new mill or
factory, and the introduction of some new in-
dustry, was doomed to be darkened for a time
by the shadows of the greatest war of mod-
ern times.
CHAPTER X.
THE CIVIL WAR— REGIMENTAL HISTORIES
—NAVAL LIST.
THE CIVIL WAR.
When the dark storm of civil war burst upon
the land in 1861, and the roar of Sumter's
cannon rolled northward and westward over
the States of the Union, shattering all hopes
of peace and reconciliation between the North
and the South, a spirit of intense patriotism
was awakened in Delaware count}'. " It was
amazing with what rapiditj' the news sped
from farm house to farm house that Fort Sum-
ter would be evacuated by ]\Iajor Anderson
on the morrow. In Chester, Media, Darbj',
Rockdale, Kelleyville, in all the towns, vil-
lages, and cross-road hamlets in Delaware
county, the people, abandoning their usual
avocations, gathered in excited groups to dis-
cuss the engrossing intelligence, knowing not
in what direction to give expression to their
enthusiasm, save in demonstrations of patriot-
ism. Over the court house at Media, at the
town hall at Chester, and the public buildings
throughout the count}', over mills, stores,
workshops and private dwellings, before night-
fall the 'Stars and Stripes' floated to the
winds, or where that was not done, the angry
muttering of the populace soon compelled
compliance with the popular will, and tri-
colored badges were displaj'ed on the breasts
of almost every man. woman and child, for the
people were stirred as no living man then could
recall the like in all our National history."
Sundaj' was passed in suspense, and Mon-
day brought Lincoln's proclamation calling
for seventy-five thousand troops for three
months.
On Monday morning the citizens of Media
met in the court house, where arrangements
were made to form a rifle corps, and on Mon-
day evening at Chester, '-the old town hall,
with its memories of the stirring days of '76,
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
69
once more rang with patriotic calls to the people
to arm in defense of libert}' and human rights. "
Two companies were instantly raised, one
the " Delaware County Union Rifles" (Co. F,
Fourth \'olunteers ), at Media, which left for
Harrisburg on April igth : and the other, the
"Union Blues" (Co. I, Ninth \'olunteers),
was recruited in Chester, and on April 20th
departed for Harrisburg.
Home guard companies were formed all
over the count}-, and after the Union defeat
at Bull Run, recruiting became brisk in all the
townships for new military organizations.
An account of the different companies and
parts of companies raised in Delaware county
for the Federal arm}' during the war will be
given in the histories of the different regi-
ments in which they served.
REGIMENT.\L HISTORIES.
The history of each of the regiments in
which Delaware county companies served dur-
ing the late civil war is worthy of notice in
any history of the county.
The company rosters given to-day of Del-
aware county companies are generally com-
piled from Bates' history of the Pennsyl-
vania volunteer regiments, which was pub-
lished by the authority of the State. The
National government denied access to the com-
pany rolls at Washington, and Bates had to
compile his company rosters from private cor-
respondence, old muster rolls, and various
other private and public sources of informa-
tion. Erroneous spelling, and the loss of some
soldiers' names was the inevitable result of
such a compilation. Errors found in some of
these company rosters have called forth unjust
criticism from parties ignorant of the facts.
The lists of those brave sons of Delaware
county who died in defense of their country,
that are given in this work are compiled from
Bates' history, and may not possibly contain
the names of every fallen hero for the reasons
above given in relation to the unavoidable er-
rors occurring in the State compilation.
FOURTH PENNSYLV.iNIA INFANTRY,
This regiment, commanded by Col, John
M, Hartranft, was mustered into the service
in April, 1861, and was stationed successively
at Washington, near ■ Bladensburg, and at
Alexandria, where its pickets, on June 30, had
a skirmish with a small Confederate force. Its
time expired on the day of the battle of Bull
Run, and it refused to remain at McDowell's
request. Most of its men afterward re-enlisted
and fought bravely on many a bloody battle-
field.
The following company in this regiment was
from Delaware county :
Company F, from Media ; Capt. George
Dunn.
This company was known as the " Delaware
County Union Rifles," and was discharged
the day before the battle of Bull Run. thus
having nothing to do with the refusal of the
regiment to remain on the day of that battle,
NINTH PENNSYLVANIA INFANTRY.
The gth was a three months' regiment, and
after being stationed for some time near Wil-
mington, Delaware, it joined General Patter-
son, under whom it served in Maryland and
in Virginia until its term of enlistment had ex-
pired.
In it was one Delaware count}' company.
Company I, from Chester, Capt, H, B. Ed-
wards.
This compan}^ was known by the local name
of the " Union Blues,"
TWENTY-SIXTH PENNSYLVANIA,
This regiment was raised for three years,
and a month or so after it had been attacked
by the mob at Baltimore (April ] g, 1861), it re-
ceived one company from this county. The
25th was at the siege of Yorktown, and fought
bravely in the battles of Williamsburg, Seven
Pines, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Mal-
vern Hill, Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness,
and Spottsylvania Court-house. It lost one
70
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
hundred men at Chancellorsville and two hun-
dred and sixteen at Gettysburg, where it with-
stood the charge of a whole Confederate brig-
ade. It took two cannon at Spottsylvania, and
was mustered out June i8, 1864, in front of
Independence Hall, iri Philadelphia. Hon.
Thos. V. Cooper served in Co. C.
In the regiment was one company from this
county.
Company K, from Chester, Capts. William
L. Grubb, John F. Meekins and James L.
Seary.
KILLED AND DIED IN COMPANY K.
Capt. John F. Meekins, killed at Second
Bull Run.
Sergt. Samuel P. Morris, died of wounds.
Corp. Nathan R. Van Horn, killed at Get-
tysburg.
Corp. James L. Gelsten, killed at Gettys-
burg.
James T. Bell, died of wounds.
John Berlin, killed at Gettysburg.
James Gleason, died of wounds.
James Higgins, killed at Second Bull Run.
John McClem, died April 21, 1862.
Andrew Phillips, died of wounds.
George Roan, killed at Gettysburg.
Charles Shut, died May 23, 1862.
Henry Smith, died in Andersonville, August
20, 1864.
George Wood, killed at Gettysburg.
James Welsh, died of wounds.
THIRTIETH PENNSYLVANIA INFANTRY.
(First Reserves).
This celebrated fighting regiment was mus-
tered into the Federal service on July 26, 1861,
having passed through Baltimore unmolested
on June 21st. It repulsed a Confederate charge
at Mechanicsville, and three heavy charges at
New Market. The First Reserves fought at
Second BuURun, made a daring charge atSouth
Mountain, was in action at Antietam, and at
Fredericksburg charged under an enfilading
artillery fire and took an entrenched position.
The regiment made brilliant charges at Gettys-
burg, fought at Bristoe Station, and did good
fighting in the battle of the Wilderness and at
Spottsylvania. The last day of its service was
spent in the battle of Bethesda, where it was
conspicuous for coolness and braver}'. The
regiment was mustered out June 13, 1864, at
Philadelphia.
There were two companies from Delaware
county in this regiment : Company C, first re-
cruited at Chester as the " Keystone Guards,"
and then known for a time as the " Slifer
Phalanx"; and Co. F, raised at Crozerville and
Rockdale as the " Rockdale Rifle Guards, and
later known as the Archy Dick Volunteers."
Company C was successively commanded
by Capts. Samuel A. Dyer, Joseph R.T.Coates,
and Edward Larkin.
Company F had for commanders, Capts.
William C. Talley, Joseph P.Drew and Henry
Huddleson.
KILLED, DIED AND MISSING IN COMPANIES C
AND F.
Company C.
Second Lieut. John H. Taylor, killed at
South Mountain.
Aquilla Coates, died September 26, 1861.
Harry Hobaugh, died October 30, 1861.
R. Mills, died of wounds May 31, 1864.
Thomas McGarvey, died of wounds May
31, 1864.
James Pollock, died of wounds November
10, 1862.
J. T. Schofield, killed at Betherda Church.
Alfred G. Webb, killed at Fredericksburg.
Solomon Wesler, killed at Spottsylvania.
Company F.
First Sergt. John McDaniel,missing at Beth-
esda.
Isaiah Budd, died August i, 1863.
Henry Bailed, killed at Mechanicsville.
Charles W.Cheetham, killed at Charles City.
James Glass, killed accidentally in 1861.
James Gorman, killed at Antietam.
John Howard, died of wounds July 10, 1861.
John Kilroy, killed at second Bull Run.
OF DELAWAME COUNTY.
71
H. J. Kernes, died August 13, 1862.
Michael Maklem, killed at Spottsylvania.
Joseph Mills, died July 10, 1864.
John C. Roberts, missing at Bethesda.
John Stewart, killed accidentally in 1861.
Edward Smith, killed at Mechanicsville.
Oliver Thomas, died in August, 1862.
James W3'att, killed at Charles City.
Capt. Samuel A. Dyer, of Company C, was
promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 175th
regiment, and his successor, Capt. Joseph R.
T. Coates, was brevetted major. Capt. Wil-
liam Cooper Talley, of Company F, was pro-
moted to colonel of the 30th regiment.
FIFTV-EIGH IH PENNSYLVANI.A INFANTRY.
This regiment was under Wool in the cap-
tureof Norfolk, garrisoned Washington, North
Carolina, for some time, and served in the
armies of the James and the Potomac. It
helped capture Fort Harrison, where one hun-
dred and twenty-eight of its two hundred and
twenty-eight men were killed and wounded.
It bore an honored part in the closing cam-
paign of the army of the Potomac.
One-half of Company A of this regiment
was recruited in Delaware county, as well as
man}' men in Companies B, C, and K. Capt.
Theodore Blakely, of Company B, who fell at
Fort Harrison on September 29, 1864, was a
brave and gallant soldier from Chester. He
once made a foray with one hundred men in
North Carolina, and captured a Confederate
cavalry encampment of si.xty men without fir-
ing a gun, the surprise being so complete.
Capt. Thomas I. Leiper, of Company A, was
also from this coimty.
Besides Capt. Theodore Blakely, one other
man from this county, private William \'alen-
tine, of Company A, was killed, falling in ac-
tion on April 29, 1863, while Thomas Hardy,
likewise of Company A, died March 5, 1864.
THIRD PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
{Sixtieth Regiment. )
No cavalry regiment in the Union army ren-
dered better service than the 3d cavalry. It
fought through the Peninsular campaign, was
at Antietam, helped twice to defeat Stuart's
Confederate cavalrj', and at Gettysburg bore
the weight of the charge of Hampton's whole
division. It led the charge at Culpeper, sus-
tained the attack of Gordon's division near
Bristoe, and at Hope church, as dismounted
cavalry, helped repulse the charge of the
"Stonewall Brigade." The 3d cavalry was
constantly in service under Grant from the
Wilderness to Richmond, served as a part of
his escort when he entered Petersburg, and
was in the advance of his line of battle at Ap-
pomattox Court-house. Delaware county men
served in Companies A, C, E, F, I, K, and M.
Of these men, John O'Brien, of Compan\' F,
died October 25, 1863, Sergt.Benj. McDonald,
of Company M, died of accidental wounds,
September 12, 1861, and James Aides, of Com-
pany I, died of wounds received in action.
NINETY-SEVENTH PENNSYLVANIA INFANTRY.
This three-3'ears regiment was raised in
Chester and Delaware counties, and in Decem-
ber, 1861, was sent "south, where it served
gallantly in Florida, Georgia, and South Car-
olina. During the night succeeding the unsuc-
cessful assault on Fort \\'agner, four compan-
ies of the regiment, including two from Dela-
ware count}', crawled in the darkness to the
very slope of the intrenchment and dragged
away the wounded soldiers of the fifty-fourth
Massachusetts. In April, 1864, the regiment
joined the army of the James. In May it
made two desperate and successful charges,
and in June carried the enemy's works in front
of the cemetery, near Petersburg. x\t the mine
explosion it carried a line of rifle pits, and af-
terwards took part in the actions at Deep
Bottom, Strawberry Plains, Bermuda Hundred,
New Market Heights, Fort Gilmore, and
Darbytown. In October, 1864, the Delaware
county companies were discharged, and the
regiment was then filled up with drafted men
and substitutes. The three companies from
Delaware county in this regiment were :
72
BIOGRAPHY AA'D HISTORY
Company D (Concordville Rifles), Capt.
W. S. Mendenhall.
Compan}' G ( Broomall Guards), from
Media, and Chester and vicinity, Capts., Jesse
L. Cummings, Washington \V. James, and
Caleb Hoopes.
Company I (Brooke Guards), from Spring-
field and Ridley townships, Capts. George
Hawkins and George W. Duffee. Captain
Hawkins was commissioned lieutenant-col-
onel, but died before he was mustered.
KILLED .^XD DIED IN COMI'.^MES D, G -AND I.
Ci^mpany D.
First Lieut. Isaac Fawkes, died of wounds
May 20, 1864.
First Lieut. Henry Odiorne, died of wounds
January 15, 1865.
Sergt. Isaac Sapp, died of wounds March
12, i86s.
Corp. David H. Freas, died of wounds May
23, 1864.
Joseph Baker, died July 25, 1862.
Joseph Booth, died October 3, 1863.
James Brierly, died of wounds May 20,
1864.
Charles S. Cloud, died of wounds July i,
1864.
Benjamin Davis, died September 10, 1862.
Samuel Drake, died June 8, 1862.
Joseph L. Eyre, killed August 4, 1863.
Michael Haffner, died June 17, 1865.
\V. H. Kelly, died of wounds August 29,
1864.
Thos. M. Lancaster, died December 29,
1862.
Ferd. Martin, died April 15, 1863.
Geo. K. Pierce, died of wounds July 26,
1864.
Samuel Parker, died at Salisbury prison
December 16, 1864.
John Smith, died of wounds June 5, 1864.
James Wright, died October 23, 1862.
Joseph B. West, died of wounds May 26,
1864.
Jesse D. Walters, killed June 29, 1864.
Company G.
Sergt. Simon Litzenburg, killed at Peters-
burg.
Sergt. Reese L. Weaver, died October 12,
1863.
Sergt. Albin Edwards, killed at Bermuda
Hundred.
Corp. Henry Hoofstitler, died March 17,
1863.
Corp. H.G.Yocum, died December 12, 1865.
Corp. Israel Oat, died August 10, 1862.
Corp. Patrick Hughes, killed at Bermuda
Hundred.
Corp. John Doyle, died October 26, 1863.
Corp. John Edwards, died August 21, 1865.
Nehemiah Baker, died January 8, 1864.
Lewis Bent/., died August 19, 1864.
John Dickson, died October 21, 1863.
William Dawson, killed at Fort Fisher.
William Efoux, killed at Petersburg.
George Green, died September 20, 1862.
Isaac A. Hoopes, killed at Bermuda Hun-
dred.
Hend. L. Herkins, died March 19, 1865.
Fred. Heitz, killed at Bermuda Hundred.
Thomas T. Jones, died of wounds June 10.
1864.
William Maloney, died December i, 1863.
W. D. Murray, died May 18; 1865.
Terrence O'Brien, killed at Strawberry Plains
James Russell, died Janury 8, 1864.
Alex. Seaborn, died of wounds October 10,
1.864.
Theo. Solomon, died :May 26, 1865.
William Wright, died November 28, 1863.
James Wright, died November 20, 1863.
Edward E. Wade, died at Salisbury prison
December 18, 1864.
John Worrell, died May 12, 1862.
Company I.
Capt. Geo. Hawkins, died of wounds Oc-
tober 27, 1864.
^ First-Lieut. Sketchley Morton, jr., died
November 12, 1862.
Corp. John L. Morton, died March 28, 1862.
OF DEL A WARE CO UNTY.
Corp. Robert Trowland, died November 4,
1863.
Harry Hunter, musician, died April i, 1862.
W. H. Baker, died August 2, 1864.
James Donnell)', killed at Burmuda Hun-
dred.
W. R. Dicker, died June 18, 1864.
E. H. Everman, died of wounds August i,
1865.
George Frace, died May 13, 1865.
Philander Foster, died July 5, 1865.
\\'. T. Gutterson. killed at Bermuda Hun-
dred.
David W. Gaul, killed at Bermuda Hun-
dretl.
Nathan T. Harris, died May 12, 1862.
Caleb Horn, died June 27, 1864.
John Krissell, killed at Petersburg.
William Fine, died October 11, 1864.
John W. Shutt, died of wounds July 14,
1864.
Levers Solverson. died of wounds August
Philip Schwartz, killed at Fort Fisher.
Amos G. Webb, died July 6, 1862.
John Ward, died October 28, 1863.,.
Isaac Wood, killed at Petersburg.
Willard Watterman, died May 21, 1865.
Jacob Wagoner, died July 20, 1865.
ONE HUNDRED .AND SIXTH PENNSYLVANIA IN-
I'ANTRY.
This three years' regiment served through
thePeninsulaCampaign and fought gallantly at
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gett3-sburg, Spott-
sylvania and Cold Harbor. It was recruited
in Philadelphia in 1861, and was mustered out
in 1864.
There were Delaware count}- men in com-
panies C, E, and I, and those of them who
died and were killed were : Corp. Ruben Dans-
field, of Co. I, who died August 16, 1862: John
Stevenson, of the same compan}-, killed at
Savage Station ; and John McGlaughlin, of
Company E, who was killed at Antietam.
SECOND PENNSYLVANIA HEAVY ARTILLERY.
(ii2/h Regiment.)
For two years this regiment lay in and around
Washington, but in 1864, Grant called it to
the front and it made a magnificent record in
the Wilderness fights and in the battles around
Petersburg.
Delaware count}' men served in batteries E,
and I, and of the men in the former battery,
Charles Barges, of this count}-, was killed at
Petersburg, and Lewis Moulder, another Del-
aware county recruit, was captured and died
in Salisbury prison, January 14, 1S65
ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEENTH PENNSYLVANIA
INFANTRY.
This regiment was raised in 1862, for three
years, and held its ground from the start like
a veteran organization. It fought with great
bravery at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Rap-
pahannock Station, and through the Wilder-
ness battles. It did good service at the bat-
tle of Winchester, and on April 2, 1865, stormed
and carried a part of the intrenchments in
front of Petersburg. Its last fight was at
Sailor's Creek.
Company E of this regiment was recruited
in Delaware county, under the name of " Del-
aware Guards," by Capt. William C. Gray,
who afterwards was promoted to major ; Lieut.
James Cliff was promoted to captain, to suc-
ceed Major Gray.
KILLED AND DIED IN COMPANY E.
Sergt. Nathan Heacock, died of wounds Oc-
tober 4, 1864.
James Burns, died in October, 1864.
Jonathan Culburt, died of wounds May 20,
1864.
Isaac Pike died of wounds August 15, 1864.
Robert Beany, killed at Rappahannock.
William Roberts, died at Belle Plain. Jan-
uary 21, 1863.
William Rapine, died of wounds May 8,
1863-
John Steel, died Decembers, 1863.
74
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
William Stewart, died of wounds Novem-
ber 7, 1863.
David Sloan, killed at Spottsjlvania.
]. B. Tetlow, killed at Salem Chuch.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY- FOURTH PENNSYL-
VANIA INFANTRY.
This regiment was recruited in 1862 for nine
months, and did its first fighting at Antietam,
where fifty of its men were killed and wounded.
It fought bravely at Chancellorsville, and was
mustered out at Harrisburg on May 16, 1863.
Three companies of this regiment were re-
cruited in this county : Company B (Delaware
County Fusileers), Capt. Simon Litzenberger ;
Company D (Gideon's Band), Capt. Norris L.
Yarnall; and Company H (Delaware County
Volunteers), Capt. James Barton, jr. Capt.
Litzenberger was promoted to lieutenant-colo-
nel, Lieut. John Woodcock to captain of Com-
pany B, and Lieut. I. L. Halderman, of Com-
pany D, to major of the regiment.
KILLED, DIED AND MISSING IN COMPANIES B, D
AND H.
Company B.
Joseph Barlow, killed at Antietam.
W. H. Johnson, missing at Chancellorsville.
Edward Kay, died January 20, 1863.
William Lary, died November 24, 1862.
James Makin, died March i, 1863.
Company D.
Corp. James Crozier, died of wounds Sep-
tember 21, 1862.
H. H. Williamson (musician), died Febru-
ary 8, 1863.
James H. Aitken, died October 27, 1863.
William Heyburn, died March 12, 1863.
Company H.
Sergt. Thomas H. Jackson, died January
19, 1863.
Thomas Burk, died November 3, 1862.
J. Ephraim Lobb, died March 8, 1863.
Samuel R. Zebley, killed at Antietam.
FIFTEENTH PENNSYLVANIA CAVALRY.
{i6oth Regiment.^
This regiment was often called the "Ander-
son Cavalry." It was recruited in August,
1862, for three years. A part of it served at
Antietam, and afterwards the regiment was
sent toNashville,whereoverhalf of it refused to
advance when ordered to do so by Rosecrans.
Afterwards it was re-organized and did effect-
ive service under Rosecrans and Thomas, and
on May 10, 1865, captured General Bragg,
his wife and staff officers. Delaware county
men served in companies A, B, D, F, G, H,
I, K and L.
Capts. Edward Sellers, of Company H, and
H. McAllister, jr., of Company G, were from
this county. William H. Powell, of Company
L, who died of wounds received at Stone
River, and Sergt. George W. S. Allen, who
died August 20, 1863, were Delaware county
men.
ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVENTH PENNSYL-
VANIA INFANTRY.
Being recruited under the auspices of the
Coal Exchange association, of Philadelphia,
this regiment was known as the Third Coal
Exchange regiment. It served from July 22
to November 11, 1864, being recruited for the
hundred days' service. The men were mostly
veterans, and instead of being sent to the front,
as they desired, the regiment was assigned to
duty at Rock Island, Illinois, as a guard over
the nine thousand Confederate prisoners then
held at that place. This guard duty bore al-
most as heavily and more disagreeably on the
regiment than an active campaign.
Two companies, A and I, were from this
county. James Barton, jr., captain of Com-
pany A, was appointed assistant provost mar-
shall of Rock Island ; and John Woodcock,
captain of Company I, was promoted to major.
First Lieut. Ralph Buckley was promoted to
captain of Company I, to take Major Wood-
cock's place. Out of the two Delaware county
companies but one man, Harrison Hoffman,
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
75
of Company A, did not return. He died Octo-
ber 22, 1864.
ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHTH PENNSYL-
VANIA INFANTRY.
This regiment was recruited in 1864, under
the auspices of the Union League, of Phila-
delphia, and made daring and desperate, but
successful charges at the battles of Hatcher's
Run and Lewis' Farm, and in front of Peters-
burg.
Of Company K nearly one-half of the men
were from this county, and several of them
were marked on the roll as "not accounted
for."
TWO HUNDRED AND THIRD PENNSYLVANIA
INFANTRY.
This regiment was organized September 10,
1864, as sharpshooters for General Birney's
division, but the General dying, they were
treated as common infantry. Recruited for
one year, the regiment was in the storming of
Fort Fisher, and then after serving in North
Carolina until June 29, 1S65, was mustered
out of the service.
Company B, commanded by Capt. Benja-
min Brooks, afterward promoted to lieutenant-
colonel, was from Delaware county.
KILLED AND DIED IN COMPANY B.
John J. Clar, died of wounds January 23,
1865.
William H. Camp, died of wounds March
15, 1865.
William J. Farra, died of wounds January
23, 1865.
John M. Hoflstitler, killed at Fort Fisher.
-William M. Kitts, died Jannary 8, 1865.
George Major, died September 11, 1864.
Samuel Playford, killed at Fort Fisher.
W. M. Vernon, died May 30, 1865.
DELAWARE COUNTY MEN IN OTHER REGIMENTS.
In addition to the companies given, Dela-
ware county men served in the following Penn-
sylvania regiments : 17th, 43d, 64th, 65th,
66th, 71st, 72d, 77th, 88th, 89th, 95th, 99th,
113th, ii8th, i6ist, i8ist, i88th and 213th.
Delaware county men also served in the 6ih
New Jersey, 48th Illinois, and 6th California.
Men from Delaware county also served in
many other Pennsylvania regiments than those
given, and likewise in other State regiments
than those named.
KILLED AND DIED IN OTHER REGIMENTS.
Lieut. Lewis Miller, jr., 17th, killed.
Lieut. J. E. Dyer, 65th, died in prison Feb-
ruary 16, 1865.
Lieut. Samuel Wallace, 65th, killed near
Williamsburg.
William Farrady, 71st, killed at Antietam.
J. A. Gibson, 72d, died March 10, 1864.
Joseph Groves, 77th, killed at Gettysburg.
Sergt. J. M. Thompson, 88th, died Novem-
ber 16, 1862.
Joseph Dyson, 89th, died January 25, 1862.
Corp. John Macon, 95th, killed at Williams-
port.
W. H. Groundsell, 99th, died in Anderson-
ville prison.
Simeon Davis, iiSth, died in service.
E.T. Brogan, ii8th,died December 9, 1864.
George Elliott, ii8th, killed in attempted
escape from Salisbury prison.
J. B. Lilley, 6th New Jersey, died May 15,
1864.
NEGRO TROOPS.
Negroes from Delaware county served in
the following regiments : 3d, 6th, 30th, 32d,
and 127th United States regiments, and the
54th Massachusetts.
PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA OF 1862.
When Lee's veteran legions in September,
1862, threatened an invasion of Pennsylvania,
Governor Curtin called for fifty thousand
militia, and there was a spontaneous uprising
in Delaware county, where of five thousand
men subject to military duty, nearly twenty-
two hundred were under arms. In three
days nine full companies were raised in the
76
BIOGBAPKY AKD HISTOBY
county and had left for Harrisburg. They
were sent forward to Chambersburg, where
they volunteered to march beyond the State
line and in the face of the finest army of the
Southern Confederacy. But they were not
needed in Maryland, as Antietam had been
fought and Lee's defeated arnij' had retreated.
TENTH REGIMENT PENNSVLVANI.\ MILITI.\.
The 1 0th was organized between September
loth and i6th, and its companies were dis-
charged from the 25th to the 27th of the same
month.
In the loth was Co. K, Chester Guards,
commanded by Capt. William B. Thatcher.
SIXTEENTH REGIMENT PENNSVLVANI.* MILITI.A.
This regiment was organized September
17th and discharged September 25, 1862. Of
its field and staff officers Col. Joseph Wilcox,
Maj. Charles Litzenberg, Quartermaster John
J. Rowland, and Quartermaster-sergeant Isaac
Johnson were from Delaware county.
The following companies were from Dela-
ware county :
Company B, Mechanic Rifles, of Chester,
commanded by Capt. Johnathan Kershaw.
Compan\'C, of Media, commanded by Capt.
John M. Broomall.
Company D, Delaware Guards, of Concord
and Aston, commanded by Capt. John H.
Barton.
Company E, Capt. Amos Bonsall.
Company F, of Thornbury and Edgmont
townships, commanded by Capt. Joseph
Wilcox.
Company H, Darby Rangers, from Upper
Darby township, comrhanded by Capt. Chas.
A. Litzenberg, and after his promotion to
major, by Capt. J. Charles Andrews.
TWENTY-FOURTH REGIMENT PENNSYLVANIA
MILITIA.
In the 24th was one company from Delaware
county :
Company I, Upland Guards, commanded
by Capt. James Kirkman.
INDEPENDENT COMPANY MILITIA.
An "Independent Militia Company" from
Delaware county was organized on September
II, 1862, and discharged September 25, 1862.
It was commanded by Capt. Charles G. An-
drews.
PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA AND EMERGENCY MEN
OF 1863.
Pope's defeat had led to Lee's first invasion,
and Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville invited
the great Confederate chieftain to a second
northern invasion. When the tread of his
victorious legions — the flower of the Confed-
erate armies — was heard toward Hanover and
York, intense excitement prevailed through-
out Delaware county, and one thousand of her
sons responded to Governor Curtin's call for
sixty thousand militia. Ten full companies from
that county were hurried forward to the capital,
but ere they could be fully organized there, the
fateful struggle had taken place at Gettysburg,
where the destiny of the Nation hung long in
the balance ere victor)' turned the scale in
favor of the Union. The retreat of the shat-
tered columns of the armj' of northern Virginia
across the Potomac, freed the militia of Penn-
sxlvania from any further service.
TWENTIETH REGIMENT EMERGENCY TROOPS.
The companies of this regiment were mus-
tered into the State service June ig-24, 1863,
and discharged on July 27th and 28th, of the
same year.
Of its companies the following were raised
in Delaware countj' :
Compan\- G, from Radnor, commanded by
Capt. Benjamin N. Brooke.
Company F, commanded by Capt. John
Woodcock.
TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT EMERGENCY MEN.
The 29th was mustered into the State ser-
vice on June 19, 1863, and was discharged
August ist, of the same year.
Four full companies of this regiment were
from Delaware county :
OI' nELAWAI^E COUNTY.
Company- C, from Media, commanded by
Capt. John M. Broomall.
Company G, Capt. Alfred Bunting.
Company H, from Darby, and commanded
b}' Capt. J. Charles Andrews.
Company I, Capt. Josepli Pratt.
THIRTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT PENNSVLVANI.'X
MILITI.-^.
This regiment was mustered in Juh' i6, 1863,
and discharged August 2. 3 and 4, 1863. Two
companies from this count}' served in it :
Company A, from Chester, commanded by
Capt. William Frick.
Compan}- F, Capt. Harry Huddleson.
FORTY- FIFTH REGIMENT PENNSVLV.\NI A MILITIA.
The 45th was mustered in July 16, 1863,
and discharged August 2gth of the same year.
It had one company from this county :
Company B, from Upland, commanded by
Capt. George K. Crozer.
FORTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT EMERGENCY MEN.
J\
This regiment was mustered in July 9, 1863,
and discharged August 14, 1863.
In it was one company from Delaware
county :
Compan\' E, Capt. Harry H. Black.
The most of the officers and men in severel
of these companies were veterans and had been
discharged from the 124th Pennsylvania in-
fantry. The Delaware companies of that regi-
ment — B, D and H — had all offered their
services anei most of them served in the differ-
ent emergency companies that went from the
county. The mills and factories were stripped
of hands, fift}- convalescent Union soldiers
from Crozer hospital offered their services,
and the negroes of Chester asked to be allowed
to furnish a company of their race.
The convalescent soldiers were sent back,
and the negro company was not accepted.
During 1863 the commissioners paid two
county bounties, one of three hundred dollars,
and the other of three hundred and fifty dol- '
lars per recruit, in order to fill the Delaware
county's quota under Lincoln's two calls for
troops in that year.
Drafts were finally made in several of the
townships, and the last men drafted (April 7,
1865,) were ordered, on April 13, 1865, to re-
turn to their homes.
NAVAL LIST.
It has been impossible to secure a full list
of the officers and men from Delaware county
who served in the war. The following incom-
plete listis compiled from all available sources:
Officers.
Rear-Admiral Frederick Engle.
Commodore Pierce Crosby.
Commander De Haven Manl}-.
Captain Henry Clay Cochran.
Engineers.
Robert S. Taylor, Samuel Anderson,
Martin L. Taylor. William Smead,
William F. Cutler, William Coverdill,
Thomas H. Thompson, John P. Gartside,
Thomas J. Reaney, Henry Pedlow,
William G. \'ernon, J. O. Wilson,
Thomas Lees, John Wolf,
James Brannon, Samuel Oglesby.
The fall of Richmond sent a thrill of joy
through the county. The raising of the old
flag over the broken walls of Sumpter, on April
14, 1865, was made a day of rejoicing in Ches-
ter. The night continued the festivities of the
day, but in the early morning of the succeed-
ing day the wires flashed the news of sorrow,
and the people of the city, the towns and ham-
lets stood amazed and horrified, as the word
went by that the President had been assassin-
ated. Rejoicing was changed to mourning.
Joy and hope were succeeded by grief and
fear. The sable emblems of woe took the
place of the tokens of joy, and the laurel
wreath of victory was replaced by the sombre
badge of mourning. The funeral of President
Lincoln was observed with appropriate cere-
monies at every place in Delaware county.
An intense excitement prevailed throughout
78
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
the county when Fort Sumter fell and the
war commenced ; and a universal sorrow was
manifested, in every borough and township,
when the news of Lincoln's assassination —
the last act of the great four-years' drama of
fratricidal strife — was carried from town to
town and from farm house to farm house.
CHAPTER XI.
SHIP-BUILDING — IVY AND GLEN MILLS-
PENNSYLVANIA MILITARY ACADEMY —
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE— PENNSYLVA-
NIA TRAINING SCHOOL — CROZER THEO-
LOGICAL SEMINARY— BURD ORPHAN
ASYLUM — NEW INDUSTRIES.
SHIP-BUILDING.
The sun of the Southern Confederacy went
down at Appomattox Court-liouse when Lee's
war-worn veterans grounded arms to the
"Silent Man " from Galena. Then the soldier
was lost in the citizen, and peace, the glad-
ness-giving queen, reigned supreme through-
out the land. After the close of the war the
people of Delaware county with increased ac-
tivity pushed forward all of their old industries
and established some new ones.
Ship-building in Delaware county was com-
menced as early as 1755 at Marcus Hook, and
during Colonial days was established at Ches-
ter, where it never amounted to much until
1859, when the present great Roach ship-yard
was started by Reaney, Son^ & Archbold.
This company built war vessels, and the moni-
tors Sagamon, Lehigh and Tunxis during the
war. After the war their business decreased
until 1S71, in which year John Roach pur-
chased the entire plant. Roach gave the plant
the name of " Delaware River Iron Ship Build-
ing and Engine Works." He increased and
improved the plant until it contained thirt}'-
tvvo acres of land, with a frontage of twelve hun-
dred feet on the Delaware, and presented the
appearance of a miniature city. He employed
over two thousand men, and constructed the
largest vessels ever built in this country.
John Roach, by his gigantic operations in
iron ship-building, associated his name for all
time to come with maritime architecture in
America. He built nearly one hundred ves-
sels, and misunderstandings with the govern-
ment caused him to suffer great losses. "
IV V MILLS.
While ship-building was growing, another
industry, that of hand-made paper, was pass-
ing out of existence. The pioneers of the lat-
ter industry were the Wilcox family, who built
Ivy Mills in 1729. These mills made the
paper for the colonial and the Continental
money, and were actively operated up to 1846,
after which they did but little for the next
twenty years. They went down shortly after
the close of the war.
GLEN MILLS.
The Wilcox brothers saw the necessity as
early as 1835 of changing from hand to ma-
chine made bank note paper, and built their
Glen mills as a successor to Ivy mills, and for
that purpose. They manufactured paper for
the Government's issues of paper money dur-
ing the late war. Between 1864 and 1868 the
Government attempted to manufacture its own
bank note paper, liut failed, and in the latter
)'ear gave the contract again to the Wilcox
brothers, who furnished an excellent paper
for notes and bonds until 1878, when Secretary
Sherman removed the manufacture of govern-
ment paper from Pennsylvania.
PENNSYLVANIA MILITARY ACADEMY.
In 1862 the Pennsylvania Military academy
was incorporated as the Chester County Mili-
tary academy, at West Chester, Chester county,
with Col. Theodore Wyatt as president. In
1865 it was removed to the present Crozer
Theological Seminary building, at Upland,
and three years later came to Chester, where
its first building was burned in 1882. The
OF DELAWAI7E COUNTY.
79
present building was erected the same year,
and is a handsome four-story stone structure,
beautifully located in the northeastern part of
the city. Col. Charles E. Hyatt is president,
and the institution has accomodations for one
hundred and fifty cadets.
SW.-iRTHMORE COLLEGE.
In 1864 Swarthmore college was founded by
members of the religious Society of Friends,
to provide the children of the society and
others with opportunities for higher education
under guarded care. The college is named
Swarthmore for the home of George Fox,
and stands on a tract of two hundred and
forty acres at Swarthmore Station, ten miles
from Philadelphia, and inSpringfield township.
The corner stone was laid May 10, 1866, and
on November 10, i86g, the main building was
completed. On September 25, 1871, a fire
broke out and left nothing but the walls of the
buildings. The college was immediately re-
built. The present principal college building
is an imposing and massive stone structure,
three hundred and forty-eight feet long. It
consists of a central building five stories high,
and two wings each four stories. Among the
other stone buildings are Science hall, the as-
tronomical observatory, and the house in which
Benjamin West was born. Swarthmore is one
of the largest and most beautiful colleges in
the United States. It has two hundred stu-
ents. Dr. Charles De Garmo is president, and
Edward Magill, L. L. D., a well known ed-
ucator of the United States, is professor of the
French language and literature.
PENNSYLVANIA TRAINING SCHOOL FOR FEEBLE-
MINDED CHILDREN.
On a beautiful wooded eminence between
Media and Elwyn Station, is the cluster of
granite buildings that constitute the above
named institution. The school was first es-
tablished at Germantown in 1853, and six years
later was removed to its present location, but
the main building was not completed until
i86g. Since then it has grown rapidly through
the efforts of Dr. I. N. Kerlin.
The school has very fine buildings, includ-
ing the asylum and school house. The build-
ings are situated on a tract of one hundred and
forty acres, and with the land are worth in the
neighborhood of a million dollars. The school
was founded largely through the efforts of Dr.
Alfred L. Elwyn, for whom Elwvn Station is
named.
CROZER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
In 1868 Crozer Theological seminary was
established by the Crozer family at Upland as
a memorial of their father, the late John P.
Crozer. Mr. Crozer erected the main build-
ing, in 1857, for the use of a normal school,
which was continued until 1862. It was suc-
cessively used as a United States hospital,
from 1862 to 1865, and then as the Pennsyl-
vania Military academy from 1865 to 1868.
Six thousand wounded Federal and Confed-
erate soldiers were cared for within its walls
during the late war. The present main build-
ings consist of the seminary building, a hand-
some three-story brick structure, and Pearl
hall, of serpentine stone and in the shape of
a Greek cross. Beautiful grounds surround
the buildings. The influence of Crozer Theo-
logical seminary, which is a Baptist institution
of learning, has been felt for good through-
out the United States for the last quarter of
a century.
SISTERS OF ST. FRANCIS.
On September 7, 1871, the Sisters of St.
Francis, of Philadelphia, purchased the Hun-
tingdon seminary for young ladies at Aston
Ridge, that for a short time had been occupied
by the Philadelphia Theological seminary of
St. Charles Borromeo. A twenty-eight and
one-half-acre tract of land belonged to the
seminarv. The sisters used the old seminary
building for the novitiate of the community
until it became too small to meet the demands
of the order. New buildings were then de-
manded, and a handsome chapel — Our Lady
80
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTOBY
of Angels, — and a beautiful convent — Our
Lady of the Angels — have been erected.
On Mav 2g, 1873, Archbishop James F.Wood
officiating, the corner-stone was laid of the
convent of "Our Lad}- of the Angels.''
The corner-stone of the chapel of "Our
Lady of Angels" was laid, and its dedication
took place on October 4, 1881, \'ery Rev. John
White, of St. Peter's church, Philadelphia,
officiating.
Those wishing to join the community are
received at the convent, which is under the
charge of Mother Mary Agnes, general super-
ior, and trained to attend the sick in hospitals
and private houses and to teach in parochial
schools. Upwards of three hundred sisters
are in the community and make their annual
retreat every year to the convent. The
grounds of the Sisters of St. Francis are kept
neat and tasteful, and the convent of Our
Lady of the Angels is a beautiful and splen-
did structure, being a "conspicuous object in
the charming rural picture which strikes the
eye as you approach it from any direction."
r.URD ORPHAN ASYLUM.
The full title of this institution as incorpor-
ated was "The Burd Orphan Asylum of St.
Stephen's Church." It had its origin in Phil-
adelphia. Mrs. Eliza Howard Burd, who cared
for some orphans at Philadelphia, and who,
at her death in i860, left a half a million dol-
lars to St. Stephen's church to build and en-
dow the present institution, which was opened
in 1863. The buildings were not completed
until 1866. The buildings are mostlj- detached
from each other, two stories in height, and
built of stone. The grounds embrace forty-
five acres, and the place was formerly known
as " Sellers Hall."
NEW INDUSTRIES.
Among the new industries that came into
existence during the first decade after the close
of the late civil war may be named the mining
of kaolin and of garnet sand, and the estab-
lishment of the Eddystone Print works, whose
rapid growth soon led to the founding of the
prosperous borough of Eddystone.
Over sixty years ago white clay was found
in Birmingham township, that was afterwards
used by fullers, and also for the adulteration
of white lead and soap. In 1864 a company
was formed, which opened kaolin pits on a
part of the Isaac Heyburn farm, which it pur-
chased. This clay has been shipped from
these pits ever since.
In 1873 Charles Williams found garnetsand
on the old Lancaster farm, in Bethel township.
Six j-ears later pits were opened, and the ship-
ment of the sand was commenced.
The Eddystone Print works, the largest of
their kind in America, were established in
1874, adjoining the city of Chester, and are
now in the borough of Eddystone, which grew
up around them. The plant covers an area
of twenty acres, and the company operating
it employs nine hundred hands.
In the period elapsing from the close of the
late civil war up to and including the year
1880, iron ship-building had become a great
industry in the count)-, manufactures of all
kinds had advanced, schools, asylums, sem-
inaries, academies and colleges had increased,
and anew feature of prosperity had been intro-
duced in the founding of Ridley Park and
Wayne, as suburban towns of Philadelphia.
During that period railroad building was
pushed slowly forward. On November 4, 1868,
the Chester Creek railroad was opened, and
connected the two great lines of the Pennsyl-
vania that passed through the county,and early
in 1873 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
opened the present line of their road, from
Philadelphia to Chester, through Darby. The
abandoned track of the Pennsylvania road,
through the Delaware river lowlands from
Philadelphia to Chester, was leased the pre-
ceding year to the Philadelphia & Reading
Railroad Company, which has operated it ever
since.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
81
CHAPTER XII.
BI-CENTENNIAL OF PENN'S LANDING —
LATER RAILROADS — HOUSE OF REFUGE
—WILLIAMSON SCHOOL — OIL REFINING
— ELECTRIC RAILWAYS — PROGRESS OF
OF THE COUNTY.
ni-CENTENNIAL OF PENN'S LANDING.
From 1880 up to 1882 there was nothing of
general interest that occurred in the county,
but in the latter year steps were taken for the
celebration of the bi-centennial anniversary of
Penn's landing at Chester. A meeting was
held at Chester on the 15th of June, and the
following officers of a general committee were
elected: Hon. James Barton, jr. , chairman;
George E. Darlington, vice-chairman; J.
Craig, jr. , recording secretary; H. G. Ash-
mead, corresponding secretary; H. B. Black,
treasurer, and Col. W. C. Gray, chief mar-
shal. When the celebration day — October
29, 1882 — arrived, it was ushered in by the
ringing of all the city bells, each one giving
two hundred taps. Mills and industrial es-
tablishments throughout the county were gen-
erally closed, and hundreds arrived on each
incoming train. Governor Hoyt was present,
and the exercises consisted of an introductory
address by Mayor Barton, a prayer by Rev.
Henry Brown, a bi-centennial poem by Samuel
Pancoast, an oration by Hon. John M. Broom-
all, a bi-centennial hymn, words by Prof.
Charles F. Foster, and music by Prof. John R:
Sweene}', and a closing prayer by Rev. Thomas
Macauley. On November gth the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania and the Penn Club
unveiled the " Penn Memorial Stone," which
had been erected the preceding day as near as
could be ascertained to the spot where Penn
landed.
LATER RAILROADS.
From the bi-centennial celebration of Penn's
landing up to the present time, several
schemes for short distance railroads in the
6
countv have been discussed, but none have
been built. One of the main events, however,
of this period has been the building of the
Philadelphia division of the Baltimore and
Ohio railroad, between 1883 and 1889. Its
stations from Philadelphia to the Delaware
State line are : Darby, Boone, Collingdale,
Okeola, Llanwellyn, Holmes, Folsom, Ridley,
Millmont, Fairview, Chester, Upland, Felton,
Twin Oaks, Boothw^n and Ogden.
nOVS' DEPARTMENT HOUSE OF REFUGE.
The house of refuge was organized in Phil-
adelphia in 1826, and in 1889 steps were taken
to remove the boys' department to Glen Mills,
this county, which was accomplished through
the generosity of William Massey, Isaac V.
Williamson and others. Mr. Massey gave
one hundred thousand dollars, and Mr. Wil-
liamson contributed one hundred and five
thousand dollars. A farm of three hundred
and eigthy-fourand four-tenths acres was pur-
chased at Glen Mills, and on October 17, 1889,
the corner stone of the first (Administration)
building was laid. The administration and
reception buildings, workshops and chapel
were completed in i8go. The school building
and twelve cottages were finished in 1891, and
the boiler and dynamo house and kitchen and
bake house were also completed. The land
and these buildings cost over seven hundred
and eight thousand dollars.
On January i, 1892, there were twenty-nine
boys at Glen Mills, and by September ist of
that year five hundred and fourteen boys had
been transferred to the new home. The fam-
ily plan of housing from twenty-five to fifty
boys in a cottage has been adopted instead of
continuing the old congregate system. The
family plan is working with the best of results.
Dr. Isaac Massey is manager, F. H. Niebecker
superintendent, and Anna Gamewell supervis-
ing principal of the eight schools in operation.
The buildings are large, fine three and four
story brick structures, well supplied with water,
heated by steam and lighted by electricity.
83
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOBY
The managers intend in the future to remove
the girls' department to Glen Mills.
LATER INDUSTRIES.
Among the later industries of the county,
one that is rapidly attaining to proportions of
considerable size, is that of iron and steel
castings. Prominent among the establish-
ments in-this line of manufacture are the Na-
tional iron works of Marcus Hook, and the
Wellman, Standard, Chester and Eureka steel
works of Chester. These works employ over
one thousand five hundred men.
Three other late industries of considerable
size are : the manufacture of iron pipes and
tubes by the Chester Tube and Pipe Compau)' ;
the building of street and electric cars by the
Lamokin Car Company ; and the manufacture
of logwood at the Riverside mills.
THE WILLI.\MSON FREE SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL
TRADES.
This school was founded by Isaiah Vansant
Williamson for the purpose of giving poor and
deserving boys a good English education, for
training them in habits of morality, economy,
and industry, and for teaching them mechan-
ical trades. It is located on the central di-
vision of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and
Baltimore railroad (Pennsylvania railroad),
generally called the Philadelphia and West
Chester railroad, about sixteeen miles from
Broad Street station, Philadelphia. Its rail-
road station, as well as postoffice address, is
Williamson School, Delaware county. It is
in Middletown township, between Elwyn and
Glen Riddle stations. This school is the direct
outcome of and result of the discontinuance
of the apprenticeship system of labor in many
trades, and was founded and endowed by Mr.
Williamson for the intelligent and practical
education of the children of the United States
in useful trades.
In his endowment deed of trust on Decem-
ber 1, 1888, Mr. Williamson, in stating his mo-
tives and reasons for establishing this school,
says of industrial training :
" I am convinced that the abandonment or
disuse of the good old custom of apprenticeship
to trades has resulted in man3young men grow-
ing up in idleness, which leads to vice and crime
and is fraught with great danger to society. I
am impressed with the belief that in many
worthy institutions founded for the free edu-
cation of the young, and sometimes even in the
public schools, the system and course of edu-
cation, and the associations and surroundings
connected therewith, often unfit a young man
for a life of manual labor, and induce a false
belief in his mind that to labor with his hands
is not respectable — and for this reason pro-
fessional and mercantile pursuits are over-
crowded with incompetent condidates who
meet with failure — and thus many who, if they
had been differently trained in early life, could
have supported themselves at some trade in
comfort and decency, are condemned to idle-
ness and often to dissipation, beggary and
crime."
In 1888 Mr. Williamson in his deed ap-
pointed his friendsjohn Baird, James C. Brooks,
Lemuel Coffin, Edward Longstreth, William
C. Ludwig, Henry C. Townsend and John
Wanamaker, all of Philadelphia, as trustees
of the future school to be founded. The par
value of the securities transferred by the deed,
composed entirely of stocks of various corpora-
tions, was Si, 596, 000, having an appraised
value at the then market price of ?2, 119,250,
and producing at that time an income approxi-
mating Sioo,ooo.
Of several sites offered, the trustees selected
the present one of two hundred acres, which
was conimended by Mr. Williamson a few
days before his death, and for which they paid
$46,489.80, on May 17, 1889. Ground was
broken on May i, 1890, the corner stone was
laid November 8, 1890, and the buildings were
so far completed that the school was opened
on October 31, 1891.
Each scholar is given a preparatory course
in wood-working and mechanical drawing, in
connection with the studies in the school-room,
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
and extending through six months. At the
end of that period he is placed at one of the
following three trades : wood-working in its
various branches, such as carpentering, pattern-
making, cabinet-making, etc.; building, in-
cluding brick-laying, tile, range and boiler set-
ting, etc.; plastering and stone masonry ; ma-
chine trade in all its usual details, including
practical training in steam and electrical en-
gineering, steam-fitting, etc.
The school is situated on high and healthy
ground, commanding an extensive view of the
surrounding country. The main buildings
are: One four-story administration hall, two
hundred b}' one hundred and seventy feet ;
three shops ; one power house : six three-story
cottages, or homes, for scholars, and six dwell-
ings for officers. These with barn, ice house,
pump house, land, roads, water and drainage
systems, shop, school equipments and furni-
ture, have cost about $450,000. The first class,
of sixty young men, will be graduated April 2,
1894, and the average number of pupils in at-
tendance is one hundred and sixty.
Much of the efficiencv of the school is due
to the efforts of its president, John M. Shrig-
ley, who has been connected with the school
ever since its organization, and who has dis-
played zeal, fidelity and ability in his work.
Robert Crawford is its efficient superintendent.
OIL REFINING.
The year 1892 is remarkable in the historj'
of the county for the opening of great indus-
trial schools, the building of an electric railway,
and the establishment of the oil refining in-
dustry on the river front, below Marcus Hook,
where the Bear Creek oil works were erected
between April and November, 1892.
The plant of the Bear Creek Refining Com-
pany comprises sixty acres of land, with eight
hundred feet of river frontage, and among the
buildings are : storage, boiler, engine, and
bleaching houses, and a blacksmith shop and
barrel factor}'. There are several storage
tanks and sixteen oil stills. The crude oil is
brought in several pipe lines from the oil reg-
ions in the western part of the State three hun-
dred miles away. The storage capacity of the
works is several million gallons. Two hun-
dred men are employed, and the company
ships their refined oil by river and by the Penn-
sylvania and Reading railroads, each of which
has a branch running to the works.
ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.
Truly wonderful has been the great develop-
ment of rapid and convenient methods of
travel in this land since the war. Within the
last five )ears electric railroads have grown
from cit}' street car lines to short distance
routes between many important towns in this
country.
Delaware county is not behind any of her
sister counties in the United States in respect
to such roads. On December 6, 1892, the
Chester and Media Electric Raihvay was or-
ganized, and made a change from horse to
electric motive power on the Chester City
street railwa}-, then about three miles in length.
Soon the enterprise of the company pushed
the road north to Upland and Media, and
south to Marcus Hook. The road has now an
aggregate mileage of twenty five miles, and its
three branches are : Chester City and Marcus
Hook, fifteen miles : Chester City and Media,
eight miles ; and Chester City and Upland,
two miles.
The capital stock of the company is one
hundred thousand dollars. The officers of the
company are: S. A. Dyer, president; J. G.
Dyer, secretary and treasurer ; and John Mac-
Fazen, superintendent. The members of the
board of directors are ; S. A. Dyer, Richard
Wetherill, W. B. Broomall, William Appleby
and William Wilson.
It has been predicted that the Chester elec-
tric railway will eventually run south by Lin-
wood and Claymont to Wilmington, and ex-
tend north to Broad street, Philadelphia.
84
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
ELEMENTS OF POPULATION.
In order of age the elements of population
in Delaware county seem to be, as far as can
be ascertained, as follows: Swedes, Finns,
Dutch, English and Welsh Quakers, Welsh,
French, English, Irish, German, Scotch-Irish
and Scotch.
The Swedes settled from Tinicum down to
Upland. The Finns dwelt below Marcus
Hook, in what was called Finland. The Dutch,
few in numbers, were scattered all along the
Delaware. The English and Welsh Quakers
first settled at Upland and then spread out
over every section, and the English Quakers,
by weight of numbers and prominence in civil
life, stamped their character upon the county,
whose affairs they controlled until the Revo-
lutionary war. The Welsh were respectable
in numbers, were Quakers and Baptists, and
the latter settled in Haverford and Radnor
townships. The French were comprised in
the few Acadian exiles that were assigned in
1758 to the townships. A few of the English
came as redemptioners, but others in comfort-
able circumstances afterwards arrived and
sought for homes. The Irish furnished a part
of the redemptioners, and also sent a more
prosperous class by the year 1770. The
Germans contributed a very small share to
the redemption emigration, and were few in
numbers. The Scotch-Irish mainly passed
through the county to settle in the Scotch-
Irish Presbyterian district of what is now
Chester county. The Scotch, like the Ger-
man and Scotch-Irish, were few in num-
bers, but made comfortable homes for them-
selves.
At the opening of the Revolutionary strug-
gle these different elements were composed
of the choicest spirits of their respective races.
The Swedes were industrious and inclined to
be peaceable, as were also the few Finns and
Dutch. The English Quakers, distinguished
for intelligence, education, patient industry
and honest thrift, honored the religion of
peace they professed by refusing to join in an
appeal to arms in the arbitrament of Colonial
wrongs, and in uncomplainingly allowing them-
selves to be plundered alike by opposing
armies, while their philanthropy led them to
succor the distressed and suffering of all par-
ties throughout the entire struggle for Inde-
pendence. The French were enthusiastic and
daring. The Irish were impulsive and brave ;
the Scotch and Scotch-Irish were hardy, moral
and fearless ; and the English were noted for
a high sense of honor and a lofty spirit of in-
dependence, while the Welsh, like the Eng-
lish, could not be excelled for intelligence and
bravery, and were ever foremost in times of
danger.
Since the Revolution all of these elements
except the Swede, the Finn and the Dutch
have been largely re-inforced by emigration
from their fatherlands in the old w-orld.
Of the present largelj' homogenous popula-
tion of Delaware county we are able to trace
its immigrant factor by the census back nearly
a quarter of a century to 1870, and find in
that year that of its 39,403 people, 7,030, or
nearly one-fifth, were from beyond the sea ;
4,360 coming from Ireland ( being Irish and
Scotch-Irish); 2,148 from England and Wales;
206 from Scotland ; 197 from Germany, and
26 from France. Ten j'ears later, in 1880, the
population of Delaware county of foreign birth
had increased from 7,030 to 9,360, an increase
of 2,330, being an average of 233 for each
3'ear of the decade from 1870 to 1880.
PROGRESS OF THE COUNTY.
The story of the settlements on the Dela-
ware was one of no real progress until Penn
set foot on the shores of that noble stream to
become the greatest province-builder of the
new world. The growth of the county in
numbers and in wealth was checked by the
Revolution ; but after that great struggle came
a half a century of steady agricultural pro-
gress, during which the population more than
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
85
doubled itself. Then was ushered into exis-
tence the present manufacturing period, in
which population has trebled itself in less
than fifty years. Although interrupted by the
civil war, manufacturing has become the great
factor of the county's substantial progress and
enduring prosperit}'.
Parallel with the material development of
the county has been the growth of the educa-
tional, moral and religious institutions of its
people.
The first and greatest element of Delaware
county's material prosperitj' is her cotton and
woolen manufactures, introduced after the
second war with England ; the second great
element is her home and international iron
ship-building industry at Chester, established
in 1871, by John Roach : and a third great
element is her railway suburban towns of Phil-
adelphia, inaugurated in 1872 by the founding
of Ridley Park, and having so far finest de-
velopment in Wayne, created in 1880 by
George W. Childs, the great editor and phil-
anthropist, whose death, in the early Feb-
ruary days of 1894, called forth sorrowing
messages from every quarter of the globe.
No great stretch of imagination on the part
of man}' close observers is needed to picture,
in the near future, the growing of these sub-
urban towns into a continuous extension of
Philadelphia to Chester, and from thence
through South Chester and Upland to Wil-
mington, filling up the narrow tide-water dis-
trict of the county with a dense mass of urban
population.
Delaware county is assured of an important
and useful future. Vast as is the volume of
her manufactures great as is the growth of
her population, and remarkable as is the ex-
pansion of her ship-biiilding and a score of
other new born industries, 3'et the "security
for prosperity, the guaranty against disaster,
and the promise of progress" for her, lies in
the keen intelligence and the conservative
character of her people, who are distinguished
for their patriotism and philanthropy.
6f(
CH ARTE R XIII.
COURTS— MEMBERS OF THE DELAWARE
COUNTY BAR — PUBLIC BUILDINGS —
CIVIL AND JUDICIAL LISTS.
COURTS.
Swedish justice was dispensed atTinicum by
Gov. John Print/,, who was to " decide all con-
troversies according to the laws, customs and
usages of Sweden. " The Dutch records throw
but little light on the legal tribunals which
they established on the Delaware. Their first
courts seemed to have been at New Castle or
Christiana. Later they held a court at Fort
Altena, and when the English took possession
they established an inferior court at Upland.
The Dutch, during their second occupation,
continued a court at Upland, and when Gov-
ernor Andross took permanent possession
for the English, he located a tribunal of jus-
tice at Upland with the powers of a court
of sessions, having restricted jurisdiction over
civil and criminal cases. This court was re-
moved to Kingsessing for one year, and then
was called b}' Governor Markham at Upland,
where in 1683 was summoned the first grand
jury of record in the State.
The courts for Chester county met at Ches-
ter until the county seat was removed to West
Chester in 1786. Three years later the courts
of the new created county of Delaware were
called to meet at Chester, where they re-
mained until 1 85 1, when the}' were removed
to Media, the present county seat.
A jury of women were summoned at a Ches-
ter court in i68g, and was the only jury of
women that was called in the United States
until a century later a similar jury was im-
paneled at Morgantown, Virginia, now West
Virginia.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
The public buildings, excepting the county
homes, were first at Chester, where they re-
mained for sixty-two years, and then in 1851
the present ones were erected at Media.
86
BIOGEAPHY AND HISTORY
COURT HOUSES.
The first building used for court purposes
was Neeles Laerson's inn, which is believed
to have stood on Edgmont avenue, north of
the present Second street, Chester. This inn
was so used between 1675 and 1678.
In 1678 the "House of Defense " was fitted
up for court sittings. It was a rectangular
log building, fourteen by fifteen feet in dimen-
sions, and stood on the east side of Edgmont
avenue, about eighty-four feet from the pres-
ent Second street.
The third court house was built in 1684-85,
and was located by Dr. Smith on the east side
of Edgmont avenue, while the later writers
place it on the west side of that highway.
In 1695 John Hoskins built the fourth court
house on the west side of Edgmont avenue,
opposite the "House of Defense," and two
hundred and fifty-six feet and six inches from
the southwest corner of Edgmont avenue and
Third street.
The fifth court house is the old city hall on
Market street, Chester, and was built in 1724. In
it were held the courts of Delaware county until
the county seat was removed in 1851 to Media.
In 1 85 1 the main part of the sixth and pres-
ent court house w^as completed by the con-
tractors, Joseph Esrey. John Williamson, and
Joseph Lawson,who received thirty-two thous-
and dollars for erecting the court house and
the old part of the present jail. The court
house becoming too small for the transaction
of the county business, it was enlarged in 187 1
by the addition of two wings, two stories in
height, and each thirty-eight feet square.
John Hinkson, of Chester, erected the wings
for twenty-nine thousand dollars.
J.\ILS.
The first jail was built in 1684-85, near Ches-
ter creek, and in 1795, when the third court
house was erected, the cellar of that building
was used for jail purposes.
Some time between 1718 and 1724, the third
jail and a "work-house" was built on the
northwest corner of Fourth and Market streets,
Chester. It was two stories high, built of •
square cut stone, and was used until 185 1,
when the county seat was removed to Media.
In 1 85 1 the contractors who finished the
court house also completed the first part of
the fourth and present jail at Media. In 186S
an addition of forty-three by forty-eight feet
was built to the jail, and nine years later the
stone wall around the prison was extended
and raised by William Armstrong, at a cost of
nearly six thousand dollars. In 1878 a new
three-story building was erected, adjoining
the original structure. It was seventy feet
long and forty-seven feet high, containing six
work rooms and thirty-six cells, and costing
sixteen thousand one hundred and forty dollars.
COUNT\ HOMES.
The first county home, or county poor-house,
was built some time shortly after 1804, on a
farm purchased near the site of Media. The
farm at first contained one hundred and thirty-
three acres. The old poor-house was a stone
structure forty by one hundred feet in dimen-
sions.
The second and present county home, or
house of employment, was built in 1856-57,
on the Abraham Pennell farm, near Lima, at
a cost of twenty thousand dollars. The main
building of the home is a three-story structure,
with an observatory, to which is attached two
wings. A hospital and a cook-house have
been erected, and an addition made to the de-
partment for the insane.
MEMBERS OF THE DELAW.^RE COUNTY B.\R
IN 1S93, -■VND DATE OF ADMISSION.
John M. Broomall, August 24, 1840.
Thomas H. Speakman, August 20, 1844.
Thomas J. Clayton, November 24, 1851.
A. Lewis Smith, November 28, 1853.
Edward A. Price, February 25, 1856.
George E. Darlington, 1857.
John Hibberd, 1857.
William Ward, August 22, 1859.
Joseph R. T. Coates, August 22, 1859.
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THE NE^ y^^^^
PUBLIC LIBRARY \
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
87
O. Flagg BuUard, August 22, 1859.
David M. Johnson, June 23, 1862.
John B. Hinkson, August 24, 1S63.
William B. Broomall, December 28, 1863.
Orlando Harvey, November 25, 1868.
Henry C. Howard, November 23, i86g.
Perry M. Washabaugh, November 23, 1869.
V. Gilpin Robinson, March 26, 1872.
Edward H. Hall, November 24, 1873.
David F. Rose, November 24, 1873.
George M. Booth, February 23, 1874.
H. G. Ashmead, February 23, 1875.
George B. Lindsay, February 23, 1875.
John T. Reynolds, September 22, 1875.
John V. Rice, December 13, 1875.
Henry M. Fussell, January 17, 1876.
Henry Pleasants, jr., January 8, 1877.
John B. Hannum, February 5, 1877.
J. B. Dickenson, June 4, 1877.
Edmund Jones, December 5, 1877.
Townsend E. Lewis, March 4, 1878.
J. Newton Shanafelt, March 6, 1878.
Patrick Bradley, April 7, 1878.
William S. Sykes, April 7, 1878.
Oliver B. Dickenson, December 3, 1878.
Ward R. Bliss, December 3, 1878.
Horace P. Green, June 9, 1879.
Garnett Pendleton, July 7,, 1879.
W. Ross Brown, July 7, 1879.
James S. Cummins, September 20, 1880.
Jesse M. Baker, September 22, 1880.
John B. Robinson, March 7, 1881.
Garrett E. Smedley, September 22, 188 1,
Henry L. Broomall, February 6, 1882.
Isaac Johnson, December 17, 1883.
Samuel L}ons, June g, 1884.
William L. Mathues, November 10, i8(S4.
William H. Harrison, February i, 1886.
S. Ulrich Ward, April 5, 1886.
Joseph H. Hinkson, June 15, 1886.
Lewis Lawrence Smith, June, ) 886.
Hiram Hathaway, jr., January 3, 1887.
Samuel A. Price, March 7, 18S7.
Archie A. Cochran, May 2, 1887.
Horace L. Cheyney, June 13, 1887.
John Lentz Garrett, June 13, 1887.
W. Roger Fronefield, September 19, 1887.
Samuel L. Clayton, February 13, 1888.
William L Schaffer, February 13, 1888.
William V. Delahunt, March 5, 1888.
L Hazelton Mirkil, April 2, 1888.
Frank B. Rhodes, December 2, i88g.
Charles Palmer, April 7, 1890.
William H. Ridley, March 23, 1891.
Charles L Cronin, July 6, 1891.
C. M. Broomall, September 21, 1891.
J. Russell Hayes, June 7, 1892.
C. Percy Willcox, September 26, 1892.
Samuel H. Kirkpatrick, October 12, 1892.
Josiah Smith, December 5, 1892.
William .\. Shoemaker, December 22, 1892.
William B. Harvey, March 6, 1893.
Charles T. Andenried, June 19, 1893.
Henry V. Massey, June 19, 1893.
Morton Z. Paul, June 19, 1893.
George T. Butler, July 3, 1893.
CIVIL AND JUDICIAL LISTS.
The history of the territory of Delaware
county commenced at the same time as the
history of Pennsylvania, and spans a period
of two hundred and eleven years. During this
entire length of time the people of what is
now Delaware countj' have had civil officers
and State representation, first as a part of
Chester county, and then as a separate politi-
cal organization of their own.
We give the following lists of Congressmen,
State senators and members of the assembly,
and civil officers of the county, from 1682 to
1893.
MEMBERS OF CONCRESS.
The following persons from Delaware county
have represented it in the different districts of
which it has been a part.
1801. — Joseph Hemphill.
1803-9. — Jacob Richards.
1809-15. — William Anderson.
1815-17
1817-19
1819-27
1833-39
— Thomas Smith.
— William Anderson.
— Samuel Edwards.
— Edward Darlington.
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
1839-43. — John Edwards.
1863-69. — John M. Broomall.
1877-84.— WilHam Ward.
1891-93. — Jolin B. Robinson.
The apportionment act of 1791 made Del-
aware and Philadelphia counties the First
Congressional district, and they were so con-
tinued b}' the acts of 1802 and 181 2.
B\'the act of 1822 Chester, Delaware and
Lancaster counties were made the Fourth
Congressional district. The act of 1843 placed
Delaware and Montgomer)- counties together
to constitute the Fifth district. In 1852 Dela-
ware and Chester counties were made to con-
stitute the Sixth district, while the apportion-
ment of 1862 continued the counties together,
but changed the name of the district from that
of Sixth to Seventh.
The act of 1873 continued the same coun-
ties, but changed the name back from that of
Seventh to Sixth. By the act of 1887 the
Sixth district remained unchanged. Delaware
and Chester have constituted the same district
under different names from 1852 to 1893, a
period of forty years.
MEMBERS OF THE STATE SENATE KROM I)EL.\-
WARE COUNTY.
1790, John Sellers : 1790-94, Nathaniel New-
lin ; 1800, John Pearson ; 1804, William Pen-
nell ; 1808, Jonas Preston; 1812, John New-
bold; 1816, Maskeli Evving ; 1824-28, John
Kerlin ; 1832, Dr. George Smith ; 1836, Henry
Myers; 1839, John T. Huddleson; 1848, H.
Jonas Brooke; 1854, James J. Lewis; 1860,^
Jacob S. Serrill ; 1869, H. Jonas Brooke;
1874-89, Thomas V. Cooper; 1889, John B.
Robinson; 1892, Jesse M. Baker.
MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY, 1682-1893.
{From Cliester County.)
1682. — John Simcock, Thomas Brassey,
Ralph Withers, Thomas Usher.
1683 — John Hastings, RobertWade, George
Wood, John Blunston, Dennis Rochford,
Thomas Brasse\-, John Bezer, John Harding,
Joseph Phipps.
1684. — Joshua Hastings, RobertWade, John
Blunston, George Maris, Thomas Usher. Henry
Maddock.
1685. — John Blunston, George Maris, John
Harding, Thomas Usher, Francis Stanfield,
Josiah Fearn.
16S6. — Robert Wade, John Blunston, George
Maris, Bartholomew Coppock, Samuel Lewis.
Caleb Pusey.
1687. — John Blunston, George Maris, Bar-
tholomew Coppock, Caleb Pusey, Edward
Bezer, Randall Vernon.
1688. — John Blunston, James Sandelands,
George Maris, Robert Pyle, Edward Carter,
Thomas Coeburn.
i58g. — James Sandelands, Samuel Levis,
John Bartram, Robert P} le, Michael Blunston,
Jonathan Hayes.
i6go. — John Bristow, William Jenkin, Rob-
ert Pyle, Joshua Fearne, George Maris, Caleb
Pusey.
1692. — Philip Roman, George Maris, Bar-
tholomew Coppock, Robert Pyle, Caleb Pusey,
Thomas Withers.
1693. — John Simcock, George Maris, David
Lloyd.
1694. — David Lloyd, Caleb Pusey, Samuel
Levis.
1695. — John Blunston, Bartholomew, Cop-
pock, William Jenkin, Robert Pyle, Walter
Forest (Faucet?), Philip Roman.
1696. — John Simcock (Speaker), John Blun-
ston, Caleb Pusey.
1697. — John Blunston (Speaker), Bartholo-
mew Coppock, Thos. Worth, Jonathan Ha3'es.
1698. — Caleb Pusey, Samuel Levis, Na-
thaniel Newlin, Robert Carter.
1699. — John Blunston (Speaker), Robert
Pyle, John Worrilow, Robert Carter.
1700. — John Blunston (Speaker), Robert
Pyle, Richard Ormes, John Hood, Samuel
Levis, Henry Lewis.
1700. — Joseph Baker, Samuel Levis, Na-
thaniel Newlin, Nicholas Pyle.
1701. — John Blunston, Robert Pyle, Na-
thaniel Newlin, Andrew Job.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
89
1703. — Nicholas Pyle, John Bennett, An-
drew Job, David Lewis, Nathaniel Newlin,
Joseph Baker, Robert Carter, Joseph Wood.
1704. — Nicholas Pyle, John Bennett, Nich-
olas Fairlamb, Joseph Cobourn, John Hood,
Richard Hayes, Joseph Wood, Isaac Taylor.
1705. — Robert Pyle, Richard Webb, Caleb
Puse)', Nicholas Fairlamb, John Bennett,
Isaac Taylor, Nathaniel Newlin, Joseph Coe-
burn.
1706. — Samuel Levis, Richard Hayes,
Francis Chadds, Joseph Baker, Evan Levis,
John Hood, George Pearce, William Garrett.
1707. — Francis Chadds, William Smith,
Samuel Levis, Richard Haj'es, John Hood,
William Garrett, John Bethell, Evan Lewis.
1708. — Daniel Williamson, Samuel Levis,
Henry Lewis, Richard Hayes, John Hood,
Thomas Pearson, William Bartram, Daniel
Hoopes.
1709. — Samuel Levis, John Maris, John
Hood, Henry Lewis, Daniel Williamson,
Daniel Hoopes, Richard Hayes, William
Smith.
1710. — Nicholas Pyle, Joseph Baker, Wil-
liam Lewis, John Wood, Nathaniel Newlin,
Ephraim Jackson, Caleb Pusey, Isaac Taylor.
171 1. — Francis Yarnall, John Bezer, Caleb
Pusey, Nicholas Pyle, Nathaniel Newlin,
Joseph Baker, Nicholas Fairlamb, David
Llewelin.
171 2. — Caleb Pusey, David Lloyd, William
Davis, Nicholas Fairlamb, John Wood,
George Harlan, Isaac Taylor, John Maris.
171 3. — David Lloyd, William Davis, Joseph
Baker, Nathaniel Newlin, Nicholas Fairlamb,
Richard Hayes, William Brinton, John Blun-
ston, jr.
1714. — David Lloyd (Speaker), Nathaniel
Newlin, Nicholas Pyle, Evan Lewis, John
Miller, Benjamin Mendenhall, Samuel Gar-
rett, Richard Maris.
1715. — David Lloyd, Samuel Garrett,
Henry Lewis, Henry Hayes, William Pyle,
Edward Bezer, Philip Taylor, Da\ id Lewis.
1716. — David Lloyd, John Blunston, jr..
Henry Hayes, Joseph Pennock, David Harr}',
John Maris, John Worrall, Henry Oborn.
1717. — David Lloyd, Nathaniel Newlin,
Richard Hayes, Samuel Garrett, James Gib-
bons, John Wood, George Maris, Henry
Miller.
1718. — David Lloyd, Richard Hayes, Na-
thaniel Newlin, John Wright, James Gibbons,
Henry Lewis, William Lewis, Henry Oborn.
1719. — Isaac Taylor, Joseph Pennock,
Moses Key, John Bezer, Nathaniel Newlin,
John Maris, James Gibbons, Evan Lewis.
1720. — Joseph Pennock, Samuel Levis,
jr., Isaac Taylor, Israel Taylor, John Maris,
Ralph Pyle, Daniel Williamson, David Lewis.
1721. — Samuel Levis, jr., William Pyle,
Daniel Williamson, Isaac Taylor, David
Lewis, Henry Oborn, Nathaniel Newlin,
Israel Taylor.
1722. — Samuel Levis, jr., Joseph Pennock,
David Lewis, William Pyle, Daniel William-
son, Israel Taylor, Nathaniel Newlin, Isaac
Taylor.
1723. — Thomas Chandler, Samuel Levis,
jr., Samuel Nutt, John Crosby, Moses Key,
William Webb, Joseph Pennock, David
Lloyd (Speaker).
1724. — Moses Key, Joseph Pennock, Wil-
liam Webb, William Pyle, Thomas Chandler,
Elisha Gatchell, John Parry, John Crosby.
1725. — Thomas Chandler, David Lloyd
(Speaker), William Webb, John Wright,
Samuel Hollingsworth, William Pusey, George
Ashton, William Paschall.
1726. — David Lloyd ( Speaker), Samuel
Nutt, Samuel Hollingsworth, John Wright,
Richard Hayes, Joseph Pennock. Thomas
Chandler, William Pusey.
1727. — John Parr}', Samuel Hollingsworth,
David Lloyd ( Speaker), Thomas Chandler,
John Carter, Daniel Williamson, Simon Mer-
edith, William Webb.
1728. — Thomas Chandler, David Lloyd
(Speaker), Samuel Hollingsworth, John Parr}',
\\'illiam Webb, Philip Taylor, John Carter,
Henry Hayes.
90
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
\'j'2<^. — Caleb Cowpland, Richard Hayes,
Joseph Brinton, Thomas Chandler, William
Webb, Samuel Gilpin, James James, Joseph
Pennock.
1730. — Henrj' Pierce, John Ta3lor, Samuel
Lewis, John Parry, Thomas Chandler, Samuel
Gilpin, William Webb, Henry Hayes.
1731. — Joseph Harvey, John Parr\', Samuel
Lewis, Caleb Cowpland, John Taylor, Joseph
Brinton, Henrj' Pierce, Evan Lewis.
1732. — Caleb Cowpland, Joseph Harvey,
Joseph Brinton, Thomas Thomas, William
Webb, Joseph Pennock, John Davis, William
Hewes.
1733. — Caleb Cowpland, Joseph Harvey,
Joseph Brinton, John Davis, Thomas Thomas,
Joseph Pennock, John Owen, William Moore.
1734. — Joseph Harvey, Joseph Brinton,
Caleb Cowpland, John Evans, William Webb,
William Moore, John Owen, Joseph Pennock.
1735. — Joseph Harvej-, William Moore,
Joseph Pennock, Caleb Cowpland, John Evans,
John Parry, Joseph Brinton, Thomas Cum-
mings.
1736.^ Joseph Harvey, Thomas Cummings,
John Evans, Caleb Cowpland, William Webb,
William ^loore, Thomas Chandler, John Parry.
1737. — Thomas Chandler, Joseph Harvey,
John Evans, Thomas Cummings, William
Moore, James Gibbons, William Hughes, Rich-
ard Ha3es.
1738. — William Moore, James Gibbons,
Thomas Chandler, Joseph Harvey, John Owen,
Thomas Tatnall, William Hughes, Jeremiah"
Starr.
1739. — James Gibbons, Thomas Chandler.
Joseph Harvey, William Hughes, Jeremiah
Starr, William Moore, Samuel Levis, John
Owen.
1740. — Thomas Chandler, Joseph Harvev,
James Gibbons, William Hughes, Samuel
Levis, John Owen, Jeremiah Starr, Thomas
Tatnall.
1741. — Joseph Harvey, Thomas Chandler,
James Gibbons, John Owen, Thomas Tatnall,
Sam'l Levis, William Hughes, Jeremiah Starr.
1742. — James Gibbons, John Owen, Sam-
uel Levis, Jeremiah Starr, Thomas Chandler,
Joseph Harve}', William Hughes, Thomas
Tatnall.
1743. — Jeremiah Starr, James Gibbons,
Thomas Chandler, Joseph Harvey, Samuel
LeviSjJoseph Pennock, George Ashbridge, jr.,
Francis Yarnall.
1744. — George Ashbridge, Francis Yarnall,
Joseph Pennock, Samuel Levis, James Gib-
bons, Joseph Harve}', Thomas Cummings,
Thomas Chandler.
1745. — JosephPennock,ThomasCummings,
George Ashbridge, Francis Yarnall, Joseph
Harvey, Samuel Levis, Robert Lewis, Thomas
Chandler.
1746. — Francis Yarnall, George Ashbridge,
Robert Lewis, Thomas Worth, Samuel Levis,
Peter Dicks, Thomas Chandler, John Owen.
1747. — Samuel Levis, Francis Yarnall,
George Ashbridge, Thomas \\'orth, Peter
Dicks, John Owen, John Davis, Thomas
Chandler.
1748. — Thomas Worth, George Ashbridge,
Francis Yarnall, John Davis, John Owen, Jo-
seph James, Thos. Chandler, Joseph Gibbons.
1749. — Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge,
Henry Hockley, Thomas Chandler, Nathaniel
Grubb, Nathaniel Pennock, Roger Hunt,
Thomas Cummings.
1750. — Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge,
Thomas Cummings, Henry Hockley, Thomas
Chandler, Nathaniel Grubb, Nathaniel Pen-
nock, Peter Dicks.
1 75 1. — Joseph Gibbons, Thomas Cummings,
George Ashbridge, Nathaniel Grubb, Peter
Dicks, Nathaniel Pennock, Henry Hockley,
Thomas Chandler.
1752. — Joseph Gibbons, Thomas Cummings,
Nathaniel Pennock, Peter Dicks, George Ash-
bridge, Nathaniel Grubb, William Peters. Jacob
Howell.
1753. — Thomas Cummings, Nathaniel Pen-
nock, George Ashbridge, Joseph Gibbons,
Nathaniel Grubb, Peter Dicks, William Peters,
Joseph James.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
91
1754. — George Ashbridge, Joseph Gibbons,
Peter Dicks, Thomas Cummings, Nathaniel
Pennock, Nathaniel Grubb, Joseph James,
William Peters.
1755. — Thomas Cummings, George Ash-
bridge, Nathaniel Pennock, Joseph James,
Joseph Gibbons, Nathaniel Grubb, William
Peters, Peter Dicks.
1756. — Joseph Gibbons, Peter Dicks, John
Morton, Roger Hunt, George Ashbridge, Hugh
Trimble, Nathaniel Pennock, Nathaniel Grubb.
I 757. — Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge,
Jolin Morton, Roger Hunt, Isaac Wa}ne,
Nathaniel Grubb, Hugh Trimble, Joshua Ash.
1758. — Jos. Gibbons, Jno. Morton, George
Ashbridge, Roger Hunt, Hugh Trimble. Joshua
Ash, Nathaniel Grubb, Isaac Wajne.
1759. — John Morton, George Ashbridge,
Joshua Ash, Joseph Gibbons, Hugh Trimble,
Roger Hunt, Peter Dicks, Isaac Wayne.
1760. — George Ashbridge, John Morton,
Roger Hunt, Joshua Ash, Joseph Gibbons,
Nathaniel Pennock, Isaac Wayne, W^illiam
Boyd.
1761. — Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge,
Nathaniel Pennock, Joshua Ash, John Mor-
ton, Isaac Wayne, Isaac Pearson, Roger
Hunt.
1762. — Nathaniel Pennock, George Ash-
bridge, Joshua Ash, Isaac Pearson, John Mor-
ton, Isaac Wayne, Joseph Gibbons, John
Jacobs.
1763. — George Ashbridge, Joshua Ash, Isaac
Pearson, John Morton, Nathaniel Pennock,
John Jacobs, Isaac Wayne, Charles Hum-
phreys.
1764. — George Ashbridge, John Morton,
Nathaniel Pennock, Joshua Ash, Isaac Pear-
son, Charles Humphreys, John Jacobs, John
Fairlamb.
1765. — John Morton, George Ashbridge,
John Jacobs, Nathaniel Pennock, John Fair-
lamb, Charles Humphreys, Isaac Pearson,
Joshua Ash.
1766. — John Morton, George Ashbridge,
Nanthaniel Pennock, John Jacobs, Charles
Humphreys, Isaac Pearson, Joshua Ash, John
Minshall.
1767. — Isaac Pearson, Charles Humphreys,
George Ashbridge, John Minshall, Jonas Pres-
ton, John Jacobs, John Sellers, Nathaniel
Pennock.
1768. — John Jacobs, Nathaniel Pennock,
George Ashbridge, Charles Humphreys, John
Sellers, John Minshall, Isaac Pearson, John
Crosb)'.
1769. — George Ashbridge, Charles Hum-
phreys, Isaac Pearson, John Sellers, John
Jacobs, John Minshall, John Crosby, John
Morton.
1770 — Charles Humphreys, Isaac Pearson,
John Minshall, John Morton, John Jacobs,
John Crosby, George Ashbridge, John Sellers.
1771. — John Morton, Charles Humphreys,
Isaac Pearson, John Jacobs, John Sellers,
John Minshall, George Ashbridge, JohnCrosby.
1772. — Charles Humphreys, Isaac Pearson,
John Morton, John Jacobs, John Minshall,
James Hockley, George Ashbridge, Benjamin
Bartholomew.
1773. — Isaac Pearson, Benjamin Bartholo-
mew, John Jacobs, Charles Humphreys, John
Morton, James Gibbons, John Minshall, Joseph
Pennock.
1774. — BenjaminBartholomew, John Jacobs,
Joseph Pennock, James Gibbons, Isaac Pear-
son, Charles Humphreys, John Morton, An-
thony Wayne.
1775. — John Morton (Speaker), Benjamin
Bartholomew, James Gibbons, Isaac Pearson,
John Jacobs, Charles Humphreys, Joseph Pen-
nock, Joseph Pyle.
1776. — John Jacobs, Caleb Davis, Joseph
Gardner, John Fulton, Samuel Cunningham,
John Sellers.
1777. — Joseph Gardner, John Fulton, Sam-
uel Cunningham, John Culbertson, Lewis Gro-
now, Stephen Cochran.
1778. — Joseph Gardner, John Fulton, John
Culbertson, Stephen Cochran, John Fleming,
Patrick Anderson.
1779. — John Fulton, David Thomas, Henry
93
BIOGEAPHY AND HISTORY
Hayes, James Boyd, Patrick Anderson, Joseph
Park, William Harris, Sketchley Morton.
1780. — David Thomas, Henr}' Hayes, Jo-
seph Park, William Harris, James Boyd, Pat-
rick Anderson, John Culbertson, Evan Evans.
1781. — John Culbertson, Evan Evans, James
Moore, Persifor Frazer, Thomas Maffat, Pat-
rick Anderson. John Hannum, John Lindsay.
1782. — Persifor Frazer, James Boyd, Evan
Evans, Thomas Strawbridge, Benjamin Bran-
nan, David Thomas, John Lindsay, Thomas
Maffat.
1783. — David Thomas, Evan Evans, John
Hannum, Joseph Park, Richard Willing,
Thomas Potts, Thomas Bull, Edward Jones.
1784. — Richard Willing, Edward Jones
Anthony Wayne, Robert Ralston, James
Moore, Thomas Potts, Persifor Frazer, Jos-
eph Strawbridge, Charles Humphreys.
1785. — Anthony Wayne, Robert Ralston,
James Moore, Thomas Bull, John Hannum,
Robert Smith (Oxford), Samuel Evans, Jon-
athan Morris.
1786-1787.— Robert Ralston, Richard Will-
ing, James Moore, Samuel Evans, Richard
Thomas, Townsend Whelen.
1788. — Richard Thomas, James Moore,
Mark Wilcox, John McDowell, Caleb James,
Richard Downing, jr.,
1789. — Richard Thomas, John McDowell,
Caleb James, Richard Downing, jr.
FROM DELAWARE COUNTY.
— Hugh Lloyd, Richard Riley.
— Hugh Lloyd, Nathaniel Newlin.
— Joseph Gibbons, William West.
— Nathaniel Newlin, WilliamWest,
— Jonas Preston, William West.
)i. — Jonas Preston, Wm. Palmer.
-Jonas Preston, Benj. H. Smith.
-Isaac G. Gilpin, Benj. H. Smith.
-William Pennell, Benj. H. Smith.
- William Pennell,WilliamTrimbIe.
-Thomas Smith, William Trimble.
— Thomas Smith, William Pen-
1790-
-91.
I79I-
-92.
1792-
-93
1793-
-94-
1794-
-97-
1797-
-i8(
I80I-
-2. -
1802-
-3--
1803-
-4-
1804-
-8.-
1808-
-9.-
1809-
-12.
nock.
I8I2
son.
1814-
wards.
1815-
wards.
1816
derson.
1818-
1819-
1820-
1821-
1822-
1823-
1825-
1826-
1827-
1828-^
1829-
1830-
1831-
i«35-
1836-
1H37-
1840-
1842-
1844-^
1 846-
1848-^
1850-
1852-
1854.
1855-
1856
1857
1858-
1860.
1861-^
1863.
1864.
1865-
1867.
1868-^
1870
1871.
1872.
14
15
16,
-18,
— William Cheney, John Thorn p-
— William Chene}^ Samuel Ed-
— Samuel Anderson, Samuel Ed-
— William Cheyney, Samuel An-
19. — William Cheyne)', John l\erlin.
20. — Thomas Robinson, John Kerlin.
21. — George G. Leiper, Abner Lewis.
22. — John Lewis, William Cheyney.
23. — Samuel Anderson.
25. — Abner Lewis.
26. — Samuel Anderson.
27. — Joseph Engle.
28. — William Martin.
29. — Edward Siter.
30. — Samuel Anderson.
31. — John Lindsay.
35. — Samuel Anderson.
36. — William Mendenhall.
37. — John Hinkson.
39. — John H. Zeilin.
42. — Joshua P. Eyre.
44. — H. Jonas Brooke.
46.- John Larkin, jr.
48. — Sketchley Morton.
50. — James J. Lewis.
52. — John M. Broomall.
54. — Jonathan P. Abraham.
— Thomas H. Maddock.
— Charles D. Manley.
— Hiram Cleaver.
— Thomas D. Powell.
-59. — William D. Pennell.
— Chalkley Harvey.
-62. — William Gamble.
— Chalkley Harvey.
— Edward A. Price.
-66. — Elwood T\'son.
— John H. Barton.
-69. — Augustus B. Leedom.
— Thomas V. Cooper.
— Trj'on Lewis.
— Thomas V. Cooper.
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
93
1873. — Orson Flagg Bullard.
1874-76. — William Cooper Talley.
1875-76. — William Worrall.
1877-78. — Orson Flagg Bullard.
1877-80.— Y. S. Walter.
1879-81. — Nathan Garrett (elected to fill
Walter's unexpired time. )
1881-1884. — Robert Chadwick.
1882-84.— William G. Powell.
1884-88.— John B. Robinson, Robert Chad-
wick.
1888. — I. P. Garrett, Jesse M. Baker and
Ward R. Bliss.
1889. — Albert Magnin.
1890. — Albert Magnio, Jesse M. Baker and
Ward R. Bliss.
1892. — Ward R. Bliss, Thomas H. Garvin
and George E. Heyburn.
The year of election in the preceding list is
given since 1884.
SHERIFFS, 1676-1893.
1676, Capt. Edmund Cantwell ; 1681, John
Test; 1682, Thomas Usher; 1683, Thomas
Withers ; 1684, Jeremy Collett : 1686, Thomas
Usher; 1687, Joshua Fearne ; 1689, George
Foreman ; 1692, Caleb Pusey ; 1693, Joseph
Wood ; 1697, Andrew Job ; 1701, John Hos-
kins ; 1708, John Simcock ; 1709, John Hos-
kins ; 1715, Henry Worley, 1717, Nicholas
Fairlamb ; 1720, John Crosby; 1721, John
Taylor ; 1729, John Owen ; 1732, John Parry ;
1735, John Owen; 1738, John Parr_\- ; 1740,
Benjamin Davis; 1743, John Owen; 1746,
Benjamin Davis ; 1749, John Owen ; 1752, Isaac
Pearson; 1755, John Fairlamb; 1759, Ben-
jamin Davis; 1762, John Fairlamb; 1764,
Philip Ford ; 1766, John Morton ; 1769, Jesse
Maris; 1772, Henry Hayes ; 1774, Nathaniel
Vernon; 1777, Robert Smith; 1778, Charles
Dilworth : 1778, Robert Smith; 1779, David
Mackey ; 1780, John Gardner; 1783, William
Gibbons ; 1786, Ezekiel Leonard.
Dcliuvare Cottntx.
1789, Nicholas Fairlamb ; 1792, James Bar-
nard ; 1795, Abraham Dicks ; 1798, John Oden-
heimer ; 1801, Matthias Kerlin, jr. ; 1804, John
Odenheimer ; 1807, Richard P. Floyd ; 1810,
Isaac Cochran ; i8i3,DanielThompson ; 1816,
Robert Fairlamb; 1819, Samuel Anderson;
1822, Joseph Weaver, jr. ; 1825, John Hink-
son ; 1828, Jehu Broomhall ; 1831, William
Baldwin; 1834, Charles Baldwin; 1834 (Oc-
tober), Samuel A. Price ; 1837, Evans S.
Way ; 1840, John Larkin, jr. ; 1843, Samuel
Hibberd ; 1846, Robert R. Dutton ; 1849, Jon-
athan Esrey ; 1851, (May), Henry T. Esrey ;
1851, (November), Aaron James; 1854, John
M. Hall ; 1857, Jonathan Vernon ; i860, Mor-
ris L.Yarnall ; 1863, Abraham Vanzant ; 1866,
Caleb Hoopes ; 1869, Evan C.Bartleson ; 1875,
Charles W. Matthew; 1878, John J. Row-
land; 1881, William Armstrong; 1884, Wil-
liam F. Mathues ; 1887, G. Leiper Green ;
1890-93, John D. Howard.
'TRE.iSURERS, 1695-1893.
1695, Jeremiah Collett ; 1697, Walter Mar-
ten ; 1704, Caleb Pusey ; 1706, Walter Mar-
ten ; 1 720, Henry Pierce ; 1724, Philip Taylor ;
1740, Joseph Brinton ; 1756, Robert Miller;
1761, Humphry Marshall ; 1765, Jesse Maris,
jr. ; 1766, Lewis Davis ; 1770, James Gibbons ;
1770 (?), Richard Thomas ; 1775, Philip Tay-
lor ; 1775, John Brinton ; 1778, Thomas Levis ;
1779, William Evans; 1780, Persifor Frazer ;
1 781, David Cloyd ; 1785, Andrew Boyd and
David Cloyd ; 1786, William Evans ; 1788,
Andrew Boyd.
Delaware Cotiiitv.
1790, Edward Richards, i799,SethThomas ;
1806, Joshua Lewis ; 1809, John Thompson ;
1812, Robert Fairlamb; 1815, John Thomp-
son ; 1822, Robert Fairlamb ; 1M25, John
Russell ; 1827, Homer Eachus ; 1830, William
Eyre ; 1833, Oborn Levis ; 1835, Samuel T.
Walker; 1838, William Eyre; i>S39, Davis
Beaumont; 1840, William Ej're : 1840, Wil-
liam Eyre, jr.; 1841, John Miller; 1844, Rich-
ard F. Worrell ; 1846, Benjamin F. Johnson ;
1848, Marshall Eachus; 1850, Edmund Taylor;
94
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
1852, Samuel Dutton;i854,Joseph H.Hinkson;
1856, Jackson Lyons; 1858, Charles R. Wil-
liamson ; i860, Charles Johnson ; 1862, David
R. Ralston; 1864, William Hinkson ; 1866,
William H. Eves ; 1668, William F. Mathews ;
1870, John J. Hoopes : 1872, John D. Howard;
1874, Alvin Baldwin ; 1876, Henry B. Taylor ;
1879, William P. Yarnall ; 1882, Stephen
Clowd,jr.; 1884, Samuel M. Challenger ; 1887,
Gasway O. Yarnall ; 1890-93, B. F. Compton.
PROTHONOTARIES, 1681-1893.
