UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library F 157.C4T48 Chester County and Its people. 3 1924 005 870 112 ^ J DATE DUE biifei^ Wpww» ^Micmta mmBfli'l JIMilHMWP% % -.*<:I *n*f"^ mB"^ •• > liilurli 1 nn iraiy n CAVLORO PfttNTEDINU.S A Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924005870112 CHESTER COUNTY AND , ^ , ITS PEOPLE Of all the things which man can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful and worthy are the things we call books— THOMAS CARLYLE EDITED BY W. W. THOMSON ILLUSTRATED CHICAGO AND NEW YORK: THE UNION HISTORY COMPANY 1898 PRnPACe. THE Publishers hefewith present to their friends in Chester County this fine volume of local history. Upon examination it will be found full of interesting matter concerning the county, and will be accepted as a standard contribution to the history of the State. The Pub- lishers have drawn freely from every available source, giving due credit therefor, and gratefully acknowledge their indebt- edness to the press throughout the county and to the owners of private libraries and rare and valuable documents. In a work of this character, more or less hurriedly prepared, it has been found impracticable to avoid mistakes; but the Publishers, as is their custom, stand ready to correct, after notification, all errors by special errata sheet to be sent to every subscriber to be pasted in the book. We cordially thank our friends and patrons for their encouragement and support. ILLUSTRATIONS. Octagonal School-house 65-66 View of Coatesville 119-120 William Wayne 137-138 Josiah Hoopes 173-174 H. H. Gilkyson 209-210 Bayard Taylor 227-228 Wayne MacVeagh 227-228 Anthony Wayne 227-228 Galusha Pennypacker 227-228 T. Buchanan Read 227-228 Unveiling of Paoli Monument 245-246 General Lafayette 263-264 Main Building, Normal School 281-282 Group of Buildings, Lincoln University 299-300 P. M. Sharpless 317-318 A. P. Reid 335-336 G. M. Philips 371-372 A. Gibbons 389-390 RoxBOROUGH Home for Women 407-408 Charlton Lewis 425-426 H. A. Beale 443-444 J. A. M. Passmore 461-462 M. S. Way 479-480 Charles Huston 497-498 G. G. Groff 515-516 J. S. Futhey 533-534 Joseph B. Jacobs 587-588 J. B. Everhart 605-606 Gilbert Cope 670-671 Jesse C. Green 702-703 Birmingham Meeting-house 766-767 L. G. McCauley 878-879 111 TABLE OP CONTENTS. CHAPTEE I. PAGE. Situation of the County 51 Area and Boundary 52 Appearance of the Country, Early 52 Varieties of Trees 53 Early Events on the Atlantic Coast 54-57 Attenapts on the Delaware, Swedes' 58 Efforts of the Dutch 60 The English Colonists 61 Special Court Held at New Castle 61 First Koad Law 62 Upland and Chester Counties 62-63 A rrival of William Penn 63 Three Counties Fornaed 63-61 Original Extent of Chester County 64-65 First County-seat and Courts 64-65 The Dutch Again Take Possession 68 Final English Ascendency 68 First Legislative Assembly 69 Extinguishment of the Indian Title 69 Settlers of the County, Their Nationality 69 The Quakers, the Welsh, etc 70 Oldest House Removed 70 Assimilation of Early Names 71 Drainage of Chester County 71-73 Sketch of the Boundary Controversy 73-80 Mason and Dixon's Line 82-89 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS. v PAGE. The Circular Boundary Line 89-95 Delaware County Formed 96 CHAPTER II. The Indians 99 The Original People, Lenni-Lenape 99 Name Delaware Given Them 99 Their Trails, Villages and Customs 100-111 Other Tribes Residing Here 100 Warrant of Survey 103 The Famous Treaty of William Penn 104-105 Facts More or Less Obscure 106 Earliest Deeds to Penn 106-110 Location of Indian Villages and Trails Ill Indian Implements and Utensils 113-114 Forts and Other Earthworks 114 An Indian Alarm 115 Status of the Delawares 116 Olaims of the Indians 117 Proceedings of the Assembly 118-127 The Newlin Claim Settled 127 The Last of the Indians 128-129 CHAPTER III. ■Geology 133 Primary Stratified Rocks 133 Silurian-Cambrian Limestones 134 Potsdam Sandstone 134 "^i TABLE OF. CONTENTS. PAGE. South Valley Hill Eocks 134-135 The Five Geological Sections 136 The Southern Gneiss Eegion 136 The Mica Slates 141 The Valley Region 141 The Northern Gneisses , 143 The Red Sandstone Eegion 144 The Mesozoic Boundary 145 Ancient Features and Markings 146 Minerals of the County 147-J.57 CHAPTER IV. AVelsh and Other Settlers 161 Early Prominence of the Welsh 161-162 The Welsh Warrant 162-63 Purchases of That People : 164-66 Settlers of Merion Township 167 Struggle to Maintain the Barony 168 Sales to Other Settlers 170 Settlement of the Townships Considered 167 iNames of Prominent Families 175-80 Lsetitia Penn Manor 179 Sales Therefrom 183 Boundary of the Welsh Tract 186 The Indenture of Servants 187 CHAPTER V. The Eevolutionary War I93 The French War of 1744 193 TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii PAGE. Organization of the Associators 194 Events Preceding the Eevolution 194-98 Circular Issued Calling People Together 199 Action of the Meeting at Chester 199 Meeting of the Committees 200 Proceedings of Congress 201 Other Meetings and Conventions 202 Military Exercises Practiced 203 Committee of Safety 204 Officers Chosen and Arms Provided 204-6 Powder and Lead 206 Military Laws and Regulations 207 Provincial Army Formed 208 Chester County Troops 208 Hardships Endured 211 Cannon Cast in This Vicinity 212 Number Capable of Bearing Arms 212 Substitutes Hired 213 Battle of Brandywine 214-19 Fight at Birmingham Meeting-house 219 Lafayette Wounded 220 Other Engagements 222 Grey's Attack Upon Wayne 223 The Paoli Massacre 225 Howe Occupies Philadelphia 225 Depredations of the British Troops 226-32 Action Against the Tories 231 Sufferings at Valley Forge 233-35 Germantown 233 Severe Measures for Relief 234 Washington's Opinion of the Soldiers 236 The Various Hospitals 236 Incidents of Local Interest 238 vm TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. Military Status of the County 239 British Eavages in Chester County 240 Surrender of Cornwallis 241 Patriots, Tories and Neutrals _ 242 Subsequent Action of the Patriots 243-47 List of Fines and Forfeitures 248-49 List of Militia Officers 249-51 The Tory's Position OonsideBed 251-54 First Monument at Paoli 254-55 The Monument of 1877 255-57 The Whisky Insurrection 257-61 Reception of General Lafayette 261-66 The Lafayette Monument 266-68 The McClellan Monument 268 CHAPTER VI. War of 1812 and Mexican War 271 First Chester County Volunteers 271 The Ninety-seventh Regiment 271 Its Commissioned Officers 271-72 Encampment at Kennett Square 272 The Assemblage at Marcus Hook 272 General Officers from this County 273 The Companies and Their Captains 273 The Mexican War 274 The Quota from Pennsylvania 274 Names of Several from this County 274 CHAPTER VII. The Great Rebellion 277 Preliminary Facts and Dates 277-78 TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX PAGE. News of the Fall of Fort Sumter 278 First Great War Meetings 278 The Earliest Volunteers 278-79 Companies Organized and Officered 279 The Entire County Aroused 279-80 Numerous Companies Organized 280-84 Phoenixville Iron Works 284 Location of Camp Wayne 284 Efforts to Kaise the Ninety-seventh Eegiment 285-86 Its Departure and Engagements 286-87 Central and Other Aid Societies 287-88 New Calls for Volunteers 289 Continued Enlistments 290 The Enrollment and Draft 291-92 Conscientious Scruples Against War 291-92 Invasion of Pennsylvania Threatened 291-92 Drafted Men and Substitutes 292-93 A Colored Squad liaised Here 294 Union Leagues Organized 294-95 Military Keceptions 295 Lee's Invasion of the State 296 Companies Formed in this Emergency 296-97 Three Months' Men Called for 297 Wounded at Gettysburg Cared for 298 County and Other bounty 298-301 Veteranization 301 Another Invasion Threatened 301-02 Continued Recruiting to Fill Calls i 302 News of the Fall of Eichmond 302 Surrender of General Lee 303 The Glad Tidings Celebrated 302-03 Gloom Over Lincoln's Assassination 303 Soldiers Furnished by the County 304 Several Distinguished Officers 305 X TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. PAGE. The Spanish-American War ^^^ Cause of the War 311-12 Its Formal Declaration '^^^ The Quota of Pennsylvania ^^2 Departure of Cornwell's Company 312 The Company's Eoster 312-13 Company I of the Sixth 313 Company D from Phoenixville 314 Copies of the Muster EoUs 313-17 Company L, Colored 316 Other Squads and Companies 319-22 Soldiers' Aid Societies 320 Battery C, National Guard 321 Major-General Galusha Pennypacker 322-24 CHAPTEE IX. Slavery 327 Its Early Existence in this State 327 The Enslavement of Indians 327 Law Prohibiting the Latter 327-28 Misgivings of the Indians 328 Significance of Their Wampum Belts 328-29 First Negro Slaves 330 Mennonites and Quakers Against Slavery 330 The Anti-slavery Law of 1780 330-31 Motives in Freeing the Slaves 331-34 Slaves Registered 334-40 Slavery Ceased to Exist in the County 339 Slaveholders in the County 334-40 Welsh and Quakers thus Compared 340 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xi PAGE. Colonization Societies Formed Here 340-41 Redemptioners and Indentured Servants 341-42 Form of Apprentice's Indenture 343 Kidnapping 344 The Underground Eailroad 345-48 Respectability of the Colored People 349 CHAPTER X. Education 355 Inducements Held Out to Settlers 356 The First Schoolmaster 356-57 Traveling Teachers 357 First Teaching in Chester County j .358 Friends Were Pioneers in Education 358-59 Extract from the "Great Law" 359 Compulsory Act of the Second Assembly 359 Early Schools Started Here 360-61 Recommendations of the Yearly Meeting 361 Fagg's Manor Classical School 361-64 New London Academy 364 Nottingham Academy 364 Brandywine Academy 365 Upper Octoraro Classical School 365 Other Schools 365-67 Birmingham Classical School 366 The Friends' Boarding School 367-78 West Chester Academy 379 West Chester State Normal School 380 Its Faculty 383 George M. Philips 384 xu TABLE OF CONTENTS. ' PAGE. Other Good Schools 385 Mrs. Phelps' Young Ladies' School 386-87 Villa Maria Academy 387 Kimber's School 387-88 Miscellaneous Schools 388-96 Ashmun Institute 396 Ercildoun Seminary 398 Penn High School 400 First Common Schools , 401-02 Early Laws on Education 403 Poor Children Provided for 403-04 Law of 1834 404-05 Position of this County 406-09 Non-accepting Districts in 1848 409-10 Laws of 1849, 1854, 1855 and 1857 410-12 County Superintendents 412 Statistics in the '60's 413 High and Graded Schools 414-15 Temperance and Directors' Associations 415 Teachers' Associations 416-17 Circulating Library 418 The Massachusetts System , . . . . 419 Miss Susan Gorgas 421-22 CHAPTEE XI. Politics 427 Form of Penn's Government 427 Assembly Met in this County 427 Composition of the Assembly 427-28 Chester County Eepresentation 428 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xiii PAGE. Members of the Legislature 428-42 First and Second Congresses 442 Congressional Representation 442-51 The Congressional Districts 445-4& John Morton, the Signer 446-48 United States Senator 448 Prominent Politicians 451-5& Form of Government Changed 458 The Powers of the Councils 458-59 The Eevolutionary Convention 459 The Provincial Conference 460 Constitution of 1776 460 Xllhester County Members of Council 460 Members During the Eevolution 463 Terms of Service in the Assembly 463 Members of the State Senate 464 County Offices 465 Prothonotary 46& Registers of Wills 466 Recorders of Deeds 467-68 Clerks of Court 469-70 Sheriffs 470-73 Coroners 473-74 Commissioners 474-78 County Treasurers 478-81 Prohibition Convention 481-82 Republican Convention 482-83 Population of the County, 1890 483-8ft ^iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTEK XII. PAGE. Eoads 489 Indian Trails Were the First 489 Passage Ways Ordered Built 489 Overseers of Boads 490 Petitions for Many Koads 490-95 Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike 495-96 Other Turnpikes 496 Plank and Macadamized Eoads 499-500 Eailroads 500 Old Style Teaming 501 The First Kailroad 502 The Canal Projected '. 503 Early Eailway Experiments 503 Completion of the Columbia Eoad 503-04 Proceedings at West Chester in 1830 504 Eush for the Stock 505 The Eoad in Operation 505-06 Eailway Improvement and Manipulation 507-08 The Second Eoad Projected 508-09 Its Eventual Completion 509-10 The Pennsylvania Eailroad 510-13 Brandywine and Waynesburg Eailroad 513 Wilmington and Northern Eailroad 513 Other Eoads . * 512-19 Philadelphia and Delaware Eailroad 514 Pickering Valley Eailroad 514 Perkiomen Eailroad 514-15 Philadelphia and Chester Valley Eailroad 517 Philadelphia and Eeading Eailroad 517 Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Eailroad 517-18 West Chester Street Eailway 518 Philadelphia, Castle Eock and West Chester Eailway 519 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xv CHAPTER XIII. PAGE. The Courts 523 First Court after Penn's Arrival 523 The Tribune of Peacemakers 523 Several Interesting Early Cases 524-25 First Court of Equity 525 First Orphans' Court 525 Jails and Court-houses 526 Judicial Districts in 1790 526 The State Redistricted 527 The Elective System 527 Judge Futhey 527-28-32 Court of Oyer and Terminer 528-29 Distinguished Members of the Bar 529-40 Deputy Attorneys-General 540-41 Punishment of Crime 542-45 The Goss-Udderzook Murder Case 544-45 Other Eminent Lawyers 545-58 Admissions to the County Bar 558-66 Law Library Association 566-67 CHAPTER XIV. Mining and Manufacturing 573 First Lead and Silver Mined 573 Bogus Coins Manufactured 573-75 Iron Ore Early Mined 576 The Furnaces and Forges 576-77 The Restrictive Law of 1750 577 Slitting and Rolling-mills 577 Other Iron and Steel Mines 578-80 XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. Famous Valley Forge 580 Cast-steel Made 581 Many Iron and Steel Mills Named 581-84 Location of the Best Ore-banks 584-90 Lead and Copper Ore Located 590 Marble and Limestone 592 Graphite, Chrome and Corundum 593 Clocks Manufactured * 594 Saw and Grist-mills .595 Carding, Spinning and Weaving 596-97 Miscellaneous Industries 596-98 The Platinum Works , 598-99 Other Iron and Steel Works 594-99 Boiler Works 599-604 Other Manufacturing Enterprises * 604-25 Abraham Gibbons 625 CHAPTER XV. The Press and Literature 629 The First Weekly Newspaper. 629 Other Early Ventures > 629 The First Editors and Publishers 630-31 Characteristics of the First Papers 629-31 Later Newspapers and Editors 632-34 Politics of the Newspapers 629-40 Failures and Successes 629-35 Successors to the First Papers 636 Contests of the Partisan Weeklies 630-39 Newspapers of Recent Dates 639-56 Other Periodicals 630-56 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xvii PAGE. Literary Ability of the Editors 630-56 The Local News 653 Literature in Chester County 656 Writers, Early and Late 656-78 CHAPTER XVI. The Medical Profession 681 First Society in the County 681 Its Officers and By-Laws 681-82 Fee-bill Adopted 682 Meetings and Proceedings 682-83 The Society in Later Years 683-84 Sketches of the Early Practitioners 684 Their Scientific and Professional Attainments 684 The Various Schools Eepresented 685 Physicians of a Later Date 690-711 Their Membership in Societies 685-708 Influence of the Local Organizations 686-711 Dentistry 704-11 Its Eminent Practitioners 704-11 Dental Societies 710 Homeopathic Society 711 CHAPTER XVII. Banking and Insurance 715 National Bank of Chester County 715 Acts of the Assembly 715 2 xviii TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. Veto of the Governor , 716 Stock Subscribed 716 Form of Early Bank-note 717 Statistics of the Bank 718-19 Its Officers 719-20 Methods of Transacting Business 720 First National Bank 721-22 Private Banking 722-24 Other National Banks 724-26 Other Private Bankers 724-26 Savings Institutions 727 Other Banking Houses 728-31 Insurance 732 The Various Local Companies 732-35 Their Officers and Methods 732-35 OHAPTEE XVIII. Religion 739 Churches Were Very Early Established j. . 739 Names of the First Ministers 739-40 First Meeting-houses 740-41 The Society of Friends 741-61 Their Congregations and Doctrines 742-44 Importance of Their Work 745-60 Their Monthly Meetings, Where Held 746-60 Their Meeting-houses 745-60 The Eise of the Hicksites 756-59 The Catholics 761-67 Their First Church in the State 761 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xix PAGE. Antagonism to Them 761-63 Chester County Catholics 762 Their Later Churches, Schx)ols, etc 763-67 The Presbyterians 767-82 Oldest Church in the County 768-82 The Various Congregations 768-82 Their Pastors and Buildings 769-82 The Baptists 783-801 Churches of the Associations 783-801 Early Pastors and Meeting-houses 784-85 Later Organizations and Statistics 786-90 Other Baptists 798-801 The Methodists 802-28 Their Buildings and Congregations 802-28 The Pastors, Statistics 804-28 The Circuits 806-08 The Episcopalians 829-45 The Eectors and Their Followers .' 830-45 Eev. Mr. Ussher 839-45 The Lutheran Churches 845 Their Statistics 847-53 The Bef ormed Churches 854 The Mennonites 858 Disciples of Christ 858 Christian Church 859 CHAPTEE XIX. Towns and Townships 863 Birmingham Township 863 Bradford Township 864 XX TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. Brandywine Township 865 Charlestown Townsliip 865 The Manor of Bilton 867 Cain Township 867 Downington 869 The Coventries 871 Easttown Township 871 •Goshen Township 872 West Chester 873-904 Marshall S. Way 893 The Jacobs Family 894 Chester County Hospital 897-901 Masonic Lodges 901-03 J. C. Smith Memorial Home 903-04 The Epileptic Hospital and Colony Farm 904-05 Tallowfield Township 905 Honey brook and Other Townships 906 Borough of Honey brook 906-07 Hamorton 907 Kennett Township 907 Kennett Square 908 Bayard Taylor Memorial Library 910 London Britain Township 910 liondonderry and Londongrove Townships 911 West Grove Borough 912-13 Avondale Borough 913-14 Marlborough Township 914 N antmeal Township 915 New London Township 915 New Garden Township 916 Newlin Township 917-18 Nottingham Township 919-20 Oxford Borough and Township 920-21 TABLE OF CONTENTS. xxi PAGE. Pocopson Township 922-23 Penn and Pennsburj- Townships 923-24 Pikeland Townsliip 924-26 Sadsbury Township 926 Atglen 927-28 Parkersburg- 928-29 Coatesville 929-35 Schuylldll Township 935 Phoenixville 936-43 Thornbury Townshij) 943 Tredyffrin Township 943 Uwchlan Township 944-45 Valley Township 946 Vincent Township 946-48 Wallace Township 948 Warwick Township 948-49 Westtown Township 949 Willistown Township 950 Whiteland Township 950 Valley Forge 951-53 CHAPTER XX. Agriculture 957 Importance of the Subject Admitted 957 Extract from Message to the Council 957-58 Place of Agriculture 958 Early Size of Farms 958 The Soil and Crops * r 959 A Eeaping Incident 959-60 The Bally Mowing-machine 960-61 XXII TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE. The Cope-Hoopes Mowing-machine 960-61 Hay-rakes Invented 961 Sickles and Cradles 962 Threshing-machines Invented 962-63 Important Agricultural Exhibits 964 The Agricultural Society 965 Exhibitions, Premiums, etc 966 Ground Bought by the Society*. 966 Officers of the Society 966-68 Model and Experimental Farm 967 Patrons of Husbandry 968-69 Dairy Interests of the County 969 The Shipping of Milk 970 Creameries 970-71 Butter-making 971-72 The Milling Business 972-73 Decay of Industries 973-74 The Growing of Carnations 974-75 County Best Pitted for What? 975 The Bearing of Stock 975-76 John A. M. Passmore 976 Nurseries and Green-houses 976-77 Fruit Trees and Shrubbery 977 Botanical Gardens 977-79 Work of Humphrey Marshall 979 Excellence of the County Products , 979 Other Advantages Enjoyed Here 980 Statistics of 1890 981 > THE BRANDYWINE. By Hon. James B. Bverhart. How beautifully glides tbe Brandy wine! On and forever from dawn to decline- Under tlie bridges and arches of trees, Gilding the landscape and cooling the breeze, Parting the pastures and swelling their stores. Flowering, perfuming the sinuous shores. Glossing the squirrel disporting above. Sweetening the tanager's carol of love. How beautifully flows the Brandy wine! Laving the limbs of the indolent kine. Kissing the sedges and smoorhing the stones. Charming the air with its murmuring tones, Bord'ring the cottage ensconced in the vale, Whitening the wheat for the garner and flail, Shaking the mill with its slumberous sounds. And feeding the forge as it smokes and pounds. How beautifully streams the Brandy wine! Slowly or swift with its silvery shine. Under the cliffs* where traditional fame Pictures the plunge of the desperate dame. Rounding the hollowt where sunbeams illume AVith changeable gleams the arboreous gloom, Nearing the lodge of the Indian Maid,t Lingering alone where her fathers strayed. How solemnly surges the Brandywine! Armies of nations contesting its line. Foreigners fording its turbulent flood. Signal guns distantly pealing their thud- Column on column, heroic with zeal. Waving their pennants and flashing their steel. Trampling the rushes and climbing the bank, Startling their foemen, assailing their flank. How solemnly surges the Bradywine! Marking with crimson its course serpentine- Forces reserved closing in from afar. Scaling with fury the ridges of war. Cannon exploding with terrible roar, Dark'ning the heavens and rocking the shore. Squadrons of troopers o'ersweeping the plain, Regiments recoiling, retreating or slain. XXIII XXIV THE BBANDYWINE. How solemnly surges the Brandy wine! Teeming with many a sorrowful sign- Heroes and horses, distorted and torn, Bloated and dead, on its surface upborne. Wounded ones writhing and wailing for aid, Fragments and missiles o'er hillock and glade. Havoc and horror, disaster and night Palling the scenery and quenching the^fight. How exultingly leaps the Brandy wine! Welcoming Peace with her features divine. Bearing the olive, and pouring her horn Over the region so*smitten and shorn. Causing the barrens to bloom as the rose. Soothing the passions of rage to repose, Blessing the labors of genius and art. Rearing the altar and crowding the mart. How complacently pours the Brandy wine! Voicing its sounds in songs crystalline- Orders abolished and merit secure, Fortune unfolding her gates to the poor. Science displaying the secrets of time, Yoking the forces of nature sublime. Progress and weal with the country allied. And Glory adorning h'er banner of pride. How beautifully rolls the Brandy wine! Hast'ning to mingle itself in the brine. Water fowls dipping their wings in its crest. Swimmers fomenting its waves Into yest, Holiday barks sailing gaily along. Freighted with frolic and graces and song. Fishermen watching the tremulous line. And dreamers in quest of the Muses' shrine. In the haunted dells of the Brandywine. *Deb( rail's Rock is so called, says the story, from a disappointed girl of that name, who destroyed herself by leaping from it. •fDungeon Hollow is the name of a picturesque turn of the stream near Paint- er's Bridge. iludian Hannah was the last of the Lenape tribe. She lived in a hut near the Brandywine long after her people had disappeared. CHAPTER 1. PHYSICAL FEATURES, Chester County and Its