The Simpsons of Rye Top, Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania

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The Simpsons

Of RYE TOP,

Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania

By

ELIZABETH SIMPSON BLADEN,
Of Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA

Press of Allen, Lane & Scott

1905

o^

PREFACE

I OFFER this story of the Simpson Family
to my ancestors as a slight token of grati-
tude for the heritage of a healthy body and
hardy soul which have enabled me to breast
the storms and gather the sunshine of seventy
years. I have followed their trail from the
waters of Chesapeake Bay to the Forks of
the Ohio, and their history from the reign of
King James to the Presidency of Theodore
Roosevelt.

Among those who have kindly facilitated
my investigations, I make grateful acknowl-
edgment to 'Col. Thomas Kennedy, President
of Ciunberland Valley Railroad ; Mr. George
W. Boyd, General Passenger Agent Pennsyl-
vania Railroad ; Col. Frank N. Barksdale, for
information of the old National Road, &c. ;
Mr. Jordan, Historical Society of Pennsyl-
vania ; the Curator of Historical Society, York,
Pa. ; Cotmcillor George Calvart Lewis, of Pitts-
burgh; Mrs. T. J. Nill, of Green Castle, Pa.;
and Miss Martha Clark, of Lancaster, Pa., for
valuable assistance.

Elizabeth Simpson Bladen.

708 South Tenth Street,
Philadelphia.

THE SIMPSONS

OF RYE TOP,

Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania

When Charles the Second was re-
stored to the throne of England, 1662,
he proclaimed a general amnesty to
the various sectaries and adherents of
the late Protector, Oliver Cromwell,
but with the astute diplomacy char-
acteristic of the "Merry Monarch," the
provisions of this amnesty were de-
layed for two years. Eminent oppo-
nents were beguiled to London only
to find that the "amnesty" was
merely symbolic; many were indicted
for treason and had their heads cut
off. Notably among these was the
Duke of Argyle, whose son had been

6 THE SIMPSONS

received graciously i)y the King and
had persuaded his father to trust to
his Majesty's clemency.

This summary vengeance on so
shining a mark greatly impressed the
old Cromwell ian soldiers. One of
these, John Simpson, who had done
gallant service for Cromwell, turned
all his property into gold and came
to the New \\\)rld with a thousand
pounds in his saddlebags. He land-
ed at New York, bought him a horse,
and rode to Albany, subsequently
prospecting through the Genessee
countr)^ with a view to buying a new
estate. From this he was deterred by
the severity of the climate and the
sight of numbers of refugees who
could find no means of earning their
bread. So he retraced his steps and
finally made his way to Maryland,
where he purchased a tract under the

OF RYE TOP. 7

charters of Lord Baltimore, in the
northwestern portion of the State,
which later was, under the survey of
English Commission, Mason and Dix-
on, assigned to the Province of Penn-
sylvania. The milestones set up by
Mason and Dixon in the reign of
Queen Anne, marked with a royal
crown, are still in good condition in
Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on the
border of the two States. At the
time of the erection of these stones
the present county, known as Frank-
lin, was included in Lancaster.

John Simpson is referred to in
genealogical and historical works as
" Indian trader," though he cultivat-
ed a great farm and had many slaves
and servants. In point of fact, all
early settlers traded with the Indians
for the lands they held, as this second
payment was security for peace. No

8 THE SIMPSOXS

doubt they also bought furs and
game, but they were in no way less
than the lords of the manor, over
which they held sway. Of this par-
ticular John Simpson it is said that
he had been a colonel in Cromwell's
army, but he sank his military title
for obvious reasons, and carried out
through life his Presbyterian conscien-
tiousness. He never allowed a dish
to be washed in his house nor a bed
to be made on Sunday ; feeding the
stock was the only work he permitted
to be done. Tradition asserts that
all his children, grandchildren, and
servants were well instructed in the
Lari/er and the Shorter Catechisms,
with such excellent results that it is
rare to find any one of the name of
Simpson in the State of Pennsylvania
who is not a Presbyterian.