1681, Thomas Revel; 1683, Robert Eyre;
1690, Josliua Fearne ; 1693, John Childe ;
1700, Henry Hollingsworth ; 1709, John Sim-
cock ; 1724 to 1766, Joseph Parker: 1766 to
1777, Henry Hale Graham; 1777, Benjamin
Jacob ; 1777 (July i ), Caleb Davis.
Delaware Coiaity.
1789, William Richardson ; 1796, Davis
Bevan ; 1800, James Barnard ; 1806, Thomas
B. Dick; 1809, Joseph Engle ; 1818, Benja-
min Pearson; 1821, Thomas Robinson ; 1824,
Henry Myers; 1S32, John K. Zeilen ; 1834,
John Hinkson; 1836, John Richards; 1838,
Samuel Weaver, jr. ; 1841, James Houston ;
1844, Joseph Taylor; 1847, James Sill, jr. ;
1853, Nicholas F. Walter; 1859, Thomas
Forsythe ; 1862, Benjamin F. Baker; 1862,
George Esrey ; 1865, Orson Flagg Ballard;
1874, Isaac Johnson; 1886, W. D. Thomas;
1891, W. R. Fronefield; 1891-93, W. L.
Mathues.
RECORDERS, 1688-1893.
1688, John Bristow ; 1691, Joshua Fearne;
1693, Robert Eyre; 1695, John Childe ; 1700,
Henry Hollingsworth; 1706, Peter Evans,
whose term ended in 1707, and one person
held the three offices of prothonotary, recorder
and register up to 1777 ; 1777, John Taylor ;
17S2, John Beaton; 1786, Persifor Frazer.
Dclaivare County.
From 1789 to 1862 the offices of recorder of
deeds and that of prothonotary were held by
one person. 1862, Frederick Fairlamb ;
1871, Frederick R. Cutler ; 1873, Canby S.
Smith; 1875, Charles P.Walter; 1880, Edward
Blaine ; 1889-93, John H. Kerlin.
CLERKS OF COURTS, 1681-1893.
1681, Thomas Revell ; 1683, Robert Eyre ;
1690, Joshua Fearne; 1693, John Childe;
1700, Henry Hollingsworth ; 1709, John Sim-
cock ; 1713, Richard Marsden ; 1717, George
Yeates ; 1719, Richard Marsden; 1724, Jos-
eph Parker; 1766, Henry Hale Graham;
1777 to 1789, Caleb Davis. From 1789 down
to the present time the office of clerk of the
courts and that of prothonotary have been held
by one person.
REGISTERS OF WILLS, I714-1893.
1714, John Simcock ; 1716, Joseph Parker ;.
1759, Henry Hale Graham ; 1777, Thomas
Taylor; 1782, John Beaton; 1786 to 1789,
Persifor Frazer.
Delaware County.
In 1873 the office of register of wills and
clerk of the orphans' court was made a sep-
arate office from that of prothonotary, and the
following persons have served : 1874, Thomas
Lees ; 1886, G. A. Ha/.Iett ; 1892, William H.
Hall.
COMMISSIONERS 172I-I893.
1721, David Lloyd, John Wood, Nathaniel
Newlin, Henry Miller (in office); 1722, Robert
Pyle ; 1723, Nathaniel Newlin; 1724, Samuel
Hollingsworth; 1725, Robert Pyle; 1726,
Isaac Taylor; 1727, William Webb; 1728,
Henry Miller, Evan Lewis; 1729, Samuel
Nut ; 1730, Evan Lewis ; 1731, Jacob Howell ;
1732, Samuel Lewis; 1733, George Aston;
1734, John Davis ; 1735, Richard Jones ; 1736,
Samuel Lightfoot ; 1737, John Parry, jr.^;
1738, William Jefferis; 1739, John Davis;
1740, John Parry, jr. ; 1741, John Yarnall,
1742, John Davis ; 1743, Jacob Howell ; 1744,
Joseph Mendenhall ; 1745, John Davis; 1746,
Thomas Pennell ; 1747, Joshua Thompson;
1748, Isaac Davis; 1749, Thomas Pennell;
1750, Edward Brinton, Samuel Bunting ; 1751,
OF DEL A WABE CO UNTY.
95
William Lewis ; 1752, John Fairlamb ; 1753,
Robert Miller ; 1754, Thomas Pearson ; 1755,
Joseph Ashbridge; 1756, Joseph Davis ; 1757,
Joseph James; 1758, John Hannum ; 1759,
Jonas Preston ; 1760, Joseph Pennock; 1761,
John Griffith ; 1762, Lewis Davis : 1763, John
Price; 1764, Benjamin Bartholomew; 1765,
Richard Baker; 1766, John Davis; 1767,
Robert Pennell ; 1768, John Webster: 1769,
John Evans; 1770, Jesse Bonsall ; 1771,
Robert Mendenhall ; 1772, John Fleming;
1773, Thomas Levis; 1774, Thomas Taylor;
1775, William Evans; 1776, Sketchley Mor-
ton ; 1777, David Cloyd ; 1778, Andrew Boyd ;
I 779, Benjamin Brannan ; 1780, John Barthol-
omew ; 1781, Joseph Strawbridge ; 1782, Ca-
leb James ; 1783, John Davis ; 17S4, Joseph
McClellan ; 1785, Caleb James; 1786, Caleb
North; 1787, John Worth ; 1788, Joseph Gib-
bons.
Dt-laivare County.
1790, Edward Hunter, Gideon Gilpin, James
Barnard ; 1791, John Jones ; 1792 to 1796, no
record; 1797, David Piatt, Richard Lloyd;
1798, Isaac G. Gilpin; 1799, Thomas Bishop;
1800, Thomas Vernon; 1801, Jonas Eyre;
1802, John Hunter, "Josiah Lewis ; 1803,
Pierce Crosby ; 1805, Nehemiah Baker;
1807, Joseph Engle ; 1808, \\'illiam Menden-
hall ; 1809, George B. Lownes; 1810, Thomas
Bishop; 1811, Preston Eyre; 1812, Thomas
Hemphill; 1813, Maris Worrell; 1814, John
Brooke; 1815, Robert Fairlamb; 1816, John
Willcox ; 1817, Joseph Davis ; 1818, William
Hill; i8ig, Jonathan Lindsa}', jr. ; 1820, Jos-
eph Henderson; 1821, George Green; 1822,
Joseph Engle ; 1823, Edward Hunter; 1824,
William Johnson; 1825, James Sill; 1826,
Samuel H. Eves; 1727, James Maddock ;
1828, Joseph Bishop ; 1829, Oliver Levis ;
1830, Evan Evans ; 1831, David Siter; 1832,
David Trainer and John Aitkins ; 1835, James
Serrill ; 1836, James S. Peters; 1837, Isaac
Fawkes ; 1838, Spencer Mcllvain ; 1839, Ed-
ward Lewis, jr. ; 1840, Davis Beaumont ; 1841,
ThomasWilliamson ; 1842, Thomas Steele, jr. ;
1843, Isaac Yarnall ; 1844, George Harvey ;
1845, David Worrell; 1846, Samuel Palmer;
1847, Edmund Pennell ; 184S, Mark Bartle-
son ; 1849, Caleb J. Hoopes ; 1850, John D.
Gilpin; 1851, Annseley Newlin ; 1852, James
Barton ; 1853, William H Grubb ; 1854, Rob-
ert Plumstead ; 1855, Thomas Pratt; 1856,
Persifor Baker ; 1857, Samuel Leedom ; 1858,
James Clowd ; 1859, Elwood Tyson ; i860,
Vanlear Eachus ; 1861, Thomas Reece ; 1862,
Nathaniel Pratt ; 1863, Joseph Lewis; 1864,
Daniel James ; 1865, George Drayton ; 1866,
William D. H. Serrill ; 1867, Charles John-
son ; 1868, T. Baker Jones; i86g, Jacob M.
Campbell; 1870, William Russell ; 1871, John
B. Heyburn ; 1S72, John B. Holland; 1873,
James McDade ; 1874, Elias Baker; 1876,
Owen W. Yarnall, Abram C. Lukens and Ed-
ward H. Engle; 1879, Owen W. Yarnall,
Abram C. Lukens and Jesse Brooke : 1882,
Owen W. Yarnall, Benjamin F. Pretty and
Jesse Brooke ; 1885, Benjamin F. Pretty, Wil-
liam Armstrong and Andrew Osborne; 1888,
William Armstrong, D. M. Field and William
Quinn ; 1889, William Lane Ouinn in place of
William Quinn, who died; 1891-93, William
Lane Ouinn, Harry Hippie and [ames Clark.
CORONERS, 1684-1893.
1684, James Kennerlj- ; 1696, Jacob Sim-
cock ; i7o7,Henry Hollingsworth ; 1 710, Henry
Worle}^ ; 1717, Jonas Sandelands ; 1721, Rob-
ert Barber; 1726, John Mendenhall; 1728,
Robert Parke; 1729, Abraham Darlington;
1730, John Wharton; 1732, Anthony Shaw;
1734, John Wharton ; 1737, Stephen Hoskins;
1738, Aubrey Bevan ; 1743, Thomas Morgan;
1746, Isaac Lea; 1751, Joshua Thomson;
1752, John Kerlin ; 1753, Joshua Thomson;
1761, Philip Ford ; 1763, Davis Bevan ; 1765,
Abel Janney; 1766, John Trapnall ; 1768,
Joseph Gibbons ; 1771, John Crosby, jr. ; 1773,
John Bryan ; 1775, Harvey Lewis ; 1778,
David Denny; 1780, Allen Cunningham;
1782, Benjamin Rue; 1783, John Harper;
96
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOBY
1785, Isaac Thomas; 1786, John Harper;
1787, John Underwood.
fyDclaivare County.)
1789, Jonathan \'ernon ; 1791, Caleb Ben-
nett ; 1793, John Odenheimer, jr.; 1795, James
Birchall ; 1829, Abraham KerHn : 1830, Daniel
Thompson; 1833, Joel Lane; 1839, John
Lloyd ; 1840, Moses Reed ; 1842, John LIo3d ;
1845, Stephen Home: 1848, Seth C. Thomas;
1854, Reuben H. Smith ; 1857, Isaac Johnson ;
1858, William A. Minshall : 1858, Samuel
Long, sr. ; 1861, Washington B. Levis; 1865.
George H. Rigby ; 1871, William A. Min-
shall : 1877, Horace W. Fairlamb ; 1880,
Abram J. Quimby ; 1883, Horace W. Fair-
lamb; 1889, L. M. Bullock; 1S92-93, Joseph
E. Quinley.
DIRECTORS OF THE POOR, 1805-1893.
1805. William Anderson, Jonathan Heacock,
and John Smith (resigned), and John Thomp-
son appointed ; 1806, Thomas Pennell and
Philip Moore; 1807, John Mcllvain ; 1808,
Benjamin W. Oakford , 1809, David Pratt ;
1810, George W. Oakford (died in office and
John Mclvain appointed), William Peters and
John Worrall ; 1811. Thomas Garrett; 1812,
George Miller ; 1813, Francis Wesley ; 1814,
John Powell ; 1815, George B. Lownes ; 1816,
Joseph Hoskins ; i8i7,WilliamTrimble ; 1818,
William Mendenhall (vice William Trimble),
Enos Sharpless ; 1819, Samuel Garrett ; 1820,
Jesse Darlington ; 1821, Joseph James; 1822,
James Craig ; 1S23, Enos Williamson ; 1824,
Micajah Speakman ; 1825, Isaac Yarnall (in
place of Speakman, resigned); 1826, John Lar-
kin ; 1827, Joseph Henderson; 1828, Thomas
Dutton ; 1829, Isaac Fawk ; 1830, John Kerns ;
i83i,John Hinkson ; 1832, David Lyons ; 1833,
Robert N. Gamble ; 1834, JamesOgden ; 1835,
Edward Lewis ; 1836, Samuel Hale ; 1837,
Jesse Walter; 1838, George Martin: 1839,
Capt. James Serrill ; 1840, James Barton;
1841, Moses D. Palmer ; 1842, George Lewis ;
1843, Caleb D. Hoopes ; 1844, Moses D.
Palmer (resigned, and George F. Gilpin ap-
pointed) ; 1845, James J. Lewis ; 1846, Mar-
shall Painter; 1847, John Clayton ; 1848, Joel
Evans ; 1849, John Miller ; 1850, Thomas Wil-
liamson ; 1851, J.Edward Garrett ; 1852, Abra-
ham Pennell; 1853, William Trainer; 1854,
Joseph B. Leedom ; 1855, Jacob Byers : 1856,
Samuel A. Barton ; 1857, Francis Leedom ;
1858, Samuel Johnson ; 1859, E. B. Loveland ;
i860, William H. Grubb : 1861, Judge Tyson ;
1862, Samuel B. Leedom : 1863, Peter W.
Green ; 1864, Joseph Powell ; 1865, Baldwin
Howard; 1866, Frederick J. Hinkson; 1867-
68, Powell, Howard and Hinkson; 1869-71,
Powell, Howard and Thomas Trainer; 1872,
James S. Tyson, Joel Sharpless ; 1873, Edgar
T. Miller; 1874, Jesse Hibberd ; 1875, Chalk-
ley Harvey ; 1876-80, Chalkley Harvey, Jesse
Hibberd, and John H. Kerlin ; 1880-81, Har-
vey, Kerlin and Milton Edwards ; Harvey,
Edwards and Henr\' L. Donaldson ; 1883,
Henry L. Donaldson, John B. McCay, jr., and
Joseph Leedom ; 1884, Henry L. Donaldson :
1885, Charles M. Cheyney ; 1886, Joseph Lee-
dom, Charles M. Cheyney ; 1887, Calvert Card-
well : 1889, Joseph Leedom ; 1890, Calvert
Cardwell : 1891, Charles M. Cheyney : 1892-93,
Joseph Leedom.
COUNTY AUDITORS 1791-1893.
1791, John Talbot, Mark Willcox, William
Pennock ; 1792, John Pearson, Abraham Pen-
nell, Richard Flower; 1793, Benjamin Bran-
non, Thomas Newlin, Abraham Sharpless ;
1795, Samuel Price, John Horn, Caleb Pierce;
1796, John Crosby, Elisha Price, William
Martin: 1797, John Crosby, William Martin,
Thomas Newlin : 1798, Crosby, Newlin, and
Richard Flower : 1799, Edward Hunter, Wil-
liam Trimble, Nicholas Newlin ; 1800, Abra-
ham Pennell, Joseph Shallcross, John Talbot :
1801-2, Nathaniel Newlin, Joseph Pennell,
Jacob Gibbons ; 1803, B. W. Oakford, Moses
Palmer, Pierce Crosby; 1804, William Ander-
son, Thomas Smith, Frederick Fairlamb :
1805, Abraham Sharpless, Richard P. Lloyd,
OF DELAWAnE COUNTY.
John Thompson : 1806, Moses Pahner, B. W.
Oakford, Dr. Jonas Preston; 1807, Dr. Jonas
Preston, Moses Palmer, Pierce Crosby : 1808,
WilHam Pennock, Moses Palmer, Pierce
Crosb)' ; i8og, Moses Palmer, Edward Hun-
ter, Maskill Ewing; 1819, Moses Palmer;
1S23, William Bishop, Enoch Abraham, Sam-
uel Hewes ; 1824, Cyrus Mendenhall ; 1825,
Joseph Gibbons; 1826, Enos Sharpless ;
1827, Henry Moore; 1828, Abner Lewis;
1829, Daniel Abraham ; 1830, Benjamin Ser-
rill ; 1831. John D. White; 1832, James
McMullin ; 1833, Alexander McKeever ; 1834,
Joseph Gibson, William S. Flower (in
room of James McMullin); 1835, William
Eyre ; 1836, H. Jones Brooks ; 1837, Caleb J.
Hoopes; 1838, C. W. Sharpless ; 1839, George
Smedley ; 1840, Joel Evans ; 1841, William J.
Willcox ; 1842, Minshall Painter ; 1843, Jesse
Brooke, jr.; 1844, Robert E. Hannum ; 1845,
Jonathan Miller; 1S46, John Sellers, jr.;
1847, Frederick Fairlamb ; 1848, Jacob Parry ;
1849, Randall Bishop; 1850, William Eyre;
1851, Lewis Miller; 1852, Randall Bishop,
William Eyre, Lewis Miller; 1853, William
OgJen ; 1854, Abraham P. Morgan ; 1855,
Walter Y. Hoopes; 1856, J. Lewis Garrett;
1857, William D. Pennell ; 1859-60, Robert
E. Hannum, John D. White, Jacob Smedley ;
1861, James H. Ogden ; 1862, J. H. Omen-
stetter ; 1863, James Clowd ; 1864. Walter Y.
Hoopes; 1865, Samuel Dalton ; 1866-67,
Joseph Walter; 1868, I. Hunter Moore;
1 86g, Curtis Cheyney ; i870,George Broomall ;
1871, Eber Lewis, jr.; 1872, Daniel James;
1873, Charles P. W'alter; 1874, Pearson Pike;
1875, Charles H. Cheyney; 187b, William J.
Smith, Jared Darlington, Jacob Boon ; 1879,
Jared Darlington, Thomas Coulter, Joseph
Pratt; 1882, Jared Darlington, William S.
Sykes and J. Lewis Garrett : 1884, James L.
Williamson, William S. Sykes ; 1887, J.
W. Williamson, Z. T. Bartleson ; 1890-93,
Z. T. Bartleson, Elias H. West, William
McFadden.
JUDICIAL LIST.
In this list are given the president and
associate judges and the district attorneys,
which were known as deputy attorney generals
until 1850.
PRESIDENT JUDGES, I789-1893.
1789, Henry Hale Graham.
1790, John Pearson, ad iiiteriin.
1791, James Biddle.
1797, John D. Cox.
1805, William Tilghman.
1806, Bird Wilson.
1812, John Ross.
1821, Isaac Darlington.
1828-39, adinterim, in which the courts were
held by Justice Gibson of the supreme court
of Pennsylvania.
1839, Thomas S. Bell.
1846, John M. Forster.
1847, James Nill.
1848, Henry Chapman.
1851, Townsend Haines (elected).
1861, William Butler (elected).
1874, John M. Broomall. •
1875-93, Thomas J. Clayton (elected).
ASSOCIATE lUDOES, 1790-1873.
1790, Thomas Lewis, George Pearce ; 1791,
Elisha Price, Joseph Hibberd ; 1792, Hugh
Lloyd, Mark Wilcox, Richard Riley and John
Pearce; 1792, John Crosby, Hugh Lloyd;
1S21, Hugh Lloyd, Mark Wilcox ; 1824, Hugh
Lloyd, John Pearce ; 1826, John Pearce, Wil-
liam Anderson; 1827, John Pearce, Joseph
Engle ; 1834, Joseph Engle, Henry Myers ;
1837, Joseph Engle, Dr. George Smith ; 1842,
Joseph Engle, George C.Leiper ; 1852, Sketch-
ley Morton, James Andrews ; 1857, James An-
drews, Fred. J. Hinkson ; 1861, James An-
drews, Charles Williamson ; 1862, James An-
drews, Dr. George Smith ; 1867-73, Bartine
Smith, Thomas Reece.
98
bioghaphy and histoby
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERALS, 1790-1850.
1 790, Thomas Koss; 1 790-91, JosephThomas;
1795, William Sergeant ; 1799, Thomas Ross ;
i8o9,Richard Bache,ir. ; 1811, John Edwards;
i8i2,Ed\vardIngersoll ; 1813, Benjamin Tilgh-
man ; 1814, John Edwards : 1814, Edward
Ingersoll ; 1815, Robert H. Smith ; 1815, Wil-
liam H. Dillingham ; 1817, Henr^- G. Free-
man ; 1818, Samuel Rush; 1 821, Archibald,
T. Dick : 1824, Edward Darlington : 1830,
John Zeilin ; 1833, Robert Hannum : 1836,
John P.Griffith ; 1839, P.Frazer Smith ; 1845,
Robert Frazer ; 1845, Joseph J. Lewis ; 1848,
John M. Broomall ; 1850, Charles D. Man-
lev : 1850, Thomas H. Speakman.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS, 185I-1893.
1851, Robert McCay, jr., (appointed); 1851,
Edward Darlington; 1854, Jesse Bishop;
1857, Edward A. Price; i860, John Hibbard ;
1863, Francis M. Brooke; 1866, Charles D.
M. Broomhall ; 1869, George E. Darlington;
1872, David M. Johnson ; 1876, Vincent G.
Robinson; 1882, Jesse M. Baker: 1S87-93,
lohn B. Hannum.
CHAPTER X I \'.
SCHOOLS --CHURCHES AND TEMPERANCE
ORGANIZATIONS.
SCHOOLS.
Several references in the early Swedish an-
nals are made to the clergyman of the parish
acting as a teacher as well as a minister, on
Tinicum island, but no authentic evidence has
ever been produced to show that the Swedes
established a school there. The Quakers at
an early day after their settlement established
schools, and the Darby Monthly Meeting min-
utes of September 7, 1692, make record that
on the 1 2th of that month Benjamin Clift was
to commence a school to last one year, which
was probabl}' kept in the Friends" meeting
house at Darbv. The Friends' meetings estab-
lished schools in all of their respective settle-
ments, and some time after 1702 a school was
established in connection with St. Paul's par-
ish, as the instruction of youths in reading and
writing was of the duties enjoined on the
clergymen of the Church of England parishes.
These schools were all private and probably
held in the churches. The first school house
seems to have been built by citizens of Ches-
ter in 1770, on land donated there by Joseph
Hoskins. After the Revolution subscription
schools were taught in houses built for that
purpose in the different sections of the county.
The common school system was voted on
in the county in 1S34, with the result that
fourteen townships accepted and seven re-
jected it according to some authorities, while
the secretar\- of the Commonwealth stated all
of them had accepted the law. James W.
Baker, county superintendent, in his report of
of 1877, says: "On the 4th of November,
1834, of the twenty-one districts of the county
eleven accepted the law : Birmingham, Ches-
ter, Haverford, Lower Chichester, Marple,
Nether Providence, Radnor, Ridley, Upper
'Darby and Upper Chichester. " He also stated
that six more districts accepted it the ne.xt
year, and that the last district joined the others
in 1838.
From 1838 the progress of the public schools
have been rapid, and to meet the requirements
of public wants graded, central grammar
and high schools have -been established, at
Media, Chester, Lansdowne, Darby, Clifton
Heights, South Chester, Upland, Wayne, Pros-
pect and Ridley Park.
An idea of the progess of the public schools
of the county may be gained by a comparison
of the following facts concerning them, taken
from the census of 1850 and the State super-
intendent's report for 1893 :
Venr. Number. Teachers. Pupils.
1850 73 73 2,995
1893 266 283 11,857
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
99
In the census of 1850, Delaware county was
credited with one college, having six teachers
and sixty-two pupils; and nine academies, hav-
ing eighteen teachers and two hundred and
forty-one pupils. To-day the county has three
colleges, three great industrial schools, and
quite a number of academies, seminaries and
high grade training schools. A notable school
of the latter class is the Swarthmore Gram-
mar school, founded in 1892 by its present prin-
cipal, Arthur H. Tomlinson.
CHURCHES.
While the churches will be noticed in the
borough and township histories, yet it may be
of interest to glance at their number and
the numerical strength of each religious
denomination in the county, for i88g, as given
in the following table compiled from the cen-
sus reports of 1890 :
CHURCH STATISTICS IN 1889.
_ Number Church Members or
Denomination. Organizations. Edifices. Communicants
Catholic... 10 lo 9,088
Presbyterian.. 18 18 6,385
Methodist Episcopal 26 26 4.565
Baptist 15 18 2,225
Protestant Episcop'l 16 19 1,571 >■
African M. E 5 7 632
Hicksite Friends. . . 6 6 573
Orthodox Friends. . 6 6 365
African M.E.Zion. . 3 i 169
Lutheran i i 82
Free Methodist .. .. i i 18
In historical mention of the churches of the
county since its European settlement, the Swed-
ish Lutheran church comes first. A small log
church was built in 1643, at New Gottenberg,
on Tinicum island, where the Rev. John Cam-
jianius officiated until 1648, when he was re-
lieved by Rev. Lears Carlsson Lock, who,
after 1656, had charge for twenty-two j'ears of
religious affairs in the colony. The Swedes,
it seems, never built a church at Upland, but
used the "House of Defense" there for re-
ligious purposes. By the year 1700 the Tini-
cum church edifice had fallen into ruins, and
Swedish religious services in the county had
ended some years prior to that year under
Reverend Lock's administration.
Services of the Protestant Episcopal church,
according to a traditional account, were held
in the House of Defense, but the first Episco-
pal church of which we have found any record
was that of St. Paul's, organized about 1702
with Rev. Evan Evans as rector. St. Mar-
tin's church at Marcus Hook was established in
1 702, and St. J ohn's at Concord prior to 1 707.
Delaware county is in the diocese of Pennsyl-
vania which contains four counties, and has one
hundred and thirty-nine organizations, one
hundred and sixty-five churches, and thirty-
three thousand four hundred and fifty-nine
communicants.
Among its sixteen churches in the county
the oldest are St. Paul's, St. Martin's, and St.
John's.
The third church established in the county
was that of the Friends or Quakers. "When
William Penn, the Friend, landed, in 1682, at
Chester, he brought with him such a strength
of personal influence and such a number of
adherents to this society, that not only Dela-
ware county, but a still larger region adjacent,
grew up largeh- under the Friend's influence.
The Friends largely predominated. It is es-
timated by careful historians that in the early
history of Delaware county nine-tenths of the
people were under the influence and discipline
of the Friends." The first recorded meeting
of the Society of Friends in Delaware coiinty
and in Pennsylvania, was in 1675, at the house
of Robert Wade, at Upland. Between 16S2 and
1687 meetings were established by the names
of Darby, Middletown, Concord, Edgmont,
Springfield, Marple, and Haverford. In 1827
the society could not agree on the opinions of
Elias Hicks, and since then has been divided
into two branches, the Orthodox and Hicksite.
The Orthodox Friends are in Philadelphia
yearly meeting, and the Hicksite Friends are
in the Philadelphia meeting of their church.
837868A
100
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
The Baptist churches in the county are in
the Philadelphia association, that contains
eighty-one organizations, one hundred and ten
church edifices, and twenty-four thousand and
seventy-four members. From the historical
sketch of the Baptists in Delaware county, by
Rev. W. R. Patton, we condense the following
information : The Brandywine church was or-
ganized June 14, 1715, by Rev. Abel Morgan,
the members being principally Keithian Bap-
tists, and a part of the Keithian society, formed
October 12, 1697, by Thomas Martin. The)-
held to the first da}' as the Sabbath, while the
remainder of the Keithian society held to the
seventh day. Seventy-four years later, in
1789, the Marcus Hook church was formed,
and in 1830, after another period of forty-one
years, the Ridley, now Ridley Park, church
was organized. From that time on the Bap-
tist churches have increased rapidly. The
Newtown Square church was organized in 1832;
Upland in 1852; Chester, 1863; Media, 1871;
North Chester, 1872; South Chester, 1872;
Village Green, 1880; Lansdowne, 1887; Pros-
pect Hill, 1887; and CoUingdale, 1888. There
are three churches of colored Baptists in the
county: South Chester, organized in 1879;
Morton, 1888; and Fernwood in August, 1889.
Fernwood, the sixteenth church, is not in-
cluded in the census enumeration of 1890.
Of the early Baptist churches in the county.
Rev. \\'. R. Patton says :
"The record of the first baptisms in the
streams of Delaware county constitutes an in-
teresting chapter in the Baptist history of
America. Let us examine with some care the
very beginning.
" Dr. George Smith gives the following :
' There were a few Baptists located within our
limits at a very early date. It is said that
one Able Noble, who arrived in 1684, formed
a societ}' of Baptists in Upper Providence,
Chester county, where he baptized Thomas
Martin, a " public Friend." Noble appears to
have been a seventh-day Baptist, and belonged
to a community that was afterwards known
as Keithian Baptists. Besides Thomas Mar-
tin, a number of baptisms are recorded as
having taken place at a very early period, and
at various places in the county, but a highly
interesting manuscript in the possession of
Robert Frame, Esq., of Birmingham, satisfies
me that no regular ihiircJi of the Baptist per-
suasion had been organized until 171 5. Meet-
ings, it is true, were held in private houses in
Chester, Ridley, Providence, Radnor, and
Springfield, and baptism was performed ac-
cording to ancient order in the adjacent creeks,
and even the Lord's Supper was administered,
but these were the doings of variable congre-
gations, rather than the acts of an organized
church.'
'• From the ancient records in the possession
of the Brandywine church and from Morgan
Edward's 'Materials for Baptist History' we
get still further information as follows :
Thomas Martin baptized a number of other
Friends and a Keithian society was organized
October 12, 1697, with nineteen members,
having Thomas Martin as their minister. This
little band of disciples continued to prosper
until 1700, when the Sabbath question broke
up the Keithian society. Those who observed
the seventh da\' as the Sabbath kept together
at Newtown, where they had a small house of
worship not far from the present Newtown
Baptist church. The others worshipped wher-
ever they found the most comfort, without
any church connection, until 1714, when Abel
Morgan, pastor of the united churches of Pen-
nepek and Philadelphia visited the neighbor-
hood and preached the glad tidings of truth.
Meeting with these Keithian Baptists, Mr.
Morgan found them to be sincere Christians,
and after conference with them he concluded
to organize them into a church. A meeting
for this purpose was. held at the house of John
Powell, in Providence township, at which
Abel Morgan, of Philadelphia ; James Jones
and Joseph Eaton, of Welsh Tract church in
Delaware, were present. They then organ-
ized the Brandywine church, the first Baptist
OF DEL A WABE COUNTY.
101
cliurch in Delaware county, in the following
manner: • It being the 14th da^' of the month
\ulgarlv called June. 1715, the first part of the
tlay was spent in fasting and prayer, to im-
plore the blessing of God upon the proceed-
ings. They then solemnly lifted up their
liands in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and pledging themselves to be governed by the
Word of God, were recognized as a baptized
church of JesusChrist, holding and maintaining
the same principles and practices as other
baptized churches in the province of Pennsyl-
vania and New Jerse}- in America. Thus they
were recognized as a sister church by the afore-
said delegates from Philadelphia and Welsh
Tract churches, and the church has had a
clear line of blessed histor_\- until the pres-
ent day. The church as constituted consis-
ted of fifteen members, all of whom more
than a century ago passed over the river
to unite with the glorified church above.'
Long may Brandywine prosper under the
blessing of the Great Head of the church, and
may her history be unbroken in the centuries
to come.
"We are impressed at this day with the so-
lemnity and simplicity which characterized the
organization of this pioneer church. Equally
so are we as we follow its history. At first,
the church met for worship in pri^•ate houses,
but in 1 718 the first Baptist meeting house
was built for its home in Birmingham town-
ship, as many of the members lived there ; also
another house was built in 1742 in Newlin
township, to accommodate still another branch
of the church who lived about twelve miles
distant. For nearly five years the church had
no pastor and depended upon the hardy pio-
neer preachers of that day who nobly stood
by the little band.
•• From the organization of this first church
uatil the organization of the second we must
pass over the long period of seventy-four
years, two generations. We now see a
Baptist interest arising in another neighbor-
hood which developed into the second church
7o
of the county and the eighth Baptist church
in Pennsylvania, viz : the Marcus Hook
church. Ma}- 3, 17S9, the church was organ-
ized with Rev. Eliphaz Dazey as pastor, with
sixteen members. The church was received
into the Philadelphia Association in the fol-
lowing October.
"We now pass on forty-one years, another
long period, that we may come to the organi-
zation of the third church in the county. It
seems like barren history to record the organ-
ization of but three churches in something
over a century. But let us remember that at
that time Delaware county was not as at pres-
ent, a suburb to a great city and netted with
numerous railroads. The old times were slow
times compared with the present. The third
church was constituted in Ridley, now the
Ridley Park church, in 1830, mainly through
the instrumentality of Rev. Joseph S. Ken-
nard, assisted by Rev. William S. Hall.
"We now come to a period in which the
churches multiply more rapidly than in the
early histor}' of the county. Just two years
afterward, on November 10, 1832, the New-
town Square church was organized, with seven
members. The first meeting of Baptists,
prior to the organization, was held in the house
of Deacon Samuel Davis, in Haverford.
"The Upland church is the fifth in order.
It was organized in 1852, mainh' through the
instrumentality of the late John P. Crozer,
father of the present Crozer famil)', who
brought his letter from the Marcus Hook
church. Inseparably connected with the his-
tory of this church is the record of our beloved
Crozer seminary, which has just passed its
twenty-fifth anniversary. No brief sketch
here can adequately present the work for
Christ which it has accomplished in Delaware
county and throughout the world. Many
churches have been established through the
influence of professors and students, who for
all these years have faithfully toiled. What a
power it will be in the future."
One of the earliest missions of the Catholic
102
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
church in Pennsylvania was estabhshed about
1718 or 1719, in the mansion of the Willcox
family, at the old Ivy mills. This mission
terminated in the establishment of the church
of St. Thomas the Apostle, whose present
pastor, Rev. William F. Cook, has done much
to build up Catholicism in the northern part
of the county.
Delaware county is in Philadelphia arch
diocese, embracing ten Pennsylvania counties,
with one hundred and fifty-three organiza-
tions, one hundred and fifty-seven church
edifices, and 251,162 communicants.
We are indebted to the Rev. H. L. Wright
for the following list of the present Catholic
churches and institutions in the county : St.
Michaels, Chester, Rev. James Timmins, rec-
tor ; Immaculate Heart of Mary, Chester,
Rev. T. J. McGlynn ; Nativity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Media, Rev. Henry L. Wright ;
St. Charles Borromeo, Kelleyville, Rev. M.
P. O'Brien ; St. Thomas the Apostle, Ivy
Mills, St. Francis de Sales, and Kaolin chapel.
Rev. William F. Cook ; St. Dennis, Haver-
ford, Rev. P. H. O'Donnell, O. S. A.; St.
Rose of Lima, Edd3'stone, and Norwood
chapel. Rev. M. J. Rafferty ; Church of the
Holy Spirit, Sharon Hill, Rev. Thomas
O'Neil ; Convent of Our Lady of Angels, Glen
Riddle, Sister Mary Christina, superior, and
Rev. Matthew Muer, chaplain ; Convent of
the Holy Child Jesus, Sharon Hill, Mother
Mary Walburger, superior, and Rev. Thomas
O'Neil, chaplain ; Augustinian monastery
and Augustinian college of St. Thomas of
Villanova, Ver}- Rev. Christopher A. Mc-
Evo}', prior of the first, and president of the
latter.
As early as 1774 there was an appointment
of the Methodist Episcopal church at Chester,
but no church was organized there before iSiS
or 1820. In the meantime, however, Mt. Hope
church was organized (i 807) near Village Green.
Delaware county has twentj'-five churches in
Philadelphia conference, and one in Dela-
ware conference. The twenty-six Methodist
churches in 1890 were : Madison Street, Prov-
idence Avenue, Trinity, South Chester, Clif-
ton, Darby, Crozerville, Eddystone, Elam,
Fernwood,Kedron (Morton), Gradyville, Stony
Bank, Lansdowne, Lima, Marcus Hook,
Media, Mount Hope, Norwood, Bethesda,
Prospect, Sharon Hill, Siloam, Trainer and
Union.
The Presbyterian church in Delaware county
was originated in Birmingham township about
1720. There were two churches, Upper Bran-
dywine and Lower Brandywine, but they went
down. About 1818 Ridley or Leiper's church
was organized. Some ten years ago the church
appointed an extension committee, of which
Dr. Tully, of Media, was an active member
until lately, which held services and organized
churches wherever eight or ten Presbyterians
could be gathered together in the county. To
their work is largely due the rapid increase of
churches and membership in the county. Del-
aware county is in Chester Presbytery and
contains three counties. Chester Presbytery,
in i8go, contained twenty-seven organizations
in Chester, Delaware and Montgomery coun-
ties, with a membership of 7,207. The Pres-
byterian churches in the county in 1892 were :
Concord. Darby, Chester City, Media, First
Chester, Third Chester, Middletown, Ridle}',
Marple,Glen Riddle, Upper Chichester (1886),
First Darby, Lansdowne (1887), Ridley Park,
Preston Chapel, Clifton Heights (1887). In
1893 Wallingford Chapel, Calvary (Rutledge),
Wayne and Olivet (Moores) churches were
organized.
There is one Evangelical Lutheran church
in the county. It is St. Paul's church, organ-
ized at Chester in 187S, and is in the East
Penns3'lvania synod.
The Free Methodist church at Chester has
been organized in late years, and is in the
New York conference. The F'ree Methodist
church was organized at Pekin, New York, in
i860.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
103
NUMBER OF CHURCHES IN DELAWARE COUNTY
IN 1850, i860, 1870 AND iSgO.
Denomination. Census of 1850. i860. 1870. 1S90.
P'rieiids or Quakers 17 16 .. 12
Methodist 14 16 14 26
Baptist 5 7 5 15
Catholic 3 5 7 10
Protestant Episcopal .. . 5 7 7 19
Presbyterian 6 7 g 18
Swedenborgian i 2
Lutheran . . . . i
Christian 2 2
Free Methodist . . . . i
African M. E 4 . . . . 5
African M. E. Zion . . . . 3
Other Churches 7 27
Totals 57 69 63 no
TEMPERANCE ORG ANIZATIONS.
The first temperance movement in Delaware
county dates back to February, 1725, when
the Friends at Chester meeting gave testi-
mony against the inordinate use of liquor at
funerals. The next step forward in the tem-
perance cause was also taken by the Friends
in forming "The Darby Association for Dis-
couraging the Unnecessar}' I'se of Spirituous
Liquors," a body that, on June 17, iSig, sent
forth an address protesting against treating,
and calling on the farmers to discard liquor
from the harvest fields and meadows.
The Delaware County Temperance Society
was formed in 1835, and two years later held
an enthusiastic meeting in Chester. Temper-
ance was so agitated throughout the county
until there were temperance hotels and tem-
perance grocer}' stores. The agitation con-
tinuetl to increase, and on March 19, 1847,
when the first local option law was voted on
in the county there were fourteen hundred and
seventy-one votes against license, to one
thousand and ninety-four x'otes in favor of it.
Aston, Birmingham, Chester borough, Ches-
ter township. Upper Chichester, Lower Chi-
chester, Upper Darby, Haverford, Marple,
Newtown, Upper and Nether Providence, Rad-
nor, Springfield and Tinicum voted against
license, and the other townships in favor of it
except Ridley, in which the vote was a tie.
This act was afterwards decided to be uncon-
stitutional, and the decision had a paralyzing
effect on the Sons of Temperance.
After the late war the Good Templars or-
ganized lodges in the county and became so
strong in numbers that they demanded and
secured temperance legislation in the shape of
the HoUiday special act for Delaware county.
A general act for the State was then secured
by the temperance people in all the counties,
which is known as the Local Option Law of
1873. This law provided for every borough
and county to take a vote on the license ques-
tion. When this vote was taken in Delaware
county it was as follows : for license, fourteen
hundred and sixty-two against eighteen hun-
dred and eighty. In Chester city the vote
stood eight hundred and sixteen for and six
hundred and thirteen against it. Subsequently
both acts were repealed.
In 1889 when the vote was taken in Penn-
sylvania on the prohibitory amendment, Dela-
ware county cast four thousand five hundred
and thirty-nine votes for and five thousand
five hundred and ninety-five votes against it.
At the present time no temperance organi-
zation exists in either the capital or metropo-
lis of the countv, although Media is a temper-
ance town, being incorporated in 1850, with a
clause in her charter prohibiting the granting
of license in the borough.
CHAPTER XV.
EARLY PRACTITIONERS OF MEDICINE —
MEDICAL SOCIETIES— REGISTERED PHY-
SICIANS.
EARLY PRACTITIONERS OF MEDICINE.
Unnamed in the early records of the Swedish
settlement on the Delaware is the surgeon
(^then called a barber) who accompanied Gov-
104
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOJRY
ernor Printz, in 1643, to Tinicum island. The
second surgeon to become a resident on the
Delaware was Dr. Timon Stiddem, who came
in 1654, with Governor Rysingh. Stiddem
was succeeded, in 1657, by " Mr. JansOosting,
the surgeon," who died in 1658. Four years
later Dr. Van Rosenburg was contenting him-
self to reside in the land of the Swedes, and
in 1678 Dr. Thomas Spry was mentioned as a
witness in a suit tried at Upland. As com-
petitor or as successor of ^'an Rosenburg,
Spry seems to have been no very important
■ person in the Upland district.
After Penn's purchase, in 1681, Dr. John
Goodsonn, " chirurgeon to the Society of Free
Traders," came from London to Chester, and
prior to 1700 Dr. Joseph Richards was a
real estate owner at the last named place.
Succeeding Richards were Dr. Taylor, Alexan-
der Gandonett, John Pascall,Paul Jackson, the
first to receive a degree in the college in Phila-
delphia, and Bernhard Van Leer, died Janu-
ary 26, 1790, at one hundred and four years
of age. From 1800 up to 1850 the number of
ph\'sicians increased gradually'.
MEDIC.\L SOCIETIES.
The Delaware County Medical society was
formed May 2, 1850, through the efforts of
Dr. Ellwood Harvey, Dr. George Martin, and
other physicians.
Homoepath)' was introduced into Delaware
county in 1836 by Dr. Walter Williamson, and
the Homoeopathic Medical Society of Chester
and Delaware counties was organized in 1858.
The Thompsonian Friendly Botanical so-
ciety, of Delaware county, was organized in
1838, but its first meeting was its last.
REGISTERED PHYSICIANS, 1881-1893.
Physicians have increased rapidly in num-
bers since 1880. Some idea may be formed
of the state of the medical profession in the
county from the following list of physicians
and their places of residence, who have regis-
tered at the court-house at Media, from July
20, 1881, to August 7, 1893 :
1881. — L. Fussel, Edwin Fussel, A. E. Os-
borne, and Trimble Pratt, Media ; W. T.Urie,
A. P. Fields, D. W. Jefferis, and Wm. Bird,
Chester ; Frances N. Baker, Media: J. W.
Eckfeldt, J. W. Trimble, Concord ; C. S.
Heysham, Newtown ; W. H. Morrison, Lin-
wood ; M. F. Longstreth, Darby ; G. R.
Vernon, H. B. Knowles, and S. P. Bartleson,
Clifton Heights ; Isaac Crowther. Upland ;
R. H. Millner, Chester; H. C. Bartleson,
Forwood : F. L. Preston, Chester : W . P.
Painter, Darby ;. Samuel Trimble, Lima ; W.
B. Ulrich, Chester; B. S. Anderson, Marple;
F. C. Lawyer, Newtown ; J. B. Weston,
South Chester ; C. A. Kish, Chester ; W. F.
Campbell, Media ; J. C. Egbert, Radnor ;
W. W. Johnson, P. C. O'Reilly, E. K. Mott,
R. P. Mercer, and Samuel Starr, Chester ;
Henderson Haywood, Birmingham : S. C.
Burland, licentiate of a Canadian college since
1877, Chester; Hi born Darlington, Concord-
ville ; H. H. Darlington, Concordville ; J. T.
M. Cardesa, Claymont ; J. D. M. Cardesa,
Claymont ; G. W. Roney, Chester ; F. F.
Rowland, Media ; David Rose, Chester ; F.
M. Murray, Lenni ; Jacob Boon, Darby; W.
S. Ridgely, Chester ; Joseph Rowland, Media ;
William Calver, Booth's Corners ; W. T. W.
Dickeson, Media ; I. N. Kerlin, Elwyn ; W.
B. Fish, Elwyn ; J. F. M. Forwood, Chester :
C. L. Partridge, Ridlej' ; J. H. Hornor, Thorn-
ton ; C. C.Van A. Crawford, W. S. S. Gay, Vil-
lage Green ; C.W'. Perkins, Chester ; Ellwood
Harvej', Chester ; Andrew Lindsay, Radnor.
1882.— F. H. Seidell, South Chester ; L. M.
Bullock, Upland ; F. R, Graham, Chester; J.
W. Phillips, Clifton Heights ; Stacy Jones,
Darby.
1883. — James Edwards, Springfield ; Han-
nah J. Price, Chester : J. L. Forwood, Chester;
G. M. Fisher, South Chester ; J. G. Thomas,
Newtown; C. W. De Lanuoy, Chester; H.
C. Havois, Lansdowne ; Franklin Soper, Rid-
ley Park ; Eliza E. Taylor (practiced since
1771), Albert Russel (practiced since 1871),
H. L. Smedley, Media.
OF DEL A WAliE CO UNTY.
105
18S4. — Leolf Reese, Glen Riddle ; Edmund
Franciscus, Media ; W. E. Gallagher, Clifton
Heights; Joseph H. King (Indian name Hoh-
e-a-yum) practiced since i86g, F. J. Evans,
Chester; W. F. Lehman, Chester ; H. A. Stew-
art, Moores.
1885.— E. W. Biug, Chester; D. P. Mad-
dux, Chester ; Elwood Baker, Lansdowne ;
J. L. Pyle, Glen Mills ; and Ellen E. Brown,
Chester ; A. R. Morton, Morton ; G. E. Ab-
bot, Wayne ; W. S. Little, Media ; W. H.
Hutt, Glen Mills; Frank Powel, Chester;
Chas. Carter, Wallingford.
1886^7.— W.T. Maguire, Darby; W.D. Ken-
nedy, Clifton Heights ; C. L. Lashelle, Rock-
dale ; M. P. Dickeson, Media ; S. W. Burns,
Chester; J. B.Wood, ; H. C. Wood,
Chatham ; Jacob Price, West Chester ; Isaac
Massey, West Chester ; J. V. Fisher, Phila-
delphia ; H. M. Downing, Chester county ;
J. H. FronBeld, Media ; S. P. Nickle, Primes ;
H. B. Brusstar, Lazaretto; S. A. M. Given,
Clifton Heights.
1888 — H. B. Rockwell, jr., CHtton Heights;
F. E. Johnston, Moores; Walter Webb, Glen-
olden ; F. F. Long, Ridley Park ; F. E. In-
gram, Philadelphia; G. M. Kuhry, Philadel-
phia ; G. F. Baier, Norwood ; M.W. Gillmer,
Ridley Park ; C. S. Mercer, Media ; Mary V.
Mitchell, Media ; C. L. Pearson, Chester.
1889.— C. D. Smedley, Wayne ; M.W.Barr,
Elwyn ; A. W. Wilmarth, Elwyn ; T. D. Clegg,
Primos ; M. B. Miller, Media ; G. D. Cross,
Chester; A. A. Hoopman, Chester; F. M.
Eaton, Darby; A. A. Bancroft, Chester; S.
R. Crothers, South Chester.
1890. — M. M. Leahy, Philadelphia; D. T.
Laine, Media; G. M.Wells, Wayne; J. W.
Trimble, Concord ; Fredrica E.Gladwin, Ches-
ter ; Mary J. Cochran, Chester; C. S. Kurtz,
Linwood ; O. B. Jones, jr. , Morton; S. C.
Webster,Media ; Milton Powell, Philadelphia;
R. H. McNair, Lansdowne ; William Tonkin,
Moores; J. E. Loughlin, Norwood.
1891. — S. A. Beal, Media; J. R.Johns, Chadds'
Ford; W. G. Gardiner, Wayne; J. M. B.
Ward, Chester; C. H.Wells, Ridley Park;
H. \'on H. Stoever, Chester; R. S. Maison,
Chester; W.K.Evans, Upland; F.H.Evans,
Chester; G. B. Tullidge, Fairview ; G. E.
Gramm, Ardmore ; D. R. De Long, Morton;
William Allcutt, Linwood (practiced since
1871); E. R. De Long, Morton ; Alice Rogers,
Media ; Walter Dunn, Clifton heights.
1892.— D.M. Tindall, Morton ; E.S.Haines,
Morton ; L. J. Blake, Elwyn ; P. N. Eckman,
Philadelphia; D. C. Guthrie, Ridle)- Park;
W. J. Reinhard, Media ; Rose D. Howe, Ches-
ter ; Mary Brown, Swarthmore ; V. C. Rob-
erts, Upland ; A. L. Boughner, Pine Grove ;
Jennie L. Adams, Ridley Park ; F. J. Butter-
worth, Lenni ; F. F. Forwood, Thurlow ; C.
M. Burk, Ridley Park; A. J. Marston, Phila-
delphia; W. O. Smith, Philadelphia; W.W.
Strange, Mt. Rose.
1893. — J. R. Garretson, Philadelphia; D.
W. Ogden, Philadelphia; W. H. Warrick,
Philadelphia; W. W. Memminger, Upland;
W. H. Walling, Philadelphia ; T. J. Bowes,
Upland; G. C. Webster, J. C. Price, Ches-
ter ; C. F. Alsentzer, South Chester ; A. F.
Targett, Upland; Maria C.\\'alsh, Norwood;
F. R. Smith, Wilmington; J. R. Smith, Wil-
mington ; W. H. Vallette, Media ; T. O.
Weatherley, South Chester; H. P. Lorman,
Wilmington.
CHAPTER XVI.
FINANCIAL
POSTAL — POLITICAL AND
HISTORICAL
FIN.^NCI.^I..
The financial prosperity of a county depends
largely upon the condition of its banks. The
banks of Delaware are substantial, prosperous
institutions, and are managed upon sound
and economic principles.
The first bank in the county was the old
106
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Delaware county bank at Chester, which was
incorporated by act of Assembly of March 21,
1814. On March 14, 1S64, it was changed
from a State to a National bank, and as the
Delaware County National bank has done
business ever since. In 1832 an effort was
made to obtain a charter for a bank to be
known as the " Farmers' and Manufacturers'
bank of Delaware county," but Governor
Wolf vetoed the act of the legislature author-
izing it.
One of the sections of the National banking
act required all revenue officers and collectors
to deposit their funds in the First National
bank of the district in which their offices were
located. This led to the establishment of
the present First National bank of Chester,
in which the revenue collections amounted to
many thousand dollars in 1863. The First
National was chartered in 1863, but was not
regularl}' organized until May 15, 1864. In
1868 Broomall and Fairlamb established a
banking house at Media.
The third chartered bank was the First
National bank of Media, organized February
22, 1864. Twenty years now elapsed before
another bank was organized, and the new-
comer was called into existence at Chester on
March i, 1884. as the Chester National bank.
The next bank in the county was the Charter
National bank of Media, that was opened for
business in April, 1887. The last bank or-
ganized is the First National of Darby.
In connection with banking two large trust
and deposit companies have been organized
to meet the demands of the increasing volume
of business in the county. The Delaware
County Trust, Safe Deposit and Insurance
Company, with offices at Chester and Media,
was incorporated in 1885. The Media Title
and Trust Company was incorporated January
15, i8gi.
With six safe banks and two good trust
and deposit companies the county affords the
needed requirements for the transaction of all
kinds of business.
POSTAL.
But very little information is obtainable of
the early post routes and postoffices in the
county. When the Federal postal service was
instituted an office was established at Chester,
but the first postmaster at that place of which
we have any account was Aaron Cobourn,
whose salary or emoluments for the year iSoo
was eighty-five dollars and sixty-three cents.
Among the first offices were Darby, Chester,
and Marcus Hook, and but few offices were in
the county until after the war of 1812. The
establishment of cotton and woolen factories
increased their numbers somewhat, but over
two-thirds of the present postoffices have been
established since the war.
In 1879 there were forty-one offices : in 1881,
fifty-one; in 18S3, fifty-five; in 1885, fifty-
seven; in 1888, sixt\-five : in 1891, seventy-
seven ; in 1S92, eighty ; and in 1893, eighty-
five.
The one letter carrier office in the county is
Chester, where the free delivery system was
secured by H. G. .'\shmead, the historian,
when acting as postmaster of that city. There
are four presidential postoflices, Chester and
Media, second class ; and Thurlow and Wa\ne,
third class. There are thirty-three money
order offices, and of these Chester is an inter-
national office.
POLITICAL.
It is not advisable from what little matter
can be secured to enter into any account of
the rise and progress of the political parties
that have been or now are in existence in the
county. Instead of giving county or town-
ship election returns on State and local offices
the popular vote for president, which has been
secured as far back as 1832, is given :
POPULAR VOTE OF DELAWARE COUNTY AT PRESI-
DENTIAL ELECTIONS FROM 1832 TO 1892.
1832. Democrat .... Andrew Jackson . . 955
Opposition ii4-3
1836. Democrat MartinVan Buren, 1,030
Whig Wni. H. Harrison, i, 224
OF DULAWAliE COUNTY.
107
1844.
1848.
1852.
1856.
1S60.
1864.
1868.
1872.
1876.
1880.
18S8.
1892,
Whig Wm. H.Harrison,
Democrat Martin\'an Buren,
Libert}" James G. Birney . .
Democrat James K. Polk . . .
Whig Henry Clay
Liberty James G. Birne)'. .
Whig Zachary Taylor. . .
Democrat Lewis Cass
Free Soil MartinVan Buren,
Democrat Franklin Pierce. .
Whig Winfield Scott. . .
Free Dem . . . .John P. Hale ....
Democrat James Buchanan. .
Republican . . .John C. Fremont,
American Millard Fillmore .
Republican . . .Abraham Lincoln,
Democrat Reading Ticket . .
Ind. Dem Steph. A. Douglas,
Cons't Union. .John Bell
Republican . . .Abraham Lincoln,
Democrat Geo.B.McClellan,
Republican . . .Ulysses S. Grant,
Democrat Horatio Seymour,
Republican . ..Ulysses S. Grant,
Dem. and Lib. .Horace Greeley..
Temperance . . James Black
Democrat Charles O'Connor,
Republican . . . Ruth'f "rd B. Hays,
Democrat Samuel J. Tilden,
Greenback .... Peter Cooper ....
Prohibition . . . Green Cla)' Smith,
Republican . . .James A.Garfield.
Democrat W. S. Hancock. .
Greenback . . . .James B. Weaver,
Prohibition . . . Neal Dow
Republican . . .James G. Blaine..
Democrat Grover Cleveland,
Greenback .... Benj. F. Butler . .
Prohibition . ..John P. St. John,
Republican . . .Benj. Harrison . .
Democrat Grover Cleveland,
Prohibition . . .Clinton B. Fisk. .
Greenback. . . .Alson J. Streeter,
Republican . . .Benj. Harrison . .
Democrat Grover Cleveland,
Prohibition . . .John Bidwell
Populist James B. Weaver,
2,031
1-335
o
1,466
2,ogo
15
2,194
1-547
84
1.737
2,083
107
2,005
1-590
1,010
3,181
1-534
152
288
3-453
2,056
4, 166
2,616
4-231
1,166
o
o
5,484
3.250
o
2
7,008
4-473
21
17
7-512
4.508
38
177
8,791
5,028
346
5
9,272
5.520
462
14
HISTORICAL.
The earliest historians of the Dutch and
Swedish settlements on the Delaware are Cam-
panius and Acrelius. In the "New Sweden"
of the former, and in the "History of New
Sweden" by the latter, are given quite a
lengthy account of the Swedish settlers in
what is now Delaware count)-. Clay's ' ' Annals
of the Swedes on the Delaware" also throw
considerable light upon some facts of early
history.
In 1843 Sherman Da}' issued his •• Historical
Collections of the State of Penns\lvania," in
which the description of Delaware county was
quite full and interesting. In 1859-60 appeared
a directory of Chester, containing a concise
history of the borough, by William Whitehead.
Twelve years later Dr. George Smith's "His-
tor}' of Delaware county, Pennsylvania."
During the Centennial year considerable
contributions were made to the history of the
county. At Chester the Centennial oration,
delivered by Isaac T. Coates, M.D., was after-
ward printed in book form. Hon. William
W'ard read, on Independence day, a sketch of
Chester from its first settlement, and Judge
John M. Broomall read, before the Delaware
County Institute of Science, a paper on the
"History of Delaware county, Pennsylvania,
for the Past Century." In this year appeared
the first edition of Dr. Engle's ' ' History of the
Commonwealth," in which was H. G. Ash-
mead's sketch of Delaware county.
In 1877 appeared " Chester and itsVicinity,"
by John Hill Martin, and in 1881 was issued
Cope and Futhey's "History of Chester
county, Pennsylvania," in which was much
valuable information concerning the southern
part of Delaware county, especiall)- Chester
city.
Between 1883 and 1890 Henry Graham
Ashmead wrote three valuable works in con-
nection with the history of the county. His
first work was "History of Delaware county,
Pennsylvania, "published in 1884 ; thesecond,
108
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
" Historical Sketch of Chester, on Delaware,"
18S5 ; and third. "Chester, Pennsj'Ivania,
History of its Industrial Progress and Advan-
tages for Large Manufactures."
The two large county histories of Smith
and Ashmead, and the extensive historj' of
Chester b}' INIartin, demand more consideration
than mere mention.
Dr. George Smith's •' History of Delaware
County, Pennsylvania," was written by him
under the direction and appointment of the
Delaware County Institute of Science, which
had at first secured the services of Joseph
Edwards to prepare a county history. Mr.
Edwards died upon the very threshold of his
work, and the task of completing the work
was urged upon Dr. Smith, who finally con-
sented, and produced the able and interesting
work which bears his name. He treats chrono-
logically of the histor}' of the county, gives a
notice of its geology and a catalogue of its
minerals, plants, quadrupeds and birds, and
records a large number of biographies of the
early settlers and eminent men of Delaware
county. The catalogue of quadrupeds and
birds was prepared by John Cassin, the orni-
thologist. Of the character and merits of his
work we give the opinion of a succeeding his-
torian, who says : "In 1862 he (Dr. Smith)
published his 'History of Delaware County,'
a volume which will stand as an enduring
monument to the learning, accuracy and thor-
oughness of its author, and so long as Ameri-
can history continues to be a theme of inves-
tigation and study, will be quoted and referred
to as authority."
Henry Graham Ashmead's "History of
Delaware County, Pennsylvania," issued from
the press in 18S4, was written to meet the de-
mand awakened in the county through the
Centennial celebrations, for a history wider in
scope and richer in local event, than Dr.
Smith's admirable volume. Mr. Ashmead's
Centennial sketches drew attention to him as
one capable to undertake the great and ex-
haustive labor of preparing such a work. His
objects upon entering upon the labor were
authenticity, exhaustiveness and impartialit}',
and he produced an interesting and valuable
volume, that received the approbation of the
intelligent public. In the preparation of some
of the local history Mr. Ashmead was assisted
by Austin N. Hungerford, a historical writer
of ability and experience. Ashmead's work
since its appearance has not onl}' been re-
ceived as an authority in Pennsylvania upon
the history of Chester county, but has been
accepted in other States as one of the stand-
ards in reference to the early settlements upon
the Delaware.
John Hill Martin's " Chester and its \'icin-
ity," as its name suggests, is a local history,
and is written in a pleasing and entertaining
style. The work gives many important his-
torical facts of general interest, and is remark-
ably rich in genealogical sketches of the old
families of Chester.
CHAPTER XVII.
SLAVES AND REDEMPnONERS — EARLY
IRON WORKS AND PAPER MILLS.
The institution of human servitude was in-
troduced by the Dutch and Swedes on the
Delaware, but it did not flourish, and in 1677,
only five years before Penn came, there was
only one slave owner on the Delaware river
northward from Upland, and that was James
Sandelands, who had one slave. In 1688 the
German to wnFriends protested against slavery,
and as early as 171 1 the assembly passed an act
to prevent the further importation of negroes
into the province, but this law was repealed by
the English government.
The negro slaves in Chester county were
brought from theWest Indies, being worth in
1 750 from ^40 to ^^100 Pennsylvania currency.
OF DELAWAHE COUyTY.
109
The first slaves manumitted were in 1701, b}'
LydiaWade, widow of RobertWade, and during
the Revohitionarj' war many of the whigs bb-
erated their slaves. Toward the latter part of
that struggle public opinion became so strong
against slavery, that on March i, 1780, a law
was passed for its gradual abolition. Under
this act all the slaves in Chester county were
registered, and all children born of slaves after
November i, 1780, became free at twenty-
eight years of age.
Slavery passed rapidly away from the ter-
ritory of Delaware county. By the census of
I 790 there were fift}' slaves in the count)', which
had decreased to seven in 1800. In 1810 there
was none : in 18 20, one was recorded, and in 1830
two were reported. In the latter year, how-
ever, slavery became extinct in the count)'.
REDEMPTIONERS.
Under the system of redemptive servitude,
the redemptioner, in order to reimburse the
master or owner of a ship for his passage and
board from England to this country, agreed
that his services might be sold for a stipulated
time. It had some advantages, and also was
subject to many abuses. It gave a chance to
many mechanics and worthy people to get to
this countrv, while some speculated in the
business. Many of the redemptioners received
treatment no better than what was e.\perienced
by the slave. Trading in redemptionersbecame
quite a business, and was continued as late
as 1785 when it went down. James An-
nesley, earl of Anglesey, was the most noted
case of a redemptioner brought to Delaware
county, and on the circumstances of his case
several of the world's great novelists have
founded celebrated romances.
EARLY IRON WORKS.
Thornbury, afterward known as Sacrum
Forge, was erected at the present Glen Mills
by John Ta) lor, prior to 1742. A slitting mill
was afterward erected, and in 1836 the works
were changed to the paper mills now known as
the Glen mills. The old forge at Rockdale, in
Aston township, seems to have been among the
earliest iron works of southeastern Pennsyl-
vania, and was built previous to 1750. In i8og
the nail mill was erected, and twenty-one
years later the works consisted of a nail-slit-
ting and rolling mill, to which the iron ore and
coal used in smelting was brought from Ches-
ter and Marcus Hook, where it was unloaded
from shallops. These iron works seem to have
went down about 1830.
Edwards' forge and rolling mills were situ-
ated above Glen mills, in Thornbury township.
They were erected prior to 1778, by John Ed-
wards, and went down about 1835, the rolling
mill being washed away in the great flood of
1843.
The old Sable nail works, in Middletown
township and opposite Rockdale forge, was
built in i8og, by Capt. Henry Moore. The
Thatcher tilt mill was built prior to 181 1,
above the present Wawa Station, and in 1810-
1 1 the Sycamore or Bishop rolling and slitting
mills were erected in Upper Providence town-
ship. At the latter named rolling mill, in 1812,
was made the first successful use of anthracite
coal as a fuel in the manufactures of this
countr)'. The Franklin iron works in Nether
Providence township were in operation in
181 1, and in 1813 Judah Dobson changed a
saw mill to a rolling mill, in Middletown town-
ship, which, tradition asserts, was a copper,
and not a rolling mill.
EARLY PAPER MILLS.
The old Ivy paper mill, the second of its
kind on the American continent, was built in
Concord township, in 1729, by Thomas Will-
cox, and descended from father to son through
five successive generations. On three different
occasions, far apart, its services were said to
have been services of necessity to the Federal
government.
Following the lead of the Ivy mills, a num-
ber of paper mills were built in Delaware
county. By the year 1800 it is said more
110
BIOGRAPHY AXD lUSTOBY
paper was made in Delaware county than in
all the other counties of the United States.
Two of the more prominent of the early
paper mills were : Truman's, built in Upper
Darb\' township, in 1778: and Lewis', in
Nether Providence, in 1826.
CHAPTER XVIII.
CENSUS STATISTICS— POPULATION, MAN-
UFACTURES AND AGRICULTURE.
While numbersare not the progress measure
of county life, yet their rapid increase indexes
every great stride in the development of a
county's commerce, manufactures and mate-
rial resources ; and their marked decrease
chronicles the decline of any important indus-
try and every great drain by emigration. This
progress or decay can be partly traced in the
swelling and the ebbing of the tide of numbers,
and what is the story that the census tells
of the history of Delaware county? It shows
an increase of population at the end of
every decade since 1790, when the first Fed-
eral census was taken. In the decade from
1790 to 1800 the large increase in numbers
shows the size of the stream of immigration
from the old world that was pouring into the
county, while the scarcely visible increase in
the next census period reveals the decline of
immigration and tells the story of the retarded
progress of agriculture and the crude state of
the early manufacturing industries. In the
three decades from 1S20 to 1850 the remark-
able increase of population tells the stor\- of
the influence of improved methods of farming
and the successful inauguration of the cotton
and woolen industries of the count\'. The four
decades from 1850 to 1890 show a wonderful
increase in numbers and stand as an index to
the growth of the great manufacturing indus-
tries of the countr\', vet the first of these de-
cades has such a small increase on its preced-
ing, and nothing near the increase of its suc-
ceeding decade, that it indicates some dis-
turbing element, which was the late great
civil war.
The following condensed and classified sta-
tistics have been carefully compiled from the
United States census reports :
STATISTICS OF POPULATION.
TOTAL POPULATION.
Census. White. Colored. Total.
1790 9.144 289 9,483
1800....... 12,157 645 12,809
181O 13,912 822 14.734
1820 13.701 1,108 14,810
1830 16,062 1,258 17.323
1840 18,458 1.333 19.791
1850... 23,122 1,557 24,679
i860 28,948 1,649 30.597
1870... 36,659 2,744 39.403
1880 51.487 4.613 56,101
1890. 67,684 6,965 74,683
In i8go the native population was 31,167
males, and 31,416 females; and the foreign
population numbered 6,208 males, and 5,892
females.
.MINOR CIVIL DIVISIONS, 180O, 1820, 183O
AXD 1840.
Township or Borough. 1800. 1820. 1830. 1840.
Aston 664 753 1,070 1,469
Bethel 237 324 367 386
Birmingham 511 315 584 605
Concord 920 1,032 1,002 1,057
Chester borough. . . 657 848/
Chester 960 638 672)
Darby borough. ... 1,980 1,004 '■085 1,267
Upper Darb\' 862 692 1,325 1,489
Edgmont. 509 640 758 713
Haverford 605 786 980 1,039
Upper Chichester. . 3S5 413 431 475
Carried forward .-; fo-^-}, 7,254 8,122 10,290
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
Ill
Brought forward . 7,633
Lower Chichester. . 522
Marple 631
Middletown 761
Upper Providence. 451
Nether Providence. 421
Newtown 479
Radnor 874
Ridle.y 742
Springfield 521
Thornbury 508
Tinicum 272
7>254
50-'
700
994
736
566
611
i>o59
^*93
576
537
182
8,122 10,290
465
793
1,188
748
747
667
1,097
1,038
700
610
166
666
759
1. 451
780
1,025
752
1,205
1,075
860
675
153
Totals. ...... 12,809 i4,8i'o 17,361 19.791
MINOR CIVIL DIVISIONS, 1850 AND 1860.
Township or llorough. 1850.
Aston 1,558
Bethel 426
Birmingham 566
CoHcord 1,049
Chester borough 1,667
Chester 1,553
Upper Chichester 531
Lower Chichester 914
Darby borough
Darby 1,310
ITpper Darby 2,044
Edgmont 621
Haverford 1,401
Media 285
Marcus Hook borough. 492
Marple 876
Middletown 1,972
Newtown 824
Upper Providence 778
Lower Providence i,457
Radnor i,335
Ridley 1,389
Springfield 1,033
Thornbury 873
Tinicum 178
1860.
1. 771
511
621
1,229
4.631
2,026
555
991
780
717
2,571
647
1.350
900
gi6
2,397
830
884
1.497
1,230
1.324
1,109
1,017
193
Totals 24,640
30,597
MINOR CIVIL DIVISIONS, 187O, 1880 AND 1890.
Township or Borough,
Aston
Bethel
Birmingham
Chester city
First ward
Second ward
Third ward
Fourth ward
Fifth ward
Sixth ward .
Seventh ward
Eighth ward
Chester
Clifton Heights boro'. . .
Concord .
Darby borough
Darby
Edgmont
Haverford
Lower Chichester
Marple
Media borough
Middletown
Nether Providence
Newtown
North Chester borough.
Radnor
Ridley
Rutlege borough
South Chester borough.
Springfield
Thornbury
Tinicum
Upland borough
Upper Chichester
Upper Darby
Upper Providence
1870.
1.845
554
765
9,485
2,401
589
919
14.997
1.452
1.293
1.205
995
678
1.338
1,129
858
1.045
2,578
1,448
748
I-43I
1,142
1,267
990
147
1. 341
539
3.130
758
582
],3ii
1.779
1.245
648
1,488
1,700
899
1,919
2,798
1,726
734
1,381
1.924
2,533
3,664
1.772
943
224
2,028
523
4,699
855
1890.
2,454
595
739
20,226
1,620
1.973
2,554
2,047
3.353
2,519
3,457
2.703
578
1,820
1,276
2,972
2,031
567
1.733
2,292
884
2.736
3,287
1,817
648
3.799
4.529
269
7,076
2,436
926
188
2.275
564
4.773
1,013
Totals 39.403 56,101 74,683
The population of the following places,
some of which are now boroughs, b}' the cen-
sus of 1880, were as follows: Marcus Hook,
112
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
<Si6 ; Rockdale, 590 ; Eddystone, 582 : Lin-
wood, 543 ; Leiperville, 472 ; Ridle_v Park,
439; Llewell}-n, 430: Glen Riddle, 416:
Lenni, 335 : Village Green, 237 : Crozerville,
228: Prospect Park, 197: West Branch, 121 ;
Concord, 116; Lima, 114; Chadds' Ford, 108:
Bridgewater, 91: Chelsea, 80; Parkmount,
80 : Booth's Corner, 69 ; and Elam, 2},.
The figures can be considered as only ap-
proximate to the unincorporated places named,
as their limits were not sharply defined.
STATISTICS OF MANUFACTURE.
ESTABLISHMENTS AND EMPLOYEES.
U. S. Census. Establishments. Employees.
i860 227 4,368
1870 314 6,448
1880 416 11,242
CAPITAL, MATERL^L, AND PRODUCTS.
Census. Capital. Material. Products.
i860 S 3,437,802 3,015,405 $ 5,264,033
1870.... 5,927,187 6,845,504 11,041,654
I8S0.... 14,256,720 11,262.964 19,601,493
COTTON GOODS.
Census Estab'm'ts. Employees. Capital. Products.
i860... 25 2,458 $1,685,040 $2,341,800
1870... 19 2,257 2,233,000 3,.582,995
1880... 21 2,998 3,849,000 3,848,965
The wages paid in the twenty-one cotton
goods establishments in 1880, amounted to
$863,641.
WOOLEN GOODS.
Census. Estab'm'ts. Employees. Capital. Products.
i860... 22 1,205 $1,047,000 §1,508,554
1870... 26 1,357 1,262,740 2,630,262
1880... 29 2,595 2,542,000 4,489,510
The wages paid in the twenty-nine woolen
goods establishments in 1880, amounted to
$768,140.
Two worsted goods establishments were
reported in 1880, with 282 emploj'ees, having
a capital of $375,000, and products valued at
$675,191.
ST.^TISTICS OF AGRICULTURE
FARM AREAS.
Census. No. Farms. Acres Improved, tt ■ ,
^ Unimproved.
1S60 1,428 92,089 13,505
1870 1,471 89,438 11,316
1S80 1,683 95,327 12,023
The cash value of all farms in 1880 was
given as $19,288,727.
CEREALS.
Census. Hush. Wheat. Bush. Corn. Bush. Oats
1850 121,096 294,209 169,754
i85o 169,273 381,296 192,320
1870 129,328 379,417 135,052
1880 140,140 516,633 154,659
1890 166,186 401,790 95,740
In 1890 there were seven thousand ten acres
of land in wheat, eight thousand thirt} -five
acres in corn, and three thousand three hun-
dred and eighty acres in oats.
Census. Bush. Rye. Barley. Buckwheat.
1850 1,909 170 593 ■
i860 5,573 1,656 923
1870 6,209 2,417 14
1880 7,818 i6o 103
1890 6,729 230 1 1
In 1890 there were three hundred and eighty-
four acres of land in rye, seven acres in bar-
ley, and one acre in buckwheat.
LIVE STOCK.
Census. Horses. Milch Cows. Sheep. Swine.
1850... 7,014 16,575 7424 11,287
i860... 4,191 12,997 2,566 9,039
1870... 4,219 12,766 2,142 7,759
1880... 5,317 16,088 1,629 9,519
HAY, WOOL AND POTATOES.
Census Tons Hay. Lbs. Wool. Bush. Potatoes.
1850 27,932 3,406 108,^08
i860 28,461 2,760 153,643
1870 32,140 -1,001 197,382
1880.. .. ..33,565 281,290
In 1S80 there were 22,866 acres of grass
mown.
OF DELAWAHE COUyTY.
113
The dairy products of Delaware count\' in
1880, were: 1,428,084 pounds of butter,
3,412,439 gallons of milk sold, and 79,045
pounds of cheese.
In 1879 there were93, 940 fowlsin thecounty.
and the product of eggs for that year was
366,791 dozen.
VALUATION, TAXATION AND INDEBTEDNESS.
In 1880, the total assessed valuation of Del-
aware county was $33,247,382 : taxation,
$330,201 : and indebtedness, $1,049,136.
CHAPTER XIX.
CHESTER CITY.
Chester on the Delaware is one of the most
important manufacturing centers on the At-
lantic seaboard, as well as being the oldest
town in the State of Pennsjivania. and the
fourth in size of the cities in the Delaware
river valle}-.
The Indian name of the site of the present
city of Chester was Mecoponacka ; the Swed-
ish, Upland : the Dutch, Oplandt ; and the
English, first Upland, and shortly afterward
Chester, in honor of the cit\' of that name in
England. The Indian name. Mecoponacka,
is a corruption of the name of Chester creek,
which, according to Heckewelder, was Mee-
choppenackhan, meaning -'the large potato
stream."
Chester received tliree borough charters,
the first one on November 31. 1701, from
William Penn : the second one, March 5, 1795.
from the General Assembly ; and the third one
from the same body, on April 6, 1850. Six-
teen years later, on February 14, 1866, Chester
was incorporated as a city, and in her growth
and progress ever since has kept pace with
the manufacturing cities of the land. In 1888
North Chester was annexed, and it is but a
question of time until South Chester, Upland,
and Eddvstone boroughs will become integral
parts of the city. The first burgess was Jas-
per Yeates, in 1703, and the first mayor was
John Larkin, jr., in 1S66. The present (1893)
principal city officers of Chester are : John B.
Hinkson, mayor ; James R. Bagshaw, chief
of police : John L. Hawthorne, city controller :
Henry Hinkson, city treasurer ; Orlando Har-
vey, city solicitor: A. A. Cochran, assistant
city solicitor, and Mordecai Lewis, city clerk.
The aldermen are : Philip Oglesby, Harry
Deal, Thomas Berry, William Mercer, Alfred
Rhodes, James Ouinb\-, Norris Garvine, and
H. C. Sprout.
The members of select and common coun-
cils are as follows ; James Cook, Thomas
B. Shaw, Edward Dickerson, J. E. Cochran,
jr. , Benjamin Cass, John Creighton, William
J. Oglesby, Crosby M. Black,W. P. Ladomus,
J. Craig, jr., Richard F. Flickwir, Thomas
Hargreaves, George W^ Howard, Jessie H.
Blakeley, George W. Wood, R. P. Mercer,
M.D., H. B. Davis, John Lilh', jr., George
Wiegand. W. H. Sproul, Harry P. Haney,
Joseph McDade, John P. Foreaker, and Eu-
gene F. White.
The collector of port is William Ward, jr.:
inspector of customs, H. \'. Smith: port
warden, Amos Gartside : and harbor master.
James D. Nelson.
Chester city is 39° 51' north latitude, and
75° 21' west longitude from Greenwich, and
has an altitude from o to 75 feet. It is 12.4
miles from Philadelphia, and no. 7 miles from
Washington city. The underlying rock of the
place is gneiss, and the superstratum, chiefly
clay of the drift or glacial period. The river
here is two miles wide, with a good harbor,
and is navigable for vessels drawing 24 feet
at low water. The highest recorded temper-
ature of the city was 102°, and the lowest
-20°; while the lowest winter temperature in
average winters is 0°.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The land between Chester and Ridley creeks
back for one and one-half miles from the Del-
lU
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTOHY
aware was owned for a quarter of a century
by Joran Keen, or Kyn, who, in 1644, made a
tobacco plantation of his land. The land on
the west side of Chester creek, extending
along the river to Marcus Hook, was granted
in 1756 to Capt. John Ammundson Besk, who
never took possession of it, and it was later
claimed and occupied by Armgart Pappegoya,
daughter of Gov. John Printz. From Keen
and Mrs. Pappegoya, or their legal represen-
tatives, the early settlers of Upland purchased
their land, on which the town was afterward
built.
i;ro\v iH.
The story of Chester's slow growth prior to
the Revolution is told in the general history
of the count}'. From the Revolutionary
struggle to the removal of the county seat to
Media, a period of seventy-five years, Chester
grew very slowly, and in 1850 had only reached
a population of one thousand six hundred.
As far back as i6gS Jasper Yeates built exten-
sive granaries and a large bakery, but his
efforts to establish a flour shipping and bread
baking industrj' were not appreciated, and his
enterprise became a failure. Between 1761
and 1770 Francis Richardson attempted to
make Chester a rival of Philadelphia, as a
shipping port of grain and produce, by build-
ing extensive warehouses and two piers, but
his efforts met with the same indifference that
had been shown to Yeates, and the troubles
with England finally- wrought his utter ruin.
When the county seat was removed to Media,
the people of Chester looked upon their place
as ruined, but in the hour of their apparent
ruin was born a spirit of improvement that
was not only its means of rescue, but became
the source of its present wealth and prosperity.
This spirit of enterprise and improvement
is largely due to John Larkin, jr., who pur-
chased the land now embraced within the
Second, Fourth and Fifth wards. He built
houses and laid out streets at his own expense,
and was ably assisted in giving life to Chester
by James Campbell and John P. Crozer, the
pioneers in the manufacture of cotton and
woolen goods. Later on John M. Broomall
and Hon. William Ward aided in adding
houses and streets to the growing borough,
and John Roach gave to Chester her great
ship-yard, and the immense iron and steel
plant now known as the Wellman Iron and
Steel Works. Since iS5o Chester has been
progressive, and is now prosperous with cot-
ton and woolen mills, ship-jards, and iron and
steel plants, and foundries and machine shops.
In 1887 the borough of North Chester was
annexed, and this act has added considerable
to the territory, population, and wealth of the
city,
TRANSPORTATION LINES.
Chester city is connected with all the lead-
ing cities by three great railway lines — the
Baltimore and Ohio, the Pennsylvania, and the
Reading. The first two roads run fort}- nine
and seventy-four daily passenger trains respec-
tively, while the last road is only a freight
line. The Chester Creek railroad connects
Chester with Media and the northern part of
the county. The Chester Street railway was
incorporated in 1882, and in 1892 became a
part of the Chester and Media Electric rail-
way.
Freight steamers run from Chester to Phila-
delphia, and passenger boats between Phila-
delphia and Wilmington stop daily at Market
street wharf, Chester.
Chester is a port of entry, the deputy col-
lector being William Ward, jr., and nearly
three hundred vessels from foreign and
home coast ports yearly discharge their car-
goes there. Several hundred thousand dollars
are paid annually in duties. There are two
piers or public wharfs, one east of the foot of
Market street, and the other at the foot of
Edgmont avenue. These piers were largely
built by the State of Pennsylvania, who ceded
them in i M25 to the government of the United
States.
HOARD OF IRAUE.
The Chester board of trade was organized
in 1886, and has accomplished much for the
OF delawahe county.
115
improvement and progress of the city, one of
its valuable services being rendered in pre-
venting the removal of the Philadelphia hos-
pital to the Lazzaretto, and in dangerous near-
ness to Chester. It also aided in securing the
annexation of North Chester to the city, and
is now working to secure the annexation of
South Chester, Upland and Eddj-stone bor-
oughs.
WATER AN'll FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
Chester has a fine supply of pure drinking
water. In 1864 the south ward water works
were built, and in i<S88 became a part of the
Chester Water Company that was organized
in 1884. The new company has a reservoir
three miles northwest, on Harrison's hill, at
an elevation of two hundred feet above low
water mark. This reservoir has a capacity of
twelve million gallons. The company supply
Chester,South Chester and Upland with water,
having many miles of mains and pipes.
The first measures of protection against fire
in Chester date back prior to 1721, and con-
sisted in a swab and bucket being kept in each
house. The leather fire buckets were kept in
the houses until after the commencement of
the present century. The first fire engine was
the Liberty, and the next bore the name of
Friendship. The first fire company was the
Franklin, instituted in 1867. The present fire
department was organized about 1869, with
John H. Kerlin as chief engineer. The de-
partment consists of three volunteer compa-
nies, who own their own houses and hose, two
steam fire engines, three hose carriages, and
one hook and ladder truck. The companies
are : Franklin fire, Hanley hose, and Moya-
mensing hook and ladder. The fire insurance
patrol was organized in 1888.
GAS AND ELECTRIC LIGHT.
Gas was introduced in 1856 by the present
Chester Gas Company. The Delaware County
Gas Company was organized about 1S89, and
supply both light and fuel gas.
In 1885 the Chester Electric Light and
Power Company was organized. This com-
pany uses the Edison incandescent and the
Thompson-Houston arc light systems, and
furnish the city with several hundred 32-
candle power lights, beside providing for an
extensive domestic service, and serving motor
power to many business establishments.
MANUFACTURES.
The largest manufacturing concerns are :
Roach's ship-yard, employing two thousand
hands ; Wellman iron and steel works, over
one thousand hands ; the Standard Steel Cast-
ing Company, three hundred hands; Tide-
water steel works, two hundred hands ; the
Logwood works, four hundred hands ; the
Tube and Pipe works, three hundred hands :
and the Aberfoyle Cotton mills, with four hun-
dred hands. There are also the Arasapha,
the Lincoln, the Patterson, the Powhattan,
Chester Dock, the Edgmont, and the Keokuk
or Gartside mills, with a large force of hands;
the Robert Wetherill & Company, engine
manufacturing plant, the Tidewater Steel
works, the Chester foundry, Black's edge tool
works. Crown smelting works, Lamokin car
works, Eureka steel plant, and Adamant plas-
ter works, are large establishments.
It is impossible within the limits of this
sketch to notice in detail all of these and the
many other manufacturing establishments in
Chester.
In i88g there were eleven cotton mills, six
foundries and machine shops, five lumber
establishments, four woolen mills, and four
worsted mills. These manufacturing concerns
employed an average force of four thousand
three hundred and sixty-two hands, had an in-
vested capital of nearly six million dollars, and
paid nearly two million dollars yearly in wages,
while their annual products reached nearly six
million dollars in value. There were then
eight other industrial establishments in the
city that had a capital of nearly two and a
half million dollars, and worked one thousand
five hundred and thirty-two hands.
116
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND liUILniNG ASSO-
CIATIONS.
Chester has three banks. The Delaware
County National bank was founded in 1S14,
and its president and cashier are : J. Howard
Roop and R. T. Hall. The Chester National
bank was organized in 1883, and its officers
are: J. Frank Black, president, and S. H.
Seeds, cashier. The First National bank was
founded in i<s64, and its officers are : George
M. Booth, president, and T. E. Clyde, cashier.
In addition to these three banks there is the
Delaware County Trust, Safe Deposit and
Title Insurance Company, which was organ-
ized in 1885, and has a banking department.
There are about twenty building and loan
associations, which represent nearly four mil-
lion dollars of capital, and have been the
means of erecting a large number of houses in
the cit\'.
EARLY AND PRESENT HOTELS.
The Boar's Head inn, where Penn stopped
in 1682-83, figured in the history of Chester
until 1742, when it passed out of the public
records under the name of the Spread Eagle.
The City hotel was erected about 1700. The
Black Bear inn was standing in 1737, and the
Blue Ball inn was built between 1765 and
1770. The Washington house was erected in
1747, and bore the name of "Pennsylvania
Arms '"for over forty years. The Blue An-
chor tavern was opened in 1732; the Columbia
house in 1739 ; Schanlan's tavern in 1765 ; and
the Steamboat hotel in 1827.
Among the present hotels of Chester city
are : Aubrej', Avenue, American house,
Brown's, Baldt, Beale house, Brooks, Burnes,
Central, Colonnade, Columbia house, City,
Cambridge, Delaware, Drove Yard, Edgmont,
Franklin, Fulton, Goeltz, Goff, Halton, Jer-
sey, Lafayette, Lamokin, Lincoln, McCaffrey,
McClure, Morton house, National Park, Wil-
liam Penn, Steamboat, Thurlow and Wash-
ington. The Cambridge is a very fine build-
ing, and the Beale house was purchased in
1885 by William H. Williams, who soon made
it a first class hotel. The American house,
the Colonnade and the Drove Yard rank as
first class hotels.
POSTOFFICE.
The postofiice was established when the Fed-
eral postal service was instituted. Aaron Co-
bourn was the earliest postmas.ter of whom we
have any account. Soon after him came Mrs.
Mary Deshong, "who has been followed in suc-
cession by the following postmasters : Caleb
Pierce, William Doyle, Mrs. Doyle, George W.
Weaver (1857,1, Y. S. Walter (1861), J. R. T.
Coates (1864), William G. Price, William H.
Martin, John A. Wallace (1881 ), Henry Gra-
ham Ashmead and Hon. Robert Chadwick
(1889). The postofiice force consists of the
postmaster, four assistants and seven letter
carriers.
The government is now erecting a splendid
postofiice and public building on the north-
west corner of Fifth an Welsh streets.
THE PRESS.
The earliest publication in Chester was the
Fost Boy, a weekly folio, fifteen and a half by
nine and a half inches, owned and edited by
Stephen Butler and Eliphalet Worthington.
The first number, bearing the motto "Intelli-
gence is the life of Liberty," was issued Mon-
day, November 8, 1817. The paper contained
no local matter, and was distributed through
the county by post riders. The name was
afterward changed to that of Upland Union,
and it finally went down in 1861. The Weekly
Visitor, established by William Russell, ap-
peared in 1828, but went down in 1832.
The Delaware County Republican was estab-
lished by Young S. Walter, on August 31,
1833, at Darby. On October 25, 1841, Mr.
Walter removed the paper to Chester, where
he edited it till his death in 1882. On Sep-
tember 1st of that 3ear Hon. Ward R. Bliss
purchased the Republican, and under his able
management the paper has attained a wide
circulation. The managing editor is C. K.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
117
Melville, a courteous and accommodating gen-
tleman of several years' experience in general
newspaper work.
The Di'laware County Democrat was founded
October 5, 1S67, by D. B. Overholt, and was
the successor of the Upland Union and Dela-
7varc County Demoirat that lived for a short
time in 1856, and also of the De/a-cuare- County
Detnocrat, whose career was run in the year
1835. Overholt soon sold the Di-mocrat, and
after various changes it became the property
of its present owner, Edward J. Frysinger.
It is the only Democratic paper in the county,
and Mr. Frysinger has made it a faithful ex-
ponent of democratic principles.
The Delaware County Advocate of to-day is
the outgrowth of the Chester Advocate, estab-
lished in 1868 b\- Richard Miller and John
Spencer. In i86g Mr. Spencer became sole
owner of the paper, enlarged it, and in 1874
changed its title to that of The Delaware
County Advocate. The paper owes its success
and prosperity to Mr. Spencer's abilit\' as an
editor and business man.
The Chester Evening Xenis made its first ap-
pearance on June i, 1872, being issued by F.
Stanhope Hill, under the name of Evening
News,^\\\c\\ was soon changed to the present
title. After various changes, and being en-
larged three times, it came, in 1892, under the
control of its present publishers,\\'.H. Bowen,
■W. T. Cooper, and H. F. Temple, who have
brought it up to a high standard as a daily
paper.
The Chester Times has been for some years
one of the leading papers of southeastern
Pennsylvania. The first issue of the paper
was on September 7, 1S76, under the name of
the Chester Daily Times. On March 7, 1877, J.
Craig, jr., succeeded Major John Hodgson as
editor, and John Spencer was proprietor from
1877 to 1882, when he sold the paper to the
Times Publishing Company, whose interests
were afterward bought by John A. Wallace,
who has been one of the proprietors and editor
since i88g. The /'/;;/« is a dailv paper. fearlessly
8a
republican, and is printed on the largest and
finest presses to be found outside of the cities.
The new Times building, with its granite front,
is pronounced to be the handsomest business
building in Chester, and is one of the best
equipped newspaper establishments in the
State. The paper has a large circulation,
employs a local staff of five men, and has a
pay roll of nearly- twenty-five thousand dol-
lars per year.
The Weekly Reporter, which is a valuable
law journal, was established by Hon. 'Ward
R. Bliss in 1881.
The Sunday Republic was established in 1892,
being an independent paper, issued on each
Sunday of the year.
Among the other papers started in Chester
and running for some time were : The Chariot
(1842), The Ca'/(i848), Chester Herald {\%^6),
The Evening Star (1857), the Chester Adver-
tiser {iS6b), The Independent (im<)), The Pub-
lic Press (1876), The Temperance World {i^yj),
and the Brotherhood, in 1883.
OPERA HOUSE.
The Grand opera house, with seating for
one thousand five hundred people, was built
in iSgij. It opened on October 20, i8go, and
Thomas Hargreaves is manager.'
JOHN MORTON MONUMENT.
The monument to John Morton, in St.
Paul's burying ground, is a plain, Egyptian
obelisk, of marble. It was erected October
g, 1845. On the north side of the shaft is in-
scribed, "John Morton being censured by his
friends for his boldness in giving his casting
vote for the Declaration of Independence, his
prophetic spirit dictated from his death bed
the following message to them : ' Tell them
they shall live to see the hour when they shall
acknowledge it to have been the most glorious
service I ever rendered to my country.' " Dr.
Smith and John Hill Martin accept this state-
ment as correct, but Ashmead denies that
Morton gave the casting vote for the adoption
of the Declaration of Independence.
118
BIOGRAPHY A^D HISTORY
fS«!S".-'S'=
'Vf-
OLD CITY HALL.
OLn CITY HALL.
"The casual observer or transient visitor
would seem disposed to question the antiquity
of this place, as the principal portions of our
thrifty city bear the impress of progress and
modernizing influences. But there are still
many evidences of its ancient origin in num-
berless old houses that date back two hundred
and more years ago, and in the old City hall,
on Market street, which was erected in 1724,
long before the foundations were laid for Inde-
pendence hall, in Philadelphia."
LIHR.^RIES.
The Mechanics library and reading room,
containing three thousand volumes, is near
the postofifice, and the Young Men's Christian
association has a librarj' of several hundred
volumes. The association was organized in
]86o.
SECRET AND BENEFICL^L SOCIETIES.
The Free Masons living in Chester in 1796
secured a charter for Chester Lodge, No. 69,
which went down in 1836; Chester Lodge,
No. 236, Free and Accepted Masons, was
chartered in 1848; L. H. Scott Lodge, No.
352, charted in 1864 •. Chester Ro}al Arch
Chapter, No. 258, chartered in 1823 ; Chester
Commandery, No. 66, since 18S4; and Dela-
ware County Lodge, No. 13. Knights of Bir-
mingham, in 1879: Mount Lebanon Lodge,
No. 17. Masonic Ladies, was instituted in
1866.
The first Odd Fellow lodge in the county
was Chester Lodge. No. y2, which was char-
tered in 1843. Delaware County Encamp-
ment. No. 96, was chartered in 1846, and Ches-
ter Encampment, No. 99, in 1850. Upland
Lodge, No. 253. and Leiperville Lodge, No.
263, were both chartered in 11S47.
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
119
The Improved Order of Red Men was in-
troduced by the establishment of Tuscarora
Tribe, No. 29, in 1854. Mocoponaco Tribe,
No. 149, was instituted in 1871, and Lamokin
Tribe, No. 80, meets in Chester.
Post Wilde, Grand Army of the Republic,
was chartered in 1867, and named in honor of
Lieut. Isaac H. Wilde. John Brown Post,
No. 194, was instituted in 1880.
Chester Lodge, No. 76, Knights of Pythias,
was instituted in 186S, and Larkin Lodge, No.
78, in the same year.
Chester Council, No. 36, Junior Order of
LInited American Mechanics, was instituted
in 1868, and Chester Council, No. 553, Royal
Arcanum, in 1881.
Washington Camp, No. 43, Patriotic Order
Sons of America, was chartered in 1882, and
the State Camp met at Chester in 1893. The
other camps in Chester are No. 281 and No.
486.