People. CHAPTER I. LOCATION AND AREA TIMBER AND DRAINAGE THE ROYAL CHARTERS EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES THE FIRST SETTLERS — COLONI- ZATION COMPANIES LAND CONTROVERSIES COUNTIES OR- GANIZED ORIGINAL EXTENT OF THE COUNTY COUNTY SEAT THE SWEDES, WELSH AND QUAKERS THE BOUNDARY CONTROVERSY. CHESTER C0U:N'TY, Pennsylvania, is situated in the soutli- eastern part of the State. It is in the form of an irregular oblong, with its greatest length, from northeast to southwest, and with no boundary corresponding to the cardinal directions, except the southern, which runs nearly east and west, separating it from Maryland and being the famous Mason and Dixon's line. A por- tion of the southeast boundary is the section of a circle, separating the county from the State of Delaware, and the other portion of the southeast boundary is Delaware County, Pennsylvania, which was once a part of Chester County. Montgomery County bounds it on the northeast, the two counties being separated from each other by the Schuylkill Eiver. On the northwest it is bounded by Berks County and Lancaster County, the latter extending from Berks County down to the State of Maryland. The county lies between 39 degrees 42 minutes and 40 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, and between 75 degrees 15 minutes and 76 degrees 15 minutes west longitude from Greenwich, Eng- 51 52 CHESTER COUNTY land, and between 55 minutes and 1 degree 40 minutes east longi- tude from the Gapitol building at Washington, District of Colum- bia. In Maryland the counties which border it are Newcastle, Delaware and Cecil. The line of the Pennsylvania Eailroad pass- ing through the county from east to west is. thirty miles long. The extreme length of the county from north to south is thirty- six miles; its northern boundary is fifteen miles long; its north- eastern twenty-one miles long; its southeastern, eighteen miles; its southern, thirty miles, and its western border line twenty- eight miles, so that its entire periphery is 112 miles in length. The area of the county is equal to 763 square miles, or 488,320 acres. It has a gently rolling surface, there being within its limits no considerable elevations, the highest point on any railroad pass- ing through it being 750 feet above the level of the sea, and its greatest depression 200 feet above the same level. Originally this county was covered with timber, the principal varieties being the oalc, hickory, walnut, sycamore and poplar. The condition of the forests when first visited by white men can hardly be conceived. The woods were quite free from underbrush and the ground was covered with a short, thick, nutritious grass. The trees were some distance apart, the lower limbs were high above the ground, and it was a comparatively easy matter to ride on horseback anywhere through the woods. The forests were simply magnificent, and many men would no doubt ride to-day a hundred miles on horseback to see such a sight. This condition of things would probably have lasted many years had not the Englishman come in to occupy the land; for the Swedes, who took the country as they found it, occupied the meadow and open lauds along the rivei's, never attempting to clear the woods of trees. Sidney George Fisher says : — "In notliing is the difference in nationality so distinctly shown. The Dutchman builds trading posts and lies in his ship to collect the furs. The g entle Swede settles on the soft, rich meadow lands; his cattle wax fat and his barns are full of hay. The AND ITS PEOPLE. S3 French enter the forests, sympathize with their inhabitants, and turn half savage to pl ease them. All alike bow before the wilder- ness and accept it as a fixed fact. But the Englishman destroys it. There is even something significant in the way his old charters gave him the land straight across America from sea to sea. He grasped at the continent from the beginning, and but for him the oak and the pine would have triumphed and the prairies still been in possession of the Indian and the buffalo." The various kinds of trees that grew here in the early day, Avhen the forest was in its primeval state, are mentioned by William Penn, in a letter dated January 9, 1683, to the Duke of Ormond, then Viceroy of Ireland. Penn said : ^' The land is generally good, well watered and not so thici c of wood as I imagined. There are also m any open places that have been old Indian fields. The trees that grow here -are the mulberry (white and red), walnut (black and gray), hickory, pop- lar, ce-dar, cypress, chestnut, ash, sassafras, gum, pine, spruce, oak (black, white, red, Spanish, chestnut and swamp), which latter has a leaf like a willow and is most lasting." That some of these trees grew to great size is shown by the fact that previous to December 31, 1897 , on which day it was blown down in a storm, there was an ash tree growing on the farm of John B. Ralston in West Vincent Township which was one of the largest in its section of the county. It was t welv e f eet in circumference at the base, was clear of limbs for fifty-nin e feet, and just below the first fork was seven feet in circumference. To the next limb above this it was thirty-five fe et, making a straight shaft of ninety-three feet with but one limb. In 1895 this tree was p hotographed by Charles S. Bradford , of West Chester, for the Pennsylvania Forestry Association , and was then thought to be the finest tree in the county. Early events in the settlement of the Atlantic coast are here briefly related for the purpose of comparison of dates, in order that the reader may properly place the first settlement of what later 54 CHESTER COUNTY became Chester County among other movements of the kind. The first settlement in Virginia was made at Jamestown in 1607, and in 1609 the famous navigator, Henry Hudson, an Englishman in the service of the Dutch East India Company, discovered the great river which has, for most of the time since then, borne his name, and which at other times has been, or rather was called, the North Kiver, the present Delaware River being called, to distin- guish it, the "South Eiver." The bay into which the Delaware Eiver flows was discovered by Henry Hudson on August 28, 1609, when he was in latitude 39 degrees 5 minutes north. This bay was in 1610 visited by Lord De la Ware, and named Delaware Bay in honor of that nobleman. Inasmuch as Henry Hudson was in the service of the Dutch, that nation laid claim to the territory on either side of the Hudson River and to that on either side of both Delaware Bay and Dela- ware River, thus claiming an extensive territory along the Atlantic coast for a considerable distance north and south. The Delaware River, one of the noblest of those flowing directly into the Atlantic Ocean, was known in the early history of the counti-.^' by various names, particularly among the Indians, who called it "Pautaxat," "Mariskitton," "Makerish-kisken," and "Lenape-Whittuck." By the Dutch it was named the "Zuyt," or South River, Nassau River, Prince Hendrick River and Charles Rii-er. By the Swedes it was known as New Swedeland stream; by Heylin, in his "Cosmog- raphy," it was called "Arastapha," and finally by the English it was named the Delaware River; and as the English finally tri- umphed over their enemies or rivals in the settlement of the Atlan- tic, coast, the name given by them to this fine stream has been retained. Delaware Bay had at least t^vo names applied to it before its present name became the permanent one, these two names being Newport Mey and Godyn's Bay. The States General of Holland, on March 27, 1614, granted a AND ITS PEOPLE. 55 general charter securing "the exclusive privileges of trade during four voyages to the discoverers of any new courses, havens, coun- tries or places, under which charter the merchants of Amsterdam fitted out five vessels, one of which was named the "Fortune." It belonged to the city of Hoorn, was commanded by Captain Cornells Jacobson Mey, and arrived at the mouth of Delaware Bay. Its capes were named after himself, Cornells and Mev. Another vessel commanded by Captain Adrian Block was burned at the mouth of "Manhattan Elver," and immediately after^^ard Captain Block built a small vessel, sometimes called a yacht, which was 44| feet long and 11 J feet wide, which he named the "Unrest," or Eestless, this being the first vessel built by Europeans in North America. In this small vessel Captain Cornells Hendrickson made further explorations and expeditions up the Delaware Elver, and even went as far up it, it has been said, as the mouth of the Schuyl- kill. But whether this statement is correct or not, the extent and value of the discoveries made by Captain Hendrickson may be judged to some degree by the report he made to the States Gen- eral, which report will be found of special interest, as it throws a great deal of light upon the condition of the country in this immediate vicinity at the time of his visit. This report is as fol- lows: "Eeport of Captain Cornells Hendrickson of Mennickendam to the High and Mighty Lords States General of the free United Netherland Provinces, made the XVIIIth August, Ad. 1616, of the country, bay and three rivers, situated in latitude from 38 to 40 degrees, by him discovered and found for and to the behoof of his owners and directors of New Netherlands, by name, Gerrit Jacob Witzen, burgopiaster at Aurit, Jonas Witzen, Lambreht Van Tweenhuysen, Palas Pelgrom and others of their company. "First, he hath discovered for his aforesaid Masters and Direct- ors, certain lands, a bay and three rivers, situated between 38 and 40 degrees. 56 CHESTER COUNTY "And did there trade with the inhabitants; that trade con- sisting of sables, furs, robes and other skins. "He hath found the said cotintry full of trees, to wit.: oalcs^ hickory and pines, which trees were in some places covered with vines. "He hath seen in said country bucks and does, turkeys and partridges. "He hath found the cliu^^te of said country very temperate,^ judging it to be as temperate as this country (Holland). "He also traded for and bought from the Inhabitants, the Minguas, three persons, being people belonging to this company, which three persons were employed in the service of the Mohawks and Machicans, giving for them kettles, beads and merchandise. "Bead, August 19, 1616." Dr. Smith, in his History of Delaware County, observes that it cannot be inferred from this report that Captain Hendrickson had discovered the Schuylkill, but he does not attempt to determine what three rivers were discovered by the Captain. He adds that if any knowledge of the Schuylkill Eiver, or even of the Delaware Eiver, was obtained it was probably from the three Indians pur- chased, or from the Indian tribes in general, which supposition appears to be strengthened by the fact that the States General refused to grant, or at least did not grant, the trading privileges to these applicants; and the trade to New Netherland, which was regarded by the Dutch as extending beyond the Delaware, was thrown open in a measure to individual competition. There are writers, however, who do not agree with Dr. Smith on this point Sydney George Fisher, in his "Making of Pennsyl- vania," says: "The first person who conquered the shoals and really explored the river was a Dutchman, Captain Hendrickson.. In the year 1616 he penetrated as far as the Schuylkill, just below the present site of Philadelphia. He had a small yacht, the 'Unrest,' or 'Restless,' only forty-five feet long, which had been built at AND ITS PEOPLE. 57 New York after the loss of liis larger ship. In using this boat he may have been influenced by Juet's* warning that it would require a vessel of light draft to explore thoroughly that great bay.-' Up to this time it would appear that discoveries for the pu r- p oses of colonization had not been thought of by the Dutc h, and that their attention was engrossed wholly by the extension of trade. But now a proposition was made which, in its execution, changed the current of history. This proposition was made by the Directors of the New Netherland Trading Compan y, for tlie- emigration to America of a certain English preac her versed in the language of the Dutch, then r esiding at Leyden, t ogether with more than four hundred families from both Hollan d and England, whom he had assured the jjetitioners he could induce to accompany him. These p etitioners also asked that two ships of war might be dispatched "for the preservation of the country's rights, and that the aforesaid minister and the four hundred families might be taken under the protection of the government; alleging that His Majesty of Great Britain would be disposed to people the afore- said lands with the English nation." This petition did not meet with a favorable reception. Biit the preacher referred to, the Eev. Mr. Robinson, and a portion of the four hundred families, did embark for America — started from Delft in the Mayflower and Speedwell, July 16, 1620, and as is well known, though they were destined for the Hudson River, yet they landed at Plymouth, Mass., and became the pioneers of the renowned Pilgrim Fathers. The Dutch West India Company, though incorporated in 1621,. did not go into operation until 1623. Then, having taken posses- * This was Kobert Juet, Henry Hudson's mate, who Avas with him in his explorations of the Hudson and Delaware Kivers, and also Hudson's Bay, and was also one of the mutineers, who put Hudson and his son on a boat, leaving: them to their fate. 58 CHESTER COUNTY sion of the Hudson and Delaware Elvers, they sent out a vessel under the command of Captain Cornells Jacobson Mey and Captain Adriaen Joris Trenpont, the former of whom, passing up the Dela- ware Eiver, erected Port Nassau, near, as has since been ascer- taind, the moutli of Little Timber Creek, the date of its erection havinc been ir>24. The seat of government of ^ew Netherlands was fixed upon Manhattan Island, and Peter Minuit made governor, or director, as ho Avas more.properly called. This settlement on t he Delaware , however, was of short duration, being v acated in 1C25, for the purpose of strengthening the colony on Manhattan Island. But later, in order to maintain their possessions on the Delaware, the Dutch sent out two of the directors of the West India Company, Samuel Godyn and Samuel Blomaert, to purchase a large tract of land at the mouth of the bay, which purchase was confirmed July IG, 1630. A small colony on Lev.es Creek was cut off by Indians, and a colony of English from Connecticut attempted in 1G35 to settle on the Delaware, but were taken prisoners by the Dutch and sent to Manhattan. A Swedish "West India Company was organi zed as early as 1630 , for the purpose of colonization and commerce; but owing to the death, in 1632, of Gustavus Adolphus, nothing was accom- plished until 163T, whe n a settlement was made, or rather pro- jected, on the Delaware River. Two ships, named the "Kalmar Xyckel" and the "Gripen," or, in other words, the "Key to Kalmar" iind the "Grifiin," were placed under the command of Peter Minuit, Avlio will be remembered as a former director, or governor, of Man- hattan Island, in the service of the Dutch, and with these two ves- sels he sailed from Gottenburg late in the year 1637. Some time during the following March Minuit purchased laud on the west side of the Delaware Eiver from the Indians, these lauds lying on what these Indians called the Minquas Eiver, to which river Minuit oave the name Christina, in honor of the Queen of Sweden , and upon these lamls he erected a fort, which he named Fort Christina, AND ITS PEOPLE. $9 about two and a half miles above the mouth of the river of the same name. While these proceedings of the Sw^edes were not pleas- ing to the Dutch, they did no more than to protest against them, and, according to Acrelius, the Swedes purcha sed lands of the Indians a long the western bank of the Delaware, as far up as the present site of the city of Trenton . Upon the Delaware Minuit left twenty-three men under the command of Mans Kling and Henrick Iluychens, the former being the military and the latter the civil governor of the colony. The "Kalmar Nyckel," in 1640, brought out reinforcements for the colony, and in 1641 the same vessel brought out a third expedition, being this time accompanied by the "Charitas." Many of the colonists coming at this time Avere Finns. By permission of the Swedish government a colony of Hollanders was established below Christina. In 1642 a further expedition sailed from the old country in two vessels, the "Stoork" and the "Renown," under command of John Printz, who, thinking that Fort Christina did not sufficiently command the river, erected a new fortress on the island of Tenneconk, or as it has been known for many years, Tinicum, this island at jjresent being within the limits of DelaAvare County, but being a part of Chester County when this county was first established. It is separated from the mainland by Darby Creek. This fortress on Tenneconk Island was named New Gotten- burg, and in addition to the fort, Governor Printz erected a fine mansion for himself and his family, which he named "Printz Hall," a very handsome and convenient home, which, after standing for about one hundred and sixty years, was accidentally destroyed by fire within the limits of the present century. Within eight months from the time of his arrival Governor Printz erected another fort, which he named Fort Elsinborg, upon which he mounted eight 12- pound brass cannon. It will thus be seen that when Governor Printz arrived there 6o CHESTER COUNTY were a few persons at Fort Nassau, a few at the Swedish colony at Christina, now Wilmington, Del., and also a few at the Dutcn col- ony a short distance below Christina. Governor Printz brought out with him his wife and one daughter, a lieutenant-governor and secretary, a chaplain and a surgeon, twenty-four regular soldiers,, and officers enough for a considerably larger force. The two vessels^ he commanded Avere well filled with stores and provisions, mer- chandise suitable for traffic with the Indians, and also a few set- tlers. This colony established by Governor Printz was the first one within the limits of Pennsylvania, and, of course, the first within the earlier limits of Chester County, that was successful. The Swedes made such rapid progress in the settlement of the lower Delaware, in the State subsequently bearing the name of Delaware, and also in Pennsylvania, that the Dutch became sonic - what alarmed lest they should lose the trade of the Indians. The- extent and importance of this trade is indicated by the fact that in 1644 they had loaded two vessels, the "Kalmar Nyckel" and the "Fame," with cargoes including 2,127 packages of beaver skins, and 70,421 pounds of tobacco. During the year 1646 they erected a church at Tinicum, which they dedicated on October 4, dedicating also at the same time the burying-ground in which the first body deposited was that of Catherine Hanson, daughter of Andrew Han- son, which was laid to rest October 28, 1646. During and on account of the controversies between the Swedes and the Dutch over the possession of this fertile territory. Governor Stuyvesant of New Amsterdam caused the erection of a Jort at the present site of New C astle, Delaware, to which he gave the name of Fort Casimir. To the erection of this fort Governor Print z, although he protested against it for a time, ultimately became reconciled. But his successor, John Bysingh , who arrived and began his administration in 1654, captured the Dutch fort, Casimir, on Trinity Sunday, and called it, in honor of that day, Trefalldigheet. The Dutch in the vicinity of this fort then took the AND IT8 PEOPLE. 6i oath of allegiance to the SAvedish government. This capture of Fort Casiniir, as might have been expected, aroused the anger of the Dutch to such a degree that on September 5, 1G55, Governor Stuyvesant, with seven men of war , and some 600 or 700 armed soldiers, sent over from Holland for the purpose, arrived in the Delaware Eiver. The next day Fort Trefalldigheet surrendere d to Governor Stuyvesant, and Fort Christina followed soon after- ward, without bloodshed in either case, or a battle of any kind, the name of the former then becoming New Amstel , which name it retained until it came into possession of the English, who called it Newcastle, as it has since remained. The capture of these two forts terminated Swedish authority on the Delaware, which had ex- tended up into Pennsylvania, their most northern settlements reaching to the present limits of Philadelphia. But the Dutch did not long remain in possession of the terri- tory they had conquered from the Swedes. Charles II having been restored to the throne of Great Britain, granted to his brother James, Duke of York, the teri'itory embracing the whole of the States of New York and Xew Jersey, and afterward the State of Delaware . Articles were drawn up between the Dutch and Eng- lish, which were signed by eight persons of each nationality, and approved by Colonel Eichard Xicolls, Deputy Governor of New York, by the terms of which the Dutch surrendered to the Eng- lish all their rights in New Netherlands, including the settlements on the Delaware, the date of the affixing of these signatures being August 27, 1664, old style. Soon aftem^ard the English took posses- sion of the Delaware, which they continued to hold with the excep- tion of a short period in 1673 and 1674. Passing over several important events of general importance, but which may be considered of minor interest as pertaining to the history of Chester County, it may be mentioned that in May, 1675, Governor Andros of New York visited the settlements on the Dela- ware, and on the 13th and 14th of that month held a special coui't 62 CHESTER GOVNTT at New Castle, at which it was ordered that "highways should be cleared from place to place within the precincts of the govern- ment." It was also Ordered that the church in the town should be regulated by the court, and that the meeting at Crane Hoeck should continue as previously; and also that the church at Tinicum Island should serve for Upland and the adjoining portions of that section of the country. The magistrates of Upland were ordered to have a church built at Wickegkoo, which should serve for the inhabitants of Passayunk and those higher up the river, and these magistrates were empowered to levy a tax for this purpose and to maintain a minister. This is the earliest record of the procee'dings of any court on the Delaware Eiver, and the order with reference to the clearing of the roads from place to place was the first step taken for the estab- lishment of roads in the States of Delaware and Pennsylvania, or in other words, was the first road law in either State. By the Swed es the territory which afterward, in a somewhat remarkable manner, became Chester County, was organize d, if it may be said to have been organized, as Upland County. The name was changed to Chester County by William Penn,or,in better words, William Penn permitted his friend, Thomas Pearson, so to name i t in honor of the city of Chester, the county seat of Cheshire County, in the west of England. In this connection it may be interesting to note that the names of many towns in England have this word, Chester, as a part of their composition, as Chichester, for example, and that these places were originally Roman camps. The Roman word castra and the Saxon word ceaster, became in time the Eng- lish word Chester. Prom Dr. Smith's "History of Delaware Count y," published in 1862, the following paragraph is quoted with reference to this change of name: "He (Penn) landed at Upland, but the place was to bear that familiar name no more forever. Without reflection Penn determined that the name of this place should be changed. Turning AND ITS PEOPLE. 