His orthodoxy even affected the

OF RYE TOP. 9

animals on his estate, as it was the
habit of his house dogs to follow him
to preaching, when there was any
within ten miles, and an aged horse
named " Nasby," though no longer
ridden, would amble slowly after the
family cortege and reach the meeting
house in time for the second service.
This old Cromwellian soldier lived to
a great age and left behind him sons
and daughters, some of whom ex-
tended their possessions up toward
the first gap in the Alleghanies, near
Winchester, Va., while the main stem
pushed down through the Cumberland
Valley, locating on fertile farms,
being much given to horse and stock
breeding, and

"Gathering gear by every means that's justified
by honor,
Not for the purpose of display nor for a gay

attendant,
But for the glorious privilege of being inde-
pendent."

10 THE SIMPSOSS

A grandson of the orii^inal John
Simpson, also John Simpson, is the
next to appear in history. At the age
of eii^hteen he accompanied George
Washington, in October, 1753, when
Washington was sent by Governor
Robert Denwiddie to M. De St.
Pierre, commander of the French at
the Forks of the Ohio, with a letter
of remonstrance. On receipt of an
answer to that letter preparations for
war were recommenced and a fort
at the Forks of Ohio begun. This
was captured by the French and fin-
ished by them. It was named Fort
Duquesne, after the then Governor of
Canada. Washington at that time
was only nineteen years of age and
young Simpson eighteen. They were
surveyors, and both thoroughly fa-
miliar with the route.

History frivoles a good deal over

OF RYE TOP. 11

this seemingly juvenile exploit. One
writer says, "The Marquis Duquesne
told them to run home to their
mothers," but in point of fact the
Marquis was in Canada. Washing-
ton's commission is on record, and
in his own diary he relates how they
spent the night with Queen Alliquip-
pa and her brother, "The Half
King," at their camp, seven or eight
miles above the fort, and that the
Indians got royally drunk. John
Simpson trod the light fantastic toe
with Queen Alliquippa. This camp
was always known as Alliquippa, be-
ing subsequently the country seat of
the late Judge Wilson McCandlass.
After his death it was purchased by
the Pennsylvania Railroad, being lo-
cated directly on the banks of the
Allegheny River. I have played there
as a child with Judge McCandlass'

12 THE SIMPSOXS

children, Mar)- and Stephen, but little
dreamed at that time that one of my
own ancestors had made merry in the
same locality two centuries earlier.

Considering the vast area of the
great Middle States, one wonders
how two boys living so far apart
could come so close together, but
valleys and mountains considerably
limit the distance. Though the trav-
eler passes through four different
States to go by way of the Cum-
berland Valley Railroad from Green
Castle to \Vinchesk:r, the time con-
sumed is but four hours. In the city
of Winchester is the Indian spring
where Lord Fairfax kept his Indians,
and right through the Allegheny
Mountains is the gap which opened
the trail to the West. In the Shen-
andoah Valley two of young Simp-
son's aunts were settled with their

OF RYE TOP. 13

husbands, and the probabilities are
young Simpson visited them often;
hence, probably, the early friendship
and association of boyhood and youth
with the Father of his Country.

This John Simpson was one of
eight brothers. His father, Thomas
Simpson, had settled in Paxtang
Township, near Harrisburg, with his
mother, Sarah, and sister, Rebecca.
John was one of the executors of his
father's will, probated 21st of March,
1761. He built his homestead in
Cumberland County, and was known
as the Master of Rye Top. He was
also known as General Simpson, whose
house General Washington often vis-
ited. When the British landed at the
Head of Elk, this John Simpson took
his sons and his slaves and marched
down to aid the Americans, leaving
his harvests in the field. These were

14 THE SIMPSONS

saved by his women servants and la-
borers, under the direction of his wife,
Mart^aret Murray, whom he had mar-
ried in 1 76 1. With him on both of
these expeditions were one of his
young sons, also John Simpson, who
joined the company of Capt. James
Murray and fought at the battles of
Trenton and Princeton.