Chester Castle, No. 29, is the oldest castle
of the Knights of the Golden Eagle in the
county.
Several other orders have organizations in
Chester, where there are lodges of colored
Masons and Odd Fellows, the latter being of
the Manchester Unity of England.
The Catholic Benevolent Legion, the Ger-
man Benevolent Society', and various other
benevolent organizations meet in Chester.
The educational facilities of Chester are
very good. Those desiring a military life can
make ample preparation for the same at the
Pennsylvania Military academy, an imposing
stone structure, situated on the highest point
of land in the citv, and now in the thirtj'-first
year of its existence. Of equal age with the
military academy is the Chester academy,
founded by Charles W. Dean, as an academv
and normal school. The present principal
employs several teachers, and there are over
one hundred students in attendance.
The public schools are prosperous, and are
held in the following fine brick school build-
ings : High, Harvey, Hoskins', Morton, Lar-
kin, Lincoln, Gartside, Howell, Franklin,
Patterson, Martin, Powell and Oak Grove.
Chester city has seventy-five public schools,
with four male and seventy-si.\ female teachers,
and an average attendance, during their annual
ten month term, of two thousand four hundred
and thirty-four pupils. Chester receives over
eighteen thousand dollars of State appropria-
tion, and expends over seventy-five thousand
dollars yearly for her public schools. St.
Michael and the Church of the Immaculate
Heart have parochial schools, and there are
several select and private schools in the city.
CHURCHES.
The Friends' meeting at Chester dates back
to 1675, at the house of Robert Wade. The
first church building became too small in
1735, and the next year they built the present
stone and brick meeting house on Market
street, which was repaired and modernized in
1883. Since 1827 the Hicksite branch of the
church has held and occupied the building.
The first Protestant Episcopal church in
Chester is St. Paul's, which was organized
prior to 1802, in which year a small brick
church building was erected. The present
stone church structure is a beautiful building,
and was erected in 1859. St. Paul's is a
memorial church, erected to keep green the
memory of James Sandelands, the famous
Scotchman who would not sell his land at
Chester to Penn in 1682. St. Luke's, the
second Episcopal church, was organized Nov-
ember 28, 1868, and the neat little Gothic
stone sanctuary in which the congregation
worships was built in i86g. Its first rector
was Rev. Thomas R. List, who was succeeded
by Rev. G. C. Moore.
Chester has two Catholic churches. St.
Michael's and the Immaculate Heart. St.
Michael's, the Archangel, is "the most mag-
nificent and imposing church edifice in the
city. The congregation was organized in
120
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
1842, and the first small stone church building
was dedicated in 1843. This building was
replaced by the present beautiful sanctuary,
at a cost of over one hundred thousand dol-
lars. The Church of the Immaculate Heart
of Mary was organized in 1873 by the mem-
bers of St. Michael's then residing in the old
South ward. Their first small church build-
ing was succeeded in 1874 by the present
handsome brick edifice on Second street. The
present pastors are: Rev. James Timmins, of
St. Michael, and Rev. T. J. McGlynn, of the
Immaculate Heart.
The first Baptist church of Chester, com-
posed of members mostly from the Upland
church, was constituted September 24, 1863.
Through the liberalitj' of John P. Crozer,
ground was secured upon which Benjamin
Gartside erected the lecture room fronting on
Penn street. Aftei:ward the present large and
commodious meeting house was erected. The
church, looking to the future, has secured a
still more desirable lot in another part of the
city. Its pastors have been ; Rev. Levi G.
Beck, 1863; Rev. A. F. Shanafelt, 1866; Rev.
Z. T. Dowen, 1876; Rev. A. G. Thomas,
1877 ; G. H. McClelland, 1884; Charles Col-
man, i88g; S. S.Woodward, 1890; J.E.Wills,
1891 ; and S. S. Woodward, 1893.
The meeting house for the North Chester
church was completed during 1872, and first
occupied in June of that year. The church
was recognized with appropriate services May
8, 1873. James Irving erected the house at
his own expense, and has largel)' contributed
to the support of the church. Its pastors
have been : Revs. Edward Wells, P. S. Vree-
land, John Brooks. H. B. Harper and D. T.
Firor.
Madison Street Methodist Episcopal church
was organized at some time between 1818 and
1825. Three church buildings have been
erected, and the present beautiful, green ser-
pentine stone sanctuary was completed in 1874.
Trinity church was organized in 1865 by mem-
bers of Madison Street church, who resided
in the old South ward. Through the efforts
of Trinity, the South Chester church was or-
ganized about 1870. Chester was made a
station in 1845, and Rev. Isaac R. Merrill was
appointed as pastor. Among his successors
were: Revs. Levi Storks, John Shields, New-
ton Heston, S. G. Hare, John B. Maddux,
William Mullin, J. W. Arthur, Allen Johns
and John Ruth, all of whom served prior to
the late war.
The Presbyterians of Chester organized the
First Presbyterian Church in the year 1M51.
Its pastors have been : Rev. J. O. Stedman,
1852; Rev. George Van Wyck, 11^54: Rev.
A. W. Sproul, 1856; Rev. Philip H. Mowry,
1873 to 1893.
In 1865 the Presbyterians living in the old
South ward organized Chester City Presby-
terian church. Thomas Reaney built the
church edifice at his own personal cost. The
pastors have been: 'Rev. M. P. Jones, 1866;
Rev. A. T. Dobson, 1869; Rev. T. J. Aitkin,
1881 ; Joseph \'ance, D. D., 1884 to 1893.
The Third Presbyterian church is a memorial
church, commemorating the union of the old
and new school Presbyterian churches. The
church was organized in 1872, and its pastors
have been: Rev. Dr. E. W. Bower, 1872;
Rev. C. F. Thomas, 1873: Rev. Thomas F.
McCauley, 187.S to 1892.
St. Paul's German Lutheran church was or-
ganized in 1878, and in 1879 the old Metho-
dist church on Fifth street was purchased for
a house of worship. Rev. J. T. Boyer was
the first pastor, being succeeded in 1880 by
Rev. E. H. Gerhart, whose successor was E.
H. Pohle.
The Union African Methodist Episcopal
church was organized before 1832, through
the efforts of Robert Morris, who had been a
slave. The early pastors of the church were :
Rev. Samuel Smith, Rev. Benjamin Jefferson
(from 1837 to 1874), Rev. L. D. Blackston
and Rev. Henry Modo. The present pastor
is Rev. J. G. Green.
Asbury African Methodist Episcopal church
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
121
was organized in 1845, and its first regular
pastor was Rev. Henry Davis, who served in
1849.
PARKS.
The city has two parks ; the Chester or
Dickerson, secured through the efforts of Ed-
ward S. Dickerson, and the North Chester
park, opposite Upland.
POPULATION. •
The population of Chester from iSoo to
1890 has been as follows: 1800, 957; 18,10,
1,056: 1820, 657; 1830, 817; 1840, 1,790;
1850, 1,667; i860, 4,631; 1870, 9,485; 1880,
14,997; and 1890, 20,226. The population is
largely native born, with English, Irish, Ger-
man and Scotch-Irish in the'order given. The
annexation of Upland, South Chester and
Eddystone boroughs are predicted to take
place before igoo, and if such a result is ac-
complished, Chester city will cross the thresh-
old of the twentieth century with a population
of over fifty thousand.
CHAPTER XX.
SOUTH CHESTER, UPLAND AND EDDY-
STONE BOROUGHS.
It is confidently expected that in the near
future annexation will make Chester City,
South Chester, Upland and Eddystone one
great municipality.
SOUTH CHESTER BOROUGH.
The borough of South Chester lies on a part
of Lamoco lands granted originally to Capt.
Hans Ammundson Besk, and of a tract pat-
ented to John Johnson, James Justason and
Peter Hendrickson. Lamoco, now written
Lamokin, is an Indian word, that, according
to tradition, indicates "The Kiss of the Wa-
ters.'
South Chester was established as a borough
on March 12, 1870, having been created in the
previous yezx as an independent road district
by the name of the Lamokin district. The
railroad station and postoflice are each named
Thurlow, in honor of John J. Thurlow, who
owned the land near them. The first burgess
was Judge Thomas J. Clayton, and the pres-
ent postmaster is John R. Nowland. Water,
gas and electric light are received from Ches-
ter. South Chester has a fine borough hall,
several hotels, two newspapers, a fire com-
pany, good churches and schools, and a num-
ber of manufactories. William H. Green first
saw that South Chester was destined to be an
industrial center. Among its mills and large
works are: the Auvergne, River, Wyoming,
Centennial and Garfield cotton mills; the
W'ellman iron works, Chester oil works, Pipe
and Tube works, oil works, oil cloth works,
and one ship and several brick yards. South
Chester has one fire company, the Felton,
which was organized in 1882.
The oldest newspaper is the South Chester
News, a weekly republican sheet, that was
established March 23, 1883, by W. Warren
Webb. The next paper was the Plain Speaker,
which was republican in politics, and was
started by Olin T. Pancoast, August i, 1S83.
The third paper is the Globe.
South Chester has several churches. The
South Chester Methodist Episcopal church
was organized in 1870, and its early pastors
were : Revs. S. W. Gehrett. David McKee,
Dr. Matthew Sorin, J. B. Maddux, and D. M.
Gordon. St. Daniel's Methodist Episcopal
church was organized in 11S71. The Baptists
have a chapel built by Samuel A. Crozer in
1872, and a church — the First Baptist of
South Chester — erected in 1879, in a growing
part of the borough. Bethany Mission was
organized in 1884 by the Presbyterian churches
of Chester city. The African Methodist Epis-
copal Bethel church was organized in 1871,
and its first pastor was Rev. G. T. Waters.
The north and south streets of South Ches-
ter are but continuations of Chester city streets
running in the same direction, and man\' think
122
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
that South Chester will yet become a part of
Chester city.
South Chester has twenty-six public schools,
running nine months in the year, with thirty
teachers, and an average attendance of nine
hundred and twenty-one pupils. The school
tax of the borough is nearh' twenty thousand
dollars.
The population increased from three thou-
sand six hundred sixty-four in 1880, to seven
thousand and seventy-six in 1890.
UPL.^ND KOROUGH.
The land on which Upland largel}' stands
was patented under the name of "Landing
Ford " in 1684, to Caleb Pusey, who the pre-
ceding year had built a grist mill there, and
erected the quaint old one-story stone and
brick house which still stands, and has always
been tenanted. The Pusey, or Chester mills,
were the first mills in Pennsj'lvania after Penn
came, and the Pusey house is the oldest build-
ing in the State. Pusey had Penn and sev-
eral others for partners in his milling enter-
prise, which was unsuccessful, as his first
mill and two dams in succession were swept
away by floods for him. The land was sold
at sheriff's sale, and after having different
owners, came into the possession of Richard
Flower, and as a part of his estate was bought
in 1845 by John P. Crozer.
Mr. Crozer immediately named the place
Upland, and commenced erecting the cotton
factories, around which grew up the present
prosperous borough. Mr. Crozer built mill
No. I in 1846; mill No. 2 in 1852, and mill
No. 3 ill 1863.
The population increased rapidly from the
building of the first cotton mill, and on May
24, i86g, the place was incorporated as a
borough. On September 18, 1879, an addi-
tion was made to the incorporated area of the
borough. The first chief burgess was Samuel
A. Crozer, and the present burgess is Thomas
M. Seth. David Compton is justice of the
peace; John Ardis, constable; Garrett Pen-
dleton, solicitor, and Henry Carothers, tax
collector. The main east and west streets
are : Upland, Mulberry, Church, Woodland,
and Main, while the principal north and
south streets are numbered from First up to
Eighth.
The manufacturing interests of Upland are :
the Crozer cotton mills, and the Walworth
mixed textile works. The Crozer Iron, and
the Upland Coal & Coke companies have
their offices here, although their works are
outside of the county.
Upland has two churches, a Baptist and a
Methodist. The Upland Baptist church was
organized about 1850, and the stone church
building, erected in 1851 has been twice re-
paired and enlarged since then. The stone
chapel was erected by S. A. Crozer in 1861.
The pastors of the church have been : Revs.
John Duncan, 1852; William Wilder, 1854;
James M. Pendleton, 1865 ; C. C. Williams,
1883 to 1893. Upland Baptist church estab-
lished chapels at Leiperville and Bridgewater,
and was instrumental in organizing the Village
Green and South Chester churches.
The present Upland Methodist Episcopal
church was organized about 1872. The
church building was erected in 1873, and en-
larged in 1882. The brick parsonage was
built in 1879, and both church and parsonage
have been lately repaired and improved by
the present pastor, Rev. Jacob P. Miller.
The pastors have been : Revs. C. S. Daniels
and J. H. Pike, in 1874 : Elwood C. Yerkes,
1875: J. D. Fox, 1878; Nathaniel Turner,
1880 j J. W. Rudolph, 1883 ; Henry Franklin,
1886 ; John Stringer, i88g, and Jacob P. Mil-
ler, 1893.
Crozer Theological seminary, built in 1857,
and used as an academy and as a hospital, lies
just beyond the center of the borough and on
a hill. The grounds embrace twenty acres of
land, on which are erected nine splendid stone
and briclf- buildings. The seminarv has been
in operation since 1868, being under charge
of Rev. Henry G. Weston, D. D., as presi-
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
123
dent, and at the present time has about seventy
students.
The Young Men's Christian Association of
Upland was organized several years ago, and
Upland Lodge, No. 428, Knights of Pythias,
was instituted in 1874. Upland Castle, No.
180, Knights of the Golden Eagle, meet in
the borough.
Upland is said to resemble Saltaire, Eng-
land. It depends upon Chester City for its fire
service, gas, water, and trade. It is on Ches-
ter creek, and the Chester Creek railway, and
has electric street car connection with Chester.
The borough has seven schools, eight teach-
ers, and an enrollment of four hundred and
one pupils. Its school tax is nearly six thou-
sand dollars.
The population has increased from 1,341 in
1870, to 2,275 in 1890.
EUDVSTONE BOROUl.H.
This pleasant and beautiful borough is sit-
uated in Ridley township, on the Henry Effin-
ger farm, a part of the old Olle Lille planta-
tion, and just east of Chester. Eddystone
borough, which was incorporated December
7, i888, and has a population of over twelve
hundred, grew up around the great Eddystone
print works, established there in 1874.
The Eddystone Manufacturing Compan}',
limited, manufacture William Simpson lV- Sons
celebrated prints. The original works w'ere
started at Philadelphia, but were condemned
in 1872 by the Fairmount Park Commissioners.
The}' were then established at Eddystone,
where they cover an area of twentj' acres ex-
tending along the river. They are the largest
print works in America. The company emploj'
nine hundred hands, produce seventy' million
yards of cloth yearl}-, and have an annual pay-
roll of nearly half a million dollars. The
mammoth plant of the company consists of
over twenty substantial brick buildings, all one-
story high except the printing house, which is
three, and the finishing house, two stories in
height. The main buildings are the engrav-
ing and color, bleaching, boiler, cloth, north
dye, south dye, printing, engine, finishing and
retort houses, the machine shop, planing mill,
and offices. The motive power of the works
is seventj'-six steam engines, varying from two
to two hundred and fifty horse power each.
The borough has a public hall and library,
over one hundred brick dwellings, postoffice,
brick and lumber yards, and the great print
works.
Eddystone has two churches, a Methodist
Episcopal and a Catholic, St. Rose of Lima,
Rev. N. J. Rafferty.
The borough has three schools and three
teachers, and an enrollment of one hundred
and fifty-eight pupils.
CHAPTER XXI.
MEDIA BOROUGH.
Few are the inland towns, in the eastern part
of the Keystone State, that can equal Media
for beauty and healthfulness of location, and
that quiet and conservative force of energy
and stability which serves to push a town into
the front rank. Media lies on a low and broad
topped hill, between tributary streams of Rid-
ley creek, and in the heart of a rich agricul-
tural region. To east and west, to north and
south, stretches out a beautiful country. Media
borough was incorporated by an act of the
legislature of March 7, 1850, which was ap-
proved by the governor on the loth of the
same month. Its charter contains a clause
prohibiting the sale of liquor within its boun-
daries. The first town councilmen elected
were ; Dr. George Smith, Dr. Joseph Row-
land. Isaac Haldeman, Nathan Shaw, Thomas
T. Williams and John C. Beatty. At the same
election Thomas Richardson was elected town
clerk; Charles Palmer, treasurer; and Robert
Rowland, assessor ; The first chief burgess
was William T. Peirce. The present ( 1893)
124
BIOGHAPHY AND HISTORY
borough officers are ; chief burgess, George
J. Stiteler ; president of council, George E.
Darlington : solicitor, V. G. Robinson ; treas-
urer, C. D. M. Broomall ; council, Frank I.
Taylor, C. B. Jobson, T. E. Rorer, E. H.
Hall and T. D. Young ; clerk of council, W.
H. Tricker ; justices of the peace, N. T. Wal-
ter and J. B. Dickeson ; assessor and tax col-
lector, T. E. Levis. Media is ver}' nicely laid
out, the streets running north and south, and
east and west. The first mentioned streets
being named and enumerated each way from
Front or First street, and the latter named
each way from Jackson street.
Media owes its name to a meeting held Jan-
uary lo, 1850, at the Providence inn, where
Media was proposed, instead of Providence,
for the new county seat. Some favored Penn-
rith as the name, and others suggested Nu-
media, but Media was finally adopted, a name
indicative of a central location, and not in-
tended in honor of the ancient kingdom of
Media.
K.ARLV SETTLERS.
The first to settle on the site of Media were
Peter and William Taylor, two brothers, who
came, in 16S2, from the parish of Sutton, in
Chester county, England. They purchased
land from William Penn in 1681, at ten and
one-half cents per acre. Seven hundred of
their one thousand two hundred and fiftj' acres
were taken up in the site of Media. William
Taylor died in 1683, and Peter Taylor, from
whom President Zachary Ta3lor was a de-
scendant, died in 1720. In 1849, when the
county buildings were commenced, there were
twelve houses within the present limits of tlie
borough, of which were the old almshouse,
the Briggs, Way and Hill stone mansions, the
Pierce and Haldeman residences, and Peter
Worrall's tavern.
GROWTH OF THE HUKOLGH.
The long and exciting county seat contest,
which terminated in the selection of the site of
Media, has been described in a preceding chap-
ter. After the sale of lots in 1849, the first build-
ing erected was a fine brick store, b\' John C.
Beatty. Three years later the new founded
town contained nearly ninety buildings, and
since then the growth of the borough has
been steady and gradual, until to-day the place
has hundreds of houses, and is one of the
finest and healthiest residence boroughs in
the State.
The streets of the town are well paved and
shaded, and are lighted by gas and electric
light. The Media gas works were erected in
1871, at a cost of twenty thousand dollars, by
the Media Gas Company, and on September 7th
gas was first introduced into dwelling houses.
Media has good water and fire departments.
The present water works were commenced in
1854, and a second basin was constructed in
1871. Two hydraulic and one steam pump
are used, and the water of Ridley creek is
forced into the two basins, from which the
borough is supplied. The Media Fire and
Hook and Ladder Company was formed Sep
tember 16, 1890, at a meeting held in the
council chamber, a preliminary meeting hav-
ing been held at the residence of Dr. Burk,
on August 26th of that year. The officers of
the company are : Terrence Reillj', president ;
James H. Sweeny, jr., vice president ; T. J.
Dolphin and H. R. Greenfield, secretaries :
and Ralph Buckley, treasurer. The company
own a splendid La France steamer, and Sat-
urday, May 13, 1893, will long be remembered
in ]\Iedia as " Firemen's Day," as on that day
the companv made fine street display at the
dedication of tlie new town hall, and the hous-
ing of their apparatus in that building.
BOROUGH HALI. AND COURT HOUSE AND JAIL.
The new borough hall building is a very
fine three story structure, of which Media
may well be proud. It was dedicated with
appropriate exercises, on May 13, 1893.
The present court-house, whose corner stone
was laid September 24, 1849, and which has
been described in a preceding chapter, was
OF DFLA WAJiE t'OUNTY.
125
commenced in 1^49, and the central or main
part of the building was completed in 1851.
In 1870 it was found necessary to add two
wings, each thirty-eight feet square and two
stories high, and the structure as thus enlarged
is ample in size for the transaction of all the
county business for the next half centur}-.
The jail, which, like the court-house, has
been described in a preceding chapter, was
commenced in 1^49, and the old part of the
building was completed in 1X51. In 1868 an
addition was built, and in 1877 the surround-
ing wall of the prison was extended and raised.
In 1878 the new building was erected.
POSTOFFICE.
The citizens at Media received their mail at
Rose Tree until 1852, and then for a short time
at Nether Providence, which office was ordered
to be removed to Media and take the latter
name. Peter Worrall, the postmaster at
Nether Providence, never removed, and the
Media office was conducted for a short time
under his deputy-, Ellis Smedley. Charles R.
Williamson became the first postmaster in
May, 1853, and his successors have been:
Thomas Williamson, W. T. Inness, J. G. Cum-
mins, Samuel Dutton, Mrs. Miranda William-
son, James C. Henderson, Joseph Addison
Thompson, Edgar F. Miller (acting), and
Henry C. Snowden, jr., who was appointed
January 6, 1893.
THE PRESS.
The initial new^aper of the borough bore
the name of The Union and Delaware County
Democrat, issued by Charles B. Stowe, pre-
vious to June, 1852, and running until Decem-
ber, 1854. The second paper was the Media
Advertiser, issued by Thomas V. Cooper and
D. A. Vernon. It came from the press March
I, 1855, and in 1856 changed its name to that,
of the Media Advertiser and Delaware County
American. On March 2, 1859, the first part
of the title was dropped. The Delaioare
County Aynerican is a republican paper, and its
editors keep it newsy, bright and crisp. The
Upland Union, formerly of Chester, was in ex-
istence at Media from 1858 to 1861. The
Delaware County Record was established by
C. D. Williamson and Joseph Chadwick, on
March 23, 1878, as an independent local sheet.
It is now owned and edited by Mr. Chadwick,
who has made it one of the successful and pros-
perous papers of the count}-. The youngest
paper in the borough is the Delaware County
Ledger, that was started in 189: as a demo-
cratic journal, with A. J. Merrill as editor.
It did not receive sufficient patronage to live,
and was bought at sheriffs sale by John B.
Robinson, who has owned and controlled it
ever since.
IINANCIAI, INSTITUTIONS.
The First National bank of Media was or-
ganized February 22, 1864, chartered March
i2th, and opened for business March 21st of
that 3'ear. Its presidents have been : Isaac
Halderman, until his death in 1878, and since
then his son, Thomas J. Halderman. Jos-
eph W. Hawley has been cashier since its or-
ganization. The Charter National bank was
opened for business in April, 1887. and has a
capital of Sioo.ooo. Its president, George
Drayton, is an able financier, and its cashier,
Theodore P. Saulnier, was trained in a large
New York cit\' bank.
Besides these banks there are two title and
trust companies : The Delaware County Trust,
Safe Deposit and Title Insurance Company,
and the Media Title and Trust Company, or-
ganized Janaar}' 15, i8gi, with George Dray-
ton as president, and H. W. Rhodes as sec-
retary. The Second Media Loan and Saving
Association was incorporated in i86g, and re-
charted in 1889.
HOTELS, SUMMER RESORTS, AND MEDIA INSTI-
TUTES.
The Charter house was built in 1850 and
1851, by the Charter House association, as a
tangible memorial of the temperance triumph
in securing a prohibition clause in the borough
120
BIOOSAPHY AND HISTORY
charter. The first manager of the house was
D. R. Hawkins, and the present proprietor is
S. D. Hughes. The surrounding country of
Media is such that many fine summer resorts
could be made within a mile or so of the bor-
ough. The present summer resort of Idlewild
is in a forest grove south of Media, where it
was established in 1871.
The Media institute, where the Keeley cure
for the disease of inebriety is used, was estab-
lished prior to 1892, and is the oldest of its
kind in the eastern part of the State.
CHURCHKS.
The Hicksite Friends' Providence meeting
was organized in the last century, and their
present meeting house, on State street, stands
on the site of the old house torn down in 1812.
The Friends' Media meeting was organized in
1875, and built their present stone meeting
house in that year.
The Media Methodist Episcopal church was
founded by a class of five Methodists in 1851,
and the present church edifice was erected in
1854 and 1855. In 1859 the church became a
station, and its pastors, since then, have been:
Revs. Jeremiah Pastorfield, Samuel Gracey,
David McKee, H. F. Hurn, J. F. Timmanus,
Samuel Lucas, J. I. Gracey, Jerome Linder-
muth, G. T. Hurlock, J. R. Gray, S. A. Heib-
ner, F. M. Griffith, J. D. Martin, H. T. Quigg,
and Henry Wheeler, D.D. South Media
church was organized about 1875.
The First Presbyterian church was founded
through the efforts of Rev. Dr. James W. Dale
and J. C. Beatty. Dr. Dale first preached in
the Providence school house and then in a
room over J. C. Beatty's store. The present
church structure was built in 1854 and 1855,
is of Doric architecture, and with the parson-
age, is worth $25,000. The pastors of the
church have been : Dr. Dale from 1866 to 1872;
Rev. Edward H. Robbins, 1872 to 1886; and
Rev. David TuUy from April 27, 1886 to 1893.
Rev. Tully also officiates at Preston Yarnall
Memorial chapel in Upper Providence. The
Media church has sent three missionaries to
foreign lands : Miss Annie Dale to Persia,
Frank Hoskins to Syria, and Miss Clara
Hough to Brazil.
Christ Protestant Episcopal church was or-
ganized in 1854, and the church edifice was
consecrated in i860. The stone rectory was
built and presented by Mary A. Hoeckley.
The rectors of the church have been : Revs.
S. Hazelhurst, H. S. Getz, T. Edwards, Sam-
uel Hallowell.W. F. Chesby, Edward Lowns-
berry, DeWitt C. Byllesby, and Henry D.
Jones, A. B.
The Catholic Church of the Nativity of the
Blessed \'irgin Mary was founded as a mission
in 1858. The first church structure was built
in 1862, and the present handsome stone sanc-
tuary was erected through the efforts of Rev.
Henry L. Wright, the present pastor. The
pastors have been : Revs. H. L.Wright, 1868;
P. A. Quinn, 1892: H. L.Wright, 1893.
During the early part of the year 1871 the
Baptists in Media began to hold meetings in
the court house. This was followed by the
erection of their church edifice, which was
dedicated May 2, 1872. The church was duly
recognized by a council of churches Septem-
ber 1 2th of the same year. Since then services
have been regularly maintained and the church
has prospered. Realizing the need of more
room, a building fund has been established
which now exceeds three thousand dollars.
On September 12, 1872, the church was organ-
ized with the following twenty-two members ;
Casper and Ann Rudolph, Sarah Fimple,
Alice and Eliza Killie, Isaac Lodge, Elizabeth
Hoffelfinger, Phebe Flounders, William Cow-
perthwaite, Elizabeth Free, Abigail and John
Parsons, Miranda Williamson, Emmeline E.
Lewis, Sarah R. Thorne, H.Cheyney, Dr. A.
M. Matthias, L. L., William and A. G. Rus-
sell,. Belle R. Price, and William Russell, jr.
The present membership is nearly one hundred
and fifty. The pastors have been : Revs. E.
A. Ince, J. T. Judd, H. C. Applegarth, jr..
Prof. B. C. Taylor, H. C. Applegarth, jr., J.
OF DELA W'AJiK COUNTY.
127
\'. Ambler, T. G. Wright, and W. R. Patten
from April, 1881 to 1893.
The Media Union American Methodist Epis-
copal church was started as a mission about
seven years ago. The pastors have been :
Revs. Edward Brown, Samuel Wilmore and
C. H. Nicols.
Media African Methodist Episcopal church
was organized a few years ago, and Rev. P.
M. Laws is its present pastor.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
Kossuth Lodge, No. 303, Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows, was instituted January
22, 1850. George W. Bartram Lodge, No.
298, Free and Accepted Masons, was warranted
June 2, 1855 : and Media Chapter, No. 234,
Royal Arch Masons, was constituted June 21,
1871. Bradbury Post, No. 14.9, Grand Army
of the Republic, was chartered May 3, 1S80.
Garfield Lodge, No. 94, Knights of Pythias,
was instituted March 24, 1885. Charter Cas-
tle, No. 171, Knights of the Golden Eagle,
was instituted April 6, 1887. Johnson Camp,
No. 18, Sons of "Veterans, was organized Jan-
uary 3, 188S. Washington Camp, No. 354,
Patriotic Order Sons of America, was institu-
ted August 29, 1888. Media Council, No. 749,
Junior Order of American Mechanics, was or-
ganized September 3, 1892. W'yandotte Tribe,
No. 54, Improved Order of Red Men, came
from Nether Providence to Media in January,
1893. There are lodges of colored Odd Fel-
lows and Masons.
SEMINARY AND ACADEMIES.
Brooke Hall Female seminary was built in
1856, by Hon. H. Jones Brooke, for whom it
was named. Media academy was opened in
1872 by Miss Anna M. Walter, and closed in
1884, when she accepted a position in a
Friends' school at Philadelphia. Shortlidge's
academy or school for boys was removed in
1874 from West Chester to Media by its prin-
cipal, Swithin C. Shortlidge, and soon gained
a reputation throughout the State. Professor
Shortlidge always was assisted by a corps of
competent teachers.
DELAWARE COUNT^' INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE.
This institution, which is described on page
62 of this book, is in a flourishing condition
and has a large membership.
ri'liLIC SCHOOLS.
Media was organized as a separate school
district in 1856, and from the first, books and
stationery have been furnished to the pupils
free. The schools were graded in 1874, and
ten years later the present handsome twelve-
room school building was erected at a cost of
twenty thousand dollars. The present prin-
cipal is Leon H. Walters, assisted by a corps
of teachers. The number of pupils enrolled
is 473, and the members of the present school
board are : Isaac Ivinson, president ; S. H.
Appleton, secretary-: J. W. Baker, treasurer;
Rev.W. R. Patton, T. F. Green, and S. R.
McDowell.
POPULATION.
The population of Media since 1850 has
been as follows : 1850, 285; i860, goo; 1870,
1,045: 1,880, 1919; and itigo, 2,736.
CHAPTER XXII.
ASTON, BETHEL AND BIRMINGHAM
TOWNSHIPS.
ASTON TOWNSHIP.
In the history of this and the succeeding
townships want of space will allow but brief
mention of factories, churches, and villages.
The township of Aston is bounded by
Thornbury, Middletown, Chester, Upper Chi-
chester. Bethel and Concord townships.
Chester creek forms its entire northern boun-
dary, and the West Branch runs through the
central part. Its villages are ; Rockdale, Vil-
lage Green, South Lenni, Chester Heights,
128
BIOGRAPHY AND SJSTOHY
Llewellyn Mills, West Branch Mills, and
Crozerville.
The township contains small areas of ferru-
ginous conglomerate, serpentine steatite, and
considerable mica schists and gneisses and
syenites. Its minerals are : corundum, ame-
thyst, actinolite, hornblende, asbestus, garnet,
oligoclase. tourmaline, fibrolite, talc, damour-
ite, and margarite.
The township was first known by the name
of Northley, and in 1688 was called Aston by
Edward Carter, for his native village of Aston
in England.
The early settlers were : William Wood-
mansey, 1680; Anthony Weaver, i58i : John
Button, 1681 ; Charles Ashcom, 1682 : and
Edward Carter, 1686. The taxables in Aston
in 1715 were: Robert Carter. John Pennell,
Moses Key, John and Thomas Button, Thomas
Woodward, John Neild, James Widdows, Wil-
liam Rattew, Samuel Jones, Thomas Barnard,
Abraham Barlington, John Hurford, Jon.
Monroe, and Thomas Gale. The freemen
were : Thomas Bunbabin, Isaac ^^'illiams,
Joseph Barlington, Edward Richards, and
Samuel Stroud.
The first woolen manufacturing industry
was at Peters' mills, where a stone fulling mill
was erected prior to ijgo. The Llewellyn,
once Tyson, mills were started as a grist mill,
1)}' Hall and Sharpless. who were succeeded bv
Elwood Tvson, whose executor, in 1864. sold
the mill to John B. and Samuel Rhodes. They
changed the mill into a cotton and woolen fac-
tory, and the \illage grew vip around it. The
postoffice was established in 1877, with John
B. Rhodes as postmaster. Mr. Rhodes is the
present owner of the West Branch cotton
mills, built by Aaron Matson about 1790, as a
paper mill. The Crozerville cotton mills are
on the site of the Bottomley woolen mill,
erected about 1810, and the Lenni mills are
near where the old Lungren's paper mill stood.
Bridgewater, once Pennellton mills were
built as a cotton factory in 1845^ then used as
paper mills, and in 1872 changed back to a
woolen factor}'. Old Rockdale forge was built
prior to 1850, and Thatcher's tilt mill previous
to 181 1, but both were gone by 1845, the lat-
ter having been swept awaj' in the great flood
of 1843. Village Green, the oldest village in
the township, is mentioned as early as 1762,
when James Johnson had license to keep a
tavern there. In 1 780 Joshua Vaughan opened
the " Seven Stars " tavern, now kept as a hotel
by J. Lewis Garrett. This house is said to
have been Lord Cornvvallis' headquarters after
the battle of Brandywine. Five roads diverge
from Village Green, in front of the old "Seven
Stars" tavern. now \'illage Green or Garrett's
hotel, and the place contains about fift}' houses.
Mrs. James Tyson has had charge of the post-
office since September i, i8go, being preceded
by William \'an Leer and Samuel Hall, the
latter of whom was postmaster in 1888. Among
the early postmasters were Samuel Hughes
and John Garrett, who opened the present
hotel and a store about 1835. The first church
was the present Mount Hope Methodist Epis-
copal, which was organized in 1807. The next
Methodist church was Crozerville. formed in
1851, while the Chester Heights camp meet-
ing ground was purchased in 1872 by the as-
sociation of that name. The Blue or Seceders
church was built about 1818, and went down
in 1839. The Catholic church of St. Thomas,
the Apostle, was organized in 1852. The
\'illage Green Baptist church was organized
in i860, and the Bridgewater Baptist chapel
was erected in 1874. Calvary Episcopal
church was organized between 1833 and 1836.
The early secret societies of the township,
in order of age, were organized as follows :
Benevolent Lodge, No. 40, Odd Fellows:
Rockdale Lodge, No. 50, American Protestant
association, and Energy Lodge, No. 9, J uniors
of that order ; Lenni Tribe, No. 86, Red Men :
and Charles Bickens Lodge, No. 41, Sons of
St. George.
Aston has eight schools and eight teachers,
with an enrollment of three hundred and fort\--
six pupils. Pluntingdon's seminary for young
OF DELA WARE COUNTY.
129
ladies was established in 1845, and went
down is iiS5g. The Sisters of St. Francis
now own the property, and their church and
convent are described on page 79 of this vol-
ume.
BETHEL TOWNSHIP.
Bethel, the smallest township in the county,
is bounded by the townships of Concord,
Aston, and Upper Chichester, and New Cas-
tle county, Delaware.
Bethel township contains a small area of
ferruginous conglomerate, of steatite and of
mica schists and gneisses, while syenites are
found in nearly all parts, and a large part of
the soil is formed by the decomposition of
feldspathic rocks. The minerals found are :
wad, quartz, garnet, talc, orthoclase, and
muscovite. Fire and kaolin cla}' abound in
the western part of the township. West of
Chelsea are the garnet mines, on the Lan-
caster farm. The garnet sand is used in the
manufacture of sand-paper and emery.
The name of this township occurs as early
as 1683, and the word Bethel is said to mean
"House of God." In 1683 tracts of land
were surveyed for Edward Bezer, Francis
Smith, Edward Brown, and John Gibbons.
The ta.xables thirty-two years later, in 1715,
were : Robert and Joseph Pyle, John Grist,
Robert Booth, Edward Beazer, John Cannad\-,
Benjamin Moulder, John Hickman, Edward
Button, Edward Pennock, William Griffith,
John Hopton, John Gibbons, and Thomas
Durnell.
Bethel has two villages and one corner:
Chelsea, formerly Corner Ketch, is in the
northern part, and a store was kept as early
as 1820. The place contains about twenty
houses, and in 1858 the postoffice was estab-
lished, with John Hoffman as postmaster.
Booth's Corner, or Boothsville, is in the west-
ern part, and takes its name from Isaac Booth,
who built a store in 1835. Bethel Lodge, No.
igi, Knights of Pythias, is located there.
Zebley's Corner, containing a store and a few
houses, is in the southern part.
Siloam Methodist Episcopal church, a branch
of Bethel church, Delaware, was organized in
1852. It established a mission in 1871 at
Chelsea, that has grown into a church.
Bethel has three public schools and three
teachers, with an enrollment of one hundred
and thirteen pupils.
BIRMINGHAM TOWNSHIP.
Birmingham, the extreme southwestern
township, is bounded by Thornbury and Con-
cord townships, Chester county, and the State
of Delaware.
Mica schists, gneisses and hornblendic gneiss
are found in nearly all parts of the township.
Kaolin deposits are on a branch of Beaver
creek, southwest of Brandywine Summit. The
minerals of the township are : Rutile, quartz,
orthoclase, fibrolite, kaolinite, of a white and
yellowish white color, and calcite.
Birmingham is said to have received its
name from William Brinton, who came from
Birmingham, England, in 1684. Of the early
settlers, besides Brinton, were : Peter Dix,
Joseph Gilpin, and Francis Chadds, whose
name is said to have been originally written
Chadsey.
On the waters of Brandywine creek, which
is said to have derived its name from the
Dutch word brand-wein, several mills were
erected at an early day. The Brinton flour-
ing mills were built prior to 1800. On Beaver
creek is the Tempest paper mill, originally
built in 1817 as a woolen factory, and near it,
in the earl}- part of the present century, were
built Hatton's woolen mill and cotton factory.
On Beaver creek also was the Dupont woolen
factor}- that was swept away in the flood of
1843. On the Brandywine William Twaddell
erected iron works previous to 1780. The}-
were changed into powder mills about 1807,
and twenty-four years later became paper
mills. Chadds' log mill, at Chadds' Ford, was
erected about 1807, and nearly on its site
stands the present Hoffman brick roller pro-
cess flouring mill. On Harvey's run, near
130
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Chadds' Ford, Benjamin Ring built a mill on
the site of the present Turner flouring mill.
On Harve)''s run. at an early day, were also a
corn and an oil mill.
The battle of Brandywine has been de-
scribed in a previous chapter, and needs not
further description here. Lafayette, in 1825,
visited the battle ground, which should be
appropriately' marked by stone pillars to show
the positions of the British and American
armies.
Birmingliam has two small villages, Chadds'
Ford and Brandywine Summit, while a few
houses of Dilworthtown lie in the township.
Chadds' Ford has three or four unnamed
streets and about twenty-five houses. The first
postmaster was said to have been Thomas H.
Bullock, appointed in 1829, and the present
one is R. J Baldwin (1889), with H. C. Bald-
win as assistant. Brandywine Summit is a
railroad station and contains about twelve
houses. The postofficewas established about
1865, and the postmasters have been: a Mr.
Heyburn, John Gilpin, M. Slack, G. W. Evans,
and Martha W. Peirce, appointed Januaiy 6,
i88g. The Fairlamb carriage factory and coal
and lumber yards are situated there. About
one mile from the place are the Brand\'wine
Kaolin and Feldspar Compan}' tract of ninety
acres, and the National Kaolin tract of one
hundred and ten acres. The National Kao-
lin works ship a fine grade of kaolins, and
splendid fire clays are said to be abundant
there. The largest kaolin mine is in a glen
three thousand three hundred and eighty feet
long and about six hundred feet wide, running
to the depth of one hundred and seventy-three
feet.
The earliest church was the Brandywine
Baptist church. It was organized |une 14,
1815, at John Powell's, in Providence town-
ship, with fifteen members: Jere. CoUett, Ed-
ward Butcher, John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Mary
and Joan Powell, Rich. BufTington, John and
Hannah Buckingham, David Roberts, Thomas
George, Margery Martin, Hannah Hunter and
Mary Robinet. The meeting house was built
in 1818, and its present pastor is Rev. I. N.
Earle. In 1720 the Upper and Lower Bran-
dywine churches were established, but went
down shortly after the Revolution. The Dil-
worthtown Presbyterian church was organized
before 1878, as the outgrowth of the labors of
Miss Cassy Brinton, who established the Sun-
day school at that place in i860.
St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal church, at
Chadds' Ford, was organized May 12, 1884,
by Rev. J. J. Sleeper. The Friends worship
at the old historic Birmingham meeting house
in Chester count3'.
The township has four schools, with four
teachers, and an enrollment of one hundred
and fifty-two pupils.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CHESTER AND CONCORD TOWNSHIPS.
CHESTER TOWNSHIP.
The township of Chester, that once em-
braced within its territory the cit)' of Chester
and the boroughs of Upland and South Ches-
ter, is bounded b}' tlie Delaware river and the
townships of Ridley, Nether Providence, Mid-
dletown, Aston and Upper and Lower Chi-
chester.
The alluvial deposits are in the southern
part of the township, where gravel beds are
also found, and mica schists and gneisses are
exposed in the northern part, especially oppo-
site Todmorden mills and in the vicinit}' of
Waterville and Crosbyville. A small area of
syenitic rock is close to the west township
line. The minerals of Chester township are:
pyrite, chalcoyrite, menaccanite, molybdite,
amethyst, beryl, garnet, biotite, muscovite,
albite, orthoclase, fibrolite, antunite, mirabi-
lite, uraconite, and bismuthite.
The name of Chester township appears as
early as 1683. Lands were surveyed in 1682
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
131
to Richard Few and Thomas Coebourn, while
Thomas Brassey became a purchaser of lands
in 1684, and the same year Thomas Baldwin
came in possession of Michael Isard's lands,
patented in 1677. Sneath's Corner was named
for George Sneath, who opened a store there
prior to 1816. There was a pottery, a school
house, old Ebenezer Methodist church and a
burying ground at Carterville before 1830, and
Joseph Carter sunk two shafts for copper ore
near that place.
The township has two schools, two teachers,
and an enrollment of seventy-eight pupils.
CONLORD TOWNSHIP.
In the southwestern part of the county lies
Concord township, which is bounded by Bir-
mingham, Thornbury, Aston and Bethel town-
ships, and the State of Delaware.
Ferruginous conglomerate covers a large
area in the southwestern part of the township,
while serpentine is found near Elam and syen-
ites south of Green's creek, but the larger part
of the township south of the west branch of
Chester creek and the railroad is occupied by
feldspathic and garnetiferous schists. Kaolin
is found on Concord creek. The minerals of
Concord are : rutile, amethyst, actinolite,
beryl, garnet, biotite, muscovite, orthoclase,
fibrolite, sepiolite, serpentine, and kaolinite.
Concord, the largest municipal division in
the county, is mentioned as early as June,
1683. The manor of Rockland, which was
laid out as being in New Castle county, Dela-
ware, extended into the western part of the
township.
Among the earliest settlers were: William
Cloud, John Beal, John Mendenhall, Nicholas
Pyle, Nicholas Newlin, Thomas King, and
John Hannum. The taxables in 1715 were:
Nathaniel Newlin, sr.,. Nicholas Pyle, for ye
mill; James Clamstoii, Nathanel Newlin, jr.,
Joseph Cloud, Henry Oburn, John Palmer,
sr. , John Palmer, jr., Godwin Walter, George
Robinson, Jacob and Ralph Pyle, Henry
Peirce, Matthias Carle, Ralph Evenson, James
Heavrd, William Ammet, Thomas Smith,
John and George Lee, Robert Chamberlin, sr. ,
Robert Chamberlin, jr., Thomas \\'est, Wil-
liam Hill, Morgan Jones, Thomas Durnall,
Daniel Evans, Joseph Nicklin, John Hannum,
John Newlin, Joseph Edwards, Thomas
Broom, John and Benjamin Mendenhall, Wil-
liam Ford, Francis PuUin, John Penneck,
James differs, John Hackney, and Christo-
pher Pennock.
The earliest mill in the township is the Hill
or Concord mill, built in 1704 by Nathaniel
Newlin. The Leedom mills were running in
1715. The Trimble or Felton mills were
erected prior to 1799 as a paper mill, being
afterward used as a cotton factory, and burn-
ing down in 1873. Before 1800 John Newlin,
Abraham Sharpless, and Hugh Judge had
grist mills. Between 1800 and 1825 John
Hannum had a woolen factory and Matthias
Corliss a carding and spinning machine.
But the most important of the early mills
of Concord township were the old Ivy mills,
the second paper mill built in the new world.
Their ivy-clad ruins to-day of crumbling walls
and broken wheel greet the gaze of thousands
of passing travelers, and stand as the last link
connecting the old times to the new in Dela-
ware county. Their memor\^ is an important
lesson in the financial history of the American
republic, and they would be worthy of preser-
vation as a landmark of Colonial times.
Concord has three villages and two railway
stations. Concordville commenced to build
up about I S3 1, and now contains over fifty
houses. The postoffice was established in
1832, with John Way as postmaster. The
present postmaster is Joseph H. Brinton.
John Way kept the first hotel, now conducted
by James Neeld, and in 1893 Isaac Cornog, of
Philadelphia, opened his present wagon build-
ing establishment. Elam, or Pleasant Hill,
as early as 1848 contained a store, postoffice
and tavern.
Johnson's Corners contains eight or ten
houses, and is only about one quarter of a
1S2
BIOGBAPIIY Al^D HISTORY
mile from Elam. On the site of Johnson's
Corners was the old Three Tun tavern, which
was kept as a public house from 1748 to 1814.
Concord Station contains a few buildings and
Sharpless' creamer_v. The postoffice there is
known by the name of Ward. N.J. Scott
was the first postmaster, and M. A. Kelly is
the present incumbent. Markham Station is
one quarter of a mile above the old Woodland,
or Patterson Station, whose successor it be-
came eight or ten years ago. Hill's roller
process mill is at Markham, whose postmaster
in 1893 was J. B. Smith.
Concord Friends' meeting was organized
prior to 1697. The first church was built in
1710, and the second and brick house, built in
1728, was burned in 1788. It was rebuilt, and
is still used as a meeting house by the Hicks-
ite Friends. The Orthodox Friends have a
meeting house but a short distance from the
old church. St. John's Episcopal church is
mentioned as early as 1707, and the present
church edifice was erected in 1844. The
Catholics had services at Iv}' mills until St.
Thomas church in Aston was erected.
Maplewood institute was established in
1862, at Concordville, by Prof. Joseph Short-
lidge, and is in a flourishing condition. Ward
academy was founded in 1882 by Benjamin
Ward. There are seven public schools in
Concord township, with seven teachers, and
an enrollment of two hundred and thirty-five
pupils.
CHAPTER XXI V.
DARBY TOWNSHIP AND DARBY BOROUGH
DARBY TOWNSHIP.
The township of Darby, from which has
been carved the borough of Darby is boun-
ded by Philadelphia county and Upper Dar-
by, Ridley and Tinicum townships.
Gravel covers the greater part of the town-
ship, but there are mica schist exposures in
several places, and alluvium deposits extend
over Ha}- and Smith's islands and the extreme
southern section. The minerals of Darby
township are: wad, rutile, garnet, fibrolite,
syenite, and staurolite.
Darby was settled immediately after the
coming of Penn, and in 1686 Calcoone Hook
was made a part of the township. Calcoone
Hook was granted in 1668 to Israel Helme,
Hendrick Jacobson, Ole Kock and Jans Min-
sterman, while Hay island, five years earlier,
had been given to Ericke Nichels, Moorty
Poulson, Andreas Johnson, and Henry Jacob-
son. Among the early settlers between 1680
and 1 586 were : Andres Swason Boon, John
Wood, Edward Gibbs, John Bartram, Thomas,
William and John Smith, Thomas W'orth,
John Blunston, and Samuel Bradshaw. Up-
per Darby was set off from Darby in 1747, and
the present boundary line was established in
1786.
Glen Olden fiouring mills were built prior
to 1700, and the Horntown tannery was in
operation from 1790 to 181 2. The Jones car-
pet mills, built in 1849, were burned down in
1876. The Warpington cotton spinning mill
was built in 1867, and in 1877 met the same
fate as the carpet mills, being destroyed by fire.
Darby township is crossed from east to west
by the Baltimore & Ohio and the Pennsylvania
railroads. On the Baltimore & Ohio railroad
are the stations of Darby, Collingdale, Llan-
wellyn and Holmes, while on the Penns)lvania
railroad are Darby, Academy, Sharon Hill,
Folcroft and Glen Olden stations. Colling-
dale is west of Darby borough and north of
Sharon Hill. It has several streets and ave-
nues, a postoffice and two churches — the
Episcopal and First Baptist. It is a school
district, has thirty-two pupils of school age,
but no public school house )'et. Llanwellyn
has two or three streets, a postoffice, store and
one church — the Darby Presbyterian. Sharon
Hill has several streets, a postoffice, glass
works, a manufacturing company, and two
stations — Sharon Hill and Academy. Sharon
OF DELAWAIiE COUNTY.
133
Hill has a Catholic church and convent. It
is a public school district, having one school
and an enrollment of eighty-one pupils. Col-
W3'n is a suburb of Darby borough, and has
been a school district for some time, having
one school house and fifty-six pupils. Yeadon
postoffice is in the northeast, opposite Fern-
wood station.
Darby township is largely owned by im-
provement companies, and seems destined to
become a solid municipalit)- of railway towns
and boroughs.
Darby Presbyterian church was organized
as a Congregationalist church in 1840, and two
years later changed to the Presbyterian form
of government.
The township has eight public schools, w ith
eight teachers and an enrollment of three
hundred and nineteen pupils.
DARRV liOROUGH.
Darby village is mentioned as early as 1773.
By 1S36 it had grown to be place of over sixty
dwellings, and on May 3, 1853. was incorpor-
ated as a liorough.
The earliest mill at Darby was Darby mills,
which were built about 1684 by WilliamWood,
who tlien owned the site of Darb}'. They
were burned in 1862. On their site in 1882
were erected the two large mills of the Gris-
wold Worsted Company. The Oakford full-
ing mill was one of the old Darby mills. The
first Imperial cotton and woolen mills was
erected in 1846, and burned down in 1880.
The present mills were then built on the site
of the old ones thus destroyed.
Darby has quite a number of streets, a good
street car line, and a large gasworks. It has
a postoffice, library companj- (founded 1743),
and good hotel accommodations. The bor-
ough has a fire company whose organization
dates back to 1775.
Darby Friends' meeting was organized be-
tween 1682 and 1684. Mt. Zion Methodist
Episcopal church was founded in 1807, with
twenty members. The Presbvterian church
9a
was organized about 1854. Baird Memorial
church has been erected since 1884.
Orphans' Rest Lodge, No. 132, and General
Taylor Encampment, No. 54, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, were instituted respec-
tively in 1845 and 1847.
Darb}' has seven schools and eight teachers,
with an enrollment of three hundred and thirty-
five pupils.
The population of the borough since i860
has been: i860, 780; 1870, 1,205; 1880,
1,779 : 1S90, 2,972.
CHAPTER XX V.
EDGMONT AND HAVERFORD TOWNSHIPS.
EDGMONT TOWNSHIP.
Lying along the Chester county line is the
township of Edgmont, whose other boundaries
are formed by the townships of Newtown,
Upper Providence, Middletown and Thorn-
burj'.
Edgmont township contains small areas of
ferruginous conglomerate, trap, serpentine
and enstatite, of which latter the noted "Cas-
tle Rock" is a fine specimen. There are sev-
eral areas of mica schists, and syenites occupy
the greater part of the central and southern
portions of the township. The minerals of
Edgmont township are: rutile, enstatite, chrys-
olite, orthoclase, and serpentine.
Edgmont derives its name from the royal
manor of Edgmond, in England. The tax-
ables of 1715 in the township were: John
Worrall, Joseph Baker (of Edgmond, Eng-
land), Philip Yarnall, Ephir Jackson, Joseph
Pennell, John Broomall, David Register,Wil-
liam Hiddings, John Golding. Rebecca Powell,
John Gregory, Thomas Vernon, Thomas Daw-
son, Simon Acres, Jacob Taylor, Edward and
Caleb Thompson, John Clues, Nathan Evans,
John Holston, William Willis, Robert Wil-
liamson, Evan Howell, William Adams, Rich-
134
BIOOJiAPHY AND HISTOBY
ard Pritcliard. and Evan Lewis. Freemen in
1715: \\'illiam Clues, ]ohn Hiddings and Wil-
liam Floud.
The manufacture of cotton j-arn was com-
menced in 1825 at the Crum creek grist mill,
whicli extemporized factory was destroyed by
fire in 1838. The factory was rebuilt about
1S55, and the manufacture of cotton laps was
commenced. Green's fulling mill was built in
iSiyand burned in 1864. The Baker flouring
mill was built about 1815.
The township contains two villages, Edg-
niont and Gradyville. Edgmont is in the
northwest, and contains a postoffice, two
stores, and eight or ten houses. The cele-
brated hotel known as the President tavern
was opened at Edgmont in 1S06, and ran for
several j'ears.
Gradyville, once called Howellville, after
Israel Howell, who owned the site of the vil-
lage, contains a store, postoffice, hotel, and
about a dozen houses. One of Gradyville's
early noted hotels was the old Rising Sun tav-
ern, opened there about 181 5.
Edgmont township has three public schools,
with three teachers, and in which eighty-five
pupils are enrolled.
HAVF.RFORD TOWNSHIP.
Haverford township is bounded by Mont-
gomery county and Upper Darby, Marple,
and Radner townships.
A small area of clay is in the northeastern
part, a considerable area of ferruginous con-
glomerate lies in the central and southern por-
tions, while mica schists are found throughout
the greater part of the township. A small area
of serpentine is in the northeastern part of the
township. The minerals of Ha\'erford are:
garnet, syenite, and staurolite.
Haverford township derives its name from
Ha\'erford-West, in Pembrokeshire, South
Wales. It was settled by Welsh Friends,
and was a part of the celebrated Welsh tract
or barony described in a preceding chapter.
These Welsh pioneer settlers were remarkably
charitable, and suffering humanit\' as far as
New England received substantial donations
at their hands. The taxables in the township
in 1722 were : Richard Hayes, John Havard,
Daniel Humphrey, David Llewellyn, Humph-
rey Ellis, John Parry, Edward Jones, John
Thomas, Rees Price, Thomas David, Walter
Lloyd, Griffith Evan, Samuel and Daniel
Rees, Henr\' and Thomas Lawrence, Samuel,
Henry, and Joseph Lewis, Besides these
taxables, Lewis David, William Howell, John,
Abraham, and David Lewis, David Lawrence,
Morris Llewellyn, John Richard, William
Sharpus, William Lewis, Thomas Ellis, John
Rees, Robert Wharton, and Evan Williams
had settled between 1682 and 1700.
The Philadelphia and Lancaster turnpike,
the oldest turnpike road in America, crossed
the northeast corner of the township.
The Haverford grist mill was built as early
as 168S on Cobb's creek. A fulling mill was
afterward added to it, and in 1826 Dennis
Kelly purchased these mills and changed them
into the Castle Hill woolen and cottcm mills.
The new Haverford mill was built in 1807, and
near its site, in 1832, was erected the Leedoni
mill. The Ellis' fulling mill was built before
1700, and ran for several years. Brown's mill
was in existence in 1800, and theLawrence flour-
ing mills, erected in 1832, are near the site of
an old Lawrence fulling and saw mill built
about 1700. Miller's gunpowder mills were
built about 1810, and the Nitre Hall powder
mills, erected about the same time, were
changed in 1840 into a cotton and woolen fac-
tor\-. The Clinton woolen and cotton mills
were erected in 1814 by Dennis Kelly, and
Boyle's cotton and woolen mills were built
about 1870. From 1766 to 1830 numerous
tanneries, grist mills, and one paper mill were
built in the township. The paper mill was
erected about 1821 by Edward Humphrey,
and went down some years later.
The township contains one village. Coopers-
town, which is a place of near a dozen houses,
and lies one quarter of a mile from Coreze
OF DELAWAliE COUNTY.
135
postoffice. At Manoa postoflfice are three or
four houses and a store.
Haverford Friends' meeting was organized
before 1685, and WiUiam Penn preached in
the meeting house which they built in 1688.
Kelleyville, or St. Dennis' CathoHc, was or-
ganized about 1825, and the church structure,
now enlarged and remodeled, was built by
Dennis Kelley. Bethesda Methodist Episco-
pal church was organized in 1831.
Haverford college, according to its cata-
logue, was originated by a meeting of a few
Friends in Philadelphia in the spring of 1830.
The faculty is : Dr. Isaac Sharpless, presi-
dent, and eighteen professors and instructors.
The college has ninety-five students.
There are in the township six public schools,
in which seven teachers are employed, and
two hundred and twenty-four pupils are en-
rolled.
CHAPTER XXVI.
LOWER CHICHESTER TOWNSHIP AND ITS
VILLAGES OF TRAINER'S AND LINWOOD
AND MARCUS HOOK BOROUGH.
LOWER CHICHESTER TOWNSHIP.
The township of LowerChichester is bounded
by the Delaware river, separating it from New
Jersey, the State of Delaware, and Upper
Chichester township and Chester township.
Alluvial deposits cover the township half
way from the river to the Pennsyhania rail-
road, and from there to the north boundary
line gravel and cla\' deposits are abundant.
There are a few e,Kposures of syenitic rock,
and clay is found in the northeast corner of
the township.
The territory of Lower Chichester east of
Hook creek was patented to Capt. John Am-
nuindson Besk by Queen Christina of Sweden,
while the remainder of the township to the
west was granted bj' Governor Andross, in
1679, to Charles Jansen, Olle Rawson, Olle
Nielson, Hans Hopman, John Hendrickson
and Hans Olleson. In 1715 the following tax-
ables were returned : Philip, Jonah and Rob-
ert Roman, John Rawson, Richard Bezer,
Philip Pedrick, Anthony Baldwin, William
Flowers, Mordecai Howell, John Royley,
Richard Edwards, William Cla}ton, William
Hews, William Hews, jr., John Hopton, Rich-
ard Crosby and John Ross.
The Diamond or Hickman mills were erected
over twelve years ago on the site of the old
Pennell saw and grist mill on Naaman's creek.
The other mills and the industrial establish-
ments of the township are at Trainer's, Lin-
wood and Marcus Hook, except Burton's
shipyard and the Bear Creek and Pipe Line
works.
Several celebrated duels have been fought
just across the township line in the State of
Delaware.
C. C. Cobourn is commissioner of highways
in the Linwood district, and is making excel-
lent macadamized roads from the railroad to
the Delaware State line.
Lower Chichester has five public schools,
with five teachers, and an enrollment of two
hundred and nineteen pupils. The school
buildings are fine brick structures, and John
D. Goff is said to be the founder of public
school improvement in the township.
tr.mner's.
About 1 750 a grist mill was erected on a part
of the site of Trainer's. In 181 1 a saw mill
was built and the place was named Linwood
Mills. Tlie militia ordered to Marcus Hook
in 1814 were largely encamped at Linwood
Mills. David Trainer, sr. , and Gideon Jacques
owned the mills, which Mr. Trainer changed
into a cotton factory in 1837. The next
owner was David Trainer, jr., who with John
Hastings operated the factory until 1851, when
it burned. Mr. Trainer then rebuilt, and
in 1865 he admitted his son, J. Newlin Trainer,
into partnership with him, and in 1869 built
Mill No. 2. In 1873 D. Trainer & Sons bought
136
BIOGRAPHY AND HI&TOMY
the factory built near them by the South Ches-
ter Improvement Company, and it became
Mill No. 3. Mill No. i is ninety by two hun-
dred and twenty feet ; No. 2, one hundred by
three hundred ; and No. 3, one hundred by
one hundred and seventy-five feet in dimen-
sions. The first two mills are two stories in
height, and the third is a three-storj- structure.
A dye house is attached in which they do their
own dyeing, as well as a large amount of work
for other factories. Trainer's is one of the
largest cotton manufacturing plants in the
county, employing nearly four hundred hands,
and a town of considerable size has grown up
around it. There are nearly one hundred
houses. The station building was erected in
1880, and on April i, 1882, the postoffice was
established. The present railroad agent and
postmaster is George McCay. The electric
street railway from Chester to Marcus Hook
passes through the place. Trainer's Metho-
dist Episcopal chapel was built by David
Trainer.
LINWOOD.
Linwood proper is north of the railroad, and
the entire place contains about sixty houses,
and nearl}' four hundred population. It has a
railroad station, postoffice and several business
establishments, and is really a continuation of
Marcus Hook. John R. Case}- was post-
master from 1850 to 1863, and since then
Mary W. Casey has been postmistress.
MARCUS HOOK BOROUGH.
On the lower river front is Marcus Hook,
the second borough in the county in order of
age, and that possesses good advantages for
manufacturing, together with excellent harbor
and railroad facilities. On September 12,
1701, Penn granted a charter to Marcus Hook
as a market town, and seven }'ears later Marcus
Hook rivaled Philadelphia in size. But that
day of prosperity soon passed, yet in 1760 an
effort was made to revive the charter but failed,
and for one hundred and thirty-two years the
town was charterless. On March 7, 1892,
Marcus Hook was reincorporated as a borough,
and its officers in 1893 were: burgess, Job L.
Green ; members of council, W. H. H. H.
Heycock, John Downes, M. D. Marshall,
Capt. John Richardson, Harry Lewis and
David Syfrit ; treasurer, W. H. Priest ; clerk
of council, R. W. Rennie ; solicitor, W. I.
Schaffer ; surveyor, Walter Wood ; collector
of taxes, James T. Martin ; committing magis-
trate, Frank S. Vernon ; building inspector,
Isaac B. Vernon ; chief of police, William
O'Donnell. Marcus or Market is the main
east and west street, with Green, Hughes and
Blue Ball streets parallel to it, while the north
and south streets from the river to the railroad
are : Delaware avenue. Discord Lane, and
from Third numbering up to Ninth street. A
handsome town hall has been contracted for
at a cost of eight thousand dollars.
Blackboard, the pirate, is said to have
stopped often at a house in Discord Lane.
Shad fishing and ship building have always
been carried on at Marcus Hook, where Bur-
ton still has his ship yard. There are eight
piers and two landings, and the last superin-
tendent of them was Thomas G. Locke, jr.
Some years ago a sugar refinery and shoe fac-
tory was started, but they soon ceased opera-
tions. The present enterprises of the borough
are nearly all of late date. The Bear Creek
oil refinery was erected in April, 1892, and the
National Iron works were opened on Septem-
ber I, 1892, while the Wrightson hosiery mill
is of recent date, and employs nearly two hun-
dred hands. Two noted hotels of the past
were the Blue Ball and Spread Eagle. The
present hotel — the Union — has been kept
since 1892 by Andrew J. McClure. The pres-
ent postoffice was established in July, 1892,
with Mrs. Anne Green as postmistress. For
several years before that all mail for Marcus
Hook was directed to Linwood postoffice.
The borough is connected with Chester by an
electric street railway. Linwood Library as-
sociation was formed in 1885. The Odd Fel-
lows, Red Men, Knights of Pythias, American
OF DELAWAIiE COUNTY.
Vi-i
Mechanics and American Legion of Honor
have organizations in the borough and at
Linwood, some meeting at one place and some
at the other.
St. Martin's Episcopal church was organized
in 1702, and its rector, since 1871, has been
Rev. G. C. Bird. Marcus Hook Baptist
church was organized May 3, 1789, and Rev.
C. W. W. Bishop has been its pastor since
1879. Cokesbury Methodist Episcopal church
was organized in 1S35 as St. George's church,
and Rev. W. B. Chalfant has been pastor since
1S91. Hebron African Methodist Episcopal
church was formed in 1837 in Upper Chiches-
ter township, and in 1844 built their old
church structure at Marcus Hook, which was
replaced by a new one in 1893.
Marcus Hook has a frame primary school
house, and a handsome brick grammar school
building with a principal and four assistants.
The total enrollment of pupils is two hundred
and eighteen.
The population of the borough in 1850 was
four hundred and ninety-two, and i88o num-
bered eight hundred and sixteen. The census
enumerator in i8go was Jacob M.Wagoner.
CHAPTER XXVII.
MARPLE, MIDDLETOWN, NETHER PROVI-
DENCE, AND NEWTOWN TOWNSHIPS
MARPLE TOWNSHIP.
Situated between the waters of Darby and
Crum creeks, Marple township is bounded by
Newtown, Radnor, Haverford, Springfield,
Nether Providence, and Upper Providence
townships.
Ferruginous conglomerate prevails in the
central portion of the township, and serpen-
tine and mica schist rocks are found respect-
ively in the northwest and the southeast.
Whetstone quarries have been worked in the
southeastern part. The minerals of Marple
township are: menaccanite, magnetite, chro-
mite, quartz, amethyst, chalcedony, carnelian,
agate, enstatite, actinolite, antholite, asbestus,
beryl, tourmaline, andalusite, talc, serpentine,
and damourite.
The first mention of Marple occurs in the
county records in 1684. The taxables in the
township in 1715 were: David Morris, Henry
and Evan Lewis, Thomas and Robert Pear-
son, Joseph and Peter Worrall, Bartholomew
Coppock, Joseph Roades, Joseph Powell,
Mordecai Massey, Robert Taylor, and Rich-
ard Marris. The freemen in that year were:
Daniel Broom, Joshua Thompson, and Enoch
Pearson.
During the eighteenth ceritury several saw
mills were built in the township, and Blinder's
cotton factor}', erected some time after 1820,
was destroyed by fire in 1848. In 1841 Ben-
jamin Jones erected a pottery that was run for
several 3'ears.
On the West Chester pike is Broomall, a
village of a dozen houses, named from the
postoffice established there in 1S68, and called
in honor of Hon. John M. Broomall. The old
Drove tavern was opened in 1800 on the site
of Broomall. On the eastern boundary and
on the State road is Marple postoffice, which
was established in 1849, with E. R. Curtis as
postmaster.
The Marple Presbyterian church was organ-
ized September 27, 1835, with ten members.
The Union American Episcopal church was
organized between 1830 and 1838.
Marple township has three public schools,
with three teachers, and one hundred and
thirty-five pupils.
MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP.
The township of Middletown is bounded by
Thornbury, Edgmont, Upper and Nether
Providence, Chester, and Aston townships.
Middletown township contains several small
areas of tertiary, and a large area in the cen-
tral part of serpentine, with which is asso-
ciated limonite and granite. Mica schists
138
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
and gneisses lie along Ridley and Chester
creeks, and syenites are confined principally
to the northern part of the township. The
minerals are : corundum, menaccanite, mag-
netite, rutile, limonite, quartz, treniolite, acti-
nolite, asbestus, beryl, garnet, chrysolite, zir-
con, liiotite, muscovite, oliglocase, albite,
orthoclase, tourmaline, fibroiite, staurolite,
talc, serpentine, jefferisite, and hallite.
Middletown township was so named from
its supposed central location in Chester county.
The taxables in 1715 were as follows : George
Grist, Caleb Harrison, Edward Woodward,
Daniel Cookson, Joseph Jervis, William Pen-
nell, John Edwards, Jacob and Peter Tregoe.
Thomas Barns, John Chauley, John Turner,
Joseph Sharpless, Ale.xander Hunter, Robert
Baker, Thomas Barnsley, Edward Laurence,
John Moses and Thomas Martin.
The Dutton mills are built on the site of the
old Forest Dale mills, erected by Thomas
Cobourn in 1687, against the protest of Caleb
Pusey. The Knowlton mills were started by
Elijah Tyson about 1807. In 1S25 John D.
Carter changed the rolling mill into a cotton
factory that was burned in 1834. John P.
Crozer erected the second factory that was
swept away in the flood of 1843, and then built
the present factory, that has been idle since
1888. It is said that Knowlton derives its
name from Crozer's wife, whose maiden name
was Knowles. The present postmaster and
station agent is W T. Maxwell, who has
served since 1888. The Bottomley woolen
mill, which stood above the Presb3terian
Ford, was built in 1810, and burned down in
1848. The old Sable nail works were erected
at Rockdale in 1810. The Yearsley stone mill
on Rocky run was built in 1792, and the old
Hillsborough cotton mills on Ridley creek,
that burned down about 1870, were erected in
i8ig. The Levis and Lewis paper, grist and
saw mills date back to 1704, when Joseph
Jarvis built the grist mill. Isaac Levis erected
the saw mill and paper mills about 1794. Ed-
ward Lewis became proprietor in 1825, and
the mills were sold in 1871 to the borough of
Media, whose authorities fitted up a part of
them as the Media water works. Mt. Alverno
is a railroad station and has a starch factory,
started by a Mr. Burnett.
A great manufacturing center of Delaware
county is included in Glen Riddle, Parkmount
and Lenni, the founding and growth of whose
cotton and woolen mills is mainly due to
the efforts of Samuel Riddle, one of the great
manufacturers of Pennsylvania. It is but a
question of time until the three villages will
form one town. The Glen Riddle mills stand
near where Nathan Sharpless in 1815 erected
his woolen factory and fulling mill. The Glen
Riddle mills are to-day among the largest and
best equipped cotton mills in theUnited States.
Mr. Riddle came in possession of the place
about 1843, and built two of the five present
large mills, which now employ a force of four
hundred hands. The village, postofifice and
station are named in honor of Mr. Riddle.
The first Parkmount mills were built by Mr.
Riddle in 1841, and afterwards burned. On
their site the present mills were erected in
1866. Lenni is named for the Lenni Lenape
Indians, and the Lenni mills manufacture
plush and woolen goods. Joseph Watson is
station agent and postmaster at Lenni, where
a large railroad company is quarrying rock,
which they ship to Jersej' City. One-half mile
west of Lenni is Wawa station, to which the
Baltimore Junction station was removed June
I, 1883. The postofifice was established in
September, 1879, when the people chose the
name of Wawaekas, which the postofifice de-
partment shortened to Wawa to save time to
all persons directing mail to the new office.
Edward Jones was the first station agent and
postmaster, and was succeeded on February
I, 1880, by Charles F. Borhek. Elwyn Sta-
tion was named for Dr. Elw3-n, its original
name being Greenwood. L. F. Ritchie is the
present agent and postmaster. Lima is at the
old Middletown Cross Roads, where Philip
Yarnall kept the old Pine Apple tavern in
OF DELAWAnE COUNTY.
139
iSo6. The postoffice was established in 1832
b}' the name of Hamor's Store. Lima Tem-
perance hall was erected in 1H48, and after-
ward became a dwelling house. The house
of emplo^m.ent or county home is near Lima,
and was erected in 1856. Since then a hos-
pital has been built and an addition made to
the department for the insane. The Darling-
ton dairy farms are near Darlington Station.
The Black Horse hotel, one of the most noted
hotels of the county, was opened in 1739, and
in 1845 it was urged as a fit place for the
count)' capital. It stands on the highest
ground in the county, from which the ships
on the Delaware and the dome of the Phila-
delphia city hall can be seen by the naked
e}e. At Elwyn Herbert Brinton has laid out
a town named Elwj'nside, which is on the hill
on the south side of the railroad.
Middletown Friends' meeting was organized
previous to 1684, and in 1828 the Orthodox
branch of the church withdrew, and some
years later built a meeting house. The Mid-
dletown Presbyterian church was organized
about 1728, and its present pastor is Rev. W.
T. Kruse. Glen Riddle Presbyterian church
was organized in 1880 with twenty members,
and its last pastor was Prof. S. R. Queen.
Lima Methodist Episcopal church dates its
organization back to 1833; and Honeycomb
African Methodist Episcopal church was or-
ganized in 1872.
In Middletown township are the " Pennsyl-
vania Training School for Feeble - Minded
Children," and the " Williamson Free School
of Mechanical Trades," which have been de-
scribed in a preceding chapter of this work.
Middletown township has nine public schools
which are taught by nine teachers, and have
an enrollment of four hundred and thirteen
pupils.
NETHER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP.
Nether Providence is bounded by the town-
ships of Edgmont, Newtown, Marple, Nether
Providence and Middletown.
Gravel occurs in the southern part of the
township, a small area of steatite is found near
Rose Valley mills, and mica schists are ex-
posed along Crum and Ridley creeks, while
hornblendic gneiss lies along Crum creek and
the railroad. The only mineral reported from
Nether Providence is orthoclase feldspar.
Nether Providence was formed about 1790
by the division of Providence township into
Upper and Nether Providence townships.
The taxables in the township in 171 5 were:
Isaac Minshall, Henry Hasting, Jacob Edge,
William Swafer, John Powell, James and Jo-
seph Sharpless, Jacob, Joseph, Thomas and
John Vernon.
Within the last century a large number of
mills have been built in the township. The
Waterville mills on Ridley creek were started
in 1790 by the erection of a fulling mill by
Daniel Sharpless. The dyewood works were
moved to Chester in 1878, and the woolen
factory burned in 1882. The Franklin iron
works are mentioned on the assessment roll of
18 II, and in 1855 were converted into an edge
tool works. Todmorden mills, now Bancroft
cotton mills, were commenced in 1791 by the
erection of a snuff mill. In 1832 Samuel
Bancroft built the first of the two present cot-
ton mills. In 1789 a snuff mill was built on
the site of Rose Valley mills. In 1826 the
snuff mill became a paper mill, and in 1861
Antrim Osborne erected the present Rose Val-
ley cotton mills. The Chestnut Grove cotton
mill was built about 1845, and was destroyed
by fire in 1884. Thomas Leiper built a snuff
mill about 1779 at Avondale. In 1843 a pa-
per mill was erected there, and shortly after-
ward the cotton -factory just across the creek
in Springfield township. A powder mill was
erected on the site of Strath Haven in 1776,
and a tilt or blade mill succeeded in 1826.
The latter was changed to a paper mill in 1836.
In 1843 there was erected a cotton factory,
which burned in 1865. The Lewis paper
mills were erected in 1884 on the site of two
former paper mills that were burned, one in
140
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
18H2, and the otlier a year later. Tlie first
paper mill was built in 1S26 b}- John Pancoast.
Hinkson's Corner, now a part of Wallingford,
is on land that came into the possession of
the Hinkson family in 1790.
South Media, formerly known as Briggs-
ville, dates its history back to 1849, when
Isaac Briggs opened a store on the site of the
present town. Mr. Briggs erected a church
for the use of all religious denominations, and
built the first houses in the place. Wallingford
has a station and postmaster, and the larger
number of its houses are above the bridge.
The present station agent and postmaster is
D. B. Wetzel. Moylan is one-half mile from
Media, and has a station and postoffice, which
was established in 1890, with Miss Ida W.
Quinn as postmistress. The station was first
named Manchester, after the birth-place in
England of Samuel Bancroft, wlro gave the
station grounds to the railroad company. The
present name is in honor of Moylan Lansdale.
Moylan Park at the station has seven splendid
houses, and is lit up with electric lights.
Providence Friends' meeting was organized
about i6g6. Union Methodist Episcopal
church was formed about 1812, and South
Media station was erected in 1877. The Pres-
bj'terian church at Todmorden was formed
about 1850, and the church edifice was built
by William T. Crook, at a cost of ten thou-
sand dollars. The church organization went
down by 1884.
Nether Providence has five public schools
and an enrollment of two hundred and sixt)'-
eight pupils.
NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP.
The township of Newtown is bounded by
Chester county and the townships of Radnor,
Marple, Upper Providence and Edgmont.
The township contains several areas of ser-
pentine and associated rocks and mica schists,
while the Laurentian syenitic rocks are prin-
cipally in the northern part. The minerals
of Newtown are : chromite, limonite, quartz,
enstatite, tremolite, asbestus, steatite and ser-
pentine.
Newtown township is first mentioned in
1684, and derives its name from having been
laid out with a "townstead" in the center.
Newtown was largel)' settled by Welsh, and
its taxables in 1715 were: Reece Howell,
William Bevan, John Fawkes, Morgan James,
Lawrence Peirce, James Price, John Meredith,
Daniel and John Williamson, Ed ward, William
and David Thomas, Thomas, John and Lewis
Reece, William Philips and John Reece, jr.,
Lewis, Evan and William Lewis.
In 1828 William Crossley built a woolen
factory that was burned some years later. On
the site of this factory, in 1861, the Union pa-
per mill was erected. Moore's paper mills
were built in 1S35, and burned down after
1854.
Newtown, or Newtown Square, was really
founded by Davis Beaumont, who kept a tav-
ern on its site, and in 1820 secured the post-
office. The village now contains a hotel, hall,
postoffice, school house and fourteen dwell-
ings. Okehocking Tribe, No 159, Red Men,
and Newtown Square Lodge, No. 95, Odd
Fellows, meet in the hall. Near Newtown
Square is the Pennsylvania Hospital tract, on
which are five buildings. Central Square con-
tains five houses and a church edifice. Wjola
has a store, postoffice and seven houses. On
the old Sidney farm there was an American
military out-post in 1777.
Newtown Friends' meeting was established
about 1698, and their first meeting house was
built in 171 1.
The Seventh-day Baptist church was or-
ganized about 1697, and went down about
1775. St. David's Episcopal church, often
called Old Radnor, was organized about 1714,
and the old ivy covered church, immortalized
b}' Longfellow's poem, "Old St. David's at
Radnor, "was built in 171 5. In the church yard
attached is the grave of Mad Anthony Wayne.
The Newtown Baptist church was instituted
in 1832, with the following seven members:
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
141
Rev. Richard Gardiner and his wife, Hannah,
Eliza C. Cheyney, John Kinzey and his wife,
Mary, Harriet Lewis, and Eli Bangs.
Newtown has two public schools with an
enrollment of eighty-three pupils.
CHAPTER XX\III.
RADNOR TOWNSHIP AND ITS SUBURBAN
VILLAGE OF WAYNE.
RADNOR TOWNSHIP.
The township of Radnor is bounded by
Chester and Montgomery counties and Haver-
ford and Newtown townships.
Ferruginous conglomerate is in the south-
eastern part of the township, while several
areas of serpentine are within its boundary
lines, and a narrow belt of white and gray
crystalline limestone lies along the south side
of Gulf creek. Mica schists and syenites are
also found in different parts of the township.
The minerals of Radnor towrship are: blue
quartz, enstatite, asbestus, garnet, talc, ser-
pentine, marmolite, chrysotile, deweylite, and
magnetite.
Radnor township is named for Radnorshire,
Wales, of which its early settlers were natives.
In 1722 the taxables of the township were :
David Harry, Thomas Lewis, Richard Armes,
David Pugh, Sarah Abraham, John Morgan,
Richard Richards, John Jerman, Joseph Wil-
liams, Hugh Wilson, John Samuel, Edward
George, Evan Stephens, Gabriel Davis, Hugh,
John, and Jenkin David, Arthur, David, John,
Edward, Evan, and Joseph Jones, David and
Howell Powell, W'illiam, John, Thomas, and
David Thoms, Owen, Caleb, Evan, and David
Evans.
In 1710 William Davis had a grist mill, and
in 1782 William Bailey was the owner of a
fulling mill. Several saw and grist mills have
been erected from time to time in the town-
ship, and in 1829 Eber James built a pottery-
kiln.
The four principal villages of the township
are Wayne, Radnorville, St. David's and Rad-
nor. Radnorville is near the center of the
township, and contains a store, hall, hotel,
and postoffice, which is named I than. The
village has six unnamed streets and about
thirty houses. St. David's adjoins Wayne,
and has two main streets and a railroad sta-
tion and postoffice. Radnor has four streets,
a railroad station and postoffice, and contains
nearly twent)' houses.
Radnor Friends' meeting was established as
early as 1686, and their first meeting house
was built in 1693. Radnor Methodist Epis-
copal church was organized about 1780, and
Radnor Baptist church was instituted in 1841.
In the township are numerous beautiful
places, among which are : W'ooton, Edgwood,
Lainshaw, Rockland, Richland, Woodstock,
Wentworth,- Ben Almond, Chetw3'nd, Carle-
mont. Castle Finn, and Glen Brook.
\illanova college is beautifully situated, and
has been in a very prosperous condition for
the last ten years. Radnor township has
eight public schools, in which are enrolled five
hundred and eleven pupils.
VILLAGE OF WAYNE.
Wayne, which has been pronounced the
model suburban village of the American con-
tinent, is an enduring monument to the mem-
ory of George W. Childs, the great philan-
thropist. Mr. Childs, in connection with A.
J. Drexel, purchased the site of the village of
Wayne in September, 1880. They laid it out
in avenues and lots, and spent over a million
dollars in establishing a village on scientific
principles, where rural homes could be pro-
vided with all city comforts. Fine water
works, a beautiful park and a splendid drain-
age system were provided, and the new born
village has grown rapidly in size and popula-
tion, while handsome mansions and beautiful
grounds extend in every direction from the
railway station. The Louella and Bellevue
hotels are magnificent buildings, costing over
U3
BIOOEAPHY AND HISTOBY
fifty thousand dollars each, with the latest
of modern city appointments. Wayne has
electric lighting, and is really an "aggre-
gation of delightful suburban residences."
Nearly one hundred cottages and mansions
have been erected, and the town was not laid
out for speculative purposes b}' the founders.
Wayne is one of the most beautiful subur-
ban towns of Philadelphia and the United
States, and the old Lancaster pike from Phil-
adelphia to Wayne, now improved at an ex-
pense of nearly one hundred thousand dollars,
is the finest driving road in America.
Wayne Presbyterian church was organized
in 1870. The Episcopal Church of the Good
Shepherd was organized in iS6g, and the
Wayne Memorial church edifice was erected
by Rev. Thomas K. Conrad, D. D.
Near Wayne is Wooton, the country home
of the late George W. Childs, and was named
in honor of the Wooton house in England,
which has been from time immemorial the
family seat of the Greenvilles. At Wooton
house Mr. Childs and his wife were the guests
of the Duke of Buckingham, and there made
their acquaintance with English country life.
Mr. Childs built Wooton in 1880, and for
beauty, elegance, and taste the house, lawn,
and farm have not their equals in this country.
CHAPTER XXIX.
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP, AND RUTLEDGE AND
RIDLEY PARK BOROUGHS.
RIIILEV TOWNSHIP.
Ridley is one of the townships of Delaware
county that is rapidly losing its farming area
by the building up of numerous towns and
boroughs. The township of Ridley is bounded
by the Delaware river and the townsliips of
Chester, Nether Providence, Springfield, Up-
per Darb}', Darb}' and Tinicum.
Alluvium deposits extend a short distance
north of Darby creek and the Delaware river,
while the gravel deposits extend over every
part of the township, and mica schists and
gneisses are found in numerous places. The
minerals of Ridley township are : ber3l, gar-
net, orthoclase, tourmaline, fibrolite, syenite,
stilbite, damounite, apatite, and zoizite.
Ridle\' township derives its name from Rid-
ley, Cheshire, England, and its taxables in
I7i5were: Jacob, Jacob, jr., and John Sim-
cock, Joseph Harve}', John Stedman, Thomas
Dell, John Sharpless, Joseph Powell, John
Crosb}', Lawrence and Gabriel Friend, Amos
Nicholas, Enoch Enochson, George Brown,
Andrew and John Hendrick, Andrew and
Hance Torton, Andrew and Andrew Morton,
jr., John Orchard, George Vanculine, Israel
Taylor, Jonathan Hood, and Obadiah Bonsall.
The earliest industry in the township, after
farming, was the manufacture of iron, and the
old Crosby forge, near Leiperville, was built
some time prior to 1740. The forge was aban-
doned before the commencement of the Revo-
lutionary war. The Lapidea grist mill was
built in 1816, on the site of a former mill, by
Thomas Leiper. John P. Crozer rented the
mill in 1821 and changed a part of it into a
cottonfactor}'. In 1S26 the factory waschanged
from a cotton to a woolen mill, and afterward
became a worsted factory. The Ridley stone
quarries were opened about 1766, and in 1790
Thomas Leiper and John Wall attempted to
secure an appropriation to cut a canal from
these quarries to the Delaware river, but failed.
In 1S07 Mr. Leiper built a railroad from his
quarries to Ridley creek, and in 1828 his son,
George C. Leiper, built the canal, which is
now abandoned. The canal was one mile in
length.
Four railways pass through the township.
On the West Chester branch is the borough
of Rutledge, and the Reading road has no pas-
senger stations, but along its line near Ridley
creek are the Ridley and the Philadelphia
brick works. On the Baltimore & Ohio rail-
way are Leiperville. Milmont, Folsom and
OF DELAWAnK COUNTY.
143
Holmes, while along the Pennsylvania are
Eddystone borough, Crumlyne, Ridley Park
borough, Prospect Park, Moore's and Nor-
wood.
Leiperville is on the old Queen's Highway,
and was named for the Leiper family. Moore's
Station is on land that was in possession of
the Moore family in 1800. John Cochran
founded Norwood in 1872, buying one hun-
dred and fifty acres of land from the estate of
Rebecca Gessner, and laying it out into lots.
Norwood takes its name from the title of
Henry Ward Beecher's novel that was pub-
lished about 1872.
The first attempt to lay out a suburban park
in Delaware county was at Buenos A3 res, on
the " Great Southern Road," in 1800, but the
project failed and the prospective village never
passed beyond the paper stage. Ridley Park
was the first park laid out in the county, and
three years later, in 1874, John Cochran laid
out Prospect Park, which now contains many
handsome and costly houses.
Prospect Methodist Episcopal church was
organized in 1878 with a class of six members.
On May 28, 1876, a grand encampment of
Knights Templar of Maryland, was held near
Crum Lynne lake. The encampment contin-
ued for ten da)^.
RIIlLEV P.ARK BOROUGH.
Ridley Park, one of the most beautiful spots
in suburban Philadelphia, was founded in 1872,
and incorporated as a borough in 1887. It is
laid out in walks, drives, parks and lakes, and
in well macadamized streets and avenues. It
has a fine hotel, a club house and many hand-
some and elegant buildings. No manufac-
tories of any kind are or can be erected, as the
place was designed for suburban homes.
Ridley Park has three churches: the Bap-
tist, organized in 1832: the -Presbyterian, in
1877 : and the Episcopal, in 1878.
The borough has a well organized fire com-
pany. Ridley Park Cold Spring Water Com-
pany supplies the place with water, and it is
furnished with electric light by the Ridley
Electric Light and Power Company.
A fine public school house has been erected
in which four departments have been organ-
ized, with twelve grades, commencing with
the primary and ending with the high school.
RUTLEDGE BOROUGH.
The village of Rutledge became a borough
in March, 1887, and the postoffice was estab-
lished July I, 1889, with Alfred W. Palmer
as postmaster, whose successors have been
David G. Myers and Frank P. Corson. There
are no manufactories or lodges in the place.
The borough has one church. Calvary Pres-
byterian, which was organized in i8gi, with
Rev. WiUiam W. McKinney, D.D., as pastor.
The population is about three hundred, being
two hundred and si.\ty-nine in i8go.
C H APTER XXX.
SPRINGFIELD AND THORNBURY TOWN-
SHIPS.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.
The township of Springfield is bounded by
Marple, Upper Darby, Darby, Ridley, Haver-
ford and Upper Providence townships.
Gravel and clay exposures occur in the south-
ern part of the township, a small area of fer-
ruginous conglomerate is on the east line, and
trap is exposed on Stone creek and south of the
Delaware county pike. There are mica schist
exposures at numerous points. The minerals
of Springfield township are : beryl, garnet,
muscovite, tourmaline, andalusite, and apa-
tite.
Springfield was mentioned as a separate
municipalitv in i(386. Tradition says the name
came from a large spring being in one of the
first fields cleared by Thomas Pearson or
George Maris. The taxables in 1715 were:
Samuel Levis, Bartholomew, Jonathan and
144
BIOaMAPHY AND HISTORY
Barthow Coppock, John, George and Richard
Maris, William West, Isaac, Thomas and
Isaac Taylor, sr. , Samuel Hall, James Barrot,
Thomas Poe, George James, Richard Wood-
ward, John Glere, George Lownes, Nicholas
Smith, Thomas Kendall, Mordecai Maddock
and WiUiam Miller.
The Wallingford or Lewis cotton mills are
near the site of a grist mill erected before
1779, by John Lewis. A saw mill was added
by Lewis in 1788, and in 181 1 John Lewis, jr.,
was assessed with a paper mill. In 1835 the
grist mill was changed into a cotton factory,
and rented to James Ogden, who was soon
succeeded by John R. and Mordecai Lewis,
sons of George Lewis, who changed the paper
mill into a cotton factory. After the death of
John R. Lewis, his brother, Mordecai, oper-
ated the mills until he died in 1870, when his
sons, Isaac, Albert and Reese, became opera-
tors of the plant. Afterward Albert Lewis
purchased his partners' interest in the Wal-
lingford mills, which received their name from
Thomas Allen, who came from Wallingford,
England. The plant contains seventeen acres,
and Mr. Lewis has fully equipped the mills
with all necessary improved machinery. One
of the mills is a four-story building forty by
sixty, and the other is a three-story, sixty by
one hundred feet, while the dye house is a two-
story structure. The mills run from raw stock
to the finished product, and have a capacitj' of
forty-five thousand yards per day. When run-
ning full the mills employ a force of eighty
hands, with a pay roll of one thousand dollars
every fortnight. The dye house formerl}' was
run to its full capacity in dyeing for outside
mills besides its own.
Holtz mill was on the site of the old blade
mill erected by George Lownes shortl}' before
1779. Some time after 1849 Oliver Holt erected
the second cotton factory, which was destroyed
by fire in 1882. Gibbons' cotton mill was built
in 1832, and burned in 1882. Fell's edge tool
mill was erected in 1843 on the site of a forge
and grist mill swept away in the flood of that
year. The Keystone spinning mills were
started in 1845 by Moses Hey, who changed
an old paper mill into Mill No. i, and built
Mills Nos. 2 and 3. The bobbin and grist
mills of J. Howard Lewis are at Beatty.
The township contains two villages, Morton
and Swarthmore.
Morton, named after John Morton, the signer
of the Declaration of Independence, was laid
out August 14, 1871. The postoffice was es-
tablished in 1867, with Hon. Sketchley Mor-
ton as postmaster. Mr. Morton was a grand-
son of John Morton, and had a store and lum-
ber and coal yards on the site of Morton for
several years prior to the laying out of the
town. Morton has four churches, twenty-six
stores, three blacksmith shops, a livery stable
and the Morton ice plant. The place con-
tains about one thousand five hundred in-
habitants, has its principal streets macadam-
ized, and possesses a well organized fire com-
pany, while the Faradaj' Heat, Power and
Light Company furnish electricity for light,
motive power and other purposes. There are
two building associations — the Morton and
Springfield.
The Morton Clirouicle is a weekly paper ed-
ited and published by E. W. Smith. The
churches are ; Kedron Methodist Episcopal,
organized in 1859; Episcopal Church of Atone-
ment, 1876; First Baptist; and Shorter Meth-
odist Episcopal. The postmasters from 1867
to 1893 have been : Hon. Sketchley Morton,
C. R. Dolbey (1876), C. A. Smith (1885), W.
C. Timm (1889), and M. M. Justison (1893).
Morton is on the Pennsylvania railroad and
between two trolley roads. It has twenty
daily trains each way, and its boundaries ex-
tend to ttie borough of Rulledge in one direc-
tion and to the village of Swarthmore in the
other.
Swarthmore is a beautiful village, laid out in
wide streets and avenues, and noted for its
two advanced educational institutions, Swarth-
more college andTomlinson's gram mar school.
On the college grounds is the house in which
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
145
Benjamin West and John P. Crozer were
born.
Friends' Springfield meeting was established
in 1686, and the Lownes Free church building
was erected in 1832.
Springfield township has nine public schools
and an enrollment of four hundred and thirty -
six pupils.
THORNIiUKV TOWNSHIP.
Of pecidiar shape is Thornbury township,
which is bounded by Chester county and Edg-
mont, Middletown, Aston, Concord, and Bir-
mingham townships.
Several areas of trap and serpentine rock are
in Thornbury township. Mica schists occupy
the higher portions of the township, and the
exposures of syenite are principally confined
to the escarpments along Chester creek and
its tributaries. The minerals of Thornbury
township are: amethyst, albite and serpentine.