63; round to his Mend Pearson, one of his own society, who had accom- panied him in the ship Welcome, he said: 'Providence has brought us here safe. Thou hast been the companion of my perils. What would thou that I should call this place?' Pearson said: 'Chester,, in remembrance of that city from whence we came.' William Penu replied that it should be called Chester, and that when he divided the land into counties, one of then should be called by the same name Thus, from a mere ^^•him, the name of the oldest towu; the name of the one settled part of the province; the name which would naturally have a place in the affections of a large majority of the inhabitants of the new province, was effaced, to gratify the caprice or vanity of a friend! All great men occasionally do little things." Eeviewing briefly what has been presented above as to the gov- ernments which at different times held sway over the west bank of the Delaware Eiver, it will be seen that what was afterward formed into Chester County was a part of the following colonies from time to time : New Netherlands, from 1G09 to 1638 ; New Sweden, from 1638 to 1655; Ncav Netherlands, from 1655 to 1656; New Amstel, from 1656 to 1661; New York, from 1664 to 1673; New Netherlands, from 1673 to 1674; and New York, from 1674 to 1682. This was the year in Avhich William Penu arrived, took posses- sion of his grant and divided his province into three counties: Chester, Bucks and Philadelphia. The precise date when this di- vision into counties was made is not definitely known, but accord- ing to tradition it was November 25, the province having been granted to Penn by royal charter dated March 4, 1681 The three counties above named were located on the right or west bank of the Delaware Eiver, and extended indefinitely to thie westward. The western boundary of Chester County was definitely established by the erection of Lancaster County, May 10, 1729, and the north- ern boundary was fixed by the erection of Berks County, March 11, 1752. Philadelphia County formed the northeast and east bound- 64 CHESTER COUNTY aries of the original Chester County until Montgomery County was established, September 10, 1784, and Delaware County was estab- lished September 26, 1789. The southern limits of the county weve determined by the section of a circle of a radius of twelve milesj' and having for its center the court-house at New Castle, so fiir as the State of Delaware was concerned, and by the famous Mason and Dixon's line, so far as Marjdand was concerned, which line is in latitude 39 degrees 43 minut*es 26.3 seconds north. The hfstory of this famous line may be found elsewhere in this volume. The original extent of Chest er County may be inferred from the fact that twenty-five countie s have been taken either directly or indirectly from its territory as at first organized. Lancaster and Delaware were taken from it directly at the dates above given, and the following have since been taken from it indirectly: York, from Lancaster, August 19, 1749; Cumberland, from Lancaster, January 27, 1750. Bedford, from Cumberland, March 9, 1771; Westmoreland, from I^edford, February 6, 1773; Washington, from Bedford, March 28, 1781; Fayette, from Westmoreland, September 26, 1783; Franklin, from Cumberland, September 9, 17S4; Dauphin, from Lancaster, March 4, 1785; Huntingdon, from Bedford, September 20, 1787; Allegheny, from Westmoreland, September 24, 1788; Somerset, from Bedford, April 17, 1795; Greene, from Washington, Februai-y 9, 1796; Beaver, from Washington, March 12, 1800; Butler, from Allegheny, March 12, 1800; Erie, from Allegheny, March 12, 1800; Mercer, from Allegheny, March 12, 1800; Crawford, from Allegheny, March 12, 1800. Cambria, from Allegheny, March 26, 1804; Lebanon, from Allegheny, February 16, 1813. w m i o o X u 'Si < o a H U o AND ITS PEOPLE. 67 Perry, from Cumberland, March 22, 1820; Blair, from Cumberland, February 26, 1846; Lawrence, from Cumberland, March 20, 1849, and Fulton, from Bedford, April 19, 1850. These counties, however, together with the present Chester County, do not embrace all of the original Chester County, for por- tions of several other counties were taken from the original terri- tory of Chester County. The first county seat, or seat of justice, of Chester County was at the town of Chester, on the right bank of the Delaware Eiver, at the mouth of Chester Creek. As has been stated elsewhere, the first European inhabitants of this place were for the most part Swedes, who named the place Upland. The first court held there, -of the proceedings of which there is any record, was held by jus- tices of the peace, September 13, 1681, and on the ancient record of this court at the February term of 1682 Upland is first named Chester. However, it should not be inferred that this was the first court held at Upland; for at least ten years previously there had been held a court at that place, Governor Lovelace of New York having in 1672 issued an order respecting a piece of land in Amosland, now in Eidley Township, Delaware County, which order was as follows: "Whereas, complaint hath been make unto him by Jan Cornells Mattys Mattysen and Martin Martinsen, inhabitants at Amosland, in Delaware Eiver, that after having been quietly possessed of a parcel of Valley or Meadow Ground by the island over against Oal- coon Hooke, near their plautacon, Israel Helm did, by misin- formacon, obtain a patent for the same, having never possession or pretense thereto before, so that the said inhabitants are dispos- sessed to the ruin of their plantacons without relief; these are to authorize and empower the court at Upland, with the assistance of one or two of the High Court, to examine into the matter and make report of the truth thereof unto me, that I ma/ make some 5 68 CHESTER COUNTY order hereupon in equity and. good conscience. Given, etc., this 8th day of August, 1672.'' . The sheriff for the Delaware Kiver for 1672 was Edmund Cant- well, and he was also made collector of quit rents in place of Wil- liam Tom, resigned. It was in this year that the war broke out between the English and the Dutch, and a fleet of the latter named nation appeared before New York August 6, 1673, in the absence of Governor Lovelave in New Haven. The fort at New York sur- rendered after a slight resistance, and the country again passed' under the autliority of the Dutch. A governor and council having been appointed, the council held sittings at Fort William Hendrick, which name the Dutch gave to^ Fort New York. Before this trib- unal the Delaware, deputies appeared, submitting to the "Hign Mightinesses, the Lords States General of the New Netherlands . and his Serene Highness the Prince of Orange," on September 12. These Delaware deputies obtained in return for their submission for their constituents the privileges of "free trade and commerce with Christians and Indians"; freedom of conscience; secur- ity in the possession of their houses and lands, and exemption from all rent charges and excise duties on wine, beer and distilled liquors, consumed on tlie South or Delaware Eiver. This last privilege Avas to continue until 1676. Three courts of justice were established at this time on the Delaware — one at New Amstel, one at Hoorn kill and one at Upland, the juris- diction of the latter extending provisionally from the east and west banks of Kristina kill upward to the head of the river. When the peace was made between the English and Dutch, February 9, 1674, the possessions along the Delaware were again restored to the English, and Edmund Andros, appointed governor of New York July 15, upon his arrival, received possession from the Dutch governor, Colve. After 1664 the Dutch did not figure in the history of Pennsyl- vania, nor did the Swedes, nor did either people in either Pennsyl- AND ITS PEOPLE. 69 vania or Delaware after 1674. But still that they were present in the State at one time will always be evident from the fact that in several places Dutch names remain, such as Schuylkill, Hen- lopen and Boomties Hoeck. Schuylkill means "hidden creek ," and was given to the river because its mouth could not be easil y seen. That there were Indians here is also evident from names of places still remaining, and which will doubtless ever remain. The Indians called the Schuylkill Manaiun g, and Manayunk is now the name of a suburb of Philadelphia near the Wissahickon. While the Swedes were in the early day excellent people and settlers, yet they left very few names of places. After the conquest of the country by the English there were many Swedes still in the country, and sixty years after the arrival of the Quakers there were on the Delaware River nearly a thousand persons speaking the Swedish language. As stated elsewhere William Penn arrived on the De]awar(.' in 1682. After dividin g the province of Pennsylvania into thr ee counties, he divided Delaware also into three c ounties, and that State has still but that number of counties. The first legislativ e as- sembly convened December 4, 1862, at Chester, united the two States of Delaware and Pennsylvani a, naturalized the Swedes and other aliens, and established a code of laws. The provincial council was organized in Philadelphia March 10, 1683, and the l and purchas es of 1682, 1736, 1749, 1758, 1768 and 1784, extinguishing the Indian titles to the land, indicate the progress of the settlement of the province up the Delaware Eiver and westward through Chester County. In a general way it may be stated that those who settled in the eastern townshi ps of this county were Welsh; those who set- tled in the southern and middle t o wnship s wer e English Quakers , and those who settled in the northern and western townships were Dutch and Germans. To a considerable extent the population of the several sections exhibits to this day the peculiar character- istics of its ancestors. 70 CHESTER COUNTY Most of the Welsh that came to Pennsylvania in the early day wei'e Quakers. They moved here to have a country of their own. At first they were assisted in this hope by William Penu, with whom, before leaving their native country, they had made an agreement by which they were to have a tract of land containing forty thousand acres set ;ipart for them, on which they could have a little government of their own, and live by themselves. In 1682, when they began to arrive, this forty thousand acre tract was sur- veyed for them west of the Schuylkill Eiver, and it included that fine stretch of country now so familiar to the people of eastern Pennsylvania and so attractive to them on account of its elegant suburban homes along the Pennsylvania railroad. This is the watershed between the Schuylkill and' the Delaware Eivers, rising steadily from the west bank of the Schuylkill for about twenty-five miles, the summit of which is near Paoli, where the elevation is about 630 feet above tidewater, or perhaps it would be better to say, tlie level of the sea. On the northern side beautiful views are obtained of what is now well-known as the Chester valley, but which the Welsh themselves called Duffrin Mawr, or Grea t Valley . The tract thus assigned to them was a magnificent do- main of hill and dale, covered with splendid oaks, poplars and syca- mores. For a time the Quaker meetings ruled this country, but in 1690 the three townships within its limits, Merion, Haverford and Eadnor, were organized, and as time went forward the Welsh spread out into Xewton, Goshen and U wchlan , others spreading out into Montgome ry County, where places like Gwynedd and Penllyn still remain. At the present writing (1898) what is said to be the oldest house in Gwynedd Township is being torn down. It was built in 1712, and is thus 186 years old. It is supposed to have been erected by William John, who was certainly Welsh, his name being in- dubitable evidence of that fact, and the site was within the limits of his tract of land. It was very substantiallv built of stone. AND ITS PEOPLE. 71 In 1685 Merion Township was separated from Haverford and Eadnor and was a separate township of Philadelphia County. Up to this time they had been the controlling influence in Chester County, but by this division they became a minority of both Chester and Philadelphia Counties, and, though they resisted it, as was natural, yet they were gradually assimilated with or absorbed by their neighbors, and long since became an undistinguishable portion of the great American people. As a general thing their names be- came Anglicized. Ap Humphrey became Pumphrey; Ap Howel l became Powell; Ap Hugh became Pugh , etc. Some of their names were so nearly of English form that no chang e has ever taken place, as Roberts, Thomas, etc., and some of them still remain as in the original Welsh: Eastcaln, Westcaln, TJwchlan and Tredy- ffrin. There are also many Welsh nam es along the Pennsylvania railway, as follows: Merion, Wynnefood, Haverford, Bryn Mawr , Radnor and Berwyn. St. David, which is also retained, was the patron saint of the Welsh. One of the principal features of the drainage of Chester County, as well as of other counties in the southeast corner of the State, is that most of the streams flow southeastwardly into the Delaware River. Xo stream enters Chester County from Lancaster Count3^ The northeastern i)art of the county is bordered by the Schuylkill River for a distance of about twelve miles. Darby Creek rises near Paoli and flows through Easttown into Delaware County, and so on down to the Delaware River, but before reaching the latter it di-^'ides into two branches, which to- gether separate Tinicum Island from the mainland. Crum Creek rises west of Paoli and flows through Willistown in a southerly direction. Ridley Creek rises near Prazer station and flows through East Goshen and Willistown. Chester Creek, east branch, rises in West Whiteland and flows south through East Goshen and West- town into Thornbury, where it unites with the west branch, which rises near West Chester, and then flows southeast into Delaware 72 CHESTER COUNTY County. These four streams rise along the crest of the South Valley hill, on a straight line which is about ten miles in length, Brandywine River, 6ast branch, rises in the northwest part of the county, in West Xantmeal Township, flows southward across the valley at Downingtown station, and then past what was once Oopesville, Sagersville, opposite Lenape station, and Ohadd's Ford, and then passes on into Delaware and enters the Delaware Eiver near Wilmington. It*is joined by the west branch about midway between North Brook postoffice and Lenape postoffice. Valley Creek flows west along the valley to near Garland, turns south and unites with the Brandywine about a mile above Copes- ville. Broad Run flows west into Valley Creek near Harmony. Taylor's Run flows west into Blackhorse Run, which latter flows west into the Brandywine near Copesville. Plum Run rises in West Chester borough and flows southwest into the Brandywine at Sagersville, as also does Radley Run, except that this stream flows into the Brandywine one-half mile further south. Brandywine River, west branch, rises in the extreme north- western part of the county, flows across the valley and then south- southeast ten miles to the east branch, which it joins between Copesville and Sagersville. Pocopson Creek flows east into the Brandywine one mile below Sagersville. Ring's Run flows from the west into the Brandywine at Chadd's Ford. Red Clay Creek, east and west branches, drains most of the county west of the Brandywine and flows south into the State of Delaware. White Clay Creek, east branch, rises at and west of Upland and flows south past Avondale. While Clay Creek, middle branch, rises at Londonderry and flows south-south- east eight miles, when it joins the west branch, and then two miles further down this enlarged stream joins the east branch at the State line of Delaware. White Clay Creek, west branch, rises at Kelton and flows south and then east. Elk Creek rises in the vicinity of Russellville and the Lincoln AND ITS PEOPLE. 73 TJniversity, and flows southeast into Maryland. Little Elk Greek i-ises at New Prospect and Oxford Borough and flows east and «outh into Maryland. Northeast Creek rises at Nottingham post- office, and flows southeast and then south into Maryland. Octoraro Creek bounds the county on the west from near Christiana, and flows southwest to the Maryland state line and on into the Sus- quehanna. Buck Run and Doe llun drain Highland TownshiiJ and parts of several otlTer townships, and flows eastward into the Brandy- Avine six miles below Coatesville. Muddy Run rises near Cochran- ville and flows seven miles into the Octoraro below Hellbank bridge. French Creek rises at the Berks County line and flows southeast, entering the Schuylkill at Phoenixville. Pickering Creek, with its branches, Pine Run and Pigeon Run, flows east into the Schuylkill, about a mile below Phcenixville. Pigeon Creek flows into the Schuylkill four miles below Pottstown. Stony Run enters the Schuylkill just below Phcenixville. The fall of the Schuylkill River from Douglasville, four and a half miles above Pottstown, down to Philadelphia, is from 161 feet to 28 feet above sea level, or 133 feet The nature of the rocks through which these several streams flow, together with some remarks as to the amount of erosion some of them have cansed, will be treated of under the geological de- scription of the county. The history of the soutliern boundary of Chester County is of equal interest with that of the southern boundary of the State of Pennsylvania, for the history of the one is substantially that of the other. In order to correctly understand this history it is neces- sary to begin with the grants to the original English proprietors. The proprietary charter of Pennsylvania was drawn in 1681, and, as was supposed, in plain and simple terms. Prior thereto William Penn was financially interested in the Jerseys, but that interest gradually dwindled until it became of little practical importance. 74 CHESTER COUNTY But it was his experieoice in the Jersey s that l ed him to choos e Pennsylyania, as it came afterward to be known, as the field for his "holy experiment s," the results of which have long been known to the world. To the father of William Penn, Admiral Pen n, the English government was indebted for services to the extent of £16,00 0^ which the Admiral had attempted in vain to collect, either in the form of money or in a grant of land, and he therefore suggested t o his son, William , that he, if possible, should secure the gra,nt, which, upon the Admiral's death, William immediately set himself about. On June 1, 1680, he presented a petition to the King out- lining the extent of the grant desired in lieu of the £16,000, men- tioning, however, onlj pecuniary considerations. At length, after long deliberation, and after the Privy Council had held several meetings, at which the counsellor for the Duke of York and the agents for Lord Baltimore played important parts, Penn obtained his desire on March 4, 1681, O. S., and a royal letter was sent to the inhabitants April 2, 1681, commanding due obedi- ence to the proprietary, his heirs and assigns; and the Duke of York was kind enough to execute a quit-claim deed to all the region in- cluded in Pennsylvania, though his grant did not extend to the westward of the Delaware Elver. This grant of land to William Penn embraced all that section of country bounded on the east by the Delaware Eiver from a point twelve miles from New Castle to the 43d degree of north lati- tude if the river extended that far, but if it did not, then by a meridian line from the head of the river to the 43d degree, and this region extended westward through 5 degrees of longitude as computed from the eastern bounds. This region was to be bounded on the north by the beginning of the 43d degree, on the south by a circle drawn twelve miles distant from New Castle, northward and westward to the beginning of the 40th degree of north latitude, and by a straight line drawn thence westward to the limit of longitude. AND ITS PEOPLE. 7S Before proceeding further with the historj^ of the difficulty tha t exi sted between Lord Baltimore and William Penn, or, as it perhaps would be better to say, between Maryland and Pennsyl- vania, with regard to the dividing line between them, it is neces- sary to quote from the charter granted to Lord Baltimore in 1632,. which was nearly fifty years before the grant was made to William Penn. This grant to Lord Baltimore reads in part as follows : "All that part of the peninsula, or Chersonese, lying in the borders of America, between the ocean on the east and the bay of Chesapeake on the west, divided from the residue thereof by a line drawn from the promontory or headland, called Watkin's Point,, situated on the bay aforesaid and near the river, Wighco (Wicom- ico), on the west unto the main ocean on the east, and between that boundary on the south and that part of Delaware Bay on the north which lieth under the 40th degree of latitude, where Xew England terminates." ' The difficulty about the southern boundary of Pennsylvania was primarily caused by the use of the term "beginning of the 40th degree." Lord Baltimore claimed that his lands extended through- out the 40th degree, that is, from what is always understood as the 39th parallel to what is ahvays understood as the 40th parallel, and that no part of the 40th degree, or the belt of country betweeii these two parallels, was excluded from the grant. The Penns claimed that the beginning of the 40th degree hait reference to the entire space between the 39th and 40th parallels,^ and thus it will be seen that the claim of the Penns, if allowed, would make the 39th parallel the southern limit of Pennsylvaniar but that this could not really have been intended is proven by the charter, which stated that the beginning should be twelve miles from New Castle. But when this place of beginning was first chosen it was supposed that the beginning of tlie 40th degree ^^as twelve miles north of New Castle. The original intention was that Lord Baltimore should have two degrees in width of latitude, a de- 76 CHESTER COUNTY gree at that time being sixty miles, and that Penn's grant should include three degrees of latitude, from the beginning of the 40th degree to the beginning of the 43d degree. Had the claims of Lord Baltimore been allowed all the lands on the western side of the Delaware River, from the site of the city of Philadelphia to the capes, would have been given to Mary- land, and the Penns would have been deprived of several valuable seaports. Hence it is not sitrprising that Penn should resist tlie claim of Lord Baltimore. Had the (flaims of Penn been conceded the southern limit of Pennsylvania would have extended south to the 39th parallel, and Lord Baltimore would have had a strip of land not much more than sixty miles in width at its easteim end. In order to settle the matter satisfactorily, all that was needed to be conceded was the fact that the charter itself expressly states that the beginning of the 43d degree and the 43d degree were pre- cisely the same, for it states that the province shall be bounded on the east by the Delaware Elver from the point twelve miles north of New Castle to the 43d degree, and that on the north it should be bounded by the 43 degree, or, in other words, those who wrote the charter understood the same thing by the beginning of -a degree and the degree itself. The difficulties, it will be seen, were caused by the ambiguities ^nd uncertainties, if not contradictions, of the language used iu the grants. Both sides were laid before the King in 1684, and iu 1685 an order in council Avas issued, Avhich said in substance that -as the lands granted to Lord Baltimore were originally designed to be only such as were then inhabited by savages, the said Lord was not entitled to the land lying between the river and bay of Delaware and the Eastern sea on the one hand and Chesapeake Bay on the other; but still they decided that this tract of land should be divided into two equal parts by a line from the latitude of €ape Henlopen to the 40th degree of north latitude, the southern boundary of Pennsylvania by charter, and that one-half thereof /IM) JTS PEOPLE. 