While General Washington lay with
his starving soldiers at Valley Forge,
John Simpson, the father, again took
his musket, and with his friends and
neighbors marched out to protect the
convoy of food sent by patriotic friends
in Maryland, and got it safely to
the camp.

When he died his household fur-
niture and live stock required two
weeks for the vendue. Among his
children surviving were Dr. John
Simpson, who developed Shippensburg

OF RYE TOP. 15

(see Archives), Robert Simpson, who
established the first glass industry in
the city of Pittsburgh, Mary Simpson,
who married Mr. Holmes, Hannah,
wife of Mr. Cassatt, Lydia, who mar-
ried also a Mr. Cassatt, and Isabella,
the wife of Mr. McDonald, all men of
old families and great prominence in
the State of Pennsylvania. The grand-
father of Mr. Cassatt was a French Hu-
guenot. He was elected a member of
the First Colonial Assembly, a gentle-
man of wide learning and culture.

This John Simpson, popularly
known as General, is still often re-
ferred to in the local journals of the
Cumberland Valley in connection with
sturdy opposition to Indian encroach-
ment ; always ready to take the field
as a volunteer when an armed force
was sent to rescue captives or protect
the frontier. He was the brother of

16 THE SIMPSONS

Michael Simpson, who marched with
Arnold to Ouebec. This Michael was
a man for posterity. He endowed a
churchyard near Harrisburg known as
the " Paxtang Churchyard, " and there
a great many of his kindred lie buried.
He started the fcrr)^ known as Simp-
son's, below Harrisburg, securing from
the State riparian rights ; belonged to
various societies ; married twice, had
many children, and left an estate worth
only $2000 when he died. This prob-
ably did not include the realty, and
the records of various county court
houses show numerous tracts at one
time owned by him. His descendants
moved to Huntingdon, Bellefonte, and
more northern counties.

The distribution of estates in early
days in the Cumberland \'alley was
peculiar; often the children got their
portion when they married and set

OF RYE TOP. 17

out for themselves. Thus it was cus-
tomary for the father to build for
his eldest son a house and barn ex-
actly like his own, with its due com-
plement of land, and it came to pass
that the youngest son frequently
inherited the homestead. Many of
these old homesteads, or, as they are
called, ** mansion houses," still re-
main, the stability of their construction
having defied the storms of more than
two hundred years. A marked char-
acteristic is the plain solidity of the
external stone walls in contrast to the
interior decorations. Often the man-
tel pieces, door frames, and window
frames are beautifully and elaborately
carved. These houses are rather long-
er than broad ; upper windows are
more numerous than those in the
lower stories, and a detriment to
architectural effect is the unimposing

18 THE SIMPSONS

porches which have been added to the
original edifice. These are doubtless
innovations of more modern days.

To return to John Simpson, Master
of Rye Top, whose descendants carry
on the straight line from the Crom-
wellian soldier though the collateral
branches are numerous and wide-
spread. His son Robert settled in
Pittsburgh, where he built the first
glass works and died a bachelor. His
son John studied medicine and began
practice in Maryland, where he mar-
ried lilizabeth lidward Durban Will-
iam Andrews, who was only fifteen
years old and a great heiress, having
inherited two plantations and a thou-
sand slaves. The young couple im-
mediately set free all their slaves, but
as they resided in Baltimore, so many
of the slaves followetl them that they
found it necessary to buy a farm to

OF RYE TOP. 19

maintain their dependents. Dr. John
Simpson purchased a valuable wheat
land tract, still known as "The Head
of the Spring," in the town of Ship-
pensburg, where he also bought a
city lot and built him a residence.
Dr. John Simpson lived in Shippens-
burg until his death, having done
much to develop its prosperity. He
also put money in his saddlebags and
traveled to the State of Kentucky,
where he bought ten thousand acres
of land in Greene County, which re-
mained in the family until two years
before the Civil War, when it was
sold for $10,000. A few years later it
would have been worth a hundred
thousand. The Head of the Spring
remained in the ownership of Dr.
John Simpson until his death, and
was held by his eldest son. Dr. Will-
iam Andrews Simpson, until the writer

20 THE SIMPSONS

of this article was eighteen years of
age, when it was sold for $10,000. It
is noticeable amid the vagaries of
real estate that this beautiful farm
has since then been sold for a much
smaller amount.