Thornbury was recognized as early as 1687,
and is said to have been named for Thornbury
in England. The taxables in the township in
1 715 were as follows : Henr}' Nale, John Wil-
lis, George Pearce, Isaac and Philip Taj'lor,
William and Joseph Brinton, John Davis,
Jonathan Thatcher, John Yeardsley, Thomas
Everson, Richard Woodward, Jacob Vernor,
Joseph Baker, Thomas Masser, William and
John Pile, Richard Arnold, and John Stringer.
Sarum forge was built prior to 1746, and a
slitting, a grist, and a rolling mill were after-
ward added. In 1836 these were sold to Wil-
cox, and are now known as Glen Mills paper
mills. Thorndale flouring mills are over one
hundred years old, and Brinton's flouring mills
are near the site of an old grist mill and cotton
factory.
The township contains three villages :
Thornton, Cheyne)-, and Glen Mills. Thorn-
ton has a postoffice, church, and eighteen
houses. Cheyney has a railroad station, a
postoffice, a church, and five houses, and
Charles H. Chene}' is the present postmaster
and station agent. The postoffice was estab-
lished in 1859. Glen Mills promises in the
10
future to become a place of some size. Its
postoffice was established in 1859. The
brick station building was erected in 1882.
Nathaniel Pratt has a large store, and near it
are the paper mills and House of Refuge.
The Glen Mills Paper Company was organized
in 1892, and manufacture writing, music, and
patent medicine wrapping papers. The House
of Refuge has been mentioned in another chap-
ter, and the Glen Mills Quarrying Company
employ one hundred and twenty-five hands,
and quarry and crush stone for macadamizing
and telfording streets and roads.
Ston}' Bank Methodist Episcopal church
was organized about 1810, and Bethlehem
church, of the same denomination, dates its
organization back to 1845. The Wayside
church, at Cheyney Station, was organized in
1 87 1 of Protestants of different denominations,
and the elegant church structure was erected
in 1874. The African Methodist Episcopal
church was instituted about 1870.
Thornbury township has three public
schools, in which are enrolled one hundred
and fort3'-one pupils.
CHAPTER XXXI.
TINICUM, THE ISLAND TOWNSHIP.
The original Tinicum township, orBigTin-
icum island, is bounded by the Delaware river,
Philadelphia county, and the townships of
Darby and Ridley. On August 31, 1780,
Tinicum township was taken from Ridley
township.
The entire island is formed of alluvium de-
posits. The soil is usually sandy or loam)'.
The only exposure of rock on the island is
found on the edge of Long Hook creek, near
Darby creek, and north of Lazaretto postoffice.
The exposures are limited to a small area sur-
rounded by alluvium. The rock is a coarse
feldspathic granetoid micaceous gneiss, some-
146
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
what similar in appearance to the rock ex-
posed along Cruni creek, near Blue Bell, in
Darby township.
In Tinicum township was made the first Eu-
ropean settlement of Pennsylvania, of which
we have any authentic record.
After the Revolutionary war the States of
Pennsylvania and New Jersey divided the
islands in the Delaware river, that during the
Colonial period had been the exclusive prop-
erty of the crown, and gave to Tinicum town-
ship Hog island, Martin's bar, Printz's island.
Maiden island and Little Tinicum island.
The quarantine station at the Lazaretto was
established in iSoi. It was formerly on Provi-
dence island, near Philadelphia, which city
became so alarmed at the close pro.ximity
during the yellow fever scourge of the last
decade of the eighteenth century, that it was
removed to its present location. The citizens
of Delaware county have twice petitioned for
its removal from Big Tinicum island.
The Reading railroad passes through the
island, on which there are three stations — Es-
sington, North Essington, and Corbindale,
which is the nucleus of what promises to be a
considerable village. The early history of the
township has been given in the historj^ of the
count}', and needs no repetition in this chapter.
Tinicum township has one public school
and an enrollment of forty-eight pupils.
CHAPTER XXXII.
UPPER CHICHESTER, UPPER PROVIDENCE,
AND UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIPS, AND
LANSDOWNE AND CLIFTON HEIGHTS
BOROUGHS.
UPPER CHICHESTER TOWNSHIP.
The township of Upper Chichester is
bounded b)' the State of Delaware, and the
townships of Bethel, Aston, Chester and Lower
Chichester.
Gravel and s\-enitic rocks are found in dif-
ferent parts of the township.
The county records are silent as to when
the township was created. In 1715 the fol-
lowing taxables were returned: Enoch Flower,
William and Ruth Chandler, Walter Marten,
Henry and Francis Re\'noids, George Leon-
ard, Francis Routh, Matthew Wood, John
Bezer, John Kingsman, James Whitaker,
Humphrey and Shadrack Scarlet, Thomas
Linville, Thomas Withers, Jeremiah Collett,
John Chambers, Richard Weaver, and Jere-
miah Cloud.
But few mills have ever been built in the
township. The Talbot stone grist mill was
built in 1767 by John Talbot, and burned in
1884. Dutton's saw mill was built about 1750,
and was torn down in i860.
The celebrated James Anneslej'. Earl of
Anglese}', was sold as a redemptioner in Up-
per Chichester township in 1727.
The Baltimore & Ohio railway passes
through the township in the eastern part from
north to south, and along its track three vil-
lages are springing up, at Twin Oaks, Booth-
win and Ogden stations. Each place has a
postoffice. Boothwin is laid out into streets,
and has a few houses and a Presbyterian
church. Ogden, which joins Boothwin on the
south, contains a few buildings and a Friends'
meeting house.
Upper Chichester meeting was established
in the fall of 1829 bj' the Orthodox Friends.
The schools of the township are three in
number, in which one hundred and twenty-
two pupils are enrolled.
UPPER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP.
The township of Upper Providence is
bounded b}' Edgmont, Newtown, ]\Iarple,
Springfield, Ridley, Chester and Middletown
townships.
Ferruginous conglomerate and serpentine
are north of Bluehill, while mica schists and
gneisses occupy the greater portion of the
central and southern parts of the township.
OF DJSLAWAHi: COUNTY.
U1
Upper Providence came into existence as a
municipal division of the county in 1688. Its
taxables were returned in 1715 as follows;
John and Jacob Edge, Sarah Powell, Thomas
Williamson, Joseph and Peter Taylor, William
Sinkler, Zachary Butcher, Joseph Carter,
Thomas Jones, Jacob Chandler, Jacob Malin,
Joshua Calvert, Daniel Calvert, John Cam, Job
Harvey, Randal Malin, and Randal Croxson.
The Upper Bank or Manchester cotton fac-
tory was originally a paper mill, and built in
1766 by James Wilcox. The cotton factory
in 1872 met the sad fate of so rnan}- other
mills in the count)', being destroyed by fire.
Robinett's grist mill and Camm's stocking
works were operated in the early part of the
present century. The Sycamore or Bishop
mills were originally the Providence mills.
The rolling mill was built about 181 1, and at
it the first anthracite coal was used as a fuel
for manufacturing purposes. Register's nail
factory was started in 1812, while Collett's and
Palmer's grist mills, now gone, were erected
at an earl}' day in the histor)' of the township.
The schools of Upper Providence are four
in number, with an enrollment of one hundred
and fifty-one pupils.
UPPER D.A.RIIY TOWNSHIP.
The township of Upper Darb\' is bounded
by Philadelphia county and the townships of
Haverford, Marple, Springfield, Ridley and
Darby.
Gravel is found in the central and southern
parts of the township, and a small area of
ferruginous conglomerate lies west of Clifton.
Trap is found in the northern part, and schists
and gneisses are exposed at various places
throughout the township.
Upper Darby was erected as a township on
August 30, 1786. Among its early settlers were:
John Hood, John Hood, jr. ,EdwardCartledge,
Joseph Neel, Richard Bonsall, Anthony Mor-
gan, John Marshall, Samuel Sellers, Michael
Blunston. William Garrett, Joshua Fearne,
John Roads and John Kirk.
In naming the mjlls of the township we
shall pass from north to south on the two
creeks, Darby and Cobb's. The first mills on
Darby creek are the Upper Darby paper
mills, which were erected as early as 1803 as
a grist mill. The grist mill was changed into
a paper mill in 1872 by Edward Garrett. The
Morris Truman paper mills were erected in
1778, and in i860 were changed into a cotton
factory by Samuel Lewis, who built a second
mill. Both were burned, rebuilt, and a second
time destroyed by fire. The Kelleyville cot-
ton mills, built about 1824 by Ashur Lobb,
after considerable change in ownership,
came into the possession of Sellers Hoffman
in 1878. The Modoc cotton mills were built
in 1873 by Daniel Sharkey and William Weid-
bey. The Union cotton mills were built in
1822 by Garrett, and enlarged afterward by
Thomas Kent, who purchased them in 1846.
Rockbourne woolen mills were built by
Samuel Garrett about 1835, and in 1845
became the property' of Thomas Kent. The
Clifton woolen mills were originalh' a paper
mill, which was afterwards changed into a cot-
ton factory. The cotton factory was changed
into the present woolen mills in 1881. The
Glenwood cotton and woolen mills were erected
in 1862 on the site of an old paper mill that
was built by Levis Garrett. The Tuscarora
cotton mills, at the head of Darby creek, were
built by George Burnley in 1844, and are near
the site of an old paper mill that was erected
in 1777 by Samuel Levis.
On Cobb's creek have been built several in-
dustrial establishments. The ^^"olfenden cot-
ton mills on Cobb's creek were originally Sel-
ler's locomotive works, and in 1881 were pur-
chased by Wolfenden, Shore & Co. The old
Levis blade mill was built on Naylor's run
about 1807, and was in operation up to 1881.
The Cardington cotton and the WhiteJy cotton
and woolen mills are near to each other on
Cobb's creek, and by 1881 had passed into the
hands of Wolfenden, Shore & Co. These
mills when running full require a force of two
148
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
hundred and fifty operatives. The Cardington
mills are near the site of the first cotton mill
that was erected (1798) in Delaware county.
The present Millbourne or Sellers flouring
mills were built in 1814, and have a capacity
of two hundred and fifty barrels of flour per
day. The Keystone paper mills were erected
in 1866 by C. S. Garrett, on the site of an old
oil mill, that in 1807 had been built for a saw
mill*
The Pennsylvania railroad passes through
Upper Darby from east to west, and in the
township are the following stations : Fern-
wood, Lansdowne, Beaumont, Clifton, Prinios
and Secane. Fernwood owes its existence to
the laying out of the Fernwood cemeter}', so
named from the fact of fourteen varieties of
ferns being found on the grounds, which were
originally owned by Joshua Fearne. There
are over ten thousand graves in the cemetery.
In 1872 the first two houses of Fernwood
were erected. Fernwood Methodist Episcopal
church was organized in 1872, and Fernwood
Masonic lodge was instituted in 1875. The
Union shoddy mills were erected on the site
of the village in 1867. Primos contains a
station and postoffice and ten or twelve
houses. Secane has a station and postoffice
and some six or eight dwellings.
The First New Jerusalem church of Dela-
ware county was formed about 1830, and by
1880 the society was nearly extinct. Pleasant
Hill Methodist Episcopal church was insti-
tuted in 1834.
Upper Darby has one charitable institution,
Burd Orphan Asylum, and four public schools,
in which two hundred and fifty-eight pupils
are enrolled.
LANSDOWNE BOROUGH.
The postoffice was established in 1875, and
the village was incorporated as a borough in
1893. Its main streets are Baltimore and
Lansdowne avenues. The postoffice was es-
tablished in 1875, with Garrett H. Lewis as
postmaster. M. A. Bliss served as postmaster
from 1883 to 1889, when John C. Hilbert was
appointed. M. Hall & Co. have a shoddy
mill, and the Columbia feather compressing
and the Freedom card embossing companies
are located there. The Lan<;downe carriage
and wagon works have lately gone into opera-
tion, and the place contains several stores, a
drug house, three real estate offices and four
churches — First Presbyterian, Baptist, Epis-
copal and Methodist Episcopal. The borough
also contains a building and loan association,
and one club, the Runnymede. Lansdowne is
lighted by electricity and supplied with water
by the Springfield Water Company, while all
of its streets are well telforded. The popula-
tion of the borough is estimated at one thou-
sand, and it has a public school with one hun-
dred and seventy-five pupils.
CLIFTON HEIGHTS BOROUGH.
The village of Clifton Heights has grown
rapidly within the last ten years into a large
and important place. It has a station, post-
office, several churches, and a large number of
business establishments. Clifton Heights has
been incorporated as a borough since 1884,
and its main streets are : Baltimore and Broad-
way avenues, crossed by Sycamore and Spring-
field avenues.
St. Stephen's Episcopal church was organ-
ized in 1872, and Clifton Methodist Episcopal
church was instituted in 1871.
The borough has six schools and two hun-
dred and eighty-eight pupils.
The population of Clifton Heights is nearly
two thousand. East Clifton Heights is a sub-
urb of the borough, near which Burn Brae
hospital was erected in 1859.
On page 18 average length should read
greatest length ; and on page 99, 6385 should
read 4225.
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
149
CHAPTER XXXIII.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The following general matters which may
be of some interest to those residing in Dela-
ware count}', are given in this chapter.
EARTHQU.'\KES.
Slight earthquake shocks were felt in the
county in 1727 and 1732, and on December 7,
, 173S, November iS, 1755, March 22, 1763,
October 13, 1763, April 2^, I'j'i, January 8,
1817, June 17, 1871, and October g, 1871.
The Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake
was felt in some parts of the count}'.
EARLIEST AND LATEST LICENSES.
In 1790 licenses were granted to the follow-
ing persons in the county to sell spirituous
liquors : John Ford, William Kerlin, Charles
Sankey, William Beaumont, Mary Withy,
Joseph Pearson, Mary Miller, Adam Titus,
JoshuaVernon, Richard Fawkes, Henry Oden-
heimer, Evan Jones, Robert Kennedy, Gideon
Gilpin and John Hoof.
The hotels outside of Chester licensed on
January 2, 1893, were those of J. Lewis Gar-
rett, Joshua S. Wood, John H. Twaddell,
James Neeld, Andrew McClure, James Galla-
ger, Edward McFadden, P. McGlinchy, Thos.
Calvert, R. R. Johnson, E. C. L}ons, William
Carson, William T. Davis, Benjamin Rogers,
Charles B. Ouigley, Henry Coawrd, Nicholas
C. Knight, William Miller. The hotels in
Chester and South Chester licensed on the
above named day, were those of John T. Evans,
W. H. Read, Henry Abbott. Thomas Lytle,
George Goeltz, Samuel Powell, \\'illiam F.
May, John Grundy, JamesGardner, jr. , Thomas
Carr, John Genther, T. S. \\'illiamson, Mary
Stewart, Anton Uhlenbrock, Henry Fisher,
McClay & McKane, W. H. Williams, William
Higham, Thomas Hargreaves, C. W. Hiorth.
H. G. Mason, Robert Schofield, Sebastian
10*
Haas, Michael Cronin, Henry Goff, William
Vogel, Hugh McCaffery, D. B. McCIure, W.
H. Brooks, J. T. Burke, John P. Rolph, John
Leary, Thomas Dalton, George W. Mullen,
John McGolrick, J. W. Rawcliff, H. J. Riley,
Z. T. Bartlesorr, F. E. Lawrence, and George
J. Hunter.
FREE MASONRY.
The following Masonic lodges are in the
county : Chester, No. 236, at Chester; George
W. Bartram, No. 298, Media ; Lucius, H.
Scott, No. 352, Chester ; Prospect, No. 578,
Moore's; and Wayne, No. 581, Wayne. The
Royal Arch Chapters are : Media, No. 234 ;
Fernwood, No. 256 ; and Chester, No. 258.
Chester Commandery, No. 66, and Delaware
County Lodge, No. 13, Knights of Birming-
ham, meets at Chester city.
KNIGHTS or THE GOLDEN EAGLE.
The following castles of the Knights of the
Golden Eagle are in Delaware county ; Ches-
ter, No. 29, at Chester ; Relief, No. 71, Darby ;
Castle Rock, No. 158, Newtown Square ; Thur-
low. No. 159, South Chester: Charter, No.
171, Media; Upland, No. 180, Upland; Up-
per Darby, No. igg, Garrettford ; Fernwood,
No. 227, Fernwood ; Covenant, No. 294,
Moore's; Deshong, No. 346, Chester; and
Wayne, No. 472, Wayne.
PAPER AND COTTON INDUSTRIES IN 1872.
From an article on "Through William
Peun's Low Counties," in Lippincctt's Maga-
zine for September, 1872, we find the follow-
ing concerning the paper and cotton industries
and Leiper's railroad : ' ' An antiquarian might
strike a line of investigation 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 neighborhood
of the town — Chester creek, Ridley creek,
150
BIOGRAPHY AJS'D HISTORY
Crum creek, Darby creek. Not only do the
harvests they traverse,
■ Send down the air a greeting to the mills
On the dull thunder of alternate flails,'
but the cotton and fibres from half the States
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' paper mill, which was
the pioneer of this species of manufactures on
the American continent, still stands ; it was
already ancient when Benjamin Franklin's
printing paper and the sheets for the Conti-
nental currency were made there. The • Ivy
Mills' was the very last hand mill in the Uni-
ted States to succumb to machinery. A mile off
is 'Glen Mills,' where the peculiar paper now
used b}' the treasury department for the Uni-
ted States currency is made — an agent of the
department 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 Chester
creek, at Crozerville. John P. Crozer estab-
lished his colossal fortune b)- the alteration 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. Lewis, for more than a hun-
dred years. In this locality again was the first
railroad ever built in the United States. It
was a gravity road, like the celebrated switch-
back at Mauch Chunk, and was made in iSog
by Thomas Leiper, to connect his granite
quarries with his landing on Crum creek."
CONCLUSION.
In closing this brief historical sketch of the
important and time honored county of Dela-
ware, we would turn a moment from the past
to the future, and wish for it and its people,
in the oncoming centuries of time, that the
march of capital and enterprise in Delaware
county "may go hand in h^nd with the march
of intellect and morals, and result in the in-
creased prosperity and virtue of her people."
I
1
iograpl^ies
. . of . .
](3^1a\Vare (^oUr^ty,
^HARLES B. HOUSTON, head of the
^^ iron, coal and coke firm of C. B. Houston &
Co., of Philadelphia, and the present Inirgess
of South Chester, this count}-, where he resides,
is one of the conspicuously successful busi-
ness men of Delaware county. Mr. Houston
was born near Belfast, Ireland, December i6,
I (S32,and was brought to this country by his par-
ents, John and Elizabeth (Boone) Houston,
while yet a small child. He grew to manhood
on his father's farm in Lancaster count}', Penn-
sN'lvania, and received his preliminary training
in the public schools there, completing his
education at the State Nornal school in Mil-
lersville. Inheriting fine executive ability and
a strong propensity for business, he abandoned
the farm, and soon after leaving school formed
a partnership with his cousin, Samuel J. Boone,
and engaged in general merchandising at Gap,
Lancaster count}'. This firm continued in
business until the beginning of the civil war,
when Mr. Boone enlisted in the Federal army,
becoming captain of Co. B, 7gth Pennsylvania
infantry, which he commanded until killed in
action at the battle of Chaplin Hills, Ken-
tucky, in 1 863. Mr. Houston at once closed out
the business in Lancaster county, and in the fall
of 1859 entered the employ of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Company as freight and pas-
senger agent at Christiana, that county. This
position he held acceptably for a period of ten
years, and then resigned it to join his brother.
Thomas J. Houston (see his sketch), in the
erection of extensive iron works at Greens-
boro, North Carolina, for a company of Phila-
delphia capitalists. While his brother re-
turned north the same year, Charles B. Hous-
ton remained at the works in North Carolina
for a year and a half, and then returning to
Pennsylvania entered the employ of McCor-
mick & Co., at Harrisburg. This firm was
composed of James and Henry McCormick
and Senator J. Donald Cameron, and operated
large ironworks at Harrisburg. Mr. Houston
remained with them until 1874, at which time
he formed a copartnership with John Roach,
the famous ship-builder, now deceased, and
the}- built and operated the Chester Rolling
mills of this city. After running the works
about one }ear the firm was merged into a
joint stock company, which was incorporated
under the name of the Chester Rolling Mills.
This company operated the works for a
period of sixteen years, during which the
business rapidly grew into its present immense
proportions, and at the end of that time sold
the mills to the Wellman Steel & Iron Com-
pany, by which name they are now known.
After disposing of his interest in the Chester
Rolling mills, in which his brothers were also
partners, Mr. Houston spent the next eighteen
months in looking after his large iron and coal
interests in Virginia and West Virginia. In '
1892, in connection with his son, Howard H.
(153)
154
BIOGEAPHY AND HISTORY
Houston, and J. Max Bernard, heengaged in the
iron, coal and coke business in the cit)- of Phil-
adelphia, under the firm name of C. B. Hous-
ton & Co. Their office is at 229-231 Bullitt
building, South Fourth street, and they do an
immense business in iron, steel, coal and coke.
In addition to his large business operations
in Philadelphia, Mr. Houston is closely iden-
tified with man\- important industrial enter-
prises in other parts of the countr}-. He is a
director in the Chester National bank, and of
the "Pelaware River Iron Ship-building S:
Engine works,'" of this cit\-, and has a like
connection with the Crozer Steel & Iron Com-
pany, of Roanoke, \'irginia : the Edith Iron
& Mining Company, of that State : the Twelve
Pole Coal & Lumber Company, of West \'ir-
ginia ; the Roanoke Coal lS; Lumber Company,
of the same State ; and the Mate Creek Coal
& Lumber Company, also of that State. He,
with members of his family, is also half owner
of the Houston Coal & Coke Company's prop-
erty and business at Elkhorn,\\'est \'irginia.
On January 26, i860, Mr. Houston was mar-
ried to Margaret A. Hathaway, a daughter of
Philip Hathaway, of Lancaster county, Penn-
sylvania. To them were born two sons : How-
ard H., now in business with his father in
Philadelphia ; and T. Edgar, treasurer and
general manager of the Houston Coal i.^ Coke
Company at Elkhorn, West \'irginia. Beside
these two sons, a daughter, named Minnie L. ,
was born to Mr. and Mrs. Houston, but she
died at the age of two and a half years, and
her remains sleep in the cemetery at Atglen,
Chester county, this State. ]\Irs. Houston is
now in the fifty-fifth year of her age.
In his political affiliations Charles B. Hous-
ton has always been a republican, is now serv-
ing his third term as burgess of South Ches-
ter, and was for some time a member of the
borough council. He is a leading member of
the Third Presbyterian church of Chester, and
also prominetl\- connected with Masonry,
being a member of Lancaster Lodge, No. 43,
Free and Accepted IMasons, of Lancaster:
Chester Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of
Chester; and Chester Commandery, No. 66,
Knights Templar. He is pleasant and genial
in manner, ranks with the best and most
successful business men of eastern Penn-
sylvania, and is held in high esteem for his
exemplification of the virtues of good citizen-
ship and intelligent, Christian manhood. Mr.
Houston resides in a pleasant and finely ap-
pointed home at the corner of Ninth street
and Highland avenue. South Chester.
The Houstons are of Scotch-Irish origin,
and their histor}- runs back through several
centuries to the founder of the family. Sir
Hugh Padvinon, a wealthy Scotch nobleman,
who built a \-illage on his estate, in the north
of Ireland, which was called Hughstown. By
degrees the name of the town was transferred
to the familv, and finally, in the course of
years, it assumed its present spelling, Hous-
ton. John Houston, father of the subject of
this sketch, was born and reared in the north
of Ireland, where he received a good practical
education, being the only son of well-to do
parents. \\'hile yet a }-oungman the love for
adventure led him to cross the Atlantic and
visit America, where he remained several \earE,
and then returned to his native land. Soon
after his return to Ireland he married Eliza-
beth Boone, an educated Scotch-Irish girl,
who for more than the third of a century was
his devoted wife and comrade on the rugged
pathway of life. She was a native of northern
Ireland, and a member of the United Presby-
terian church. A few years later, in 1834, Mr.
Houston returned to the United States with his
wife and four children and settled in Lancas
ter county, Pennsylvania, where he continued
to reside until within a short time of his death,
which occurred in 1877, at the residence of his
son. Dr. John Houston, in the city of Phila-
delphia. During his long residence in Lan-
caster count\' he was extensivel}- engaged in
farming and dealing in live stock, and became
quite prosperous. Politicalh* he was a demo-
crat until about 1856, when, on account of his
THE NEW YUKK j
PUBLIC L!BRARY i
ASTOR, Lr.S'^y ;nu
TlLDr,N rOIJNDA'flONS
R L
OF- DEL A II vl RE CO UNTY.
155
oppositiin to slavery, he identified himself
with the growing Republican party, and gave
it his influence and support from that time to
the day of his death. In religion he was a
member of the United Presbjterian church
and dii:d in that faith.
^APT. TH03IAS J. HOUSTON, of
^^ the city of Chester, who saw service dur-
ing our civil war, and has been one of the most
active and successful iron, coal and coke op-
erators of this State, is a son of John and
Elizabeth (Boone) Houston, and a native of
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he
was born January 25, 1S36. (See sketch of
Charles B. Houston for family ancestry.)
Mrs. Elizabeth Houston died in 1868, at her
home in Lancaster count}'.
Thomas J. Houston was reared on his fath-
er's farm in Lancaster county, this State, and
obtained a superior English education in the
public schools and at what is now the State
Normal school at Millersville. Leaving school
at the age of fifteen, he learned the trade of
molder, but within a year after completing his
apprenticeship was compelled to abandon the
business on account of his health. He then
secured a position as clerk in a blast furnace
at Robesonia. which he resigned in the early
part of 1S63 to enlist in the army. Upon be-
ing mustered into service he was made captain
of Co. B, 47th Pennsylvania emergency' men,
and commanded that compan\- during its term
of service, which was something less than a
year. After returning from the army Mr.
Houston became a passenger brakeman on the
Pennsylvania railroad, but was soon promoted
to the position of conductor. He began his
career as a railroad man at the same time as
Charles E. Pugh, who is now third vice presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania Company. After
running on the road for several months be-
tween Philadelphia and Pittsburg, Mr. Hous-
t )n resigned his position to take charge of a
blast furnace at Columbia, Pennsylvania,
where he remained until 1865. From that
year until i86g he had charge of a furnace and
ore mines in Dutchess county. New York. In
the latter year he obtained leave of absence
and went to Greensboro, North Carolina, to
put up a steam bloomer}' furnace for a com-
pany of Philadelphia capitalists who were ar-
ranging to develop the mineral resources of
that section. Upon the completion of this
enterprise he returned to New York and again
assumed the management of the ore mines
and furnace in Dutchess county, where he re-
mained until the early part of 1873. In that
year he was appointed general manager of the
Iron Cliffs Company, in the Lake Superior
region, with headquarters at Negaunee, Mich-
igan. This company owned fifty-five thousand
acres of land, ran three blast furnaces, and
had extensive ore mines on the southern shore
of Lake Superior. Mr. Houston remained in
charge of these works until 1880, when here-
moved to the city of Cliester, Delaware county,
Pennsylvania, where he was interested with
his brother, Charles B. Houston, in the Chester
rolling mills. Soon after coming to this city
Captain Houston became general manager of
these mills, and held that position until they
sold the works to the Wellman Iron lV Steel
Company in 1891. In May, i88g, he was
called to Roanoke, \'irginia, to assume charge
of the Crozer Iron & Steel Compan}-'s affairs,
in which company he was and is a stockholder
and director. There he remained actively em-
ployed in the management of a large and com-
plicated business until December ist of that
year, when illness compelled him to relinq-jish
his work and return home. Since that time
he has been practically retired from active
business, and is living quietly at his elegant
home, corner of Eighth and Kerlin streets,
this city. In addition to the works already
mentioned, Captain Houston is financiallv in-
terested with his brother, Chirles B. Houston,
(see his sketch ) in a number of other mining,
iron, coal and coke enterprises in this State
and elsewhere.
156
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
In politics the subject of this sketch is au
active and enthusiastic repubhcan, and has
served as a delegate to many State and Na-
tional conventions. He served as mayor of
the city of Negaunee, Michigan, while resid-
ing there, and has been six years a member of
the city council of Chester, during three of
which he served as president of the council,
and had the honor and pleasure of presiding
over the only solid republican council this city
ever had. Captain Houston also served as
chairman of the building committee having in
charge the erection of the Chester hospital,
built during the winter and spring of 1893.
In religious faith he is a Quaker, and has long
been a strict member of the Society of Friends.
On the 26th of September, 1866, Captain
Houston was united in marriage to Sue M.
Slokom, a daughter of Samuel Slokom, of
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and a lady of
fine education and many rare qualities of heart
and mind.
HENRY FREDERICK 3IORRO\V,
a business man of many years' experience,
and one of the most active prohibition leaders
of Chester city and Delaware count}-, is a son
of John and Ann S. ( Rowland) Morrow, and
was born in Wilmington, Delaware, August
28, 1833. John Morrow was of Scotch-Irish
descent, and came in iS24from his birthplace,
near Belfast, Ireland, to the Brandywine
creek, near Wilmington, Delaware, in which
city he died on January ig, 1861, when in the
sixty-second year of his age. He was a Pres-
byterian and a prominent Free Mason, and
during the latter part of his life was engaged
successfully in the real estate business. He
married Ann S. Rowland, a native of Pikeland
township, Chester county, and who died at
Chester, May 5, 1871, aged seventy-six j-ears.
Mrs. Morrow was a Presbyterian, and her
father, John Rowland, was a grandson of John
Rowland, who came over in the ship "Wel-
come," with William Penn, in 1682. His son
built the first grist mill in Tred^frin township.
Chester count\-, in 1744. John Row/md was
a native and farmer of Tredyfrin township,
and died in Wilmington, Delaware. October
8, 1844, aged eighty -four j'ears. He was a
whig and a Friend, and ranked high as an up-
right man.
Henry F. Morrow was reared in W Iming-
ton, Delaware, received a good English edu-
cation, and became an apprentice to John L.
Hadden, of that city, to the trade of tinsmith,
on February 21, 1848. After completing his
trade he and his brother, W. J. Morrow, were
engaged in the tin and stove business until
i860. On June 20, i860, Mr. Morrow came
to Chester, where he was in the cement and
roofing business up to 1872, since which time
he has acted as a general agent. He now
represents an improved metal for bearings.
On April 16, 1861, Mr. Morrow married
Mary Frances Belt, daughter of William Belt,
of Wilmington. The}- have one child, a daugh-
ter, named Mary L.
Henry F. Morrow and his family are all
members of the Presbyterian church, and in
politics Mr. Morrow was a republican, having
voted for Fremont in 1856, but has been iden-
tified with the Prohibition party ever since its
organization. He served for some time as
chairman, and is now secretary of the count)'
Prohibition committee, and in the days of
temperance organizations, before the organ-
ization of the Prohibition party, he was recog-
nized as one of the foremost temperance men
in eastern Pennsylvania. In 1839 he con-
nected himself with the Juvenile Temperance
society of the Hanover Street Presbyterian
church, and has ahva3S been a total abstainer.
QEORGE W. WOOD, the energetic pro-
^■^ proprietor of a large meat market, and
member of the council of Chester cit}- from the
Fifth ward, is a son of John and Emma E.
Wood, and was born in the city of Chester,
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, September
27, 1856. His paternal grandfather. Humph-
OF DELA WABE COUNTY.
rej' Wood, was a native of Slaithwaite, York-
shire, England, and married Grace Dodson.
To their union was born thirteen children,
five sons and four daughters, who grew up to
man and womanhood and all married: Eph-
raim, George, John, William, Samuel, Sarah
Rawcliffe, Jane Armitage, Hannah Wise-,
man, and Mary Hirst. His grandparents both
died in the one year, 1836, aged forty-six and
forty-eight years. They followed the butcher-
ing business until their deaths. George W.'s
father, John Wood, learned the trade of
butcher, and came from Liverpool to Chester
in the year 1856. He married Emma Eliza-
beth Ledger, of Liverpool, in 1855, and to
their union was born fourteen children, ten
boys and four girls. They reared nine, five
sons and four daughters; George W., John,
Rev. Samuel R., Harry A., Herbert, Sarah A.
Buck, Emma Wood, Louisa W'ood, and Laura
Burton. J. Wood commenced business by
opening a shop in Market street, Chester, in
1856, and continued until the Farmers' mar-
ket was built, in 1868, and is still doing busi-
ness in the market. He is a republican, and
an active member of the North Chester Bap-
tist church. George W. Wood received his
education in the public schools of Chester and
Leiperville. He learned the trade of butcher
with his father, and then engaged in the butch-
ering business on a small scale at No. 37 Third
street, where he was so successful that in 1890
he purchased his handsome three-stor}' brick
residence adjoining his butchering establish-
ment. Mr. Wood's residence is worth over
ten thousand dollars, and he has enlarged and
refitted his meat market until it is one of the
best of its kind in the city.
On March 3, 1878, Mr. Wood married Ad-
die E. Taylor, of Laurel, Delaware. To their
union have been born two children : Frank
(deceased), and Lillie.
George W. Wood has always been a demo-
crat in politics, and is now serving on his sec-
ond term as a member of the council from the
Fifth ward, being elected the first time by a
majoritjr of eighty-four, and the second time
by a majority of one hundred and sixty-four.
His largely increased majority at his election
attests his growing political popularit}'. As a
member of council Mr. Wood has been active
alike in the interests of his ward and his city.
He was instrumental in securing arc lights on
Broad street and Morton avenue. Mr. Wood
is a member of Chester Lodge, No. 96, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows ; Tuscarora
Lodge. No. 29, Improved Order of Red Men ;
and Penn Conclave, No. 59, Improved Order
of Heptasophs.
□ B. AR3ISTKONG, one of the live
* and useful citizens of Delaware county,
and one of the organizers of the Chester patrol
system, is a son of James and Mary Ann
(Bailey) Armstrong, and was born in Bethel
township, Delaware count\-, Pennsylvania,
January 31, 1845. His paternal grandfather,
John Armstrong, was of Yankee or New Eng-
land descent, and after passing his early life
in the State of Delaware, he removed to Bethel
township, this count)", where he died. He
was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a
stone mason by trade, and a democrat in poli-
tics, and married Susan Weir, b}' whom he
had ten children, five sons and five daughters:
Margaret, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary Anne Suter,
Keziah, Samuel, William, Jonathan, Robert
and James. James Armstrong (father) was
born in the State of Delaware, June 16, 1816,
and learned the trade of stone mason. He
was styled the Delaware county bridge builder,
because he built nearly all the bridges in the
county that were erected in his day. In 1846
he removed from Bethel township to Chelsea,
where he purchased a farm, on which he died
March 25, 1889, at seventy-three years of age.
He was a democrat and a Methodist, and was
twice married. He married Sarah E. Bright,
who died and left one child, Lewis. He then
wedded Ann Bailey, who was a daughter of
James Bailey, who died January 16, 1883, aged
loS
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
seventy-four years. By liis second marriage
he had five children: A. B., James, George,
Mary A. (deceased), and Joseph H.
A. B. Armstrong received his early educa-
tion in the common schools of Aston and
Bethel townships and the Rockdale school,
and is one of the " Rockdale Boys " who re-
cently celebrated an anniversary year of their
old school. Leaving the Rockdale school he
attended the Village Green seminary, and
afterward took the full course of the Quaker
academy of Clarkson Taylor, which then
stood at the corner of Eighth and Woliston
streets, Wilmington. Leaving the academy
he spent four years and eight months in learn-
ing the trade of machinist, which he followed
as a journeyman for seventeen years. He
then became master machinist of the Irving
& Leiper Manufacturing Company, with whom
he remained until his health became so im-
paired that he was compelled to resign. Be-
ing forced to look for some lighter occupation
he started his present confectionary business,
at No. 120 West Third street, where he has
built up a first-class and remunerative trade.
Mr. Armstrong is a republican in politics, and
works energetically for his party in the Sixth
ward, and on February 15, 1894, was appointed
one of the finance committee. He served one
term as assessor, being nominated and elected
without any opposition. He was a candidate
for county commissioner in 1892. The present
patrol system of Chester is due to Mr. Arm-
strong's efforts, and he assisted in raising the
money to buy the patrol wagon and pay some
of the expenses of its first trips. He is a
member of Washington Camp, No. 43, Pat-
riotic Order Sons of America ; John P. Crozer
Council, No. 187, Senior Order of United
American Mechanics ; and John Morton Coun-
cil, No. 738, Junior Order of United American
Mechanics. He is a trustee of John JNIorton
Council, and the treasurer of John P. Crozer
Council. He is a past grand of Upland Lodge,
No. 253, Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
in which he has held membership for twenty
years ; and has been for fourteen years a mem-
ber of the Franklin Fire company. Mr. Arm-
strong is also a charter member of the city-
patrol, of which he has been treasurer ever
since its organization. He is a trustee of
Trinity Methodist Episcopal church, with
which he united seventeen ^ears ago.
On September 5, 1870, Mr. Armstrong mar-
ried Jennie Willey, daughter of Absalom and
Eliza (Wilson) Willey. To Mr. and Mrs.
Armstrong have been born three children :
Annie E., A. Lewis, and Livia, who died.
QA3IUEL J. BURTON, a practical and
^^ prosperous ship-builder of Marcus Hook,
and one of the most useful and best known
citizens of Delaware county, is a son of John
T. and Hannah P. (Webb ) Burton, and was
born in Sussex county, Delaware, December
4, 1826. The Burtons are of English origin,
and rank with the older families of Delaware,
where they have resided since colonial times.
In that State Thomas Burton, paternal grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, was born
and reared. After attaining manhood he be-
came a farmer, and passed a long and active
life engaged in agricultural pursuits, dying at
his home in Delaware in 1832. He married
Lydia Burton, and had a family of ten chil-
dren, one of whom was John T.Burton ( father),
who was born on the old homestead in Sussex
county, Delaware, in 1792. There he grew to
manhood and received the best education af-
forded by the country schools of that day.
Leaving school he engaged in farming, and
after a few years also embarked in general
merchandising, in both of which occupations
he was very successful. In the midst of his
activity he was stricken by disease, and died
at his Sussex county home in 1848, when only
fift3-six years of age. He was a prominent
member of St. George Episcopal church, and
an old-line whig in politics. In 1823 he mar-
ried Hannah P. Webb, a daughter of Sylves-
ter Webb, of Sussex county, and to them was
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
15S
born a family of seven children, three sons and
four daughters: Samuel J., Sarah A., Jose-
phine M., Mary H., Samuel P., Edward T.,
and Hannah E., deceased. Mrs. Hannah
Burton was born in the town of Lewis, Sussex
county, Delaware, and died in Kent county,
that State, in 1866, aged sixty-one years. Her
father, Sylvester Webb (maternal grandfather),
was a native of Scotland, and came to the
United States while yet a young man. He
settled in Sussex county, Delaware, where he
married Sara Painter Walton, and reared a
family of three children. His death occurred
in 1S12.
Samuel J. Burton was reared in his native
county, and obtained his education in private
schools there. After completing his studies
he went to Leipsic, Delaw-are, where he served
an apprenticeship at the trade of ship carpen-
ter. Being endowed with fine mechanical
ability and great energy of purpose, he soon
made himself master of all the details of that
business, and in 1848, at the age of twenty-
two, embarked in ship-building on his own
account at Leipsic. He remained at that
place until i860, when he removed to Penn's
Grove, New Jersey, where he conducted the
business for three years. In 1866 he located
at Chester, Pennsylvania, and was engaged in
ship-building at that place until i86g. In the
latter year he removed to Marcus Hook, where
he has successfidly conducted the ship-build-
ing business ever since. Being a thorough
mechanic himself, employing only skilled
labor, and always using the best material, his
work soon became popular, and orders for
boats and vessels of various kinds were numer-
ous, being at times beyond the capacity of his
works. The work turned out from his ship-
yards has ranged all the way from three-
masted schooners to small oyster boats, and
has proved so reliable and satisfactory in ser-
vice that Mr. Burton has become widely
known for the uniform excellence of his work,
which is justly regarded as among the best of
its kind in eastern Pennsylvania.
Samuel J. Burton has been twice married.
In 1854 he wedded Catharine Wilson, of Leip-
sic, Delaware, who died in 1857. To them was
born one son, Wilson C. On November 21,
1861, Mr. Burton was united in marriage with
Sarah E. Maclar}', a daughter of John and
Mar}' K. Maclar^', also of Leipsic. To this
union was born a family of three children, two
sons and a daughter: Edward C, S. Lee, and
Katharine K.
In his political affiliations Mr. Burton has
always been a republican, but has been too
much devoted to business ever to have taken
much active interest in politics. He is a mem-
ber of Union Lodge, No. 7, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, of the city of Dover, Delaware.
HUGH McCAFFERY, proprietor of the
well known McCaffery house, Third and
Kerlin streets, Chester, is a son of Hugh and
Emma (Brady) McCaffery, and was born in
County Cavan, Ireland, July 18, 1848. His
parents were both natives of the same county,
and resided there until removed by death, the
father dying in i8go, at the age of seventy-
three, and the mother passing away during the
same year, aged seventy. They were mem-
bers of the Catholic church, and the parents
of nine children.
Hugh ^IcCaffery was reared in his native
country until he had attained the age of fif-
teen years, receiving a good practical educa-
tion in the National schools of Ireland. When
fifteen he left the Emerald Isle and made his
way to America, settling in Philadelphia. Two
years later he began learning the trade of
cooper, at which he worked in that city until
1868. He then came to Chester, Delaware
county, where he worked at his trade until
1885, and in INIay of the latter year embarked
in the hotel business as proprietor of what is
known as McCaffery's hotel, at the corner of
Kerlin and Third streets. Here he has con-
tinued a successful business ever since, and
has become widely known and quite popular
160
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
with the traveling public, being well qualified
for the business, and a thorough master of the
art of entertaining.
In 1872 Mr. McCaffer}- was united in mar-
riage to Mar\- ^IcGolrick, of the city of Chester,
who has proved herself an intelligent and use-
ful companion, and materially aided Mr. Mc-
Cafferj' in the positive financial success which
he has attained in life. They are members of
the Catholic church, and in politics Mr. Mc-
Caffery is an ardent democrat, always giving
his party a loyal support on National and State
issues. He is very pleasant and genial in
manner, and has the satisfaction of knowing
that by industry and good management he has
succeeded in life beyond man}' others, though
he had only his own energy and ability to de-
pend on when he began.
P3IIL CHRISTIAN WACNER,
junior member of the firm of Swayne &
Wagner, dealers in coal and feed at Sharon
Hill, this count}', and one of our most enter-
prising and successful citizens, is a son of
Christian and Mary ( Steffan ) Wagner, and
was born at Eslingen,Wurtemberg, Germany,
March 24, 1859. The Wagners are an ancient
German famil}' whose members have been nu-
merous and well-to-do in the Fatherland, en-
gaged in milling for generations. Possessing
the twin virtues of industry and frugalit}' —
qualities which distinguish the German race
at home and abroad — they have been import-
ant factors in the industrial history of their
section of the German empire. Christian
Wagner ( father ) was a machinist by trade,
and for fifteen years was emplo^'ed in the Es-
lingen Locomotive works, which are among
tlie largest of their kind in the old world.
Having accumulated considerable propert)",
he then embarked in the milling business at
Wurtemberg, which enterprise he conducted
successfully until his death, in 1SS5, when in
the fifty-si.xth \-ear of his age. For many
years he was a strict member of the Lutheran
church, and married Mary Steffan, a native of
Germany. By that union he had a family of
seven children, four sons and three daughters:
Charles W'., who married Anna Schmidt, and
now resides in the cit}- of Chicago, Illinois,
where he owns extensive works ; Mary, who
has been twice married, and lives in Germany ;
Emil C. , the subject of this sketch ; Sophia E. ,
wife of Carl Braun, a merchant in Chicago ;
William, a merchant miller of Wurtemberg,
German}' : Pauline, living in Germany : and
Herman, a confectioner in the city of Phila-
delphia. Mrs. Mary Wagner is still living in
German}', aged nearly si.xty-four years.
Emil Christian Wagner was reared in the
Fatherland, and obtained his education in the
National schools and a German High school.
Leaving school at the age of fourteen years,
he entered the mill with his father to learn the
milling business, and after completing his
trade he worked as a journeyman in different
parts of Europe, traveling through Wurtem-
berg, Bavaria, Prussia, and other parts of the
old world, in order to see the country and be-
come familiar with the characteristics of the
people and the business opportunities pre-
sented by the different places he visited. He
finally made a tour through France, and then
turned his face toward the new world, landing
at Philadelphia, May 31, 1884. Soon after
locating in that city he engaged in the retail
milk trade, and successfully conducted that
business for more than three years. In 1888
he removed to Glen Olden, Delaware county,
where he operated a flouring and grist mill
until 1890, at which time he formed a partner-
ship with John Swayne, under the name of
Swayne & W^agner, and the new firm embarked
in the coal and feed business at Sharon Hill,
grinding chop and handling all kinds of coal,
feed, pipe, cement, and other articles con-
nected with these lines. In 1890 they erected
a large structure thirty by one hundred and
eiglity feet in dimensions on Chester pike for
the accommodation of their business, and
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
161
have ever since remained at that location.
They are energetic, wide awake gentlemen,
giving close personal attention to their busi-
ness in all its details, and they have built up
an excellent trade and become quite success-
ful and vvidelj' known.
On August 31, 1884, Mr. Wagner was mar-
ried in Philadelphia to Louise Frederika Staib,
a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a
daughter of Christian D. Staib. To Mr. and
Mrs. Wagner have been born three children:
Emil Christian, jr., Harry, and Louise. In
his political afliliations Mr. \\'agner is a stanch
republican.
QEOIKJE MILES AVELLS, M. D., a
^^ graduate of the university of Pennsyl-
vania, and one of the most prominent young
physicians of Delaware county, who has been
in successful practice at Wayne since i8go, is
a son of Francis Marion and Mary (Stewart)
Wells, and was born at South Easton, North-
ampton county, Pennsylvania, February g,
1855. The family from which Dr. Wells is
descended is of Norman extraction, and the
name was original!}' spelled DeWelles, but
was changed to its present spelling more than
a century ago. The date of their coming to
America is not accurately known, but they
were settled in Virginia long prior to the Rev-
olutionary war. In that State Miles Wells,
paternal grandfather of Dr. W'ells, was born
and reared. The family was then in affluent
circumstances, and after reaching manhood
Miles Wells removed to North Carolina, where
he became a wealthy planter. Later he went
to Mississippi, where he held large landed
interests. He married twice, and reared a
large family of children, all of whom are now
deceased. His son, Francis Marion Wells
(father), was born in North Carolina in 1824.
He received a classical education, conducting
his preliminary studies in his native State, and
afterward entered the Miami university at
Oxford, Ohio, from which he was graduated
in 1846. While attending college he met Mary
Stewart, whom he afterward married. She
was a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, and
after their marriage in 1847, Mr. Wells settled
in South Easton, where he remained several
years. Removing to Louisiana, he became a
planter, and followed that occupation until
the breaking out of the civil war. Although
greatly opposed to secession on principle, yet
after Louisiana had passed the ordinance of
secession he felt his allegiance was due to the
State, and enlisted in the Confederate army.
His death occurred in 1863, at the early age
of thirty-nine, by drowning in the Bayou
Macon, while attempting to ford that stream.
He was a member of the Presbyterian church,
and b}' his marriage to Marj- Stewart had a
family of six children : John Stewart, Francis
Marion, Anna Stewart, George Miles, Mabel,
and Edward Stewart.
Mrs. Wells was the daughter of John Stew-
art, and his wife, Elizabeth Green, both of
which families were of Scotch-Irish extraction,
and occupied a prominent and influential posi-
tion in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She
was a devoted member of the Presbyterian
church, and died at Wayne, Pennsylvania,
June 22, 1892, in her sixty-eighth year.
George Miles Wells was reared principally
at Easton, this State, and in the city of Phil-
adelphia. His education was acquired in the
public schools of Easton, and at Lafayette
college, from which latter institution he was
graduated in 1877. In that year he accepted
a position as assistant superintendent in the
Andover Iron works at Phillipsburg, New
Jersey, where he remained until 1881. He
read medicine with his great uncle. Dr. Traill
Green, of Easton, and with Dr. James Hencirie
Lloyd, of Philadelphia. Later he matricu-
lated in the medical department of the uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, from which he ob-
tained his degree of M. D. on May i, 1885.
The next day he began practice as an assis-
tant in the Blockley hospital of Philadelphia,
where he remained for fourteen months, and
163
BIOGSAPHY AND HISTORY
then became assistant ph3'sician at the State
hospital for the insane at Norristown, Penn-
sylvania. After ten months spent in this in-
stitution Dr. Wells returned to Philadelphia,
as chief resident physician of the city hospital,
including the department for insane. He con-
tinued to occupy that position with great ac-
ceptability until Februar}' 15, i8go, when he
located at Wayne, Delaware count}', Pennsyl-
vania, for the general practice of his profes-
sion. Here he was received kindly, and soon
built up a fine practice, which he has retained
and constantly enlarged, until it is second to
none in the village. He is regarded as an ex-
pert in nervous diseases.
On the 19th of February, 1S89, Dr. Wells
was united in marriage with Mary E. Lane, a
daughter of Rev. Cornelius R. Lane, Ph-. D..,
D. D., of Chambersburg, Penns3'lvania. To
their union has been born two children, one'
son and a daughter : Mary Stewart and
Cornelius Lane.
Dr. Wells is an earnest student of his prro-
fession, and an active member of the N-eurOz..
logical society, Philadelphia, the Pathologi-
cal society, of the same cit}-, and the Amer-
ican academv of medicine. In religion he
is a member of the Presbyterian church, and
in politics an ardent republican. His stand-
ing as a citizen is only equaled by his reputa-
tion as a learned and successful physician.
V T A3IES COOK, a member of the carriage
firm of J. Cook & Bros., and a select
councilman for the city of Chester from the
First ward, is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth
(Johnson) Cook, and was born at Potts ville,
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1865.
Thomas Cook was a native of England, which
country he left in 1858 to become a resident
of Pottsville, this State, where he remained
until 1871. In that year he removed to Ches-
ter city, in which he resided continuously up
to the time of his death, which occurred
March 13, 1884, when he was in the sixty-
eighth year of his age. He was a man of a good
practical business education and followed his
trade of blacksmith for a livelihood. He
became a republican in politics after coming
to this countr}-, but was never ambitious of
holding any political office, and once when
elected as a councilman of the borough of
North Chester, refused to serve. He married
Elizabeth Johnson. To Mr. and Mrs. Cook
were born nine children, six sons and three
daughters: Robert, John, William, Joseph,
Elizabeth Oxley, Thomas, Hannah Clineff,
James and Anna.
At six years of age James Cook was brought
by his parents from Pottsville, Schuylkill
county, to Chester city, this county, where he
^received his education in the public schools.
t-Upfla leaving school he learned butchering
.'Vpitijrjames Oxley, but not liking that business
any too well he cast about for some more con-
genial employment that would be remunera-
^i*;-f',.',and after considerable investigation se-
lected .rarriage building. He served an ap-
prenticeship in the carriage building factory
and afterward formed a partnership with his
brothers for the purpose of building carriages,
under the firm name of J. Cook & Bros. The
firm commenced business in their present es-
tablishment, on the corner of Twenty-fifth
street and Providence avenue. They build a
large number of carriages every year, and have
a prosperous and rapidly growing trade. In
addition to tlieir business proper they do re-
pairing and have, equipped fully, a depart-
ment for that line of work, which is daily in-
creasing on their hands.
James Cook is an earnest and ardent repub-
lican, and since he attained his eighteenth
year has been an active worker in his ward for
the great political party whose cause he sup-
ports. At the February election of 1892 he
was elected as a member of the select council
of Chester city from the First ward, whose
interests he has ever sought to protect and
advance.
P\JBU5.
-^''""VotiNOA'aoNS
I
t--*::^-^:^ A__<
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
163
QAMUEL RIDDLE, the well known
^^ manufacturer of textile fabrics, who died
at his home in Glen Riddle, this county, Jan-
uary ig, 1888, was one of that class of men
who build up communities and create the
prosperity of the country in which they dwell.
To a magnificent business ability, constituting
half the rounded globe men call success, he
added the twin hemisphere of untiring energy,
and thus held within himself the elements
which finally took form as mills and factories
and accumulated wealth. He came of a fam-
ily long distinguished for practical ability and
great force of character, and whose trans-at-
lantic origin is traced to Scotland, and whose
authentic history runs back to Samuel Riddle,
a prominent Scotch Presbyterian, who flour-
ished in the latter part of the seventeenth
century. This early ancestor was born and
bred in the lowlands of Scotland, of pious
parents, and became a commanding officer in
the army of King William III. With the
forces of that monarch he entered Ireland in
1689, and took part in the war then waged
against the Catholic adherents of James II,,
until the final overthrow of the Papists at the
battle of the Boyne, July i, 1690. Having
been reared a Protestant, he fought against
popish rule from principle, and for his ser-
vices in the Irish wars was granted three large
estates in County Armagh, in the northeast
part of Ireland, where he settled and passed
the remainder of his days. He married a
Scotch lady of good family, and reared several
sons and daughters, of whom James Riddle,
presumably his eldest son, became his heir
and successor. The latter was a man of
wealth and position, and, tradition affirms,
was also of wonderful physical development
and strength. At his death he left three chil-
dren, one of whom was a son named for him-
self, James Riddle ( grandfather), who passed
his life in the north of Ireland, where he reared
three sons. One of these was Leander Riddle
( father), who was born in County Armagh,
Ireland, in 1766, served four years in the Brit-
11
ish nav}', and afterward became a successful
cotton manufacturer of Parkmount, near Bel-
fast, on the eastern coast of Ireland. In 1827
he emigrated to the United States, settling in
Pennsylvania, where he continued to reside
until his death, in September, 1851, when well
advanced in the eighty-fifth year of his age.
He married Mary Brooks young in life, and
by that union had a family of five children, of
whom the second was Samuel Riddle, the sub-
ject of this sketch.
Samuel Riddle, fifth in line of descent from
the Protestant warrior of Scotland, was born
at Parkmount, near Belfast, Ireland, in the
initial year of the nineteenth centurj', and after
securing an academic education left school at
the age of fourteen to enter a cotton factory in
Belfast, where, by industrious and indefati-
gable application for a period of nine years,
he thoroughly mastered all the details of cot-
ton manufacturing, and become known, even
at that early age, as one of the most expert
and skillful operators of his day. Believing
he could find a wider field and better oppor-
tunities in America for the exercise of his abil-
ity than were at his command in Belfast, he
collected his possessions together, and in May,
1S23, set sail from Larne for this country in
the sailing bark "Hope." The voyage was
without unusual incident until the}' neared the
coast of Nova Scotia, where the vessel was
wrecked, and Mr. Riddle was cast ashore on
Sable Island. He had the good fortune, how-
ever, to be picked up after three months'
stay on the island, and taken on another
vessel to Halifax, thence to Philadelphia,
where he landed with a total capital of four
Spanish dollars and his tea chest, which he
carried to his boarding house on his back.
He soon found employment in a cotton factory
at Manayunk, but shortly afterward removed
to Pleasant Mills, New Jersey, where he was
engaged at his trade for three j'ears. During
that time he saved a small sum from his earn-
ings, with which he determined to embark in
business for himself. He accordingly, in 1827,
164
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTORY
rented a small mill at Springfield, Chester
county, where, in partnership with his brother,
James Riddle, he engaged in spinning cotton
yarn w^ith four hundred and eighty mule spin-
dles. There he remained three j-ears longer,
and afterward removed to Parkmount, near
Rockdale, on Chester creek, Delaware county,
where he successfully conducted the business
of a cotton manufacturer for a period of twelve
years.
In 1842 Mr. Riddle purchased the cotton
factory operated by James Houghton, at what
was then known as Pennsgrove, on Chester
creek, fifteen miles from Philadelphia. This
was a beautiful location, and has been ren-
dered much more so by improvements and
development. He named the place Glen Rid-
dle, and at once began that almost unexam-
pled career of prosperity' which in the course
of the next forty years made his name familiar
in all the principal marts of this countr\-, and
carried it, through the exportation of his
goods, back to the old world where he was
born and reared. Here he added acre to acre
and mill to mill until he owned five large and
completely equipped cotton mills, together
with several hundred acres of finely improved
land.
The Houghton mill, now designated as mill
No. I, was operated alone until i860, when
Mr. Riddle built an additional mill of equal
capacit}', now known as mill No. 2. In 1872
he erected the large woolen mill, designated
as mill No. 3, where cottonades and cheviots
are now manufactured, and which employs a
large number of operatives. In 1884 he built
the spinning mill, designated No. 4, devoted
to manufacturing warp yarn, employing nearly
four hundred people, and turning out a weekly
product of fourteen thousand pounds of cotton
yarn. About 1875 Mr. Riddle purchased the
factory operated by the McCreedy estate, now
known as mill No. 5, located on Chester creek,
just below his other mills, and which turns out
annually about two hundred and fifty thous-
and yards of damask table cloth, and almost
an equal quantity of dometts. The buildings
are all of stone, and the five mills aggregate
ten thousand four hundred cotton and woolen
spindles with power looms, and constitute
perhaps the largest textile manufacturing plant
in this country. The machinery is driven by
three immense turbine and water wheels and
a powerful Corliss engine. In addition to the
mills there are two hundred and fifty dwelling
houses belonging to the estate, occupied prin-
cipally by the employees of the firm. The
town, postoffice and station derive their name
of Glen Riddle from the enterprising founder
of this vast business. The Riddle homestead,
now occupied by Mrs. Lydia C. Riddle, is a
large and spacious mansion, standing on the
gently descending slope of a high hill, consid-
erably above the level of the street, and the
grounds are tastefully arranged and well kept.
Tall oaks wave their leafy branches overhead,
while clusters of shrubbery beautify the lawns
and grace the terraces and parterre, thus add-
ing everj'thing to the natural loveliness of the
scene which cultivated taste could suggest.
The interior appointments are equally superb.
The rooms are large and spacious, while the
walls are adorned with artistic productions
from the studios of eminent American and
foreign artists. The mistress of this elegant
home, Mrs. Lydia C. Riddle, is a lady of rare
culture and accomplishments, who has trav-
eled extensively in European countries and
in her native land. She is an entertaining
conversationalist, widely known for her mag-
nificent hospitality, and greatly esteemed for
her uniform kindness of heart and manner.
In personal appearance Samuel Riddle was
stout and corpulent, with a clear eye and de-
termined features. In conversation he was
jocose and pleasant, with a large fiind of illus-
trative anecdotes, of which he always made a
liberal and happy use. He was twice married.
His first wife was Martha Mercer, by whom he
had no issue. After her death he married
Lj'dia C. Doyle, a native of Delaware county,
and a daughter of William W. Doyle. By
OF DELA WARE COUNTY.
165
this union he had a family of four children,
two sons and two daughters: Lydia Maud,
married Donald C. Haldeman, then of Colum-
bia, this State, but now general manager for
Great Britain and Ireland of the Mutual Life
Insurance Company of New York, with offices
in London; Charlotte Buffington, became the
wife of Homer Lee, a native of Mansfield,
Ohio, who went to New York city when a boy
to learn the art of engraving, where he has be-
come very successful, and is now president of
the Homer Lee Bank Note Company of that
city, one of the largest institutions of its kind
in the world; Samuel D., now senior member
of the firm of Samuel Riddle's Sons, who suc-
ceeded their father, and have managed this
immense manufacturing business since his
decease, and also conduct a large commission
business in the city of Philadelphia; and Lean-
der W., junior member of the firm. Mrs.
Riddle has also been actively interested in the
management of this large business since the
decease of her husband, in 1888, and has
shown remarkable business ability and an un-
usual grasp on practical affairs. She has been
noted as a devoted mother and an affectionate
wife, and stands to-day as a fine representa-
tive of the intelligent, cultivated and progres-
sive womanhood of the nineteenth century.
^TACOB CRAIG, Jr., superintendent of
the Chester Freight Line, and who was
remarkably successful as a high school teacher
and newspaper editor, is a son of Jacob and
Esther (Lamborn) Craig, and was born at
Hockessin, New Castle county, Delaware,
July 13, 1851. He received his elementary
education in the common schools of his native
county and then entered Delaware State Nor-
mal universit}' at Wilmington, from which in-
stitution he was graduated in the class of
1871. Leaving the university he taught in
the common schools for a short time and then
was elected a teacher in his alma mater, which
he resigned three years later to become prin-
cipal of Felton seminary, in Kent county,
Delaware. At the end of one year Mr. Craig
left Felton seminary to engage in the news-
paper business, becoming a reporter on a
State paper, the Morning News, of Wilming-
ton. From W'ilmington he came to Chester
and was the first reporter on the Chester Times,
which he afterward purchased, and six months
later sold to John Spencer. He then com-
menced reportorial work for the Times again,
and was so employed from 1877 to 1886, when
he accepted his present position of superin-
tendent of the Chester Freight Line. Super-
intendent Craig is a republican in politics,
and has been for four years a member of the
select council of Chester, from the Fourth
ward, and was re-elected in February, 1894,
for another term of four years. He is a mem-
ber of the Royal Arcanum, president of the
Chester Republican club, a member of the
Supreme Conclave of the Improved Order of
Heptasophs, the Supreme Lodge of the Order
of Tonti, and the State Council of the Junior
Order of American Mechanics. He is a direc-
tor in the Delaware County Building associa-
tion, and thus gives time to the material de-
velopment of the city and lends aid to hun-
dreds who are striving to own their own
homes. In 1882 Mr. Craig was secretary of
the Bi-Centennial committee of Chester that
was organized to commemorate the landing
of William Penn in Pennsylvania, at Chester,
and did much to make successful that occa-
sion, one of the most memorable celebrations
in the history of the State. Alike in the fields
of education and journalism he has been reli-
able and successful in business and in the
many important, honorable and useful posi-
tions which he has held.
On December 28, 1875, Mr. Craig was united
in marriage with Amelia Hibshman, dlaughter
of John and Magdalene (Adkins) Hibsljman,
of German descent and natives of EphXata
township, Lancaster county, this State,
and Mrs. Craig have three children : Walter
H., John Percy and Norman Chandler.
166
bioghaphy and history
The immigrant ancestor of the Craig family
in America came about 1730 from Scotland to
the eastern shore of Maryland, from which
one of his sons (great-grandfather) came to
Avondale, Chester county, and was the father
of William Craig, the grandfather of the sub-
ject of this sketch. The great-grandfather
served in the Revolutionary war. William
Craig was a farmer and a whig. He married
Hannah Netherby, and their children were :
Walter, Obadiah, Nelson, Mary Stern, Ann,
Hannah J. Sharpless and Jacob. Jacob Craig
(father) was born near Kennett Square, Ches-
ter county, January 28, 1820, and learned the
trade of shoemaker, which he followed at
Hockessin and Henry Clay, Delaware, for
several years. He then removed to Kennett
Square, Chester county, where he died July
14, 187S, at fifty-eight years of age. He was
a republican and held the office of school di-
rector for three terms. He married Esther
Lamborn, who died April 2, 1853, at thirty-
six years of age, and left six children : Lam-
born, Dewees, Levis, Wilson, Jacob, jr. (sub-
ject), and Chandler. Esther Lamborn Craig,
the mother of the subject of this sketch, was
a direct descendant of George and J ane Chand-
ler, who emigrated to this country from Eng-
land in 1687. The bi-centennial anniversary
of the settlement of the Chandler family was
held at Chadds' Ford, Chester county, on the
original tract in September, 1887, when about
fifteen hundred members of the family, from
different sections of the country, gathered to
celebrate the important eveat with appropri-
ate exercises. The Craig family is well known
in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland for
the industry and thrift of its members.
.TOB L. GREEN, president, secretary
and general manager of the Kej'stone
Press Brick Compan}', of Trainer, and one of
the most successful and public-spirited citi-
zens of Marcus Hook, where he is now serv-
ing as burgess, is a son of Daniel C. and Mary
Ann (Lee) Green, and was born January 23,
1846, at Marcus Hook, Delaware county, Penn-
sylvania. The Greens are of Swedish descent,
but came to America and settled in this State
at a very early da\'. David Green, paternal
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
a waterman by occupation and spent his time
in boating and fishing. He lived at Marcus
Hook, which has been the home of the family
for a hundred and fifty years, and was the
father of a family of seven children, three
sons and four daughter.=. One of his sons
was Daniel C. Green (father), who was born
and reared at Marcus Hook and spent his
whole life there, dying July 18, 1882, at the
advanced age of seventy-three years. He
was a ship builder by trade and carried on
that business successfully for forty years.
After relinquishing that he engaged in house
building to some extent, being naturally of
an industrious and active disposition, and for
some time previous to his death was engaged
in the mercantile business at Marcus Hook,
more for the sake of employment than for
profit. He was possessed of fine business
abilit}', and was alwa3's economical and care-
ful in the management of his affairs and ac-
cumulated considerable property. Politically
he was a whig and a republican, and held
about all the local offices of his township.
He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, alwa^'s regular in his attendance and
liberal in his support of the various interests
of his church. In 1831 he married Mary Ann
Lee, a native of Delaware county, by whom
he had a family of eleven children, three
sons and eight daughters : Clara H., Susanna,
Mary, Mary Ann, Henrietta, Emma, Anna B.,
George, Job, Josephine Townsend and Joshua
Eyre. Mrs. Green died December 30, 1883,
aged seventj'-three years.
Job L. Green was reared at Marcus Hook,
this county, and obtained a good practical
education in the public schools there and at
Village Green academj', under the instruction
of Prof. Hurvy Barton. After leaving school
OF DELAWAJiE COUNTY.
107
he followed the water for a time, boating and
fishing, and then entered the employ of G.
W. Bush & Son, a large lumbering compan}-,
as foreman, remaining five years. In 1889 he
purchased the Keystone Press Brick Com-
pany plant, at Trainer, and organized a new
company, becoming superintendent of the
business, and began the manufacture of all
kinds of common, pressed and ornamental
brick. Since that time he has made a num-
ber of improvements in the plant, making it
much more valuable, and has greatly increased
the capacity of the works. They now make
an average of sixty thousand bricks per day
and employ about one hundred men. Their
trade extends all over the eastern States, but
the larger part of their fine bricks go to New
York city, where their work is well known and
very popular among contractors and builders.
Under the new and vigorous policy of Mr.
Green, this business has had a remarkable
growth. The company owns fifteen acres on
which the plant is situated at Trainer.
On July 18, 1867, Mr. Green was united in
marriage with Lydia Jane Morrison, a daugh-
ter of Robert Morrison, of Bethel, Delaware.
To them has been born a family of four chil-
dren, three sons and one daughter : George
W. , Mary A., Coates P. and Emlen H.
In his political opinions Mr. Green has al-
ways been a stanch democrat, and has taken
an active part in local politics. He has served
in the capacity* of auditor, assistant assessor
and school director, and in February, 1893,
was elected to the responsible position of
burgess of Marcus Hook for one year. On
February 20, 1894, was re-elected burgess for
three years, with the largest majority that
was ever polled at the Hook. He is a mem-
ber of Linwood Lodge, Knights of Pythias ;
Linwood Lodge, No. iiig, American Legion
of Honor : and of the Royal Arcanum at Ches-
ter. During the civil war he served with the
emergency men at the time of the battle at
Gettysburg, and has always manifested a deep
concern in matters affecting the public welfare.
11(1
n^OS WICKERSHAM HOUSE, a
retired farmer and manufacturer of
Chadds' Ford, and one of the best known and
most highly esteemed citizens of Delaware
county, is the eldest son of William S. and
Phebe (Wickersham) House, and was born
December 4, 1818, in what was then Penns-
bury, but is now Pocopsin township, Chester
county, Pennsylvania. His great-grandfather,
James House, was born April 17, 1717, and
died in July, 1756. He was the father of six
children : Amos, Hannah, Catharine, Eliza-
beth, Sophia, and Martha. The son, Amos
House (grandfather), was born April 19, 1742,
and after attaining manhood became a chain-
maker, and carried on that business for many
years in Pennsbury township, Chester county,
where he died April- 6, 1821, at the age of
seventy-eight years. He formerl}' resided in
the old stone house, near Chadds' Ford,
was a federalist in politics, and, like his an-
cestors, a strict member of the Society of
Friends. He was married three times, his
last wife being Mary Swayne, by whom he
had one son, William S., father of the subject
of this sketch. William S. House was born
in Pennsbury township, Chester county. May
2, 1793, and after receiving a good common
school education engaged in farming and
market gardening. For two years he was en-
gaged in the tannery business, but followed
agricultural pursuits the remainder of his life,
and died in 1873, aged eighty years. Polit-
ically he was a whig, and in religion a mem-
ber of the Society of Friends. He married
Phebe Wickersham, a native of Newlin town-
ship, Chester county, Pennsylvania, and a
daughter of Caleb Wickersham, a descendant
of one of the oldest families of Pennsylvania.
By that union he had a famil3' of nine chil-
dren, two sons and seven daughters : Amos
Wickersham, whose name heads this sketch;
Rachel, who married Henry Walter ; Mary,
never married; Martha D, who wedded
Charles J. Allen; Eliza, became the wife of
David Evans, and is now deceased ; Sarah
168
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
T. , unmarried ; Margaretta, died in childhood ;
Susanna, unmarried; and Benjamin S., now a
resident of West Chester. Phebe W. House
died in 1866, in the sixtj'-seventh year of her
age. She was a most estimable woman, and
a life-long member of the Society- of Friends.
Amos Wickersham House was educated in
the common schools of his native township,
the Friends' \Yesttown Boarding school, and
an academy at Wilmington, Delaware. Soon
after leaving school he engaged in farming in
Lancaster county, this State, where he re-
mained for seven years, and then returning to
Chester county, settled in East Goshen town-
ship, where he resided from 1852 to 1867. In
the spring of the latter year he purchased a
large farm of two hundred and thirty acres,
near Chadds" Ford, Delaware county, upon
which he resided until 1876. In that 3'ear,
upon the marriage of his son, William H.
House, who was then managing the farm, the
property was sold to Gotlieb Schiedt, and
Mr. House removed to the village of Chadds'
Ford, where he now resides. While a resi-
dent of Chester county he was extensively en-
gaged in stock-raising and marketing, and be-
came very successful. Indeed he has always
met with remarkable success in all his under-
takings, which fact is due alike to the fine
business ability he possessed and the care and
industry with which he pushed his various
enterprises. Since selling his farm Mr. House
has retired from business affairs, and is now
enjoying the fruits of an active life, devoted
mainly to agricultural pursuits. At one time
he was largel}' interested in the dairy busi-
ness, and during the Centennial exposition
was treasurer of the company making the
dairy display, and had charge of that display
to a great e.xtent, during which time he han-
dled one hundred and seventy-four thousand
dollars, without giving bond or securit}-, and
without the loss of a cent. In connection
with Lewis P. Harvey, he was also proprietor
of the National Kaolin works at Brandywine,
this county, for a number of years. He has
also done considerable conveyancing, settled
a large number of estates, and acted as assignee
in many instances. A man of incorruptible
integrity, he has always enjoyed the highest
esteem of his neighbors and associates, and
the full confidence of all who knew him.
Politically Mr. House was a whig until the
organization of the Republican party, when he
at once attached himself to that standard, and
has frequently taken a very active part in
local politics. In religion he adheres to the
faith of his ancestors and is a member of the
Orthodox Society of Friends.
On November 4, 1847, Mr. House married
Mrs. Lydia J. Sharpless, tiee Garrett, a daugh-
ter of Jesse Sharpless, of East Goshen, Ches-
ter county, Pennsylvania. By that union he
had a famil}' of six children : Phileno, died in
childhood ; William H., married Anna Sheep ;
Anna S., married Charles J. Painter: Jesse
S. ; Charles A., and Phoebe S., all now de-
ceased. Mr. House is still hale and hearty,
although in the seventy-sixth year of his age,
and so full of energy as to still regret that he
retired from active business so early. His
career has been remarkably successful, and
both in his methods and results deserves the
earnest study of young men who have to make
their own way in the world, and at the same
time desire to preserve the integrity of their
character and remain that noblest work of
God — an honest man.
lyr F. LA ROCHE, the well known flor-
\ • ist and rose grower, who is familiarlj'
known as the "father of Collingdale," this
county, where his largest greenhouses are lo-
cated, is the eldest son of Charles and Sopha
(Steg) LaRoche, and was born February 14,
1854, at Kinzelsau, Wurtemberg, Germany,
though he is a descendant of one of the first
European families that ever attempted per-
manent settlement on American soil. His
earlv ancestors were members of a colony of
French Huguenots who settled on the\'irginia
/^. ^. ^:
!-<^T_.e
i
THfc" r*:-:vv ioaa
Pmu- Library
TILDKN FOUNDATIONS
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
169
coast about the lime that Marquis de la Roche
made his temporarj' French settlement on
Sable Island, in 1598, but on account of famine
and destitution were forced to abandon the
project and return to France. The family has
furnished a distinguished roll of military chief-
tains in the old world, among them being offi-
cers in both the French and German armies.
Gen. Frederick LaRoche, paternal grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, was a na-
tive of France and a commanding officer in
the wars of Napoleon I. After the downfall
of that monarch he removed to Germany,
where heengagedin forestry, assuperintendent
of the forests belonging to a number of the
leading noblemen of that country. He resided
in Germany for a period of more than forty
years, dying in 1871, at the advanced age of
seventy-seven. He married and reared a fam-
ily of fourteen children, nine sons and five
daughters. Charles LaRoche (father) was
born in Germany in 1826, and educated in the
public schools of that country, but continued
to add to his knowldge by earnest study and
constant reading until he became a man of ex-
tended information. Inheriting a military
spirit he early joined the German army, in
which he became a cavalry officer, and served
for six years, taking part in the war of 1848,
during the great German insurrection. All
his brothers except one, named August, were
engaged in positions similar to that occupied
by their father, caring for the forests and
grounds of German noblemen in various parts
of the kingdom. After leaving the army
Charles LaRoche became a florist and was
engaged in that occupation at Studgart, Ger-
many, until 1861, when he came alone to this
country, and located in New York city, where
he was joined by his family in 1864. There
he remained, working at his trade of florist,
until 1877, when he came to Collingdale,
Delaware county, to which place his son, the
subject of this sketch, had preceded him, and
has resided here with his son ever since. He
is an active member of the Lutheran church,
and by his marriage to Sopha Steg, a native
of Germany, had a family of six children,
three sons and three daughters : Maximilian
F. LaRoche, whose name heads this sketch ;
Caroline, wife of Joseph Blachowski, of Col-
lingdale ; Bertha, married Balthasar Stahl, a
florist by trade, and a member of the firm of
LaRoche & Stahl, of Collingdale ; Fred A. , an
expert electrician, who is now superintendent
and manager of the plant of the LaRoche
electric works, corner Second and Diamond
streets, Philadelphia, whose business amounts
to one hundred thousand dollars annually, and
is also the patentee of a number of electric
appliances ; Julia, who married Jacob D.
Eisele, interested in the seed business with
Henry A. Dreer, No. 714 Chestnut street,
Philadelphia, and Charles. Mrs. Sopha La-
Roche died July 24, 1893, in the sixty-fourth
year of her age, having been born in 1828.
M. F. LaRoche remained in Germany until
his tenth year, attending the public schools
there for several years. After coming to this
country he enjoyed private instruction for two
years,, but his excellent general education is
largely due, to his own unaided efforts, having
been an industrious student all his life. At
an early age he entered the horticultural es-
■tablishmeat of Hant Brothers, one of the larg-
.est in New York city, and began learning the
business of flower growing. Later he entered
the emplo}' of David Brooker&Co., in the
same line of business, and in 1876 came to
Philadelphia in charge of the exhibits of that
firm at the Centennial exposition. Becoming
favorably impressed with Philadelphia, Mr.
LaRoche purchased the interests of Brooker
& Co., in that city, and started into business
there on his own account. For several years
he remained at the old stand, No. 1319 Chest-
nut street, but in 1881 removed to No. 1237
Chestnut street, that city, where his main
business has been located ever since. In May,
1878, he formed a partnership with his broth-
er-in-law, Balthasar Stahl, under the style of
LaRoche & Stahl, and erecting a greenhouse
170
BIOGRAPHY AXB HHiTORY
on the Chester pike in Delaware county, be-
gan the growing of roses and flowering plants.
In 18S2 they purchased thirty acres of land at
Collingdale, this county, where they have
erected large greenhouses, aggregating sixty-
thousand square feet of glass roof. Here they
make a specialty of roses and chrysanthe-
mums, to which about six acres of land is de-
voted. The remainder of their purchase was
sub-divided into residence lots and many of
them have already been sold and improved.
To Mr. LaRoche is due great credit for the
development of this borough. It was he who
named the place and began its earliest improve-
ment, and in recognition of this fact he has
been familiarly termed •' the father of Colling-
dale." He cleared out the ground and has
erected sixty houses, having several more now
under contract. He built and for some time
conducted the wood turning factory at this
place, under the style of the Collingdale Man-
ufacturing Company, but later sold the plant
and business to his brother-in-law, OttoW'and,
who has since conducted a prosperous busi-
ness here. (See his sketch.) Collingdale now
has a population of six hundred, and is one of
the most enterprising and picturesque villages
in Delaware county.
Since embarking in business for himself
Mr. LaRoche has been peculiarh' fortunate in
all his undertakings, but his success is due to
untiring industry and a disposition to carry
out to its completion every enterprise in which
he engages. He is now president of the
Llewellyn Improvement Compan}' and of the
Collingdale Land & Improvement Companj-,
and was until recently a director in the Darby
National bank, a position he resigned on ac-
count of a pressure of other business. He is
a director in the Sharon Hill Building asso-
ciation, and occupies a like position in the
Darby Building association.
On June i, 1882, Mr. LaRoche was united
in marriage to Amelia A. J. Pabst, a daughter
of John Pabst, a prominent liquor dealer of
Germantown. To Mr. and Mrs. LaRoche
have been born four children : Maximilian
J. C, Albert S., Arthur W. and F. O.
In political sentiment Mr. LaRoche has al-
ways been a republican, and his energetic
nature has led him into active participation in
local politics. He has served as burgess of
Collingdale continuously since its formation in
i8gi, at which time the borough government
was first organized, and has been a member of
the county Republican committee one term,
and served as delegate to a number of county
conventions. Sev. ral times he has been urged
to become a candidate for county otEces, but
has always been too busy to entertain the idea.
He is a 32d degree Alason, and for \ears has
taken an active interest in the work of that
order. Mr. LaRoche is also a member of the
Pennsylvania Horticultural society: the Phil-
adelphia Floral club ; the old Mannorchor,
one of the oldest singing societies of Philadel-
phia : the Harmonic Singing society ; the
Philadelphia Trades league, and the German
singing society. His membership in these
musical organizations is said to be mainly due
to the influence and persuasion of his particu-
lar friend, Gen. Louis Wagner, of Philadel-
phia. M. F. LaRoche was on February 20,
1894, re-elected burgess at Collingdale.
FRANK SCHMIDT, a prosperous bus-
iness man, and a member of the firm
of Schmidt Brothers, of Chester city, is a son
of Michael and Caroline (Muller) Schmidt,
and was born in the city of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, ^March 22, 1861. Michael
Schmidt came from his native province of
Baden Baden, Germany, to Philadelphia. He
was a beer brewer by occupation, and had
worked in large breweries in German}', where
he had acquired a thorough knowledge of beer
brewing. He worked for some time in the
Philadelphia breweries, and then engaged in
the hotel business, which he followed uninter-
ruptedly and successfully until his death,
which occurred February ig, i86g, when he
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
171
was in tlie fortj'-sixth jear of his age. He
was a member of the Lutheran church, and
married Caroline Muller, who passed away
May lo, 1876, at forty-five years of age. They
had five children ; Henry, Frank, Joseph,
Charles, and Lewis.
Frank Schmidt grew to manhood in his
native city of Philadelphia, where he received
his education in the public schools. Leaving
school at twelve years of age, he was employed
in various business establishments until 1888,
when he embarked with his brother, Henry,
in the grocery and butchering business in
Chester city, at No. 822 Edgmont avenue,
under the firm name of Schmidt Brothers.
They own their establishment and do a large
and regular business. Their house is reliable,
and has the well merited confidence of all
classes of the public. They have a large and
well selected stock of groceries and provisions,
and are fitted with all needed conveniences
for the storage, display and handling of their
goods. They make a specialty in some lines
of goods, and handle nothing but what is suited
to the wants of the public. Mr. Schmidt is a
democrat in politics, but gives his time prin-
cipally to business and not to politics, although
he never neglects to give his party a proper
and earnest support.
On December 17, 18S3, Mr. Schmidt mar-
ried Annie Moore, a daughter of William
Moore, of NetherProvidence, Delaware count}'.
Their union has been blessed with six children,
four sons and two daughters : Willie, Frank,
Carrie, Walter, Ellen, and James.
JAMES IRVIN TAYLOR, a prom
inent contractor and builder of Chester,
who takes rank with the most enterprising
and successful young business men in this
city, is the eldest son of Robert and Lydia
E. (Howard) Taylor, and was born August
5, 1863, in Middletown township, Delaware
county, Pennsylvania. This family is of En-
glish descent, and was transplanted to Amer-
ican soil in colonial days, its first representa-
tive on this side the Atlantic being Robert
Taylor, who left Scotland while yet a young
man to try his fortune in the new world, which
was then a subject of such romantic interest
in the old. It was prior to our Revolutionary
struggle that he established himself with his
young wife in the city of Philadelphia, where
he engaged in teaching for a number of years,
having acquired an excellent education in his
native land, and became quite prosperous.
He reared a large family of children, among
whom was a son named Robert Taylor (great-
grandfather), who, after attaining manhood,
removed from Philadelphia to Chester county,
where he spent the remainder of his life. His
son, William Taylor (grandfather), was born
in Chester county, and resided there until
about 1857, when he became a resident of the
city of Chester, in Delaware county, where he
still lives, being now in the seventy-ninth year
of his age. For many years he was actively
engaged in mercantile pursuits, but retired
about 1870, and since then has been living in
quiet comfort at his home in this city. In
politics he was formerly a republican, but in
recent years has been an ardent prohibition-
ist. He is a member of the Madison Street
Methodist Episcopal church, and in 1836
married Jane Boyd, who bore him a family of
seven children, and is still living, being now
in her eight)'-third year. In 1886 they cele-
brated their golden wedding in fine style, sur-
rounded by their children and grandchildren.
Of their seven children, the three eldest were
sons: James W., Robert, and Henry. Their
daughters were : Eliza, Mary, Kate, and Han-
nah.
Robert Taylor, father of the subject of this
sketch, was born at New London, Chester
county, Pennsylvania, in 1838, and received
a good English education in the public schools.
After leaving school he engaged in farming
for a time in Middletown township, this county,
and then began contracting and building,
which he conducted successfullj' for several
172
BIOGRAPHY AND lUSTORY
years. In 1884 he removed to the city of
Chester, where for four years he carried on
contracting and building, and in the year be-
fore his demise built over ninet3-seven thous-
and dollars worth of houses. He was a man
of fine mechanical abilitj- and excellent busi-
ness qualifications, and met with good success
in his various enterprises. But it was as a
friend and neighbor, and in his church rela-
tions, that he will be longest and most ten-
derly' remembered. He was converted and
joined the Methodist Episcopal church in
1857, and from that time until his death, in
1891, he led a consistent and faithful Christian
life, endearing himself to all who knew him
by his amiable personal qualities and his
earnest devotion to religious duty. For a
number of years he had been a member and
trustee of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church
in Chester, and superintendent of the Sabbath
school, and at his death a set of resolutions
were adopted by the church, testifying to his
manly character, his great devotion to the cause
of Christ, and the unusual regard and affection-
ate remembrance in which he was held b}' his
neighbors and co-workers in the church. Ad-
dresses were also made on the occasion by
his pastor, Rev. W. M. Ridgway, John D.
Burns, S. M. Challenger, John Lilley, jr.,
Jesse J. Morgan, Laura B. Smith, and others,
each paying a tribute to his character as a
man and Christian, and his great personal
worth. He was a strong advocate of temper-
ance principles, and voted the prohibition
ticket. He was a member of the Junior A.
P. A., and of Benevolent Lodge, No. 50, In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and it is
said would never accept a cent of benefits
from either order. In 1862 he married Lydia
E. Howard, a daughter of Benjamin and Hen-
rietta Howard, of English descent, and to
them was born a family of five children :
James Irvin, whose name heads this sketch ;
William H., Howard D., Ruth W., and
Charles W. Mrs. Taylor is a native of Amer-
ica, of English descent, and now resides at
Chester, Pennsylvania, in the fifty-third year
of her age.
James Irvin Taj'lor grew to manhood in this
county, and received his earl}' education in
the public schools. At the age of eleven he
left the school room to work in a woolen mill,
but when seventeen he embraced an oppor-
tunity to improve his education, and for one
term attended the West Chester State Normal
school. He then began learning the trade of
carpenter with John B. Rhoades, of Aston,
finishing it at Chester, and after serving an
apprenticeship of three years he worked in
the outskirts of Philadelphia until his father
went into business in Chester, when he went
with him until 1890, and then he took a build-
ing contract on his own account. Mr. Taylor
followed building and contracting until after
his father's death, when he formed a partner-
ship with his younger brother, Howard D.
Taylor, under the firm name of J. I. Taylor &
Brother, and thej' erected twenty-two large
houses during the first year. The firm was
then dissolved, and Mr. Taylor resumed busi-
ness in his own name. During 1892 he built
thirt3'-two houses, beside much jobbing and re-
pair work, and in 1893 constructed twenty-five
buildings. This was a year of great business
depression. He usually employs about four-
teen carpenters and a number of other laborers.
On the 5th of October, 1887, Mr. Taylor
was wedded to Emma Beaumont, youngest
daughter of Richard and Hannah ( Mills)
Beaumont, lately from England. To Mr. and
Mrs. Tajlor have been born three children,
two sons and a daughter : Robert Leslie,
Helen B., and Paul Irvin.
Mr. Taylor is a member of Madison Street
Methodist church and a number of societies,
among which is the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, Independent Order of Hepta-
sophs, and Free and Accepted Masons. In
politics J. Irvin Taylor is independent, voting
only for such men and measures as in his
judgment are best calculated to subserve the
public good. For a number of years he has
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
173
been interested in the subject of phrenology,
and in 1886 took a course in the American
Institute of Phrenology, in the city of New
York, from which he was graduated in the
autumn of that year. While he has never
sought to make a professional use of his
knowledge, preferring to devote his attention
entirely to his successful business, he has
nevertheless kept himself well posted on the
progress made in that science, still feels much
interest in the subject, and is a fine practical
phrenologist.
TOH> RHOADES CULLING-
^ WORTH, of the city of Chester, is a
direct descendant of an old English family
which has been prominent in the locality of
Manchester, England, for many generations.
He is a son of William and Mary (Rhoades)
Cullingworth, and was born November g, 1839,
in the city of Philadelphia. His paternal
grandfather, John Cullingworth, w^as a native
of Manchester, England, and died there about
1S25. \\'illiam Cullingworth (father) was
also born and reared in that city, his natal day
being October 12, i8og. After attaining man-
hood he learned the trade of machinist, and
about 1829 came to the United States, settling
in Delaware county, Pennsylvania. He owned
a machine shop in Philadelphia, which he oper-
ated from 1848 to 1856. Later he formed a
partnership with a Mr. Holcraft, under the
firm name of Cullingworth & Holcraft, and
this firm succeeded Samuel Bancroft in busi-
ness at Ridley Creek. Here they continued
business for a short time, when Mr. Culling-
worth withdrew and removed to Philadelphia
to accept a position as machinist in the navy
yard in that city. He continued to reside in
Philadelphia until 1889, when he went to live
with his daughter, Mrs. Annie Johnson, at
Boothwynn. He is a republican in politics,
and a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. In 1834 he married Mary
Rhoades, a native of England, and a daugh-
ter of John Rhoades. To them was born a
family of nine children : Anna, who was acci-
dentally drowned in Chester creek in 1845 ;
George, born August 24, 1837; John R., the
subject of this sketch ; William, born in 1841 ;
Mary Ward, born July 3, 1844 ; Jennie Scho-
field, born December 26, 1845 ; Albeit, born
in 1847 ; Samuel, and Anna Johnston. Mrs.
Mary Cullingworth died March 17, 1891, aged
seventy nine years.
John Rhoades Cullingworth was reared in
Philadelphia, and principal!)' educated in the
superior public schools of that city. He left
school at the age of eighteen to learn the trade
of molder with Thomas Wood Sc. Brother, in
Philadelphia, and has worked at his trade ever
since in various parts of the country. Since
1876 he has been in the employ of Robert
Wetherell & Co., at Chester, and has been
foreman in their foundry department for nearly
seventeen years of that time.
On the 22d of April, 1861, Mr. Cullingworth
enlisted in the 22d Pennsylvania infantry for
three months, but was in no regular battle
during his first enlistment. When his time
expired he re-enlisted in Co. H, 121st Penn-
sylvania infantry, with which he took part in
the battle of Fredericksburg and a number of
other engagements, and was later discharged
on account of disability. On September 3,
1864, he enlittcd for the third time, becoming
a member of Co. E, 203d Pennsylvania in-
fantry, and with that company participated in
the battle of Fort Fisher, and numerous minor
engagements. He was finally mustered out of
service on June 24, 1865, at Philadelphia, and
returned to Pennsylvania.
John R. Cullingworth was married on Aug-
ust 12, 1865, to Joanna Mahanney, a daughter
of P. Mahanney. To Mr. and Mrs. Culling-
worth have been born four children : Harry
N., William, Nellie, and Anna May.
Politically Mr. Cullingworth is an ardent
democrat, but I'as never found time to devote
much attention to politics. He was elected
to the position of school director in the fall of
1T4
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
1893, and is now serving in that capacity. For
some time lie has been a director in the Home
Building and Loan association of Chester :
is a member of \\'ilde Post, No. 25, Grand
Army of the Republic, and has been a Master
Mason since 1S66. He now holds member-
ship in Clearfield Lodge, No. 314, Free and
Accepted Masons ; Chester Chapter, No. 258,
Royal Arch Masons ; and St. John Command-
ery. No. 4, Knights Templar. IVfr. Culling-
worth is past master of the blue lodge, and
past high priest of his chapter.
QLTFFORD T. LOUGHEAD, the
^^ only representative of his faniil_vat Marcus
Hook, and who has held a number of official
positions here in recent years, is a son of
R. A. and Susan (Burns) Loughead, and was
born February 28, 1846, at Linwood, in Lower
Chichester township, Delaware county, Penn-
sylvania. The family is of Scotch descent, and
have long been resident in the Keystone State.
R. A. Loughead (father) was a native of
Christiana township, Lancaster county, this
State, born in 1821, and was reared and edu-
cated there. At the age of seventeen he left
school to become a clerk in the mercantile
establishment of Amos Slaj'maker, at Christi-
ana, Pennsylvania, in which business he soon
displayed remarkable abilit}-, and in which he
continued for a period of fourteen years. He
afterward engaged in general merchandising
at Marcus Hook, Delaware county, for a
number of years, his being one of the first ten
houses constructed at that place. He was an
architect of considerable ability, and planned
nian^' of the early buildings erected at Marcus
Hook. In 1850 he began the manufacture of
ice cream by steam at that place, probablv the
first enterprise of the kind ever attempted in
this county. In connection with this he was
also extensively engaged in manufacturing
sausage and scrapple, supplying all the stores
in the city of Chester at that time. He evinced
great ability in the managenicr.t of all liis
various enterprises and became very success-
ful, continuing his activity until 18S6, when
he retired from all business pursuits and spent
his last days in quiet comfort. Politically he
was a lifelong democrat, and for many years
took an active part in local politics. He was
commissioned a justice of the peace in 1861,
and served in that capacity continuously until
his death, in i8gi — a period of thirtv jears —
being at the time of his death one of the oldest
acting justices in the State of Pennsylvania.
He Avas a strong temperance advocate, and
was the author of the measure presented by
his representative, Hon. Y. S. Walters, in the
State legislature, prohibiting the practice of
treating at the bar. and which measure was
only defeated b)' a small majority. At one
time or another he held all the offices of his
township, and was several times prominently
spoken of as a candidate for the State assem-
bly. In religion he was a member of the
Presbyterian church, and at one time was a
very active member of the Knights of Tem-
perance in this county. He was twice mar-
ried. His first wife was Susan Burns, a
daughter of Gideon Burns, of Marcus Hook,
and to them was born a family of six children,
four sons and two daughters : Charles, de-
ceased ; Henry A , Susan, Clifford T., Sallie,
and Howard. His second wife was Elizabeth
Drusick, who is now a resident of Marcus
Hook.