77 should belong to Ms majesty and the other half should remain to Lord Baltimore, as comprised in his charter. There was much difficulty afterward in the survey of the par- allel from Cape Henlopen to Chesapeake Bay, the precise middle of which was to be the starting point for the line to run north- ward to the said 40th parallel, but here it can only be stated that finally, on May 15,1750, Lord Chancellor Hardwicke pronounced his decree, according to which the survey began November 12, the same year. According to this decree the circle about which there had been so much discussion should have its center at the center of the town of New Castle, and that its radius should be twelve miles. Immediately, however, a curious difficulty arose as to the method of measuring the radii of this circle, the commissioners from Maryland claiming that they should he measured accordiug to the inequalities of the ground, that is, superficially, which would of course make the circle smaller than if the horizontal or geomet- rical method were pursued, which Avas the claim of the Penns. The latter, however, finally won their case and the circle was so drawn that all parts of the circumference were, or were supposed to be, equally distant from the center. This being settled, the survey of the base line from Cape Heu- lopen to Chesapeake Bay was begun, both sides agreeing that a point should be selected 139 rods due east from a stone already fixed on the northern part of Fenwick's Island, near the former Cape Henlopen, and should run across the peninsula to Chesa- peake Bay. The surveyors established the east and west line as far as Slaughter's Creek, when the Maryland commissioners insisted that the line should go no further, and that its length should be 66 miles and 248| rods, while the Pennsylvania commissioners declared that it should be extended to the shore of Chesapeake Bay, and should be 69 miles 298 rods in length. The deadlock over this question lasted from April, 1751, when the survey com- menced, until November, 1754, and the question was afterward iu 78 CHESTER COUNTY the courts until 1760, when Lord Baltimore succumbed to the con- tentions of the Penns, the base line was made 69 miles 298 rods long, and its exact middle was 34 miles 309 rods from the fixed point on Fenwick's Island. Thus it will be seen that the loss to Maryland and the gain to Delaware by the success of the Penns was a strip of land 1 mile 184f rods in width, the length of the north and south line from the base line to the northern boilndary of Maryland, or rather to the twelve mile circle.. And thus it will also be seen the peculiarly shaped point that runs down from the south part of Chester- County between the twelve mile circle and the eastern boundary of Maryland was correspondingly affected. This north and south line from the middle of the base line was required to be run northward up the said peninsula until it should touch the circle above mentioned so as to make a tangent thereto, and there the said straight line should end. Then at the northern point or end of the said straight line, a line was to begin and run due north above the said peninsula, but so far only until it should come into the same latitude as a line running east and west through a point Avhich was fifteen English statute miles due south of the most southern point of the city of Philadelphia. Then a due east and west line was to be run in the manner following: It should begin at the northern point of the due north and south line and should thence run due west across the Susquehanna River to the utmost western extent of the Province of Pennsylvania, that is, through five degrees of longitude from its eastern boundary on the Delaware River. The running of the temporary southern boundary of the Prov- ince of Pennsylvania Avas an important episode of the history of Chester County, that is, that part of it aside from the drawing of the twelve mile circle, and hence it is treated of briefly in this work. An order in council dated May 25, 1738, provided for the running of this temporary line. On December 5, 1738, the commissioners, on AND ITS PEOPLE. 79 the part of Maryland, Colonel I.evin Gale and Samuel Cliamber- laine, met the commissioners on the part of Pennsylvania, Richard Peters and Lawrence Crrowdon, on Society Hill, the mayor of Phil- adelphia being present, as well as several of the aldermen and prominent gentlemen of Philadelphia, and the most southern point; in the city of Philadelphia was ascertained. The commissioners then adjourned to the house of John Postlethwaite, where it was unanimously agreed to settle the variation of the compass by fixing a meridian line by an observation to be made when the Pole Star and the first star in the tail of the Great Bear under the Pole should be in the same veiiical circle, or in a i^erpendicular line, -one above the other. But on account of the cloudiness of the weather no observation could be made until the evening of the 8th, and then the meridian line was fixed according to the rule aforesaid. A theodolite in the possession of Benjamin Eastburn, sur- veyor for Pennsylvania, was tried and the variation of the needle was found to be 5 degrees 25 minutes to the west, and then a cir- comferenter in the possession of John Warner was tried, and the variation of its needle was found to be 5 degrees 30 minutes to th(! west. The variation of the needle of the theodolite was accepted as that by which to run the temporary line. On the 11th of December about two miles of the line were run, but wintry weather coming on it was decided to adjourn until April 5, 1739. But it was not until April 11, 1739, that work on this surrey was found to be .^> degrees 25 minutes to the west, and then a circum- Eastburn's theodolite was precisely the same as before. On April 23 the commissioners proceeded on a line to an old field belonging to John Newlin, within the Society land, on or near its north line, at a distance of about thirty-one miles due west from Philadelphia, where it was agreed that the line had been run far enough to the west for avoiding the large waters of the Brandywine and Chris- tina Creeks, and that the surveyors should begin to set off the 8o CHESTER COUNTY south line of fifteen miles and a quarter, this distance from the east and west line from the southernmost point of the city of Philadel- phia having been agi'eed upon instead of fifteen miles, between Lord Baltimore and the Penns, by which the latter gained a strip one-fourth of a mile in width as far west as the Susquehianna River, but to the west of the Susquehanna Eiver, the distance be- tween this base line of survey was to be only fourteen and three- fourths miles. It was not long after beginning this survey of the south line before a dispute arose as to whether the superficial or horizontal method of measuring this 15i mile line should be employed, the Maryland commissioners of course insisting on the superficial meth- od and the Pennsylvania commissioners insisting on the horizontal method. The result of the discussion over this matter was that the Maryland commissioners yielded to the extent of allowing, twenty -five perches over the fifteen and a quarter miles superficial measure for the difference between the two methods. On April 24 the two parties, after coming to this agreement, surveyed two miles of the line, and left off on the ground of Mr. Wickersham in East Marlboro Township. On the 25th they set off the twenty-five perches and surveyed seven statute miles, getting to the south line of the road leading to New Castle, in New Garden Town- ship. On the next day they completed the survey, and drove into the ground a stake at the distance of twenty perches from the road leading to Charles Tennent's Meeting House, in Mill Greek Hundred, New Castle County, Del., and on April 27, they began the west line at the aforesaid stake. Before reciting the history of the west line, just mentioned,, it will be of interest to note an instance or two connected with the survey of the first thirty- one miles of the line running west from the most southern point of Philadelphia, from which the distance of fifteen and a quarter miles was laid off to the south. It will be remembered that the survey of this base line began on AND /TaS' people. 8r the lltli of April. While it was being surveyed, on the 18th of April, Richard Peters, one of the commissioners for Pennsyl- vania, reported to Governor Thomas that in the work they had found "a number of Attractions in running the line, so many as tu make it a doubt whether the Attractions were not stronger in the spring than in the fall of the year; sometimes the needle will be five degrees to the southward and sometimes to the northward, within a station or two, that is to say, in other terms, the variation will be ten degrees westerly at one time and in an hour or two after that the variation will be half a degree east, or, perhaps, no variation at all. We are got as far as one Weslow Parnell's in Edgemont Town- ship, about 16 miles west of Philadelphia, and in this distance we have crossed the forcer lines, that have been run, several times; and now we are something to the south of the line run by John Taylor,, and more to the south of the line run by the Jersey commissioners, and if Ben. Eastburn says truly we shall gain still more and more upon the last line, so as to come very near Elisha Gatchell's plan- tation. The surveyors go on amicably yet, but Col. Gale is much disturbed to find the line prove so as it does, and as he is disap- pointed by John Lad, he comes to town to procure another sur- veyor." On the 20th of the month Mr. Peters again wrote to Governor Thomas, saying: "He" (CoL Gale) "has been extremely uneasy on account of the line continuing to gain on them, and it being apprehended that the needle in Mr. Eastburn's theodolite might have been altered by some accident in its direction, we this morn- ing compared their theodolite and their two needles with ours, as we had done before on Society Hill, and the variation in all the three needles agreed most exactly with what it was then and now." And Col. Gale being then satisfied that the survey was going on rightly, came to the conclusion that the line they were then run- ning differed from the Jersey line, either because the Jersey com- missioners had got into an Attraction that carried them too far .82 CHESTER COUNTY north, wihout their being aware of it, or that they had not been careful to fix the index by which the variation was rightly regu- lated. The difficulty with reference to the method of surveying the fifteen and a quarter miles has been already mentioned; but there was a peculiar feature of it that does not appear to have been touched upon by writers on local history. After the agreement had been reached on April 25, that an allowance of twenty-five perches should be made in favor of the Pennsylvania claim, or, in other words, added to the length of the fifteen and a quarter miles line, Mr Eastburn, the surveyor for the Pennsylvania com- missioners, ascertained that the allowance of twenty-five perches Avould fully cover the difference between the methods of survey- ing the line, and, in fact, Mr. Eastburn was satisfied that the dif- ference would not exceed twenty perches. Mr. Peters thereupon wrote to Governor Thomas, "humbly desiring your Honor to keep it private that this is the difference, lest they should come to the knowledge of it." So that by this superior knowledge and skill of her surveyor Pennsylvania was getting five perches in the length of the fifteen and a quarter mile line more than she was in reality entitled to. Or, in other words, Pennsylvania thus gained a strip of land along the southern border of the province eighty-two and a half feet in width for the entire five degrees of longitude, provided the temporary line had become permanent. It now remains to give a brief account of the survey of the southern boundary line of the State, which is the southern bound- ary line of Chester County, from the peculiarly formed triangle, or point, so far as Chester County extends to the westward, and which is now famous in history as Mason and Dixon's line. The commissioners appointed under the deed of 1760 ad- dressed themselves to the work of completing the survey, but their progress was slow. Hence, on August 4, 1763, Thomas and Richard Penn and Lord Baltimore, all of whom were then in AA'D ITS PEOPLE. 85 London, made an agreement with Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two mathematicians and surveyors, "to mark, run out, set- tle, fix and determine all the parts of the circle, marks of lines and boundaries as were mentioned in the several articles and commissions and Avere not yet completed." Mason and Dixon landed at Philadelphia November 15, 1763, and at once began their work with more perfect instruments than had been previously used in these surveys. They adopted the twelve-mile radius of their predecessors, and also their tangent point, as sufficiently ac- curate, and adjourned to Philadelphia to find its southern limit, on Cedar (now South) Street, on which street they erected an observ- atory that they might ascertain the latitude of this southern limit, this observatory being the first in America used for taking observa- tions of the stars. According to their observations this southern limit was in latitude 39 degrees 56 minutes 29 seconds. They then extended this latitude to the west sufficiently far to be due north of the tangent point, this being accomplished in January, 1764, and the distance run to the westward being thirty-one miles, to the forks of the Brandywine, where they planted a quartzose stone, which was long known in the vicinity as the "star-gazers' stone," which stood on Joel Harlin's land, in Newlin Township, a short distance west of the Chester County almshouse, six miles 264 perches west of the meridian of the West Chester court-house and 446| perches south of the parallel of the West Chester court-house. From this "star-gazers' stone" they ran a line south to the lati- tude of the great due west line, fifteen miles, and there planted a post, from which they ran the due west line a short distance. Then going to the tangent point they ran a line due north to the latitude of the due west line, and at the intersection of the two lines, in a deep ravine, near a spring, they established the corner stone, which thenceforward was to be at the beginning of the due west line, the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, the northern bound- ary of Maryland, the famous Mason and Dixon's line. 6 86 CHESTER COUNTY This stone which thus stands at the northeast comer of Mary- land was ascertained by Mason and Dixon to be in latitude 39 de- grees 43 minutes 18 seconds, but was afterward ascertained to be in latitude 39 degrees 43 minutes 26.3 seconds. During the sum- mer of 1764 they ran and marked the north and south line, or the tangent line, which separates Maryland from Delaware, and then started for the stone at the northeast corner of Maryland. Early in the spring of 4765 they returned to their work, and described that portion of the circle surrounding New Castle which fell to the westward of the meridian line, joining the tangent point with the stone at the northeast corner of Maryland, which meridian line cut off a segment of the circle which is about a mile and a half long and 116 feet wide in the widest part, which segment of the circle, according to the agreement, belongs to New Castle County, Delaware. From the point where this meridian line crosses the circle to the eastward. Mason and Dixon did not survey the circle, as Lord Baltimore had no interest in its location. But this point, which is at the meeting of three States, was carefully marked. From this point north to the northeast corner of Maryland is about three miles and a half, and the distance from the northeast corner of Maryland to the circle in a line running due east is about three- fourths of a mile. The&e were the distances established by Mason and Dixon, but recent controversies over the circular boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania have changed the measure- ments somewhat. These controversies will be treated of briefly later on in this article. By June 17, 1765, the surveyors had carried the due west line to the Susquehanna Eiver, and received instructions to carry it as far west as Maryland and Pennsylvania were settled and inhabited. By the 27th of October they had reached the North (Cove or Kit- tatinny) Mountains, ninety-five miles west of the Susquehanna, where the temporary line, run in 1739, terminated. Early in 176(1 AND ITS PEOPLE. 87 they again began the survey, and by June 4 they had reached the Little Alleghany Mountains, about 160 miles from the beginning. In 1767 they extended the line to a distance of 230 miles 18 chains and 21 links from the northeast comer of Maryland, or 277 miles 38 chains and 36 links from the River Delaware, near to an Indian vi^ar path, on the borders of Dunkard Creek. But trouble now began with the original inhabitants of the soil, that is, with the Six Nations, whose consent had to be obtained to the further survey of the line, and soon afterward, with an escort of fourteen stroud-clad warriors, an interpreter and a Mohawk chief, deputed by the Iroquois council, they pushed on from the summit of the Alleghany Mountains down into the valley of the Ohio, whose tributaries they soon crossed. Coming to the western limit of Maryland they still pushed on, resolved to reach the utmost limits of Penn's five degrees of longitude from the Delaware. By August 24 they came to the crossing of Braddock's Ford, and the escort became restless. The Mohawk chief and his nephew left the party, and the Shawnees and Delawares, who then occupied the territory into which the surveying party was penetrating, be- gan to grow hostile, and on September 27, at the distance of 233 miles from the Delaware, twenty-six of the laboring men deserted, leaving only fifteen ax-men with the surveyors, who, however, pushed on, regardless of the danger, until they came to a point a little to the west of Mount Morris, in Greene County, when their Indian escort said to them that they had been instructed by their chiefs not to let the line be run westward of the war path at which they had then arrived — the old Catawba war path. The instruments used by Mason and Dixon were an ordinary surveyor's compass, to find their bearings in a general way; a quad- rant and a four-foot zenith sector, which they brought from Eng- land for absolute accuracy. The needle could not be relied upon because of the ferruginous character of the soil over which they 88 CHESTER COUNTY had to mark the line. The sector enabled them to be guided by the heavenly bodies, which changed their positions very slowly. The "visto," as they called it, that is, the opening cut through the woods as they went along, was twenty-four feet in width, and throughout this width they had cut down all the trees and bushes, leaving them to rot upon the ground. Along the middle of this "visto," in the true parallel, monuments were erected at the dis- tance of five miles, each monument consisting of a stone bearing the coats of arms of William Penn on the side toward Pennsylva- nia, and those of Lord Baltimore on the side toward Maryland, most of these stones having been brought from England. This mode of demarkation was used as far the eastern base of the Side- ling Hill Mountain, 132 miles from the northeast corner of Mary- land, and from this point to the great Alleghany Mountains the line was denoted by conical heaps of dirt and stones six or seven feet high on the tops of ridges and mountains, and still further to the west as far as they went similar marks were erected at the end of every mile. As to the length of a degree of longitude on Mason and Dixon's line, it may be said that they made it ec^ual to 53 miles 157.1 perches, hence Penn's five degrees of longitude would extend from the Dela- ware Elver westward to a distance of 267.4546 miles. The length of a degree of longitude on the Mason and Dixon arc of the parallel, for which the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey takes the latitude of 39 degrees 43 minutes 20 seconds, is, according to Clarke's spheroid, 53.277 miles, and hence the five degrees of longi- tude equal 26G.385 statute miles. Hence Mason and Dixon made an error in their measurement of these five degrees of 1.096 statute miles. Another point of interest connected with the lines run by Mason and Dixon is their determination of the length of a degree of latitude, in 1764, on the line separating Dela^^•are from Mary- land, known as the tangent line. They made the length of a degree AXD ITS PEOPLE. 