Dr. John Simpson left four sons
and four daui/hters. The sons were
William, Edward, David, and Robert.
Dr. William Simpson married Mary
Theresa de Beelen, and left one child,
Elizabeth Simpson, who married Ben-
jamin Rush, of Philadelphia, of whose
two daughters only one survives, Mrs.
William Camac.

Edward Simpson settled in Pitts-
burgh, where he became an eminent
member of the bar and a law partner
of Edwin M. Stanton, President Lin-
coln's able Secretary of War.

David settled in New Orleans,
where he also died a bachelor.

OF RYE TOP. 21

Dr. Robert Simpson was a physi-
cian of great repute, but never mar-
ried. Mary Holmes, Dr. Simpson's
second daughter, at the age of seven-
teen married Cornelius Darragh, one
of the most remarkable members of
the Pittsburgh bar. He was just
twenty-one when he was elected to
the State Legislature, and before he
was twenty-three, two years later, to
the State Senate, which he left to go
to Congress for two terms; was then
United States District Attorney, and
subsequently Attorney-General of the
State of Pennsylvania. At that time
the Attorney-General had the appoint-
ment of his whole three hundred
deputies. His children married: Mar-
garet, Dr. Julian Rogers, of Pitts-
burgh, and Elizabeth, Washington L.
Bladen, of Philadelphia.

Isabella Simpson married Gen.

22 THE SIMPSONS

William Hoffman, of the United States
Army. They left one dauj^hter, who
is the wife of Major-General Kobbee,
of the United States Army. The
third daughter, Louisa, survived the
whole family. In addition to her
own means, she inherited the es-
tates of her brothers, and lived with
a degree of style and elegance at
that time unusual in the city of Pitts-
burgh, driving out daily with colored
coachman and footman in livery, and
her dog seated by her side. Often
she drove herself, and ever)^ day she
took a gallop on her horse "Rocket,"
attended by her groom. She was a
splendid horsewoman, had traveled
widely, and was a most agreeable
conversationalist. In herself she con-
centrated all the traditions of the
Simpson Cromwellian soldier. Her
dog "Cora" accompanied her to the

OF RYE TOP. 23

First Presbyterian Church every Sun-
day and sat in her pew beside her.
She had five dogs, to each of whom
she left a weekly income. She also
pensioned her colored servants and
bequeathed $5000 to her cook, Hettie
Jackson, descendant of a slave of the
same name, and provided for her sis-
ters' children and grandchildren. She
endowed four lots in the Allegheny
Cemetery for the interment of the
deceased members of her family.
Never was there a woman so strong
in her principles, love of family, and
her native State. A characteristic an-
ecdote told of her relates how, when
a fashionable woman was expatiating
on the marriage of a pretty girl. Miss
Louisa said: —

"How ridiculous to make such an
ado about a girl whose father was
only an old Irishman!"

24 THE SIMPSOXS

The lady replying: "Well, most of
us arc descended from some old Irish-
man or Dutchman."

••Not all, thank God!" retorted
Miss Simpson. *Tf you want to see
one, look at me, the sixth generation
of native-born Pennsylvanian. There
is a man still living who was at the
vendue of my grandfather, John Simp-
son, which it took two weeks to
dispose of his stables and household
possessions."

In early life she was engaged to
an officer in the United States Army,
but discarded him when, on the ap-
proach of the Civil War, he took sides
with the South. Her brother. Dr.
Robert Simpson, having at his own
expense raised and equipped a com-
pany, Miss Louisa devoted herself in
providing for the comfort of the en-
listed men ; and when this company

OF RYE TOP. 25

was cut to pieces at Pittsburgh Land-
ing, she took upon herself the work of
sympathy and solace to their families.