Clifford T. Loughead is a butcher by trade,
which business he learned with his father at
Marcus Hook. He was reared in this county,
and obtained his education in the public
schools. In addition to his trade as butclier
he also learned house painting, and worked at
that for some time, though butchering has
been his principal occupation all his life. He
is now in the employ of J. E. Green, at Mar-
cus Hook.
Politically Mr. Loughead adheres to the
traditions of his faniilj' and is an ardent dem-
ocrat. He is a member of L. H. Scott Lodge,
No. 352, Free and Accepted Masons; Inde-
J
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
175
pendent Order of Odd Fellows ; Lodge No.
499, Knights of Pythias; and 738, Junior
Order United American Mechanics. He has
served as school director at Marcus Hook for
nine years, and has held the position of audi-
tor and various other local offices. He re-
sides at Linwood station, Marcus Hook, and
is now the only representative of the Longhead
family at this place, where his father's life
was principally spent, and which was the
scene of his greatest activity and most grati-
fying success.
T kEWIS N. AYOOD, senior member of
■^■^ the well known coal and lumber firm of
L. N. Wood & Brother, of Linwood, who have
yards also at Thurlow and Woodlyn, and are
interested in real estate and other enterprises,
is a son of Matthew and Susannah (Palmer)
Wood, and a native of Concord township, this
county, where he was born March 25, 1852.
The Woods are of direct English lineage,
Amos Wood, paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject of this sketch, having been born and
reared in old England, which country he left
about 1795 to make a new home in the new-
world. After arriving in America and looking
over the country for a short time he settled in
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, of which he
remained a citizen until his death, in 1855,
when in the fortieth year of his age. He was
a farmer by occupation, married ]Mary Slaugh-
ter, and had a family of eleven children, one
of his sons being Matthew Wood (father),
who was born in the city of Chester in 1819,
and grew to manhood there, receiving a good
common school education. While yet a young
man he purchased a large farm in Concord
township, this county, and engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits on an extensive scale. He
also owned and conducted a feed mill and saw
mill. Being a man of good judgment and
great energy of character, his labors met with
abundant reward, and after a successful career
of nearly forty years he sold his farm in 1888,
and removing to South Chester retired from
all active business. Since that time he has
been quietly enjoying the fruits of his industry
and good management, and is still hale and
hearty, though now in his seventy- sixth year.
For man}' years he affiliated with the Repub-
lican party, but latterly has been a stanch pro-
hibitionist. He filled different township offices
during his long residence in Concord township.
In 1843, at the age of twenty three years, he
married Susannah Palmer, a daughter of Jos-
eph Palmer, and a native of Concord town-
ship, this county. She died in 1857, aged
thirty-five years, leaving behind her a famil}'
of six children, three sons and three daugh-
ters: Anna M. Wood, John G. Wood, Ellen
Wood, Lewis N. Wood, Irwin D. Wood, Ida
Wood.
Lewis N. Wood remained on his father's
farm until seventeen years of age, meanwhile
attending the public schools, where he ob-
tained a good primary education, which was
afterward supplemented b\' a two years' course
at the Maplewood institute in Concordville.
Leaving school he served an apprenticeship
at the carpenter trade, and worked at that oc-
cupation until twenty-two years of age. He
then engaged in contracting and building on
his own account at Chester Heights, this
county, where he continued a successful busi-
ness for six years. In 1881 he formed a part-
nership with his younger brother, Irwin D.
Wood, under the firm name of L. N. Wood &
Brother, and they purchased their present coal
and lumber yard at Linwood. where they soon
had an extensive trade. Six 3ears later they
bought the coal and lumber business owned
by William Lewis, of South Chester, and after
three years admitted their brother, John G.
Wood, into partnership, and purchasing land
at Fairview, this count}', started a coal and
lumber yard at that place, on the Baltimore &
Ohio railroad. In 1893 they purchased the
Thurlow mills, at Thurlow Station, for the
purpose of moving their South Chester 3ards
on to this ground. Lewis N. and Irwin D.
176
BIOGEAPHY AND HISTORY
Wood are also the owners of the Linwood
Improvement Company, of Marcus Hook, and
are closelj' identified with the improvement
and development of this section. They also
own an elevator here for the storage of grain,
and are extensive dealers in feed and hard-
ware. In addition to coal and lumber, they
also handle doors, sliutters, blinds, sash, mould-
ings, lime, hair, plaster, cement, terra cotta,
phosphates, paints, glass, and all kinds of
builders' supplies.
On December 5, 1872, Lewis N. ^^'ood was
wedded to Carrie C. Hance, a daughter of
Thomas Hance, a prosperous farmer of Aston
township, this county. To them has been
born a famih' of five children, four sons and a
daughter: Walter L., Howard J., Edwin T. ,
Roger M., and\'iolaC. Politically Mr. Wood
is now an ardent prohibitionist, but was form-
erly a republican. He is among the most
successful and popular business men of Dela-
ware count}', and deservedly takes high rank
as a public spirited and useful citizen. He
now lives in the handsome and elegantly ap-
pointed residence which he erected at Lin-
wood in i8gi.
no BERT S. MAISOX, 31. D., a mem
ber of the medical staff of Chester hos-
pital, and a young and rising physician and
surgeon of abilit}-, skill and learning, is a son
of Rev. Dr. Charles A. and Ellen N. (Holt)
Maison, and was born in the city of Philadel-
phia, Penns\lvania. June 18, 1867. The Mai-
son family is of distinguished French-Hugue-
not descent. Hon. Leonard Maison (grand-
father) was a resident of near Poughkeepsie,
Dutchess count}'. New York, and served for
many years as a judge of the Supreme court
of that State. He was eminent and distin-
guished as a judge, and at his death left a
family of four children. One of his sons, Rev.
Charles A. Maison, D. D., is the father of Dr.
Robert S. Maison, and has been a resident of
Philadelphia for many years. Dr. Charles A.
Maison was graduated from Yale college in the
class of 1838, at the early age of twenty years,
and then read law with his father. He soon
abandoned the study of the law, and became
a student in the General Theological seminar)'
of New York, from which he was graduated at
the end of his course. He then entered the
ministrj' of the Episcopal church, having his
first charge in South Carolina. He next
served at Staten Island, and afterward became
rector of St. James Kingsessing church, West
Philadelphia, where he remained until 1S92,
when he resigned in order to retire from all
active ministerial labors and seek needed men-
tal rest in retirement and by travel. Rev. Dr.
Maison has been twice married. His first
wife was Ellen N. Holt, who was a daughter
of Philetus H. Holt, and died in March, 1883.
By his first marriage he had eight children,
four sons and four daughters: Philetus: Helen,
wife of Charles P. Sparkman; Julia; Charles,
deceased; Lydia,who married Rev. A. J. Arn-
old; Ann; Rev. William, rector of the Episco-
pal church of Goshen, Orange county, New
York; and Dr. Robert S., the subject of this
sketch.
Dr. Robert S. Maison received his elemen-
tary education in the Protestant Episcopal
academj' of Philadelphia, and in 1883 entered
the department of arts in the university of
Pennsj'lvania, from which he was graduated
in the class of 1887, at the age of nineteen
j'ears, with the degree of A. B. Immediately
after graduation he entered the medical de-
partment of the same university, from which
he was graduated at the age of twentj-two
years, in 1890, with the degree of M.D. Leav-
ing the university he commenced the practice
of his chosen profession in West Philadelphia,
which he left one year later, in i8gi, to be-
come a resident of Chester city. He owns a
handsome residence at No. 521 West Seventh
street, where he resides and has his office.
Dr. Maison does a general practice, but makes
a specialty of nose and throat affections, in
whose treatment he has been remarkably sue-
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
177
cessful. He is building up a fine practice in
tlie cit}', and has already won recognition as a
skillful and successful physician. He is a
member of the D. Hays Surgical society, the
medical staff of Chester hospital, and the Del-
aware County Medical societ)-. Dr. Maison
is a member of the Beta Theta P., a general
college fraternity. He is a republican in poli-
tics. He has been serving for several months
as choir leader of St. Paul's Episcopal church,
and has sung in choirs ever since he was eight
years of age.
On October 27, 1892, Dr. Maison was united
in marriage with Emma Crozer Evans, daugh-
ter of Clarence and Louisa (Knowles) Evans,
of Upland, Pennsylvania.
\A>ILLIA3I CALHOUN, Jr., a prom
inent plumber of the town of Moore's,
this count}', and one of our most active and
enterprising citizens, is a son of William, sr.,
and Sophia (Hoe) Calhoun, and was born in
in the city of Philadelphia, June 30, i86g. The
famih is of remote Irish descent, but has been
settled in America since early in the eighteenth
century. William Calhoun (father) is also a
native of Philadelphia, where he was born in
1831. He received a good common school
education, and has been an industrious reader
of current literature all his life. He learned
the butcher business while young, and fol-
lowed that occupation for many years in Phil-
adelphia, becoming quite prosperous. In
1874 he purchased land in Delaware county,
where the town of Norwood now stands, and
mav be said to be the founder of that village,
having done more toward its improxement
and development than any other man within
its limits. While in Philadelphia he took an
active part in local politics, and served as a
member of the common and select councils of
that cit}' for several terms. He was appointed
by Governor Hartranft to the position of sealer
of weights and measures at Philadelphia, and
held that office for two terms. He is at pres-
ent largely engaged in the real estate business
at Norwood, where he still owns three hun-
dred fine building lots, beside a number of
valuable houses and lots at Moore's, this
county. Norwood is located on the Philadel-
phia, Wilmington & Baltimore railroad, and
is one of the most desirable residence towns
on that road. For many years Mr. Calhoun
has been a prominent member of Prospect
Lodge, No. 578, Free and Accepted Masons,
of Philadelphia, and is also a thirty-second
degree Mason, and is connected with the order
of the Mystic Shrine of Philadelphia.
In 1864 he wedded Sophia Hoe, a daughter
of Ann and Joseph Hoe, of Philadelphia. By
his second marriage he had a family of four
children, two sons and two daughters : Mamie,
Sophia, William, jr., and Joseph. Mrs. Sophia
Calhoun is a native of Philadelphia, and is now
in the forty-ninth year of her age.
William Calhoun, jr., was educated princi-
pall}- in the superior public schools of Phila-
delphia, and was afterward graduated from
the academj' conducted by Mrs. Knowles in
Norwood, as a member of the class of 1885.
After leaving school he served an apprentice-
ship of four and a half years at the plumbing
business, with Kline Brothers, corner Twelfth
and Willow streets, Philadelphia, and imme-
diately afterward began business for himself as
a plumber at Norwood, this county, where he
remained until 1892. In the latter \ear he re-
moved to Moore's, where he continued the busi-
ness very successfully, employing at the present
time about a dozen men and four teams, and
doing a business which annually aggregates
twenty thousand dollars. Inheriting good ex-
ecutive abilit}-, and haxing carefully prepared
himself for active life by a thorough mastery
of the details of his business, Mr. Calhoun,
jr., has been successful from the beginning of
his career, and can point with pride to the
work already accomplished as evidence of his
abilit\- and skill in his special line. He is an
industrious worker himself, and gives close
178
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOBY
personal attention to every department of his
complicated operations, thus insuring the best
work and rendering satisfaction to all his
patrons.
On June 26, 1893, William Calhoun, jr.,
was united in marriage with Clara McFarlin,
a daughter of Edward McFarlin, of Wilming-
ton, Delaware. In politics ;\Ir. Calhoun, jr.,
has always been an ardent republican, and
has frequently worked for the success of his
party at the polls in a manner that testified
his earnest devotion to the principles it rep-
resents. He is a member of Prospect Lodge,
No. 578, Free and Accepted Masons, and of
Chester Chapter, No. 258, I^o\al Arch Masons.
.JOHN 3IcCLURE, now living a retired,
life in the city of Chester, was for many
years connected with raihva}- construction in
this State and later as a successful farmer in
Lower Chichester township, this count}'. He
is the }oungest son of John and Sarah 1 Oliver);
McClure, and was born in County Donegal,'
Ireland, in the year 1816. The elder John
McClure was a farmer by occupation and a
member of the Episcopal church. He was
twice married. By his first wife he had three
sons and a daughter : Andrew, James, William
and one other. B\' his second wife, Sarah
Oliver, he had two sons and a daughter. The
sons were Thomas and John and the daughter
was Jane.
John McClure was reared in his native
county of Donegal until his eleventh year,
and obtained a good practical education, after
which he learned the trade of carpenter. In
1837 he came to America and soon afterward
engaged in railroad construction work, be-
coming foreman of a gang of men when only
twenty-one years of age. He followed rail-
road construction for a period of eighteen
years, having charge of large bodies of men
during much of that time. During this period
he carefull}' saved his wages and purchased a
a fine farm of fift^'-five acres in Lower Chi-
chester township, Delaware countv, Pennsyl-
vania, which he still owns and upon which he
resided for nearly thirty years. In 1877 he
removed to the city of Chester, where he now
lives retired from all active business, and en-
joying the fruits of a successful life whose
activities extended over more than fort}' years.
In politics Mr. McClure is a stanch repub-
lican, and while never taking a very active
part in political affairs, has always supported
the general policy of his party and been an
earnest protectionist. He is a member of the
Presbyterian church and has reared his famih'
in that faith.
On July 22, 1852, John McClure was mar-
ried to Fannie M. Williams, by whom he had
seven children: John C, born July 13, 1853,
:and died August 15th of the same year; Wil-
liam J., born June 20, 1854; Oliver C, born
January 10, 1856, was educated at Lafayette
college, studied law and practiced for a num-
ber of years at the bar of this county and in
Philadelphia, dying June 29, 1883; George
•W., deceased at the age of nineteen months;
John A., born June 30, i860, was a machinist
by trade, and died May ig, 1888; Robert G.,
born June 20, 1862, was a salesman and clerk
for some time, and died June 29, 1882, at the
age of twenty-three : and David B., who was
born April 20, 1865. On the 6th of February,
1870, Mrs. Fannie M. McClure passed peace-
fully to the tomb, sincerely mourned by her
family and a large circle of devoted friends,
who had been won by her kindness of heart
and many estimable qualities. In 1877 Mr.
McClure was again married, this time wed-
ding Anna Likens, a daughter of Daniel Lik-
ens, and a native of Delaware county. She
is now in the sixty-fifth year of her age. The}-
have had no children, and reside in their com-
fortable home at 711 West Third street, in
the city of Chester, surrounded by all the
comforts and many of the luxuries of modern
life, and highl}' respected as among the best
citizens of Delaware county.
THE ^f^-'^f "< '-''^
ASTOR, LflN")- , - •
R L
<=^..-
..Q^.<^A-:^A.
OF DEL A WAL'E COUXTy.
181
JOHN B. HIXKSOjV, the present pop-
ular, able and efficient mayor of the city
of Chester, who has been actively engaged in
the practice of the law since 1863, is a son of
Joseph H. and Lydia Ann (Edwards) Hink-
son, and was born October 2, 1840, in what is
now the first ward of the cit\' of Chester, Del-
aware count}', Pennsylvania. The family is
of remote German origin, though living in
Ireland and intermixed with old Irish stock
for several generations previous to being
planted in America. Tradition states that
three brothers of the name left Hanover, in
northern German)', early in the seventeenth
century, and settled in County Cavan, in the
north of Ireland, from whence came John
Hinkson and Jane his wife, with one son, and
settled in Providence township, Delaware
county, Pennsylvania. From him all the
Hinksons of the United States are descended.
In addition to the son whom they brought
with them, three sons and four daughters were
born to John and Jane Hinkson in this coun-
try : John, married Abigail Engle ; George,
married Catharine Fairlamb ; Thomas, mar-
ried Mary Worrilow ; James, married Eliza-
beth Crossle\- ; Jane, married Thomas D.
Weaver; Mary, died unmarried ; Sarah, mar-
ried William Hawkjns ; and Nancy, married
Joseph Dickerson. Their descendants are
now scattered through Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Illinois, Maryland, and some other States.
The children of John and Abigail ( Engle)
Hinkson (married in 1784) were: Frederick
James, who became a prominent financier of
this county ; Jane, married Ambrose Smed-
ley, and died in 1873. aged eight}'-nine ; Ann,
married David Baker : John, grandfather of
the subject of this sketch ; Mary, married
Abraham Hamor; Joseph, married Ann Black;
Orpha, married Jacob Evans; and Edward
Engle, who married Sarah Slawter. This
family are all deceased. The second son,
Hon. John Hinkson (grandfather), was born
and reared in this count)', where for a time
he followed agricultural pursuits and became
12
prominent and prosperous. He was a demo-
crat in politics and served as steward of the
Delaware county infirmary, and later as sheriff
of the county. He was also elected to a seat
in the assembl)-, and served with distinction
in that honorable body for one term, and also
occupied the positions of prothonotary, clerk
of the court, recorder and register of wills in
this county for a number of years, filling all
these offices with marked ability. He died at
his home here in 1844, in the fifty-fourth year
of his age. He was twice married, first to
Jemima Worral, and after her death to Orpha
Neide. His oldest son was Joseph H. Hink-
son (father), who was born in this county in
1817, and passed all his life here, dying in the
city of Chester in 1863, at the early age of
forty-seven. He was first a farmer and then
a successfnl lumber and coal dealer. Politi-
cally he was a stanch democrat, and served in
the city council of Chester and one term as
treasurer of Delaware county. In religion he
was a Presbyterian, and for a number of years
previous to his death had been a prominent
member of that church in this city. In 1840
he married Lydia Ann Edwards, a native of
this county, who now resides in the city of
Chester, in her eightieth year. She is a mem-
ber of the Presbyterian church, and is of Welsh
descent, her family being among the oldest
in Delaware county. To them was born a
family of children, five sons and two daugh-
ters, viz.: John B., Edward E., Mary E., Liz-
zie E. (wife of John R. Sweney, Musical Doc-
tor), Samuel E., Perciphor B., and Joseph H.
Edward and Mary died in childhood, Samuel
died in early manhood, and Perciphor B. and
Joseph H. in infancy.
John B. Hinkson grew to manhood in his
native city of Chester, receiving his education
in an academic institution here and at Lafay-
ette college, Easton, Pennsylvania, from which
he was graduated in the class of i860, with an
honorary degree. He then read law with Hon.
lohn M. Broomall. now of Media, and was
admitted to the bar in August, 1863. He has
18a
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
been in active and successful practice in this
citj' ever since, and has a large and important
clientage. Following the political traditions
of his family, Mr. Hinkson has always been
an ardent democrat, and occupies a prominent
place in the local councils of his part}'. He
has served as a member of the city council,
and in February, 1893, was eleted mayor of
Chester by a majority of two hundred and
thirty-three votes, although the republicans
have an average majority of six hundred in
the city. Since entering upon the duties of
his office he has given universal satisfaction
to the law abiding people of this city, and his
administration bids fair to go on record as one
of the ablest and best the city has ever known.
He still continues his law business.
On May 16. 1864, Maj'or Hinkson was united
in marriage to Kate W. Caldwell, youngest
daughter of John A. Caldwell, of the city of
Chester. To their union was born a family of
five children, four sons and a daughter: Jos-
eph H., now practicing law with his father;
John C, who is also a law3'er and trust and
title officer in the Delaware Trust, Safe De-
posit and Title Insurance Company, of this
city; -Ailfred H., who died when about eigh-
teen years of age; Ridgely G., a mechanical
draughtsman: and Mary E., living at home
with her parents. Both Mayor and Mrs.
Hinkson are members of the Third Presby-
terian church of Chester, in which Mr. Hink-
son is serving as elder and trustee.
QAFT. WILLIA3I H. WILLI A3IS,
^^ the popular and prosperous proprietor of
the splendid hotel known as the Beale house,
in the city of Chester, is a son of Benjamin
M. and Jane (Clark) Williams, and was born
August 3, 1848, in Lower Providence town-
ship, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. He
roamed the fields and attended the district
school until his ninth ^ear, when his parents
left the farm and removed to Chester, where
young Williams attended the public schools
up to his fifteenth 3'ear, under the tutelage
respectively of James Riddle, Harry H. For-
wood, the latter then teaching at Oak Grove
school on Twentj'-fourth street. Leaving
school in 1863, he went to work in what was
known as the old Jail mill, on the present site
of Lincoln hall and the farmers" market.
There he remained until July, 1864, when his
patriotic ardor was so aroused by the daily
sound of martial music as men marched out
to war, and the faint echoing of distant can-
non on the far off Virginia battle fields, that
two days after the celebration of the National
birthday, marred as it was by the smoke and
strife and slaughter of the civil war, he has-
tened to the recruiting tent and enrolled his
name among the members of ex-ma)'or James
Barton's company of infantry. He served in
that company' until September4th, when he re-
enlisted in the 15th Pennsylvania cavalry, and
served with that organization till the close of
the war, being discharged at Nashville, Ten-
nessee, June 27, 1865. Returning to Chester
he began learning the carpenter trade with
John Shedwick & Son, and worked at that oc-
cupation for twelve years. In 1876 he stowed
! away his tools and accepted a position as clerk
at the Chester house, now the Colonnade hotel,
then conducted bj- Greenfield & Phillips. In
1879, with a capital of fifty dollars saved from
his wages, he branched out in business for
himself, leasing the Fulton house, at the cor-
ner of Front and Fulton streets. He sold his
lease and furniture in the fall of the same year
and returned to his trade, taking charge of the
gang of coopers and carpenters at the sugar
mills, then in full operation. In the spring of
1881 he resumed the hotel business by leasing
the Delaware house on Penn street, and re-
mained there four years. In 1865 he leased
the Beale house, which he has ever since suc-
cessfully conducted, and to which he has made
a number of important and extensive improve-
ments. It is now one of the leading and best
patronized hotels in this city, being centrally
located, directly opposite the Philadelphia,
OF DELA WARE COUNTY.
183
Wilmington & Baltimore railroad station,
within easy reach of the Baltimore & Ohio rail-
road station, convenient to river steamboats,
and only one minute's walk from the postoffice.
The house is large, comfortable, well furnished
and contains every modern convenience. Hot
and cold baths, electric bells, fans and lights ;
a restaurant, attentive waiters — these are a
few of the advantages which commend this
popular hotel to the general public.
On July 6, 1879, Captain Williams was mar-
ried to i\lary J. Standing, a daughter of Rich-
ard and Mary Ann ( Fletcher) Standing, of
Frankford, Philadelphia county, this State.
To Mr. and Mrs. Williams has been born two
daughters: Myrtle L. and Marion J. Richard
Standing, the father of Mrs. Williams, was a
native of England, who came to the United
States when twenty-one years of age, enlisted
in the Federal army in 1861, and died in the
military hospital at Newport News in 1863,
aged thirty-seven years. His wife, Mary Ann
Fletcher, was also born in England, and came
to America with her parents when only four
years of age. For more than thirty years she
was a devoted member of the Episcopal
church, and died at the residence of her son-
in-law in this city, March 16, 1887, aged sixty-
two years.
Politically William H. Williams has been a
life-long republican, and always active in fur-
thering the interests of his part}'. He has
been and is now a member of the county and
city executive committees, and in i88g was
elected city assessor, under the new charter,
polling one of the largest majorities ever ac-
corded a candidate in this city. In 1893 he
was a candidate for the nomination of county
treasurer, and, after a spirited contest, onl}'
failed by a few votes. He is a member of
Wilde Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Re-
public, of the Franklin Fire Company, Im-
proved Order of Red Men, Brotherhood of
the Union, Independent Order of Mechanics,
and several other fraternal organizations, in
several of which he has become quite prom-
inent. For five years he was a member of Co.
K, nth Pennsylvania National guards, into
which he was mustered as sergeant, promoted
to the rank of second lieutenant, and afterward
became captain.
The famil\- of which William H. Williams
is a representative was planted in America by
the great-grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, who came over from Wales as a Brit-
ish seaman. He was the onlv child of a Welsh
physician, but when a joung man ran away
from home to enlist in the English navy, with
which he came to this country during the
Revolutionary war. Shortl\ after arriving in
America he deserted from the English ships
and espoused the cause of the colonists.
After the war he settled in what is now Dela-
ware county, and passed the remainder of his
life here. His son (paternal grandfather) was
born and reared in this county. He was a
farmer by occupation, and served in the Mex-
ican war. He married and reared a family of
children, one of whom was Benjamin M. Wil-
liams (father), who was also a native of this
county, where he died August 10, 1890, in the
sixty seventh jear of his age. In early life he
learned the trade of carpenter, and for many
years was employed as a ship carpenter and
liner. He was a Jacksonian democrat in poli-
tics, and during the civil war served with the
emergencj' men as a member of the 29th Penn-
sylvania militia. For thirty-two years previous
to his death he had been a resident of the city
of Chester. By his marriage to Jane Clark he
had a family of eight children, six sons and
two daughters. Mrs. Jane Williams is a na-
tive of Ireland, and came to the United States
when sixteen years of age. She now resides
in the city of Chester, in the seventy-first year
of her age.
T kEVI (i. JA3IES, a well known resident
■^^ of Chester, and who has been success-
fullv engaged in various lines of business for
nearly fifty years, is a son of Eber and Sarah
(Garrett) James, and was born at Downing-
184
BlOaitAPHY AND HISTORY
town, Chester county, Pennsylvania, Septem-
ber 5, 1S27. The immigrant ancestor of the
James family was Aaron James, a native of
England, who came over with William Penn
in his second visit to his new planted colon}'
on the banks of the Delaware. Aaron James
settled in Westtown township, in Chester
count)', where he gave his time to farming and
owned a tract of six hundred acres of land,
which he had purchased from Penn. He was
a Quaker in religion and brought w.th him to
this country a family of thirteen children,
twelve sons and one daughter. One of his
sons went to Vermont, two to North Carolina,
while some removed to other States and sev-
eral remained in Chester county. The home-
stead remained in the hands of his descend-
ants for many years, and one of his grand-
sons was Caleb James, the great-grandfather
of the subject of this sketch. Caleb James
was born and reared on the old homestead.
He was a whig and Quaker, and lived on the
farm until his death in 1835, at the remarkable
age of one hundred years. He married and
reared a family of four children, three sons
and one daughter: Caleb, jr., Joseph, Lydia
and Aaron. Of these children, Lydia never
married, and Caleb, jr. (grandfather), always
remained on the home farm. He was a whig,
a farmer and a Quaker, and died in 1816, aged
forty years. He wedded Mary Yearsley, and
to their union were born six children, two
sons and four daughters : Susanna, who never
married ; Eben (father); Esther, who died un-
married ; Asenath, wife of Sharpless Lewis;
and Mary, who never married. Eben James
(father) was reared on his father's farm and
learned his trade at Westtown, Chester county,
the trade of potter, which he followed in his
own section until April, 1830, when he re-
moved to Radnor township, Delaware county.
He there continued to follow his trade up to
his death, which occurred in 1846, when he
was in the forty-sixth year of his age. He
was a whig politically, had held a number of
township offices and always took active inter-
est in political affairs. He was a Quaker in
religion, and married Sarah Garrett, a daugh-
ter of Levi Garrett, of Willistown, Chester
county. Mrs. Sarah James lived to be sixty-
six years of age, dying in 1871. To Mr. and
Mrs. James were born eleven children : Caleb,
Garrett, Levi G., Emeline, Mary A. Baldwin,
Edwin, Elizabeth Hughes, Eber. jr., Wilmer,
Sarah Lear and Marshall.
Levi G. James, although a native of Ches-
ter, yet grew to manhood in Delaware county,
and received his education in the common
schools and the well known Castleton academ\'^
of Vermont. Leaving the academy he en-
gaged in the pottery business in Radnor town-
ship, but soon left that line of work to embark-
in merchandising, which he followed success-
fully in various parts of the State for nineteen
years. At the end of that time (in 1871) he
came to Chester, where he purchased a lot
and erected the present postoffice building.
He also erected large livery stables, and has
done ever since a large sale and exchange
business in horses. Mr. James owns a fine
and fertile farm of sixty acres in the rich and
beautiful Cumberland valley. He is a repub-
lican in politics, has held numerous local
offices, and is now serving on his seventeenth
consecutive year as school director.
In 1848 Mr. James wedded Sarah Worrall,
daughter of Elisha and Mary Marshall Wor-
rall, of Delaware county. To their union have
been born five children : Anna Delia Tritt,
who now resides in the city of Brooklyn,
New York; Calista Sharp, a resident of
Cumberland county, Pennsylvania; Emerett,
whose husband, W. H. Farley, is engaged in
the drug business in Chester; Carleton, «ho
married Laura Larkin, a granddaughter of
ex-Mayor Larkin, and resides in the city of
Chester; and Razell, who married Nellie Birt-
well, a daughter of H. B. Birtwell, proprietor
of Ridley Creek iron works, and is engaged
in business with his father, under the firm
name of L. G. James & Son. Mr. James'
wife died in 1883, and he was again married
OF DEL A WABE COUNTY.
185
in 1886 to Mary Cobourn, of Chester, Penn-
sylvania.
For nearly' lialf a- century Levi G. James
has maintained the cliaracter of an upright
and intelligent business man. In his exten-
sive dealings and present enterprise he has
always been and is noted for judgment, pru-
dence, honesty and foresight.
FREDERICK BALDT, the eminent
steel caster, who is now manager of the
Penn Steel Casting & Machine Company's
plant in Chester, this countj', and has won an
international reputation by his skill and ability,
is a son of William and Elizabeth ( I^ainter)
Baldt, and was born in the city of Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania, June 17, 1841. His par-
ents were both natives of that city and died
there, the father in 1883, aged eighty-two
years, and the mother in 1864, of cholera, in
her seventy-first year. The Baldt family was
planted in this country by Frederick Baldt,
paternal grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, who was a native of Germany, where
he was reared and educated. While ^et a
3'oung man he left the Fatherland, and, cross-
ing the broad Atlantic, settled in the city of
Philadelphia, where he became a market gar-
dener, and possessing a goodly share of the
thrift and industry that characterize the Ger-
man race, he succeeded well and accumulated
considerable property. He served as a soldier
in tlie war of 181 2, and lived to be eighty-
eight years of age, dying at his home in Phil-
adelphia about 1857. He married Christian
Wolfe, and reared a family of nine children.
His son, William Baldt (father), learned the
trade of house carpenter when a young man,
and followed that occupation successfull\-
nearly all his life. He was a democrat in
politics, and by his marriage to Eli/.abeth
Painter, had a family of seven children, four
sons and three daughters : Christian, William,
Henrj', Mary, Anna, John and Frederick. The
maternal grandfather of Mr. Baldt, Peter
V2,i
Painter, was also a native of Germany, who
came to the United States about the time that
Frederick Baldt arrived, and, like the latter,
settled in Philadelphia, engaged in market
gardening, and served in the American army
during the war of 181 2.
In his native city of Philadelphia the sub-
ject of this sketch grew to manhood, and to
the excellent public schools of that city he is
indebted for the superior English education
he obtained. He early manifested a predilec-
tion for machinery and work among the metals,
and upon leaving school began an apprentice-
ship to the molder's trade in the old Penn
works of Reamy, Mafie & Levy, in the citj- of
Philadelphia. Coming to his work with in-
telligent enthusiasm and pursuing it with en-
ergy and industry, it was not long till he be-
came a successful molder, and he rapidly
acquired large theoretical knowledge as well
as great practical skill in handling iron and
steel. In 1864, at the age of twent3'-three, he
came to Chester to assume the management
of the foundry that had been started he're by
Ream}', Son & Archibald, and remained in
charge of that foundry until 1870, when it was
sold to the late John Roach, the well-known
ship-builder. For a short time he managed
the foundry for Mr. Roach, but in October,
1870, returned to Philadelphia to take charge
of what was known as the People's foundry,
which he managed until January, 1871, when
he came back to this city and assumed charge
of the Chester Steel Casting Company's works,
which had until then been unable to make a
success of steel casting. He soon had this
plant turning out standard steel, and it scored
a big financial success. Mr. Baldt remained
with this company until 1875, when he organ-
ized the Eureka Cast Steel Company, of this
city, and, being elected its general manager,
continued in charge of its operations up to
March, 1886, during which time it did a large
and prosperous business, becoming one of the
most successful concerns of the kind in Penn-
sylvania. The Standard Steel Casting Com-
186
BIOGMAPHY AND HISTORY
pany of Thurlow, this county, having failed
to make a success of steel casting, its presi-
dent, Mr. Robert Wetherill, engaged Mr.
Baldt to take charge of its plant in March,
1886, and in a short time he succeeded in giv-
ing these works a national reputation on ac-
count of the superiority of the steel castings
produced. While with this company Mr.
Baldt made for the United States government
the first six-inch high pressure rifled cannon
that had ever stood the required test, and also
made at that plant the castings for the govern-
ment cruisers. Here were made the hull and
engine castings for the steamships Baltimore,
Philadelphia, Newark, Petrel, Vesuvius, Maine,
Texas, Birmington and Concord, and part of
the castings used on the New York. People
came even from Europe to see these castings,
which were admitted to be superior to any-
thing of the kind then produced. Mr. Baldt
continued to manage the plant of the Standard
Steel Casting Company until January, i8gi,
when he retired to his farm in Maryland, and
remained there one year. In 1892 he returned
to Chester, Pennsylvania, and was instrumental
in organizing the Penn Steel Casting & Ma-
chine Company, of which M. H. Bickley is
president, John T. Dickson is secretary, and
H. B. Black is treasurer. Upon the organi-
zation of this compan}' Mr. Baldt was made
general manager, and has ably filled that po-
sition to the present time. The company pur-
chased the old Chester Foundry & Machine
Company's plant at the corner of Front and
Penn streets, and enlarged and otherwise im-
proved it until they now have one of the largest
works of this character to be found in the Ke\ -
stone State. This plant has the capacity for
producing the largest steel castings ever made
or used in the world, and the superior excel-
lence of its product is everywhere conceded.
Its business has been a conspicuous success
almost from the start, and in its management
Mr. Baldt has served his fourth professional
and financial triumph, either one of which
would have made the reputation and satisfied
the ambition of most men of affairs. By giv-
ing his attention mainlj' to his special line, and
doing everything he undertook in the best pos-
sible manner, Mr. Baldt has won a place in
the very front rank of practical steel workers,
and his abilit)' and skill is known and recog-
nized, not only in this countr}', but in Europe
and wherever fine machinerj- is made or used.
He takes a pardonable pride in the fact that
every steel casting plant with which he has
ever been connected has proved a marked suc-
cess, and no failure has ever thrown its sombre
shadows across his career as a successful
worker in iron and steel.
On January 29, i860, in the city of Phila-
delphia, Mr. Baldt was united in marriage to
Susan MacKinley, a daughter ef Archibald
MacKinley, of that city. To Mr. and Mrs.
Baldt was born a family of seven children,
three sons and four daughters: Anna A.,
George W., Elizabeth, Frederick, jr., Kate
H., John Mack and Flora M. In his political
affiliations Mr. Baldt has been a life-long
democrat, and for a number of years has been
a member of Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free
and Accepted Masons.
TA/ILLIA3I P. LAD03ILS, the well
known jeweler of Chester city and Ocean
Grove, and one of the prominent democratic
leaders and politicians of Delaware count}', is
a son of Joseph and Henrietta ( Powell) Lad-
omus, and was born July 27, 1852, in the city
of Chester, Delaware county, Pennsylvania.
The Ladomus family trace their transatlantic
origin to France, where Charles A. Ladomus,
paternal grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, and a scion of French nobility, was
born. He happened on perilous times, and in
the confusion attending one of the French
revolutions, his mother, who had been left a
widow, fled with her son to Germany, where
he was reared. After attaining his majorit}-,
being tall of stature and a fine specimen of
perfect physical manhood, he enlisted in the
OF DELA ]VAIiE COl^XTY.
187
grand army of the first Napoleon, and was soon
elected to act as interpreter for that mighty
man of genius. He became a great admirer
of Napoleon, participated in a number of his
famous battles, and followed his fortunes for
several years. Of his two brothers, one was
an officer under Napoleon I., and the other an
eminent educator, who founded an educational
institution in the city of Carlsruhe, Germany.
Charles A. Ladomus was highly educated,
spoke a number of languages, understood
mathematics, astronomy and music, and was
aptly described as a "walking cyclopedia."
In youth he had learned the business of silver-
smith, and, after leaving the French army,
became one of the first watchmakers in Eu-
rope, He came to the United States in 1822,
and in 1824 located at Chester, Delaware
county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in
the jewelry business, and carried on that trade
here until he was succeeded by his son, Joseph
Ladomus. who still conducts the business in
this city.
Joseph Ladomus (father) was born at Ches-
ter, this county, in 1828, and has all his life
been a resident of this city. He engaged in
the jewelry business with his father, and has
devoted nearly all his life to that trade. For
fifty-one years he has occupied his present
stand at No. 320 Market street, and is known
by reputation at least to every man, woman
and child in Delaware count}-. His jewelry
store is one of the old landmarks of the city,
and few indeed remain of the men who were
active here when Mr. Ladomus began his busi-
ness career. He not only has the oldest but
also the largest jewelry store in the city of
Chester, and carries a fine selected stock. In
1S63 he served for three months with the
emergency men called out by the governor to
protect Pennsylvania interests against the
threatened invasion of Confederate forces.
In 1S50 he married Henrietta Powell, a daugh-
ter of Henry L. Powell, of this cit\', and by
that union had a famiiy of four children, all
sons: Charles H.,who is now city engineer of
Chester , Bonsai], first assistant in the city en-
gineer's office, also borough surveyor of South
Chester and superintendent of Ridley park ;
William P., the subject of this sketch ; and Jos-
eph H., watchmaker. Mrs. Henrietta Ladomus
was born in the city of Chester, is a member
of the Episcopal church, and is now in the
sixtieth year of her age. Her father, Henry
L. Powell (maternal grandfather), is a native
of Delaware State, who settled in this cit}'
when a j'oung man, and has resided here ever
since. He is now in his eighty-fourth year.
William P. Ladomus was educated in the
public schools and at Professor Gilbert's fam-
ous academy. Leaving school he entered his
father's jewelry store and learned the jeweler's
trade, and has continued in business with his
father to the present time. During the sum-
mer months Mr. Ladomus runs a jewelry store
on his own account at Ocean Grove, New
Jersey, where he has become well known and
extremely popular. Reared in a democratic
atmosphere and imbibing its doctrines from
his earliest years, he has always adhered to
that political partw In 1864 he ran away from
home and proceeded to Philadelphia to enter
the army as a drummer boy, but upon reach-
ing headquarters was refused on account of his
extreme youth. In the summer of that year
and in 1865 he served as a volunteer nurse in
the Chester hospital, attending the sick and
wounded soldiers therein for several months
without pay. The first public office held by
Mr. Ladomus was that of judge of elections
in 1878, although as a lad he had frequently
made out the window books for the elections.
In 1882 he was elected city treasurer here, and
reelected in i884. He received the democratic
nomination for city assessor in 1879 and was
elected at the polls. In 1880 he was again
nominated for city treasurer and defeated. In
1882 he was elected city treasurer, and in 1884
reelected. He was elected a member of the
citv council for three years in 1888, and in
1889 received the nomination for city treas-
urer, but was defeated by Henry Hinkson, the
188
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
present incumbent. In February, i8gi, Mr.
Ladomus was again elected as a member of
the city council, and upon the expiration of
his term in 1893 was reelected to that position
for another term of three years.
On October 14, 1882, Mr. Ladomus was
united in marriage with Mary S. Hoffman, a
daughter of Samuel V. Hoffman, of the city
of Chester. Their union has been blessed by
the birth of two children, one son and a daugh-
ter : Baxter M. and Marion H. Mr. Ladomus
is a member of Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free
and Accepted Masons, and also of the Roj'al
Arcanum and Patriotic Order Sons of America.
QEOR(iE WIEGAXD, one of the lead
^^ ing contractors and builders of this part
of Pennsylvania, who served for nearl)- four
years during the civil war and is now a mem-
ber of the select council of Chester, is a native
of Germany, born January g, 1843. He came
to the United States with his elder brother,
John Wiegand, in 1852, when only nine years
of age. His parents, Christian and Martha C.
Wiegand, were both natives of Germany,
where the former died in 1854, and where the
latter is still living, being now in the seventy-
second year of her age. The subject of this
sketch has resided in Delaware county ever
since his arrival in America, and in the public
schools here he acquired an excellent English
education. His boyhood was spent on a farm,
where he was early inured to labor, and in
i860, at the age of seventeen, he started in to
learn the trade of bricklaying. In April, 1861,
he enlisted for three months in Co. I. gth
Pennsylvania infantry, and at the expiration
of his term of service reenlisted in the 3d
Pennsylvania cavalry, with which he served
for three )-ears and six months. He partici-
pated in all the leading battles in which his
regiment was engaged, being taken prisoner
at Bristow station, near Culpeper Courthouse,
Virginia, on the 6th of October, 1863. For a
period of fourteen months and thirteen days
he remained in the hands of the Confederates,
spending part of that time in the notorious
Libby and Andersonville prisons. After the
war ended he returned to Pennsylvania and
fi rushed learning his trade, at which he worked
for a number of years. In 1870 he engaged
in contracting and building on his own account
at Chester, this county, and has ever since
successfully conducted that business in this
city. He now has a large and prosperous
trade, including many of the largest contracts
let in recent j'ears, and owing to his energy,
ability, and careful supervision of all work
undertaken by him, has become one of the
most popular and largest contractors in the
city of Chester or in Delaware county. In
addition to his immense building business he
is also a large stockholder and director in the
Keystone Brick Company of Chester, and for
a period of two years served as its general
manager, in connection with his other busi-
ness. He also owns considerable real estate
in this city.
In 1865 Mr. Wiegand was united in marriage
to Mary Gibbons, a daughter of John Gibbons,
of Northumberland county, this State. To
Mr. and Mrs. Wiegand was born a family of
four children, two sons and two daughters :
May, Gertrude, Lawrence and Curtis.
Politicall}- George Wiegand is a stanch re-
publican, and in 1870 was elected a member
of the city council, in which he served three
terms in succession. In 1890 he was elected
to the select council, and after serving one
term was reelected in i8g2 for a term of four
years. He is now discharging the duties of
this important office in a manner at once ac-
ceptable to the people and highly creditable
to himself. For a number of years Mr. W'ie-
gand has taken an active interest in politics,
and is reckoned among the most trusted local
leaders of his party. He is a member of Wilde
Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Republic,
and is also connected with the Improved Order
of Red Men. The career of this gentleman
shows what energy, perseverance, and well
OF DKLAWAliE COVjXTY.
189
directed effort ma}- accomplish in this country.
When he landed in America he was a poor
boy without a dollar or an influential friend
on this continent. To-day he occupies a
prominent position among the business men
and citizens of one of the finest counties in
the great Keystone State, is independent in
financial matters, and can be said to be emi-
nently a self-made man. His brother, John
Wiegand, with whom he came from the Fath-
erland, is now general manager of Co.x Broth-
ers' coal mines in Luzerne county, Pennsyl-
vania. Both are fine representatives of the
thrifty German race, which has furnished so
many useful and honored citizens to this
country.
O A3IUEL STARR, 31. I)., a graduate
■^^ from the Hahnemann Medical college of
Philadelphia, who has been in successful prac-
tice since 1869, and now ranks with the prom-
inent physicians of Delaware county, is. a son
of Jeremiah and Mary (Thompson") Starr, and
was born July 22, 1840, in the township of
New Garden, Chester county, Pennsylvania.
He was reared in his native county, attending
the public schools in boyhood and later re-
ceiving a good academic education. On Aug-
ust 12. 1862, at the age of twenty-two, he en-
listed in the United States Marine corps, and
served for four years, being discharged in
California on the 12th of August, 1866. Dur-
ing these four years of active service he was
sick only three days, and soon after his enlist-
ment was promoted from a private to the rank
of first sergeant. He remained in California
until April i, 1867, when he returned to Penn-
sylvania and became a member of an engineer-
ing corps, but only for a short time. In the
autumn of that year he began reading medi-
cine with Dr. J. B. Wood, at West Chester,
this State, and later matriculated at the Hahne-
mann Medical college of Philadelphia, from
which well-known institution he was gradua-
ted March 3, 1869, with the degree of M.D.
On the next day, March 4, he opened an office
at Ashland, Schuylkill countj', this State, for
the practice of his profession, and remained
there one year. He then removed to Phila-
delphia, where he engaged in practice at the
corner of Eleventh and Green streets, and soon
had a nice business established. In that city
he remained until September, 1873, when he
came to Chester and opened an office, where
he has ever since been successfully engaged in
general practice. For the last four years he
has been a member of the pension board of
examining surgeons, having begun his term of
service June 18, 1889. He is also medical ex-
aminer for a number of leading life insurance
companies in this city. Dr. Starr is a mem-
ber of the American Institute of Homeopathy,
the Delaware, Chester and Montgomery Coun-
ties Medical society, and of the Organon society
of the city of Chester.
On Januar}' 6, 1876, Dr. Starr was wedded
to Mary C. Dyer, youngest daughter of John
G. and Arabella Dyer, of this citj'. To the
Doctor and Mrs. Starr has been born a family
of four children, three sons and a daughter:
Belle D., Clarence T., Frank C. and Charles H.
In his political affiliations the subject of this
sketch is a republican, and is now serving his
eleventh 3'ear as a member of the school board.
In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, and he
and Mrs. Starr are members of the First Pres-
byterian churcli of this city. Dr. Starr is a
member of Wilde Post, No. 25, Grand Army
of the Republic, of Chester, and is also med-
ical director of the Grand Army for the State
of Pennsylvania. He is likewise connected
with the Patriotic Order Sons of America, and
both as a physician and a citizen occupies an
exalted position in public esteem.
Dr. Starr traces his ancestry back to Major
John Starr, an Irish officer in the British arm\-,
and the family has been settled in Pennsyl-
vania since the time of the Penns. Thomas
Starr, the original immigrant to this country,
came over with the first Quaker settlers, and
a part of the log house which he built near
Avondale, in Chester county, is still standing.
litO
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Jeremiah Starr, paternal grandfather of Dr.
Starr, was a native of Chester county, born
September lo, 1762. He was a farmer all his
life, became quite prosperous, and died March
12, 1816. He married Anna Whitson, who
was born September 5, 1763, and was a daugh-
ter of Thomas and Elizabeth Whitson. They
reared a family of six children, one of their sons
being Jeremiah Starr (father), who was born in
the closing year of the last century, in New
Garden township. Chester count}', this State,
where he passed his entire life, dying there
April 17, 1876, at the advanced age of seventy-
seven years and nine months. He was a strict
member of the Societ}- of Friends, and a re-
publican in politics. His vocation was that
of a coach maker, and he carried on that busi-
ness successfully for many years, though he
retired some time previous to his death and
devoted his last years to agriculture. He se-
cured a wide reputation for skill and ability as
a coach maker, and some of the finest coaches
ever driven in this State were the product of
his shops. In 1827 he married Mary Thomp-
son, a daughter of Eli Thompson, of New
Castle county, Delaware, and by that union
had a family of seven children, four sons and
three daughters: Sarah, Jeremiah, Eli T.,
Anna, Samuel, Marianna and Charles T. Starr.
Mrs. Mary Starr was a native of New Castle
county, Delaware, born May 15, 1810, and
died September 3, 1883, aged seventy-eight
years. Her father, Eli Thompson ( maternal
grandfather), was also a native of that county,
and was born October 14, 1770. He was a
son of Daniel and Elizabeth Thompson, and
died April 19, 1840. His wife, Sarah Thomp-
son, was born the same year as her husband.
She was a daughter of John and Mary Scarlet,
who lived near Kennett Square at the time of
the Revolution, and who underwent many of
the hardships and privations incident to those
"times that tried men's souls," when the free-
dom of a whole people was won in a bloody
contest that lasted nearly seven years, but
which resulted in moving forward the dial
hand on the clock of human progress in a
greater advance than it had hitherto marked
in five centuries.
HENRY L. DONALDSON, a prom
inent real estate dealer of Chester, and
a notary public of the city for twenty years, is
a son of John and Eleanor (Shearer) Don-
aldson, and was born in the city of Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania, May 10, 1827. John
Donaldson (father) was a native of County
Donegal, Ireland, which he left about 1820 to
emigrate to America. After his arrival in this
country he located in Philadelphia, where he
remained until 1832, when he came to Dela-
ware county, settling in Ridley township, at
what is now Crumlynn. There he resided
until his death, in 1855, when in the sixty-
fifth year of his age. By occupation he was a
stone mason, and one of the best and most
skillful workers in stone then in the county.
He was a member of the Episcopal church,
and a democrat in politics. He married
Eleanor Shearer, a daughter of Capt. John
Shearer, and a native of the city of Chester.
She was a member of the Presbyterian church,
and died in 1866, after an active and useful
life, spanning three quarters of a centur\'. To
their union was born a famil\' consisting of
two sons and one daughter : George B., Henry
L , and Anna S. Capt. John Shearer ( ma-
ternal grandfather) commanded one of the
larger sailing vessels on the Delaware river
for many years, and was among the best
known and most popular river men in his day.
Henry L. Donaldson was principally reared
in Delaware count}', to which his parents re-
moved when he was about five vears of age,
and received an excellent English education
in the public schools here. After leaving
school he engaged in teaching, which occupa-
tion he followed in this county for a period of
thirteen years, becoming very popular as a
teacher, and widely known on accoimt of his
earnest educational work. In i85i he became
1
OF DELAWARE COVXTY.
191
book-keeper in the Delaware National bank
of Chester, and was connected with that well-
known financial institution for more than seven
years, after which he embarked in the real
estate business in this city. In this latter en-
terprise he is still largely engaged, ha\-ing
been very successful in handling real property,
and made a number of important deals. For
twenty years Mr. Donaldson has held the
position of notary public in this city, and
during that time has transacted a large amount
of business directly or indirectly connected
with that office, while for more than a quarter
of a century he has served as secretary of
various building and loan associations. He
now occupies that position in three different
building associations, and is also secretary of
the Chester Rural cemetery.
On June 21, 1855, Mr. Donaldson was united
by marriage to Catharine A. Sample, a daugh-
ter of Hugh C. Sample, of Ridley township,
this county. To Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson
was born a family of five children, two sons
and three daughters : Sarah, who married
George Compton, of this county, and now
resides in Chester county; Eleanor S. , wed-
ded William W. Dauman, of Chester county,
who now lives at Erie, this State ; Henry,
married Emma Walters, and resides in the
city of Philadelphia, where he is engaged in
the painting business; Frank H., wedded
Laura B., daughter of William H. Moore, of
this city, and is engaged in business, with his
father ; and Bertha, who became the wife of
William S. Riley, also of Chester, where they
reside.
Politically Air. Donaldson is a republican,
and for man}' years took an active interest in lo-
cal politics. He served as a member and secre-
tary of the board of directors of the poor of this
county from 1881 to 1887, and was only absent
from one meeting during his entire term of
service. Retaining much of his early interest
in educational matters, he has been an active
and useful member of the board of education
in this city for many years. He is identified
with the First Presbyterian church of Chester,
and commands the confidence and highest re-
gard of all who know him. Among the pleasant
memories of his life, Mr. Donaldson places
his recollections of his early labors in tlie
school room. Among his pupils then were
a number of boys who, since reaching
manhood, have distinguished themselves
in various lines of endeavor, and now rank
with the leading men of Delaware county.
Their struggles and triumphs lia\e been sym-
pathetically watched b)' their former teacher,
who still takes a pardonable pride in the fact
that he had something to do with the forma-
tion of their character in that earl)- training,
when they were just starting on life's rugged
pathway, and no less pride in the later success
which manv of them have achieved.
QEOROE BROOKE LINDSAY, one
^^ of the leading members of the Delaware
county bar, who is also prominent in local
politics and in the business circles of the
county, is a son of John C. and Catharine A.
(Black) Lindsay, and a native of Haverford
township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania,
where he was born August 5, 1852. The Lind-
says are of Scotch-Irish origin, and their resi-
dence in Pennsylvania antedates the arrival of
William Penn in the colony. Sjon after land-
ing in this country the first representative of
the family settled at what is now known as
Aston, this county, and for more than two
hundred \ears members of the family have
been residents of territory now included in
the bounds of Delaware county. Hon. John
Lindsay, paternal grandfather of the subject
of this sketch, was born and reared at Haver-
ford, this county, and was a prominent and
prosperous farmer of that township for m-any
years. In 1830 and again in 1831 he repre-
sented Delaware county in the State legisla-
ture. Politically he was an old line whig,
and in religion a strict Presbyterian. He died
at his home in Haverford in i860, aged eighty-
192
BIOGBAPHY ASD HISTOBY
eight years. His wife's maiden name was
Sarah Brooke, and they reared a famih' of
seven children, one of whom was John C.
Lindsay (father), who was born on the old
homestead in Haverford township in 1817.
Sarah Brooke was a daughter of Gen. William
Brooke, of this county, who won distinction
in the Revolutionary war. The Brooke familj'
was transplanted from England to America
earl\- in the seventeenth century-, and several
of its members served as officers and soldiers
in the war of 181 2.
After attaining manhood John C. Lindsaj'
engaged in farming, and resided in Nether
Providence township from 1863 to 1885, when
he removed to the city of Chester and retired
from active business. During his active years
his farming operations were conducted on an
extensive scale and he became quite prosper-
ous. He is a democrat in politics, and like
his father a consistent member of the Pres-
byterian church. He married Catharine A.
Black, a daughter of \\'illiam A'. Black and a
native of this county. To them was born a
family of six children, four sons and two
daughters: William R., John, George B., J.
Walter, Laura and Maria B.
Mrs. Lindsay is a memberof the same church
as her husband, and is now in the seventieth
year of her age. Her father, William V. Black
(maternal grandfather), was a native of Dela-
ware county, and a widely known and influ-
ential citizen, who was engaged in agricultural
pursuits for a time, and later became a mer-
chant in Philadelphia and at Media, this
county. He was one of the directors in the
First National bank of Media, and died in
1883, aged eighty-two years.
George Brooke Lindsay was reared parth-
on the farm in Nether Providence townsh-p
and partly in the city of Chester. His pre-
liminary instruction was obtained in the pub-
lic schools of this count}', and later he studied
for some time in a private school taught by
Rev. James W. Dale, and finished Lis educa-
tion b\' a course in Professor Gilbert's academy
in this city: From early years he had felt an
inclination toward the legal profession, and
soon after completing his English education
he began the study of law in the office of
Ward & Broomail, that was afterward dissolved
to seat one of its members on the bench and
send the other to the halls of Congress. Hav-
ing passed the usual examinations, Mr. Lind-
say was duly admitted to the bar of Delaware
county in 1874, being the first attorney to
register under Judge T. J. Clayton. In 1878
he was admitted to practice in the supreme
court of Pennsylvania, and in 1880 to all the
courts of Philadelphia and of Chester county.
His practice is principally in the civil courts,
where he does an e.xtensive business for cor-
porations and on the law side of the calendar.
He stands high among his professional asso-
ciates, has a lucrative clientage, and enjoj-s in
a marked degree the confidence and esteem
of the general public. Mr. Lindsay has acted
as trustee for many large estates, has held a
number of offices of a fiduciary nature, and is
attorney for several large corporations in other
States. In 1886 he tried a case before a jury
of expert mechanical engineers in Cincinnati,
Ohio, in which he secured a verdict against
that city for fifty thousand dollars.
Politically George Brooke Lindsay is an
active and influential republican, has served
as solicitor for the borough of North and
South Chester, and as president of the Veteran
Republican club of this city. Mr. Lindsay is
one of the directors of the Chester National
bank, and is connected in like manner with
the Chester Union Railway Company and the
Chester & Media Electric Railway Compan)-.
He is also secretary of the Chester free library
and treasurer of the Law Library association
of the Delaware county bar.
FRANZ X AVER HASER, the pro
prietor of the Chester brewery, ice man-
ufacturing plant and bottling establishment,
and a wounded veteran of the Franco-Prussian
OF DEL A WAliK COi'XTY.
193
war, is one of the successful business men and
manufacturers of Chester. He was born in
Baden, Germany, and received his education
in the excellent and practical public schools
of his native countr}'. From boyhood to
manhood he passed in his father's brewery at
Baden. Attaining his majority, he went to
Strasburg, the city made famous by its won-
derful clock, where he followed brewing.
While there he achieved a fine military record,
serving in both the French and German ar-
mies. As a citizen of Strasburg, a French
city when he entered it, he did duty as a
French soldier for a short time. During the
Franco-German war he was a member of the
I I 2th regiment. Fourteenth army corps, com-
manded b\' that celebrated and brave German
soldier, General Wether. He was, with his
regiment, in six battles : Weisenburg, Stras-
burg, Mobilliard, Ba^'fordt. Bijons and Freye,
and passed througli them all in safety, although
several times wounded. He came to America
in 1871, and located in Philadelphia. He was
employed for eighteen \ ears in Brewerytown,
that cit\-, and came to Chester in 1886, and
started in business for himself. His brewery,
ice plant and bottling house are situated in
one long building on the northwest corner of
Second and West streets. It was established
in 1886, and occupies one hundred and eighty
feet of ground, fronting on Second street, with
a depth of two-hundred and seventy- one feet,
running back to Third street. There are six
connecting buildings, all brick, facing on Sec-
ond and on West streets, comprising a three-
story office and store rooms, thirty-five by forty
feet ; a three-story storage ice house, thirty-
five by thirty-five feet ; a two-story engine and
boiler house, twenty-eight by twenty-eight
feet ; a two-story bottling house, twenty b}-
twenfy feet ; a two-story stable, twenty by
twenty feet, containing five stalls ; and a
wagon house, twenty by twenty feet. Mr.
Haser employs twenty men and keeps five
horses and eight wagons in daily service. The
capacity of the brewery is one hundred bar-
rels a day at one brewing, the place being
provided with an hundred-barrel kettle. The
ice manufactor}^ comprises one of John Baisley
& Sons' refrigerator ice machines, operated by
an eighty horse power engine, and has a capa-
city of ten tons per day ; also a fifty-ton ice
machine of Sullivan cK: Ehlers. Buffalo. In
this department snow'-balling may be indulged
in on the hottest summer daj', as at any time
it is possible to gather handsful of snow from
the surface of the machine.
During his seven years' residence at Ches-
ter ]\Ir. Haser has made quite a reputation
for his beer in the southeastern part of the
State. It is pure in quality, pleasing to tlie
taste and harmless in its effects, and has be-
come a favorite beverage, and its use grows as
it becomes better known. It is said that it
leaves the individual with no headache, how-
ever much may be used, and that it possesses
many medicinal qualities, being recommended
by a number of ph3'sicians as a stimulating
beverage. Beer and porter are bottled here,
and an extensive hotel and family trade is
catered to. The Haser's is a distinctive fam-
ily of brewers, the father, six sons and two
daughters each owns and conducts breweries
in Germany, and two sons are in business here.
At the western extremity of the grounds,
fronting on Second street, is ?ilr. Haser's
residence, a large, attractive and commodious
brick structure, with front and side piazzas
and an extensive and well ordered yard. The
house is well shaded, and is one of the finest
residences in that section. Between his dwell-
ing and the brewery is a flower garden, one
hundred by one hundred feet. In the center
is a miniature lake, upon the placid bosom of
which graceful swans disport themselves.
Mr. Haser possesses a property which is an
ornament to the localit}', and of which he has
just cause to be proud.
Mr. Haser is an honorary member of Post
No. 21, Grand Army of the Republic, of West
Philadelphia, and has belonged also to Tribe
No. 21, Improved Order of Red Men, of the
194
BIOOHAPIIY ANh iiisToay
Quaker City, since 1874, and to the Inde-
pendent Order of Mechanics, of the same city,
for the past eight years. He is also connected
with a number of German singing societies,
among them the Harmonia, of Chester.
nOHEKT P. 3IEKCI:K, 31. 1)., a grad
uate of the Homeopathic college of Penn-
sylvania, who for nearly thirty years has been
in successful practice in the city of Chester,
where he ranks with the ablest men in his pro-
fession, is a son of Pennock and -Annie Eliza
( Pyle) Mercer, and a native of Chester county,
Pennsylvania, where he was born February
13, 1838. The Mercers are of original French
e.xtraction, and family tradition states that at
a very early day the}' settled in the north of
Scotland, from which country they later re-
moved to England, and finally, about 1682,
came to America, when Thomas Mercer "took
up a hundred acres of land on Chester creek,
near Button's mills," becoming one of the ear-
liest settlers of Aston township, then Chester,
now Delaware county.
The paternal grandfather of Dr. Mercer was
born and reared near the village of Kennett
Square, Chester county, where he passed his
life engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died
about 1863, in his eighty-fourth year. He
owned a large farm, conducted his operations
on an extensive scale, and became very pros-
perous. Politically he was a whig and repub-
lican, while in religion he was always a strict
member of the Society of Friends. He mar-
ried Ann Pennock, a descendant of Christopher
Penno k, who came over from the north of
Ireland about 1680, thus anteda'iing the arrival
of William Penn by nearly two years. By
this marriage he had a family of children, the
eldest of whom was Pennock Mercer (father),
who was born on the old homestead near Ken-
nett Square, Chester county, this State, in
1813. He was reared on the farm, and after
attaining manhood engaged in that occupa-
tion for himself, and followed it successfully
in his native county until 1873, when he dis-
posed of his farm propert}', removed to the
city of Chester, Delaware county, and engaged
in the grocery business. This latter enterprise
he conducted until 1887, when he retired from
all active business, and passed his few remain-
ing years in quiet comfort at his home in this
city, where he died May 3, 1891, aged seventy-
eight. He was an active and influential mem-
ber of the Society of Friends, in whose failh
he had been reared, and politically was first a
whig and later a republican, taking an active
part in politics during his earlier years. He
married Ann Eliza Pyle, a daughter of Robert
and A. Pyle, of Chester county, by whom he
had a family of three children : Robert, Caleb
and Charles. Mrs. Mercer was born in Lon-
don Grove township, Chester county, and now
resides with her son, Dr. Mercer, in this city,
being well advanced in her seventy-eighth year,
but still quite active for a woman of her age.
She belongs to a long lived family and has
two sisters living in West Chester, one of whom
is now ninety-one and the other ninety- three
years of age. She has been a life-long mem-
ber of the Society of Friends, and is descended
from one of the early settled families of Ches-
ter county.
Robert P. Mercer grew to manhood on his
father's farm near Kennett Square, Chester
county, this State, and received an academic
education, after which he read medicine with
Dr. I. D. Johnson, of Kennett Square, and later
matriculated at tfae Homeopathic Medical col-
lege of Pennsylvania — now known as the
Hahnemann Medical college — in the city of
Philadelphia, from which institution he was
graduated in the spring of 1861, with the de-
gree of M.D. Dr. Mercer soon after located
at Marshallton, in his native count)', where he
had medical charge of the Chester count}'
home for two years. He remained in active
practice at that place until the autumn of 1864,
when he removed to Wilmington, Delaware,
where he was engaged in practice for one year,
and then, on the personal solicitation and ad-
OF DELAWARE COCXTY.
195
vice of Dr. Coates Preston, of tliis citj', he
came to Chester and opened an ofifice here for
the practice of his profession. Possessing
man}' of the characteristics that distinguish
the born physician, and having carefully pre-
pared himself for the duties of the honorable
profession to which he proposed to devote his
life, Dr. Mercer soon became popular, and for
a number of years has conducted a large and
lucrative practice, possessing an enviable rep-
utation for skill and success in the treatment
of all ordinary diseases, and most highly es-
teemed as a man and citizen. His ofFce is
still in the block on the street where he first
began practice in this cit}' more than a quar-
ter of a century ago.
On March i6, 1865, Dr. Afercer was united
by marriage to Emma Merrihew, eldest daugh-
ter of Stephen Merrihew, of the well-known
publishing firm of Merrihew & Thompson, of
Philadelphia. Mr. Merrihew was a native of
Delaware county, and was one of the original
abolitionists of southeastern Pennsylvania,
taking an active part in the early transactions
of that organization, including the engineering
of the famous "underground raihva\- " bv
which escaping slaves were safelj' transferred
to Canadian soil. By his marriage to Miss
Merrihew Dr. Mercer had one child, a daugh-
ter, named Sarah, now living at home with
her parents.
It may truthfully be said that Dr. Mercer's
study of medicine did not cease with his grad-
uation, but that during the many years of his
active practice he has endeavored to keep
abreast of all active progress made in his pro-
fession. He is a member of the American In-
stitute of Homeopathy, the Homeopathic State
Medical society of Pennsylvania, and the
Chester and Delaware count\ Homeopathic
Medical society, of which latter he has served
as president. He is also a member of the
Organon Medical societ)' of Chester, of which
he is now president, and is a regular reader
and occasional contributor to some of the best
meilical journals in this countr\'.
In his political affiliations Dr. Mercer is a
republican, and has served in both branches
of the Chester citj' council. His combined
service in the council aggregates some fifteen
years, and he is now president of the select
council. In religion he is a member of the
Swedenborg church, and is also a member of
L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons; Chester Chapter, No. 258,
Royal Arch Masons ; and Chester Command-
ery, No. 66, Knights Templar, and has passed
through all the chairs in these branches, hav-
ing been a Master Mason since 1862.
QTEPHEX L. ARMOUR, one of the
■^■^ leading furniture dealers and upholsterers
of the city of Chester, and one of her most en-
terprising, energetic and successful business
men, is a son of John and Ruth A. (Jenkins)
Armour, and a native of Cecil county, Mary-
land, where he was born December ig, 1839.
The family is of Celtic origin, and was planted
in America by Samuel Armour, paternal grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, who was
born in County Armaugh, Ireland, but when
twelve years of age left his native land, and,
crossing the broad Atlantic, located in Cecil
county, Marjland, where he afterward married
and reared a large family. He lived to be
eighty-four years of age, and his wife, whose
maiden name was Ann Mahoney, died at the
age of eight}-seven. One of their sons was
John Armour (father), who was born at the
old homestead in Cecil county, Maryland,
in 1813, and died in 1879, aged sixty-six, at
his liome in Wilmington, Delaware, where he
had resided for upward of twenty years. He
was a stonemason by occupation, and an ex-
cellent workman. Many substantial stone
walls jet stand along the Brandy wine as mon-
uments to his superior workmanship. For
several years he was foreman on the fishing
shore of the Chesapeake Ov: Potomac, and oc-
cupied a similar position for some time on the
Albermarle sound. He was a large, stout
190
BIOGRAPHY AXD HISTORY
man, over six feet in height, was always called
Big John Armour by the fishermen, and was
widely known and everywhere greatly re-
spacted. Politically he was an old line whig
and later became a republican. In 1839 he
married Ruth A. Jenkins, a native of Cecil
county, Maryland, who died December 24,
1890, at the advanced age of seventy-six years.
They had a family of six sons and one daughter.
Stephen L. Armour grew to manhood in his
native county, obtaining his education in the
common schools and at the academy in West
Nottingham. Leaving school he learned the
trade of blacksmith, at which he worked until
1864, when he enlisted in Co. I, 7th Delaware
militia, on an emergency call, and reenlisted
in Co. B, 40th New Jersey infantry, in October
of the same year. With that organization he
served until the close of the war, and after
being mustered out of service returned to
Wilmington, Delaware, where he carried on
blacksmithing one year, and then removed to
Crossville, Cumberland county, Tennessee.
At the latter place he established himself in
the wheelwrighting and bjacksmithing busi-
ness, and also eagaged to some extent in stock-
raising. He remained there four years, serv-
ing as deputy sheriff of the county during the
last year of his stay, and then returned to
Wilmington, Delaware, which he again left in
1871 to settle permanently at Chester, Dela-
ware county, Pennsylvania. For three 3'ears
after coming to this city he was emplo\'ed with
the Bradley Brothers in their ice and feed
business, and after they sold out remained an-
other three years with their successors. In
1878 Mr. Armour embarked in the flour, feed
and commission business on his own account
at No. 229 Penn street. On June 16. 1879, he
purchased an Adams steam feather renovator
and began renovating feathers at No. 229 Penn
street. In the spring of 1882 he bought the
old Thatcher propertj', at the corner of Con-
cord avenue and Miner street, and removed
his business to that point, where he has ever
since successfully conducted the combined
business of mattress making, feather renova-
ting and upholstering. In October, 1889, he
rented the store room at No. 138 West Third
street, and in addition to his other business
engaged in the furniture trade, which has
proved very successful under his careful and
energetic management. He now has a large
and remunerative business, but it has not
come by chance or accident. It is the result
of steady, persistent effort, backed up b)' a
determination to succeed in defiance of all ad-
verse circumstances.
On the 26th of December, 1866, Mr. Armour
was married to Emma Veasey, a daughter of
John T. Veasey, of Northeast, Maryland. To
them was born one child, a son, named Frank,
who married and is now time clerk at the Penn
Steel Casting Company.
From the time of its first organization in
Penns}'lvania Mr. Armour has been an active
member of the Republican party. He served
six years as alderman from the old South ward,
and at the end of his present term as school
director will have served a like period in the
latter office. He was editor and publisher of
the Brotherhood, the official paper of the B.U.,
(H.F.,) for four years, from 1880 to the present.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Armour are earnest, devo-
ted members of the Trinity Methodist Episco-
pal church of this city, in which Mr. Armour
is serving as steward and recording secretary,
and Mrs. Armour is known as among the most
active workers of her church. Mr. Armour is
also a member of Leiperville Lodge, No. 263,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; Wilde
Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Republic ;
and of the Brotherhood Union, ( H. F.,) of
which latter society he has passed through all
the chairs. Is also a member of the Penn
Conclave of Improved Order of Heptosophs.
■0ETER HUNTER, the able and popular
general superintendent of the Eddystone
Calico Printing works, at Eddystone, this
county, who is a graduate of the Andersonian
THE NEW YuRK !
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LKNOX jlND
TILD'-N foi;nD/;Tions|
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
399
college of Glasgow, and a prominent local
preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church,
is a son of James and Janet ( Reid) Hunter,
and was born in the famous ship-building city
of Glasgow, Scotland, January 19, 1851. On
both sides Rev. Mr. Hunter is descended from
ancient Scotch families, who were independent
farmers and stock raisers, and were widely
known and highly respected in their native
land. James Hunter (father) was born in
County A\T, Scotland, the birthplace of Rob-
ert Burns, who sang Scotch scenery and
Scotch peasantry into the sj'mpathetic knowl-
edge of the world, and transformed the rude
dialect of his section into a classic language un-
derstood by all educated people. Among the
heather and thorns of Ayr James Hunter grew
to manhood and received his education, but
his tastes unfitted him for the life of a farmer,
and soon after attaining his majoritj' he en-
gaged in the business of a traveling salesman
— an occupation not so common then as now.
After his marriage he settled in the city of
Glasgow, which continued to be his home un-
til called away by death in 1853, when his son,
the subject of this sketch, was only two 3'ears
of age. His wife, whose maiden name was
Janet Reid, still surA ives, and is now living in
a comfortable home in the village of Thornlie-
bank, five miles from the city of Glasgow.
She is a native of Renfrewshire, Scotland, and
a member of the Presbyterian church.
Peter Hunter was reared at Thornliebank,
Scotland, to which village his mother removed
on her marriage to Walter McFarlane, head
manager of the Thornliebank Calico Print
works. He received a superior education in the
high school of Glasgow and the Andersonian un-
iversity, from the chemical department of which
he was graduated in 1866. Soon after gradu-
ation he accepted a position as chemist and
colorist in the extensive print works of Messrs.
Walter Crum & Co., Thornliebank, where he
remained until 1880. In that year he came to
the United States under an engagement with
the Eddystone Manufacturing Company, pro-
13
prietors of the Eddystone Calico Printing
works at Eddystone, Delaware county, Penn-
sylvania. Pie at once assumed the duties of
assistant superintendent of these large mills,
and continued to act in that capacity until
1891, when he was made general superintend-
ent of the works, with full charge of every-
thing connected with this mammoth concern.
This position he now holds, and in the ability
and skill with which he conducts the enter-
prise may be found ample vindication of the
wisdom of that man who first "discovered"
him in Scotland and induced him to come to
this country. The Eddystone works give em-
ployment to about seven hundred and fifty peo-
ple, and their product takes rank with the best
in the markets of the world. Upon coming to
the United States, Mr. Hunter settled in the
city of Chester, where he continued to reside
until 1887, when he removed to the village of
Moore, this count}', which has ever since been
his home. •
On August II, 1S74, Mr. Hunter was mar-
ried to Elizabeth McAdam, a daughter of John
McAdam, then of Busb)', near Glasgow, Scot-
land. To their union have been born five sons
and one daughter; Walter M., John M.,
George. R., Robert E., Catharine E. and
Arthur P. Of these the two older were born
in Scotland, and the others in this country.
.^11 except John are now living at home with
their parents. Mrs. Hunter is now in the forty-
first year of her age.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Hunter are earnest and
active members of the Methodist Episcopal
church at Moore, of which denomination Mr.
Hunter has been a successful and popular
local preacher for several years, having been
regularly ordained elder at conference held in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March, 1889. Po-
litically he is a stanch prohibitionist, and ex-
erts a wide influence in behalf of law and order,
and against the dangerous and damaging do-
minion of the rum power in politics and in
social life.
200
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
HANNAH JACKSON PRICE, M.D.,
a skilled physician of the city of Chester
and a descendant of one of the oldest and
most highly respected families of southeastern
Pennsylvania, is a daughter of Caleb Sharp-
less and Mary Ann (Gauze) Jackson, and was
born at Kennett Square, Chester county, Penn-
sylvania, Februar}' 14, 1842. The Jackson and
Gauze families are of English and Welsh de-
scent, and have long been resident in Chester
county, this State, where their members have
been largely of Quaker faith in religious belief.
Dr. Price's paternal grandfather, Josiah Jack-
son, was a man of intelligence, honesty and
thrift. He was a prosperous farmer, an active
whig, and held membership in the Hicksite
branch of the Quaker church or Society of
Friends. He married Mary Sharpless, and
their children were : Caleb, James, Mary Way,
Edith Graves, Ruhana Clayton, and William,
who died at an earl}' age. Caleb Sharpless
Jackson (father), the eldest son, was born at
Kennett Square, in Chester county, 1802, and
died August 3, 1868, while on a visit to the
subject of this sketch in Kansas. Mr.Jackson
was a man of ability and activity, and ranked
high in his section as a mathematician. He
was a great anti-slavery man, read the story
of " Uncle Tom's Cabin" to his children, and
gave material support and considerable time
to the interests of the "Underground Rail-
road." He was reared to farming, which oc-
cupation he left some years after attaining his
majority to engage in coach making at I\en-
nett Square. He was a Quaker and republi-
can, and married Mary A. Gauze, who was a
daughter of William and Mary Gauze, and
was born in Kennett township, on April 15,
1804. To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were born
eight children, three sons and five daughters :
Josiah, late professor of higher and applied
mathematics in the Pennsylvania State col-
lege; Mary, wife of Franklin Darlington, of
Oxford, Chester county ; Ruth Ann, who mar-
ried Erastus M. Cravath, president of Fisk
university, of Nashville, Tennessee ; William,
now president of El Paso County bank, at Col-
orado Springs, Colorado, and formerly presi-
dent of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad,
married Helen Hunt, the well known writer;
Margaret, who is now caring for her mother
at the homestead; Dr. Hannah J.; Caleb,
treasurer of the United Electric Light Com-
pany, of New York city ; Alice, wife of John
Chambers of near Pittsburg, this State.
Hannah J. Price was reared at Kennett
Square, where she received her education at
Eaton academy, from which she was gradu-
ated. Shortly after leaving the academy she
volunteered her services for the instruction of
the colored children at Kennett Square, and
taught them successfully for three years. She
afterward taught in a grammar school for some
time.
On November 29, 1863, she married Capt.
Joseph D. Price, who was at the time of mar-
riage serving as second lieutenant of the 6th
Pennsylvania cavalry. Captain Price served
three years and three months in the late civil
war, was at Chattanooga, and with Sherman
in the "March to the Sea,'' and was detailed
to exchange prisoners at Andersonville. He
was once wounded, and after the late war went
to Kansas, where he engaged extensively in
stock raising, and where he died on July 29,
1872, at the early age of thirty-five years, from
being gored by one of his cattle. To Captain
and Mrs. Price were born four children, two
sons and two daughters : Katharine, wife of
the Rev. William N. Hubbell, pastor of the
First Baptist church, Montclair, New Jersey ;
Mary J., an architect, at Lansdown, Pennsyl-
vania ; John C. , who was graduated at twenty-
two years of age from the University of Penn-
sylvania in the class of 1893 ; and Joseph D.,
who died in childhood.
After her husband's untimely death Mrs.
Price returned from Kansas, with her four
small children, to Kennett Square, in Chester
county, where she taught school for some
length of time and then conceived the idea of
studying medicine. She read assiduously for
OF delawahe county.
201
several years, and in 1888 entered the Woman's
Medical college of Philadelphia, from which
excellent medical institution she was gradu-
ated in the class of 1881. Immediately after
graduation Dr. Price became an assistant
physician at the Woman's Hospital at Twen-
ty-second street and North College avenue,
then under charge of Dr. Anna E. Broomall,
where she remained for two years and enjoyed
excellent opportunies for the study and suc-
cessful treatment of many intricate and diffi-
cult cases. In 18S2 she removed to Chester,
where she has built up a first-class and re-
munerative practice.
Dr. Price is so well qualified by nature, has
given such careful and comprehensive study
to her profession, and has enjoyed such good
opportunities for practice, that success has but
naturally followed her intelligent and pains-
taking efforts for the alleviation of human suf-
sering and the restoration of health to the sick
and afflicted. Dr. Price is a member of the
Upland Baptist church, and ranks as a leading
physician of the city of Chester.
"CDVVARD BLAINE, a veteran of the
civil war, who served for nine consecutive
years as recorder of deeds in this county, and
is widely known as among the most substan-
tial representative citizens of Chester, is the
only son of Joseph and Margaret Jane ( Sand-
ers) Blaine, and was born in the city of Phil-
adelphia, April 13, 1839. His father was of
German descent, and the name was originally
spelled Blainz, but the present spelling has
been in use for several generations. Joseph
Blaine (father) was a native of Philadelphia,
and in early life adopted a seafaring life, which
he followed for many years, being captain of
a ship and engaged in transporting merchan-
dise to and from many foreign ports. He
died in the city of Philadelphia in 1842, when
the subject of this sketch was onl}' three years
of age. His wife, also a native of Philadel-
phia, whose maiden name was Margaret Jane
Sanders, survived him only a short time, dying
when their son was still quite young.
Immediately after his father's death, Ed-
ward Blaine was brought to Delaware county,
and reared on a farm in Middletown township
until he had attained his fourteenth year. His
education was obtained in the public schools
of that township, and at the age of fourteen
he left the farm to work in a cotton factory at
Middletown, where he remained for nearly
three years and then started in to learn the
plasterer's trade, finishing his apprenticeship
in this city. He worked at his trade until
1 86 1, at which time he was in charge of the
plastering on the Pennsylvania Training school
for feeble minded children, near Elwin, this
county. When Fort Sumpter was fired upon
and the trifarious wave of mingled consterna-
tion, indignation and patriotism swept over
tlie north, kindling into blazing enthusiasm
that love of country which forms one of the
corner stones of character among our people,
young Blaine laid down his trowel, as Putnam
left the plow, and without waiting to see what
others would do, at once enlisted under the
Federal standard, becoming a member of the
first company in the first regiment of Penn-
S3lvania reserves. For three years he led
the hard and hazardous life of a soldier,
exposed to the privations incident to camp
and campaign, and participating in all the
principal battles of his regiment. At the
battle of Antietam, Maryland, he was seriously
injured by a minnie ball which passed through
his left leg, inflicting a wound that compelled
him to remain in the military hospital for three
months. At the close of his term of service
he was mustered out in the city of Philadel-
phia, and returning to Delaware county, Mr.
Blaine located in the city of Chester and en-
gaged in plastering and building, which busi-
ness he successfully conducted until 1880. In
that year he was elected on the republican
ticket to the office of recorder of deeds for
Delaware count}', and entering upon the dis-
charge of his official duties January i, 1881,
202
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
he served acceptably in that position for a
period of nine years, being three time reelected
to succeed himself. Retiring from office in
1890, with the well earned reputation of hav-
ing been one of the most efficient and capable
recorders the county has ever had, Mr. Blaine
has since devoted his attention mainly to
building a number of houses on his own lots
in this city, which he rents, and in dealing in
real estate. He is also a director in the Ex-
celsior Saving and Loan association of this
city.
On April 11, 1863, Mr. Blaine was united in
marriage with Lizzie Duncan, youngest daugh-
ter of Samuel and Jeannette V. Duncan, of
Middletown, this county. To their union was
born a family of four daughters : Nettie, Mae,
Roselyn and Bessie, all excepting the eldest,
who is married, living at home with their par-
ents in their handsome residence on West
Fourth street, this city.
As has been intimated, Mr. Blaine is a
stanch republican, and he has taken an active
interest in political affairs ever since the war.
He has served as a delegate to State and
county conventions many times, and exerts
considerable influence in the local councils of
his party, being now a member of the Repub-
lican executive committee of Delaware count)',
and highly esteemed by all his party associates.
On May 25, 1893, he received the republican
nomination for county commissioner from the
southern district of Delaware county. Mr.
Blaine regularly attends and liberally contrib-
utes to the Episcopal church, of which his
wife is a member. He is a member of Chester
Lodge, No. 236, Free and Accepted Masons :
Wilde Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Re-
public, which he represented in the National
encampment at Columbus, Ohio, in 1888;
Larkin Lodge, No. 78, Knights of Pythias ;
and of the Improved Order of Red Men. Left
an orphan in tender years and reared among
strangers, the subject of this sketch began
life with nothing, and by his own industry,
integrity of character and indomitable en-
ergy, has fairly conquered fate and accumu-
lated a handsome competency. Better than
this, he has won the esteem and confidence of
the community, and ranks with the foremost
men of his adopted city.
V JOHN C. PRICE, secretary and general
manager of the Consumers' Ice Manufac-
turing Company of Chester, and for thirt}-
four \ears a well known brick manufacturer of
this city, is a son of Major Samuel A. and
Sarah ( Bickham) Price, and was born January
19, 1833, in the city of Chester, Delaware
county, Pennsylvania. The family whose his-
torj' is briefly outlined in this sketch, is de-
scended from ancient Swedish stock, was
planted in America about the beginning of the
eighteenth centur)', and some of its members
were residents of the old county of Chester in
Pennsylvania long prior to the Revolutionary
war. Samuel Price, paternal grandfather of
John C. Price, was born in what is now Lower
Chichester township, Delaware county, about
1750. He was an extensive farmer in that
section, was a member of the "Committee of
Observation of the Chester County Associa-
tion," 1774, and served as a soldier in the
Continental army during the war of the Revo-
lution, and died at his home in this county in
iSoi, aged about fifty years. In religion he
was an Episcopalian, married Ann Richards,
and reared a large family of children. His
son, Samuel A. Price (father), was a native of
Lower Chichester township, this county, born
in 1796, reared on the farm, and educated in
the subscription schools of that early day.
After leaving school he learned the trade of
hatter, and at the age of twenty-eight removed
to Chester, where he continued to reside until
his death in 1861, when in the sixty-fifth year
of his age. After coming to this city he was
engaged in the manufacture of hats, which he
followed successfully until his retirement sev-
eral years prior to his decease. Politically he
was a whig and republican, and for many years
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
203
took an active part in local politics. He held
a number of official positions and served as
sheriff of Delaware county in 1837. There
was a strong military bent to his character, and
for years he was connected with the old State
militia, in which he served as major of a regi-
ment in this county, and was everywhere
known and addressed as Major Price. In
1818 he married Sarah Bickham, a member of
an old Philadelphia family that had come over
from England during the days of early Quaker
settlement in Pennsylvania. She was born in
the "city of brotherly love" about 1797, and
died at her home in Chester, January 21, 1870,
in the seventy-third year of her age. They
were the parents of ten children, seven sons
and three daughters : John C, the subject of
this sketch ; William Gray, a sketch of whom
appears elsewhere in this volume; Sarah B.,
Samuel N., Anna R., Thomas B., Henry C,
Edward N., J. Wade and Clementina L.
John C. Price was reared in his native city of
Chester, where he has continued to reside, and
obtained a superior English education in the
public schools. After leaving school, in the
spring of 1854, he engaged in the manufacture
of building bricks in this city, which business
he successfully conducted until 1888 — a period
covering more than the third of a century.
During that time he made and furnished the
material for many of the largest and finest
brick structures now standing in this city and
its suburbs, both public and private, beside
shipping vast quantities toother markets. In
iSgoMr. Price became interested in the manu-
facture of artificial ice in this city, as a mem-
ber of the joint stock company known as the
Consumers' Ice Manufacturing Company, of
which he was made secretary and general
manager. To this business he has ever since
devoted his time and attention. The plant is
located on Front street, between Market street
and Edgmont avenue, and has a daily capacity
of thirty tons of the purest ice, manufactured
from distilled water, and absolutely free from
all deleterious substances.
13a
On the 17th of January, 1861, Mr. Price
married Louisa R. Wallace, a daughter of
David W'allace, of Tioga count}'. New York,
. who was a direct descendant of Lord Howe.
To Mr. and Mrs. Price were born two children,
one son and a daughter : Samuel A., was born
January 16, 1863, at Owego, Tioga county,
New York, graduated from the Chester High
school in 1882, after which he took the law
course at the university of Pennsylvania, was
admitted to the Delaware county bar in March,
1887, after admission was associated with the
district attorney for four years, and is now en-
gaged in thepracticeof law with Hon. William
Ward. He enlisted as a private in Co. B, 6th
regiment National guard, of Pennsylvania, on
March 11, 1881, was promoted from time to
time until September 19, 18S7, when he was
elected second lieutenant, which office he held
until April 13, 1891, when he was commis-
sioned by the governor of the State captain of
the company, which in efficiency ranks among
the first in the State; and Fannie W., born
February 4, 1868, at Chester, Pennsylvania,
now the wife of R. Somers Rhodes, a prosper-
ous manufacturer and member of the firm of
Aston Mills, this count}'. She is a member
of the Society of Daughters of the American
Revolution. Mrs. Louisa R. Price is also a
member of the same society ; her mother,
whose maiden name was Rachel Ransom, was
a direct descendant of Capt. Samuel Ransom,
who won distinction by his brilliant services
during the Revolutionary war, and was killed
at the massacre of Wyoming, July 3, 1778.
Captain Ransom was the first officer commis-
sioned by Congress, and was attached to the
Connecticut line.
In his political affiliations John C. Price is a
republican, and has taken a prominent part in
local politics. He served for two years, from
1864 to 1866, as a member of the city council,
during which time he introduced and aided in
passing a number of important measures, and
since 1868 has been a member of the school
board of this citv, and treasurer of the board
204
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOHY
since 1886. Mr. Price is also a director in the
Delaware County Trust, Safe Deposit & Title
Insurance Conipan\', of Chester, which is one
of the largest banking institutions in the
count)'. He is a regular attendant and liberal
contributor to St. Paul's Episcopal church,
with which his ancestors for several genera-
tions have been prominently connected.
tolCHAKD WETHEKILL,sonofRob-
^- ert, sr. , and Phoebe A. ( Delany) Weth-
erill, and a brother and business partner of
Robert Wetherill, jr., whose sketch appears
elsewhere in this volume — which see for an-
cestral history of the family. Richard Weth-
erill was born September 28, 1850, in Lower
Merion township, Montgomery county, Penn-
sj'lvania, and was educated in the public
schools of Philadelphia and at Chester acad-
em\'. After leaving school he was engaged
for a time as clerk in the drug store of M. H.
Bickley, in the city of Chester, and later oc-
cupied a like position with the Philadelphia,
Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company.
At the age of twenty-one years, January i,
1872, he formed a partnership with his elder
brother, Robert Wetherill, under the style of
Robert Wetherill & Co., for the manufacture
of Corliss engines, boilers and power-trans-
mitting machiner}', at Chester, this county.
The financial management of this enterprise
was in Richard Wetherill's hands from the
first, and he may justly be said to be the finan-
cial head of the concern. This firm has
achieved a world-wide reputation as manufac-
turers of the finest type of Corliss engines in
the market, and are the pioneers and leaders
in designing and producing cable railroad and
power transmitting machinery generally. Their
engine works and shops are among the largest
and best equipped establishments of the kind
in America, and they are the largest cable rail-
road engine builders in the world. The works
cover fully two squares of ground, the build-
ings being large and spacious and thoroughly
fitted up in the most approved manner and
with the best machinery. The different de-
partments embrace foundry, machine shops,
boiler shops and yard, pattern shops, draught-
ing floors, and other adjuncts, and the motive
power is supplied bj' a one-hundred horse
power engine. A Pennsylvania railroad sid-
ing connects with the works, and ever}' facility
and convenience for prompt shipment are at
command. An average force of three hundred
and fifty hands are here emplojed, and among
the work turned out have been Corliss engines
of the largest size, one thousand horse power
and upward, all of which are noted for elab-
orate and accurate workmanship, embodying
all improvements and rendering the most effi-
cient service. The patrons of the firm reside
in all parts of the United States and Canada,
and many of their engines have been shipped
to the West Indies, South America, and other
foreign countries.
On December 3, 1878, Mr. Wetherill mar-
ried Ella Larkin, a daughter of Hon. John
Larkin, of the city of Chester. To Mr. and
Mrs. Wetherill have been born a famih' of
four children, two sons and two daughters :
Robert, John Larkin, Florence D. and Ella L.
Mrs. Wetherill's father, Hon. John Larkin,
served as the first mayor of the city of Ches-
ter, and is still an active, prominent and influ-
ential citizen of Delaware county. He is a
leading member of the Episcopal church ; a
director in the Chester National bank. Union
Railwa)' Company of Chester, and the Chester
& Media Railway Company ; and treasurer of
the Standard Steel Casting Company of Thur-
low, this county. He is also a member of the
board of trustees of the Pennsylvania militarj'
college at Chester.
In his political affiliations Mr. Wetherill is
a republican, and in church membership an
Episcopalian, being connected with St. Paul's
Episcopal church of Chester. He is also a
member of Phcenix Lodge, No. 130, Free and
Accepted Masons, of Philadelphia ; Chester
Chapter, No. 258, Royal Arch Masons ; and
OF DELAWAIiE COUNTY.
205
Chester Commandery, No. 66, Knights Tem-
plar. He resides in one of the finest resi-
dences in Delaware county, located at the
northeast corner of Fourteenth and Potter
streets, which he completed and first occupied
in i8go. This handsome edifice is built en-
tirel)' of stone, is fashioned after the Gothic
style, and in its arrangements and adornments
is well calculated to embody the ideal Ameri-
can home. It maj' here be mentioned that in
1885 Mr. Wetherill and his brother Robert,
erected the Cambridge hotel, which is a large
five-story brick building of modern design,
and is conceded to be an architectural orna-
ment to the city. Mr. Wetherill is always in-
terested in every public enterprise, and active
in matters calculated to advance the growth
and prosperity of the city in which he resides.
He is recognized in business circles as an able
financier, and is a man of fine presence, urbane
and affable in manner. He began life as a
poor boy, and takes much satisfaction in the
conspicuous success he has attained, which he
attributes mainly to hard work and a deter-
mination to overcome every difficulty.
HON. ROBERT CHADWICK, the
present popular postmaster of Chester,
who served with distinction for eight years in
the State legislature, and has occupied many
other positions of honor and trust, is a son of
Thomas and Sarah (Crabtree) Chadwick, and
was born November 23, 1833, at Rochdale,
England. His parents were both natives of
that countr_v, but came to the United States in
1847, and settled in Upland, Delaware county,
Pennsylvania, where they passed the remain-
der of their lives. The mother died August
8, 1852, and eight days later the father and
husband was accidentally drowned in Chester
creek, when in the forty-seventh year of his
age. He was a whig in politics, and by his
marriage to Sarah Crabtree had a famil)- of
four children.