89 on this line 363,763 feet, or 68,894 statute miles,* for mean latitude 39 degrees 12 minutes, measuring the whole line with deal rods, triangulation, which was brought into use in 1617, being inapplica- ble in this case. But according to Clarke's spheroid the true length of a meridianal degree at this latitude, 39 degrees 12 minutes, is 68.983 miles, or 469.92 feet in excess of the length as ascertained by Mason and Dixon.f The circular boundary line is one of interest as to its history and of importance as to the effect its location has had upon the people living in its vicinity. When it was first located it was merely the division line between two counties, but later it came into controversy between two States. The first mention of it is made in the records of Upland Court, November 12, 1678, as fol- lows: "The limits and divisions between this (Upland) and New Cas- tle County were this day agreed upon and settled by the Court and Mr. John Moll, President of New Castle Court, to be as followeth, viz.: 'This county of Upland to begin from the north side of Oele Francens Creeke, otherways called Steenkill, lying in the voght above the Verdrietege hoeck, and from the said creek ouer to the Singletree Point on the east syde of this river.' " "Steenkill," otherwise Stony Creek, is now known as Quarry Creek. "It crosses the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore rail- *It has sometimes been said tliat tliis measurement of a degree of latitude by Mason and Dixon was tbe first ever measured on tlie surface of the ground; but this is not exactly correct, for, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Caliph Almamoum, in 814 A. D., fi'i:ed upon a spot in the plains of Mesopotamia, sent one company of astronomers northward and another southward, measuring the journey by rods until each found the altitude of the Pole Star to have changed one degree, the northern party making a degree 56 miles and the southern party 56 2-3 miles. Again, about the jear 1500, a Frenchman named Pernel measured a distance in the direction of the meridian near Paris by counting the number of revolutions of the wheel of his carriage as he traveled. tThese precise figures, according to Clarke's spheroid, were supplied upon request by Henry S. Pritchett, superintendent United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. 90 CHESTER COUNTY road about three and three-quarters miles below the mouth of Naa- man's Creek, in Brandywine Hundred, Xew Castle County." "Verdrietege hoeck/' also called Trinity Hook, lay between Stony Creek and Shellpot Creek; and Singletree Point is now known as Old Man's Point of the New Jersey shore, one mile below the mouth of Old Man's Creek. Stony Creek is there on the dividing line, as at first located, and so remained until the grant to Penn fixed the boundary of his tract "on the south by a circle drawn at a distance of twelve miles from New Castle northward and westward. Later Naaman's Creek was recognized as the boundary line, and was so laid down by Thomas Holme, surveyor-general of the province, but still the boundary line between the two counties was not fixed, and some of the inhabitants of Chester County petitioned for a division line between their county and that of Xew Castle. Therefore on the 9th of August, 1693, it was resolved by the Council that the boundary of New Castle County should begin at the mouth of Naaman's Creek and upward along the southwest side of the northmost branch (excluding the townships of Concord and Bethel), and not to extend backward of the said northmost branch above the said two townships. Still this arrangement did not prove satisfactory, and as there appeared to be danger of the three lower counties separating from the province, a conference was held and a warrant issued dated 28th of the 8th mo., 1701, directed to Isaac Taylor of Chester County, and Thomas Pierson of New Castle County, authorizing them to accompany the magistrates of the two counties interested, and in their presence to "admeasure and survey from the town of New Castle the distance of twelve miles, in a right line,'' up the River Delaware, "and from said distance, according to the King's letters patent and deeds from the Duke," to survey the said circular line and mark it well two-thirds of the length of a semicircle. The magistrates agreed upon and established the center of the AXD ITS PEOPLE. 91 circle "at the end of the horse dyke next to the town of 'Sew Castle," and the survey was accordingly made. It may be interesting to note the method nsed in 1701 by Messrs. Taylor and Pierson in surveying this twelve-mile circular boundary line, and hence the following quotation from their report : "We did begin in the presence of said justices at the said end of the horse dyke and measured due north twelve miles to a white oak marked with twelve notches, standing on the west bank of the Brandywine Creek on the land of Israel Helm, and from the said white oak we ran eastward circularly, changing our direction from the east southward one degree at the end of every sixty-seven perches, which is the chord of one degree at a radius of twelve miles; and at the end of forty -three chords we came to the Delaware Eiver, on the upper side of Nathaniel Lumplugh's old house at Chi- chester. And then returning to the said white oak on Israel Helm's land we ran from thence westward, changing our course one degree from the west southward at the end of every sixty- seven perches until we had extended seventy-seven chords (which being added to the forty-three chords make two-third parts of the semicircle to a twelve-mile radius), all of which said circular line being well marked on each side of the trees to a marked hickory standing near the western branch of Christina Creek." It will be observed that this method of marking out a circular was peculiarly liable to error, as a very slight error in running the lines which formed the chords would amount to a considerable error in running one hundred and twenty chords; and it may also be re- marked that a very slight error in measuring the "one degree" at each change of direction would also lead to a considerable error, and if all these errors should happen to be in the same direction, the circle would in after years, when more scientific and accurate methods had come into use, be found to be far from its correct position. This sujvey of 1701 held good until 1849, when the Legislature 92 CHESTER COUNTY of Pennsylvania passed an act authorizing the Governor to appoint a commissioner to act in connection with commissioners appointed or to be appointed by the States of Delavs^are and Maryland, with power to survey and determine the point of intersection of the three States and to fix some suitable mark or monument whereby its location would afterward be know^n. Under similar laws passed by the States of Delaware and Maryland commissioners were ap- pointed by the Governors of Hhose States, and the three members of the commission were, on the part of Pennsylvania, Joshua P. Eyre; on the part of Delaware, George Eead Eiddle, and on the part of Maryland, H. G. S. Key. At the request of this commission the Secretary of War of the United States detailed Col. J. D. Graham, of the Topographical Engineers, to make the survey. Proceeding to the northeast cor- ner of Maryland the commissioners and Col. Graham found the stone monument set up by Mason and Dixon had been removed, but that a stake was found firmly driven into the ground at the place the monument had occupied, which they ascertained to be correct by subsequent surveys. After establishing this point they planted a new stone of cut granite about seven feet long, set five feet into the ground, marking it with the letter "P" on the nortJi and east sides, and with the letter "M" on the south and west sides. They also found that the points of tangent and intersection were substantially correct, though according to their measure- ments the twelve-mile radius was two feet four inches short, and that by errors in the location of the tangent point and the intersec- tion point Maryland had obtained about "one and three-fourths acres more than she was entitled to. New monuments were placed at the tangent point, at the intersection point, and at the meridian of the circle, that at the junction of the three States, or the inter- section point, being the most important. This was a triangular prismatic post of cut granite seven feet long, inserted into the AXD ITS PEOPLE. 93 ground four and a half feet, and marked with the letters "P," "D" and "M," according- to the State indicated, and also with the date, 1849, on the north side. On the 4th of May, 1889, an act was approved by the Governor of Pennsylvania which provided for a resurvey of this circle, and under it commissioners were appointed for Pennsylvania as fol- lows: Hon. Wayne McVeagh of Philadelphia; Hon. E. E. Mona- ghan of Chester County, and Mr. William H. MilJer of Delaware County. The Delaware commissioners were the Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, J. H. Hoffecker and B. L. Lewis. A meeting of the joint commission A^as held at Philadelphia, at which a series of four resolutions was adopted, the first one being to the elfect that the boundary line between the State of Dela- ware and the State of Pennsylvania shall be held to commence at the northeast corner of the State of Maryland and to extend due east 4,169 feet to the monument then fixed and agreed upon by the joint commission as the western terminus of the circular boundary line between the said States, said monument being at a distance of twelve English statute miles from the spire of the court- house in New Castle. In November, 1891, the joint commission appointed Daniel Farra surveyor for the State of Pennsylvania, and Benjamin H. Smith for Delaware. The commission decided that the most eco- nomical means of effecting its object would be to make use of tlie triangulation stations of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the positions were furnished by Prof. T. C. Mendenhall, superintendent of the Coast Survey, who offered to detail a compe- tent civil engineer, with the necessary instruments to carry on the woi'k. A preliminary survey developed the fact that no single curve could be made to pass through all the points previously agreed upon, and a compound curve was therefore adopted com- posed of two arcs of nearly equal lengths, the eastern arc or curve having its center some little distance south and east of the court- ■94 CHESTER COUNTY house in New Castle, and the western arc having its center some- what more distant from the court-house in the directly opposite direction. The preliminary survey developed the fact that a cir- cular arc with a twelve-mile radius from the court-house in New Castle as a center would fall entirely within the State of Dela- ware, would intersect the Delaware Eiver near the mouth of Naa^ man's Creek, over 3,000 feet below the point agreed upon for the terminal monument, and cut off nearly 5,000 acres from the State of Delaware; and it was also found that a curve from the initial point through the stump at the corner of Kennet Township and a line hickory tree near the corner of Concord would also intersect the river several hundred feet below the terminal point; and a curve from the terminal point through the Concord tree and the corner of Kennet would intersect the east and west line near the corner of Maryland, and thus transfer several hundred acres to Delaware from Pennsylvania. For theSe reasons a compound curve was determined upon in order to leave the boiindary line practically in the same position as it had been since 1701. Without attempting to present the details of the survey, which would at best interest only those versed in the higher math- ematics, it will be sufficient to say that the terminal monument was set up near tlie Delaware Eiver, December 12, 1892, and the initial monument on December 20, 1892. The stones along the cir- cular boundary line Avere set every half mile and every mile, the mile stones being so distinguished from the half mile stones as to cause no confusion. The entire length of this circular boundaiy line as thus surveyed was found to be 23.3619 miles. In this sur- vey the latitude and longitude of many points was determined with greater accuracy than had ever been done before; but only those of three points will be presented here, the three most important points on the line, or indirectly connected therewith. The latitude of the initial monument was found to be 39 degrees 43 minutes 19.91 seconds; the longitude, 75 degrees 46 minutes 26.70 seconds; AND ITS PEOPLE. 95 the latitude of the terminal monument was found to be 39 degrees 48 minutes 27.92 seconds; the longitude, 75 degrees 25 minutes 31.53 seconds; and the latitude of the northeast corner of Mary- land was found to be 39 degrees 43 minutes 19.91 seconds, and the longitude 75 degrees 47 minutes 20.03 seconds. In still more recent years the question of the location of the circular boundary line has attracted considerable attention. A certain gentleman claiming to live in Delaware refused to pay taxes to a collector for the township of London Britain, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the name of the collector being Thomas E. Orossan. The former, in order to prevent the collection of the taxes claimed by the Chester County official, secured an injunction against the exercise of his official functions, which injunction was made perpetual by Judge Hemphill at West Chester, January 15, 1897. The judge, in an elaborate review of the boundary line dis- pute, decided that the lands upon which taxes were claimed to be due lie in White Clay Creek Hundred, New Castle County, Dela- ware; that they lie "north of the circular arc of the compound curve, his (Mr. .Johnson's residence) being 600 feet north of it, and 600 feet south of the traditional curve line of 1701, as established by evidence. His land, therefore, having always heretofore been considered and treated as within the State of Delaware, and the proceedings of the commissioners of 1889 lacking the assent of the two States and of Congress, he is not liable for taxes assessed, and the injunction must be made perpetual." However, if the assent of the two States of Delaware and Pennsylvania should be obtained to the resolutions of the joint commission, and should the consent of the Congress of the United States also be obtained, then the said land of Mr. Johnson will clearly be within the limits of Pennsylvania, as his land is north of the compound curve, and his residence is six hundred feet north of that curve. About the year 1786 the people of the southeastern part of 96 CHESTER COUNTY Chester County thought that the county seat, at Turk's Head, was too far away, and consequently petitioned the General Assembly of the State to erect a new county consisting of the borough of Chester and the southeastern part of the county. This petition being regarded as just and reasonable by the General Assembly, that body on September 26, 1789, authorized the division of the county of Chester and the erection of the new county desired. Tliis new county was to be within the following limits: "Beginning in the middle of the Brandy wine Eiver where the same crosses the circular line of New Castle County, thence up the middle of the said river to the line dividing the lands of Elizabeth Chads and Caleb Brinton at or near the ford commonly called or known as Chads' Ford, and from thence, 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 said road, and from thence along the lines of Edgemont, Newtown and Eadnor, so as to include these townships, to the line of Montgomery County, and along the same and the Philadelphia County line to the Eiver Delaware, and down the same to the circu- lar line aforesaid, and along the same to the place of beginning, to be henceforth known and called by the name of Delaware County." By this act the townships of Birmingham and Thornbury were ' divided; but provision was made that the parts falling in each county should each constitute a separate township, each new town- ship retaining the name of the original township from which it was taken. CHAPTER 11. THE INDIANS. CHAPTER II. THE INDIANS — THE LENXI LENAPE SITES OF INDIAN VILLAGES— TRIBES REP- RESENTED — TREATIES AND RESERVATIONS — DEEDS AND SURVEYS THE PENN ELM COMPLAINTS OF THE INDIANS— THEIR CUS- TOMS REVIEWED LOCATION OF THEIR CAMPS — AN INDIAN ALARM THE CHIEFS — ACTION OF THE PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY INDIAN HANNAH. AYHEN the white man first came to the eastern part of what is now Pennsylvania he found a numerous body of natives here, which he named the Delaware Indians, because they lived on and near the Delaware River. They, however, called them- selves Lenni-Lenape, by which they meant the original people. These Lenni-Lenape Indians were usually divided up into small bodies or tribes, each tribe living in some river valley or the valley of a creek. The Xanticokes were one of these smaller tribes, they at one time dwelling and for a long time lingering along the valley of the Brandywine. It has been said of them by certain historians that when the name Delaware was first applied to them they were displeased, thinking it was given to them in derision; but when they were in- formed that it was given to them because of a great white chief,. Lord De La Ware, they not only became reconciled to it, but took it as a compliment, for they always liked to be named after dis- tinguished people. In some portions of the county they were more thickly settled than in others, being quite numerous along the Great Valley, and they were quite sparsely settled west of White Clay Creek. In 99 ICO CHESTER COUNTY other parts of the county they were quite evenly distributed. They usually located their wigwams in clusters, the numbers in each cluster varying according to circumstances, and when there were a considerable number of them together they were called an In- dian town. One of these towns stood in Upper Oxford Township, and another near the Baptist Church, in London Britain Town- ship. Some of their paths leading from point to point have since become public roads. One oft these paths led from Pequea, Lancas- ter County, to the headwaters of Chesapeake Bay, and ran along the ridge dividing the waters which flow into the Susquehanna from those which flow into the DehiAvare. This is now known as the Limestone Eoad, which name it has borne for a long period of time, having been mentioned in the record.-; as a public road as early as 1731. One of their villages was located near two flne springs in Wallace Township. When Daniel and Alexander Henderson, in 1733, purchased their lands, they promised that the burial ground should never be disturbed, and they and their children religiously kept the promise, but now this burial ground is a part of a culti- vated field. It was shortly after Braddock's defeat that these In- dians removed to that part of the State embraced in Crawford and Mercer Counties. Some time previous to this time the Shawnese Indians made a settlement in Lancaster County, and after a time spread out into Chester County, they having a large town near the site of the vil- lage of Doe Eun, and they also had a settlement in the vicinity of Steeleville, on Octoraro Creek. Among the early tribes of Indians occupying the country bor- dering the Delaware Eiver was one known as the Okehockings, the members of which tribe had their lodges on the banks of Eidley and Crum Creeks. By a warrant of a survey dated 10th month 15, 1702, it appears that a reservation of five hundred acres of land was granted this tribe near Williston, Chester County, the bounda- AND ITS PEOPLE. 103 ries of which, reservation are shown on the map of the early settle- ments of the county. It is stated in the minutes of the commis- sioners of property, under date of 10th month 7th and 8th, 1702, that the Ockanickon Indians had been removed from their old hab- itations before the proprietor's departure, by his order, and seated by Caleb Pusey, Nicholas Pyle, Nathaniel Newlin and Joseph Baker on the tract in Chester County formerly laid out by Griffith Jones, but then vacant. The names of the chiefs of this tribe were Pokkais, Sepopanny and Mattagooppa. Following is the warrant of survey issued by the commissioners of property to the surveyor of Chester County: "Whereas, Pokias, Sepopawny, Mettagooppa and others of the nation called Okehocking Indians, in Chester County, with their families, upon their removal from their late settlements near Kid- ley and Crum Creeks, have, by the proprietor's order and appoint- ment, been seated on another certain tract in the said county, and on the said Kidley Creek, near the head thereof, formerly surveyed to Griffith Jones, but by him left and acquitted, and now belonging to the Proprietary; in which place the said Indians request we would grant them a certain settlement, under sure metes and bounds, to them and their posterity, in pursuance of the proprie- tor's engagement in that case, made before his departure, who granted them, as it is creditably affli*med to us, five hundred acres in the said place. These, therefore, are in pursuance of the said grant, to authorize and require thee to survey and lay out to the said Pokhais, Sepapawney, Mattagooppa, and others of the said nation, called the Okehocking Indians, who were lately seated lower down on the said creeks, and their relations, and to no other whatsoever, the full quantity of five hundred acres of land in one square tract, in such place within the aforesaid tract as the said Indians shall desire; which said five hundred acres we do hereby ^rant to the said Pokhais, Sepopawney, Mattagooppa and others of the said nation called the Okehocking Indians, who were lately 7 104 CHESTER COUNTY seated as aforesaid, and to their relations, and to no other what- soever; to take and to hold to them, the said Indians, for settle- ment, and to their posterity of the same nation of Indians (and to- no other) forever; provided, always, that the said Indians, nor any of them, shall not give, grant or attempt to sell, or in any way dis- pose of any of the said five hundred acres of land hereby granted,, to any person whatsoever; but at such time as the said Indians shall quit or leave the said place, it shall be surrendered to the Proprietary without any further claim of the said Indians, or any person whatsoever, by or under them, their title of procurements; and make returns into the General Surveyor's office. "Given under our hands and the seal of the Province, at Phila- delphia, the 15th of the 10th month, 1702. "EDWAED SHIPPEN, "GEIFFITH OWEN, "THOMAS STORY, "JAMES LOGAN." "To ISAAC TAYLOE, Surveyor of the County of Chester," Five hundred acres were therefore surveyed in the southern part of the present township of Williston, on the east side of Ridley Creek, which the Indians occupied for a number of years, leaving it, however, some time prior to 1737, the lands returning under the grant to the Proprietary. The proprietary on August 1, 1737, issued a warrant for the entire tract of five hundred acres aban- doned by the Indians to Amos and Mordecai Yarnall, who divided it between them, Amos taking 196 acres and allowance on the east- ern and southern part, and Mordecai taking the remainder, about 276 acres and allowance. Surveys having been returned to the surveyor's office, patents were granted to them January 29, 1738, by Thomas Penn. The famous treaty held or made between William Penn and the Indians, under an elm tree no less famous than the treaty AND ITS PEOPLE. 