Yet the writer of this article re-
members when a child how this wo-
man of heroic mold used to wander
in the woods and play with her, tak-
ing acorns for tea cups, and crimson
maple leaves for dishes, embroider-
ing with delicious fancy those magic
hours. In her will she forbade any
of her household furniture or personal
possessions being sold, leaving them
to be divided between three nieces.
The share of one niece of personal
clothing amounted to twelve trunks
full of apparel.

Hannah Cassatt, the youngest
daughter, married Colonel Card, of
the United States Army.

Of the daughters of Gen. John
Simpson, of Rye Top, the eldest

26 THE SIMPSONS

married Mr. Holmes, of Baltimore.
They left one son, Robert Holmes,
who moved to St. Louis, married
there, but died without issue.

Hannah married David Cassatt, of
York, Pa. One of their daughters
married Mr. Coleman. She left four
daughters and two sons. The second
daughter married Mr. Samuel Small,
the millionaire of York. They left no
children.

Lydia, the beauty of the family,
married also a Mr. Cassatt. They had
two children, Robert Cassatt, who
married Miss Johnston, and Mary,
who married Dr. Gardiner, who was
not only a physician, but also a
wealthy owner of mines and 'mills.

Isabella, Gen. John Simpson's
youngest daughter, married Mr. Mc-
Donald, a successful lawyer of early
days in Pittsburgh. She had no chil-

OF RYE TOP. 27

dren, but her stepdaughter Martha
married a Mr. Smith, and their son
married a Miss Gardner, a niece of
Isabella S. McDonald.

The object of this paper is to trace
distinctly the direct descendants of
John Simpson, known as the General,
and through him back to the Crom-
wellian soldier, for which reason it
has been necessary to throw out all
the collateral branches. Many of
these are distinguished and wealthy
men and women, but their great num-
ber of ramifications make the names
too confusing for classification. There
are the Culbertsons, who went as
missionaries to China, where the
daughters married great merchants in
Canton.

Of the great-grandchildren of Gen.
John Simpson there are only five
surviving. These are Alexander J.

28 THE SIMPSOSS

Cassatt. President of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroad, Mar)^ Cassatt, the
celebrated artist, J. Gardner Cassatt,
Isabella S. Hoffman, wife of Major-
General Kobbee, and Elizabeth Simp-
son Bladen. The children of these are
the great-great grandchildren of Gen-
eral Simpson, of Rye Top.

There are now living of the great-
great-grandchildren of Gen. John
Simpson, in the direct line from the
Cromwellian soldier. Mrs. Mary D.
Ritchie, widow of George Ritchie
and sole sur\-iving child of Elizabeth
Simpson Bladen, wife of Washington
L. Bladen, Mrs. George Calvert Lewis,
William Rush Rogers, childr«<n of Mrs.
Julian Rogers, who was a daughter
of Mar)^ Simpson and Cornelius Dar-
ragh, the children of Mrs. Isabella Kob-
bee, daughter of Isabella Simpson,
wife of Gen. William Hoffman — names

OF RYE TOP. 29

and number of these unknown — Mrs.
William Camac, daughter of Elizabeth
Simpson and Benjamin Rush.

The children of Alexander J. Cassatt,
two sons and two daughters, three chil-
dren of J. Gardner Cassatt, a son and
two daughters, children of Mrs. Smith,
daughter of Mrs. Mary Gardiner,
daughters of Lydia Simpson, daughter
of Gen. John Simpson, of Rye Top.

Robert Cassatt, Esq., married Miss
Catharine Johnston, an heiress, and
one of the most accomplished women
of her time. The Cassatts were prom-
inent men in Pennsylvania before the
American Revolution. Their names
will be found in the records of the
Assemblies.