Hon. Robert Chadwick spent his boyhood
in Upland, where he attended the public
schools until his seventeenth 3'ear, and then
went to Frankford, Philadelphia county, where
he learned the trade of wheelwright. In 1866
he came to Chester and started a wagon fac-
tory and blacksmith shop at the corner of
Third and Fulton streets, this city, where he
has successfully conducted that enterprise ever
since, and for a number of years has done an
extensn'e and lucrative business.
Politically Mr. Chadwick has been a stanch
republican from the birth of that party, and
by his wise counsels and earnest labors has
done much for its success in Pennsylvania.
He has been twice elected to the city council,
serving six years as a member of that bod\-.
In 1880 he was elected to the State assembly,
and by successive reelections held that posi-
tion for eight years, serving on a number of
important committees and ably representing
Delaware county in the halls of legislation un-
til 1888. Mr. Chadwick early became noted
as one of the working members of the assem-
bly, and the interests of his constituents were
always carefully guarded, while the solid foun-
dation of past experience was made the basis
upon which he endeavored to build practical
and useful legislation. He served two years
on the board of trustees of the Soldiers' Home
at Erie, Pennsylvania, being the republican
representative appointed by the legislature.
In December, i88g, he was appointed post-
master at Chester by President Harrison, and
at once entered upon the discharge of his offi-
cial duties. Endowed with fine ability that
has been carefully trained by long participa-
tion in practical affairs, and possessing great
executive powers, Mr. Chadwick has admin-
istered the growing business of the Chester
postoffice with efficiency and promptness, and
is deservedly ranked as one of the best post-
masters this city has ever had:
On September g, 1S57, Robert Chadwick
married Louisa J. Gardner, a daughter of
Henry G. Gardner, of Frankford, Philadelphia
county, and to them was born a family of six
206
BIOGRAPHY AND IIISTOMY
children, two sons and four daughters, two of
whom are dead. The eldest son, Henry G.
Chadwick, married Annie Kirk, and has three
daughters — Hattie, Louise and Annie. He
is a partner with his father in the wagon fac-
tory here. The j'ounger son, John Gartside
Chadwick, is studying medicine at the Hahne-
mann Medical college. The eldest daughter,
Susie A., married Charles S. Worrell, of this
city, and has two children — Henry Chadwick
and Robert C. The younger daughter, Sarah
Louise, is living at home with her parents in
their comfortable and commodious home at
No. 220 West Seventh street.
On August 5, 1862, Hon. Robert Chadwick
enlisted as a private in Co. I, 114th Pennsyl-
vania volunteers — the regiment known as
Collis zouaves — and served as such until the
close of the war, being mustered out at Ar-
lington, Virginia, on May 29, 1865. Since
1866 he has been a member of Wilde Post,
No. 25, Grand .^rmy of the Republic, at Ches-
ter, and served as a representati\e to the Na-
tional convention of the Grand Army at Port-
land, Maine, and at St. Louis, Missouri. He
is also a member of the American Veteran
Legion, and a past master of Chester Lodge,
No. 236, Free and Accepted Masons, and is
prominently identified with Chester Chapter,
No. 258, Royal Arch Masons, and St. John
Commandery, No. 4, Knights Templar, of
Philadelphia.
J' ENGLE COCHRAN, the leading real
* estate dealer and mortgage broker of
the city of Chester, is a son of John and Cath-
arine (Johnson) Cochran, and was born at
Marcus Hook, Delaware county, Pennsyl-
vania, May 10, 1850. He was reared princi-
pall}' in the city of Chester, and received his
preparatory training in the public schools here
and in a preparatory school at Hightstown,
New Jerse}', where he remained two years.
At the end of that time he returned to Chester
and spent two years studying in the Pennsyl-
vania Militar}- academy of this city. He then
entered the emplo}' of the Pennsylvania rail-
road corhpany, of which his uncle, Herman J.
Lambert, was then president, and for three
years was engaged in civil engineering in the
south. In 1872 he returned to Delaware
county and engaged in the real estate and
mortgage brokerage business in the city of
Chester, which he has successfully conducted
here ever since. For more than twenty years
he has been an important factor in the busi-
ness and development of Chester, and his op-
erations both in real estate and loans surpass
in importance and magnitude those of any
other single firm in the cit}'.
On June 10, 1875, Mr. Cochran was united
in marriage with Adele D. Ladomus, the
daughter of a leading jeweler of the city of
Philadelphia. To Mr. and Mrs. Cochran have
been born four children, one son and three
daughters: Mary Adele, Amy Engle, Margaret
A. and Robert Spencer, all living at home with
their parents in their handsome residence on
Fourteenth street.
In his political affiliations Mr. Cochran has
always been republican, and has served the
city as a member of the select council and as
chairman of the street committee. He is a
member of Scott Lodge, No. 258, Free and
Accepted Masons, and owns a large amount
of real estate in this city, as does his wife,
who has an independent fortune in her own
right.
The Cochran family is of Scotch-Irish lin-
eage, and was planted in America by John
Cochran, paternal grandfather of the subject
of this sketch, who was born and reared in the
north of Ireland — a locality to which is traced
the ancestry of so many men who have dis-
tinguished themselves in the history of this
country, and left their impress on nearly all
our institutions and industries. In early man-
hood John Cochran left his native land and
soon after his arrival in America settled in this
county, at what is now the city of Chester,
THE N-:\v r
PUB
•^-'^i- 'K, LKNOX AND
TILDriN FOUNDATIONS
L
R
OF DEL A WARE CO('X2':Y.
209
where he purchased a large tract of land and
continued to reside until his death about 1848,
when he had attained the advanced age of
nearly seventy years. He married a Miss
Engle, and reared a family of five children,
one of whom was John Cochran (father), who
was born in what is now the city of Chester,
in 1825. He now resides here, in the sixty-
eighth year of his age, though still actively
engaged in business as a real estate dealer and
mortgage broker in the city of Philadelphia.
At one time he owned all the land noith of
the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore
railroad between Chester and Ridley creek,
now built up and comprised within the cor-
porate limits of the city. During all his ex-
tended career he has been noted for energy
and activity- in affairs, and now at an age
when most men desire to escape the cares and
responsibilities of active life, he still volunta-
rily remains at the head of a large and com-
plicated business, to the careful direction of
which he gives close personal attention, find-
ing that pleasure in constant activity which;
others seek in rest and recreation. PolitiGally
he is a stanch republican, and in religion a
member of the First Presbyterian church of
this city, being among the oldest members of
this denomination in Delaware county. With
his accustomed energy he takes an active part
in the affairs of his church, and contributes
liberally toward the support of its various in-
terests. In 1848 he married Catharine John-
son, a native of Springfield, this county, and
by her had a family of nine children, five sons
and four daughters; J. Engle, Samuel J ,
Helen, Herman L., Mary J., Anna, J. Howard,
Meta and Archibald A. Mrs. Catharine Coch-
ran was a daughter of Samuel Johnson, and a
granddaughter of the late Samuel Johnson, a
noted astronomer of his time. She was a strict
member of the Presbyterian church, and died at
her home in this city in 1876, at the early age
of forty-six years. The Cochran family is
connected with the Sharpless family, another
of the old pioneer families of Delaware county.
tDEV. M.XTTHEW A. HAND, the pas
T tor of the Catholic church at Wayne, this
county, is a son-- of Patrick and Catharine
(Murray) Hand, ano' was born April 23, i860,
in West Phiiridelphia, Pennsylvania. His
father is a native of We tiweath, Ireland, and
came to the United States whfen only fourteen
years of age. In 1853 he marrieJ Catharine
Murray, who was born in the same village?" in
Ireland, and who died May 27, 1867, aged
thirty-five years. They had a family of three
children: Jennie, Matthew A. and Katie V.
Patrick Hand now resides in the city of Phil-
adelphia, and is in the sixty-fifth year of his
age, having been born in 1828.
Matthew A. Hand grew to manhood in
West Philadelphia, receiving his early educa-
tion in the public schools. In J anuar}-, 1 87 1 , he
became a student at St. James parochial school
rn West Philadelphia, and one year later en-
tered LaSalle college, Philadelphia, where he
remained until 1876. In September of the lat-
ter year he entered the seminary of St. Charles
Boroneo at Overbrook, Montgomery count)',
where he began studying for the priesthood of
the Catholic church. He was ordained there
January 11, 1885, and was soon after made
assistant at St. Dominick's church. Holmes-
burg, Philadelphia county. While serving in
that position he also became chaplain to the
convent of the Sacred Heart at Torresdale,
same county, and visiting chaplain of the
house of correction. On September 20, 1886,
he was transferred to St. John's church, cor-
ner of Thirteenth and Chestnut streets, in the
city of Philadelphia, as assistant pastor. He
remained there until June 3, 1888, when he
was made assistant at the church of St. Agatha,
Thirty-eighth and Spring Garden streets, Phil-
adelphia. After a little more than three years'
stay at this church, he was transferred to the
Church of the Assumption, Twelfth and Spring
Garden streets, Philadelphia. During the ab-
sence of the rector, who was in feeble health,
Rev. Father Hand was placed in charge of
the parish temporarily. On the 7th of June,
310
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
1893, he received a commissio'ii from Most
Rev. Archbishop Ryan to establish a parish
at Wayne, Delaware count.y, and soon after
came to this place and 'uegan his work. He
has been very success' in his efforts to build
up a church here, ar ' has already erected a
small chapel f.'or ti . use of his congregation
until the.'j can build a. handsome church, to
iha: erection of which Father Hand is now giv-
ing his attention. He is a verj' pleasant gen-
tleman and is well liked by the people of
Wayne.
♦-♦-♦
jrOHN F. BEATTY, proprietor of the
leading coal and feed business at Morton,
this county, and one of the most enterprising
and successful business men of that section,
is a son of William P. and Martha (Hannum)
Beatty, and a native of Springfield township,
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, where he was
born February 23, 1856. The Beatty family
is of Scotch- Irish origin, its first representa-
tive in America being Thomas Beatty (great-
grandfather), who was born in County Tyrone,
Ireland, but left the Emerald Isle while yet a
boy to try his fortune in the new world, and
settled in Delaware county, where William
Beatty (grandfather) was born. His grand-
father served as a soldier in the American
army during the war of 18 12, was a farmer and
edge tool maker, and a member of the Pres-
byterian church at Middletown, this county.
His son, William P. Beatty (father;, was born
on the old Beatty homestead in Springfield
township, in 1828, and after attaining man-
hood succeeded his father in the manufacture
of edge tools, and followed that business all
his life. His death occurred at his home in
his native township, Februarj', 1878, after an
active and useful life spanning half a century.
Politically he was a Jacksonian democrat, and
filled the office of school director one term in
his township. In 1852 he married Martha
Hannum, a daughter of Edwin Hannum, and
a native of Delaware county. She is of direct
Welsh descent, and her family is among the
oldest in Pennsylvania, and connected with
the Sharpless family of this and Chester county.
She now resides in the village of Morton, and
is in the sixty-first year of her age. The
children of William and Martha Beatty were :
Ella M., J. F., William P. and Edwin H.
John F. Beatty was reared on the farm in
Springfield township, and received his educa-
tion in the public schools and at Swarthmore
college, which latter institution he attended
for two years. After leaving school he assisted
his father in the edge tool factory until 1881,
when he removed to the village of Morton and
embarked in the coal and feed business on his
own account. Being active and enterprising,
he soon had a good trade, which he has con-
ducted with increasing success to the present
time. In addition to his coal and feed busi-
ness Mr. Beatty is interested in several other
directions. He is a director in the Faraday
Power, Heat & Light Company of this village,
occupies the same position in the Morton
Building and Loan association, and is a direc-
tor of the Morton Fire Company,
On November 23, 1881, John F. Beatty and
Mary Grace Cooke were united in marriage,
and to them have been born three daughters :
Emma Cooke, Jean Lewis and Martha Han-
num ; the last died when two years old. Mrs.
Beatty is a daughter of Lewis D. Cooke, of
Glenolden, Delaware county, and was born
near Valley Forge, Chester county.
Politically Mr. Beatty is an ardent democrat,
well grounded in the basic principles of his
party and active in their support. For twelve
years he has" been treasurer of the Morton
Democratic association, and is recognized as
one of the ablest and most influential local
leaders of democracy in his section. He has
represented Delaware county in the State con-
ventions of the Democratic party, and taken
an active part in their proceedings. Mr.
Beatty is a member of George W. Bartram
Lodge, No. 234, Free and Accepted Masons,
and of Media Chapter, No. 298, Royal Arch
Masons. While his business methods have
OF DELAWAIiE COUNTY.
311
won the confidence of the community, he is
also liighly regarded as a man and a citizen,
and is very popular with all who know him.
J^OHN LENTZ GARRETT, a rising
lawyer of the cit}' of Chester, is -a son of
J. Lewis and Caroline (Dutton) Garrett, and
was born November i, 1863, at Milage Green,
Aston township, Delaware county, Pennsyl-
vania. The Garretts trace their transatlantic
origin to England, whence the family was
early transplanted to America and settled in
the colony of William Penn. John Garrett,
paternal grandfather of John Lentz Garrett,
was a native of Chester county, born in 1789,
and died at Village Green, this county, in
1872, after an active and useful life covering
over three quarters of a centurj', being eighty-
three years of age at the time of his decease.
While yet a young man he learned the trade
of millwright, at which he worked for many
years throughout Chester and Delaware coun-
ties, and had the reputation of being unusually
skillful in the business. He and his brother
Lewis served in the American army during the
war of 1812. In 1835 ^^ became landlord of
the Seven Stars tavern at Village Green, which
is said to have been the headquarters of Lord
Cornwallis while the British army lay en-
camped near this village in the fall of 1777.
Mr. Garrett remained connected with this
hotel until his death in 1872. During the
ten-hour agitation in 1847, he took an active
part in favor of the proposed reform, which
was then even more unpopular with the em-
ploying class than the eight-hour agitation is
now. He permitted the workingmen to hold
their meetings at his house without charge,
and thus incurred the enmity of a number of
his neighbors and patrons. The cause which
then required martyrs is to-day regarded as
much a matter of course as the rising and set-
ting of the sun. And thus the world moves for-
ward. John Garrett married Hannah Smedley,
and had a family of five children, all of whom
are now deceased except J. Lewis Garrett (fath-
er), and Hannah Ann, wife of James Harvey,
of the city of Chester. The former was born
in this county July 31, 1823, and was reared
principally at Village Green, where he attended
the public schools and obtained a good prac-
tical education. After leaving school he was
associated with his father in the management
of the hotel for a number of years, and finally
succeeded to its ownership and sole control.
It is now known as the Village Green hotel,
and although nearly seventy-one years of age,
Mr. Garrett still continues in its management.
Politically he is a democrat of the Jacksonian
school, and was elected in 1857 to the office
of county auditor. Again in 1884 he was
elected to the same position, serving one term
with great acceptability. In 1861 he married
Caroline Dutton, a daughter of Robert R.
Dutton, ex-sheriff of Delaware county, and by
that union had a family of four children, two
sons and two daughters : Howard Lee, John
Lentz, Carrie Lewis and Lena Bell, deceased.
Mrs. Caroline Garrett was born in Upper
Chichester township, this county, in 1836, and
is consequently now in the fifty-eighth year of
her age. Her father, Robert R. Dutton (ma-
ternal grandfather), was also a native of this
county, of English parentage, and in 1846 was
elected and served as sheriff of this county.
After the expiration of his term of office he
embarked in the lumber business in this city,
which he followed with gratifying success un-
til his death, in 1873, at the age of sixty-four
years. He married Anna Bartram, a direct
descendant of John Bartram, the distinguished
botanist.
John Lentz Garrett grew to manhood at Vil-
lage Green, receiving his education in the pub-
lic schools and at the Chester High school,
from which latter he was graduated in the
class of 1883. He then began reading law in
the office of O. B. Dickinson, esq., in this city,
and later entered the law department of the
University of Pennsylvania, from which he
was graduated with the degree of B. L. in
213
BIOGRAPHY AXD HISTORY
1887. In June of the same year he was ad-
mitted to practice at the Delaware county bar,
and has ever since been associated with O. B.
Dickinson, esq., his former preceptor, in gen-
eral practice in the courts of this county.
These gentlemen have a large clientage and
do an extensive law business.
Politically John Lentz Garrett is an active
and enthusiastic democrat. He has been a
working member of the Democratic executive
committee of this county ever since attaining
his majority. For several years he served as
secretary of this committee, and is now serv-
ing his second term as its chairman. Mr.
Garrett is unmarried.
QEORGE L. AR3IITAGE,apromineiif
^■^ manufacturer and dealer in building pa-
pers and roofing materials, and a leading con-
tractor for all kinds of tin, slate and slag roof-,
ing, at Chester, this count}-, is a s.on df-Johh'
and Caroline (Welch) Armitage, and a najiv.e-
of Hartford county, Marj'land, where he was
born August 2, 1855. The family is of direct
English descent, and was planted in the United
States by George Armitage, paternal grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, who came
over from England about 1840 and settled in
Pennsylvania. He died in the city of Phila-
delphia about 1850, aged nearly fifty years.
His wife was Hannah ( Ibotson) Armitage, of
England, and he reared a family of children,
one of whom was John Armitage (father), who
was born in England, but came to the United
States with his parents when fourteen X'ears of
age. He now resides in the city of Richmond,
\'irginia, where he is engaged in the manu-
facture of roofing materials, and is doing a
large and prosperous business. Politically he
is a democrat, though he has taken little in-
terest in politics, preferring to devote all his
energies to the management of his business
affairs. In 1853 he married Caroline Welch,
of Delaware county, Pennsylvania. To their
union was born a family of three children :
George L., Charles F. and William C. Mrs.
Caroline Armitage was born in Delaware
count}', was a devoted member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church, and died August 15,
1892, at the advanced age of sixty-nine years.
George L. Armitage was brought from
Maryland to Chester, this county, by his par-
ents when only five years of age, and was
reared and principally educated here. He at-
tended the public schools of this city until
1871, when he went to Philadelphia and took
a course of training in Crittenden's Business
college, from which he graduated in the au-
tumn of that year. After leaving school he
worked awhile for his father, who was then
engaged in the roofing business at Chester,
arid later became a partner with his father,
u'ndfirthe firm name of John Armitage & Son.
They also conducted a branch establishment
in Richmond, Virginia, to which city the elder
r:Armitage removed in 1882, but continued to
dot business here until 1886, when the firm was
dissolved by mutual consent, the father tak-
ing the Richmond branch and the son retain-
ing the business in Chester, which he has ever
since conducted in his own name. He takes
contracts, large or small, for all kinds of tin,
slate and slag roofing, 'and is also extensively
engaged in the manufacture of building papers
and roofing material. His office and ware-
house is located at No. 328 East Eighth street,
where he keeps on hand a large stock of every-
thing required in his line of business, and is at
all times prepared to meet any reasonable re-
quirements of builders or dealers in roofer's
supplies.
On June 16, i88i,Mr. Armitage was mar-
ried to Mary W. Marshall, youngest daughter
of Henry Marshall, of the city of Chester, and
to them have been born a family consisting of
two sons and a daughter: Mabel N., Harry
M. and George L., jr. Mr. Armitage is a
leading member of the Madison street Metho-
dist Episcopal church, and in politics is a
stanch republican.
Ci-(UL^^^- ^^^-t-.
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
313
□ LBERT BAXTER, a prominent dealer
in hides and tallow, and one of the pros-
perous, enterprising and highl}' esteemed citi-
zens of Chester, is the youngest of the ten
children of John and Mar}' { Pollard) Baxter,
of Bradford, Yorkshire, England, and was born
there January 25, 1837. His parents were
natives of Yorkshire, where the father died in
1 845, aged sixty-two years. He was descended
from an old English family, had a fine educa-
tion, and for twent}' )'ears preceding his death
was an earnest and eloquent local preacher of
the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1849 his
widow, Mrs. Mary Baxter, came to the United
^ States, bringing her youngest son, the subject
of this sketch. She was a member of the same
church as her husband, and died in the city of
Philadelphia in 1868, in the seventj'-fourth
year of her age. Of the other children of
John and Mary Baxter, Alfred now resides in
Colorado, where he owns and conducts a large
stock ranch. He was finely educated, being
a Greek, Latin, Hebrew and German scholar,
and was a local preacher of the Methodist
Episcopal church for twenty }'ears in England
before coming to America. Another son, Wil-
liam Baxter, was for man}' years a resident of
Indiana, where he died in 1886, aged sixty-two
years. He was elected and served in both
branches of the legislature of that State, where
he was known as an able and eloquent temper-
ance advocate, and won the soubriquet of " the
John B. Gough of Indiana." He was the
author of what is known iu that State as the
Baxter temperance bill, passed by the legisla-
ture while he was a member of that body.
Albert Baxter was twelve years of age when
he came to this country with his mother, and
located in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, where for two years he lived with an
older brother, William Baxter. He and this
brother then removed to Camden, New Jersey,
where Albert Baxter remained for a quarter of
a century, engaged in the hide and tallow
trade. He successfully conducted that busi-
ness until 1865, when he sold out and two
years later became a wholesale dealer in wool,
at No. 38 North Front street, Philadelphia.
In that city he remained for a period of twelve
years, and in 1878 removed to Chester, Dela-
ware county, where he once more began deal-
ing in hides and tallow, a business which he
has conducted until the present time with con-
stantly increasing success. Mr. Baxter may
be written down as one of the self-made men
of his times, for his present prosperity is the
result of his own indefatigable industry and
the right use of the business ability with which
he is endowed. He owns property at Camden,
New Jersey, in addition to his holdings in this
city.
By his marriage, December 3, 1866, to Annie
E. Brace, of Camden, New Jersey, Mr. Baxter
has two sons : Harry \. and Howard B. Mrs.
Baxter was a daughter of David Brace, and en-
tered into rest in 1879, aged thirty-seven years.
Politically Mr. Baxter is a stanch republican,
and while supporting the principles of his
party with great tenacity, is not intolerant to-
ward the opinion of others.
"^110312^8 MOORE, an esteemed citizen
of Chester, and the originator of the
Chester institute of science, whose continued
existence would have been highly beneficial to
the county and State, is a son of Storey and
Elizabeth (Armstrong) Moore, and was born
at North Shields, in Northumberland county,
England, February 12, 1821. Thomas Moore
was the eldest of a family of six children,
of whom three were sons and three were
daughters. Storey Moore married Elizabeth
Armstrong, who died in 1834, aged thirty-
seven years. They had six children : Rob-
ert. William, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ann and
Mary Ann. Mrs. Moore was a daughter
of Thomas Armstrong, of Scotch blood, and
whose whole family was noted in the an-
nals of border warfare along the English and
Scotch boundary line, as among the boldest
and most daring of the celebrated rovers.
214
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
The Armstrongs were noted for size and
strength and many of them followed black-
smithing.
Thomas Moore, after attending the free
schools at Newcastle upon the Tyne until he
was eleven years of age, was put in the print-
ing office of Enos McKenzie, on the New-
castle /'revx, after which he became an appren-
tice to the blacksmith trade, which he learned
at Winlaton, County Durham. While serving
as an apprentice he built small engines that he
could run with the steam from a tea-kettle
spout, and after completing his apprenticeship
he engaged most successfully in working on
locomotive engines. At twenty-three years of
age he informed his grandfather that he thought
himself a good enough republican to become a
citizen of the United States and was too good
to remain longer under monarchial control, he
being a strong Chartist. Having come to tliis
conclusion he set sail in 1844 in the Normandy,
with his sister, for Philadelphia. Arriving at
that city he started across the mountains to
Pittsburg, which trip took him two weeks to
make, where he was engaged in making an-
vils. Leaving Pittsburg in a few days he went
to Braddock's Fields, and after working at
blacksmithing and chain making for some
time, he secured the superintendency of the
tool repairing department of the Great West-
ern Armstrong Company's iron works, which
position he was compelled to resign in order
to take his sister, who had become sick, back
to Europe. After a stay of two years in his
native land he returned to this State, where he
was engaged in building engines at Lamber-
ton. New Jersey, and saw mills at Clarksboro
for some time. He then went to Philadelphia,
where he engaged in the manufacture of clay
spades, which took a premium at the industrial
exhibition at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1849.
Shortly after this he entered the locomotive
shop of Norris Brothers, and in his line of work
visited Chester, where he conceived the idea
of starting a blacksmith shop, which he put
into successful operation the following spring.
Mr. Moore engaged upon a large scale in small
work for the extensive cotton and woolen mills.
After some years he quit blacksmithing and
embarked in gun repairing, which he followed
until he engaged in the hardware business at
Sixth and Welsh and Twenty-third streets.
He established one of the first hardware houses
in the county, and in connection with it did a
large business in cutting stamps and brands
in steel and iron, until 1876, when the death
of his son, William, so affected him that he re-
tired from all active commercial pursuits. He
spends a considerable portion of his time in
gunning and fishing. In 1881 Mr. Moore in-
augurated the movement for the establishment
of the Chester institute of science. He con-
tributed liberally of his time and means to the
building up of that institution, gave to it his
valuable and somewhat extensive entomolog-
ical cabinet, and acted as manager and treas-
urer of the association, but after an existence
of four years, during which time it occupied
rooms in the Cochran building and at Fourth
and Market streets, the association went down
for want of support by the people, in whose
interest it was established. In politics Mr.
Moore was a socialist of the Robert Owen type,
when at Newcastle, in England, and in 1842
led a party of his fellow apprentices on one oc-
casion during the Chartist riots in the Forth
Fields. Since residing in the United States
he was a Democrat of the Douglas type, after
which he became a republican. He is a past
grand of Leeperville Lodge, No. 62, and a
member of Chester Encampment, Independ-
ent Order of Odd Fellows.
On the 20th of June, 1850, Mr. Moore mar-
ried Elizabeth Greenwood, who died July 7,
1856, aged twenty-six years. For his second
wife he wedded Mary C. Cloud, by whom he
had one child, Thomas A. By his first mar-
riage he had two children, a son and a daugh-
ter: Anna J., who died at three years of age,
and William James, who passed away at twen-
ty-one years of age, when an honorable career
was opening before him.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
215
William James Moore was a born student of
nature and directed his studies and researches
particularly in the fields of entomology and
ornithology, where his collections were exten-
sive and of vahie. He had that valuable edu-
cuation that is born of patient perseverance
and hard work, as well as the finished educa-
tion of the schools. In the \ery spring time
of life, in the opening season of joy and bliss,
of strength and pride, he was cut down by the
hand of Death. He was born October 6, 1854,
and died November 23, 1875.
^JOSEPH 3IE8SICK,oneof theproprie-
tors of the Grove worsted mills, corner of
Rose and Walnut streets, in the city of Ches-
ter, is a gentleman whose successful business
career fitly illustrates what can be accom-
plished in this country by a right use of
hand and head, even when unaided by a dol-
lar of inherited capital. This lesson has been
taught again and again by the brilliant career
of men who with undiscouraged energy have
climbed from the bottom to the higher rounds
of life's ladder, but there is little danger of its
being too often repeated. The subject of this
sketch was born February 15, 1846, at Fried-
berg, Baden, Germany, and is a son of George
and Madeline ( Hauck ) Messick, both natives
of the same place. When five j'ears of age,
in 1 85 1, he was brought to America by his
parents, who first settled at Wilmington, Dela-
ware, and later removed to New Castle, that
State, where the father died in 1857, at the
early age of forty-two years. His widow im-
mediatel}' returned to Wilmington, where she
has resided ever since, being now in the sev-
enty-third year of her age. George Messick
(father) was a butcher by occupation, a demo-
crat politically, and a member of the Catholic
church. By his marriage to Madeline Hauck
he had a family of four children, two sons and
two daughters : Joseph. Katharine, Mary, and
one other.
Joseph Messick was reared partly in New
Castle and partly at Wilmington, Delaware,
receiving a fair English education in the pub-
lic schools of New Castle and St. Peter's paro-
chial school in Wilmington. At the age of
twelve he went to work for a furniture dealer
in that city, with whom he remained for a year
and a half, and in the latter part of 1859 en-
gaged to run a sawing machine in a carriage
factory at Wihnington. In tlie summer of
i860 he entered another shop to learn carriage
trimming, but the breaking out of the war in
that year disorganized the business and left
him without work. In September, 1861, he
went to Philadelphia and secured employment
in a factory making knapsacks for the United
States government, and after remaining in that
city one year he returned to Wilmington to
finish learning the trade of carriage maker.
Later he came back to Philadelphia, where he
worked as a journe}-nian until 1865, when he
once more went to \\'ilmington and worked at
his trade for nine months with John Merrick,
after which he assumed charge of the trim-
ming department of Gregg & Bowe's carriage
factory in that city, and remained in that posi-
tion until 1874. In the latter year he came to
the city of Chester and embarked in the furni-
ture business on his own account. Being en-
terprising, accommodating and pushing, and
depending on pluck rather than luck to win
success in the battle of life, he soon had an
e.xcellent trade, which constantly increased un-
der his able management, and which he sue-'
cessfully conducted until 1886, when he sold
out, and, in partnership with D. H. Daley,
built the large worsted mills, known as the
Grove mills, at the corner of Rose and Walnut
streets, in this cit}', and began the manufacture
of all kinds of worsted j-arns. These mills are
fitted up with the finest modern machinerj-,
and turn out a product that finds a ready sale
in the best markets of this country. They give
emplo\ment to one hundred people the year
round, and the business aggregates the sum
of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars
annuall}'. To the practical skill and sound
21(5
BIOGRAPHY ASD HISTORY
business judgment of Mr. Messick much of
this conspicuous success is due. In addition
to his interest in the manufacturing business
he is also one of the largest property owners
of this city, owning and renting out more than
twenty residences and business houses. He
was one of the original stockholders and is
now a director in the Delaware County Trust,
Safe Deposit & Title Insurance Company of
this cit)-, and was one of the organizers of the
Chester Electric Light & Power Company, in
whose board of directors he has also served.
Since 1889 he has been president of the Frank-
lin Building & Loan association of this city,
and has done much toward creating its suc-
cess and to aid its members in securing homes
of their own.
On the 7th of July, 1867, Mr. Messick was
united in marriage with Hannah Dougherty,
a daughter of Mary Dougherty, of the city of
Wilmington, Delaware. To Mr. and Mrs.
Messick has been born a family of twelve
children, five sons and seven daughters, of
whom two sons and one daughter are dead.
Those living are : George F., now engaged in
the gentlemen's furnishing business in this
city; Mary, Madeline, Annie, Joseph, jr.,
Laura, Elizabeth, Nellie and Stephen.
In religious faith Mr. Messick follows the
tradition of his famih', and is a member of St.
Michael's Catholic church of this city. Polit-
ically he is independent, voting for the men or
measures that in his judgment will best sub-
serve the public good, but taking little active
part in politics, preferring to devote his active
energies to the successful business he has
built up, and to the management of his vari-
ous propertj' interests.
TA/ILLIAM BAGGS ULRICH,M.D.,
one of the most successful and skillful
physicians of southeastern Pennsj'lvania, who
has led an unusually active and busy life, and
is noted for his enthusiasm and able discus-
sions in medicine and politics, was born in the
city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 4,
1829, and is the son of Samuel and Catharine
H. ( Baggs) Ulrich. Dr. Ulrich's grandfather,
John Ulrich, was a native of Germany, where
he lived until twenty-five years of age. He
then came to America and settled in Phila-
delphia, where he married and where his fam-
ily was reared. His son, Samuel Ulrich ( fath-
er), was born and brought up in that city, and
resided there until 1834, when he removed to
Chester, Delaware county. Here he spent
the remainder of his life, dying December 6,
1871, at the age of sixty-nine years. In 1828
he married Catharine H. Baggs, a native of
this city and a daughter of William and Rachel
Baggs. To them was born a family of nine
children, three sons and six daughters, of
! whom Dr. Ulrich is the eldest. In early life
Samuel Ulrich was an admirer and follower of
Andrew Jackson in political affairs, but in later
years joined the opposition and was a whig
and republican. He served as justice of the
peace in this city for many years, and his
knowledge of law and natural sense of justice
enabled him to discharge the duties of that
oflTice with great acceptability. For a long
time he was also a notar}' public, and in addi-
tion to the regular duties of that position be-
came a kind of general legal adviser for his
friends and neighbors. His wife was a native
of the city of Chester, a person of clear judg-
ment and the embodiment of all that was good
and admirable; her kindly disposition circled
ever\'body who suffered and came to her for
relief, and was daily manifested in increasing
works of love, faith, hope and charity. She
died in Chester, December i, 1885, aged sev-
enty-eight years.
William Baggs Ulrich was brought from his
native city to Chester by his parents when
seven years of age, and grew to manhood here,
receiving his education in the public schools of
this city and at Jonathan Gause's boarding
school, at Unionville, Chester county. After
leaving school he entered a drug store in Phil-
adelphia, and while performing his duties there
9fiCl.
'ia^^A, 7?t ^.
'JC
yoR^
OF DEL A WABE COUXTY.
219
also attended the college of pharmacy in that
city, and thoroughly learned the drug busi-
ness. In 1845 he matriculated at the Phila-
delphia college of medicine, and dividing his
time between attending lectures and his duties
as a druggist, he continued to pursue his pro-
fessional studies in that institution until 1850,
when he was duly graduated with the degree
of M.D. In the fall of that j'ear he received
an advantageous offer from a firm at Natchez,
Mississippi, who desired him to assume charge
of a drug store in that city, and needing money
and believing the south would offer a good
opening for the practice of his profession, he
accepted the ofier and removed to Mississippi,
going bj' rail to the foot of the AUeghenies,
where he took a stage over the mountains to
Brownsville, by boat to Pittsburg and thence to-
Natchez. After one year spent in the,dfiig"
store he left that position and located in Con- "
cordia parish, Louisiana, some twenty-five
miles below Natchez, where he soon had a.
large and lucrative practice, and where hex'e» "
mained until after the close of the great civil...
war. In 1865 Dr. Ulrich took a special post
graduate course in the New Orleans school of
medicine, at New Orleans, and graduated in
1866. While in the south it was his fortune
to go through four epidemics of yellow fever,
and he became well acquainted with the dis-
ease and very skillful in its management. In
1870, while on a visit to this city, the yellow
fever made its appearance at the Lazaretta
quarantine, this couut\'. The disease getting
outside of that institution, Dr. Ulrich was
summoned as an expert to take charge of the
cases, three having occurred in Chester, which
were successfully treated by him, and in recog-
nition of which the city council of Chester
tendered him a unanimous vote of thanks for
his efforts in protecting the city from the rav-
ages of that dread disease. About that time he
made some strictures on the management of
the Philadelphia board of health, and in con-
sequence got into a bitter newspaper discus-
sion, in which he demonstrated as complete a
U
command of the pen as on other occasions he
has shown of the heahng art and the art of
platform oratory. His father's health being
poor, and a number of friends urging him to
locate here, Dr. Ulrich determined to remain,
and he consequently began a practice in the
city of Chester, which soon increased to ex-
tensive proportions and has become quite
lucrative. His reputation as a skillful and
successful physician extends to all parts of the
county, and he is frequently called in consul-
tation to distant points. In 1872 he was ap-
pointed surgeon for the Pennsylvania Military
college at Chester, which position he has held
ever since, and about the same time he became
lecturer on hygiene in the same institution.
During the same year he was made official
-surgeon of the Philadelphia, Wilmington &
Baltirjiore-.railroad, and has held that place to
the present time. Dr. Ulrich owns a stock
farm at Newark, Delaware, on which he keeps
some highly bred horses.
Takiiig an active interest in everything that
concerns the advancement of his profession,
Dr. Ulrich has long been a prominent member
of several medical societies and a contributor
to leading medical journals. He holds mem-
bership in the Delaware County Medical so-
ciety, of which he has several times served as
president ; the Pennsylvania State Medical
society, in which he has filled the chair of first
vice-president ; and in the American Medical
association, of whose judicial council he was
a member for several years. He is also an
honorary member of the Delaware State Med-
ical society, and known to the profession
throughout the Union as an able discusser of
medical subjects. He has served as a dele-
gate to many of the State Medical conventions
of Pennsylvania and other States, and also as
a delegate from the American Medical associa-
tion to the Medical association of Canada.
Being a fluent speaker and well posted in his
profession, he has ever borne a conspicuous
part in the discussions that have taken place
at these meetings, and exercised great influ-
330
BIOOMAPHY AND HISTORY
ence in the official action of the associations.
Pohticall}- Dr. Ulrich is an ardent democrat,
and has been scarcely less active or eloquent
on behalf of his party than in defense of his
views concerning medicine and medical prac-
tice. For many years he was a member of
the school board in Louisiana, and also served
several years as a member of the school board
of this city. He has done a good deal of effec-
tive political speaking, and was made a candi-
date of his partj^ here for the State senate,
without anj' effort on his part, but of course
could not overcome the big majorit\- of his
political opponents in this district.
On ]\Iay 4, 1854, Dr. Ulrich was married to
Eliza L. Miller, a daughter of David F. Mil-
ler, a large cotton planter of Louisiana. To
Doctor and Mrs. Ulrich were born three sons :
Samuel B., William R. and David M., and one
daughter, Mar\-. Dr. Ulrich enjoys a well
earned reputation as a skillful surgeon, a
learned physician, an able and eloquent
speaker, and an affable and an agreeable gen-
tlemen, whom it is a pleasure to meet and
know. His distinguished services have en-
deared him to man}', and rendered his name a
household word in this section.
"CL3IER VALENTINE, proprietor of
the prosperous Electric Carpet Cleaning
works at 622 and 624 Crosb\- street, in the
city of Chester, is a son of William G. and
Mary E. (Wier) Valentine, and was born April
7, 1865, at Claymont, Delaware. This family
is of direct Scotch descent, and originally set-
tled in Pennsylvania, near this citv, but after-
ward removed to Claymont, Delaware, where
George Valentine, paternal grandfather of the
subject of this sketch, was born and reared.
He was a farmer by occupation, and owned a
large and valuable farm adjoining Claymont,
where he died November 26, 1869, aged seven-
ty-two years. Politically he was a whig and
republican, and in religion a member of the
Episcopal church. He married Sarah Coch-
ran, by whom he had a family of seven chil-
dren : Alexander, now a wholesale milk dealer
at Wilmington, Delaware ; William G., father
of Elmer; James, a retired farmer of New
Castle county, Delaware ; Engle, a resident of
Wilmington ; John, living at Sherson Hill,
Pennsylvania ; Sallie, wife of Ephraim Royal,
also of Sherson Hill ; and Lydia, who married
Charles Body, of Wilmington, Delaware.
William G. Valentine (father) was born at
Chester, Delaware count)', in 1832, and now
resides in the city of Wilmington, Delaware,
where he owns and manages what is known
as the Front street flouring mill of that city,
doing a large and lucrative business. He is
a stanch republican, a member of Lafayette
Lodge, No. 14, Free and Accepted Masons,
and for a number of years has been a prom-
inent member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, which he served for a time as trustee.
At the age of twenty-two he married Marv E.
Wier, a daughter of William Wier, of Ches-
ter, and by that union had four children :
Melissa, married George Bently, superinten-
dent of the Harrisburg Iron works ; Horace,
engaged in the wholesale milk trade at Wil-
mington, Delaware ; William, now in business
with his father in that city ; and Elmer, whose
name heads this sketch. Mrs. Mary E. Val-
entine is of American descent, and is now in
the sixty-first year of her age.
Elmer \'alentine grew to manhood in his
native State, receiving a superior English
education in the Haickness academy at Wil-
mington, and after completing his studies
embarked in the general upholstery business
in that citv. After three years in that line he
removed to the city of Brooklyn, New York,
where he engaged in the furniture and carpet
trade. He remained in Brooklyn, doing a
prosperous business, until 1892, when he came
to Chester, Pennsylvania, and in partnership
with his brother, William \'alentine, started
the Electric Carpet Cleaning works at Nos.
622 and 624 Crosby street, this city. In Jan-
uary, 1893, Elmer \'alentine purchased his
OF DELAWARE COVJSTTY.
221
brother's interest in the works, and since that
time has conducted the enterprise in liis own
name, doing a business which will average
about eight thousand dollars per 3'ear.
On June 3, i8gi, Mr. Valentine was united
in marriage to Mary E. Crosle\', youngest
daughther of Thomas Crosle}', of the cit}' of
Chester. In political matters Mr. Valentine
is a pronounced republican, and while enter-
taining no ambition for himself, yet always
gives his party a loyal support on questions
of State and National policy.
TA/ILLIA3I HENRY BOWEN, senior
member of the publishing firm of Bowen,
Cooper & Temple, proprietors of the Chester
Evening Au-u>s, was born in Chester township,
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, on the 15th
of November, 1850, and his career is therefore
entirely comprised in the latter half of the
nineteenth century. He is a son of the late
John and Mary A. (Anderson) Bowen, and one
of a family of seven children, four of whom
are yet living: Alfred A., James A., Mary
Ellen, who married Samuel A. Hollingshead,
and William H., the subject of this sketch.
His grandparents were Stacy and Ellen (Mont-
gomery) Bowen, both of remote Welsh de-
scent, and Robert and Eliza (Lowry ) Ander-
son, the latter a daughter of James and Mary
Lowry.
The early boyhood days of William H.
Bowen were spent in the city of Chester, to
which his parents removed while he was yet
an infant, and were passed without unusual
incident. The first school he attended was
then known as the Larkintown public school,
a frame building that stood in what is now
Madison street, at its intersection with Elev-
enth street. Later the family removed to
Nether Providence township, this county,
where young Bowen completed his education
in what was then known as the Union Gram-
mar school. The elder Bowen had decided
tliat his son William should be a manufac-
turer, and to that end had him acquire a prac-
tical knowledge of cotton spinning, with all
the various stages of work connected there-
with, and later learn the various processes
belonging to the manufacture of woolen yarns.
But young Bowen's tastes ran in a different
direction, and it must be recorded that he did
not apph' himself to the spinning of cotton
and woolen yarns with that degree of assiduity
which he gave to those of a. literary character.
Seeing this bent in his makeup, his father
finally consented to his adopting journalism
as a calling, and apprenticed him to \'ernon
& Cooper, publishers of the Delaware County
American, at Media, this count}-, where he be-
gan an earnest effort to master the intricacies
of the -'art preservative of arts, " and soon
acquired a remarkable degree of skill in every-
thing connected with the printing business,
as then practiced in a country newspaper office.
He remained with the American a dozen years
or more, during which time he became profi-
cient in all the mechanical branches of the
business, and filled successively several posi-
tions connected with the management and
reportorial conduct of the paper. Having a
taste for further knowledge of newspaper
work, in 1876 he identified himself with the
Chester Evening News, where he remained a
year or two, and was then induced to return
to Media to "set up" the office of the Media
Record, then being started by Batting, Chad-
wick & Williamson. Leaving there he came
back to the Chester News again. Soon after
his first employment in this office he had
made the assertion that he would one day
own the Evening News, a prophesj' he never
forgot and that came true later on.
On August 18, 1878, Mr. Bow-en was mar-
ried to Martie W. Rose, a daughter of Henry
W. and Sarah Rose, of Camden, New Jersey,
who has since borne him two children, a son
named John Lawrence and a daughter, Flor-
ence Rose, both of whom are li\ing at home
with their parents. A year after this marriage
William A. Todd, proprietor of the Evening
222
BIOGRAPHY ABI) HISTOSY
Au'ws, died ; and when the newspaper was
offered at public sale ^Ir. Bowen, with two
other gentlemen, purchased the valuable plant
and assumed the management of the paper.
One of these partners died shortl}- afterward,
and the other disposed of his interest later on,
leaving the subject of this sketch sole owner
of the business. Under his able management
the paper grew rapidly in circulation and in
fluence, and new and faster presses were re-
quired, and an enlarged plant made necessary
by reason of the increased business. During
these years Thomas \. Cooper, with whom
Mr. Bowen had learned his trade, became a
silent partner, but relinquished all his interest
in 1891. The business had now assumed such
proportions under the energetic management
and editorial influence of Mr. Bowen, that it
was found expedient to form a co-partnership
for the purpose of still further strengthening
the paper, and F. T. Cooper and Horace F.
Temple were associated with l\Ir. Bowen, the
firm name then becoming Bowen, Cooper &
Temple, as it stands to-da}'.
In addition to his successful labors as an
editor and publisher, Mr. Bowen is something
of an inventor. In early life he invented a
device for pulling stumps and lifting rocks,
which is in use in various parls of this coun-
try, and he has onh' recently invented a flat-bed
tj'pe-web perfecting printing press, for a pat-
ent on which his application is now pending
at Washington. Mr. Bowen is decidedly do-
mestic in his nature, and all the time he can
spare from the demands of his prosperous
business is spent with his family at their de-
lightful country home at Ridley Park, three
miles from Chester. He has a devoted wife
and two interesting children, of whom he is
immeasurably fond. His tastes and habits
are quiet, his requirements modest, and his
disposition remarkably affable and pleasant.
He never cherishes resentment toward any
one, and would not intentionally injure a liv-
ing creature. No editor is ever more ready
to set any one right before the community, if
unjustly accused, and none take a greater de-
light in chronicling the worthy achievements
of his fellow citizens or spreading the knowl-
edge of an\- noble deed done in any quarter
of the globe. These distinguishing character-
istics of Mr. Bowen are no doubt largely due
to the Ciiristian influences under which he
was reared, and especially to the tender care
and earl\- instructions of his amiable mother,
who was a devoted member of the Methodist
church and a fine example of earnest Chris-
tian womanhood.
^ILLIAM PROVOST, jr., a promi
nent contractor and builder of Chester,
who has erected a large number of the finest
residences and business houses that adorn
this city, is a son of William, sr. , and Cathar-
ine ( Pearson) Provost, and a native of Symrna,
Delaware, where he was born October 15, 1853.
The Provosts are of French extraction, and
trace their ancestry back to the times of the
Huguenot persecutions, when they left their
native land to find more congenial surround-
ings and fuller freedom of conscience in the new
world. The paternal grandfather of the sub-
ject of this sketch, whose name was also Wil-
liam Provost, was born and reared in the State
of Delaware, and died in the city of Wilming-
ton, that State, in 1885, when well advanced
in his eighty-fifth year. He was a cooper by
occupation, married Sarah Peterson, andreared
a family of four children, one of whom was
William Provost, sr. (father), who was born
in the city of Wilmington, Delaware, May 24,
1824. There he grew to manhood and received
his education, after which he learned the trade
of cooper, and for many years successfully
followed that occupation, though he has been
retired from all active business since about
1890. He resides in the city of Chester, Del-
aware county, where he has lived continuously
since 1868. During the civil war he saw active
military service as a member of the 5th Dela-
ware infantry. Politically he is a stanch re-
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
223
publican, and in religion a member of the
Madison street Methodist Episcopal church.
In 1845 he wedded Catharine Pearson, a daugh-
ter of John Pearson and a descendant of one
of the old colonial families of Delaware, in
which State she was born in 1824. She is of
English descent, and a member of the same
church as her husband. They had a family
of nine children, four sons and five daughters :
Clarinda, Sarah Catharine, Oscar, William,
Gertrude, Samuel, Emma Jane, Ida Eliza-
beth and Robert Pearson. John Pearson,
maternal grandfather of William Provost, jr.,
was a native of Delaware, and served as a
soldier in the revolutionary war. The family
owned large estates, including the whole of
Bombay Hook Island. When the British fleet
came up the Delware river he was wounded
and taken prisoner, but survived the war and
died at his home in Delaware at a good old
age.
William Provost, jr., was reared in his na-
tive State until he had attained his fifteenth
year, when he came with his parents to the
city of Chester, Delaware county, Pennsyl-
vania, where he has resided ever since. He
acquired an excellent education in the public
schools of Wilmington, Delaware, and in the
city of Chester. Having completed his studies
he learned the carpenter trade, and was em-
ployed in that vocation until 1886, when he
engaged in building and contracting on his
own account in this city. From that time to
the present he has been actively employed in
conducting a constantly increasing business,
and during this period has erected a large
number of the most important buildings in
the city, among which may be mentioned the
Delaware County National bank, Delaware
County Trust Company's building, the two
large stone mansions of Robert and Richard
Wetherill, the Aberfoyle mill, the Arasapha
mill, the Lincoln mills, and many other larg«
buildings. Indeed his operations have in-
cluded the erection of nearly all the large
buildings put up in this citv since he began
business. In addition to his extensive busi-
ness as a contractor, Mr. Provost is financially
interested in a number of mills and manufac-
turing establishments, and owns considerable
real estate in the city of Chester.
On the nth of January, 1883, Mr. Provost
was united in marriage to Lizzie T. Birtwell,
a daughter of H. B. Birtwell, of this city. To
them has been born one child, a daughter
named Jennie.
In political sentiment William Provost, jr.,
has been a life long republican, earnestly sup-
porting the cardinal principles of that great
party, and doing what he could to secure the
adoption of its policy in National affairs. In
religious matters he also adheres to the tradi-
tions of his family, and for a number of years
has been a leading member of the Madison
street Methodist Episcopal church, in which
he has served as a trustee since i8go. He is
a member of Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Chester Chapter, No.
258, Royal Arch Masons ; Chester Comniand-
ery, No. 66, Knights Templar ; and of Lulu
Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia.
JOHN W. ARMSTRONG, the subject
of our sketch, is a son of James and Sarah
(Pierson) Armstrong, and was born March 12,
1 841, in the town of Newark, New Castle
county, Delaware, and received his education
in the public schools of Newark and Newark
academy. After leaving school he worked
with his father at the harness business until
August II, 1862, when he enlisted as a pri-
vate in Co. A, 4th Delaware infantry ; served
as commissary sergeant of the regiment until
August, 1865 ; was mustered out of the ser-
vice as first lieutenant of Co. F, of the same
regiment. During his term of service in the
army he participated in a number of important
battles, before Petersburg, Five Forks, and
Weldon Railroad, and after the war closed he
returned to Newark, Delaware, where he en-
gaged in the harness business. In 1S72 was
224
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
united in marriage to Miss Martha Hender-
son, 5'oungest daughter of the late Capt. John
Henderson, of Cecil county, Maryland.
In 1873 Mr. Armstrong removed to the city
of Wilmington, Delaware, and engaged in the
coal trade. On July i, 1876, he entered the
employ of the Philadelphia, Wilmington &
Baltimore Railroad company, and in August,
1876, came to Eddystoue station as passenger
and freight agent, and has occupied that posi-
tion eyer since. He is also Adams Express
agent, and has been postmaster since June,
1889, at which time the postoffice was first es-
tablished. Mr. Armstrong is an ardent repub-
lican, and has served as school director and a
member of the borough council of Eddystone.
He is a member and treasurer of the Eddy-
stone Methodist Episcopal church, and also
member of L. H. Scott Lodge, No, 352, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Chester Chapter, No.
258, Royal Arch Masons ; and Commandery,
No. 66, Knights Templar; and is now com-
mander of Wilde Post, No. 25, Grand Army
of the Republic, at Chester.
TSAAC F. HENDRIXSON, a popular
carpenter, contractor and builder, of Lin-
wood, this county, is the eldest of the seven
sons of Isaac and Maria D. (Holston) Hen-
drixson, and a native of Lower Chichester
township, this county, where he was born
April 16, 1835. The family is of Swedish de-
scent, and was planted in Pennsylvania by the
paternal great-grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, who came from Sweden with two
brothers and settled on a large tract of land
lying partly in Delaware and partly in this
county. On some of this land the villiage of
Marcus Hook now stands. The name was
then spelled Hendrickson, but was changed
to the present spelling many years ago. Isaac
Hendrixson (grandfather) was a native of
Delaware, and died at Linwood, Delaware
county, Pennsylvania, in 1856, aged eight}'
jears. He was a carpenter by trade, and
served as a soldier in the war of 181 2. He
married Prudence Enochs, and had a family of
six children, one of his sons being Isaac Hen-
drixson, father of Isaac F. The father was
born at Caymont, Delaware, in 1808, and was
reared and educated in that State. Soon
after marriage he removed to Lower Chiches-
ter township, Delaware county, Pennsjdvania,
and continued to reside there until his death
in 1878, when in the seventieth year of his
age. He was a carpenter and builder by oc-
cupation, and carried on that business in this
county for many years. In politics he was a
whig and republican, and at one time or an-
other filled nearly all the offices in his town-
ship. He was a man of good judgment, and
was frequently consulted by friends and neigh-
bors in regard to their business affairs. He
married Maria D. Holston, a native of Wil-
mington, Delaware, and a daughter of William
and Rachel Holston. To their union was
born a family of seven sons: Isaac F., whose
name heads this sketch ; William H., now
living in Chester ; Richard K., a resident of
Montgomery county ; James, died in child-
hood ; Louis T., now residing in the city of
Philadelphia; Andrew, deceased at the age of
thirty- ; and Charles W. , resides in Lower
Chichester township. Mrs. Maria D. Hen-
drixson was a devoted member of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church nearly all her life, and
died in 1884, aged seventy-two years.
Isaac F. Hendrixson was reared in his na-
tive tow'uship of Lower Chichester, where he
now resides, and obtained a superior English
education in the pubKc schools. Leaving
school he learned the carpenter trade with his
father, and worked at that business until
twenty- seven years of age. He then formed
a partnership with his father and began con-
tracting and building, which they continued
together until his father's death, since which
time Mr. Hendrixson has carried on the busi-
ness alone and in his own name. He has
erected a large number of houses since then,
including some very fine buildings.
OF DELAWAME COUNTY.
225
111 December, i860, Mr. Hendrixson was
united in marriage with Lovenia J. Morris,
a daughter of Joseph Morris and a native of
Sussex county, Delaware. To tliem was born
a family of four children, only two of whom
now survive : Lillie, who married George R.
Crossgrove, of Linwood, and S. Maria, living
at home with her parents.
For many years Mr. Hendrixson has been
a prominent member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church at Linwood, which lie is now
serving as trustee and steward, and for some
time was president of the board of trustees.
He is also a member of the Farmers and
Mechanics Lodge, No. 185, Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows, of which he is secretary ;
and Wawasset Tribe, No. 172, Improved Or-
der of Red Men. Politically he is an ardent
republican, and has been frequently called
upon to serve in official positions, the duties
of which he discharged with ability and fidel-
ity. He is now surveyor for the Delaware
County ^lutual Insurance Company, in which
capacity he has acted for a number of years.
/>ONRAD K. DOLBE\ , a leading mer
^^ chant of Morton, this county, where he is
also engaged in the real estate and insurance
business, is a son of Abrani and Catharine
(King) Dolbey, and was born February 16,
1834, in Uwchlan township, Chester county,
Pennsylvania. His boyhood days were passed
on a Chester county farm, where he secured a
good practical education in the public schools,
and at the age of seventeen he went to Phila-
delphia to learn the carpenter trade, at which
he served an apprenticeship of four years.
He afterward worked as journeyman for some
time and then engaged in contracting and
building on his own account. In 1868 he
embarked in the mercantile business in West
Philadelphia, and after remaining there two
years removed to Angora, Philadelphia county,
where he conducted a prosperous trade for
some four }ears. He then came to Delaware
county and opened a store on Darby creek,
where he remained in business until 1876,
when he removed to his present stand at Mor-
ton, this county. Here he met with gratify-
ing success from the start, and now has a fine
trade, owning a handsome store which con-
tains a large and valuable stock of general
merchandise of all kinds. Mr. Dolbey is also
engaged in the real estate and fire insurance
business at Morton, where he represents a
number of the leading insurance companies of
Philadelphia, and has made some important
deals in realty. He ow-ns considerable real
property at Morton and some in the city of
Philadelphia. For several years he has been
connected as a stockholder with the Faraday
Heat, Power & Light Company, of Morton,
and at one time its treasurer, and is also a
stockholder in the Media Title & Trust Com-
pany of Media.
On December 8, 1859, Mr. Dolbey was
united in marriage with Mary E. Lewis, a
daughter of Thomas B. Lewis, of West Phila-
delphia. To their union was born one child,
a daughter named Ada lone. Politically Mr.
Dolbe}' is strictly independent, voting for
the men and measures that in his judg-
ment are most likely to subserve the public
welfare. He served as school director for
two years in Upper Darby township, and was
postmaster at Morton for ten 3'ears. For
nearly a quarter of a century he has been
prominently identified with the building asso-
ciations of this section, having been instru-
mental in the organization of the Morton
Building & Loan association, of which he is
now a stockholder, and also organized the one
at Folsoni, this county, of which he is now
treasurer. He is treasurer and deacon of the
Ridley Park Baptist church, a member of Ham-
ilton Lodge, No. 274, Free and Accepted
Masons, of Philadelphia, and a past high
priest of Media Chapter, No. 234, Royal Arch
Masons, of Media. Mr. Dolbey has been
quite a traveler in recent years, having visited
all but thirteen of the States and territories
326
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
in the Union, and made himself familiar with
the different sections of our vast country.
The family from which Conrad K. Dolbey
is descended is of Welsh origin, and was
planted in America by Thomas Dolbe\', a na-
tive of Wales and paternal grandfather of
the subject of this sketch. He came to the
United States about 1780, and settled in Uwch-
lan township, Chester county, Pennsylvania,
where he resided until his death. He was a
farmer by occupation, and reared a family of
two children. His son, Abram Dolbey ( father ),
was born at the Dolbey homestead, in Chester
county, in 1789, and died there in 1879, at the
remarkable age of ninety-one years. His life
was entirely devoted to agricultural pursuits,
in which he became very successful. In pol-
itics he was a Jacksonian democrat, and for
many years a prominent member of the Bap-
tist church at Uwchlan, Chester county. In
181 1 he married Catharine King, a native of
Uwchlan township, that county, and a daugh-
ter of Conrad King. They had a family of
eleven children, five sons and six daughters,
only seven of whom are now living : Abel,
born 181 2 ; Sarah and Catharine, twins, 181 7 ;
Selinda, 1822; Lewis, 1825; Melvina, 1830;
Conrad K., 1834. The deceased were: New-
lin, died 1891 ; Eliza, 1888 ; Thomas, 1829.
Mrs. Catharine Dolbey was a devoted mem-
ber of the Baptist church nearly all her life,
and died in 1886, in the ninety-fifth year of
her age, greatly respected and beloved by all
who knew her.
QOL. TERRY M. WASHABAUGH
was born in the town of Bedford, Penn-
sylvania, on the 4th of July, 1847, and is a son
of Major Daniel and Sarah (McLaughlin)
Washabaugh, of that place. The family on
the father's side is of German ancestry, but
was settled in this State prior to the Revolu-
tionary war, in which they took part, and have
always evinced a military and patriotic spirit.
Henry Washabaugh (great-grandfatlier) came
from Germany about the year 1760, and set-
tled in that part of Pennsylvania now known
as Franklin county. He served as a captain
of volunteers in the Continental army during
the struggle for Independence, and after peace
was declared returned to his farm. David
Washabaugh (grandfather) was born on this
farm in 1770, and also became a farmer and
soon owned one of the finest farms in the
county, adjoining the town of Chambersburg.
He was at one time high sheriff of the county
when that office was considered one of the
most dignified and important positions a citi-
zen could hold. He held other important
offices of trust and responsibility in the county,
and was among the first to organize troops
for the defence of the country during the war
of 1812. His son, Daniel Washabaugh, father
of the subject of this sketch, was born Octo-
ber 17, 1803, and educated at Chambersburg,
a town always noted for its excellent schools.
He had a military turn of mind and decided
to enter the army, and, to this end, by his own
efforts, he secured an appointment to the
United States Military academy at West Point,
but his father would not consent to his going
there, saying he had better use for his oldest
boy than making a soldier of him. So he had
to live and work on the farm until he was of
age. In September, 1826, he married Sarah
McLaughlin, daughter of Henry McLaughlin,
a wealthy planter and slave owner, whose large
plantation was at State Line, Washington
county, Maryland. The young couple re-
moved to and took up their residence in the
town of Bedford, and for over sixty years their
home has been noted for its beauty, comfort
and hospitality. No man of distinction in
religious, political or social circles has ever
visited old Bedford Springs without being the
guest and frequently enjoying the hospitality
of the major and his family, and here among
their numerous friends and surrounded by
forty-four children and grandchildren, they
celebrated their golden wedding September,
1876, and the sixtieth anniversary of the event,
OF JDELAWABE COUNTY.
227
September, i8S6, was spent at the elegant
home of the youngest daughter, Mrs. W. P.
Barndollar, in the city of Baltimore. There
were twelve children born to this couple, three
of whom died in early childhood. William H.
Washabaugh, the oldest son, a member of Co.
E, 76th regiment Pennsylvania volunteers,
was killed in battle during the assault on Fort
Wagner, Morris Island, Charleston Harbor,
South Carolina, on the morning of July 11,
1863. The other eight children, six girls and
two boys, are all living in the United States,
loved, honored and respected wherever known.
Major Washabaugh, during the Mexican war
of '47-'48, and for years afterward, held the
office of brigade inspector of the military dis-
trict consisting of five adjoining counties, with
the rank of major. Being a strict disciplma-
rian, a handsome man of pleasing address, pas-
sionately fond of good horses and always
superbly mounted and equipped, he was ac-
counted one of the finest officers in the State.
During the war of the rebellion, although an
old man, he was offered and accepted the
colonelcy of a fine regiment of volunteers, but
before going to the front was induced by his
old friend. Governor Andrew G. Curtin, to
accept the position of assistant adjutant-gen-
eral on his staff. This position he filled ac-
ceptably with honor and credit during the
whole eight jears of the old war governor's
administration, and it was under his personal
supervision nearly all the vast army of Penn-
sylvania volunteers were organized, armed and
equipped. Major Washabaugh, though in his
ninetieth year, is still living and enjo}'ing good
health, with the use of all his faculties. He
has a good memory, and having lived a very
active and eventful life, his fund of reminis-
cences, both of persons and events, is inex-
haustible, and fortunate is he who has the
opportunity to enjoy his societ}-. His wife
died October 31, 1889, at the advanced age of
eighty-three }'ears. The attendance and in-
cidents at her funeral from the old church she
loved so well, attest the universal love and
respect of all classes for this noble woman.
Both the Major and his wife have been active
and consistent members of the Presbyterian
church at Bedford ever since they came to
the town, and he has served as a ruling elder
for over half a century. The true history
of old Bedford county since 1826 cannot be
written without including the name of Major
Daniel \\'ashabaugh and his family in every
patriotic, public, religious, social or charitable
enterprise.
Perrj' M. Washabaugh was the second son
and the eleventh child. He was sent to school
in Baltimore in 1858, where he remained until
the war broke out, when he was sent home.'
He remained in Bedford, attending school at
intervals, when not campaigning with the vol-
unteer troops in tliat part of the country.
After the battle of Gettysburg his father found
him with the ist New York regiment of cav-
alry in the town of Chambersburg. He was
at once taken and placed in charge of Col.
Theo. Hyatt, president of the Pennsylvania
Military academy, with instructions to keep
him there. This put an end to the young
man's war experience and escapades. Here
he graduated with honor in 1865. The acad-
em)' was removed from West Chester to Ches-
ter the same year, and he was employed as an
instructor until i86g. While he was teaching
he studied law under the Hon. John B. Hink-
son, one of the ablest and most successful
practitioners at the bar. In June, i86g, he
appeared before the board of examiners, con-
sisting of the Hon. William Ward, John Hib-
bert and R. E. Hammond, esqs., and passed
a very creditable examination, but as he was
not twenty-one years of age yet, could not
be sworn in until the next term of court.
The same year he was induced to go into the
oil country to learn the business and practice
law. He located at Parker City, Armstrong
county, and was there all through the excite-
ment in that vicinity, enjoying a large and pro-
fitable practice, until the fall of 1873, when all
the excitement there was over, he returned
228
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
with his family to live in Chester. Here he
has been actively engaged in the practice of
his profession ever since, having a large and
profitable business in the orphans' and com-
mon pleas courts. In i8gi he was private
counsel for the defence in the celebrated Fitz-
meyer murder case. He attended all the pre-
liminary hearings and managed and arranged
every detail for the defence, though he took
no active part in the trial in court. This is
admitted to have been one of the most im-
portant cases ever tried in the county, as there
were two lives at stake on the issue, and will
ever be cited as a case clearly demonstrat-
ing the fallacy of so-called expert testimony.
Colonel Washabaugh, by his untiring energy
and able management of the case, with his
very able and learned associates at the trial in
court, cleared his clients, and established a re-
putation as an expert criminal lawyer second
only to his previous standing as a civil prac-
titioner. In 1885 Colonel Washabaugh asso-
ciated Garrett Pendleton, esq. (see his sketch ),
in partnership with himself under the firm
name of Washabaugh cS: Pendleton, and these
gentlemen are now enjoying a large and lucra-
tive practice. Colonel Washabaugh was sent
to England in June, 1892, to settle a large
estate. After successfully attending to that
business, he spent several months traveling
through England and on the continent. This
was his second trip to Europe, having visited
the Paris exposition in 1889.
Inheriting some of the martial spirit which
animated his ancestors, besides having re-
ceived a military education. Colonel Washa-
baugh has always taken a great interest in all
military matters ever since he came into the
county. He was first elected captain of Co.
B, nth regiment infantry, National Guard of
Pennsylvania, in May, 1876; elected major of
the regiment in 1877, and served with it dur-
ing the Pittsburg labor riots of that year. In
1 881 he was elected lieutenant-colonel of the
6th regiment infantry. National Guard of
Pennsylvania, and re-elected in 1886 and
again in 1891, so that he is serving his third
term in that important office, and is the senior
lieutenant-colonel in the National Guard of
Pennsylvania, and the ranking military officer
in the district.
On the 29th of November, i86g, the Colonel
was united in marriage to Laura H. Walter,
daughter of the Hon. Y. S. Walter, of Chester.
To them have been born four children, three
sons and one daughter. Walter, the eldest
son, is now twenty-two 3'ears of age, and a
civil engineer by profession. He graduated
at the Pennsylvania Military academy in the
class of 1889, and is now assistant engineer at
the H<pmestead Mining Compan}', with head-
quarters at Lead City, South Dakota. The
daughter, Fann}', now in her eighteenth year,
is just home from Wilson college, Chambers-
burg, and the two younger sons, Frank and
Albert, are aged respectively twelve and six
years.
Colonel Washabaugh in politics is an ardent
republican, and has taken an active and prom-
inent part, both on the stump and in organiz-
ing clubs, every campaign for years. He has
never held an}' political office, although he has
been an active member of council for years
and occupies many other positions of lionor,
trust and responsibility in the community.
In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, having
been a member since 1864, and a ruling elder
in the First Presbyterian church of Chester
since 1885. He is a member and past master
of L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, and of Chester Holy Ro}-al
Arch Chapter, No". 258. He is a gentleman
w-ell and favorably known, affable and genial
in manner, and ranks with the most popular
citizens of Delaware count}'.
/^EORCiE J. STITELER, who is now
^^ serving his second term as burgess of
Media, and is one of her most popular and
successful business men, was born March 7,
1844, in Uwchlan township, Chester county,
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
229
Pennsylvania. His parents were David and
Lydia A. (McCaraher) Stiteler, both natives
of that county. Young Stiteler attended the
district schools of his native township until
1862, when at the age of eighteen he enlisted
as a private in Co. A, 124th Pennsylvania in-
fantry, Col. Joseph W. Hawley commanding,
and served with his regiment until it was mus-
stered out. He then went to Philadelphia
and learned the trade of stove moulder.
Leaving Philadelphia in 1865, he spent the
following two years in the oil regions of West
Virginia, where he was engaged in boring oil
wells. In 1867 he went to Lionville, Penn-
sylvania, and remained there imtil 1871, with
the exception of a short time during which he
was in the employ of the Philadelphia & West-
chester railroad. In 1871 he came to Media,
and held clerical positions with a number of
local merchants until i88g, when he embarked
in business for himself as a dealer in fish,
oysters, clams, lobsters, and similar household
supplies at his present stand on Orange street,
above Jobeson's market. During the four
years he has conducted this business he has
acquired a wide reputation for enterprise and
reliability, and his store is the popular resort
of the good housewives of Media, who have
learned by experience that everything bought
of Stiteler is always just as represented. Two
delivery wagons, with careful and obliging
drivers, are employed delivering goods to his
numerous customers in Media and vicinity.
Always an ardent republican in politics, Mr.
Stiteler was honored in January, 1892, by his
fellow citizens of that party with the nomina-
tion for burgess of Media, and at the ensuing
election, in February, 1892, was elected. His
administration of the affairs of the office dur-
ing his first term was so acceptable to the
people that at the municipal election in Feb-
ruary, 1893, he was reelected to that office,
and is now serving his second term.
In 1876 Mr. Stiteler was married to Mrs.
Elizabeth Carr, ?!,'i- Mifflin, of the cit}' of Phil-
adelphia. To this union has been born three
sons : David R., George Garfield and Elwood
R. Mr. Stiteler also hasHwo step-children:
Edward D. and Maggie.
'George J. Stiteler is an able and conscien-
tious official, a reliable business man, and a
public spirited citizen, who takes a lively in-
terest in the prosperity of the borough over
whose affairs he presides, and never allows
his private business to interfere with his offi-
cial duties. He is a member of Media Post,
No. 149, Grand Army of the Republic; Pil-
grim Lodge, No. 455, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, of Lionville, this State ; Gar-
field Lodge, No. 94, Knights of Pythias, of
Media ; Charter Castle, Knights of the Golden
Eagle; Lodge No. 354, Sons of America;
and Media Lodge, No. 749, Junior Order
United American Mechanics. As a man and
a citizen he is honored and respected by all
who know him, without regard to politics,
and in selecting him for the responsible posi-
tion of burgess of Media, its people have con-
fided its affairs to the hands of a competent
and able officer.
The Stiteler family is of German extraction,
its original ancestor in America being David
Stiteler, great-grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, who came from Germany and setT
tied in Uwchlan township, Chester county,
Pennsylvania, where he lived until his death
at an advanced age. His son, David Stiteler
(grandfather), was born in Chester county,
where he lived ail his life and died about
1878, aged ninety-three years. David Stiteler
(father) was also a native of Chester county,
where he learned blacksmithing, and for many
years carried on that business in Chester and
Delaware counties. He was a republican in
politics, and served as constable and assessor
in Uwchlan township for twelve years in suc-
cession. At the time of the battle of Antietam
he served with the emergency men. In relig-
ious faith and church membership he was a
Baptist, and died in 1878, at the age of sixty-
eight jears. He married Lydia A. McCara-
her, by whom he had a family of seven chU-
230
BIOGBAPHY AXn HISTORY
dren, four sons and three daughters. Mrs.
Stiteler was a daughter of James McCaraher
(died in 1862) and a native of East Brandy-
wine township, Chester count\'. She was of
Irish extraction, a member of the Evangelical
Luthern church, and died in April, 1878, in
the sixty-fifth year of her age, greatly respected
bj' all who knew her.
lyr AJOR JAMES A. G. CAMPBELL,
K treasurer and vice-president of The Del-
aware County Trust, Safe Deposit and Title
Insurance Company, was born February 19,
1858, in Chester, Pennsylvania. He is the
youngest son of James and Angelina (Garsed)
Campbell, and grandson of Joseph and Mary
(Dodge) Campbell, of Stockport, England:
while in the maternal line he is a "grand-
son of John and Mary (Turner) Garsed, of
Swiftplace Mills, Yorkshire, England, a family
that has been noted as cotton manufacturers
during three generations, in this cou-n-t-ry and
beyond the seas. His father, James Camp-
bell, was the pioneer cotton manufacturer
in the ancient borough of Chester, where by
his energy, enterprise and business sagacity,
the advantages of that place as a center for
the manufacture of textiles were first brought
into prominence. It was by his efforts that
other enterprises of a similar character were
induced to locate there, until the foundations
for the multifarious and extended manufac-
turing industries which now distinguish the
locality were securely laid. Although in
the panic of 1857 James Campbell was over-
whelmed in the financial crash, his labors had
not been in vain, for his reputation is imper-
ishably interwoven with the history of the
growth and development of the city of Ches-
ter. He died when his son James was a child
of four years.
Major Campbell, with the exception of six
weeks devoted to special studies at the Ches-
ter academy, was educated in the public
schools of his native city. At sixteen years
he became clerk in the express office of Head-
ley & Mahon, where he continued until the
spring of 1876, when for the brief term alread\'
mentioned he attended the academ}^ For sev-
eral months during the late summer and fall
of that year he was express manager between
Chester and Philadelphia ; then a clerk in the
real estate office of John Cochran, in the lat-
ter city, a position he left to accept that of
book-keeper for Dutton & Anderson, lumber
and coal dealers in Chester, and subsequently'
held a similar position in the planing mills
of John H. Stroud & Co. On November 10,
1879, he entered the banking and stock broker-
age house of Elliott, Sons & Co., on Third
street, Philadelphia, where he remained until
the fall of 1884, when, after the death of the
senior member he became book-keeper for
.L. H. Taylor & Co., a stock brokerage firm
doing an enormous business, located at Third
and 'Chestnut streets. There he remained
until the organization of the Chester Bank and
Saving Fund, of which he was chosen receiv-
ing teller, and also secretary of The Delaware
Count)' Trust, Safe Deposit and Title Insur-
ance Company. These institutions began
business August 26, 1885, and have had a
career of unchecquered prosperity. On Feb-
ruary 23, 1886, when twenty-eight j'ears of
age, he was elected cashier of the bank, and
when the two institutions were merged under
one organization. May 17, 1889, he was elected
treasurer, and on May 20, 1892, elected vice-
president. On May 17, 1893, he organized
and started the Clearing House for the banks
of the city of Chester and was its first man-
ager. For two years, from 1890 to 1892,
Major Campbell was secretary and treasurer
of the Standard Spinning Company, manufac-
turers of hosiery yarns in Chester, and is now
connected in a like capacity with the John G.
Campbell Company Finishing works, at Frank-
ford, Pennsylvania. He is an active vestry-
man of St. Paul's Episcopal church. In
politics he is a republican, and during the
Cleveland and Harrison campaign of 1888
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
233
was in command of a battalion of four com-
panies of young men of that party, but during
the municipal contest of 1893 he was a mem-
ber of the Citizen's Committee of Fifty which
advocated and did so much to secure the
election of John B. Hinkson, the democratic
candidate for Mayor.
In military affairs Major Campbell has been
exceedingly active. He was one of the orig-
inal members of Co. B, nth regiment (now
the 6th) N. G. P., enlisting as a private on
March 30, 1881. Appointed June 6, 1881,
second sergeant, July 29, 1881, first sergeant,
and elected first lieutenant January 8, 1883, a
position he resigned March 30, 1886, after a
continuous service of five years. He was
appointed. May 11, 1887, by Col. John W.
Schall, first lieutenant and inspector of rifle
practice for his old regiment, the 6th, and on
July 20 of the same year, was appointed aid-
de-camp, by Brig. Gen. George R. Snowden,
with the rank of captain, on the staff of the
first brigade, and acted as assistant adjutant
general of that brigade from June 4, 1890,
until November 11, of the same year. When,
after the death of General Hartranft, General
Snowden became major general, he appointed
Campbell aid de-camp wiih rank of major,
thus elevating him to the division staff. During
his military career he took part in the inau-
gural parades of President Cleveland in 1885,
of President Harrison in i88g, and in that of
President Cleveland in 1893, as also in the
Constitutional Centennial parade in Philadel-
phia in 1888, the Presidential Centenial in
New York in 1889, and the Columbian Dedi-
catory parade in Chicago in 1892. He was
on duty with General Snowden at Homestead
during the exciting riots at that place in the
summer of 18:92.
Major Campbell, November 26, 1889, was
married to Elizabeth Hubley Mowry, daugh-
ter of Rev. Dr. Philip H. and the late Eliza-
beth (Richardson) Mowr}', and has one child,
John Richardson Campbell.
The success in life of Major Campbell is
due to his persistent energy, quickness of de-
cision, close application to details of any
business with which he is connected, and a
comprehensive appreciation of the surround-
ing circumstances that may make or mar the
result sought to be attained.
J' FRANK BLACK, president of the
* Chester Coal & Lumber Company, the
Chester National bank and the Chester Freight
line between this city and Philadelpnia, and
prominently connected with many other lead-
ing enterprises in Chester and elsewhere, is
the youngest son of William V. and Maria
(Cochran) Black, and a native of Upper Darby
township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania,
where he was born October 16, 1839. He
grew to manhood in this county, receiving his
education in the public schools of Haverford
and at Galey's academy in Media, to which
village his parents removed when he was four-
teen years of age. Leaving school he entered
his father's general store at Media and re-
mained in the capacity of a clerk until he had
reached his twenty-first birthday, when he
formed a partnership with his elder brother,
Henry B. Black, and the new firm succeeded
to the general mercantile business which had
been conducted by the elder Black at Media.
In 1862 J. Frank Black enlisted in Co. D,
124th Pennsylvania infantry, as sergeant. Al-
though his term of enlistment was only nine
months, he served ten months before receiving
his discharge, and actively participated in the
battles of Antietam and Chancellorsville, be-
side several other important engagements and
a number of skirmishes. Returning to Media
he was engaged in business there until 1865,
when he came to Chester and embarked in
the lumber, coal, saw and planing mill busi-
ness in this city, in partnership with his fath-
er-in-law, C. P. Morton, under the firm name
of Morton & Black. Six months later the firm
became Morton, Black & Brother, by the ad-
mission of Henry B. Black, and continued
2U
BIOaHAPHY AND HISTORY
active operations under that name until 1879,
when Henry B. Black retired and the firm
again became Morton & Black. Some time
later Mr. Black's son, Crosby M. Black, was
admitted into partnership, when the name be-
came Morton, Black & Son, and still later was
changed to J. Frank Black & Son. In 1891
the business was merged into the Chester Coal
& Lumber Company, of which J. Frank Black
is president, and his son, Crosb>' M. Black, is
treasurer and general manager. This com-
pany does a large coal and lumber business,
and is widely and favorably known throughout
this part of the State. In addition to his coal
and lumber interests here, Mr. Black has long
been prominently identified with a number of
the leading financial and business enterprises
of this cit}'. He has been a director in the
Chester National bank ever since its organiza-
tion, and in April. 1893, was elected president
of this institution, which office he is now hold-
ing. For the last ten years he has been con-
nected with the Chester freight line of boats
plying between this city and Philadelphia,
during eight of which he has served as presi-
dent of the line. He is also a director and
stockholder in many other industrial enter-
prises of Chester.
On February 16, 1865, Mr. Black was united
in marriage to Sue C. Morton, a daughter of
Crosby P. Morton, now of this city, but for-
merly of Philadelphia. To Mr. and Mrs.
Black was born a family of three children, two
of whom now survive: Crosby M., who mar-
ried Mary E. Chambers, of this city, and has
two children — Sue M. and J. Frank; and
Sarah C, living at home with her parents.
Politically J. Frank Black is a republican,
and has served six terms as a member of the
city council, during two of which he was presi-
dent of the select council. In religious faith
he is a Presbyterian, and for a number of
years has served as ruling elder in the Third
Presbyterian church of this city. Personally
he is affable and pleasant, easily approached,
and modest to a marked degree in speaking
of his well-earned and remarkable success in
life.
The family from which the subject of this
sketch is descended is of Scotch-Irish origin,
but were among the early settlers of Pennsyl-
vania. Samuel Black, paternal grandfather
of J. Frank Black, was an early resident of
Marple township, this county, where he mar-
ried Catharine Van Leer, by whom he had six
children: Joseph, Samuel, William V. , Ann,
Catharine V. and John. William V. Black
(father), was a native of Marple township,
born August 22. 1796, and died November 24,
1883, at his home in the city of Chester, where
he had resided for a number of years. During
the earlier part of his life he was a prosperous
farmer of this county, and later engaged in
mercantile pursuits, in which he was also very
successful. He married Maria Cochran, a
daughter of Isaac Cochran, of this county,
and to them was born a family of ten children :
Catharine, who married J. C. Lindsey ; Isaac
C, Samuel G., Elizabeth Jane, \\'illiam, Han-
nah Maria, Susannah, Henry B. and J. Frank.
Of this family only three now survive.
-j^ANIEL NEWSOME, of South Ches-
ter, who served as a Union soldier in the
late war, is a member of the well known and
successful B3'ram Manufacturing Company,
and is a min esteemed for stability, judgment
and energy. He is a son of James and Re-
becca ( Ellingsworth) Newsome, and was born
in Yorkshire, England, November 30, 1844.
His paternal grandfather, James Newsome,
was a silk hand loom weaver by trade, and
passed his life in Yorkshire, where he reared
a respectable family of sons and daughters.
His son, James Newsome, the father of the
subject of this sketch, was born and reared in
his native county of Yorkshire, which he left
in 1855 with his family to become a resident
of Rockdale, in Delaware count}', where he
owned and cultivated a farm for some time.
He then removed to Iowa, in which State he
OF DELAWARE COUXTY.
235
died in 1875, at sixty-eight years of age. Mr.
Newsome was a republican politically, and
married Rebecca EUingsworth, who was born
in England, and their children were ; William,
Sarah Gore, Anna Parkins, Mary Maloney,
John, James, Rebecca Gore, Samuel, Daniel
and Wright.
Daniel Newsome received his education in
the schools of Rockdale and then entered the
cotton mills, where he worked until he was
seventeen years of age. He then, in Jul)',
1864, enlisted in Co. I, igth Pennsylvania in-
fantry', and after being successively stationed
at Baltimore, Maryland, and Rock Island,
Illinois, his company was detailed to assist
ill enforcing the draft in one part of that State.
At the expiration of his term of service, in
1864, he was honorably discharged from the
Union service and returned home, where he
was employed for several years in all the dif-
ferent processes of cotton manufacture. In
1883 Mr. Newsome embarked in his present
general mercantile business at Second and
Engle streets. South Chester, where his wife
is general manager, and employs four sales-
men in order to accommodate their extensive
patronage, which is the largest of its kind in
South Chester. He owns his store room,
dwelling and three buildings adjoining, while
his wife has two fine properties on Jefferson
street. In June, i88g, upon the death of his
brother-in-law, Joseph Byram, who was the
proprietor of the Byram Cotton Mills, Mr.
Newsome, at the solicitation of the widow,
purchased a half interest in the plant, and has
continued ever since as the treasurer and sec-
retary of the Byram Manufacturing Company,
of which Mrs. E. Byram is president. Under
Mr. Newsome's active and energetic course of
action the plant has been increasing in capa-
city, the grade of goods has attained a high
standard of excellence in manufacture, and
the entire product of these mills is sold to
commission houses. The plant of this sub-
stantial and prosperous company is located
at Third and Booth, in South Chester, whose
postoffice is Thurlow. The main building is
a two-story brick structure, two hundred by
fifty-four feet, with a weekly capacity of sixty-
five hundred pounds of raw material. When
running full they employ sixty-three hands,
with a weekly pay roll of about five hundred dol-
lars, and the cotton and woolen goods of the
Byram Manufacturing Company are fast win-
ning their way to popular favor.
In 1869 Mr. Newsome wedded Salina Green-
wood, daughterof James Greenwood, of Lenni,
Delaware county, Pennsylvania. Their union
has been blessed with two children : Howard
G. and Nellie P.
Daniel Newsome is a republican in political
affairs, and has been a member for several
years of Benevolent Lodge, No. 40, Indepen-
dent Order of Odd Fellows. Thoroughly ed-
ucated b\' many years of experience in a cot-
ton mill to the practical side of his present
business, when he came to face the man}' cares
and numerous responsibilities of a manufac-
turer he was well equipped for his position,
and moved forward intelligently through every
detail, developing many of those character-
istics that have since distinguished his career
as a successful business man and cotton and
woolen manufacturer in a section of country
where superiority and excellence alone can
win in commercial life.
HORACE B. DAVIS, the popular agent
of the Chester Oil Company and local
manager of the Atlantic Refining Company,
who is now serving as councilman from the
Sixth ward of Chester, and was a prominent
candidate for county treasurer in 1893, is a
son of James and Catharine ( Hoagland ) Davis,
and was born January 16, 1842, at Roxborough,
then a suburb of Philadelphia, but now in-
cluded within the corporate limits of that cit}'.
The family from which he is descended is of
ancient Welsh stock, and was planted in Penn-
sylvania in colonial times by Welsh Quakers,
who left their native land to find a new home
23fi
BIOGRAPHY AXI) HISTOSY
on this side of the Atlantic soon after WilHam
Penn first visited his possessions on the Dela-
ware. The emigrant ancestor of this branch
of the famih" settled in Montgomery county,
where his descendants have become numerous
and where Mordecai Davis, paternal grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, was born
and reared. He was a farmer by occupation,
and died at his home in that county. Among
his children was James Davis (father), who
was born on the old homestead in Montgom-
ery county and grew to manhood and received
his education there. After leaving school he
learned the blacksmith trade, and followed
that occupation nearlv all his life. He mar-
ried Catharine Hoagland, and soon afterward
established himself in business at Ro.\borough,
near Philadelphia, where he died in 1848. For
a number of years he was a member of the
State militia, and saw active service during
the great Philadelphia riots of 1844. In poli-.
tics he was an old line whig. By his marriage
to Catharine Hoagland he had a family of
three children, one son and two daughters:
Elener, Louisa and Horace B. Mrs. Davis
was a native of Montgomery county*, this State,
to which her parents hid removed from Rox-
borough, Philadelphia countv. She was a mem-
ber of Trinity Methodist Episcopal church,
and died in December, 1S92, aged sevent}'-
eight 3'ears. Her father, John Hoagland, was
born at Ro.xborough and died there. He mar-
ried a Miss Everman, whose ancestors came
from German}' at an early day and purchased
a tract of land near Philadelphia for five hun-
dred dollars. As the city grew this land be-
came valuable, and part of it was sold for one
thousand dollars an acre and is now included
in Fairmount park. The early generations of
the Davises were all Quakers, and several of
the famil}' served in the American armj' dur
ing the Revolutionary war.
Horace B. Davis passed his boyhood daj's
in Roxborough, and came to Chester, Dela-
ware county, when thirteen years of age, where
he has ever since resided. Losing his father
when onl\- six years old, he was earlj* thrown
on his own resources, and his opportunities
for an education were somewhat limited. He
studied for a time in the public schools, but
to industrious reading and a close studv of
men and things he is indebted for much of
that large stock of practical information which
long ago placed him among the most intelli-
gent and best informed citizens of Chester.
Like most men who have attained prominence
in business or professional life, 'Sir. Davis re-
lied on his own exertions to shape his career,
and b}' persistent effort and indomitable energy
he slowly but surely worked his way up from
the humble position of an apprentice boy in
the old Gartside mills to an enviable standing
among the foremost citizens of his adopted
count}'. After leaving the Gartside mills he
entered the employ of Frick & Thomas, at
their boat yard in this city, where he remained
for six years, and then embarked in business
for himself as a house painter. He success-
fully followed this vocation until 1880, when
he was appointed agent for the Chester Oil
Company in Chester and Delaware counties.
He has been remarkably successful in this
enterprise and is still extensively engaged in
the oil business, and is also the present man-
ager of the Atlantic Refining Compan}''s busi-
ness in this citv and countv.
In 1865 Mr. Davis was united in marriage
to Martha Neal, a daughter of Robert and
Mary Neal, of Seaford, Delaware. Mr. and
Mrs. Davis have two children, one son and a
daughter: Katie B. and Edgar F.
In his political affiliations Horace B. Davis
has always been a republican, having cast his
first vote for Abraham Lincoln for president
in 1864, and takes an active interest in local
politics. In 1891 he was appointed mercan-
tile appraiser for this district, and in i8gi was
elected a member of the cit\' council from the
Sixth ward, in which capacity he is still serv-
ing. In 1893 he was a prominent candidate
for county treasurer. Mr. Davis is a leading
member of the Baptist church, and also a
OF DELAWARE COUXTY.
837
prominent member of several secret society
organizations, among which may be mentioned
L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons ; Chester Chapter, No. 258,
Royal Arch Masons; Chester Commandery,
No. 66, Knights Templar ; Lieperville Lodge,
No. 263, Independent Order of Odd Fellows ;
and Larkin Lodge, No. 78, Knights of Pyth-
ias. He is genial and affable in manner, and
one of the most popular men personally to be
found in Delaware count\-.
J^OSEPH C. EGBERT, B.S., M.D.,
Ph. D., a graduate of the University of
Pennsylvania, and a prominent physician of
Wayne, this county, who is also secretary of
the Wa3'ne Electric Light association, and a
conspicuous figure in the Masonic circles of
this part of the Keystone State, was born May
30, 1S53, at Merion Square, Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania, and his parents are
Hamilton and Elizabeth (Rohrman) Egbert.
The Egberts are of English extraction, but
have been resident Americans since 1660, when
Govert Egbert came over from England on the
sailing vessel "Spotted Cow," and settled on
Staten Island. Representatives of the family
came into Penn's colony and settled in Mont-
gomer}' county prior to the Revolutionary war,
and from there have spread into various parts
of Pennsylvania and a number of the western
States. Lawrence Egbert, great-grandfather
of the subject of this sketch, was a Pennsyl-
vanian by birth, and served with distinction
in the American army during the struggle of
the colonies for independence. One of his
sons was David Norman Egbert (grandfather),
who was born in Montgomery count}-, this
State, in 17S8, and after attaining manhood
engaged in general merchandising, and later
became a lumber and coal dealer in Plymouth
township, that county. He died there in 1873,
aged eighty-five years. Politically he was an
old-line whig and republican, and for many
years filled the office of justice of the peace in
16
his township. He married Maria Yocum, and
reared a family of three children, all of whom
are now living. One of his sons is Hamilton
Egbert (father), now a resident of Bryn Mawr,
Montgomery county. He was born on the old
Egbert homestead, in Plymouth township,
that county, September iS, 1821, and while
yet a boy removed to Merion Square, where he
resided for twenty-nine years, afterward re-
moving to the vicinity of Bryn Mawr, where
he resided for thirty-four years. He is presi-
dent of the Bryn Mawr National bank, and has
always taken an active part in local politics,
being an enthusiastic republican. In 1852 he
married Elizabeth Rohrman, a native of Phil-
adelphia, and a daughter of John Leonard
Rohrman, one of the first wall paper manufac-
turers of that city. Mr. Rohrman was of di-
rect German descent, and died in 1876, aged
seventy-nine years, at Gladwyn, Merion
Square, Montgomery county, where he had re-
sided for forty years. To Hamilton and Eliza-
beth Egbert was born a family of two children,
one son and one daughter: Joseph C. Egbert
and Katherine R. Egbert. Mrs. Egbert was
born in 1827, and is consequently now in the
sixty-seventh j-ear of her age.
Joseph C. Egbert was reared principal!}- at
his native village of Merion Square, Montgom-
ery county, and received his early training in
the common schools. At the age of sixteen
he entered the University of Pennsylvania,
from which institution he received the degree
of B. S. in 1873, and the degree of M. D. in
18S0. In the same year he received the de-
gree of Ph.D. from this university. While a
student in Philadelphia his preceptor was the
eminent Dr. Henry R.Wharton, who is still a
power in this leading educational institution
of Pennsylvania. In less than a year after his
graduation Dr. Egbert began the practice of
his profession at Wayne, Delaware county,
being the first physician to locate in the vil-
lage of Wayne, though others were settled
near it. Here he soon acquired and has suc-
cessfully maintained a large general practice.
238
BIOOSAPHY AXD HISTORY
He is a member of the Delaware County Med-
ical society, and of the Obstetrical and Path-
ological societies of the city of Philadelphia,
and has one of the finest private medical libra-
ries to be found in the State of Pennsylvania.
On April 22, 1891, Dr. Egbert was married
to Catharine Miller, a daughter of Cornelius
J. Miller, of the firm of Miller & Mooney, of
Philadelphia. The doctor and Mrs. Egbert
are members of St. Marj's Memorial Episco-
pal church of this village, of which the doctor
is now accounting warden.
As has been indicated, Dr. Egbert is prom-
inent in the Masonic circles of Eastern Penn-
sylvania, being a thirty-second degree Mason.
He is a member of Wayne Lodge, No. 581,
Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is
worshipful master; scribe of Montgomery
Chapter, No. 262, Roj'al Arch Masons; St.
Albans Commandery, No. 47, Knights Temp-
lar ; and the Sovereign Consistor}' of Phila-
delphia, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
Masons. Politically Dr. Egbert is a republi-
can, but has seldom taken any active interest
in politics, preferring to devote his time and
attention to his profession. Since 1888 he
has been secretary of the Wayne Electric
Light association, and is interested in every
movement toward the development or im-
provement of the industrial and business in-
terests of his village or county. As a citizen
and physician he is held in the highest esteem,
having early won the entire confidence of this
communitv.