105 itself, was at what is now called Kensington. It was formerly called, by the Indians Shackamaxon, or Sachamaxing, Place of Kings, from SaJiim, which in the Delaware language means king, or chief. It was held before the meeting of the assembly at Ches- ter, December 4, 1682. The Indian tribes represented at this famous meeting were the Lenni-Lenape, living near the banks of the Delaware; the Mingoes, a tribe which sprang from the Iro- quois, otherwise known as the Minguas, and settled at Conestoga, and the Shawnese, a southern tribe, which had removed to the Sus- quehanna, and which has a most interesting and tragic history. At this treaty Tamminel announces, through an interpreter, to William Penn, that the nations are ready to hear him. Penn then made his speech, to which an Indian chief replied. Though the treaty then made cannot be found, yet some historians say- there is evidence that it was committed tO' writing. The elm tree under which it was made was blown down in 1810. It was believed to be 283 years old, and was twenty-four feet in circumference. It has been made immortal in a painting by Benjamin West, a former resident of Chester County, whose grandfather was present at the making of the treaty. This was the first time Penn had met the Indian chiefs in council to make with them a firm league and friendship, which was never violated. Voltaire said of it that it was the only league between these nations and the Christians which was never sworn to and which was never broken. To the Iroquois William Penn was known as "Onas," and to the Delawares as "Miquon," each word meaning quill or pen. How- ever, according to Watson, the treaty under the great elm tree was not a treaty for lands at all, but a treaty of friendship, merely a great meeting for conference and pledge, in which presents were exchanged and mutual civilities extended from either side to the other and reciprocal promises of friendship and good will sever- ally made. He then says that if this assumption of his be true it will account for the absence of any deed or written title to lands io6 CHESTER COUNTY and prove that the alleged instrument of writing had no existence at that time, for it would have been wholly unnecessary. Historians differ among themselves concerning many facts of interest regarding the relations of the whites with the Indians dur- ing the early days. One of these points of difference is in regard to the deeds of lands made by the Indians to William Penn, and they also occasionally differ in reference to the same deed. Some say that there was but one deed made by Indians to William Penn, but, however this may be, numerous deeds were executed by the Indians of lands to William Penn, the transactions being conducted either by Penn himself or by his agents. These deeds were often very indefinite as to the boundaries of the tracts sold to Penn, and in many cases the same tract was sold to Penn or his representa- tives several times by different tribes or bodies of Indians, Penn preferring to satisfy the claims of all who professed original ownership of the lands than to stand upon the rights he had ac- quired by previous purchases. It is not always easy to state whether the land described in one of these Indian deeds was or was not any portion of what is now Chester County. Some of them evidently covered the whole or a part of this county, others as evidently covered lands quite distant therefrom, and others may or may not have included some portion of the county. The first deed to William Penn was dated July 15, 1682, ("ac- cording to English Accompt"), and conveyed lands east of the creek named in the deed, "Neshamonyes." These lands were a long distance above Philadelphia, and in Bucks County. This deed was confirmed by another made August 25, 1737, and is referred to here because it is known in history as the famous "Walking Pur- chase," about which there has been considerable difference of opin- ion as to the real grounds of dissatisfaction on the part of the In- . dians as to the advantage taken of them by the whites. But the merits of the discussion concern this history still less than does the purchase itself. The next deed was made June 23, 1683, by King Tammanens, AND ITS PEOFLE. 107 the original "St. Tammany," to all his lands between Pemmapecka and Neshiminehs Creeks, and is remarkable for that reason, and also more particularly for the terms of the purchase, viz.: "For the consideration of so much AS'ampum, so many guns, shoes, stock- ings, looking-glasses, blankets, and others goods as he, the said William Penn, shall please to give unto me." Three other deeds were made on the same day to the same and perhaps to contiguous lands by other tribes or parties of Indians, because they had an interest in this land, to William Penn, and all upon the same terms, "For the consideration of so much wampum, etc., as he, the said William Penn, shall please to give us." The first deed for lands lying on the Schuylkill Eiver, which borders Chester County, was dated June 25, 1683, and was made by Wingebone, for himself and his heirs, "of all my lands lying on the west side of the Schuylkill Eiver, beginning from the first falls of the same all along upon the said river and backward of the same so far as my right goeth," etc., "for so much wampum and other things as he shall please to give unto me." The above is probably the first deed that conveyed to William Penn any portion of what is now Chaster County, and that it did convey a portion of Chester County is probable for the reason that a line running backward from the Schuylkill Eiver would have to run only a short distance before reaching the eastern limits of the county. The next deed, made July 14, 1683, certainly covered a consid- erable portion of Chester County. It reads in part as follows : "We, Secana and Icquoquehan, Indian Shackamakers, and right owners of the land lying between Manaiunk, als Schuylkill, and Macopanackhan, als Chester Elvers, do this 14th day of the fifth month, in the year, according to English account, 1683, hereby grant and sell all our right and title in the said lands, lying be- tween the said rivers, beginning on the west side of Manaiunk, called Consohockhan, and from thence by a westerly line to the 1 08 CHESTER COUNTY said river Macopanackhan, unto William Penn, proprietor and gov- ernor of tlie province of Pennsylvania, etc., his heirs and assigns, forever, for and in consideration of 150 fathoms of wampum, 14 blankets, 68 yards duffils, 28 yards stroud waters, 15 guns, 3 great kettles, 15 small kettles, 16 pair of stockings, 7 pair of shoes, 6 caps, 12 gimlets, 6 drawing knives, 15 pair of scissors, 15 combs, 5 papers of needles, 10 tobacco boxes, 15 tobacco tongs, 32 pounds of powder, 3 papers of beads, 2 papers of red lead, 15 coats, 15 shirts, 15 axes, 15 knives, 30 bars of lead, 18 glasses, 15 hoes, unto us in hand paid," etc. Another deed was made on the same day for lands above the Schuylkill, and hence does not concern this work. The deed made July 30, 1685, by the Indians, Shakhoppoh, Secane, Malibore, and Tangoras, covered a considerable portion of Chester County. It reads in part as follows : "We, Shakhoppoh, Secane, Malibor, Tangoras, Indian Saka- makers, and right owners of the lands lying between Macopanac- kan, als Upland, now called Chester Elver or Creek, and the river or creek of Pemapecka, now called Dublin Creek, beginning at the hill called Conshohockin, on the river Manaiunk, or Skoolkill, from thence extends in a parallel line to the said Macopanackan, als Chester Creek, by a southwesterly course, and from the said Con- shohockin hill to the said Pemapecka, als Dublin Creek, by the said parallel line northeasterly, and so up along the said Pemapecka Creek so fartis the creek extends, and so from thence northwesterly back into the woods, to make up two full days journey, so far as a man can go in two days from the said station of the said parallel line at Pemapecka, also beginning at the said parallel at Macopa- nackan, als Chester Creek, and so from thence up the said creek as far as it extends; and from thence northwesterly back into the woods to make up two full days' journey, as far as a man can go in two days, from the said station of the said parallel line at the said Macopanackan, als Chester Creek, for and in consideration of two AND ITS PEOPLE. 109 luindred fathoms of wampum, 30 fathoms of dufflls, 30 guns, 60 fathoms of strawed waters, 30 kettles, 30 shirts, 20 gunbelts, 12 pair of shoes, 30 pair of stockings, 30 pair of scissors, 30 combs, 30 axes, 30 knives, 20 tobacco tongs, 30 bars of lead, 30 pounds of powder, 30 awls, 30 glasses, 30 tobacco boxes, 3 papers of beads, 44 pounds of red lead, 30 pair of hawk's bells, 6 drawing knives, 6 caps, 12 hoes, and do by these presents grant, bargain and sell, etc., all right, title and interest that we or any others shall or may liave — hereby renouncing and disclaiming forever any claim or pre- tense to the premises for us, our heirs, and sucecssors, and all other Indians whatsoever". Subsequently the following letter was sent out to the above- named Indian Ivings by Thomas Holme, in reference to the proposed marking out of the boundaries of the tract thus purchased: "To my loving friends, Shakhoppah, Secaming, Maleboro, Tan- goras, Indian kings, and to Maskeansho, Wawarrin, Tenoughan, Tarrecka and Nesonliakin, Indian Sakamackers, and the rest con- cerned : "Whereas, I have purchased and bought of you, the Indian kings and sakamackers, for the use of Governor William Penn, all your land from Pemapecka Creek, and so backward to Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna Kiver, two days' journey, that is to say so far as a man can go in two days, as under the hands and seals of jou the said kings, may appear; and to the end I may have a cer- tain knowledge of the land backward, and that I may be enabled ^nd be provided against the time for running the said two days' journey, I do hereby appoint and authorize my loving friend, Ben- jamin Chambers, of Philadelphia, with a convenient number of men, to assist him, to mark out a westerly line from Philadelphia to the Susquehanna, that so the said line may be prepared and made ready for going the said two days' Journey hereafter, when notice is given to you that said kings or some of you, at the time of going the said line; and I do hereby desire and require in the I lo CHESTER COUNTY name of our Governor Penn, that none of you, the said kings, saka- mackers, or any other Indians whatsoever, that have formerly been concerned in the above tracts of land, do presume to offer any inter- ruption or hindrance of the marking of the said line, but rather I expect your furtherance and assistance if occasion be herein; and that you will be kind and loving to my said friend, Benjamin Cham- bers, and his company, for which I shall, in the Governor's behalf, be kind and loving to you hereafter, as occasion may require. Wit- ness my hand and a seal, this 7th day of the 5th month, called July, being the fourth year of the reign of our great King of England, and the eighth of our proprietary, William Penn's government. A true copy of the original, by Jacob Taylor." A diagram with the above shows a ground plot of the survey, it going direct from Philadelphia city, to a spot on the Susque- hanna, about three miles above the mouth of Conestoga Eiver, near to a spot marked "fort demolished." Another sale was made October 2, 1685, the lands conveyed including a portion of Chester County. The deed referred to, so far as it is necessary to quote from it, reads as follows : "This Indenture witnesseth that we, Lare Packenah, Taree- kham, Sickais, Pettquessitt, Tewis, Essenpenaick, Petkhoy Keke- lappan, Peomus, Mackaloha, Melleonga, AVissa-Powey, Indian Sachemakers, Eight owners of all the lands from Quing Quingus, called Duck Creek, unto Upland, called Chester Creek, all along by the west side of Delaware Eiver, and so between the said creeka backwards as far as a man can ride in two days with a horse, for and in consideration of these following goods to us in hand paid," etc. Another deed and a very important one was .made October 11, 1736, by eight Indian chiefs of the Onondagas, six chiefs of the Senecas, four of the Oneidas, two of the Tuscaroras, and three of the Cayugas, in order to finally settle the ownership to "All the said river Susquehanna, with the lands lying on both sides thereof to AND ITS PEOPLE. iii • extend eastward as far as the head of the branches or springs which run into the said Susquehanna," to say nothing of those on the west side of the rivei*, because they do not concern this history, and this is believed to be the last Indian deal made that in any way does con- cern this work. The lands thus sold may or may not have come within the present limits of Chester County; but they were certainly within the original limits, and to a considerable extent. With reference to the mode of life and the places in Chester County frequented or occupied by the Indians, the following extract from a paper written by Philip P. Sharpless, of AVest Chester, who has given much thought to the habits of a race of men now lost to this eastern country, and who in his eighty-ninth year is now- living in West Chester, is here presented as being authoritative and concise: "In selecting a suitable place for his winter quarters, the Indian preferred a south laying land, near to a spring of good water, surrounded and sheltered by wood, and easily accessible to friendly neighbors by a common path. "Such was the situation where West Chester now stands. On the south side of the town, within one or two hundred yards, ran the great path which left their hunting grounds on the Susque- hanna at Peach bottom crossed over to the rapids of the Delaware. Near and on both sides of it are the sites of many of their villages. The Susquehanna was visited early in the spring by whole tribes on arriving of fish from southern waters, as was common at that season of the year; returning to the Delaware as the season ad- vanced. "The great path, which is still visible in some places, com- mences, so far as I know it, and is still well marked at that point, in a piece of woods on lands of the late Abraham Williams, for- merly known as the southeast comer of the eighty acres. Passing nearly directly west, it enters the small woods formerly of Joshua Darlington, now (1888) belonging to William Smith, where it may 112 CHESTER COUNTY still be traced. Continuing west through the south side of the Friends' Burial Company's Grounds, thence it passes between the residences of Smedley and John Darlington. Continuing its west- erly course, it now crosses over the hill onto the land of W. T. Ingram, then to about fifty feet south of the gateway leading to the dwelling of the late IDmmor Davis, crossing the Birmingham road nortli of Sconneltown school-house, it runs through the farm of Paschal Hacker, thence onto the land of William Eeid, still con- tinuing the same course its route was up the road on Dr. Price's farm in front of his greenhouses, and so on through George Little's woods to the Brandywine, being nearly a straight line from where it enters the land of Abraham Williams, until it reaches the creek about one-half mile above the forks. "On the sides of this great highway I can locate the sites of at least twenty old camping grounds that have been occupied by tbe Indians, not one of which is more than three miles from West Ches- ter. To find these locations they must be looked for after the ground has been recently plowed or harrowed, whilst it is still free from vegetation, and soon after a rain. When a field is in corn or after it has been cut, it affords the best opportunity to ascertain the location of an Indian camp, but an amateur, when in the midst of a town site, will be often disappointed, because of his impatience and his want of knowledge. He will look for arrow or spear points, when these may have all disappeared, having been gathered and sent away, while the spalls under his feet, the hammer, the knife, or pieces of basin or other worked stone may surround without attracting notice. "A little practice with an expert will soon enable him to over- come this difficulty, if he have patience, and of this he will need a good store, as it may be years before grass lands may be turned into fallow grounds, and until this is done his labor will be in vain, as most of the objects he is in search of are buried beneath the sod, whilst the farmer has removed those that lay on the surface and sent them away to help macadamize some road. AND ITS PEOPLE. 113 "There are four well-marked camping sites within the borough -of West Chester. The first is in the southwest part, about one hun- dred yards west of the Philadelphia and West Chester railroad, where it crosses the borough line. The hill faces to the southeast, and the camp extends from top to foot of the same, covering about four acres. "It is located near a spring of good water. On this ground 1 have found sixty or seventy arrow and spear points, and many of them have been carried away by others. Among those in my pos- session is one of black jasper, nearly perfect, made by a good work- man, a hammer, several knives, one-half of a banner stone, and those used for heating in the fire to do their cooking with, besides the usual amount of spalls found around an old camp. "The second camp is on a stream in the south part of the bor- ough, between Darlington Street, extended, and New Street, and where it is proposed in the future to lay Melds Street, on the line between the lands of George Fitzsimmons, Albert Hall and others. On these lots I have picked up a broken red stone hammer, a broken pestle, an axe, a few arrow and spear points, and the usual amount of burned stone and spalls. Others have found here a part of a stone basin, a pestle, several stone ornaments, an axe, tomahawk, and other implements. Most of the ornaments have passed into the collection of Charles H. Pennypacker. "Number three is on the same stream in the southwest corner of the borough, on the farm of Dr. Jacob Price, near the fine spring which he now uses for dairy purposes. "The new house west of his barn is near the center of the camping ground. In the field I have found many reliques similar to those already described, and this camp, I think, must have exceeded either of the others in size or contained a greater number of inmates than they did. "James A. Ingram, a former occupant of this farm, collected many fine specimens here, and still retains them in his cabinet. 1 14 CHESTER COUNTY This plot of ground is at present in grass. Between numbers two and three are several places that have been temporarily occupied by the Indians, where their marks are not so distinct as in those named. "To the north of number three in a lot belonging to M. B. Hickman, between Wayne and Brandywine Streets, and north of Price, around an excellent spring, have been found many good arrow points; but a more thorough examination will be required to ascertain how they came there. If a village stood there at any time, it must have been a small one. "Number four is on the lands of Hoopes Bros. & Thomas, east of the old borough waterworks. It is undoubtedly the spring from which the savages obtained their supply of water. The center of their camp must have been near where the barn of the company now stands situated northwest of the road leading to the residence of William P. Marshall, and about two hundred yards northeast of the public park. On these grounds was found one of the most perfect stone axes I have ever seen, a hammer of red sandstone,, many arrow points and the usual chert chips that mark the site of a camp. These grounds haye long been under cultivation, and most of their treasures have been carried away ; but there remains sufficient of waste material to mark it as a favorite dwelling place." Alfred Sharpless, brother of Philip P. Sharpless, in a paper read before the Chester County Historical Society, November 19, 1897, mentions and describes an old Indian fort, which he says was located "less than half a mile above the forks of the Brandywine^ on the west bank of the east branch" thereof. This old fort con- sists of a collection of rocks "at the brow of a sharp hill about eighty feet above the level of the creek, and not more than one hun- dred and fifty feet from it at the nearest point. * * * The old fort is formed by two or three large rocks that project from the hill- side, covering a space about fifteen by twenty feet. Under these is a cave or space, varying in height from five feet to less than a AWD ITS PEOPLE. 115 foot, and extending back some twelve or fourteen feet. * * * No doubt this old fort was often a resting place and a shelter for parties of nomads as they passed to and fro between the Delaware and Susquehanna Elvers, as it could not have been far from their great pathway, and having convenient fording places in the vicinity. It may have been the site of many a sanguinary battle, of which we have no record, as the approach to it must always have been very difficult and dangerous to a storming party." "The only tradition in relation to the fort that we have been able to obtain, comes down to us through one of the old inhabitants of the neighborhood. He states that an alarm came one morning and spread rapidly around among the neighbors that a party of Indians on the war path were coming down the creek road and soon was heard what appeared to be the screaming and yelling of a large party of savages. The neighbors hurriedly assembled with guns and pitchforks at the old fort, as the best place for defense. Later the cause of alarm proved to have come from a farmer's ox cart that was coming down the valley hills making a great screeching, the farmer having failed to grease the axle before starting in the morning. This is said to have been the last Indian scare in Chester County." While the Delaware or Lenni-Lenape Indians were the only native occupants of the eastern part of Pennsylvania when the white men first settled upon it, yet there were other Indians that occasionally came into this region, sometimes making trouble not only for the Delawares but also for the whites. These were the confederated nations, known as the Five Nations, whose domain extended from Vermont to Lake Erie, and from Lake Ontario to the headwaters of the Delaware, Susquehanna and Alleghany Elvers. By the Delawares these Five Nations were called the Minguas or Mingoes; and by the French they were called the Iro- quois. They were composed of the Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas, Senecas and Mohawks. In 1712 the Tuscaroras being expelled ii6 CHESTER COUNTY from North Carolina were adopted into the family of the Five Na- tions, the confederation being thereafter called the Six Nations. At some remote period the Lenni-Lenape Indians had been conquered by the Five Nations, had been reduced to a state of vassalage, had been compelled to acknowledge a condition of fealty to their conquerors, which enabled them to hold their lands only by permission, and which prevented them from engaging in war. This was their status anaong other Indian tribes when the white people first visited them. And although they were the permanent occupiers of the soil on the shores of the Delaware, they were frequently subject to intrusion on the part of the Five Nations, who occupied portions of the country at their own pleasure. When, therefore, these predatory incursions were indulged in, there was always more or less apprehension on the part of the Lenni-Lenapes and the whites. The Indians with whom Penn made his first and most famous treaty of friendship, were the peace- ful Lenni-Lenapes, but in 1701 he made a treaty with the chiefs of the Five Nations, and with the Indians from the Susquehanna and the Potomac, and also with the chiefs of the Shawnese. In course of time the Delawares were able to throw off the yoke that had so long galled them, and at a treaty of 1756 their great chief, Tedyus- cung, compelled the chiefs of the Six Nations to acknowledge their independence. The Indians that lived latest in Chester County were removed therefrom in 1757 to the valleys of the Wyoming and the Wyalus- ing, on the Susquehanna. At the great treaty of St. Mary's in 1820 there were present about twenty chiefs of the Nanticokes, one of whom was nearly ninety j ears old. It is usually the great men of a tribe or nation that make its history. One of the great chiefs of the Delawares was Tedyuscung, who frequently visited Philadelphia and eastern Pennsylvania from 1750 to 1760. Another great man among them was Isaac Stille, who had a good education, had much good sense, was of good AND IT8 PEOPLE. 