Mrs. Margaret C. Rogers and Mrs.
Elizabeth S. Bladen are daughters of
the late Cornelius Darragh and Mary
H. Simpson. Cornelius Darragh was

30 THE SIMPSONS

one of the most prominent men in
Western Pennsylvania. He served in
the Assembly and in the Senate, was
United States District Attorney and
Attorney-General of Pennsylvania.
His great-L^randfather was one of the
early settlers, and his father served in
the American Revolution. John Dar-
ragh, Cornelius' father, was one of the
first Burgesses of the city of Pittsburgh,
1815. Cornelius Darragh's mother was
Peggy Calhoun, and with her cousin.
Gen. William Robinson, were the first
white children born west of the Alle-
gheny River. Gen. \\\ Robinson was
the first President of the Pennsylvania
Railroad. Cornelius Darragh secured
from the Legislature the franchises of
the extension of the IV' nn sylvan ia
Railroad to Pittsburgh from Harris-
burg. He also secured for the West-
ern University a great tract of land

OF RYE TOP. 31

from the State, which included the
vast oil fields. He graduated from
the Western University at the age of
seventeen, studied law and was ad-
mitted to practice, and elected to the
State Assembly at twenty-one. He
was a fine classical scholar and a
man of infinite wit and humor. The
writer of this article, his youngest
daughter, had the benefit of his con-
stant companionship from three years
of age, and can only exclaim: "Oh,
my father, I shall never see your
magnificent mind and charming per-
sonality again."

The inciter to the writing of this
paper on the Simpson family de-
scended from the Cromwellian soldier
was my maternal grandmother, Eliza-
beth William Andrews Edward Dur-
ban Simpson. All her silver was
marked with four letters, and her

32 THE SIMPSONS

two eldest sons were named William
Andrews and Hdward Durban, trib-
utes to her father and grandfather,
who had left her great estates.

Contrary to the usual fashion of
wives, she was devoted to her hus-
band's family and children, and nar-
rated to me the outlines of their
history. Late in life I verified these
relations by visiting the old localities,
inspecting court records, and decipher-
ing tombstones. The characteristic
of this family is that it can be traced
in an unbroken line from the first
founder in the State of Penns)lvania
and that its main branch held its
prominence and prosperity through
seven generations.

They were all horsemen, fond of
land, and lived with unstinted hos-
pitality. The oldest surviving great-
grandchild is Elizabeth S. Bladen.

OF RYE TOP. 33

The most distinguished survivor,
Alexander J. Cassatt, a man whose
reputation both in Europe and Amer-
ica is only second to those personal
qualities which attract the attachment
and admiration of those who know
him intimately. The brave heart and
the open hand are his direct inherit-
ance from the Cromwellian soldier.

Alexander Johnston Cassatt, son of
Robert Cassatt, son of Lydia Simpson
and D Cassatt, who was a daugh-
ter of John Simpson, Master of Rye
Top, son of John Simpson, son of
Thomas Simpson, son of John the
Cromwellian soldier who settled in
Maryland (later Pennsylvania by run-
ning of survey) in 1664.

Alexander Johnston Cassatt is the
seventh generation of unbroken de-
scent in the direct line from his Crom-
wellian ancestor, authenticated by

34 THE SIMPSOXS.

church records, tombstone inscriptions,
court house register of wills and real
estate transfers, and State papers from
Winchester to Ilarrisbun^ throus/hout
the counties, and from Philadelphia to
Pittsburgh. Mr. Cassatt's children
are : —

Edward Buchanan Cassatt, married
Miss Emily Phillips ;

Katharine Kelso Cassatt Hutchinson
(Dr. James P. Hutchinson), died April
nth, 1905;

Robert Kelso Cassatt (married Miss
Minnie Fell) ;

Elsie Foster Cassatt Stewart (Mr.
W. P. Stewart, Baltimore), and three
grandchildren, daughter of Edward
Buchanan Cassatt, son of \V. P. Stew-
art, named A. J. C. Stewart, and son
of Robert Kelso Cassatt, also named
after his grandfather, Alexander John-
ston Cassatt.

DFO \B m^^

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