FREDERICK AYDELOTTE HOAV-
ARD, a member of the well known
wholesale commission and grocery firm of
Howard Brothers, and one of the leading
business men of the city of Chester, is a son
of George W. and Leah C. ( Pool ) Howard,
and was born October 20, 1855, in Baltimore
Hundred, Sussex county, Delaware. He re-
ceived his elementary education in the acad-
emy at Berlin, Maryland, and afterward took
a limited course in the grammar school at
Chester, Pennsylvania. At the age of si.xteen
he entered Bryant & Stratton's business col-
lege in the city of Philadelphia, where he ac-
quired some knowledge of modern business
methods, and after leaving that institution was
employed for a time as clerk in the postoffice
at Chester, Pennsylvania. When eighteen
years of age he embarked in the retail grocery
and commission business in connection with
his father and brother, under the firm name
of G. W. Howard & Sons. This firm was not
very successful, the partnership was dissolved
in 1876, and young Howard visited the great
southwest, traveling extensively in several of
the southwestern States and territories. He
spent some six months in hunting and fishing,
camping out most of the time, and then in
company with a Canadian friend purchased a
boat and floated twelve hundred miles down
the Red river, to Shrevesport, Louisiana,
thence to New Orleans by steamer, from
which place they came by boat to Cincinnati,
Ohio. Returning to Pennsylvania in 1877,
Mr. Howard associated himself in business
with his brother, George W. Howard (for'his
ancestral history see his sketch), and under
the firm name of Howard Brothers they be-
came commission merchants in Chester, and
at the same time began operations on a small
scale as wholesale grocers. The same year
they erected a store on the grounds they now
occupy, on the northwest corner of Sixth and
Welsh streets, wliich they gradually enlarged
to its present dimensions as their business in-
creased. In 1889 George W. Howard with-
drew from the firm to engage in other business,
and his place was filled by their youngest
brother, William E. Ho ward, who has ever since
been an equal partner in the business. How-
ard Brothers were the first to do a commission
business in the city of Chester, and to them
also belongs the honor of having been the
pioneers in the wholesale trade here. Their
establishment is a two-story brick building,
forty by one hundred and fifty feet in dimen-
OF DEL A WARE COUNTY.
239
sions, with a spacious basement store room,
and a wing covering an area of fifty by fifty
feet. Every convenience is here found for
conducting a general wholesale grocery busi-
ness in all its branches.
It is now sixteen years since this business
was established, and by dint of energ\-, enter-
prise and honorable dealing, its founders have
steadily- increased their trade until to-day their
house occupies a position of prominence in
the mercantile world, and is conceded to be
the leading wholesale grocery entrepot in Dela-
ware countv. They are doing the largest
wholesale commission business, with one ex-
ception, between Philadelphia and Baltimore.
This success has not come by chance, but is
wholly due to the energy and perseverance of
the two Howards, who in addition to their fine
executive ability have a thorough knowledge
of the business in all its details, and give their
personal attention to overseeing everything
connected with their establishment. Twelve
assistants are employed and six commercial
travelers are kept constanth- on the road,
whose routes extend through Pennsylvania,
Delaware and Maryland. Howard Brothers
now have the entire confidence of retail deal-
ers wherever their business extends, and that
area is rapidly widening, with still more bril-
liant promise for the future. In addition to
the wholesale grocery business Howard Broth-
ers own valuable lands lying within the cor-
porate limits of Chester, in one of the most at-
tractive localities of the city. Mr. F. A. How-
ard is and always has been affiliated with the
Republican party, but is not a stalwart.
On June I, 1882, Fred A. Howard was united
in marriage to Bessie Dunn Pearce, a daughter
of Rev. John J. Pearce, a member of the Cen-
tral Pennsylvania conference of the Methodist
Episcopal church. Mr. Pearce represented
the Lock Haven district in Congress during
those dark days, just before the rebellion, and
with one exception was the youngest member
of that Congress, being only twenty-nine years
of age. To Mr. and l\Irs. Howard has been
born a family of four children, three sons and
a daughter : John Pearce, Mary Anna, Fred
A., jr., and William E. Mrs. Howard is a
direct descendant, in the sixth generation, of
John Alden, the hero of Longfellow's famous
poem, and her uncle, Hon. Stewart Pearce, was
the historian of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania.
William E. Howard, junior member of the
firm of Howard Brothers, is a republican in
politics, and is associated with Frederick A.
Howard in all his business and real estate in-
terests. He resides with his widowed mother
at No. 214 Broad street, Chester, and is avery
popular man, ranking with the best and most
successful young business men of the city.
\il>ILLIA3I (iRAY I»KICE, the vet
eran brick manufacturer of Chester, who
served for a number of years as postmaster of
the cit}', and has long been prominent in local
politics, was born at Chester, March 4, 1828.
He is a son of Major Samuel A. and Sarah
(Bickham) Price, and a brother of John C.
Price, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in
this volume, and to which reference is made-
for such ancestral history of the Price family
as is now attainable. William Gray Price
grew to manhood principally in Chester, and
obtained a good practical education in the
public schools of this city and Philadelphia.
Leaving school he became a clerk in a general
store at Rockdale, this county, and later occu-
pied a similar position in a large mercantile
establishment in this city. In 1849, during
the big excitement which followed the discov-
ery of the precious metal in California, he
sailed on the brig Meteor, via Cape Horn
(stopping at Rio de Janeiro and other South
American ports), for Valparaiso, Chili, where
he was employed for two j'ears as cashier in
the English house of Ravenscroft Hermanos,
y ca at Copiapo, and from thence went to San
Francisco, California, where he joined a pros-
pecting party, and was one of the original dis-
coverers of Salmon river and Gold Bluff. He
240
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
was also one of a party to prospect on Queen
Charlotte's island. British America, and other
points along the Pacific coast. He returned
to the United States in 1854, via Cape Horn,
and in the autumn of that year began the manu-
facture of brick in Chester, this county. This
enterprise proving successful, he has remained
in the business continuoush' until the present
time, and is now perhaps the oldest brick man-
ufacturer of Delaware county, having spent
nearly forty years in this line of productive in-
dustr3\
In 1863, prior to the battle of Gettysburg,
Mr. Price served three months as second lieu-
tenant of Co. A, 37th Emergency regiment,
and again in the emergency call before the
battle of Antietam, as second lieutenant of Co.
K, loth Emergency regiment. In 1869 he was
appointed postmaster of this cit}- by President
Grant, and acceptably filled that position until
1872. He has served continuously for nine
years as a member of the city council, and dur-
ing his first term was one of the South ward com-
missioners who superintended the construc-
tion of the present water works of this cit}'.
Politically he is a stanch republican, and one
of the trusted leaders of his party in Delaware
county. He is also prominentiv connected
with the Royal Arcanum.
On January 18, i860, Mr. Price was united
in marriage to Jennie E. Campbell, a daugh-
ter of the late James Campbell, of the city of
Chester. To Mr. and Mrs. Price were born
three sons, all of whom have attained man-
hood and now occupy important and honor-
able positions in the business world: The eld-
est, Edward A. Price, jr., was born in Ches-
ter, September 2, 1864. He received his edu-
cation in the public schools of Chester, and
after leaving school accepted a position in the
postofiice under John A. Wallace. Three
years later he left Chester and entered the
First National bank of Media as junior clerk,
and is now head book-keeper of that institu-
tion. He served five years in Co. B, 6th
regiment National Guard of Pennsylvania,
but resigned upon his removal to Media. He
associated himself with his father in the brick
business in 1890. He is a prominent Mason,
an active member of Chester Lodge, No. 236,
secretary of Chester Chapter, No. 25g, Royal
Arch Masons, and treasurer of Chester Com-
mandery, No. 66, Knights Templar. On No-
vember 16, 1892, he married M. Nellie Shaw,
a daughter of John Shaw, of the manufactur-
ing firm of Shaw, Esrey & Co. The second
son, William Gray Price, jr., is engaged in the
coal business at Philadelphia. He married
Sallie P. E^re, daughter of the late Joshua P.
Eyre, of Chester, and served as second lieu-
tenant of Co. B, 6th regiment National Guard
Pennsylvania, and as first lieutenant of Co. C,
6th regiment infantry National Guard of Penn-
sj'lvania, and is now adjutant 3d regiment in-
fantry National Guard of Pennsylvania. The
youngest son, Howard Campbell Price, is em-
ployed as salesman for the Keystone Plaster
Company, of this city, and was a member of
Co. B, 6th regiment infantry, and acting ser-
geant-major of the second battalion, 6th regi-
ment infantry National Guard of Pennsyl-
vania, and now is adjutant of the second bat-
talion 6th regiment infantry National Guard
of Pennsylvania.
■j^AVID H. BUR>'S, the popular pro-
^^ prietor of the leading marble works in
the city of Chester, and one of her most re-
spected and useful citizens, was born October
31, 1850, at Bordentown, New Jerse}-, and his
parents were George and Martha ( Duncan )
Burns. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent,
the father and mother both being natives of
the Emerald Isle, and both being born in the
city of Belfast. George Burns (father) was a
cotton spinner by trade, and followed that oc-
cupation in County Down, Ireland, until 1835,
v;hen he came to the United States and settled
at Bordentown, New Jersey. There he re-
sided until 1853, when he removed to Penn-
sylvania, locating at Lenni, Delaware count}'.
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
241
where he continued to live until his death in
1876, at the age of sixty-four years. He was
a republican in politics and a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, leading a quiet
life and being regarded as among the best citi-
zens. He married Martha Duncan, a daugh-
ter of John Duncan, a sea captain residing in
Belfast, Ireland. By that union he had a fam-
ily of eight children, five sons and three daugh-
ters : William, who is an engineer by trade
and resides in Philadelphia ; Margueretta.who
married John Whittington, superintendent of
the Oregon steamship line at San Francisco,
California ; Matilda, wedded Benjamin Mid-
dleton, a prosperous farmer of Village Green,
this county ; John D., foreman in the machine
shops of the Chester steel foundry ; David H.,
whose name heads this sketch ; Elizabeth, who
married Joseph Dyson, of Norwich, Connec-
ticut, and is now deceased; Rev. George J.,
the present pastor of the Methodist Episcopal
church at the corner of Twenty-ninth and
York streets, Philadelphia; and Dr. S. ^^^
Burns, a practicing physician of Chester,
Morris county, New Jersey. Mrs. Martha
Burns now resides with her son in Philadel-
phia, and is in the seventy-eighth year of
her age.
David H. Burns came with his parents to
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, when only
three years of age, and was reared and edu-
cated here. After leaving the public schools
he served an apprenticeship at the marble
cutting trade, with Daniel McClintock, of
Media, Delaware county, and in 1875 en-
gaged in the marble and monument business
on his own account at No. 614 West Third
street, Chester, Delaware county. Here he has
been very successful and has become widely
known for the excellence of his work. He has
perhaps the largest marble business in monu-
ments and tombstones in the city, and turns
out the finest work done in this part of Penn-
sylvania. Among that recently erected is the
beautiful and elaborate marble cross for Peter
Hunter's son, superintendent of the Eddystone
15 a
Print works, and a splendid granite monument
for the noted General Beale, of Washington,
District of Columbia, in Chester Rural ceme-
tery. He has taken as much as six double
wagon loads of finished work into Cumberland
cemetery in one da)-, and during two months
in the summer of 1893 he did five thousand
dollars worth of business, while others were
complaining of dull times.
On the 23d of December, 1875, Mr. Burns
was married to Mary E. Broughton, youngest
daughter of Robert Broughton, of the city of
Philadelphia. To Mr. and Mrs. Burns have
been born two children : Minnie B. and Ethel-
bert Delong. Minnie was born October 30,
1877, and is now attending the high school in
Chester. Ethelbert was born July 14, 1882,
and is a student in the public schools. Po-
liticall\' Mr. Burns is a stalwart republican
and takes an active part in politics, and can
alwajs be found at the polls doing his duty as
a good citizen. Mr. Burns is of a literary
turn of mind, writes frequently for the news-
papers, and is an officer of L. H. Scott Lodge,
A. Y. M., and is an all around good fellow.
TA/I LLIAM S. SYKES, a prominent at-
torney of the Delaware county bar, who
has served six years as county auditor and
been in successful practice in the city of Ches-
ter since 1878, is a native of Rockdale, Dela-
ware county, Pennsylvania, and was born
May 15, 1855. His parents, Daniel and Rachel
(Lowe) Sykes, were both natives of England,
the former born in Mancliester and the latter
atAshton, Underlyne. They were both mem-
bers of the Protestant Episcopal church, and
came to the United States in 1S53, settling at
Rockdale, this county, where they resided un-
til 1861. In that year Mr. Sykes removed to
Philadelphia, and continued to reside in that
city until i86g, when he returned to Rock-
dale, this. county, where he lived until 1870,
and then removed to Chester township, on
property which was included within the bor-
242
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTORY
ough of North Chester in 1873, and the city
of Chester in 1888, since which time he has
been a resident of the cit}' of Chester. He is
a weaver by trade, and since 1870 has been in
the employ of Shaw & Esrey, at their cotton
mills in this city. Politically he is a repub-
lican, and is now in his sixty-second year,
having been born in 1831. Mrs. Sykes died
in 1891, at the age of sixty-three, greatly re-
spected and beloved by her neighbors and
friends, for her many excellent qualities of
heart and mind.
William S. Sykes, their only child, was
reared partly in this county and partly in the
city of Philadelphia. His primary education
was obtained in the public schools of Rock-
dale, after which he took a three 3-ears' course
in the Philadelphia high school. Leaving
school he became a messenger for the West-
ern Union Telegraph Company in the city of
Chester, and after two years spent in that po-
sition entered the law office of William J.
Harvey, at that time the leading lawyer of
the Delaware county bar, and now a prom-
inent attorney in Salt Lake City. After com-
pleting his preparations for the bar Mr. Sykes
was duly admitted to practice in March, 1878,
and at once opened an office in this city, where
he has been continuously engaged in the gen-
eral practice of his profession ever since, giv-
ing his principal attention to the civil side of
the calendar. Of late years he has had a large
divorce practice, and is among the best posted
lawyers on that subject to be found in eastern
Pennsylvania.
On September 5, 1878, Mr. S}'kes was mar-
ried to Anna Palmer Chamberlain, a daughter
of Palmer Chamberlain, of West Chester, this
State, and to them has been born a family of
five children, two sons and three daughters :
D. Harve}', Rachel, Loretta, William S., jr.,
and Eola D.
Politically \\'illiam S. Sykes is an ardent
republican, and for years has taken a prom-
inent part in local politics, being one of his
party's most effective workers. He has fre-
quently been selected for official position, and
has never failed to discharge every duty con-
nected therewith in a manner highly satisfac-
tory to the public and creditable to himself.
For six years he occupied the responsible of-
fice of county auditor of Delaware county, and
was auditor of the borough of North Chester
for nine 3'ears previous to its incorporation
with the city of Chester. He also occupied
the position of solicitor for North Chester for
a number of years, and took an active part in
the legal proceedings connected with the an-
nexation of that borough to the city of Ches-
ter in 1888. Mr. Sykes is a member of the
committee on organization of the Hastings
club of this city, the purpose of which is to
work for the election of General Hastings as
governor of Pennsylvania, and is also a member
of the organization known as " The Rockdale
Bo)'s," a social club composed of those who
attended the Rockdale schools prior to 1870.
As a lawyer Mr. Sykes has won an enviable
standing at the bar, and is regarded as among
the best, most useful and most influential citi-
zens of Delaware county.
Q ATTAIN JOSEPH 3IeDADE, a
^^ well known commander of steam vessels
on the Delaware, whose home is in the city
of Chester, Delaware county, and who has fol-
lowed the sea for nearly half a century, is a
son of Edward and Rebecca (Pile) McDade,
and a native of Marcus Hook, this county,
where he was born February g, 1844. The
McDade family is of original Scotch ancestry,
but its members have been loyal, (rue hearted
Americans since colonial times, having been
settled in the adjoining colon}- of Delaware
long prior to the Revolutionary war. In that
State the paternal grandfather of the Cap-
tain was born and reared. He spent his
life principally at New Castle and Delaware
Cit}', State of Delaware, was a waterman by
occupation, and the father of five children:
John, Edward, William, Rachel and Mary.
OF DELAWAIiE COUNTY.
243
He died about 1846, at the advanced age of
eighty-three years, and his wife in 1852, aged
eighty-four. Their second son, Edward Mc-
Dade (father), was born at New Castle, Dela-
ware, March 12, 1808, and after attaining man-
hood learned the plasterer's trade, at which
he worked for many 3'ears. Politically he was
a whig and republican, taking considerable
interest in local politics and holding a number
of township offices, including that of super-
visor. He was a member of the Episcopal
church, and died November 6, 1866, in the fifty-
eighth 3ear of his age. In 1837 he married
Rebecca Pile, a native of Delaware county,
Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John and
Mar}' Pile, and who was born Ma}' 30. 1817.
To that union was born a famil}' of si.x chil-
dren, three sons and three daughters: Rachel,
born November 12, 1838, who married a Mr.
Taylor; John, born May i, 1841, and died in
1862; Lewis and Joseph, twins, born February
9, 1844; Elizabeth, born May 23, 1847, and
married a Mr. Cloud; and Mary, born April
14, 1849, married a Mr. Cook, and died in
1887. Mrs. McDadediedin 1877, aged si.xty-
two years.
Joseph McDade grew to manhood in this
county, and obtained his education in the e,\-
cellent public schools. At the age of sixteen
he left school and began a sea-faring life,
which he has followed ever since — now a pe-
riod of nearly forty-five years. He began his
career on the water as cook for a small vessel
plying between Marcus Hook and Philadel-
phia, but soon assumed the practical duties
of a sailor, which he mastered in every detail,
and by successive promotions in the service
finally reached the position of captain of a
vessel in 1873, since which time he has com-
manded a numberof important boats and steam
ships. In 1863 he had command of a steam
vessel in the government service, and in 1893
resigned the captaincy of the Richard Stockton,
built in 1853, one of the oldest boats on the
Delaware river, which was built and owned by
the Pennsylvania Road Company and run
as a pleasure boat, to assume command of
the Emeline, a handsome cruising yacht re-
cently completed at the Roach shipyards in
Chester for John B. Roach.
On February i, i86g. Captain McDade was
married to Amy Hedden, a native of Manna-
hawkin. Ocean count}', New Jersey, and a
daughter of William and Lucretia Hedden.
To the Captain and Mrs. McDade have been
born five sons, only two of whom now survive:
Edward, deceased; Albert D., a bright and
promising young man, who will graduate
from the iiniversit}' of Pennsylvania in June,
1894, and is now a law student in the office of
Thortius Vanderslice, No. 5o8 Chestnut street,
Phildadelphia; Joseph Hilary, deceased ; Er-
nest, deceased, and J. G. B. McDade, living at
home with his parents.
In political sentiment Captain McDade has
been a republican all his life, and when at
home has taken an active part in municipal
affairs, and done much for the success of his
party at the polls. He was elected to a seat
in the select council of Chester in 1890, and is
now serving his fourth consecutive year in
that office. In his official capacity he has al-
ways kept the city's welfare in view, and dis-
charged his duties in a manner to serve the
public good rather than private interests. He
is a leading member of St. Luke's Episcopal
church, and also of the Royal Arcanum.
FKANK RAYMOND SAA IDCJE, of
the Philadelphia bar, formerly a law
partner of the late Attorney General Benjamin
Harris Brewster, and now e.xecutor of his large
estate, was born in the village of Hancock,
Maryland, May 22, 1866, while his father was
pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church at
that time. The famil}- from which he is de-
scended was planted in America early in the
eighteenth century. A genealogical work re-
cently published at Belfast, Ireland, sustains
this claim and shows that the founders of the
family came into England with William the
2i4
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Conqueror. They fought at the battle of
Hastings, October 14, 1066, and afterward
settled in England, where the\- lived until the
reign of Henrj^ \'II. That monarch granted
a large estate in Ireland to Sir Rock Savage
for services rendered the crown, and this es-
tate thenceforth became the principal seat of
the family. Upon it Sir Rock Savage and his
descendants continued to reside in succession.
Soon after the advent of the eighteenth cen-
tury, two brothers left the ancestral estate in
Ireland and sailed for America with all their
possessions on board. Their vessel was
wrecked in sight of the American coast, but
the two brothers escaped, and swimming
ashore, pluckily began life anew, with all their
goods and treasure at the bottom of the sea.
One of these brothers settled in Chester county,
Pennsylvania, from whom came Dr. Savage", '
now of Pottstown. The other found a Home
in Northumberland countj'. A schoolmaster
of this branch, tracing the family to French,
origin, returned to the French orthogra'phy'-— ^
Savidge. From this branch is descended^the-
subject of the present sketch, and also Judge
Savidge, of Sunbury, Pennsylvania.
Samuel Savidge, paternal grandfather of
Frank Raymond, was a prominent railroad
contractor of Sunbur\'. Penns\lvania, where
he passed most of his life. He executed a
number of large contracts on the Cumberland
Valley and the Danville & Hazelton railroads,
and became prosperous and well known in rail-
road circles. His death occurred at Sunburj'
in 1889, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
Politically he was a whig and republican, took
an active part in public affairs, served as del-
egate to many State and county conventions,
and was at one time a prominent candidate for
Sheriff of Northumberland county.
Coleman Hall Savidge, father of Frank R.,
was born in Northumberland count}', Pennsyl-
vania, in 1835, and obtained his education at
Freeburg academy and Dickinson seminary,
Pennsylvania. In 1857 he entered the minis-
try of the Methodist Episcopal church. He
was chaplain of the 52nd Pennsylvania infan-
try, and was present at the liattles of Antietam
and South Mountain. For fifteen years he
was actively' engaged in the itinerant ministry,
but in 1870 connected himself with the book
publishing business of the Methodist Book
Concern, New York, with which he is still
associated. He is a republican in politics.
In December, 1861, he was married to Alcinda
Harwood Creager, a daughter of Ephraim
Creager, of Frederick county, Maryland. To
them was born a famih' of five children, three
sons and two daughters. The eldest is Dr.
Eugene Coleman Savidge, a practicing phy-
sician of New York city, and author of several
well known works of biography and fiction.
His education was obtained in the Baltimore
city "coilege, the universit}' of New York and
the university of France, at Paris. The second
son was Frank Raymond Savidge, whose name
heads '-this sketch : the third, Edgar, now
..-stud-yijtg medicine in the university of Penn-
syltvania ; Mj'rtle Warfield, and Grace, now at
■ -srlibol, are the daughters.
Mrs. Alcinda Harwood Savidge, mother of
Frank Raymond, is a lineal descendant of the
Warfields, Stocketts and Harwoods, all of
English descent, who came to America in col-
onial times and settled in Maryland. Major
Harwood served with distinction in the Rev-
olutionary war. Thomas Harwood was first
Lord Treasurer of Maryland, which office he
held during his lifetime and was succeeded by
his brother, Benjamin Harwood.
]Mrs. Savidge was graduated from Mount
Washington college, near Baltimore, Mary-
land, in 1858 and received first honors in a
class of sixteen and a gold medal for "General
Scholarship."
Frank Raymond Savidge began his educa-
tion under the refining influences of a cul-
tured Christian home and continued it with
great credit both in the Philadelphia High
school and Baltimore city college. In 1885
he enrolled as a student of law with the Hon-
orable Benjamin Harris Brewster, attorney
PUBJ.r : ■-
^
-e- -c- -^ -<S:— c
^ -^S:^.
T
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
247
general under Arthur's administration, and
remained in Mr. Brewster's office until Janu-
ary, 1888, when at the age of twenty-one he
was admitted to the bar. Soon afterward Mr.
Savidge associated himself in a law partner-
ship with Mr. Brewster, who having the full-
est confidence in the ability of his young part-
ner, at once engaged him to assist in many
grave and important cases. This partnership
lasted until the death of Mr. Brewster, April
4, 1888, at which time Mr. Savidge, by the
terms of Mr. Brewster's will, became executor
of his estate and guardian of his son.
Mr. Savidge was secretary of the meeting
called by the bar to pay honor to the memory
of Mr. Brewster, and in the natural course of
events has succeeded to much of the law prac-
tice of his distinguished partner and has built
up himself a large practice.
He is solicitor of the borough of Ridley
Park, and director and solicitor of a number
of corporations. Mr. Savidge has recently
written and published a valuable work on the
" Law of Boroughs in Pennsylvania," highly
spoken of by the critics, judges and lawyers.
His success at the bar has given him high
standing among the profession and with the
courts.
Politically Frank Raymond Savidge is a re-
publican, and has taken some active interest
in local politics. He is a member of Lodge
No. 51, of the Masonic Order, Philadelphia,
and a vestryman of Christ church, Ridley
Park.
Since 18S3 Mr. Savidge has been a resident
of Ridle}' Park and has done much toward
building up the interests and increasing the
prosperity of the borough and vicinit\-. He
is unmarried.
QEORCJE L. IIORNIN(i, a Union sol
^'^ dier of the late civil war, and the pro-
prietor of one of the largest meat markets of
the city of Chester, is one of the self-made
men of Pennsylvania, who have achieved
remarkable success. He is a son of John
and Sarah (Lenhart) Horning, and was born
in Harrisburg, Dauphin count}', Pennsyl-
vania, February 12, 1841. The Hornings
are of Scotch and German descent, and
John Horning was born January 7, 1806, in
Dauphin county, where he died August 7,
1854, at forty-four years of age. He
was a shoemaker by trade, and during
the latter years of his life carried on a
boot and shoe house in Harrisburg. He
was a whig and a member of the Baptist
church, in which he served for several years
as a deacon. Mr. Horning married Sarah
Lenhart, who was born November 20, 181 1,
and is a daughter of Jacob Lenhart, and died
Januar}' 12, iSgo, when in the 79th year of
her age. Their children were : Mary Jones,
Maggie, Rebecca, Ella (deceased), George L.,
John and Jacob.
George L. Horning was reared principally
on a farm, and after attending the public
schools for a few terms was compelled by the
death of his father to leave school in order to
help maintain his mother. He worked for
some time as a farm hand at twenty-five cents
per day, then learned the trade of butcher,
and at the suggestion of a friend came to
Chester as a favorable place at which to com-
mence life for himself. Before coming to
Chester, the civil war broke out, and he
enlisted at Harrisburg on May 2, 1861, in
Company F, 25th Pennsylvania infantry,
which was organized April 18, and served at
Washington until June 29, when it and com-
panies D, G, H and I, marched to Rockville,
>laryland, and became a part of the 7th
brigade, 3rd corps of Patterson's army. He
served at Harper's Ferry and Bunker Hill,
and in the Shenandoah valley, and was hon-
orably discharged at Harrisburg on August i,
i85i. ^Ir. Horning re-enlisted in the Federal
service on July 15, 1864, as a member of
Company A, 197th Pennsylvania infantry,
which was fully organized at Camp Cad-
wallader, Philadelphia, on July 22, being
248
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
known as the 3rd Coal Exchange regiment,
with J. R. Haslett as colonel. This regiment
first served as a part of the iSth corps, being
stationed at Baltimore, in the middle depart-
ment. On August 8, it was sent to Rock
Island, Illinois, where it acted as a guard
over Confederate prisoners, until November
7, when it returned to Philadelphia, where
it was mustered out of the Federal ser-
vice on the nth of the last named month.
Mr. Horning after returning from the army in
1861, opened a meat shop on Essex street,
in Chester, where he remained for two years.
At the end of that time he removed to the site
of his present place of business, on West
Second street. In 1877 he purchased a large
frontage of fifty-one feet to his store site and
erected his present large and well arranged
meat market, which is twenty-five by one
hundred and forty-four feet, with two annexes
of eighteen by twenty and twenty by twenty
feet in ■ dimensions. His patronage is first
class, while in size it equals any meat market
in the citj'. Mr. Horning is interested in
various business enterprises, and has been a
director for some years in Consumer's Ice
Company and the Delaware County Building
association, and has served as president and
treasurer of the Franklin Fire Companj'.
On May 3, 1864, Mr. Horning was united
in marriage with Sarah J. Carr, and to their
union have been born two children : Henrj',
a graduate of the public schools of Chester,
and Georgiana, now attending school.
In politics Mr. Horning is a republican, and
has served as a member of the common council
from the Seventh ward. He is a member of
Chester Lodge, No. 76, Knights of Pythias;
Mocoponaca Tribe, No. 149, Improved Order
of Red Men ; Chester Council, No. 553, Royal
Arcanum; Sharpless Council, American
Legion of Honor, No. 1066 ; and Upland
Lodge, No. 253, and Chester Encampment,
No. 99, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
George L. Horning has won his own way in
life. Purpose, vigor and perseverance have
been to him the talismanic words of prosperity,
advancement and success. Directing his
thoughts and devoting his energies to his pres-
ent line of business, it has grown up into pro-
portions of great size. Mr. Horning is a
patient and hard worker, who is capable and
honest and carefully watches for opportunities
in his different commercial enterprises, as well
as closely supervising the routine duties of his
office and business establishments.
HAKKY G. MASON, proprietor of the
well known Morton hotel of Chester,
and one of her most enterprising and prosper-
ous citizens, is a son of John D. and Sarah P.
(L-'ghtfoot) Mason, and was born June 4,
1846, near Dowingtown, Chester count}",
Penns3'lvania. The Masons have resided in
Chester county since the time of William
Penn, their American progenitor having been
among the English Quakers who came
out to the new colony at that time. John
Mason, paternal grandfather of Harry G. Ma-
son, was a native of Chester county, where he
passed nearly all his life, and died in 1830, at
an advanced age. He was a farmer by occu-
pation and a member of the Society of Friends.
By his marriage to Sarah Pratt he had a fam-
ily' of children, one of his sons being John D.
Mason (father), who was born on the old
homestead in Chester county in 1802, and
died at Lenni, Delaware county, February 11,
1866, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. All
his active life was devoted to agricultural pur-
suits, principally in his native county, though
he removed to Delaware county a short time
prior to his death. Politically he was a dem-
ocrat, but never took an active part in public
affairs, being of a quiet and retiring disposi-
tion. In 1S27 he married Sarah P. Lightfoot,
a daughter of Jacob Lightfoot, and a native of
Maiden's creek, Bucks county, this State.
They had a family consisting of six sons and
three daughters. Mrs. Mason now resides
with her son, the subject of this sketch, and is
OF DELAWAIiE COUNTY.
249
in the eighty-third year of her age, having
been born April 9, i8io.
Harry G. Mason grew to manhood on a farm
near Dowingtown, Chester county, this State,
and obtained a good EngHsh education in the
pubhc schools of that vicinit}'. Soon after
completing his studies he entered a woolen
mill at his native place, and continued to fol-
low that business until 1878. On August 17,
1878, he assumed the management of the
Washington hotel in Chester county, which
he conducted successfully until 1880. Tradi-
tion says that George Washington visited the
hotel and slept there during the Revolutionary
war, and from that fact is derived its present
name. In the summer of 1880 Mr. Mason
came to Chester and took charge of his present
hotel — the Morton House — at the corner of
Eighth street and Morton avenue. From that
time to the present he has continuously con-
ducted this popular house, and has become
well known to the traveling public and won a
fine reputation as a successful caterer. Mr.
Mason was one of the organizers and is now
a director of the Consumers' Ice Manufactur-
ing Company of this city. In addition to his
hotel he owns other valuable real estate in
Chester.
On July 5, i868, Harry G. Mason was united
in marriage to Fannie Wagonseller, a native
of Delaware county, and a daughter of David
Wagonseller, then of Delaware, but formerly
of Chester county. To Mr. and Mrs. Mason
was born one child, a daughter named Mary
E., now living at home with her parents.
A stanch democrat in politics, Mr. Mjson
has always taken considerable interest in pub-
lic and political affairs, and in 1886 was elected
on the Democratic ticket to a seat in the
city council, in which honorable body he
served acceptably for a period of three years.
At the time of the battle of Gettysburg Mr.
Mason went out with the emergency men, al-
though only eighteen years of age, and served
until after the Confederate forces undfer Lee
had left Pennsylvania. He then joined a con-
struction corps and went to North Carolina,
where they were engaged in building bridges
and repairing railroads for the United States
government until the war ended, wlien he re-
turned to Pennsylvania. He is pleasant and
affable in manner, and seems remarkably well
adapted to the hotel business, in which he has
won conspicuous success. As a citizen he is
public spirited and useful, and commands the
respect and esteem of all who know him.
kT R. AVILLIAMS, superintendent of the
* extensive woiks of the Bear Creek Refin-
ing Company, at Marcus Hook, this county,
and who has been closely identified with the
oil business of Pennsylvania for many years,
is a son of Adam and Nancy(Landis) Williams,
and was born August 30, 1837, at Greensburg,
Westmoreland count}-, this State. His father
was a prosperous farmer of that count}', and
Mr. Williams remained on the farm until his
sixteenth year, receiving a good primary edu-
cation in the public schools. At the age of
sixteen he went to live with Judge Henry M.
Breckenridge, who was territorial judge of
Florida under President Jackson, and soon
became manager of the judge's estate of twen-
ty-two hundred acres, located on the Allegheny
river, where the village of Tarentum now
stands. The judge took a friendly interest in
his youthful manager, and under his advice
and tutelage Mr. Williams greatly improved
his knowledge, making himself familiar with
man}- of the higher branches included in a
liberal education, and acquiring such a store
of practical information that he has ever since
felt inclined to give Judge Breckenridge the
credit of having educated him. The judge
laid out and founded the town of Tarentum,
and Mr. Williams remained with him until he
was twenty-two years of age. He then trav-
eled for two years through the southern and
western states, making himself familiar with
those sections of the Union. Returning to
Pennsylvania INIr, Williams engaged in the
250
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
lumber business at Tarentum, but after one
year removed to the oil fields on Oil creek and
began drilling oil wells by contract. In i860
he entered the emplo}' of an Ohio firm, Lydaj',
Chorpenning & Co., who owned the Buchanan
farm on Oil creek, as manager of their busi-
ness, and remained in that position until 1862,
when the firm called him to Pittsburg to build
an oil refinery for them in that citj\ After
the refinery was finished Mr. Williams became
its general superintendent, and successfully
managed the business for three years, when
the firm purchased the Dawson farm, near
Pitthole, in Venango count}', paying over one
hundred and twelve thousand dollars for three
hundred acres of land, and sent Mr. Williams
to develop that territory, he being also finan-
cially, interested in this enterprise. They
abandoned this farm in 1867, and Mr. Wil-
liams then purchased an interest in the firm of
Porter, Crawford & Co., oil refiners (re-or-
ganized as Fulton, Marvin & Co.), whose
works were situated on the Alleghenj'
Valley railroad, twenty miles from Pittsburg.
In 1872 this firm was merged in the Central
Refining Company, with eight or ten other re-
fineries, and Mr. Williams retired from the
oil business to devote his attention to his salt
interests on the Allegheny river. He contin-
ued in the salt business vmtil 1875, when he
disposed of his salt works and returned to the
oil field as a driller and producer at Bullion
Fields. One 3'ear later he transferred his
operations to the Broadford oil fields, where
he engaged in drilling wells and producing
oil on his own account, and also had charge of
the wells owned by Logan Brothers & Co., of
Pittsburg and Philadelphia. Soon after this,
while on a visit to his home in Pittsburg, he
met T. C. Jenkins, the well known wholesale
grocer of that cit}', and engaged with him as
superintendent of his various warehouses
in Pittsburg. In 1S80 he went to Cole-
man station, on the Allegheny Valley railroad,
with B. B. Campbell, to construct the oil re-
finerj' now known as No. i, of the Bear Creek
Refining Companj'. After it was built and in
fine operation he went on the road for a time
as traveling salesman for this. In 1881 the
Ocean Oil Company was organizing their re-
finery at Bayonne, New Jersey, and Mr. Wil-
liams contracted with them to construct and
superintend their factory, becoming at the same
time a director in the company. Here he re-
mained until December, 1892, when he re-
ceived a better offer from the Bear Creek
Refining Company to superintend their refin-
ery, No. 2, at Marcus Hook. Delaware countv,
which position he has ever since occupied.
This refinery covers some sixty-five acres of
ground, with pipe line supplies requiring fort}-
or fifty acres more, employs two hundred men
and uses one hundred thousand barrels of
crude oil ever}- month. In its management
Mr. \\'illiams has demonstrated his accurate
knowledge of the business, and met with the
usual success which has attended all his oil
enterprises.
In 1862 Mr. Williams was married to Mar-
geret E. Morrison, a daughter of Samuel
Morrison, of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania.
To them was born one child, a son named
Joseph L. Mr. Williams is a democrat in
politics and a member of the Methodist Epis-
copal church.
The family from which J. B. Williams is
descended is of Welsh extraction. His pater-
nal grandfather, Thomas Williams, was a
native of Maryland and served in the conti-
nental arm\- during the revolutionary war.
He remo\ ed to Westmoreland county, Penn-
sylvania, when a young man, where he mar-
ried and reared a family of children. His son,
Adam Williams (father), was born and reared
in Westmoreland county, this State, where he
engaged in farming and also owned and man-
aged a large saw mill. He died at his home
in that countyin 1861, aged seventy-two years.
In religion he was a Lutheran and a democrat
in politics. He served in the war of 1812 as
a soldier under General Markle, of Greens-
burg, this State. In 1815 he married Nancy
OF DELA WARE COUNTY.
251
Landis, a daughter of Jacob Landis, of Adams-
burg, Westmoreland county, and to that
union was born a family of nine children :
Thomas, Elizabeth, Samuel, Peter, Aaron,
Lavinia, John, Anna and J. B.
Mrs. Williams was a native of Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, and died in 1870, aged
seventy years. Three of their sons, Samuel,
Peter and John, served in the Federal army
during the civil war.
FFAKWELL LO>(J,3I. I)., aprom
• inent and popular young phxsician of
the city of Chester, is a graduate of the Uni-
\'ersity of Pennsylvania, and has been in suc-
cessful practice here since 1888. Dr. Long
is a son of Jesse G. and Caroline ( Ramsay)
Long, and a native of Pittsfield, Illinois,
where he was born March 15, 1865. His boy-
hood was passed in that village, and his edu-
cation was obtained in the primary and stand-
ard high schools, from the latter of which he
was graduated in 1884. In the following \-ear
he entered the medical department of the
university of Pennsylvania, and in 1S88 was
duly graduated therefrom with the degree of
M.D. The same year he opened an office in
this city and at once entered upon the duties
of his profession. Possessing many of the
qualities that distinguish the successful physi-
cian, and having carefully prepared himself by
earnest study continued through a number of
years, it is not surprising that Dr. Long met
with immediate recognition, and soon found
himself with a large general practice, to which
he has continuously given his time and atten-
tion ever since. Dr. Long was appointed
resident surgeon of Chester for the Penns\l-
vania Railroad Company on May 21, 1889, and
is still acceptably filling that position. He is
an active member of the Delaware County
Medical society, and a careful reader and
student of the latest and best literature of his
profession.
On January 21, 1893, Dr. Long was wedded
to M. Garretta Roach, of this city, and ^-oung-
est daughter of John B. Roach, president of
the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and
Engine works, son of the late John Roach, the
eminent ship builder, who acquired an inter-
national reputation by his gigantic operations
in ship and boat building. In politics Dr.
Long is a republican.
The family of which the Doctor is a mem-
ber is of Scotch - Irish lineage, and was origin-
ally planted in America by Henry Long, pa-
ternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch.
He was born and reared in Ireland, but left
his native country while yet a young man, and
crossing the turbulent Atlantic found a home
in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, where he
resided until 1831. In that year he removed
to what is now known as Atlas, Illinois, where
be purchased forty-two quarter sections of
military bounty land and began farming.
There he spent the remainder of his days,
dying on his farm near Atlas about 1850, aged
seventy-nine years. He married Emeline, a
daughter of Gen. Jesse Greene, and reared a
familj^ of seven children. One of his sons is
Jesse G. Long (father), who was born in Bal-
timore, Maryland, early in 1823, and when
about eight years of age was taken by his par-
ents to Atlas, Illinois, where he grew to man-
hood. Soon after attaining his majoritj' he
engaged in farming for himself, and for many
years operated extensively in that localitj'.
He is now in the sevent\--first year of his age,
and for some time has been retired from all
active business and is living quietly- in Pittsfield.
In 1849 he wedded a Caroline Ramsay, a
native of Utica, New York, whose parents were
Henry Richard and Susanna (Farwell) Ram-
sa}'. Mrs. Long is now in the si.xty-fourth
year of her age. They had a familv of nine
children, four sons and five daughters.
TA>ESLEY S. 3IcDOWELL, a member
of the prosperous coal and lumber firm
of W. J. McDowell & Brother, of South Ches-
253
BIOGRAPHY AXD HISTORY
ter, and president of the board of education
of that borough, is a son of John and Agnes
( McOuillen ) McDowell, and \yas born May
12, i85o, at Glen Riddle, Delaware county,
Pennsj'lvania. He was reared principally in
the borough of South Chester, to which his
parents removed when he was about ten years
of age, and received a good practical educa-
tion in the public schools here. After leaving
school he assisted his father in conducting the
coal and wood business in South Chester until
the death of the latter, when young McDowell
formed a partnership with his elder brother,
William J. McDowell (see his sketch ), under
the firm name of \\". J. McDowell & Brother,
and thev succeeded their father in the coal,
wood and lumber trade. The headquarters
of this enterprising firm is at the corner of
Front and Morton streets, South Chester,
where they do an e.xtensive business, handling
all kinds of lumber, coal, kindling wood, lime,
sand, cement, plaster, terra cotta drain pipe,
fire brick, fire clay, and other merchandise
connected with these various lines. Being
endowed with fine business ability, and giving
close personal attention to every transaction,
thev have rapidly increased their business and
now enjoy a large and lucrative trade, not
only in South Chester, but in all parts of the
surrounding country.
On November 25, i88g, Wesley S. McDowell
was united in marriage to Lizzie K. Law, a
daughter of ex-burgess John Law, of the bor-
ough of South Chester. To Mr. and Mrs.
McDowell has been born one son, Harold S.,
who is now in his third }ear.
In politics Mr. McDowell is an earnest repub-
lican, but has never taken an}' very prominent
part in political affairs, preferring to devote
his energies to business. He takes a deep in-
terest in educational matters, and is now serv-
ing his sixth year as a member of the board of
education in this borough. For three years
of that time he has been president of the
board, and still occupies this position, doing
much valuable work in the interest of im-
proved educational facilities for the rising
generation. Mr. McDowell is a member,
trustee and treasurer of the South Chester
Methodist Episcopal church. He is also a
member of Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free and
Accepted T^Iasons, and of the Junior Order of
United American Mechanics. His name was
among the charter members of the Felton Fire
Company, of South Chester, of which organi-
zation he is now treasurer. Few men of his
age have been more successful in business,
and the future holds bright promise of addi-
tional triumphs in his prosperous career. For
ancestral history see sketch of William J. Mc-
Dowell, found elsewhere in this volume.
nOBERT BOOTH, a member of the
planing mill firm of J. H. Stroud &. Co., of
Chester, and one of this city's successful and
popular business men, is the son and only sur-
viving child of John and Sarah A. (Foulke)
Booth, and a native of Bethel township, this
count}-, where he was born March 23, 1834.
The Booths are of English extraction, the im-
migrant ancestor of the family being among the
English Quakers who came to Pennsylvania
during the colonial period, and this branch of
the family has been resident in Delaware coun-
ty for more than a century. Thomas Booth,
paternal grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, was a prosperous farmer of Bethel
township, where he was born, grew to man-
hood and spent his entire life. He was a mem-
ber of the Society of Friends, a whig in poli-
tics, and married and reared a family of chil-
dren, one of his sons being John Booth (father),
who was born on the old homestead in Bethel
township, this county, in 1805. He acquired
a common school education, and after attaining
manhood engaged in agricultural pursuits,
which he followed successfully until his death
by accident in 1836, at the early age of thirty
years, eight months and twenty days. He
owned three hundred and fifty acres of land,
upon which he carried on farming and stock
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
253
raising extensivel}', and was also engaged in
teaming, keeping two fine teams on the road
all the time. His death was caused b}' one
of his horses falling upon him while he was
riding. Politically he was an ardent whig,
and in religion adhered to the Friends' faith,
in which he had been reared. He was a man
of great energ)', good judgment and benevo-
lent heart, and was remarkably successful dur-
his short business career. In 1829 he married
Sarah A. Foulke, a daughter of John Foulke,
of Brandywine Hundred, Delaware, and was
the father of three children: Charlotte, who
married Stephen Cloud, of this city, but is
now deceased; Sarah, also dead; and Robert,
whose name heads this sketch. Mrs. Booth
afterward married Nelson Clayton, a prosper-
ous farmer of Bethel township, and by that
union had a family of five children: John, de-
ceased; Nelson, now a resident of Village
Green, this county; Powell F., holding a posi-
tion in the Pullman car shops at Wilmington,
Delaware; Thomas F., a farmer of Bethel
township; and Amanda, deceased.
Robert Booth grew to manhood on the farm
in Bethel township, this county, and obtained
a good English education in the public schools
there and the academy at Charlotteville, New
York. At the age of seventeen he began learn-
ing the carpenter trade, and followed that oc-
cupation until 1872, when he formed a part-
nership with J. H. Stroud & Co., and started
the planing mill at which they are now doing
business, and which is located at the corner of
Front street and Concord avenue, in the city
of Chester. They manufacture sash, doors,
blinds, shutters, window frames, door frames,
and mouldings, and do all kinds of turning,
scroll sawing and planing, besides a large busi-
ness in making packing boxes to order. Their
mill is fitted up with the latest improved ma-
chinery, turning out only first-class work, and
they do an annual business of between thirty
and forty thousand dollars.
On December 25, 1856, Mr. Booth united
in marriage with Martha W. Johnson, a daugh-
ter of Robert Johnson, sr. , of Bethel town-
ship, this count}', and by that union had a
family of five children, one son and four
daughters: Clara Jane, now the wife of Rev. .
Edwin W. Long, of Wilmington, Delaware;.
John W., employed as book-keeper in the city
of Chester; Sarah A., deceased; Delia, mar-
ried Horris D. Simcox, of this city; and Flor-
ence M., who married Rev. Francis E. Smi-
le}', of the city of Philadelphia. In political
affairs Mr. Booth is a stanch republican, and
is a member of Lafa}'ette Lodge, No. 14, Free
and Accepted Masons, of Wilmington, Dela-
ware, with which he has been connected since
TA/ILLIAM H. hall, the present pop-
ular and efficient register of wills and
clerk of the Orphans' court of Delaware
county, and a gentleman who has been prom-
inently identified with the business interests
of Chester, and is well and favorably known
throughout this part of the Keystone State, is
a son of Robert and Frances (Worrell) Hall,
and was born in Nether Providence township,
Delaware county, Penns}'lvania, July 12, 1854.
His parents were natives of Middleton, Eng-
land, and came to the United States in 1843,
locating at that time in the city of Philadel-
phia, but a few years later removed to Dela-
ware county. In 1862 Robert Hall (father)
embarked in the manufacture of cotton and
woolen goods at Waterville. Lower Provi-
dence township, this county, where he suc-
cessfully conducted that business until 1882,
when he retired. In 1872 he removed to the
city of Chester, and continued to reside here
until his death, January 23, i8go, when in the
seventy-fourth year of his age. His wife still
survives him and lives in the city of Chester,
where she is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal
church. She was born in 1818, and is conse-
quently now in her seventy-fifth year. Robert
Hall (father) was a whig and republican in
politics, and for a number of years was a ves-
tryman of St. Paul's Episcopal church in this
354
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOBY
city. He reared a family of six children, two
sons and four daughters.
William H. Hall was reared principally in
Nether Providence township, this county, and
obtained a superior English education in the
public school and at Gilbert academy in this
city. After completing his studies' young Hall
entered his father's factory, where lie had full
charge of the designing and weaving until
1882, when he. engaged in the bakery and con-
fectionery business on his own account. He
conducted the latter enterprise successfully
up to i8go, at which time he abandoned it to
give his attention to official duties to which he
had been called by his fellow citizens.
A life long republican, Mr. Hall has taken a
prominent part in local politics, in which he
has been more or less active ever since the
Grant and Colfax campaign, at which time he
threw to the breezes the first and only Ameri-
can flag bearing pictures of those two repub-
lican leaders that ever floated in the Quaker
village of W'aterville, this county. In 1885
he was elected assessor of the south ward of
the city of Chester, and reelected in 1886, serv-
ing two years. At the election of 1890 he was
made city controller, and acceptably filled that
position until January, 1893, when he retired
from that office to accept the more important
one of register of wills and clerk of the Orphans'
court of Delaware count}', to which he had
been elected in the fall of 1892. He is still
occupying the latter position, and his work
has been done in an able and efficient man-
ner, creditable to hitiiself and highly pleasing
to all who have business with his office. Mr.
Hall is also prominent in Masonic and other
fraternal circles in this city, being a member
of L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons; Chester Chapter, No. 258,
Royal Arch Masons; Chester Commandery,
No. 66, Knights Templar ; Lieperville Lodge,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows ; and
Lamokin Tribe, No. 80, Improved Order of
Red Men.
On the 9th of December, 1871, Mr. Hall
was united in marriage to Anna P. Kirk, the
youngest daughter of John Kirk, of the city of
Chester. To Mr. and Mrs. Hall has been
born one child, a son, named Robert R., for
his grandfather, who is now deceased.
TjMlLLIAM HIXKSON, an old and
^^^^ highly respected citizen and business
man of Chester, and ex-treasurer of the county
and cit}'. is a native of Middletown township,
Delaware county, Pennsylvania, where he
was born December 12, 1820. He remained
on his father's farm, part of which now
lies within the cit}' limits of Chester, until six-
teen years of age, and then began work as an
apprentice to the blacksmith trade. His edu-
cation was principally obtained in the com-
mon schools of Chester, and by diligent study
and extended reading during the 3'ears of his
apprenticeship. After completing his trade
he worked as a journeyman for two years, and
in 1848 moved to Chester and continued in
the blacksmithing business on his own ac-
count in this city until December, 1S54. This
enterprise he successfully conducted for a
period of ten \'car3, and on January i, 1855,
embarked in the lumber and coal business,
believing that the latter would furnish a wider-
field for his activity and a shorter path to in-
dependence. His transactions were at first
small, but his business gradually increased in
volume until he had a large and lucrative
trade, which he continued until 1880, when he
retired. Since that time, with the exception
of one year, Mr. Hinkson has been collector
of school taxes in this city, under appoint-
ment of the board of education, and also at-
tends to the collection of rents for a number
large property holders. In 1863 he was elected
county treasurer of Delaware county, and
served in that important office for two years.
On December 15, 1845, Mr. Hinkson mar-
ried Mary Edwards, a daughter of Edward
Edwards, of this city. She died in 1849, leav-
ing one son, Lewis E., who now resides at
Dfill-:^-^ ^=:^-^A.
T'HE .-vKi^i, YQ^^ _
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
257
Eddystone, this count}'. Mr. Hinksoii was
again married December 13, 1854, wedding
Hannah Black, daughter of John Black, a
prominent farmer in the township of Marple,
this county. By this second union he had a
family of three children, one son and two
daughters: William E., now engaged in the
drug business at Plainfield, New Jersey ; Mar)'
E. and Anna P.
In politics William Hinkson has been a
steadfast republican ever since the first organ-
ization of that party in Pennsylvania. In his
earlier years he took an active part in promot-
ing its interests, and was long accounted as
one of its most influential local leaders. In
recognition of his services and as a tribute to
his high character, he was elected by his party
to the office of county treasurer, as has already
been noted, and served as such during 1864
and 1865. Long before the city of Chester
was chartered he had served as a member of
the borough council, and later became a mem-
ber of the city council, holding a seat in that
body for man\' years. He also served on the
school board for an extended period, and was
treasurer of Chester for two terms — once
while it was yet a borough, and again after the
the city government had been organized. In
religious faith j\Ir. Hinkson is a Presbj'terian,
having been connected with the Third Pres-
byterian church of Chester since its organiza-
tion in 1872, and president of the board of
trustees for several years. He is also a mem-
ber of Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons.
The family of which William Hinkson is
now the oldest representative in tliis city, is
of Scotch -Irish lineage, and was planted in
America by the great-grandparents of the sub-
ject of this sketch, who came over from Ire-
land at an early day and settled in this county.
Their son, John Hinkson ( grandfather), was
born on shipboard during the vo3'age across
the Atlantic, and was reared and educated in
Delaware county, where he spent nearly all
his life engaged in agricultural pursuits.
10
Q A3IUEL McILVAIN, one of the lead-
"^ ing contractors and builders of the city of
Chester, whose handiwork may be seen in
many of the fine buildings that add beauty to
our streets and increase our reputation as a
city of elegant homes, is a son of Andrew and
Martha (McIlvain)McIlvain, and was born near
Londonderry, Ireland, in 1841. Andrew Mc-
Ilvain was of Scotch- Irish ancestry, and was en-
gaged in the manufacturing business in Ireland,
where he died when the subject of this sketch
was only ten years old. The latter was reared
on the Emerald Isle and received a limited
education in the National schools of his native
countr\', after which he learned the trades of
stone mason and brick layer, and continued
to work at those occupations until 1875, when
he brought his mother to America, having
come himself in 1865. He in 1865 located in
the city of Chester, Delaware county, where
he has resided ever since. For one )-ear he
worked at journe}' work and then engaged in
contracting and building on his own account.
He was energetic and capable in management,
conscientious and thorough in the execution
of contracts, and soon had a large share of the
best business in his line in this part of the
country. From the first he gave his careful
personal attention to all important work, and
being one of the very few men who can build
a house from foundation stone up to top shin-
gle with his own hands, he was always able
to secure the best work of the best workmen,
and never failed to give satisfaction to his cus-
tomers. Under such circumstances it is hardly
necessary to say that his business has rapidly
increased until it assumed mammoth propor-
tions and yielded a princely income. He has
had as many as forty skilled carpenters at work
for him at one time, beside the brick layers and
others necessarily employed in carrying on
extensive building operations. During the
years that have elapsed since he began con-
tracting here in 1867, he has built many of the
largest, handsomest and most substantial bus-
inesshouses and private residences that to-day
258
BIOGEAFHY AND HISTOBY
adorn the streets of this city, inchiding most
of the fine buildings on Nineteenth street from
Providence avenue to the city hmits. He
has also erected more than one thou-
sand substantial houses in the city of
Philadelphia and between Philadelphia and
Chester, beside a large number at Avelon,
New Jersey, and Wilmington, Delaware. In
addition to his large contracting business. Mr.
Mcllvain also operates in real estate to some
extent, and has handled some very valuable
property in this city and made a number of
important deals. Beginning as a poor boy he
has wrought out a splendid and highly suc-
cessful career, for which he is indebted prin-
cipally to his own unaided ability, energy and
determined thoroughness in everything he un-
dertook. He now finds himself in middle life
possessed of a handsome competency, at the
head of a large and lucrative business, and
with an enviable reputation which has been
built up by years of careful and conscientious
devotion to the work in which he is engaged.
In 1861 Samuel Mcllvain was united in mar-
riage to Mary Stevenson, a daughter of Andrew
Stevenson, and a native of the same place in
Ireland where he was born. Shedied in 1889,
leaving six children, three sons and three
daughters, four of whom are yet living : An-
drew, Samuel, Minnie and Willie.
Politically Mr. Mcllvain is a republican,
but takes little part in political matters, pre-
ferring to devote his time and attention strictly
to business. He is inclined to be liberal in
his views, and has never been a bitter partisan.
He is a member of the Third Presb3terian
church of Chester, and liberal in his support
of all church interests. His mother, Mrs.
Martha Mcllvain, still survives and resides in
the city of Philadelphia. She is now in the
76th year of her age. In his active and suc-
cessful career Mr. Mcllvain has abundantly
shown the leading characteristics of the won-
derful Scotch-Irish race, whose achievements
in this country, in war and in peace, have been
an important part of our history from the
earliest settlement down to the present hour —
a race " which has always made the measure of
its opportunity the measure of its responsibil-
it}', and by its aptitude, tact, honor, sincerity,
integrity, ability, truth and energy, has made
itself a potent factor in the progress and pros-
perit}' of every land in which it has become
an element of population.''
jrOSEPH F. BREWSTER, an active
business man of Chester and a Union of-
ficer of the army of the Potomac, who was in
Libby prison, is a son of John and Mariah
(Greenwood) Brewster, and was born at Ash-
ton, in Lancastershire, England, December i,
1840. He was brought at eight years of age
by his parents to Delaware county, where he
attended the common schools of Rockdale for
three years. He then entered a cotton mill
and spent his evenings for several j'ears in at-
tendance on night schools. For a quarter of
a century he worked continuously in cotton
mills, except the tim.e spent as a soldier in the
Union army, and during that time perfected
himself in every detail of the cotton manufac-
turing business. In 1S76, on account of the
injurious effects of his work on his health, he
left the cotton mill and engaged with William
H. Martin in the flour, feed and coal business
in Chester, under the firm name of Brewster
& Martin. They did a very fine business for
eight j-ears, when Mr. Martin retired from the
firm, and Mr. Brewster continued alone for
three years. Since then he has been actively
engaged in different remunerative enterprises
and has accumulated a comfortable compe-
tency. He is active, energetic, and has al-
ways been noted for industry and progress.
Mr. Brewster, with his wife, owns forty-three
valuable properties in the city of Chester. He
is a stanch republican, has served as a paster
and folder in the State senate, and janitor of
the Pennsylvania house of representatives, and
for the last twenty-five years has been chosen
continuously as an election officer on account
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
259
of his thorough knowledge of election laws,
which he has made a special study since 1868.
He has also served as a delegate to county and
district conventions of his party.
On March 5, 1864, Mr. Brewster married
Jane Nuttall, who was born August 16, 1840,
and died May 27, 1881, leaving three children,
two sons and one daughter : Joseph, Alonzo
and Susanna. On November 30, 1882, Mr.
Brewster wedded Mrs. Emma Jane ( Amson)
Larkin, and by his second marriage had three
children, of whom a daughter, Ethel, is living.
Joseph F. Brewster is a member of the
American Protestant association. Post Wilde,
No. 25, Grand Army of the Republic, of which
he is past commander, and Madison street
Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has
served in different official capacities, and of
whose Sunday school he has been superin-
tendent. His military record is one of which
he may be justly proud. On April 23, 1861,
he enlisted in Co. I, gth Pennsylvania infantry,
and served as a private until the expiration of
his term of service, Jul}' 27, 1861 ; his regi-
ment being attached to the 4th brigade, ist .
division of Patterson's army, and serving in
the Shenandoah valley. Two years later, on
June 15, 1863, he enlisted in Co. G, 2gth
regiment Pennsylvania emergency men, was
elected as sergeant and served at Mt. Union
and Orbisana, this State, clear Spring, Mary-
land, and London, Virginia. On July 10,
1863, his company supported a body of Union
cavalry in a skirmish with a Confederate force
near Clear Spring, Maryland, and was honor-
ably discharged August ist of the same year.
Returning from his second term of service he
remained at home until September i, 1864,
when he enlisted in Co. K, 198th Pennsylvania
infantry, which was recruited in Philadelphia,
under the auspices of the Union League, and
served as a part of the ist brigade, ist divis-
ion, 5th army corps, and served in the closing
operations around Richmond and Petersburg.
Mr. Brewster was promoted to sergeant, De-
cember 12, 1864, participated in the siege of
Petersburg and the engagements at Peebles'
Farm, Poplar Spring, Hatcher's Run, Roan-
oke Creek and Lewis Farm, where he was
slightly wounded and captured on March 29,
1865. He was confined in Libby prison until
April 5th, when he was paroled and sent
north. Sergeant Brewster was present at
Lee's surrender, was in the grand review at
Washington and served on Arlington Heights
from May 12 to June 3, 1865, when he was
honorably discharged for the third time from
the Federal service.
The Brewster family has been long resident
of the kingdom of England, where William
Brewster, the paternal grandfather of the
subject of this sketch, was born and reared in
Lancastershire. He was a whig, an Episco-
palian and an Odd Fellow, and died, aged
eighty years. He married and had two chil-
dren ; John and Bets}' Jackson. John Brew-
ster was born August i, 1814, and in 1848
came to Delaware county, where he remained
up to 1855. He then removed to Chester and
afterward went to Elkton, Cecil county, Mary-
land, where he died September 29, 1884, at
seventy years of age. He was a cotton man-
ufacturer, but having lost his cotton mill in
Afaryland, he then retired from active business
and lived a retired life until his death. He
was a Baptist, a republican and a member of
the Odd Fellows, the Sons of St. George and
the Masonic fraternity. John Brewster mar-
ried Mariah Greenwood. They reared a fam-
ily of six sons and eight daughters : Elizabeth,
born in 1835; William, 1837; Mary Jane,
1838; Joseph F. (subject), 1840; Susanna,
1842; Mark, 1843; JohnE., 1845; Stephen,
1847 ; Jesse, 1849 ; Mariah, 1850 ; Jane, 1855 ;
Eva, 1859 ; and two infants unnamed.
/^EFFKOY P. DENIS, president of the
^^ Chester Steam Heat & Power Company,
and prominently connected with may other
leading industries of this city, is another of
that class of men who, by their comprehensive
260
BJOGMAPITY AND HISTORY
grasp on affairs, create wealth and advance the
pubUc interests in promoting their own. He
is a son of Narcisse F. H. and ^Marietta (Ran-
dolph) Denis, and was born January 28, 1843,
in the cit\- of Philadelphia, Pennsjlvania. His
father was a native of France, descended from
an ancient French family, and born during the
first year of the present century. While 3'et a
young man he crossed the Atlantic to find a
new home in the chief city of Pennsylvania.
He was finely educated and in Philadelphia
became a manufacturing chemist, being for
many years a member of the well known firm
of Rosegarten & Denis, of that citv, where he
passed the remainder of his life, dying in 1872,
when well advanced in his seventy-second year.
In politics he was a democrat until Lincoln's
first administration, when he became a repub-
lican and ever afterward adhered to that part}'.
He married Marietta Randolph, a native of
New Jerse\', who now resides in Philadelphia
in the seventy-second year of her age. They
had a family consisting of three sons and two
daughters.
Geffroy P. Denis was reared in his native
city of Philadelphia and resided there until
thirty-eight years of age. His education was
obtained in the schools of Philadelphia and a
military school in Baltimore, Maryland. When
nearly ready for graduation from the latter in-
stitution, the civil war occurred, and, fired
with patriotic ardor, j'oung Denis closed his
books and turning from a contemplation of the
theory of war, marched forward to test its stern
realities on the field of battle. He became a
member of Co. I, 15th Pennsj'lvania cavalry,
in 1862, and was soon afterward made color
bearer of his regiment, with which he served
for two years and six months. At the bat-
tle of Murfreesboro, near Stone river, Ten-
nessee, he was taken prisoner by the Confed-
erates, and held for two months, during which
time he had some personal experience with the
southern military prisons that have become
famous in history. Being exchanged at the
end of two months he rejoined his command
before it moved on to Chattanooga, and was
then transferred to Co. G of the same regi-
ment, and made duty sergeant. He took part
in all the battles of his regiment while with it,
and after the war returned to Pennsylvania,
and in 1865 engaged in the sugar refining busi-
ness at Glochester, New Jersej*. At the end
of six months he sold out, and immediately
began the manufacture of woolen goods at Con -
shohocken, Pennsylvania, where he success-
fully conducted that business for four years,
when his woolen mills were accidental])' de-
stroyed by fire. In 1871 he came to Chester
and embarked in the manufacture of woolen
goods in this city, which business he continued
until i88g, turning out immense quantities of
goods and employing a large number of people.
In the meantime he had become interested in
a number of other enterpises, having been one
of the organizers of the Chester Electric Light
& Power Company in 1886, of which he served
as the first vice president for two years, and was
then made president and manager of this com-
pany. In i88g Mr. Denis assisted in the or-
ganization of the Chester Steam Heat & Power
Company, and was elected to the position of
president and manager, which office he still
holds. He was also one of the organizers and
incorporators of the Union Electric Street
Railway company of Chester, and one of the
leading promoters of the Chester & Media
Electric Railway Company of Chester, of
which latter he served as secretary until its
property and franchises were sold to the Union
Railway Company in 1892. He was also prom-
inently identified with the erection of the hotel
Cambridge in this city, being a large stock-
holderand president of the company which built
and now controls this leading hotel. Mr. Denis
is also vice president of the Johnson Frog &
Switch Company, of South Chester, and was
one of the original proprietors of the Chester
Times, being treasurer for a time of the com-
pany that founded that popular newspaper.
In October, 1868, Geffroy P. Denis was wed-
ded to Jeanette Hooven, a daughter of James
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
261
Hooven, of Norristown, Penns3lvania. To
Mr. and Mrs. Denis have been born two chil-
dren, one son and a daughter: James Hooven
and Helen. In his political affiliations Mr.
Denis has always been an ardent republican,
taking an active interest in the success of his
part}' and deeply concerned in all public ques-
tions. He was largely instrumental in the or-
ganization of the Chester Republican League
of this city and served as its president for four
years. He is a regular attendant and con-
tributor to the Episcopal church of Chester,
and a member of Industry Lodge, No. 131,
Free and Accepted Masons of Philadelphia.
JfOHN J. AVILL,IA3IS, head of the pros-
perous coal and lumber firm of John J.
Williams & Co., of Media, and president of
the Thornbury Stone Quarrying & Crushing
Company, of Glen Mills, this count}^ is a son
of Charles and Hannah ( Stokes) Williams,
and a native of Whitemarsh township, Mont-
gomery count)', Pennsylvania, where he was
born June 2, 1862. His boyhood days were
spent on the farm, and he early acquired habits
of industry' and thoroughness in whatever he
undertook. At the age of nine he began a
course in the Tremont seminary at Norris-
town, Pennsylvania, completing his education
at the Friends' Central High school in Phila-
delphia. After leaving school he engaged in
farming in his native coimty, and followed
that occupation until 1885, thus acquiring a
thorough knowledge of the wants of a large
class with whom he is now brought into close
business relations. In 1885 Mr. Williams pur-
chased Mr. Hippie's interest in the grain and
lumber business of Haines & Hippie, which
had been established in Media by A. W.
Haines in 1883, and the firm became Haines
& Williams. They continued to do business
together until 1889, when Mr. Haines retired
and Mr. Williams assumed entire control, un-
der the firm name of John J. Williams & Co.
He now threw all his latent energy into an
effort to still further enlarge an already pros-
perous business, and the trade conditions
being favorable, he has succeeded beyond
even his own most sanguine expectations.
This firm handles large quantities of coal,
lumber, fertilizers, farm machinery, feed and
grain, selling at wholesale and retail, and their
trade extends all over the count}', among
farmers, contractors and dealers. Their mills,
elevator, warehouses and yards occupy an
area of five acres, just west of the station, on
the line of the Philadelphia & West Chester
railroad. The elevator has a capacity of
twenty-five thousand bushels, and is the only
one in this section. The business of this firm
amounts to nearly three hundred thousand
dollars per 3'ear, and is confessedly the largest
done in the city of Media. Its almost phenom-
enal success has been won under the able man-
agementof Mr.Williams, and ma)' be regarded
as the legitimate result of liis well directed
efforts.
In addition to the business above mentioned,
Mr. Williams is also largely interested in the
quarrying and stone crushing industry at Glen
Mills, this county, with which he has been
connected since 1892. He is now president
of the Thornbury Stone Quarrying & Crushing
Company, whose operations are conducted at
Glen Mills, though their main office is in the
city of Media. This company do an extensive
business, preparing and shipping large quan-
tities of crushed stone, ballast and building
stone. Mr. Williams is also interested in real
estate in Montgomery county. He is a repub-
lican in politics, and a member of the Society
of Friends.
On October 7, 1885, Mr. Williams was
united in marriage to Alice Roberts, youngest
daughter of Emmor Roberts, of Burlington
county, New Jersey. To Mr. and Mrs. Wil-
liams have been born two daughters : Helen
W. and Edith. Mrs. Williams' father, Em-
mor Roberts, is vice-president of the National
State bank at Camden, New Jersey, and one
of the directors of Swarthmore college. He is
263
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
also director of the George school, founded by
John George at Newtown, Bucks count}',
Pennsylvania ; presiding officer of the yearly
meeting of Friends, at the corner of Fifteenth
and Race streets, Philadelphia ; and actively
interested in many other enterprises of the
Society of Friends. He resides at Moores-
town. New Jersey.
John J. Williams is descended from an an-
cient Welsh family that was transplanted to
America and settled in what is now Montgom-
er}' county, Pennsylvania, as early as 1690.
There the famil}' has maintained homesteads
for more than two centuries, though lateral
branches have settled in other counties and in
other States. Joseph Williams, a lineal de-
scendant of the original immigrant, and paternal
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Montgomery county about 1784. In
that county he grew to manhood and passed
nearly all liis life, dying in 1868, aged eighty-
four years. He was a farmer by occupation,
and a member of the Society of Friends, as
his ancestors had been. By his marriage with
Ann Hallowell he had a family of seven chil-
dren, all of whom are now deceased. His son,
Charles Williams (father), was born at the old
homestead in Montgomery county in 1814,
and died in that county, May 2, 1887, aged
seventy-three. After attaining manhood he
also engaged in farming, and spent his long
and active life in agricultural pursuits, becom-
ing quite prosperous. Politically he was a
whig and republican, and in religion adhered
strictly to the Society of Friends, in whose
faith he was reared. In 18^37 he married
Hannah Stokes, a daughter of Charles Stokes,
of Rancocas, New Jersey, and by that union
had a family of seven children, three sons and
four daughters : Joseph S., Annie (now Mrs.
John Lloyd), Jane (now Mrs. John Mather),
Martha (who married A. N. Hainesj, since
deceased; Morris, Alice (now Mrs. Isaac
Michener), and John J. Mrs. W^illiams, who
still survives her husband, was born in Bur-
lington county, New Jersey, in 1819, and is
therefore now in her seventy-fifth year. She
is a member of the Society of Friends, and
now resides in Montgomery county. Her
father, Charles Stokes, was a descendant of
John Stokes, who came to Pennsylvania from
Lancashire, England, in 1682. He was a
member of the Society of Friends, and died
at his home in New Jersey in 1884, at the re-
markable age of ninety-three years.
^DWARD H. MAGILL, LL. D., the
distinguished American educator, author
of Magill's French and English grammars,
Magill's readers, and other educational and
historical works, who served for nearly twenty
years as president of Swarthmore college and
is now professor of French literature and lan-
guage in that venerable institution, is a son of
Jonathan P. and ]Mary (Watson) Magill, and
a native of Solesbury, Bucks county, Penn-
sj'lvania, where he was born September 24,
1825. He remained on his father's farm un-
til he had reached the age of sixteen, devel-
oping meanwhile that studious disposition and
literary taste which have marked his after life
and placed his name among the foremost ed-
ucators of America. His primar)' education
was conducted at the Westtown boarding
school, and he prepared for college in the
Williston seminary, East Hampton, Massachu-
setts. In 1850 he entered Yale college, and
the following year went to Brown university,
from which institution he was graduated in
1852, with degree of A. B. From his gradu-
ation until 1859, Dr. Magill was principal of
the classical department of the Providence
High school, having in the meantime, 1855,
received the degree of A. M. from Brown
university. His degree of LL. D. was granted
by Haverford college, in 1888. In 1859 he
was appointed sub-master in the Boston Latin
school and occupied that position until the
autumn of 1867. He tlien went to Europe
and spent a year traveling in England and on
the continent, visiting the principal seats of
OF DELA WABE CO VNTY.
263
learning in the old world and familiarizing
himself with the methods of instruction prac-
ticed in the leading universities of England
and German}'. Returning to the United States,
Dr. Magill became principal of the pr.epara-
tor}' department of Swarthmore college, at
Swarthmore, Delaware county, Penns3'lvania,
and continued to fill that position until 1871,
when he was made president of the college.
He he found ample scope for the exercise of
his natural powers, and he continued in the
successful discharge of his duties as executive
head of this popular institution until 1889, a
period of eighteen 3'ears, and one of the most
prosperous in its history. Retiring from the
presidency in i88g. Dr. Magill became profes-
sor of French language and literature at
Swarthmore, a position he still occupies and
so ably fills as to make his department a strong
feature in the modern educational equipment
of this leading college of the Society of Friends.
From these hasty outlines of Dr. Magill's con-
nection with the educational institutions of
this country it will readil}- be seen that his
has been a life of intense activity and great
usefulness as an educator. But he has been
almost equally active as an author of text books
and a writer on educational topics. Early in
his career as a teacher he felt the weakness,
in certain lines, of the grammars then in use,
and after making the science of language a
special stud\' for years, he produced a work
on English grammar which was published in
1869, and has become the standard text book
in many leading schools. More recently he
has prepared a reading grammarof the French
language, which was published in i8gi, by
the Cristopher Sower Company, of Philadel-
phia, and forms the introduction to a modern
French series, of which the third volume is
just appearing. He wrote an excellent history
of the educational work of the religious Society
of Friends, including all branches of the so-
ciety, fro«i its rise, in 1647, to the present
time. This monograph was prepared for the
religious congress of Friends, which occurred
in September, 1893, at the World's Fair, in
Chicago. Some years ago Prof. Magill deliv-
ered a course of lectures in the various colleges
of Pennsylvania, and was instrumental at that
time in organizing what is known as the "Col-
lege Association of the Middle States," which
now includes all the leading colleges in the
middle states and Maryland, and has recently
admitted to membership a number of the best
preparatory schools within the bounds of this
territory.
In the year of his graduation from Brown
university, in 1852, Dr. Magill was united in
marriage to Sarah W. Beans, eldest daughter
of Seneca Beans, of Bucks county, Pennsyl-
vania. To them was born a family of six chil-
dren, one son and five daughters. The son,
named Francis G., died in 1872, at the age of
nine years. Their eldest daughter, Helen, is now
the wife of Dr. Andrew D. White, United
States minister to Russia, and ex-president of
Cornell university. She was graduated from
Swarthmore college in 1873, pursued a post
graduate course at the Boston university, and
also a course of study of four years in Cam-
bridge, England. The other daughters are :
Eudora, Beatrice, an art teacher in Swarth-
more college, now spending a year in foreign
travel ; Gertrude B. and Marian. Eudora and
Marian reside with their parents in the beauti-
ful family mansion at Swarthmore. Dr. Magill
has won more than a national reputation, his
numerous contributions to educational litera-
ture having brought him into prominence
among leading educators abroad as well as in
America. He is a man of fine appearance
and pleasant, affable manner, fitly represent-
ing the highest type of the educated and cul-
tured christian gentleman.
Like so many other distinguished men who
have left their impress on the history and in-
stitutions of this country, Dr. Edward H.
Magill is of Scotch-Irish extraction. He is de-
scended from one of two brothers who came over
from the north of Ireland and settled in Penn-
sylvania in 1680, two years before the arrival
264
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
of William Penn in the colony. Since the
Revolutionary period the famih' has resided
in Bucks county, this State, where its mem-
bers are well known and highly respected.
Jonathan P. Magill, father of the subject of
this sketch, was a native and prominent farmer
of Bucks countv, and a leading member of the
Society of Friends. He was born during the
closing jear of the eighteenth century, and
died in the spring of 1868, at the age of sixty-
nine. For many years he took an active part
in the anti-slavery agitation, and did much to
further its interests in this part of Penns3'l-
vania. In about 1822, he married Mar\' Wat-
son, a daughter of David Watson and a native
of Bucks county. She was a member of the
Society of Friends, and died in i86g, aged
seventy-one years.
.JOHN ROACH was the distinguished
manufacturer and iron ship builder, who
won world-wide fame bj' his gigantic opera-
tions, and forever linked his name with mari-
time architecture in America. He was born
at iMitchellstown, County Cork, Ireland, on
Christmas day, 1813, and died at his residence
in New York city January' 10, 1887, having
come to America when onh' sixteen years of
age. The late achievements of his life, through
which he placed himself at the head of the
ship-building interests of his age, are a part of
the naval and marine historj' of this countrj',
and need not be recounted here. His career
was typical of the grand possibilities our insti-
tutions afford to persistent industr}^ fortitude
and courage. It opened with a necessit}' for
strong individual effort, and was not free from
the discouragements and losses that wreck
less determined men; but these ordeals held
no terror for the dauntless Roach, and only
served to develop abilities that finally com-
manded international regard. That its close
was clouded by misunderstandings with the
government is a circumstance that excited the
warmest human sympathy, but a clear con-
ception of the facts detracts nothing from the
admiration due his marvelous work and his
unparalleled success. During his life Mr.
Roach constructed ninety-three large ships,
aggregating more than one hundred and eighty-
four thousand tons, and these vessels aie to-
day traversing the wide world of waters in
every direction, attesting the magnitude of
his operations and the extraordinary industr}'
that characterized his life, and at the same
time constituting a conspicuous monument to
his fame.
In 1836 he married Emeline Johnson, a
daughter of William H. and Sarah Johnson, of
New Jersey, and by that union had a family
of nine children: William H., deceased in
1872; John B. ; Sarah E., married W. F. j\lc-
Pherson, of Philadelphia; Garrett, (i) died in
1845; Garrett, (2) deceased in 1888; James E. ,
died in 1868; Stephen W., (i) deceased in in-
fancy; Stephen W. (2) now living in New York
city, where he is connected with the Morgan
Iron works; and Emeline, unmarried.
.JOHN B. ROACH, the present head of
the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding &
Engine works of Chester, and vice president
of the Morgan Iron works of New York city,
is the second and eldest surviving son of John
and Emeline ( Johnson) Roach, and was born
in the city of New York, December 7, 1839.
(See sketch of John Roach).
John B. Roach was reared in his native city
of New York, and received a superior English
classical education, being graduated from a
collegiate institute at Ashland, Green county
New York, in 1856. He soon afterward en-
tered a wholesale house in New York city for
the purpose of learning the business, but aban-
doned that to connect himself with the Etna
Iron works of that city, where he remained
until 1859, when on account of failing health
he removed to a farm in Dutchess county-. New
York. For a period of ten years he continued
to reside on the farm, thougli most of that
m^u
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THE f^EW YORK
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OF DEL A WARE CO VNTY.
369
time activel)' connected with tlie Morgan Iron
works of New York citj', then owned by his
father. Upon the purchase of the Delaware
River Iron Shipbuilding and Engine works at
Chester, Pennsylvania, by the elder Roach, in
1871, John B. Roach came to this cit)- as gen-
eral superintendent and resident manager of
these ship yards, and has resided here ever
since. He continued to act as superintendent
and manager of this vast industrial enterprise
until the death of his father in 1887, when
upon the reorganization of the varions con-
cerns he was made president of the Chester
Company and vice president of the Morgan
Iron works, which responsible position he has
ever since filled with distinguished ability, ad-
ding additional honors to the name of Roach
as connected with the iron ship-building in-
terests of America. Mr. Roach is a member
of the chamber of commerce of New York
and the board of trade of Chester, a trustee
of the Pennsylvania Military academy, and a
director in several important manufacturing
corporations.
On the 12th of December, 1861, Mr. Roach
was united in marriage to Mary C. Wallace,
eldest daughter of David and Gertrude \^'al-
lace, of the city of New York. To Mr. and
Mrs. Roach was born a family of eleven chil-
dren, of whom two sons and three daughters
are living: Sarah R. , now the wife of Charles
E. Schuyler, of New York city; Emeline R.,
married William C. Sproul, a sketch of whom
may be found elsewhere in this volume; Gar-
rettaR., wedded Dr. F. F. Long, whose sketch
also appears on another page; John, jr., and
William McPherson.
While the elder Roach was a practical ship-
builder and mechanical engineer of unexam-
pled inventive ability, and his death a severe
TjIow to American ship-building, 3'et the work
he began has been nobly carried on by his
son, and the old lime reputation of the Ches-
ter ship yards amply sustained. These works
have been lately refitted with the latest devices
in perfected machinery, and with ample re-
sources at command are now driven with orders
for the largest ocean steamships and naval
vessels. These vast works and 3'ards cover
an area of twenty-eight acres, being the largest
of their kind in the United States. The}' oc-
cupy an admirable location on the Delaware
river, and have deep water frontage, with large
ways and all conveniences for building and
launching the largest vessels. Here are large
machine shops, foundry, boiler works, pattern
shops, erecting shops, etc., each a substantial
building of extended dimensions. The aver-
age force employed is fifteen hundred men —
machinists, shipwrights, riveters, boiler mak-
ers, carpenters, joiners, designers, draughts-
men, and others. These yards present a scene
of busy industr}- unequaled elsewhere in Dela-
ware count)-, have the enviable reputation of
doing the finest and most accurate work of an)'
American ship-)ard, and the specimens of
marine architecture constructed here are cer-
tainly unexcelled anywhere for speed, stabilitv,
capacity and endurance in all weather. Mr.
Roach devotes his close personal attention to
the company's vast and complicated business,
and by his conspicuous success has proved
himself a ship-builder of sound judgment and
great executive capacity, and a worth)- repre-
sentative and successor of his honored father,
who will always be known in history as the
father and founder of the modern iron ship-
building business in the United States.
^TOHN T. BROWN, manager of the
Crown Smelting Company's extensive
works at Chester, this county, and inventor of
the famous Crown bronze, which is rapidly
becoming known all over the world, was born
in the city of Philadelphia, April 17, 1845, and
was reared and educated there. After leaving
school he entered the locomotive works of
Norris & Sons, on the old Bush hill, Philadel-
phia, where he had served as call boy when
only ten years of age, and learned the trade of
molder and smelter. He remained with that
270
BIOaEAPHY AND HISTORY
firm for a period of nine years. In August,
1863, he enlisted in Co. H, 26th Penns3'lvania
infantry, and after serving some sixteen
months with that regiment was discharged
on account of disability, at the King Street
hospital, Alexandria, Virginia. After recov-.
ering his health he re-enlisted for four months
in Co. H, 196th Pennsylvania infantry, and at
the end of that time again re-enlisted and
served until the close of the war. In 1866 he
accepted a position in the Baldwin Locomo-
tive works at Philadelphia, and remained with
that firm for six years, at the end of which
time, in 1872, he became foreman of the Hook
Smelting Company's works in Philadelphia,
and held that responsible position for nine
years. Resigning in 1881, he superintended
the erection of the Keystone Smelting Com-
pany's plant at Philadelphia, and for three
years after its completion had charge of that
large concern. In 1884 he assumed the man-
agement of the smelting works owned by Paul
Reeves, at No. 760 South Broad street, in the
city of Philadelphia, and in 1886 accepted the
same responsible position with the Crown
Smelting Company, of Chester, Delaware
county, of which George N. Crumback is pres-
ident, Frank Burns vice-president, and Henry
T. Davis secretary and treasurer. He has
been manager of this company's extensive
works ever since, being also a stockholder
and for several j'ears a director in this organ-
ization. Their plant is one of the largest of
its kind in the United States, and the work
done here in bronze, brass and composition
metal castings is not excelled in this country
and perhaps not in the world. This company
is the sole manufacturer of the Crown bronze,
of which Mr. Brown is the inventor, and which
has already achieved a National reputation for
utilit}^ beauty and strength. They make a
specialty of marine and heavy machinery cast-
ings, manufacture all kinds of brass, copper
and tin castings, and supply phosphor bronze
and ingots of bronze, brass and babbitt metal.
They are at present engaged in making bronze
calico printing rolls, which are made nowhere
else in America, and nowhere else in the world
except in France and Alsace-Loraine, Ger-
many. To the skill and ability of Mr. Brown
is due much of the excellence which has given
the Crown Smelting Company's products their
present enviable reputation.
On theSthof January, i86g, John T. Brown
was united in marriage to Elmira L. Weaver,
youngest daughter of Cromwell and Charity
Weaver, then of the city of Philadelphia,
though natives and former residents of W'est
Chester, this State, and descendants of two
of the old Quaker families that came over with
W'illiam Penn. Mrs. Brown is a member of
the Daughters of the Revolution, being also a
descendant of the noted Pearce family of Rad-
nor, Chester county, who were closely identi-
fied with the Revolutionary war. To Mr. and
Mrs. Brown has heen born a family of five
children, two sons and three daughters : Lor-
etta, Linda, Raymond, Deborah and John
T., jr. The entire family are members of the
Universalist church.
In political sentiment Mr. Brown is an ar-
dent republican, always giving his party a
loyal support on State and National questions.
He is a member of Wilde Post, No. 25, Grand
Army of the I^epublic ; Harris Castle, No. 2,
Knights of the Golden Eagle ; Aurora Lodge,
No. 465, Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
of Philadelphia ; and also of Penn Encamp-
ment, No. Ill, of the same cit}'.
The Browns are of remote Welsh descent,
and take their place among the oldest families
of Pennsylvania. Nicholas Brown, paternal
grandfather of John T. Brown, was born in
Mount Holl}', Newjerse}', and married Jane
MacMullen, of Philadelphia county, where he
lived all his life and where he died, aged
nearly seventy-four years. He was a tailor by
trade and carried on that business successfully
at what is now known as Eddington, that
county. He married and reared a family of
eight children, one of whom was John Brown,
father of the subject of this sketch. This son
OF DEL A WARE CO UNTY.
271
was born in Bensalem, Bucks county, this State,
in 1806, and was reared and educated there.
After attaining manliood he engaged in farm-
ing in his native count}', where he lived for a
number of years. In later life he removed to
the city of Philadelphia, where he continued
to reside until his death in 1880, when in the
seventy-eighth year of his age. Politically he
was an ardent democrat all his life. In 1816
he married Mary Randolph, a daughter of
Frank and Mary Randolph, of Bucks county,
and a descendant of the old Randolph family
of Virginia. Frank Randolph served in the
war of 1812. They were the parents of nine
children, of whom John T. Brown is the
youngest. The others were : Crowell, Nick,
William, Deborah, Mary Jane, Elizabeth, Isa-
bel and Newton. Mrs. Mar}' Brown (mother)
was a native of Bucks count}', and died in
1867, at the age of sixty-six years, and greatly
respected and beloved by all who knew her.
FRANKLIN J. EVANS, 31. D., one
of the most popular and successful young
physicians of Chester, and a graduate of the
university of Pennsylvania, is a son of Joseph
H. and Mary M. (Gore) Evans, and was born
in this city, December 2, 1862. The Evans
family is of Welsh extraction, and its first rep-
resentative in America was Lieut. John Evans,
who came over with William Penn, serving in
an official capacity under that famous proprie-
tor. It will thus be seen that this family is
among the oldest in Pennsylvania, and it can
perhaps claim the distinction of being the first
now represented among its citizens to own
and occupy part of the land on which the city
of Chester now stands. At a very early date
the Evanses settled here, and Jacob Evans,
paternal grandfather of Dr. Evans, was born
and reared here, owning and cultivating in his
day a fine farm which has since been included
in the city limits, and is now covered with ex-
cellent buildings. He married Orpha Hink-
son, and reared a family of four sons and four
daughters. Joseph Evans (father) is also a
native of this city, born in the house where he
now resides in 1836. During his more active
years he was a large contractor and builder,
in which business he was very successful, but
is now retired. Politically he is an ardent
deiHocrat and in religion a member of the
Madison street Methodist Episcopal church.
In 1861 he married Mary M. Gore, a daughter
of Jessie and Mariam Gore, and a native of
Virginia.* She is of German descent, a mem-
ber of the same church as her husband, and
is now (1893) in the fifty-third year of her age.
To them was born a family of eight children,
seven sons and one daughter.
Franklin J. Evans grew to manhood in his
native city of Chester, receiving his education
in the public schools here. After leaving
school he read medicine for two years with
Dr. J. L. Forwood, of this city, and then en-
tered the medical department of the university
of Pennsylvania, from which he was duly
graduated May i, 1884, with the degree of
M.D., being the youngest man in liis class.
He immediately located in this city for the
practice of his chosen profession, opening an
office in the house where he now resides. No.
218 West Fourth street, where he has ever
since conducted a large and successful general
practice. Dr. Evans is one of those enterpris-
ing physicians who do not abandon the study
of medicine as soon as they secure a diploma,
but continue to devote their earnest attention
to all matters concerning their profession, and
strive to keep abreast of all genuine progress
made in the healing art. On account of his
success and skill in the treatment of disease
he has acquired a fine reputation as a physi-
cian, and already enjoys an enviable standing
in his profession. He has served as vice-
president of the city board of health since
May, 1893.
In his political affiliations Dr. Evans is a
democrat, but too thoroughly devoted to the
duties of his profession to give much atten-
tion to politics. He is of a pleasant disposi-
372
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
tioa and popular alike in social and secret so-
ciety circles, being a member of Chester Lodge,
Xo. 236, Free and Accepted Masons ; Chester
Chapter, No. 258, Royal Arch Masons, Ches-
ter Commandery, No. 66, Knights Templar;
Delaware County Lodge, No. 10, Knights of
Birmingham ; and of Lulu Temple of the
Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia. Dr. Evans
is unmarried.
J OSEPH TILLI> GHURST De SIL-
VER was born in Philadelphia, Septem-
ber 13, 1853. His grandfather. Robert De
Silver, was a native of Portugal, who with
Thomas, his brother, came to America in 1781,
and located in Philadelphia. His grandmother
was Margaretta Brown, of the well known
Brown family of Baltimore, Maryland. His
grandparents on the maternal side were : Pat-
rick and jMary McGIensey, natives of Ireland,
who emigrated to America about 1800. Pat-
rick McGIensey became a successful merchant,
and his descendants still maintain a high place
in the mercantile world of Philadelphia. Rob-
ert DeSilver soon established a large publish-
ing and book-selling business. Among his
publications were the Philadelphia city direc-
tory, and the celebrated Comley spelling book.
At his death he was succeeded by his son,
Robert Wilson De Silver, the father of the sub-
ject of this sketch, who continued the business
for several years and amassed a considerable
fortune. In 1854 he closed out his book bus-
iness, and invested his entire fortune in the
Pennsylvania Oil Companj', of which he was
made president. A large plant was estab-
lished at Chester, Pennsylvania, on the pres-
ent site of'Roach's ship-yard, for refining rosin
oil. The company was not successful, and
went down in the financial crash of 1S57, Mr.
De Silver losing his entire fortune. He re-
moved with his family to Washington, District
of Columbia, where he died in 1864.
Joseph T. De Silver attended the public
schools of Philadelphia, and left the Chester
Grammar school in 1867, at the age of four-
teen, to enter as an apprentice to the printing
business. He was engaged at the office of
the Dclaivare County Democrat, which paper
had been founded b}- his brother-in-law, Dr.
J. L. Forwood. His early introduction to the
office of a political newspaper gave him a taste
for politics, which has continued with him
throughout his life. After spending six j'ears
at the Democrat office, in September, 1873. he
purchased from J. Mullin & Son the Chester
Pilot. The name of the paper was changed
to Weekly Mail, and continued its publication
for three j'ears, when it was merged into the
Delaware Countx Paper. Mr. De Silver was
was then appointed to take charge of the Del-
a7vare County Democrat, where he continued
until 1880, when he left the newspaper busi-
ness to enter upon that of a real estate broker.
Mr. De Silver has always been an ardent dem-
ocrat, and has alwa\s taken an active interest
in politics. He was secretary of the count\-
democratic executive committee for a term of
eleven years, during which time he was absent
from but five meetings. He has several times
represented thedemocracy of Delaware county
in the State conventions of his party, notably
in the Democratic State convention of 1S80,
in which Mr. De Silver is credited witli break-
ing the deadlock of a tie vote, in the celebrated
stuggle between Senator William A. Wallace
and the late Samuel J. Randall, which resulted
in a victory for Randall. Another memorable
contest, in which 'Six. De Silver represented
his county, w^as the democratic congressional
conference of 1886, which was in almost con-
tinual session for a week, and which finall}-
resulted in the selection of O. B. Dickinson
as the candidate. He also took a prominent
part in the judicial contest in Delaware county
in 1884, between Judge Thos. J. Clayton and
O. B. Dickinson. He was selected as chair-
man of the democratic city committee of
Chester for the municipal election of 1893,
and the democrats overcame an adverse major-
ity of about seven hundred, and elected John
OF DELAWARE VOUXTY.