117 morals and was a professing Christian. He had traveled all over the West and the Kocky Mountain region and had seen the "White Indians,-' who are said to have lived in the southwestern part of this country. In 1771 he moved into Buckingham County, where he collected together the scattered remnants of his tribe, and in 1775 led them far away to the Wabash country, where he said they would be free "from war and rum." The Shawnese Indians came to Pennsylvania about 1698, desir- ing to settle among the Indians and whites of this province as strangers, the Conestoga Indians becoming security for their good behavior. They were also under the protection of the Five Nations,, who had set Shakallamy over them as their chief. The Indians claimed that after they had sold all their lands to William Penn, that is, all in Chester County, that he re-conveyed to them a tract one mile in width on each side of the Brandywine from its mouth up the west branch to its head — but that the writing was accidentally destroyed by the burning of a cabin. In 1706 at the request of the white inhabitants on the Brandywine, the com- missioners of property purchased from the Indians their claim ta these lands from the mouth of the creek up to a certain rock in the west branch, for the consideration of £100. The I'ock mentioned was in the line of Abraham Marshall's land, and also in the line of the Society tract purchased by Nathaniel Newlin. Mr. Newlin soon afterward began disposing of his lands, and within six months had sold off about nine parcels, varying in size from 150 to 300 acres. Some of these parcels were located on the creek. The Indians immediately complained that Newlin was sell- ing their lands; for they were still the owners of the land one mile in width on each side of the creek from the rock mentioned to the head of the creek. As no attention appears to have been paid to the claims of the Indians they carried their cause to the Provincial Assembly in the summer of 1725, and the account of the proceed- ings before the Assembly is so interesting that it is worth quoting entire : ii8 CHESTER COUNTY "13th of 6 mo. 1725. The petition of divers inhabitants of the city of Philadelphia, setting forth that the Proprietary having pur- chased of the natives all the lands vs^ithin certain bounds; and that the proprietary did afterward release back to some of the said natives a certain tract of land on the Brandywine, which said land is lately taten up and settled, to the great disturbance of said natives, and praying that this Honse would take the same into consideration; was read and ordered to be considered this after- noon. "Then this House was given to understand that the Heads of the said Indian complainants desire to attend the House in person, to set forth their grievances. Ordered, that they wait on the House at three o'clock this afternoon with their interpreters. "3 p. m., the House met. "The Indians ordered to attend this afternoon, waited at the door desiring to be heard. Then chairs were placed for them, they were called in, and the Speaker, on behalf of the House, said : 'The House has had information that you have been with the Governor and Commissioners already. Have you received satisfaction?" "Indians (by interpreter) — 'We have not.' "Speaker — 'What it is, then, that you have to offer to the House?' "Indians — 'When William Penn came to this country, he set- tled a perpetual friendship with us, and after we sold him our country, he re-conveyed back a certain tract of land upon the Brandywine, for a mile on each side of said creek, which writing was, by the burning of a cabin, destroyed; but we all remember very well the contents thereof: That William Penn promised that we should not be molested whilst one Indian lived, grew old, and blind and died, — so another, to the third generation; and now it is not half the age of an old man since, and we are molested, and our lands surveyed out and settled before wo can reap our com off; And to our great injury, Brandywine Creek is so obstructed with &. J. JJa'^^ Q < H < w )— ! I — I w < o U o AND ITS PEOPLE. 121 dams, that the fish cannot come up to our habitations. We desire you to take notice that we are a poor people, and want the benefit of the fish, for when we are out hunting, our childi'en with their bows and arrows, used to get fish for their sustenance, therefore, we desire that those dams be removed, that the fish may have their natural course.' "Speaker — 'How did you understand that writing to be? That you should enjoy that land forever?' "Indians — 'Not only we, but all the Indians understood it to be theirs as long as the waters ran down the creek.' "Speaker — 'Have you anything more to say?' "Indians — 'No; but if you hear us not we shall be obliged to come again next spring.' "Speaker — 'The House is inclined to do you all the favor that lies in their power.' "Indians — 'We hope we are all friends, and desire to continue so, as long as we draw breath.' "Then the Indians withdrew, and after some debate it was ordered that Francis Eawle, John Kearsley, and John Swift, go to James Logan, one of the commissioners of property, and inform him of the substance of said petition, and matter complained of by the Indians; who being returned report that the said commissioner shows a very hearty inclination to accommodate the affair with the Indians, and although their right does not appear so clear, yet they are possessed of such strong notions of it, that there is no divesting them of it; and, therefore, he is ready to do what he can to quiet their complaints, by granting the person who possesses the said lands other lands in the stead thereof. "Ordered that Francis Eawle and John Kearsley draw up an address to the Governor, on behalf of the Indians. Adjourned. "6th mo. 14th day, 1725. The House met, etc. "Then the members appointed yesterday in the afternoon, to draw up an address to the Governor, on behalf of the Indians, 122 CHESTER COUNTY brought in the same, which was read and agreed to. Ordered,^ That the same be transcribed, and then the House adjourned to two, p. m. "Two o'clock, p. m. The House met, etc. "The address to the Governor, on behalf of the Indians, accord- ing to order, being transcribed, is as follows, viz.: 'The Address of the Eepresentatives of the said Province, in General Assembly met: May it please the Govern*, as next to Divine Providence, the peace, happiness, and quietness which this Province first enjoyed, was owing to the wise conduct of the Hon. William Penn, our Proprietary and Governor, by procuring a good friendship betwixt him and the native Indians at his first arrival here, so by diligent care in cultivating and preserving the like friendship, the great happiness of peace hath been hitherto enjoyed among us, when divers of the neighboring colonies have been obnoxious to the in- sults of the barbarous Indians, to the great damage of their coun- tries; and as the Governor's care and indefatigable pains upon all occasions, has been very conspicuous to that good end, this House do address themselves on an unhappy dissatisfaction some Indians are under (who have always lived very peaceable with the inhabi- tants of this pro's'ince) from an opinion that they are likely to be dispossessed of some lands they had long enjoyed on the river Brandywine, as also for being deprived of the benefit of fishing on the said river; all which they have by personal complaint laid before this House. And the House having taken into serious consideration the fatal consequences it may be to the peace of this Province, represented the same to James Logan, one of the Commissioners of Property, who has given the House ample satis- faction of his intentions to accommodate the difference with the said Indians. And we are fully satisfied (were it not for a purchase made of some part of these lands by Nathaniel Newlin, and his too wilful resolution to hold and settle the same), this part of this difference relating to the pretended encroachments on their AND ITS PEOPLE. 123 lands would be immediately silenced. And notwithstanding this obstacle, we have reason to believe that Nathaniel Newlin will, in a very short time, become sensible that it will be as much to his own private interest as to the Province in general, to be more conde- scending in this affair. " 'But, whereas there are dams or wares which do obstruct the passage up of fish to the place where the said Indians are settled, without the verge of this government, this House doth humbly request the Governor, that he will be pleased to exert his authority, in such manner as he shall think proper, for quieting and satisfying the said Indians, and preserving the ancient friendship between them and the inhabitants of this Province; and herein we also have that confidence as to hope that the Government of New Castle, Kent and Sussex, will so far think it conducive to their peace and quiet, that they will not fail to do what is necessary on their part, for the full settling and composing this dissatisfaction. " 'August 14, 1725. Signed by the order of the House. " 'WILLIAM BILES, Speaker.' "Ordered, That Thomas Chandler and Elisha Gatchell present the same to the Governor; who return and report that they had delivered the said address according to order, and that the Gov- ernor perused the same, and said he was entirely of the opinion of the House, and that he and his Council would use their utmost endeavors to satisfy these Indians, and that he Avas going down to New Castle, where he would order the persons concerned to move those dams complained of, which, if they did not do, he would give orders to the King's attorney, to prosecute them, and oblige them thereunto by process of law." The claims of the Indians not being adjusted to their satisfac- tion they again sought an interview in the spring of 1726, and the following proceedings were had : "3d month 31st, 1726. The House met, etc. "The Indians (who claim certain rights on Brandywine Creek) 124 CHESTER COUNTY came to wait upon the House, and by a member sent in a paper they received from James Logan, and likewise a message that they were not satisfied therewith, and therefore made further application to this House for redress, which paper being read, the House went into a debate thereon, and after some time referred the further con- sideration thereof until to-morrow, and th£:n the House adjourned until to-morrow morning at nine o'clock. "4th month 1st, 1726, 9 a. m. The House met, etc. "The House proceeded further on the consideration of the affair relative to the Indians. "Ordered, That Evan Owen go to the commissioners of property and desire some of tliem to attend, in order to inform the House what progress hath been made with Nathaniel Newlin toward an accommodation; who returned and reported that he spoke with James Logan, one of the commissioners of property, according to order, and that he was ready to attend the House in order to acquaint them with what had been done in that affair; who, being called in, produced an Indian deed, dated 1685, signed by thirteen Indian kings, which conveys all the lands from Duck Creek to Up- land Creek, alias Chester Creek, and as far back as a man could ride on horseback in two days, and says he finds no footsteps of any re-conveyance, neither in the land office nor upon record, but that in 1705 the Indians laid claim to all the lands from the mouth of Brandywine up the west branch to the head, in breadth a mile on each side of that branch; and afterward the commissioners of property purchased of the Indians all the lands from the mouth of Brandywine Creek up to a certain rock by Abraham Marshall's land for the sum of one hundred pounds, seventy -three pounds and eight shillings of which was then paid to their chiefs, and the remainder they paid yesterday, and the chiefs of the Indians signed a release, but said they wanted some instrument given to them that they might know what was theirs and be secure in it. But the commissioners told them it was not at this time in their power AND ITS PEOPLE. 125 to make them any grant of the said lands, but that they should not be disturbed in their quiet possession thereof, neither by Nathaniel Newlin, nor by any other person. That the commis- sioners had told Nathaniel Newlin that it was in vain for him to pretend to that land, let the disappointment be what it would, so long as the Indians laid claim to the same and would continue upon it; that after the Indians came up last year and made the complaint, and a re-conveyance was generally reported to have been given to the Indians, he went down to Chester and took certificates of all those who were reported to have seen and known of such a writing ; which certificates being produced and read in the House, none of which did amount to any certainty as to what that writing did contain; but since the Indians had an imperfect idea of it, and a strong resolution to hold it, the commissioners used such means as they thought most likely to satisfy them and continue them in the quiet possession of their claims, and for that end said they had agreed and accommodated the matter with Nathaniel Newlin as far as was in their power to do at present, and then withdrew. "Then the House, after some debate, was of the opinion that Nathaniel Newlin be sent for to give some further assurance that what is done by the paper delivered yesterday, that he will not mo- lest the said Indians in tlieir claims. "Ordered, That John Wright send a letter that the House re- quire his attendance to-morrow morning, and then the House ad- journed till 3 p. m. "4th mo., 2d. — The House met, etc., adjourned to 3 p. m. "3 p. m. — The House met, Nathaniel Newlin not attend- ing, according to the expectation of the House, after some debate a motion was made and the question put that if Nathaniel Newliu come not to town this evening he be sent for by the sergeant-at- arms, and that an order be forthwith issued under the Speaker's hand, and the sergeant be dispatched therewith this evening. Car- ried in the affirmative. Adjourned till 9 a. m. 126 CHESTER COUNTY "4th mo., 3d, 9 a. m. — The House met. The sergeant-at-arms reports that Nathaniel Newlin came to town last evening and will attend the House this morning. "The House being informed that Nathaniel Newlin attended, he was called in, and said that he expected the value, and not the quantity only of land, in lieu of that the Indians claimed of his; and that he was to meet the commissioners of property this after- noon, and then doubted not that they should settle that affair to the satisfaction of the House, and withdrew, and then the House adjourned till 3 o'clock this afternoon. "3 p. m. — The House met, etc. Nathaniel Newlin attended, and being called in delivered on the table a paper subscribed with his hand, doth declare and promise that neither he nor his heirs will, by any means, disturb or molest the Indians in their posses- sions or claims. Then, after some debate thereon, it was "Kesolved, That the Indians be sent for and the contents of the said paper be explained to them and inquiry made whether it be satisfactory to them. "Ordered, That John Wright and Samuel Hollingsworth ac- quaint them thereof, that they may attend forthwith; who return and report that they have been with the Indians, and that they are now attending with their interpreters, who, being called in, the said paper was explained to them by their interpreters, and they de- clared that they were well satisfied therewith, and they desired that the said paper might remain among the records of this House and a copy thereof be given to them. "Ordered, That a copy be made out accordingly and delivered to them, and the original lodged in the House, which was done ac- cordingly. "And the Indians further said that they had been very much disturbed in their minds, but that now they were perfectly easy, since they found that this House would stand by them and see them righted. AND ITS PEOPLE. 127 "Then Nathaniel New! in was called in and acknowledged the said writing to them; so they shook hands together and parted fully reconciled, and then the House adjourned." From this time on until 1729 peace appears to have hovered over the Brandy wine; but in the latter year difficulties broke out again, and the Indian chief, Checochinican, under date of June 24, wrote to Patrick Gordon, Governor of Pennsylvania at that time, the following letter: June 24, 1729. Honoured Governeur: It is with regret of mind that I take this opportunity of laying our great grievances before your consideration, hoping that you will be pleased to take care and protect us from any wrongs and Injuries done me and our people, whom in the behalf of I now write. In time past we sold our interest to William Penn (our brother); he was pleased to grant us a wrighting for the creek of Brandywine, up to the head thereof, which said wrighting by some accident was lost, with all the land a mile wide of the creek on each side, which afterward we disposed of so far up as to a certain known rock in the said creek, it being in the line of the land be- longing to one Abraham Marshall, and of late to the great preju- dice and disquiet of us, a people that has done and still desires to do, to continue in peace and love and be as one heart and soul with William Penn and his people, the land has been unjustly sold, whereby we are reduced to great wants and hardships, notwith- standing in the year 1726 application was made to the assembly for relief in that case, and a wrighting was given by Nathaniel Newlin that neither the said Nathaniel Newlin, to whom some of the land was sold, nor his heirs would anyways disturb or molest us in the free and peaceable enjoyment thereof, but contrary to the same it has been sold, and greatly disquieted us; nay, we have been so much interrupted that we have been forbid so much as to make use of timber growing thereon for the convenience of buildisQg some 128 CHESTER COUNTY cabins, and further, that the town at the head of Brandywine is surveyed to one James Gibbons and many more, and now has an as- surance of a conveyance of the same from the commissioners of property, as he himself says, by James Steel, the which grievances we here take freedom to lay before your consideration, hoping that nothing will be wanting more now to cultivate and preserve a good and lasting friendship between us and the descendants of our brother, William Penn, who had shown their love and care so par- ticularly to us as to give it so principally in charge, and as nothing has yet appeared to give us the least umbridge that our cases as before represented will be always neglected. We take freedom to lay it before your further consideration, and subscribe myself your sincere friend and brother. N. B. — James Logan promised to me that James Gibbons nor anybody else should never have a confirmation thereof, nor any other person within our claim." Nathaniel Newlin, who seems to have given the Indians so much trouble on the Brandywine, died in 1729. The settlement of the lands went on without apparent interruption by or from the complaints of the Indians, and they not many years afterward re- moved from the county, when all difficulty growing out of their claims came to an end. The location of the town "surveyed out to James Gibbons,"' mentioned in the letter, just quoted, is believed to have been about where the "Indiantown Schoolhouse" stands in Wallace Township. The last of the Lenni-Lenape Indians of Chester County died in 1802, in the person of Indian Hannah. She had her wigwam for many years upon the Brandywine, and was accustomed to travel about a good deal, selling baskets, etc. On such occasions she was often followed by her dog and pigs, and at the time of her death was nearly one hundred years old. She possessed a proud and lofty spirit to the last, hated black people and scarcely brooked the lower class of whites. She often spoke emphatically of the wrongs of her AXD /r,s' PEOPLE. 