273
B. Hinkson mayor. On October 5, 1893,
Mr. De Silver was appointed by Secretary of
the Treasur\' Carlisle, as superintendent of
construction of the United States postofifice
building now being erected at Chester.
JOHX EDWARD CLYDE, a retired
business man, and ex-burgess of the city
of Chester, who ranks with the oldest and
most highly esteemed citizens of Delaware
county, is the youngest son of Thomas and
.Henrietta (MifHin) Clyde, and was born Feb-
ruary 4, 1816, at No. iig Race street, Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania. Thomas Clyde (father)
was a native of Ireland, born of Scotch-Irish
parents in 1780, and remained in his native
country until nineteen 3'ears of age, receiving
a good common school education. He early
evinced remarkable business ability, and in
the closing year of the eighteenth centur}- left
the Emerald Isle and sailed for America, with
the avowed determination of making a home
and fortune in the new world. After a long
and tedious voyage he landed at Philadelphia,
where he settled and continued to reside for
many years. He was very energetic and en-
terprising, and soon engaged in the grocery
business on a small scale, in which he met
with great success, and continued to enlarge
the sphere of his operations until he owned
one of the leading grocery stores on Race
street. In Ireland his ancestors had been
agriculturists, but he seemed born with a gen-
ius for commercial pursuits. He continued
to prosper in business, and erected two blocks
of stores in the city of Philadelphia, being ac-
counted one of the most successful men
of his time. In 1826 he removed to what
is now the cit}' of Chester, where he continued
his mercantile career, and was one of the
pioneer merchants of this cit3'. He introduced
new methods and pushed his business in all
departments, becoming one of the largest
general merchants in Chester at that day.
He built up two corners of Market square
and in various ways contributed extensively
to the growth and development of the town.
In 1844 he purchased the Washington hotel,
which he afterward sold to Jno. G. Dyer. In
about 1843 he disposed of his various mercan-
tile interests and retired from all connection
with business affairs, spending his last years
in quiet comfort at his home in this city. His
death occurred in 1856, when he was well ad-
vanced in the seventy-sixth year of his age.
In politics he was a Jacksonian democrat, bat
while enthusiastically supporting his part}',
he always declined political honors for him-
self, preferring to devote his energies entirely
to business. During the war of 1812 he
served for a time in the American arm}', being
present with the forces at Dupont. He was
a devout member of the Presbyterian church,
and took a prominent part in supporting all
the religious and material interests of his de-
nomination. In the First Presbyterian church
of Chester is a handsome stained glass me-
morial window, placed there by loving friends,
which perpetuates his name and memory.
He was also a leading member of the Masonic
fraternity, and his funeral services were con-
ducted in accordance with the usages of that
order. In 1813 Thomas Clyde married Hen-
rietta Mifflin, a native of Philadelphia, and a
daughter of John Ashmead Mifflin. By that
union he had a famil}' of three children, two
sons and a daughter : Samuel A., John Ed-
■ward,the subject of this sketch, and Arabella,
who married Jho. G. Dyer. Along with his
own children, Thomas Clyde also reared and
educated his nephew and namesake, the late
Thomas Clyde, of Philadelphia, who became
one of the largest shipowners of this country,
and whose name is familiarly known all over
the world.
John Edward Clyde was reared in Phila-
delphia, and received his education mainly in
the excellent schools of that city. He after-
ward attended Princeton college for a year
and a half, and at the age of eighteen, regis-
tered as a law student in the ofifice of John
274
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
W. Ashmead, of Philadelphia, where he in-
dustriousl}' applied himself to the study of
Blackstone and other legal authorities for the
space of two \'ears. At the end of that time
his health was so greatly affected by close ap-
plication to office work that he determined to
abandon the law for mercantile pursuits. He
accordingly entered his father's store, at Ches-
ter, in the capacity of clerk and salesman, and
remained in business with him for several
3'ears. In 1843 he became general manager
of the large companj' store at Bloomsburg,
Columbia county, this State, where he remained
a short time. He then returned to Chester,
and retiring from all active business pursuits,
has ever since continued to reside in this cit}'.
Adhering to the political traditions of his
family, Mr. Clyde has always been an ardent
democrat, and for many years was quite active
in local politics. He served as a delegate to
many county and State conventions of his
party, and has been honored by his fellow cit-
izens with election to a number of official posi-
tions, having served successfully as burgess
of Chester, alderman, and in a number of
minor offices. In all these positions of trust
and responsibility he has discharged his offi-
cial duties with rare ability, and given close
personal attention to the public welfare.
In 1859 Mr. Clyde was wedded to Emma
Ott, a native of Germany and a daughter of
Adolph Ott. To Mr. and Mrs. Clyde was
born a family of eight children, five sons and
three daughters : Thomas E., cashier of First
National bank of Chester; Louis A., liquor
merchant, of Chester : Lilly E., who became
the wife of H. W. Roth ; William G., assis-
tant superintendent of one of the Wellman
mills, of Chester: Belle G., wife of Samuel
Clayton : Samuel A., real estate and broker ;
Harry E. and Gertrude E.
/^EORUE P. FALLON, justice of the
^^ peace and a leading real estate dealer at
Wayne, this county, is a son of Bernard and
Amee (Cavelierj Fallon, and was born in the
cityof New Orleans, Louisiana, April 17, 1853.
The family is of direct Spanish descent and
one of the first representatives in America, so
far as known, was Bernard Fallon (fariier),
who came from Spain to the United States in
1S35, and for a number of years resided in
New Orleans. He was a representative of the
Spanish code of finance in this country, or an
agent for the Queen of Spain, and during his
residence in New Orleans served as colonel of
a Spanish regiment raised for the defense of
that city, but was never in the regular ami}'.
In 1863 he removed to the city of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, where he spent the remainder
of his life, dying there in 1873, at the age of
sixty-three jears. Politically he was a demo-
crat and in religion a member of the Catholic
church. In 1S48 he married Amee Cavelier,
a daughter of John Cavelier, and a native of
France, b)' whom he had a family of six chil-
dren, all sons: Henr\' J. Fallon, Louis F. Fal-
lon, George P. Fallon, Christopher Fallon,
Bernard J. Fallon, and Joseph H. Fallon. Mrs.
Fallon resides with her son, George P. Fal-
lon, in the village of Wayne. She is a mem-
ber of the Catholic church, and is in the sev-
enth-third year of her age, having been born
in 1821.
George P. Fallon came to Philadelphia with
his parents when ten j-ears of age, and re-
mained thereuntil he entered St. John's col-
lege at Fordham, West Chester county. New
York, where he received a superior classical
education, being graduated from that institu-
tion in 1870. After graduation he went to New
York city, where he became interested in
stocks and cotton on Wall street, and remained
in that city until the spring of 1886. He then
returned toPennsylvania and located at\\'avne,
Delaware county, where he has resided ever
since. After coming here he engaged in the
real estate and insurance business, which he
has successfully conducted to the present
time. He has erected nearl)' forty residences
and stores in this village, which he has sold
OF DEL A WARE CO VNTY.
275
to \arious parties, and in this \va\' has done
much to improve the village of Wayne and en-
large the business importance of the place.
He now owns much valuable real estate in the
village, and in the line of his business has
made some important deals.
In his political proclivities Mr. Fallon is a
stanch democrat, and takes an active interest
in local politics. Although the village is
strongly republican, yet the personal popular-
ity of Mr. Fallon is such that in the spring of
i88g he was elected to the important office of
justice of the peace, and still occupies that
position, discharging its duties with great abil-
ity' and in such an impartial manner that he is
justly considered one of the best justices in the
county. As a man and a citizen he is highly
regarded by all who know him, and his suc-
cess in business is ample evidence of his fine
practical ability in the management of affairs.
Mr. Fallon has never married.
QE0R(JE AVASHIXiTON HOW-
^^ AKD, president of the Pennsylvania
Coffee Company, and a member of the select
council of Chester, who is recognized as one
of the mercantile leaders of eastern Penns\l-
vania, is a native of Sussex county, Delaware,
where he was born September 25, 1850. His
parents were George W. and Leah Cannon
(Poole) Howard, through whom he is de-
scended from two of the old English families
which settled in Delaware in the eari^' part of
the seventeenth century. At the time of their
settlement that portion of Delaware was a
part of the present State of Maryland. The
original ancestor of the Howards received from
the Proprietary a large land grant in Sussex
county, Delaware, then included in the east-
ern shore of Maryland. He was one of two
brothers, the other of whom located on the
western shore near the cit}- of Baltimore, and
became the progenitor of the Baltimore branch
of the family of that name. For the last
two centuries the family has included many
names prominent in the history of the city
and State, of which was John Eager Howard,
of Revolutionary' fame, who was an illustrious
member.
William Howard (son of Nerimiah), paternal
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Baltimore Hundred, Sussex county,
Delaware. He was a large planter and land
owner, also owning man}- slaves, but in late
years developed such a profound sympathy for
the black man that before his death he freed
all in his possession.
His political tenets were those of an anti-
federalist, and he excited great influence in
his communit}- and coimty. He was thrice
married, the father of ten children, five sons
and five daughters. His third wife was
Rhoda Wharton (iir<: Aydelotte), widow of
Aaron Wharton, who became motherof George
Washington, sr. William Howard died in
1831, aged sixtv-five. His wife survived him
thirty five years, dying in her eightieth year.
George Washington Howard (father) was
born at the ancestral home in Sussex county,
February 20, 1818. He received a common
school education and then engaged in farm-
ing, which he followed for a number of years
on one of the plantations of the original How-
ard grant. In i860 he removed to Berlin,
Worcester count}', Maryland, in order to se-
cure better educational advantages for his
children. He there engaged in the business
of building wagons and agricultural imple-
ments. After remaining there ten years he
removed with his family, in i86g, to Chester,
Delaware county, Pennsylvania. Here he en-
gaged in the grocery business, and continued
to reside here until his death in 1S81, at sixty-
three years of age.
He was a man noted, in whatever commun-
ity he resided, for his sterling integrity and
adherence to the principles he espoused.
Politically he was an old line whig and later
a republican, being one of the only five men
in Berlin, Mar}land, who adhered to the Fed-
eral cause at the breaking out of the civil war.
avfi
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTOBY
and who had the temerity to raise the stars
and stripes in that town in 1849.
George \V. Howard (father) was married to
Leah Cannon Poole, daughter of Gilbert Ten-
nent Poole, of Milton, Delaware, principal of
one of the leading academies in the State.
Mrs. L. C. Howard, who still survives, is nearly
related to the Cannons and Waples of Dela-
ware, both old and leading families. The
first authentic record of the latter family dates
back to 1640. The result of this union was a
family of six children, three sons and three
daughters : Clara Fennert, who wedded W. V.
Harper, of Philadelphia; Mary Anne; George
Washington, whose name heads this sketch ;
Frederick Aydelotte, of the wholesale grocery
firm of Howard Brothers, Chester; Rhoda
Ester, who married Dr. George D. Cross, of
the cit}' of Chester; and William Edward,
also of the firm of Howard Brothers, Chester,
Pennsylvania.
George Washington Howard passed his
earliest years in Baltimore Hundred, Dela-
ware ; removed with his parents to Berlin,
Maryland, where he received his education,
and later came with them to Chester, Penn-
sylvania. After leaving school he took a
course of training at Crittenden's business col-
lege in Philadelphia, and then returning to
Chester became a clerk in a mercantile estab-
lishment here. Two years later he entered
the employ of the Chester & Philadelphia
Packet Company, and afterwards associated
himself with his father and brother in the
grocery business, under the style of G. W.
Howard & Sons. Upon the dissolution of this
firm in i877,GeorgeW. Howard and his brother,
Frederick Aydelotte, formed a partnership,
under the name of Howard Brothers, and en-
gaged in the wholesale grocery and commis-
sion business at the corner of Sixth and Welsh
streets, this cit}'. They gave their attention
strictly to business, and soon built up a large
and prosperous trade, which averaged a quar-
ter of million dollars annuallv. In 1889
George W. Howard retired from the firm, in
which he was succeeded by his youngest
brother, William E., and purchased a con-
trolling interest in the Penns}-lvania Coffee
Company, jobbers and packers of coffees, teas
and spices. This company practicall}' has the
monopoly of that line of business in this city,
and are doing a larger trade in teas and cof-
fees than any other firm in Delaware county,
and has also recently added a full line of gro-
ceries, which now makes their house not only
the leading jobbers and packers of coffees,
but one of the leading wholesale grocery firms
of eastern Pennsylvania. Much of its recent
success is due to the splendid ability and ac-
curate business methods of Mr. Howard,
whose industry equals his comprehensive
knowledge and his genius for managing the
details of a complicated establishment.
On Thanksgiving day, 1879, Mr. Howard
was united in marriage to Christina B. Steph-
ens, youngest daughter of James and Harriet
(Gebhardt) Stephens. Mr. Stephens is a
large cotton manufacturer of the city of Ches-
ter, and among her most enterprising and re-
spected citizens. To Mr. and Mrs. Howard
liave been born three children, one son and
two daughters: Harriet S., James S. and
Mary Leah.
In his political affiliations George W. How-
ard has always been a republican, taking an
active part in local politics, and closely iden-
tified with every movement or enterprise cal-
culated to advance the prosperity of Chester,
or extend her industrial and trade interests.
In 1891 he was elected a member of the select
council from the Fifth ward of this city, and
is now serving his second year in that respon-
sible position. He has served on all the im-
portant committees of council, and by his
ability and sagacity as a councilman has done
much to advance the city's welfare, as well as
added materially, by his enterprise and pro-
gressive spirit, in the development of his city.
Mr. Howard resides in the Fifth ward, corner
of Broad and Walnut streets. He has been a
member of L. H. Scott Lodge, No. 352, Free
I
^,
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
279
and Accepted Masons, since his twenty-tliird
\'ear, and finds himself, in the veiy prime of
life, at the head of an important and lucra-
tive business, with an enviable standing in
the commercial world, and an equally high
place in the personal regards of his fellow
citizens.
Q AMUEL (iREENWOOD, a prosper-
■^^ ous real estate dealer of Chester, who is
ex-president of the cit\' council and president
of the Chester board of trade, is a fine example
of the self-made men of our times. He was
born on Sunday, September 5, 1841, at Old-
ham, near Manchester, England. His par-
ents, Stephen and Nancy ( Winterbottam )
Greenwood, were both natives of the same
place, who came to America and settled at
Chester, this county, in 184S, where Mr.
Greenwood was connected with the Blakeley
Manufacturing Company for a number of
years. His father, John Greenwood, grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, was an
English farmer, and early in the present cen-
tury came to America on a prospecting tour.
He traveled in a sailing vessel and was twenty
weeks in crossing the Atlantic, being wrecked
on the island of Bermuda, and delayed bj' ad-
verse winds in other quarters. After looking
over this country he returned to England, and
in 1 84S brought his family to Delaware county,
Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder
of his days, dying in 1880, at the advanced
age of eighty-three 3'ears. He was reared in
the established church of England, but later
embraced the doctrines of John Wesle}^ and
became prominent in the ^Methodist society,
which was then in such disfavor that his broth-
ers considered he had disgraced the family by
becoming a Methodist, and this fact is said to
have influenced his course in coming to Amer-
ica. Stephen Greenwood (father,) died in
1892, aged seventy-si.x, having been retired
from all active business for a number of years.
His widow now resides in Chester, and is an
17
exemplary member of the Madison street
Methodist Episcopal church.
Samuel Greenwood came to Chester with
his parents when only eleven years of age,
and was principally reared in this city, receiv-
ing his primary education in the public schools.
In i860, with means he had himself saved, he
entered Fort Edward institute, at Fort Ed-
ward, New York, from which institution he
was graduated at the age of twenty-five, carry-
ing off first prize in the oratorical contest.
After graduation he engaged in teaching, and
was for three years principal of the \'alatie
High school in the town of Kinderhook, New
York. He then received a flattering offer from
the Domestic Sewing Machine Company, of
New York, to act as their general traveling
agent, and accepting the position, was seven
years in the employ of that company, during
which he traveled all over the United States
and Canada on business connected with their
various agencies in the two countries. This
employment brought him into contact with all
kinds of people and presented advantages for
studying human nature which Mr. Greenwood
was not slow to improve. It also proved much
more remunerative than teaching, and gave
him his first start toward financial prosperity.
In 1877 he resigned his position with the sew-
ing machine company, and returning to Ches-
ter, opened a real estate office in this city.
Endowed with good judgment and inheriting
excellent business abilit}', which had been
rendered effective by careful training and va-
ried experience, he met with success from the
very beginning of his new enterprise, and has
made many important deals and amassed a
handsome competenc)'.
In his political affiliations Mr. Greenwood
has always been a republican, and for a num-
ber of years has taken an active and import-
ant part in local politics. In 1876 he was
elected a member of the common council of
Chester, and in 1888 had the honor of presid-
ing over the first select coimcil ever elected in
this city. He is also a manager of the Ches-
280
BIOOMAPHY AXD HISTOBY
ter hospital. He is one of the most public
spirited citizens of Chester, was secretarj- of
the committee that secured the handsome
public building now used as the Chester post-
office, and to his untiring efforts is due much
of the credit for final success in the long con-
test to secure its erection. He is president of
the Chester board of trade and has repre-
sented that organization in the National board
of trade. In personal appearance Mr. Green-
wood is handsome and portly, as ma>- be seen
by the portrait which accompanies this sketch,
and in manner is jovial and extremely affable,
which renders him popular and makes him
liked by everybody.
On January 28, 1868, Sam.uel Greenwood
was wedded to Josephine Beebe, of the city
of Chester, and a daughter of George Beebe,
a well known carpenter of Delaware county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood was born a fam-
ily of five children, two sons and three daugh-
ters : Flora B., Albert S., Ida J., Harry E.
and Nina J. Mrs. Greenwood died May 21,
1888, aged forty \"ears. Mr. Greenwood owns
large real estate interests in Chester, and has
done much for the improvement of the city by
the erection within her borders of many fine
residences and business houses. He is an
agreeable companion, a good entertainer, and
a representative citizen.
/^OL.AVILT.IA3I CLE3ISON (iKAY,
^^ was born near Claymont, Delaware,
October 4, 1831. He is of Scotch descent,
his great-grandfather, James Gray, having mi-
grated to Pennsylvania in the early part of the
last century, accompanied by a brother, John.
Locating at first in Cumberland county, in
1754, they pushed out in the wilderness, set-
tling in the present Milford township, Juniata
county, where with other pioneers they built
a block-house, known in history as Fort Big-
ham. On June 11, 1756, the Indians attacked
the fort,but it chanced that both of the brothers
were absent from the settlement at the time.
The family of James Gray had not sought
shelter in the block-house and they escaped
capture, while the wife and child of John Gray
were carried off b\' the savages. The story of
the father's search for his lost ones, the return
of Ann Gray from Canada after her husband's
death, the recognition by the mother after
many j^ears of the daughter among a number
of returned Indian captives, the lengthy law-
suit growing out of the will of John Gray and
its final determination against the supposed
daughter, constitutes one of the most interest-
ing chains of incidents in the history of central
Pennsylvania, but in this sketch can be merely
alluded to. Thomas Gray (son of James), and
his wife Margery,along about the middle of this
century, located in Aston, where he contracted
with Abraham Sharpless, then owner of the
noted Sarum Iron works, at Glen Mills, for the
transportation of the iron ore from and the re-
turn of the manufactured iron to Marcus Hook,
where it was shipped to Philadelphia and other
seaboard cities. In this occupation Thomas
Gray accumulated considerable means, finally
purchasing a plantation of five hundred acres
at Naaman's Creek, where he engaged in agri-
culture. In the distribution of his estate to
his son William 'the father of Colonel Gray),
who had intermarried one Mary Bullock, a
large farm was altered, and in the old home-
stead the subject of this sketch was born.
His educational advantages were mereh' those
which were afforded in the common schools
of that period, and as was the practice then,
he was required to do chores about the place
in the hours not devoted to study. Sturdy,
active and enterprising, at sixteen he entered
the general store of Jesse ]M. Eyre, the leading
merchant of Chester, to learn the business,
and when he attained his majority he was ad-
mitted to partnership, the firm being Ej-re &
Gray. Subsequently Eyre retired and his
interest was sold to Humphrey Gillson. In
the very midst of the panic of 1856-7 — a per-
iod of financial disturbances without parallel
in the history of the nation — W. C. Gray as-
OF DEL A WASE COUNTY.
381
sumed the sole proprietorship of the business
and continued therein until 1869, when he relin-
quished it on his appointment as collector for the
sixth internal revenue district of Pennsylvania.
When the intelligence that Fort Sumter had
been fired on aroused the north to arms and
the first quota of troops from Delaware county
had gone to the front, many of its citizens en-
rolled for home defense, and among the com-
panies then formed was the \Va\ne Guards,
of which W. C. Gray was elected captain, but
as the war advanced these liodies languished,
many of the members enlisting, until by de-
grees the Home Guards lost all organization.
Captain Gray, however, was desirous of active
military service, hence in the summer of 1S62
he recruited a company known as the Delaware
County Guards, which he tendered to the
authorities of the county, but because the quota
was filled the commissioners declined to re-
ceive the organization. On August 5, 1862,
Peter C. Ellnaker, of Philadelphia, was com-
missioned by Governor Curtin, colonel and
authorized to enlist a regiment to be known as
the 1 19th Pennsylvania. Captain Gray there-
upon offered his command to Colonel EU-
nacker, who accepted and mustered it in as
Compan\- E, of the 119th. The demand for
troops was so urgent that on August 31, before
the regimental organization was fully com-
pleted, it was ordered toWashington, forwarded
the next day and assigned to the defense of the
capital. The middle of the following October
it joined the army of the Potomac, then in
camp near Antietam, and was assigned to tlie
1st brigade, 2nd division, 6th army corps.
At Fredricksburg, December 15, 1862, the
regiment was first under fire, and from that
time to the end of the war it took part in every
battle of the army of the Potomac. At Rap-
pahannock station, November 7, 1863, it was
part of the columns which stormed the ene-
my's works and received the thanks of Meade
in general orders for gallantry in the assault
and on May 12, 1864, in the Wilderness it was
conspicuous in the terrible struggle in the
"Bloody Angle" or "Slaughter Pen," when
it was continuously in action from 7 o'clock
in the morning until nightfall. Immediately
after Governor Curtin appointed him major,
and immediately lieutenant-colonel, but the
regiment was so depleted that he could be
mustered only as major. Before Petersburg,
April 2, 1865, unaided and under a fierce fire
in front and ffank, it stormed the enemy's en-
trenchments, capturing the opposing force
with all the artillery, small arms and colors.
Col. Clark having been wounded early in the
action, the command devolved on Lieut-Col.
Gray, and he was also in charge four days there-
after at Sailor's creek, when Russell's brigade,
of which it was part, forded the stream waist
deep in water and captured the entire confed-
erate force, opposing it. In recognition for
his "gallant and meritorious services before
Petersburg and at the battle of Little Sailor's
creek," the President commissioned Gray
lieutenant-colonel by brevet. From this date
until mustered out, Juh' ig, 1865, Colonel
Gray was in command of the regiment. During
all the period of Colonel Gray's absence at the
front the business in Chester was conducted by
Mrs. Gray. In 1866 he was elected a member of
council and served in that body until October
21, 1869, when he was appointed by President
Grant collector of internal revenue, as alreadj'
mentioned, an office in which he continued
until the act of Congress, in 1875, consolidated
it with the gth district, and then for nearly a
year he was continued as deputy collector. In
1886 he was elected a memberof common coun-
cil, serving therein until 1891, when he re-
signed. To his ability in advocacy of the
measure in council is put the radical improve-
ment in street paving, and he secured the fran-
chise for the Union Railway Company, which
has given to Chester the admirable system of
rapid transit which now exists. He w^as also
active in the organization of the Delaware
County Trust and Title Insurance Company,
of which he is still a director, and is president
of the Delaware County Gas Company.
282
BIOORAPHY AND HISTORY
He was married March 31, 1854, to Ann
Eyre Rulon, daughter of Job and Abigail
fEyre) Rulon. Mary, the elder daughter, is
the wife of Robert Wetherill ; Nannie is wife
of Hiram Hathaway, jr., and the sons are Wil-
liam C, jr.. and Howard Gray.
pKOF. CHARLES F. FOSTER, who
has continuously held the position of su-
perintendent of schools in the city of Chester
since 1878, and is widel}' know as a writer on
educational topics and in imaginative litera-
ture, is a son of Ira and Sarah W. (Crane)
Foster, and was born May 27, 1830, at Dor-
chester, ^Massachusetts, now a part of the city
of Boston. The Fosters are of old Puritan
stock, tracing their American ancestry back
to 1633, when Edward Foster came over from
England and bought a large tract of land near
where the city of Boston now stands, some of
which land has been in possession of the family
ever since. Ira Foster (father) was born at
Dorchester, Massachusetts, in 1804, and spent
his entire life there, d\ing in 1873, at the ad-
vanced age of sixty-nine years. In religious
faith and church membership he was a Baptist,
and served his church as deacon for many
years. In 1829 he married Sarah W. Crane,
a daughter of Jesse Crane, of Milton. Massa-
chusetts. She was of Scotch- Irish ancestry
and died in 1848, when only thirty-nine years
of age.
Prof. Charles F. Foster was graduated from
Colby university, Maine, in 1855, and after
pursuing a course of professional studj- at the
Baptist Theological seminary, Newton, Mas-
sachusetts, received the degree of A. M. from
his alma ma/erin 1858. Having served a short
time as pastor of a church and afterward as
chaplain and principal of a public institution
in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, for eleven years,
he was transferred in 1S66, bj- the State au-
thorities to the principalship of the State Pri-
mary school then just established at Monson.
There in connection with such educators and
reformers as Dr. S. G. Howe and F. B. San-
born, of the board of State charities, and Miss
Elizabth Peabody, of Cambridge, he intro-
duced into these schools many features then
little known, but now recognized as a part of
the training of everj- well conducted common
school. In the industrial department, both at
Tewksbury and at Monson, theEnglish "half-
time " system was adopted, and its utility un-
der such conditions fully demonstrated. This
feature is set forth in a book illustrating " Life
in Public Institutions," written and published
by Rev. !Mr. Foster about that time. In i86g
Professor Foster assisted Professor Wiebe
in translating and bringing before the public
Froebel's " Paradise of childhood," and as is
stated in the preface of that book, he estab-
lished at Monson one of the first kindergartens
ever conducted in America.
In 1877 Prof. Charles F. Foster came to
Chester as principal of the high school, and for
the past fifteen years has been indentified with
the interests of popular education in Penn-
sylvania as teacher and superintendent of pub-
lic schools in this city. A biograhical sketch
of Mr. Foster appears in " The Poets of Maine,"
a volume of eight hundred and fift\- pages,
compiled in 1888, by George Bancroft Griffith,
in which it is said: " His imaginative and ficti-
tious literature, and the formation of his style.
Mr. Foster regards as due to the influence of
his early teacher, Mr. W. F. Adams, better
known as 'Oliver Optic' " In 1878 Professor
Foster was elected superintendent of the Ches-
ter schools, which position by successive re-
elections he has held continuously ever since.
In his superior administration of the school
affairs of this city he has added to his alread}'
brilliant reputation as an educator.
Mr. Foster was first married to Catharine
S. Hovey, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, who
died in 1872, and afterward to Rebecca S.
Gladwin, of East Haddam, Connecticut. To
their uiiion has been born three children, Anna
Rebecca, Roland Howard, and Helen Fred-
erica. Professor Foster is a past master of
OF DEL A WABE COUNTY.
283
Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free and Accepted
Masons; and past high priest of Chester Chap-
ter, No. 258, Royal Arch Masons; and past
commander of St. John's Commandry. No. 4,
Knights Templar, of Philadelphia.
FRANK S. VERNON, a prosperous
contractor and builder of Marcus Hook,
this county, who is now serving his fifth year
as justice of the peace, and is among the in-
fluential local leaders of the Republican party,
is a native of Concord township, Delaware
county, Pennsylvania, -where he was born May
19, 1830. His father was Abner Vernon, and
his mother's maiden name was Esther Bullock,
both natives of this county and both descended
from English families who settled here before
the time of William Penn. Samuel \'ernon
(grandfather) was born and reared in Birming-
ham township, this county, and passed his life
there engaged in agricultural pursuits. He
died in 1825, aged sixty-eight years. His son,
Abner Vernon (father), was born on the old
homestead in Birmingham township, this
county, in 1790, and died at Claymont, Dela-
ware, in April, 1881, in the ninety-first year
of his age. He was a carpenter and contractor,
and was engaged in that business nearly all
his life. He was a whig and republican in
politics, and held a number of local offices in
Lower Chester township, this county, where
he resided from 1838 to within a few years of
his death. In religion he was a member of
the Protestant Episcopal church, and in 181 1
married Esther Bullock, a daughter of John
Bullock, and had a family of nine children,
six sons and three daughters ; Levina H.,
Sarah, Mary G., John B., Samuel, Abner,
Frank S., George W. and William G.
Mrs. Esther Bullock Vernon was born in
Concord township, and died in 1875, aged
seventy-eight years. Her father, John Bul-
lock, was born in Delaware county, and was
a prosperous farmer of Lower Concord town-
ship at the time of his death, in 1823, when
17 a
seventy-eight years of age. The Bullock fam-
ily was founded in America by John Bullock,
who came from England with his son, John,
early in the seventeenth century, and settled
in Pennsylvania. He had in some way offended
the reigning king, and was compelled to seek
safety by flight, and it is said that the city' of
Leeds now stands on the ground he then owned
and was forced to abandon. From these two
political exiles all the Bullocks in America are
supposed to be descended.
Frank S. Vernon was reared principally in
Lower Chichester township, this count}', and
received a good practical education in the pub-
lic schools of his neighborhood. After leav-
ing school he learned the carpenter's trade
with his father, and in 1853 went to work in
the saw-mill of George W. Churchman, at
Brandywine Hundred, New Castle county,
Delaware, where he soon became superinten-
dent and inspector of lumber, and was thus
employed for a period of more than a quarter
of a century. In 1876 Mr. Vernon left the
employ of Mr. Churchman, and accepted the
position of superintendent of the lumber yards
of Isaac \\ Lloyd, in the city of Wilmington,
Delaware, where he remained for three 3ears.
He then came to Marcus Hook, and in 1880
embarked in contracting and building, which
business he has successfull}' conducted at this
place ever since. He now has some eight or
ten houses under way, and among other large
contracts has erected twentj'-three houses for
John Larkin, jr.
In July, 1851, Squire Vernon was married
to Ann Eliza Ottey, a daughter of Stephen
Ottey, of Aston township, this county. To
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon was born a family of four
sons; George W., Isaac B., Thomas A. and
William W. , who was drowned at the age of
eight years, at Claymont, Delaware.
Politically Squire Vernon is a stanch repub-
lican, and is regarded as a safe and conserva-
tive leader in local politics, being now a mem-
ber of the county executive committee of his
party. He has frequently been elected to
284
BIOQBAPHY AND HISTORY
official position, having served as school direct-
or two terms, as township auditor six years, and
is no\v about completing his fifth consecutive
year as justice of the peace at Marcus Hook.
Since 1852 he has been connected with the
Farmers' and Mechanics' Lodge, No. 185,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Lin-
wood, Pennsylvania, and for twenty-one 3'ears
has been a member of Wawassett Tribe, No.
172, Improved Order of Red Men.
In 1862 !Mr. \'ernon enlisted as a member
of the 1st battery of Delaware light artillery,
and in 1863 was promoted to the rank of ser-
geant, and as such served until the close of
the war, being discharged in August, 1865,
at Duvall's Bluffs, Arkansas, on the Arkansas
river. At the battle of Averill's Prairie, in
Louisiana, he had a horse shot under him, and
while serving under General Franklin, was
wounded at the battle of Sabine Cross Roads.
JOSEPH H. HUDDELL, a well known
commission coal merchant residing at Lin-
wood, this county, and formerly superinten-
dent of construction on the new government
building in the city of Chester, is a son of
George H. and Rebecca H. (Midlen) Huddell,
and was born in the city of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, October 17, 1838. The Hud-
dells have been natives of that city since shortly
after William Penn took charge of his posses-
sions on the Delaware, and Andrew Bankson,
a member of the general assembly for 1686,
under Penn, was connected with the family by
marriage. Bankson Huddell, paternal great-
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was
born and reared in that city. His son, Joseph
Huddell (grandfather), was also a native of
Philadelphia, where he was engaged in the
cooperage and shipping business for many
years. His death occurred in 1843, when in
the eighty-third year of his age. He married
Martha Lackey, of Chester county, and reared
a family of six children, one of whom was
George H. Huddell (father), who was born in
Philadelphia in 1813, and resided in that city
much of the time until 1865, when he removed
to Delaware county. In 1874 he left this
county and went to Beverly, New Jersej-,
where he died in 1883, at the age of seventy
years. In early life he was a sugar merchant
in New York city, and about 1843 became
agent for the Ericson steamboat line, running
between Philadelphia and Baltimore, Mary-
land. Later he accepted the position of gen-
eral agent for the Philadelphia, Wilmington &
Baltimore railroad, which office he held until
his remo\al to Delaware coiint\', when he was
appointed superintendent of steam navigation
of the same company, which position he re-
tained until his death. In politics he was a
whig and republican, and for many years a
leading member of St. Peter's Episcopal
church in Philadelphia. In 1835 he was united
in marriage to Rebecca H. Midlen, a native of
Philadelphia, and a daughter of Walter Mid-
len, an English sea captain. To that union
was born a family of nine children, three sons
and six daughters: Caroline M., Joseph H.,
Constance T., Martha H., Rebecca M., George
H., Elizabeth G., Virginia B. and Harlan.
Mrs. Rebecca H. Huddell was a life-long mem-
ber of the Episcopal church, and died in 1881,
aged sixty-four years. Her father, Capt. Wal-
ter Midlen, was a member of the Society of
Friends. He was married twice, his first wife
being Rebecca Huddell, a daughter of Bank-
son Huddell, the grand aunt of Joseph H.
Huddell. His second wife was Caroline dun-
geon Huddell, the widow of Robert Huddell,
who was the son of Bankson Huddell. She
was the maternal grandmother of Joseph H.
Huddell. Captain Midlen was captain and
owner of the bark Rebecca Huddell, trading
between Philadelphia and the East Indies.
He spent his life in the merchant marine ser-
vice, and died at Philadelphia in 1829, in his
sixtieth 3'ear.
Joseph H. Huddell was reared principally
in his native citj' of Philadelphia, receiving his
education in the public schools and the Prot-
OF DELAWABE COUNTY.
285
estant Episcopal academy of that cit)'. Leav-
ing school in the autumn of 1853 he entered
the employ of the Philadelphia, Wilmington &
Baltimore Railroad Company as shipping
clerk, and in the summer of 1854 became as-
sistant book-keeper in a large wholesale coal
office in Philadelphia, where he remained un-
til 1 86 1. In April of that year he formed a
partnership with Col. Alfred Day, under the
name of Day & Huddell, and engaged in min-
ing and shipping coal, their main office being
on Walnut street, Philadelphia. He contin-
ued in that business successfully as a member
of the firms of Day & Huddell, Day, Huddell
cV- Co., Joseph H. Huddell & Co., and Huddell
& Seitzinger, until 1871, since which time Mr.
Huddell has been engaged in selling coal on
commission. In Januar)*, 1892, he was ap-
pointed superintendent of construction for the
new United States postoffice building in the
city of Chester, which position he held until Oc-
tober, 1 893, when he was removed by the Dem-
ocratic administration. The duties of this of-
fice he discharged with ability.
Since 1849 Mr. Huddell has spent his sum-
mers in Delaware countj', and since 1868 has
been a permanent resident of Linwood, this
county. Politically he has always been an ac-
tive republican, and for a number of years was
a school director at Linwood. In 1891 he
served as secretary to Hon. Bois Penrose,
president of the State senate at Harrisburg,
and filled the same position with Hon. John
P. S. Gobin, president of the extra session of
the senate in the autumn of 1891. His ap-
pointment as superintendent of construction on
the United States postoffice building in Ches-
ter was secured through Hon. John B. Rob-
inson, of Media, a warm personal friend of
Mr. Huddell.
On November 11, 1858, Mr. Huddell was
wedded to Rebecca W. Ayers, a daughter of
Samuel W. Ayers, of the city of Philadelphia.
She died February 10, 1879, aged fort\' years,
leaving a family of nine children, three sons
and si.\ daughters; Rebecca A., Alfred D.,
Joseph H., Jane N., Kate T., Esther M.,
Sarah A., Draper and Elizabeth B. These chil-
dren are members of the Episcopal church, of
which Mr. Huddell is an attendant. He is a
member of Lodge No. 2, A. Y. M., Excelsior
Mark Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and
of Keystone Chapter, No. 176, Royal Arch
Masons, of Philadelphia.
JOHN A. WALLACE, one of the edit-
ors and proprietors of the Chester Times,
and a gentleman who has won wide recogni-
tion as a writer, politician and journalist, was
born in Hyde Park, Duchesscounty, New York,
February 11, 1842, and is a son of David and
Gertrude (Paulding) Wallace. He received
his preparatory education in the public schools
of New York city and the Stratford (Connec-
ticut) academy, and at the age of eighteen en-
tered Williams college, Williamstown, Massa-
chusetts, where he pursued the collegiate course
until the breaking out of the civil war, when
he severed his connection with that institution
and entered the Federal army as a member of
the 150th New York infantry, and later served
with the 66th New York veteran volunteers.
Returning to his native county at the close of
the war, he engaged in teaching for two years
and then went to New York city, where he had
been offered a position in the county clerk's
office. After a short time he resigned to accept
a more lucrative appointment in the chief en-
gineer's office at the Brooklyn navy yard, where
he was soon afterward promoted to the post
of chief clerk. In 1873 he resigned this posi-
tion and removed to Chester, Pennsylvania,
to accept a responsible place in John Roach's
shipyard.
In 1882 Mr. Wallace first became interested
in journalism and organized the Chester Times
Publishing Company, being elected secretary
and treasurer of the company and editor of
the paper. After various changes in the or-
ganization he purchased the entire business,
and successfully conducted the Times alone
286
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
until 1892, when on account of failing health
superinduced b\ too close application to busi-
ness, he sold one-half of the establishment to
William C. Sproul, with whom he has ever
since been associated in the ownership and
management of the Chester Times. They have
one of the best equipped newspaper plants in
the State of Pennsylvania, located in one of
finest buildings devoted to the publishing busi-
ness in this country, and the Tunes is univer-
sally conceded to be one of the brightest, news-
iest and best papers printed in America, and
also one of the most profitable, outside the
large cities. When asked how he accounted
for the remarkable success of his paper, Mr.
Wallace replied, " I do not know, unless it is
the policy we adopt in the publication of the
paper, and keeping everlastingly at it. In
country towns, as ours is called," he added,
" people get better acquainted with each other
than in large cities, and feel more interest in
each other, and hence they like to hear and
read almost anything and everything concern-
ing one another. Town gossip of all kinds,
local happenings of every character, with news
concerning social and political movements, all
written up in a breezy, bright, cheery man-
ner, make the local newspaper a welcome vis-
itor in almost every household. It has been
our aim to get all the news of this character,
and we have everlastingly hammered away on
that line, and the success which has crowned
our efiorts convinces us that we are on the right
track."
Politically the subject of this sketch is an
earnest and active republican, and has been
closely identified with the politics of this city
and count\ for many years. He has served
as chairman of an}' number of county conven-
tions, chairman of the republican county ex-
ecutive committee, president of the Chester
city council, president of the board of water
commissioners, delegate to State.conventions,
and as a member of the State executive commit-
tee of his party.
Mr. Wallace was also appointed postmaster
of the city of Chester by President Arthur, and
served as such until removed as an "offensive
partisan by President Cleveland, in 1885. He
is a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal
church, and of Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free
and Accepted Masons ; Chester Chapter, No.
258, Royal Arch Masons ; Chester Command-
ery. No. 63, Knights Templar; and Chester
Lodge, No. 92, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. He likewise holds membership in
the Chi Psi fraternity of Williams college.
On May 20, 1864, Mr. Wallace was united
in marriage to Emma Coyle, a daughter of Cor-
nelius Coyle, of Rhinebeck, New York. To
Mr. and Mrs. Wallace was born a family of
five children, two sons and three daughters :
Frank, now employed in the government print-
ing office at Washington; Kate, wife of J. Frank
Kitts, of the First National bank of Media ;
Robert, Sarah Gertrude and Anna.
The family of which John A. Wallace is a
member is of Scotch origin, and ranks with
the oldest and most respected of New York,
where it was planted at an early day. John
Wallace ( grandfather ) was a native of Dutchess
county, that State, where he passed his en-
tire life as aii agriculturist, dying about 1842.
He married and reared a family of nine chil-
dren, one of whom was Da\id Wallace (father),
who was born in 1810, on the old homestead
in Dutchess county. New York, where he now
resides. He followed ship-building and con-
tracting in New York city during most of his
active life, but has been retired and living
quietly on the home farm in Dutchess county
for the past twenty-five years, where he now is
aged eighty-three. Politically he was a whig
until 1856, when he became a republican and
has ever since supported that party. In 1838
he married Gertrude Paulding, a daughter
of Levi Paulding, and a native of Dutchess
county, and by that union had afamily of four
children, one son, the subject of this sketch,
and three daughters. Mrs, Gertrude Wallace
is still living, being now in her seventy-third
year. Her father, Levi Paulding, also a
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
289
native of Dutchess county, was of German de-
scent, and a brother of Maj. John Paulding,
of Revolutionary fame. He was also connected
with the Paulding family, a member of which.
Major Paulding, with two other Continental
soldiers, captured Major Andre upon his at-
tempt to regain the British lines after his in-
terview with Benedict Arnold.
TlE\VI8 miller, now deceased, was
^^ one of that energetic and talented class
of men who seem born to control affairs, and
leave their impress on the industrial history
of their times. He was a son of John and
Magdalena Miller, and was born at Royers
Ford, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, Oc-
tober 13, 1830. He received a good common
school education, to which he afterward added
largely by a wide course of reading and a care-
ful study of men and affairs. He started life
on a farm near Phcenixville, this State, after-
ward locating in Wilmington, Delaware, where
he engaged himself as an apprentice to the
machinist trade with the late Jesse Ermie, of
Wihnington, Delaware. After five years spent
in acquiring a mastery of that business he be-
came a foreman in the machine shop of Pusey,
Jones & Co., at Wilmington, and later was
made general superintendent. In 1857 he as-
sociated himself with Josiah Custard, under
the firm name of Miller & Custard, and began
building machinery for cotton and woolen
mills at Chester, Delaware county. In 1859
the firm of Miller & Allen was formed, and
continued the same business until 1872, when
it was dissolved by the retirement of Mr.
Allen. While in this city Mr. Miller, under a
contract with Mr. Corliss, was the only builder
of the now famous Corliss engines, south of
New England, and through his agency these
engines were introduced to the public in Penn-
sylvania and the southern States. During
this time Mr. Miller designed and built for
Mr. Bruner the handsomest Corliss engines
ever erected, every piece being tool finished
and no chipping by hand permitted in an)'
part. These engines attracted the attention
of skilled machinists from all parts of the
country, and many people came long distances
to inspect them. After the firm of Miller &
Allen was dissolved Mr. Miller entered into
partnership with Seyfert, McManus & Co., in
the Scott foundry at Reading, this State,
where he remained until 1877, when he retired
from the firm, and devoted his attention to the
building of cotton presses, making improve-
ments thereon from time to time until he per-
fected the best cotton press known to the pub-
lic. In 1882 he left this country and went to
Bogota, in the United States of Colombia,
South America, where he succeeded in doing
a work that had baflied the united skill of Eng-
lish and French engineers.
Awa\- up near the line of perpetual snow,
where communication could only be had by
mules, he started on the mountain peaks a
mill for rolling rails for tramways. No
weighty machinery could be transported on
mules over the mountain ranges, and he was
compelled to build a blast furnace and rolling
mill from the material he found on the ground.
Nothing daunted, he began the work, and the
record of his success reads like one of the
stories of Jules \'erne. His remarkable in-
genuity and wonderful power of resources and
expediencv were constantly called into play.
He made bricks for the furnace, erected the
entire plant from foundation to roof, and hav-
ing dug the ore from the earth near by, melted
it, run it into pigs and ultimately rolled it into
rails, the first ever made in that country. Ow-
ing to the extreme rarification of the atmos-
phere at that high altitude, he could not secure
draught enough for combustion, and was
compelled to devise and construct a ma-
chine to compress the air fed to the fur-
nace. When the first rail was manufactured
a big demonstration took place at Bogota.
It was made a gala day, with bunting flying,-
troops, societies and public officials taking
part in the displa}', and the rail, exposed to
290
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
public view on a decorated wagon, was drawn
through the streets, amid cheers from the as-
sembled thousands who lined the sidewalks
on every hand. On that occasion Mr. Miller,
as the honored guest of the Republic, was
drawn in a coach by four horses at the head
of the parade, and speeches were made by the
President, and other prominent men of na-
tional fame. An insurrection, which broke
out soon afterward, arrested the work and Mr.
Miller was compelled to return to the United
States. He afterward built the present plant
of the Penn Steel Casting Company, of Ches-
ter, and with the Chester Foundry and Ma-
chine Company was engaged in the manufac-
ture of the superior cotton press which bears
his name. He was also president for a short
time of the Linwood Iron ^^'orks. He was a
member of the Masonic fraternity and of
Franklin Scientific and Mechanical Institute
of Philadelphia. His death occurred May 31,
1892, when in the sixty-second year of his age.
In 1849 he married Mary A. Dixon, daughter
of William and Mary Dixon, of Wilmington,
Delaware, and to them was born a family of
six children: Ada A., who married John E.
Nugent : William, deceased in infancy ; Mary
M., wedded C. R. Heizmann, and died in
February, 1892; Laura A., became the wife
of Joseph P. Kremp; Lewis J., a sketch of
whom will be found elsewhere in this volume;
and Alonzo A.
The Miller family is French-German descent,
and was founded in America by John ^liller,
father of Lewis Miller, who came over about
1S26, from Strasburg, province of Alsace,
German)', then French territory. He soon
after located at Royers Ford, Montgomery
county, Pennsylvania, where most of life was
spent. By occupation he was a stonemason
and contractor, and built several bridges in
this part of the State. He married Magda-
lena Brown, and had two sons : Frederick, who
was a sea captain, and is supposed to have
been lost at sea, as nothing was afterward
heard of him ; and Lewis, the subject of this
sketch, whose remarkable career reflected
honor on the name and did much to make it
memorable in the annals of Delaware county.
TjEWIS J. MILLER, who has ably sus
"^^ tained the eminent reputation of his father
for business activity and mechanical ingenuity,
is a son of Lewis and Mary A. (Dixon) Mil-
ler, and a native of the city of Chester, where
he was born May 25, 1859. There he grew
to manhood, receiving his preliminary instruc-
tion in the public schools, and finished his
education at the Broad Street academy, in
Philadelphia. Leaving school, he served an
apprenticeship with his father in the Scott
foundry, at Reading, and after completing his
trade became a draftsman in the employ of
that firm, remaining with them until 1877.
In the latter year he entered the employ of
Pusey, Jones & Co., of Wilmington, Delaware,
as draftsman, and was engaged thus until 1880.
He was afterward employed in similar work
for a number of other firms, drawing designs
for all kinds of machinery. In 1888 he went
to Catasauqua, Lehigh county, this State,
where he planned and made all the drawings
for a large rolling mill. Later he became so-
liciting agent for the Chester Iron & Machine
Company, of this city, and in 1889 formed a
partnership with William W. Bierce, of Mem-
phis, Tennessee, and engaged in the manu-
facture of cotton compresses. They manufac-
tured at Chester, this count}', but they had
offices in Memphis and Philadelphia. This
firm continued operations until March, 1891,
and upon its dissolution Mr. Miller became
associated with his father in the manufacture
of cotton presses, and after the death of the
latter in 1892, succeeded to the entire business.
These presses are made under a number of
patents, some of which were owned b}' the
elder ]\Iiller, while others were taken out by
the subject of this sketch, and cover his own
improvements.
He was married in 1888, to Oc\' J. Price, a
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
29 1
daughter of Hugh and Harriet P.(Cox)Price,
of Wilmington, Delaware. Their union has
been blessed by the birth of three children :
Ada A., Lewis J., and Frank P. Mr. Miller
was a resident of Philadelphia until i8g2,when
he removed to Chester, and now resides in a
beautiful home at No. 515 West Seventh
street.
I^ANIKL WORRALL JEFFERIS,
^^ M. I)., a graduate of the university of
Pennsylvania, who has been in successful
practice since 1865, and a resident of the city
of Chester since 1873, is a son of Jervis and
Sarah ( Worrall ) Jefferis, and a native of Ches-
ter county, Pennsylvania, where he was born
on Christmas day, 1841. The Jefferis family
is of English descent, and its American pro-
genitor came over and settled in Chester
county in the early part of the eighteenth cen-
tury. Jefferis ford, in that county, is named
for this family, and is the place where the
British army crossed the Brandywine creek,
to get in the rear of Washington's force at the
battle of Brandywine. James Jefferis, paternal
grandfatlier of Dr. Jefferis, was a native
and a prosperous farmer of that county,
where he died about 1856, aged seventy years.
He married Hester Edwards, and reared a
familj' of eleven children, one of his sons being
Jervis Jefferis (father), who was born in Ches-
ter county in 1814, and died at Wilmington,
Delaware, in 1850, at the early age of thirty-
six. He secured a liberal education, mostly
by his own efforts, and then engaged in teach-
ing, which he followed for a number of years.
Later he became a dry goods merchant in the
city of Wilmington, and was engaged in that
business at the time of his death. Politically
he was an old line whig, and a strict member
of the Baptist church nearly all his life. In
1841 he married Sarah Worrall, a native of
Delaware county, who is of Welsh- English ex-
traction, and now resides in the city of Ches-
ter, this county, in the seventieth year of her
age.
Daniel Worrall Jefferis was reared princi-
pally in Chester count}', to which his mother
returned soon after the death of her husband.
His elementary instruction was received in
the public schools, after which he studied for
some years at Jonathan Cause's famous acad-
emy in Chester county, and then entered
Oberlin college, Ohio. He then read medicine
with Dr. Wilmer Worthington, of West Ches-
ter, this State, and was graduated from the
medical department of the university of Penn-
sylvania, Philadelphia, in 1865. In Septem-
ber, 1862, Mr. Jefferis had gone out with the
emergency men, at the time of the battle of
Antietam, and again when the battle of Gettys-
burg was fought. In the summer of 1864,
after completing his studies with Dr. Worth-
ington, he went to Petersburg, Virginia, and
served in the military hospital there as a con-
tract surgeon. After his graduation from the
university of Pennsylvania he entered the
Federal service as assistant surgeon of the
213th Pennsylvania infantry, and served until
November 18, 1865, when he was discharged
at the city of Washington. Returning to
Pennsylvania, Dr. Jefferis practiced medicine
for a short time in Chester county, and then
removed to Belmont county, Ohio, where he
was engaged in active practice until 1870. In
that year he returned to Chester county, Penn-
sylvania, and after practicing there until 1873,
came to the city of Chester, Delaware county,
where he soon acquired and has ever since
maintained a large and successful general prac-
tice. He is a member of the county and State
Medical societies, and of the National Medi-
cal association, being the present treasurer of
the Delaware County Medical society.
Dr. Jefferis was married in 1866 to Abigail
Eldridge, a daughter of Reuben and L}dia
Eldridge, of Chester county, this State. She
died in 1878, aged thirty-eight years, and
leaving behind her a family of five children,
three sons and two daughters: Lydia, now
the wife of Thomas H. Higgins, of the city of
Chester; Sarah; Reuben, who married Mar-
293
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
garete Griffiths, of Chester ; Jesse and Alfred,
the latter of whom died when three \ears of
age. On August lo, 1882, Dr. Jefferis was
again married, wedding for his second wife
Mary T. Oliver, a daughter of Henr)- and
Rebecca Oliver, of Philadelphia. To this
union has been born two children ; Daniel
Worrall and Mary.
In politics Dr. Jefferis is an ardent republi-
can. For nine \'ears he has been a member
of ihe school board of this city, during eight
of which he has had the honor of presiding
over the deliberations of the board. He is a
leading member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and a member of Wilde Post, No. 25,
Grand Army of the Republic, of this city.
TTOIIN H. STROUD, head of the planing
mill firm of John H. Stroud & Co., and
one of the most successful manufacturers in
his line in the city of Chester, is a son of John
B. Stroud and Ruth Ann (Gray), and was
born March 31, 1844, in the city of Phila-
delphia, Pennsylvania. His ancestors came
originall}' from Wales, and the family ha\'e
resided in the State of Delaware since colonial
times. William Stroud, paternal grandfather,
was a native of that State, born in 1806, and
during the earlier part of his life was engaged
in agricultural pursuits, but later became in-
terested in stone quarrying, and owned and
operated a number of quarries. About 1S30
he removed from Delaware to Chestnut Hill.
Philadelphia, where he resided until his death,
in 1883, at the advanced age of seventy-seven
years. Politically he was a whig and republi-
can, and in religion a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He married May Weaver,
and reared a family of six children. His son,
John B. Stroud (father), was born at Chestnut
Hill, Philadelphia, in 1821, and died in that
city in 1849, at the early age of thirty-four.
The latter was ship chandler by occupation,
and a whig in politics. In 1843 he united in
marriage with Ruth A. Gray, a native of Phil-
adelphia, and a daughter of Charles Gray.
To them was born a family of two children :
John H. and Charles. Mrs. Stroud is a mem-
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
now resides in the city of Chester, this countv,
in the sixty-fifth year of her age.
John H. Stroud came to Chester when six-
teen years of age and has resided here ever
since. His education was obtained in the
public schools and a boarding school of this
cit}', in which latter he spent two )'ears. After
leaving school he learned the sash and door
manufacturing business, serving an apprentice-
ship of four years, and then worked as a jour-
neyman for two years. In 1870 Mr. Stroud
became associated with Robert Booth (see his
sketch) in the planing mill business, under the
style of John H. Stroud & Co., and began
manufacturing all kinds of sash, doors, blinds,
flooring, ceiling, and similar articles for the
use of contractors and builders. This enter-
prise has proved very successful under his
management. The planing mill, which is lo-
cated at the corner of Front and Concord av-
enues, gives emploj-ment to from fifteen to
twenty men the j-ear round, and its products
have become ver^- popular with consumers
and find a ready sale. In addition to planing,
the mill does all kinds of scroll sawing and
turning, and manufactures packing boxes of
every description.
On April 29, 1868, Mr. Stroud was united
in marriage to Cecelia W. Edwards, a daugh-
ter of William and Mary Edwards, of the city
of Philadelphia. To Mr. and Mrs. Stroud
have been born three children, one son and
two daughters: George M., Mary E. and
Stella C.
In his political affiliations the subject of this
sketch is a republican, but has never taken
any very active part in politics, preferring to
devote his energies to building up the business
which has proved so successful in his hands.
Mr. Stroud is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and is likewise prominently
connected with a number of secret orders, being
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
293
a member of Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free
and Accepted Masons; Chester Chapter, No.
258, Royal Arch Masons ; Chester Conimand-
ery, No. 66, Knights Templars ; and Morton
Council, United American Mechanics.
TA/ I. BLAKE MtCLE> ACHAN, a
• real estate dealer and an efficient clerk
in the recorder's office of Delaware coimty, is
a son of George B. and Mary (Booth) Mc-
Clenachan, and was born at West Farms, in
West Chester county. New York, July 3, 1858.
He removed in early life to Philadelphia,
where he received his education in Beck's
Quaker school and the public schools of that
city. Leaving school he learned the trade of
gauger and cooper, and in 1880 came to Dela-
ware county, where he has resided ever since.
He filled the position of inspector of cooper-
age with the Chester Oil Compan}-. In 1890
he was appointed to the office he now tills —
that of recorders's clerk. A republican in
politics, he has always been prominent in the
councils of his part\', and has for the past
eight )'ears been a member of the republican
county executive committee, and during the
past year its treasurer. He is a leader of
his party in Lower Chichester township, where
he has been chairman of the township repub-
lican committee for several years. Mr. Mc-
Clenachan resides on Trainer avenue, between
Post Road and the Philadelphia, Wilmington
& Baltimore railroad. He attends the Epis-
copal church, and is a member of L. H. Scott
Lodge, No. 352, Free and Accepted Masons,
and Delaware County Lodge, No. 113, Knights
of Birmingham. Inofficial, business and social
circles he is deservedly popular.
On August I, 1883, Mr. McClenachan was
united in marriage with Ella B. Barry, daugh-
ter of John W. Barry, of Philadelphia. To
their union have been born three children, one
son and two daughters : Ella B., William B.
and Mary B.
The McClenachan famih', of which W. I.
Blake McClenachan is a member, was founded
in this country by Rev. William McClenachan,
who came in 1759 as a missionar\- from Scot-
land to Philadelphia. He became pastor of
the Third Street Presb\terian church, of that
city, in which he died. He left four children:
Rev. Blair, John, Anna and Robert. Rev.
Blair McClenachan was a highly esteemed
minister in the Presbyterian church, and served
as a member from Philadelphia in the Fifth
congress of the United States. He married
and had two children, George B. and William.
George B. McClenachan (grandfather) was a
book-keeper by occupation and passed his
days in his native cit\'. He wedded Isabella
Kerr, and of their children one was George B.
McClenachan, the father of the subject of this
sketch. George B. McClenachan was a cooper
and gauger by occupation and did quite a large
business for many years at 119 Walnut street,
Philadelphia. He served as a Union soldier
in the late civil war, receiving a severe gun-
shot wound in the hand. He died May 15,
1879, when in the fifty-lhird year of his age.
Mr. McClenachan married Mary Booth, a
daughter of John Booth, an extensive carriage
builder of West Farms, West Chester county,
New York. To Mr. and Mrs. McClenachan
were born three children : W. I. Blake (sub-
ject); George B., deceased; and Samuel C,
deceased.
'T'H03IAS A. Mcdowell, one of the
most enterprising, successful and useful
citizens of Sofith Chester, and the leading con-
tractor for plasterer's work in that borough,
who for twelve years was a member of the bor-
ough's council, is a son of John and Agnes
(McQuillin) McDowell, and was born Septem-
ber 7, 1854, at Rockdale, Delaware count}-,
Pennsylvania. John McDowell (father) was
a native of County Antrim, in the province of
Ulster, Ireland, where he grew up and.received
a good education in the National schools. In
1846 he crossed the broad Atlantic to find a
294
BIOOBAPHY AND HISTORY
new home in America, and shortly after land-
ing in this country settled at Rockdale, this
county, where he lived until 1871, when here-
moved to South Chester. Here he continued
to reside until called away by death in 1885,
when in the sixty-fifth year of his age. After
residing at Rockdale some time he engaged in
the coal and lumber business. After coming
to Chester he carried on the coal and lumlier
business at the corner of Front and Morton
streets, where he had a large and successful
trade for a number of years, and was afterward
succeeded by his sons, William J. and W. S.
McDowell. Politically he was a democrat un-
til the breaking out of the civil war, when he
identified himself with the Republican party
and ever afterward gave that organization a
loyal support. He served two terms as school
director in Middletown township, and was
one of the first school directors of South
Chester after the town was incorported, hold-
ing that office here for ten or twelve years, and
being also treasurer of the school fund for some
time. In religion he was a prominent member i
of the Methodist Episcopal church, and one
of the organizers of the Methodist church at
thecornerof Third and Jefferson streets, where
heled the singing for a number of jears. About
1840 he married Agnes McQuillin, a native of
Ulster province, Ireland, and a daughter of
William McQuillin. To that union was born
six children : James, William J., Thomas A.,
the subject of this sketch ; Elizabeth, Archie
and Wesley S. Mrs. Agnes McDowell has
been a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church for fifty years, and now resides at Front
and Morton, being in the seventy-fifth j'ear of
her age.
Thomas A. McDowell was reared princi-
pally at Rockdale, Middletown township, this
county, and received a good practical education
in the public schools. At the age of eighteen
he left school and went to Philadelphia as an
apprentice to the plasterer's trade, under John
Cannon. After completing his apprenticeship
he worked as a journeyman for a few jears.
but in 1878 established himself permanently
in South Chester, where he has ever since been
successfully engaged in the plastering busi-
ness. Being a skillful workman himself, and
possessed of fine executive ability and good
judgment, together with great energy and un-
doubted business tact, he soon had a lucratixe
patronage, and for several years has done most
of the plastering in the borough of South Ches-
ter, employing from ten to twenty men in car-
rying forward his various contracts. Mr. Mc-
Dowell owns a block of houses in South Ches-
ter, where for years he has been one of the
important factors in the improvement and de-
velopment of the borough, and his wife owns
and conducts a dr}' goods and general furnish-
ing store at No. 1931 West Second street.
In his political affiliations Mr. McDowell
has always been a stanch republican, and for
a number of years has taken an active part in
local politics. In 1880 he was elected to a seat in
the borough council, and by successive re-elec-
tions continued to occupy that important posi-
tion for a period of twelve years, relinquish-
ing the office in April, 1893. He has taken a
prominent part in main' conventions and coun-
cilsof his party, and done much for its advance-
ment and success. Since 1893 he has been a
member of Lamokin Tribe, No. 80, Inde-
pendent Order of Red Men, and is universally
regarded as among the best, most public spir-
ited and most useful citizens of the borough
he has done so much to build up and improve
in various ways.
On the 20th of June, 1877, Mr. McDowell
was united in marriage to Susanna McCoy, a
daughter of Emer E. McCoy, of Coatsville,
Chester county, this State. To Mr. and Mrs.
McDowell has been born one child, a son, named
William J., now in his fifteenth year.
HOVVAKD R. SWAYNE, 31. D., a
young and successful physician of the
city of Chester, who is a graduate of the Jef-
ferson Medical college of Philadelphia, and
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
295
one of tlie most active and promising young
professional men in Delaware county, is a son
of Joseph M.and Amanda E.(Roeder) Swayne,
and a native of Lancaster countj', this State,
where he was born March 15, 1863. The
Swaynes are of English extraction, the family
being planted in this country in the latter part
of the seventeenth century.
The paternal grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, was born in Pennsylvania. He
married and reared a family of children, one
of his sons being Joseph M. Swaj'ne (father),
who is now living a retired life at No. 1634
North Fifteenth street, Philadelphia, in which
city he has resided for many years. He is an
orthodox Quaker and a straight republican. He
married Amanda E. Roeder. Mrs. Amanda
E. Swayne was born in Lehigh county, this
State, of German parentage.
Howard R. Swayne was reared partly in the
city of Philadelphia and partly in the adjoin-
ing county of Chester. His education was ob-
tained at the Friends' Select school for boys
in Philadelphia and the Westtown boarding
school in Chester county. Leaving school he
turned his attention to preparing himself for a
profession, and in the fall of 1886 began the
study of medicine with Prof. William S.Forbes,
of No. 1704 Walnut street, Philadelphia. Later
he matriculated at the Jefferson Medical col-
lege of that city, and in the spring of 1889
was duly graduated from that well known in-
stitution with the degree of M. D., receiving
a prize for the best anatomical preparation in
his class. Immediately after graduation he
began the practice of his profession at No.
1634 North Fifteenth street, that city, and
remained there until the spring of 1890, at
which time he removed to the city of Chester,
where he has already built up a nice practice
and is becoming verj' popular as a physician
and socially. In addition to his duties as a prac-
ticing physician Dr. Swayne is also engaged
to some extent in the real estate business here,
and has made some important deals.
Dr. Swayne is prosector for the chair of anat-
omy in the Jefferson Medical college, and is
also demonstrator in the same institution. H e
is a member of the Pathological Medical so-
ciety and the Decosta Medical society of Phil-
adelphia, and of the Delaware County Medi-
cal societ}', and is also a member of the alumni
association of Jefferson Medical college. In
political sentiment he is an ardent republican.
On May 17, i8go. Dr. Swayne was wedded
to Laura M. Kerr, the handsome and accom-
plished daughter of James Kerr, of the cit)' of
Philadelphia. The Kerrs are of English line-
age, and the mother of Mrs. Swayne was a
Miss Grubb, a descendant of one of the old-
est families of Delaware county. To the Doc-
tor and Mrs. Swayne has been born one child,
a daughter, named Marian Marguerite.
vTOHN R. VV'AY, one of the younger bus-
iness men of Marcus Hook, who is now
proprietor of a fine, well stocked grocery store
at that place, and on the highway to enduring
financial success, is the youngest son of Mercer
J. and Sarah M. ( Bullock) Way, and was born
August 29, 1869, at Stanton, Delaware. The
Waj's are of English extraction, and the family-
ranks among the oldest in this country, hav-
ing been planted in Massachusetts as early as
1672. The English progenitors of the family
were strict Quakers, and many of their descen-
dants adhered to that faith. In the latter part
of the eighteenth century some of the Ways
came into Pennsylvania, settling near Con-
cordville, Delaware county, where John Way,
paternal grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, was born and reared. He was engaged
for man}' years in conducting a hotel, or tav-
ern, at that place, and became widely known.
He married Sarah, daughter of Evan and
Sarah Jones, born December 17, 1771, and
had a family of eleven children. His death
occurred at Concordville, in 1853, at the age
of seventj'-five years. His son, Mercer J.
Way (father), was born at that village in 1827,
and grew to manhood there, receiving a good
296
BIOGBAPBY AND HISTOBY
common school education. After marriage
he removed to Brooklyn, Xew York, and for
a number of years was engaged in the lumber
business in New York city. Later he served as
lumber inspector in that cit\', and only left New
York on account of his wife's health, which
had become greatlj- impaired. In order to
give her the advantage of fresh air and pure
water he purchased a farm at Stanton, Dela-
ware, and resided there until 1871, when he
removed to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, and
embarked in the flour and feed business.
Later he added a full line of groceries, and
successfully conducted the grocery business
here until his death in 1881, when in the fifty-
fourth }'ear of his age. Political!}' he was a
democrat, and in religion a devout and active
member of the Methodist 'Episcopal" clmrch,
alwaj's earnest in his support pf_ the various
enterprises of his denomination, and liberal
and tolerant toward the- opinions of others.
By his marriage to Sarah M. Bullock he had
a family of eight children, tvyo "sons and-six
daughters : Charlotte Rutter,— SaTah-;|'on'es,'
Marj' Emma, Charles I^ewis, Lucelia Eliza-
beth, Lilh', Anna Leora, and John Rutter.
Mrs. Way is a daughter of Lewis and Char-
lotte Bullock, and a descendant of one of the
oldest families in this count}'. She was born
in Concord township in 1828, and is conse-
quently now in her sixty-fifth year. For many
j-ears she has been a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and now resides in the
borough of Marcus Hook.
John R. Way came to this village with his
parents when only two years of age, and was
reared and educated here, attending the pub-
lic schools until his se\enteenth year. He
then learned the trade of cutter of gentlemen's
clothing, but not liking the business only
worked at it for a short time, and in November,
1892, purchased his father's store, which had
been conducted by Mrs. Wa}- after her hus-
band's death, and engaged in the grocery bus-
iness at Marcus Hook on his own account.
He had assisted in the management of the
store for some time previous to buying it, and
had thus familiarized himself with the details
of the business and acquired a practical knowl-
edge of affairs, which fitted him for the success
he has since attained. He now has a handsome
store, well stocked with staple and fanc}^ gro-
ceries, and a steady trade, which is becoming
larger and more important every \ear.
On December 6, 1892, Mr. ^^■ay was united
in holy matrimony with Caroline J. Rebmann,
oldest daughter of John Rebmann, of the
borough of Marcus Hook. The\- have one
child, Caroline Rebmann Way, born Septem-
ber 18, 1893. Mr. Way adheres to the polit-
ical traditions of his famil}-. and is an ardent
democrat. In business he has demonstrated
the possession of fine executive abilitj', and
being careful and accomodating in all his
transactions, he is already popular and wideh'
known, and there can be little doubt of his
future success and usefulness as a business
man and citizen.
TA>ILLIA3I V. SAL3ION, the popular
paymaster of the Chester Rolling Mills,
who for a number of years was closel)' identi-
fied with the drug trade in this State and Del-
aware, and is prominentl}' connected with the
Masonic organization of this cit}-, is a son of
William H. and Annie (Snitcherj Salmon,
and was born at Dover, Delaware, on January
15, 1858. The Salmon family is of Welsh
origin, its first representative in America being
Henry Salmon, paternal great-grandfather of
the subject of this sketch, who came from his
native place in \\'ales when about thirty years
of age and settled near Dover, Delaware,
where members of the family have ever since
resided. He was a farmer by occupation, and
oneof his sons was John Salmon (grandfather),
who was born and leared in the State of Del-
aware, and died in New Castle count}", that
State, about 1859. He was a farmer by voca-
tion and also owned and operated a small
grist mill. William H. Salmon (father) is a
THE JtlW roKK
P(IB(.[- I ■■P.P,\^Y
'^ L
OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
299
native of New Castle county, Delaware, where
he was born in 1810 and lived until 1S65, when
he removed to Delaware county, Pennsylvania,
settling in the city of Chester, where he still
resides, being now in the seventy-third year of
his age, and retired from all active business.
For thirty years previous to his retirement he
was engaged in the business of carpenter and
contractor, and previous to that time had been
roadmaster on the Delaware River railroad.
Politically he was a whig and republican, in
religion a member of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and married Annie Snitcher, a native
of New Castle county, Delaware, who is a
member of the same church, of remote Ger-
man extraction.
William V. Salmon was brought to this city
by his parents when a lad of seven summers,
and spent the remainder of his boyhood days
here. He attended the old Welch street
school for several years, and completed his
education at the Newark acadamy, Newark,
Delaware. After leaving school he entered a
drug store in Philadelphia, to learn the drug
business, and remained there until 1874, thor-
oughly familiarizing himself with all depart-
ments of the retail drug trade. In 1874 he
left Philadelphia, and returning to Delaware
county opened the first drug store ever estab-
lished in South Chester, located at the corner
of Third and Morton streets. This store he
successfully conducted until January, 1877,
when he disposed of it, and the same year es-
tablished a drug store at Odissa, New Castle
county, Delaware, which he ran until 1879.
He then sold the business to other parties and
returned to Chester, where he soon after as-
sumed the duties of paymaster in the Chester
Rolling mills, and has ever since acceptably
filled that responsible position. In addition
to his duties as paymaster of the rolling mills
Mr. Salmon is serving as treasurer of the bor-
ough of South Chester, and is also financially
interested in the Penn Steel Casting Company
and in the street railway of South Chester.
In 1878 Mr. Salmon was married to Bella
18
H. Dennis, a daughter of Ananias Dennis,
of Middletown, Delaware. To Mr. and Mrs.
Salmon have been born two children, both
sons: \\'illiam H., now (1893) in his four-
teenth year, and George A., aged twelve.
Politically William \'. Salmon has always been
an ardent republican, and takes a deep
interest in local politics. He is a member of
Chester Lodge, No. 236, Free and Accepted
Masons ; Chester Chapter, No. 258, Royal
Arch Masons ; Chester Commandery, No. 56,
Knights Templar ; and of the Ancient Order
of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia.
•j^AVID S. BUNTIXG, one of the most
successful business men of Chester, who
is at the head of the largest lumber trade
in the city, and is widely known and highly
esteemed for his honesty, integrity and ster-
ling ability, is a son of Josiah and Sarah (Sel-
lers) Bunting, and a native of the city of Phil-
adelphia, where he was born September 23,
1820. He was reared principally on the old
Bunting homestead at Darby, Delaware county,
to which his parents removed when he was yet
a child. His education was received in the
Friends' school at Darby, a boarding school
at West Chester, and a college at Wilmington,
Delaware. Soon after completing his studies
at the latter institution he engaged in farming
and dairying at Upper Darby, this county,
where he remained for a period of eight years.
He then purchased a farm on Chester creek,
and continued the combined business of a
farmer and dairyman until 1862, when he dis-
posed of his farm, removed to the city of Ches-
ter, and in partnership with Joseph H. Hink-
son, engaged in the lumber trade. The firm
then formed continued in business until Mr.
Hinkson's death, two years later, since which
Mr. Bunting has carried on the lumber and
coal busines alone. Possessed of fine execu-
tive ability and a wonderful capacity for look-
ing after details, the business has steadily in-
creased under his energetic management until
300
BIOGBAPHY AND HISTORY
he now has the largest lumber trade in this
city, and carries in stock the largest assort-
ment of rough and dressed lumber to be found
in the two counties of Delaware and Chester.
This simple fact is a better commentar}' on
the correctness of his methods, and the con-
spicuous success which has crowned his com-
mercial career, than whole pages of comment
could be.
On March 9, 1 843, Mr. Bunting wedded Han-
nah P. Serrill, a daughter of Benjamin Serrill
a grazier, of Darby, this county. To that union
was born three daughters: Sidiery P., who
married Joseph W. Sharp, president of the Na-
tional bank at Berwyn, Chester county, Penn-
sylvania; Elizabeth, who became the wife of
J. Charles Andrews, of Darby, this county;
and Sarah S., now deceased, who was the wife
of Josiah Bunting, chief of the dress goods de-
partment of John Wanamaker's store in Phila-
delphia, and who at her death in 1888 left
three sons, Joseph S., Sydney S., and Aubrey
R. Bunting.
Politicalh' the subject of this sketch is an
ardent republican, and although too much en-
grossed in active business to have either time
or inclination for office-holding, he has been
several times elected a member of the city
council, and his services in that body were re-
cognized as useful and important. The cor-
ner stones of his eminent success in business
are strict honesty in his dealings and an ac-
commodating disposition which makes every
patron a friend. He is pleasant and affable
in manner, easily approached, and enjoys the
highest esteem of all who know him.
The Buntings are of English extraction, and
the family was transplanted from Europe to
America about the middle of the seventeenth
centur)'. Its first representatives on this con-
tinent were three brothers, one of whom settled
at Crosswicks, New Jersey, another in Bucks
county, Pennsylvania, and the third, Samuel
by name, settled at Darb}', now Delaware
county. From the latter David S. Bunting is
descended. Samuel Bunting married a grand-
daughter of John Blunston. who emigrated
from England in 1682 and settled at Darby,
this county, where he took up a large tract of
land.
John Blunston was a member of the Provin-
cial assembly for thirteen years, and several
times held the position of speaker of that body.
He was also appointed by William Penn as a
member of the council of state and a justice
of court, and frequentl}' acted as attorney for
people in England who held land in Pennsyl-
vania. Josiah Bunting, paternal grandfather
of David S. Bunting, was a native of Darby,
this count}-, where he resided all his life. He
owned a fine farm there and was a consistent
member of the Society of Friends. His son,
Josiah Bunting (father), was born and reared
at Darby.
While yet a young man he went to Phila-
delphia, and in partnership withJosephWatson,
who for five years was mayor of that city, he
engaged in the lumber business there, the firm
name being Watson & Bunting. The)' did a
large business for a number of years, Mr. Bunt-
ing being engaged in the lumber trade in Phil-
adelphia until 1832, when he sold out and
purchsed the old Bunting homestead at Darby,
to which he removed in the autumn of that
year. There he spent the remainder of his
life, dying in 1863, when in the ninety-first
year of his age. He was a very successful busi-
ness man, a life-long member of the Society of
Friends, and a republican politically at the time
of his death. In 1814 he married Sarah Sel-
lers, a daughter of David Sellers, then of Phil-
delphia. though a native of Upper Darby, this
count\'. She was born in Philiadelphia, and
died at her home in Darby, this county, in
1850, aged sixty-two years.
To them was born a familj' of seven children,
four sons and three daughters: Rachel Sel-
lers, Elizabeth, David Sellers, Sarah Hunt,
Josiah, Samuel Sellers and Joseph.
The Sellers family is also one of the oldest
in Pennsylvania, having been founded here
by Samuel Sellers, who came over from Der-
OF DEL A WARE CO UNTY.
301
bysliire, England, in 1682, and settledat Darby,
then Chester, now Delaware county.
In June, 1684, he married Anna Gibbons,
also from Derbyshire, they being the first
couple ever married in the "Darby Meeting"
of the Society of Friends. They had six chil-
dren, the third. Samuel, being born December
3, i6go, and married August I 2. 1712,10 Sarah
Smith, also of English descent. To them were
barn seven children, of whom the youngest
was John Sellers (great-grandfather), who was
born September 19, 1728, and died February
2, 1804. His father having erected the first
twisting mill in Pennsylvania, he learned the
trade of weaver, but early displaj-ed great me-
chanical abilit}', and invented the first wire
rolling screens and sie\es for cleaning grain
ever made on this continent. So successful
was this invention that he abandoned the
manufacture of textile fabrics and devoted his
attention to wire weaving. He was elected
to the assembly in 1767, and served five terms,
besides holding many other positions of honor
and trust. On Februar}- 26, 1749, he married
Ann Gibbons, and they had among other chil-
dren, Nathan, David, John and George.
David Sellers ( maternal grandfather) was a
native of Upper Darby township, this county,
and after attaining manhood became a wire-
worker in Philadelphia, where he erected the
first wire-working establishment ever operated
in America. He made by this enterprise what
was considered a large fortune in those days,
and became widely known. He died in 1813
aged fifty six 3'ears.
HIKAM HATHAWAY, Jr., one of
the younger members of the Chester bar.
who has already won high standing in his pro-
fession, and is also prominent in the politics
of Delaware county, is a son of Hiram, sr. ,
and Mariah ( Hannum) Hathaway, and was
born October 27, 1863, in what is now the first
ward of the city of Chester. Here he grew to
manhood and has always resided. His edu-
cation was obtained in the public and private
schools of this city, and after being graduated
from the high school here in the spring of
1883, he began reading law with Hon. William
Ward. In the autumn of 1886 he completed
his preparation for the bar, and in January,
1887, after passing the usual examination, was
duly admitted to practice in the courts of Del-
aware county. He immediately opened a law
office in the city of Chester, where he has been
continuouslyengaged in an active general prac-
tice ever since. By careful attention to all
business entrusted to his hands, and painstak-
ing ability in his management of cases, he
early won the confidence of court, bar and
public, and now ranks with the most promi-
nent of the younger members of the legal pro-
fession in his native county.
Adhering to the political faith of his ances-
tors, Mr. Hathaway has always been an ardent
democrat, and for some years has taken an
active part in politics, being accounted one of
the ablest and safest local leaders of his party.
In February, 1SS7, he was elected city recorder
by a majority of one hundred and eighty-seven
votes, while his political opponents elected
the balance of the ticket b}' an average major-
ity of nine hundred and ninety-six. In i88g
he was the democratic candidate for State
senator against John B. Robinson, and while
the repulilicans carried the county by a ma-
jority of four thousand eight hundred, Mr.
Johnson's majority was cut down to one
thousand five hundred and twenty-nine. In
the fall of 1892 Mr. Hathaway was elected as
a member of the State Constitutional Conven-
tion, which convention, on account of the
governor's action, never assembled.
In December, 1889, Mr. Hathawa}- was united
in marriage to Ann R. Gray, a daughter of
Col. William C. Gray, of the city of Chester.
Mrs. Hathaway is a cultivated and refined
lady, who is an acknowledged light and leader
in the social circles she frequents.
The Hathaway family is of direct English
origin, and was transplanted to America and
302
BIOGIiAPHY A^'D HISTORY
settled in the New England colonies as early
as 1687. Tradition links this family with that
of Ann Hathaway, who was immortalized by
the bard of Avon. For more than two hun-
dred years the Hathaways have been respected
and useful citizens of the territorj' comprised
in the New England States, and a number of
them have won prominence in various lines of
endeavor. William Hathaway, paternal grand-
father of the subject of this sketch, was born
and reared in Connecticut, but left his native
State in early manhood to settle in New York.
He was a canal builder, and served as super-
intendent of the Delaware &. Hudson canal
for many years. At one time he was also
manager of the Pennsylvania Coal Company's
business at Kingston, New York. To him be-
longs thedistinction of having constructed the
first steamboat ever run in Canadian waters.
He died in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania,
in i88g, after an active and successful life cov-
ering eighty years. Politically he was a stanch
democrat, and served as a delegate from Ulster
county, New York, in the National Democratic
convention that nominated "the little giant,"
Stephen A. Douglas, for the presidency in
i860. In the same year he was tendered the
nomination for Congress from that district, but
declined to accept the office. One of his sons,
Hiram Hathaway, sr. , (father) is a native of
Rondout, now Kingston, New York, where
he was born in 1836, and was reared and edu-
cated in that State. In the fall of i860 he re-
moved to Chester, Delaware county, Pennsyl-
vania, where he has resided ever' since. He
is connected with the Pennsylvania railroad,
as division superintendent, with headquarters
in the city of Philadelphia. Like his father
before him, he has been an ardent democrat
all his life, and has served as city auditor of
Chester, and occupied numerous other places
of trust and responsibility. His wife, Mrs.
Mariah Hathaway, is a daughter of Robert
E. Hannum, and a native of the city of Ches-
ter. She is a member of the Episcopal church.
1-iobert E. Hannum (maternal grandfather)
was of English e.xtraction, and a native of
Chester, where he was reared and educated,
and where he became prominent in law, poli-
tics and local affairs. He was originally an
old line whig, but later became a republican,
and served for a time as deputy attorney-
general of the State. For many years he was
a leading member of the Chester bar, and be-
came distinguished for his ability as a civil
practitioner. He died at his home in Chester
in the spring of 1893, at the advanced age of
eighty-eight years, being then the oldest mem-
ber of the bar in this county.
FRANK W. MONROE, 1). D. S., one
of the leading, successful and progressive
dentists of Chester, and relative of President
Monroe, of Virginia, is a son of Dr. W. H.
and Jane ( Rhines) Monroe, and was born in
the city of Chester, Delaware county, Penn-
sylvania, January 29, 1853. He was reared
in his native city and received his education in
the public and graded schools. Leaving school
he studied dentistry with his father, and then
entered the Pennsylvania college of dental
surgery, from which well known institution he
was graduated in the class of 1885. Immedi-
ately after graduation he opened an office in
his native city, where he has rapidly built up
a fine and extensive practice. He is a skilled
and efficient workman, and has ever labored
to keep abreast of his profession in its rapid
modern progress. His office is well supplied
with all the late appliances of dentistry. His
handsome residence is situated at 210 West
Third street. Dr. Monroe is an active repub-
lican in political affairs, and has been a mem-
ber for several years of Chester Lodge, No.
236, Free and Accepted Masons.
On November 5, 1891, Dr. Monroe was mar-
ried, by Rev. Benj. F. Thomas, to Carrie J.
Buck. Mrs. Monroe is a daughter of Peter
Buck, of Ashland. " Mr. Peter Buck is a self-
made man. He is a splendid example of what
industry, perseverance and strict application
OF DEL A WARE CO UJVTV.
303
to business will do. Thirty years ago Mr. Buck
started in Ashland in the hardware business
with very limited capital and with very modest
pretentions, but by indefatigable resolve and
industry he has attained a success second to
none of his peers. Ten years after starting in
this business, having had such phenomenal
success, he was alread}' styled a rich man, and
at the present time is worth half a million.
He is one of the largest stockholders in both
of the Shamokin banks, and has large holdings
in various other banking institutions. And,
while Mr. Buck has always taken a zealous and
warm part in politics, in the ranks of the Re-
publican party, he has never allowed his name
to go before nominating conventions, despite
the urgent appeals of his friends. He was
urged and prominently mentioned in connec-
tion with the candidacy for Congress on the
Republican ticket, but absolutely refused to
allow his name to be used in that connection,
although he always remained an active worker
and a liberal contributor to the campaign fund.
He is one of the leading industrious factors of
Ashland." The Buck family is one of the
pioneer families of Schuylkill count}'.
Dr. Frank \Y. Monroe is of Scotch de-
scent, and his immigrant ancestor, William
Monroe, who originally wrote liis name ;\Iun-
roe, was born in Scotland in 1625, and in
1652 came to this countr}' with two brothers,
one of whom settled in Virginia, where among
his descendants was President James Mon-
roe. William Monroe settled near Le.xing-
ton, Massachusetts, and reared a family of
thirteen children : John, Martha, William,
George, Daniel, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary,
David, Eleanor, Sarah, Joseph and Benjamin.
Joseph Monroe was born August 16, 1687. He
married and had nine children : Elizabeth,
Martha, Joshua, Nathaniel, Amos, Abigail,
Eleanor, Joseph, jr., and Hannah. Joseph
Monroe, jr., was born May 13, 1715, served in
the French and Indian war in 1755, and set-
tled in Concord, opposite Carlisle, this State.
He married, and of their six children, one was
18a
Dr. Joseph Monroe, who settled near Hills-
boro, New Hampshire, and served in the Amer-
ican army at Saratoga, and until the close of
the Revolutionary war. He died February 24,
1798, aged forty-one years. Dr. Monroe mar-
ried Zuba Henry, and their children were :
Eliza, Zuba Tubbs and Joseph, the grand-
father of the subject of this sketch. Joseph
Monroe was a farmer and blacksmith, but gave
most of his time to trading and speculating in
iron, which he shipped largely- to the New York
markets. He took part in the war of 181 2,
was known as an anti-federalist, and died in
1838, at fifty-three years of age. Joseph Mon-
roe married Nancy Graves, who died in 1848.
She was a daughter of Thaddeus Graves, of
Scotch-Irish descent. Their children were :
Franklin, Sally Jewell, Addison, Joseph, Lucy
Fleming, Thaddeus, Dr.W.H. and Jane Field.
Dr. W. H. Monroe (father) was born at Wind-
ser. New Hampshire, May 30, 1825, studied
dental surgery with Dr. Monroe Tubbs, his'
cousin, and commenced the practice of his
profession at Palmerston, Massachusetts, in
1851. He came to Chester, and has practiced
here continuously ever since. Dr.W.H. Mon-
roe is a republican and a Free Mason, and
married Sarah J. Rhines, who died September
17, 1875, aged forty-eight years. Their chil-
dren were : Dr. Frank W. (subject), Ella M.
Hull, Lizzie E. McCollum, Ida J., George P.,
Lewis G. and Laura Donaldson.
rrllLLIAM C. SPROUL, one of the
KJU
proprietors and editors of the Chester
Times, and a graduate of Swarthmore college,
is a son of William H. and Dora D. (Slokom)
Sproul, and a native of Octoraro, Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, where he was born Sep-
tember 16, 1870. The Sprouls are of Scotch-
Irish origin, and the first representative of the
famil)' in America, of whom we have any ac-
count, was James Sproul, paternal grandfather
of the subject of this sketch. He was born in
County Armagh, Ireland, in 1787, and came
304
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
to the United States while yet young. He re-
ceived a good education, and after attaining
manhood engaged in the development of the
iron industr}', becoming one of the earliest iron
founders in Pennsylvania. After a life of un-
usual activity and phenomenal success, he died
at his home in Lancaster county, this State,
in 1847, aged sixty years. He left a large estate
at his death, including sixteen hundred acres
of land in Lancaster county and four hundred
acres in Chester county. He married and
reared a family of children, one of his sons be-
ing William H. Sproul (father), who was born
in Sadsbury township, Lancaster county, Penn-
sylvania. In that county he grew to man-
hood, receiving the best education afforded b}'
the schools of his day, and later became inter-
ested with his father in the iron business. He
married Dora D. Slokom, a daughter of Sam-
uel Slokom and a native of Sadbury township,
Lancaster county, where they continued to re-
side until 1874, when Mr. Sproul removed with
his family to the city of Negaunee, Michigan,
near Lake Superior, at which place he had pur-
chased some iron interests. He remained in
Michigan until 1882, when he returned to Penn-
sylvania, and in the following }-ear located in
the city of Chester, having become largel}' in-
terested in the Chester rolling mills. Here
he has resided ever since, and is now engaged
in the wholesale grocery business in this city,
under the firm name of Sproul & Lewis. He
also owns large real estate interests in this
part of Pennsylvania and in several southern
States. Politically he is a republican, and is
now serving as a member of the city council.
Mrs. Dora Sproul's father, Samuel Slokom
(maternal grandfather), was a native of Sads-
bury township, Delaware county, where he was
born in 1817 and died in i88g. In early life he
was engaged in agricultural pursuits, but re-
tired earl}', being a very wealthy man. He was
a republican politically, and served for nearly
thirty years as a justice of the peace. For
many years he was president of the Christiana
bank in Lancaster county, and also served as
one of the commissioners of his county for an
extended period. He was of English descent,
a Quaker in religion, and held the highest es-
teem of his fellow citizens. At the time of his
death he was regarded as the wealthiest man
in Lancaster county.
William C. Sproul was taken to Michigan
by his parents when only four years of age,
where he later attended public and private
schools until the family returned to Pennsyl-
vania in 1882. After coming to this city with
his parents in 1883, he became a student in the
Chester high school, from which he was gradu-
ated in 1887. In the fall of that year he en-
tered Swarthmore college, from which he wa.s
graduated with high honors in June, 1891.
From his earliest years Mr. Sproul had mani-
fested a decided taste for newspaper work, and
when only twelve years of age purchased a
small hand press and printed a little paper of
his own. \\'hen he became older he usually
spent his vacations working on some of the
city papers, preferring that to the fishing par-
ties and other excursions indulged in by his
associates. He earlv developed a remark-
able power in the use of language, and while
3et at college won reputation as a fine writer.
In his senior year he became editor of the
Swarthmore Phoenix, a monthly magazine pub-
lished by the students, and was also editor of
the Halcyon, an annual issued by the college.
It has been said of him that " he took to jour-
nalism as naturally as a duck takes to water,"
and certainly few men possess a greater love
for their vocation or find more satisfaction in
the daily tasks it imposes. Following the bent
of his inclinations, in less than a vear after his
graduation from Swarthmore college he was
actively trotting in newspaper harness, having
purchased a half interest in the daily and weekly
Chester Times in March, 1892. This paper
had been founded ten years before by John A.
Wallace (see his sketch on another page), and
was then and is now one of the largest, best
equipped and most prosperous and influential
journals in the State. Mr. Sproul's accession
OF DEL A WARE CO UNTY.
305
to its editorial force and business management
has done much to increase the reputation of
the Times for brightness, newsiness and schol-
arly ability, and has had not a little to do with
the brilliant financial success which has been
achieved in its management. He is undoubt-
edly " the right man in the right place," and
has so ably supported the efforts of his senior
partner that the paper is now enjoying a con-
tinued boom, having increased in circulation
so rapidly during the last year as to require
newer and faster presses to supersede the du-
plex perfecting presses put in less than two
years ago. Their specialty is gathering and
printing all the local news, which with an able
resumeof the general news has made the Ches-
ter Times one of the most popular and paying
newspapers in Pennsylvania.
In January, 1892, Mr. Sproul was united in
marriage with Emeline W. Roach, youngest
daughter of John Roach, the eminent ship-
builder, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this
volume. To Mr. and Mrs. Sproul has been
born one child, a daughter, named Dorothy
Wallace. Politically Mr. Sproul has always
been an ardent republican, and in his position
as editor of the leading republican daily of this
section has done and is doing much for his
party, and for the cause of good government.
He is a member of the Phi Kapa /'jv fraternity
of Swarthmore college.
r^HARLES G. NEAL, proprietor of the
^^ leading grocery store of South Chester,
and one of her most proininent, enterprising
and successful citizens, is a son of John and
Zauriah (Baldwin) Neal, and a native of Del-
aware county, and was born February 17,
1 85 1. The family is of Irish extraction, being
planted in America by John Neal, paternal
grandfather of the subject of this sktch, who
left his native isle of Erin while yet a young
man, and traversing the trackless waste of
waters that lie between the old and the new
world, landed at New York and soon after-
ward made his wa)- to Penns} Ivania and settled
in this State. Here he passed a long and ac-
tive life, dying at his home at the remarkable
age of ninety years. One of the family of
children which he reared was John Neal (fath-
er), who was born in Penns}lvania in 1797.
He was a man of more than ordinary talent,
and securing a good education chiefly by his
own efforts, he afterward engaged in teaching,
and for many years taught in the common
schools of this countj'. Politically he was a
whig and republican, and held the ofifice of
tax collector and assessor in this count)' for
six years. He was a member of the militar\'
organization known as the "Mexican Blues,"
and became proficient in militar}- tactics.
When the civil war occurred he was engaged
for 