129 race, and feelingly of Iheir misfortunes, and bestowed her affections on them to the last days of her life. A certain individual, visiting her cabin on the farm of Humphrey Marshall, thus expressed his emotion upon seeing where she had lived in her later years : "Was this the spot where Indian Hannah Was seen to linger, weary, worn with care? Yes — that mute cave was once the happy home Of Hannah, last of her devoted race; But she, too, now has sunk into the tomb, The briars and thistles wave above the place." Her family consisted of Andrew, Sarah, Jimmy and herself, and she was the "Last of the Lenape." As she grew old she left her wigwam and lived with those who were friendly to her, and at length, on the opening of the poor-house of Chester County, she be- came an inmate of that institution, the only representative of New- lin Township, and there she died March 20, 1802. CHAPTER 111. GEOLOGY. CHAPTER III. GEOLOGY — ROCKS OF THE COUNTY CLASSIFIED — CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VARIOUS REGIONS — THE DIP OF THE STRATA — ECONOMIC ROCKS — FOS- SIL PLANTS AND ANIMALS — THE FIVE GEOLOGIC REGIONS — THEIR FEATURES DESCRIBED — THEORIES OF THE GEOLOGISTS — MINERALS — ORES — LEAD — COPPER — ZINC — ROCKS — A DESCRIP- TION OF ALL SCALE OF HARDNESS. IN this work there is no attempt made to treat of the geology of Chester County in an exhaustive manner. Such a thing could not be done for want of space, and, besides, it is only the profes- sional geologist that can do such a work in a creditable and sat- isfactory manner. All, therefore, that will be attempted is to summarize the leading facts and features of this interesting topic in such a manner as may lead those who may read this chapter, and who have not given much thought to the geology of their county, to turn their attention in that direction and thus become more par- ticularly informed. Chester County lies principally within what is known as the Atlantic slope district, which lies between the tide waters of the Delaware Kiver and the Susquehanna River and the southeast base of the range of hills known as South Mountain. All of this county which lies south of the valley, comprising more than half of its area, is composed of rocks belonging to the primary stratified group. These rocks consist chiefly of gneiss, but there is a belt of mica and tale-slate connected with the limestone of the valley, which belt bounds the gneiss on the north and west. 133 134 CHESTER COUNTY This limestone valley is the most remarkable feature of the geology of the county, and as it divides the county into two al- most equal portions, it will first be treated. It is a perfectly straight valley, running nearly east and west through the county, but is inclined slightly toward the northeast and south- west, the divergence being about 18 degrees. This valley is two miles wide at the Schuylkill River, on the Montgomery County line, which width it practically maintains toward the westward about half across the county, and then tapers to about one mile in width at the Lancaster County line. This valley separates the northern from the southern townships. The strata which occupy this Chester County, or Downingtown Valley, are what some geologists have named the Siluro-Oambrian Limestones, and they dip generally from 30 degrees to 50 degrees southward; but small anticlinal rolls run diagonally across their general strike, and the white marble strata, which are confined to the southern edge of. the valley, stand almost perfectly vertical. There are other areas of this limestone, lying mainly to the south of this principal valley, in West Marlborough and London Grove Townships. The North Valley Hill is made by the Potsdam sandstone, No. 1, rising northward from beneath the lowest limestones and spreading in sheets and patches over a considerable gneiss re- gion, embracing Honeybrook, East and West Nantmeal, West Vincent, East and West Pikeland, Oharlestown, Upper Uwchlan, East and West Brandywine, and parts of West Cain and Sands- bury Townships; and it is plain that the fundamental gneiss area now exposed was formerly entirely covered by the Potsdam quartzite and the overlying limestone. The South Valley Hill, on the contrary, is the edge of a low tableland, composed (1) of a belt of magnesian-mica slate; also vertical or dipping at the highest angle southward, apparently in contact and conformity with and over the marble beds of the south AND ITS PEOPLE. 135 edge of the valley, but possibly overturned and beneath the mar- ble, in which latter case the valley is a synclinal trough, and the slates south of it are equivalent to the quartzite north of it, or else a fault runs along the south edge of the valley. The belt of South Valley Hill slate is only two miles wide at the Schuylkill end, widens westward to three miles at West Chester, four and a half miles at the west branch of the Brandywine, and then spreads over East and West Fallowfield, Highland, Londonderry, Upper and Lower Oxford, and East and West Nottingham Townships into Lancaster County. (2) A belt of older and newer gneisses and mica-schists occupy all the townships to the south and east. Slight areas of limestone, however, occur in this belt near West Chester, Doe Kun, Kennett Square, Avondale, Landenburg, etc.; and Potsdam quartzite seems to be observed around London Grove and at points on the Delaware State line. A long range of ser- pentine separates the two belts in East Goshen and Willistown Townships, and another still more extensive serpentine belt ranges along the Maryland line into Lancaster County and car- ries deposits of chrome iron sand. A trap dyke enters from Dela- ware County at the south edge of the slate belt, and extensive out- spreads of trap boulders occur along the Berks County boundary in the north, other local exposures of trap being numerous in vari- oiis parts of the county. Between the Schuylkill Kiver and French Creek the country is wholly of mesozoic formations, sandstone and shale, and in the tunnel at Phoenixville through these rocks a large collection of fossil plants and reptiles was made by Dr. C. M.. Wheatley. Copper, lead and zinc veins have long been mined to a small extent along the contact line of the mesozoic and gneissic rocks. The large magnetic iron mines of Warwick connect with both trap and new red sandstone rocks, but really belonging to th'i underlying azoic floor, are still worked. Small quantities of brown hematite ore have also been obtained from the valley limestones. The wliite marble quarries are numerous, but are- none of them large. 136 CHESTER COUNTY The above is a brief summary of the geology of the county by Prof. J. P. Lesley, who, together with Dr. Persifor Frazer, is the best authority on this subject. They must both be consulted by any on> who would become tolerably familiar with the scientific and useful features of the geology of the county without them- selves making original investigations. For purposes of convenience of description and a clearer un- derstanding of this important.subject it is customary to divide the county into five sections, as follows: 1. The Southern Gneiss region. 2. The Mica-slate region. 3. The Downingtown Valley region. 4. The Northern Gneiss region. 5. The New Ked Sandstone region. The Southern Gneiss region has a general elevation above the level of the sea of about 400 feet, below which general elevation its streams have cut many valleys and ravines to a depth of from 100 to 200 feet, which valleys and ravines are often bounded by steep and rocky slopes. The northern boundary of this southern gneiss region is a line nearly straight, extending east-northeast and passing by West Chester. To the north of this line is a belt of hydro-mica-schist, and south of it spreads a country of syenite rocks, feldspar-porphyry rocks, horneblendic gneiss, micaceous schists, chlorite-schists aud quartzite beds. Over this region are to be found patches of serpentine and crystalline limestone, beds of impure limestone, pure kaolin, and often an abundance of corun- dum. According to Prof. Frazer these rocks were originally sedi- ments of mud, sand and gravel, their real stratification being visi- ble wherever they are quarried. "Infinitely numerous and rapid variations of constituent char- acter, texture, hue and crystalline contents make the study of these rocks extremely difficult in a structural sense. There are no key rocks to mark geological horizons, and so large a portion of WILLIAM WAYNE. AND ITS PEOPLE. 139 the upland is cultivated that the exposures along all the valleys cannot be traced across and identified with those of another valley only a few miles distant." Without going into a detailed description of the various geo- logical formations, it may be stated that Prof. H. D. Eogers divides this southern gneiss region, which is now passing under review, into three belts, as follows: 1. A northern anticlinal, hard gneiss belt, on which West Chester stands. 2. A southern monoclinal, hard gneiss belt, on which Philadel- phia stands 3. The middle synclinal, soft gneiss and mica-slate belt, sep- arating the other two belts. The prevailing varieties of the northern belt of the southern gneiss region are as follows: 1. Massive feldspathic gneiss, some of it micaceous, some of it like stratified syenite, sometimes porphyroidal, and very much like that at the falls of the Schuylkill. Dark, hard, homblendic feldspar gneiss, thinly laminated and strongly striped when viewed in transverse sections. In this belt feldspar is in excess; mica is next in abundance, generally black and in minute scales. Horn- blende appears mostly in the upper beds. 2. The southern gneisses are usually gray and bluish, finely laminated, metamorphosed strata of white, chalky feldspar, white or transparent quartz, and black or dark brown mica in small plates. The next commonest variety is a dark-bluish gray or greenish black gneiss, hornblende or quartz or a little feldspar. A third common variety is a light gray micaceous quartz, some beds so made up of minute quartz grains as to be whetstones. A fourth variety of coarser gray micaceous gneiss beds, with a pre- ponderance of mica in rather large fiakes, and less feldspar and quartz, is unstratified with the other varieties, and makes a transi- 9 I40 CHESTER COUNTY tion between common gneiss and common mica-slate. The more micaceous the gneiss the more garnets it contains. 3. The middle or micaceous belt contains four noticeable va- rieties of rock, as follows : 1. Garnetiferous micaceous gneiss. 2. Wavy, contorted mica schist. 3. Hornblendic gneiss beds, or hornblendic schists. 4. Whetstone schists. This fourth variety is a schistose, gray, fine-grained mixture of granular quartz and minute mica scales, a kind of whetstone of many layers, breaking up into long, narrow chunks with smooth sides and very ragged ends, like rotten wood. The most important kinds of rock for economic purposes in this Southern Gneiss section are the serpentine, hydro-mica slates, limestones, sandstones and syenites. The Laurentian syenite areas south of the Chester Valley are the eastern area, which is a con- tinuation of that found in Delaware County, and extends through Basttown, Willistown and East Goshen Townships; an area at the junction of the two branches of the Brandywine, in East Bradford and Pocopson Townships; an area extending through the central portion of Kennett Township into New Garden Township, south of the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Eailroad and Kennett Square, and fourth, a small area bordering the Delaware State line in the south part of Kennett Township; but there is some doubt as to whether this last area belongs to the Laurentian system of rocks. There are three principal areas of sandstone-quartz, as fol- lows: 1. An area a short distance north of Dilworthtown, along the road to Thornbury postoffice. 2. A small area on the Baltimore Central Eailroad, between Norway postofftce and Kennett Square, in Kennett Township, and 3. A larger belt extending through East Marlborough Town- ship into London Grove and West Marlborough Townships. AND ITS PEOPLE. 141 Limestones exist in so many places that it would be scarcely worth w'^hile to attempt to enumerate them all. The Hydro-Mica- Schists belt is well defined from the Delaware County line to Bran- dywine Creek. Serpentine is found in a large number of places, and is of exceeding value, being used in the construction of many- prominent public buildings in various parts of the country, among them the West Chester State Normal School building. The northern border of the gneiss region is the southern bor- der of the belt of Talc-Mica-Schist, or Hydro-Mica-Schist region, which outcrops along the southern slope and summit of the South Valley Hill and spreads out over the southwestern townships. The northern edge of this region runs along the foot of the hill in contact with the valley limestone or marble. "The geological relationship of the dark mica belt to the gneiss region south and east of it is not understood by anyone. All that can be affirmed is that the Mica-Slate is of later age and overlies^ the gneiss. * * « The geological relationship of the dark Mica Slate to the Valley limestone is also in dispute." Both Professor Rogers and Professor Frazer place the mica slate formation be- neath the Valley Limestone formation. The former makes it the base of the Palaeozoic system, unconformably resting on the Azoic or Hypozoic gneiss system. But the arguments in favor of these positions are too extensive and intricate for insertion in this work. The Valley Limestone region is the most striking feature of the geology of the county. The region itself is fifty-five miles in length, extending both eastward and westward beyond the limits of the county. Its eastern termination is at Willow Grove, Montgomery County, and its western end is at Quarryville, Lancaster County. It extends in almost a perfectly straight line from east to west, its direction being about 18 degrees north of east. Its greatest breadth is only two miles, east of Downingtown, and again west of Willow Grove. At Coatesville it is little more than a mile wide, and it tapers rapidly into Lancaster County. Two opinions are prevalent among geologists as to the geolog- 142 CHESTER COUNTY ical features of this remarkable limestone valley. Professors Rog- ers and Frazer regard it as a long, straight, deep basin of limestone, with its northern side sloping southward at angles varying from 30 degrees to 60 degrees, and its southern side turned vertical, or even overturned a little, so as to make the beds on that side of the trough or basin dip from 80 degrees to 90 degrees southward. Mr. Hall, on the contrary, considers it a monoclinal valley, the whole mass of limestone dipping southward beneath the talc-mica- schists of South Valley Hill. But there appears to be no difference of opinion as to the age of this deposit. Different geologists have given different names to this formation, but it is sufficient here to say that all of them agree in considering it the same as the Upper Cambrian limestone of Sedgwick, the Trenton limestone of the New York survey, the Lower Silurian of Murchison, and the Siluro-Cambrian of Sterry Hunt. It is the Knoxville limestone of the South and the Mag- nesian limestone of the West. It overlies the Potsdam sandstone, which rises from beneath it to form the North Valley Hill, and also appears in anticlinal ridges through it east of the Schuylkill. Professor Frazer shows that this Valley limestone lies on Potsdam sandstone from the Schuylkill to near Coatesville; that here for a short distance thin mica-schist layers come in betAveen the limestone and sandstone, and that west of Pomeroy and all the way to Quarryville, Lancaster County, no sandstone underlies the limestone, but instead the lime- stone rests on the feldspathic gneiss beds, gneissic mica-schists, etc. In closing a long, detailed description of the Valley limestone, very interesting and valuable, but occupying too much space for insertion here. Professor Rogers says : "If, while inspecting the geological map of the State to assist our conceptions, we lift away in imagination the superficial depos- its of mesozoic red shale and sandstone concealing a part of the older rocks of the Atlantic slope, we shall perceive this sinking and AND ITS PEOPLE. i43 dying out of the northeastern and southwestern groups and anti- flinals much more obviously. "It is to this fortunate abatement in amount of vertical uplift of the crust in the district between the Delaware and the Susque- hanna that Pennsylvania is indebted for the inestimable advantage above her sister States to the northeast and southwest of so re- markable an extension southward, or toward the tide, of her fertile and iron-yielding Auroral limestone; and it is to the same cause that she owes her inexhaustible basins of anthracite, nearer to the seaport markets by very many miles than any of tlie other Appa- lachian coal fields." Perhaps, however. Professor Kogers would not have said "in- exhaustible basins of anthracite" had he been writing at the pres- ent time. The Northern Gneiss region is fourth in order of these divi- sions. The northeastern boundary of this northern gneiss region is a gently curving line commencing at the eastern point near Val- ley Forge, passing Wheatley's lead mine, near Pickering Creek. which it crosses at Kenzie'smill, and then passes by the little vil- lage of Kimberton. It then goes nearly straight to Coventry vil- lage, crosses French Creek about two miles northeast of Kimberton, and follows the north side of this valley to Coventry, except for a short distance. The northwest boundary of the gneiss is traceable from the sources of Pine Creek southwestward along the southern base, first of the eastern spur of Welsh Mountain to Spri'iigfield, and thence along the base of the main Welsh Mountain over the Lancaster line north of the little village of Cambridge to within two miles of the western end of the ridge. The southern limit of the northern belt commences at the east branch of the Brandywine, and running almost due westward fol- lows the south side of the south branch of Indian Eun, and after crossing the west branch of the Brandywine it extends along the 144 > CHESTER COUNTY south edge of the valley of Two-log Run, beyond which it crosses the county line about a mile and a half south of the village of Cam- bridge, when it turns northward, and one mile further it again turns westward across the Pequea and runs for three miles further toward the west end of Welsh Mountain to unite with the northwest boundary of the same area of gneiss. In this Northern Gneiss region there is a great deal of iron ore, which is usually found in a deep, narrow trough, confined between steeply dipping beds of gneiss, or between a hill of granite on the one side and moderately steep southeast dipping strata of the red isandstone on the other, within or behind which no ore is ever found. Brown hematite iron ore is found in West Pikeland and West Vincent Townships, in the valley of Pickering Creek, and there are other deposits in the vicinity of Yellow Springs which have been developed by mining. The Mesozoic Red Sandstone region is the last of the five divi- sions of the county. Of this Mesozoic system it may be said in a general way that it embraces the great division of stratified rocks which lies between the Palaeozoic system on the one hand, lying below the Mesozoic, and the Kainozoic system on the other, which lies above the Mesozoic. The Mesozoic formation contains the fos- sils which belong to the Middle Ages of geologic time. According to Professor Rogers this Mesozoic Red Sandstone region has nothing to do with the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland, but consists of sediments deposited after all the Palaeozoic forma- tions (including the Coal measures) had been elevated and folded into what are now the Appalachian and Alleghany Mountains. Then an arm of the sea or ocean stretched across New Jersey, and through Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, Lancaster, York and Adams Counties in Pennsylvania, into Maryland and Virginia, in which arm or estuary many thousands of feet of stratified mud and sands were deposited, which Professor Rogers named Mesozoic Red Sand- stone, because they were formed in the Middle Age of geologic time. AND ITS PEOPLE. 145 But it is believed by geologists that the absence of limestone and sandstone along the edge of the Mesozoic rocks in Chester County indicates that an age of erosion elapsed after the uplift of the continent and before the first Mesozoic sediments began to fill this estuary. If this be correct, then during this age of erosion this estuary could not have been under water. And the first sedi- ments deposited in this estuary after it had become established by the invasion of the sea, were shore gravels or conglomerates, derived from the gneiss country on either side. Then over these con- glomerates there were deposited many thousand feet of fine sand and mud, in alternate layers, until the estuary was filled from shore to shore, or from the Philadelphia gneiss hills to the Bead- ing hills, and along the south foot of the South Mountains in York and Adams Counties. This latter species of conglomerates does not anywhere appear in Chester County. The strange fact that these Mesozoic sand and mud deposits are not horizontal has caused a good deal of perplexity to geolo- gists. The dip is constant to the north-northwest, all the way up to within ten miles of lieading, from Norristown. The explana- tion coming nearest, perhaps, to the truth, is that which assumes a series of faults, which repeat the stratification at intervals across the belt. While the composition of this Mesozoic sand- stone is not by any means of a uniform or homeogeneous nature, yet it is from this material that many beautiful brown sandstone buildings have been erected in cities. Professor Frazer thus describes the boundary line of this Mesozoic formation in Chester County: "Passing in a gentle meadering line generally following the road from Valley Forge in Schuylkill Township to Pickering post- office in Charlestown Township, for two-thirds of that distance, then branching to the northwestward it cuts the township of East Pikeland in almost equal parts by a line deviating but little from straight. It cuts off the northeast end of West Vincent Township, 146 CHESTER COUNTY following up the creek dividing East and West Vincent Town- ships, it passes then the lower end of South Coventry Township a short distance to the south of Pughtown and into Warwick, where, having similarly skirted Knauertown, it is prolonged in a narrow strip between the dolerite region and the mica-schists south of French Creek. This narrow strip does not pass the county line, but dies away, being cut into by the trap and schists a very short distance west of St. Mary's. . The boundary of the larger mass skirts the above-mentioned dolerite area, makes an abrupt angle at the point of the thin neck which projects northeast of Harmony- ville, incloses the latter hamlet and passes west almost to the county line, when it suddenly turns, being met by a mass of Primal, and alters its course to one east of north for a couple of miles, turns abruptly again and passes into Berks County in a westwardly course." It may be remarked in this connection that the principal exhibitions of trap are for some reason perhaps not yet known to geologists, confined to the areas occupied by Mesozoic rocks. "In the midst of the open rolling countrj^ of red shale and sandstone rise high, isolated hills of trap, the eroded outcrops of outbursts of igneous rocks along cracks which go down to great depths beneath the floor of older, rocks to some profounder reservoir of lava now extinct, but similar to that which at the present time underspreads the western part of the United States, feeding active volcanoes and geysers, and producing earthquakes and fractures of the crust of the earth. Ancient volcanoes and geysers do not seem to have existed on the Atlantic border, but outbursts of lava took place through and between the layers of Mesozoic strata, and these now constitute the trap hills of the Mesozoic region." Another remark is appropriate in this connection, and that is that the trap rocks are of insignificant size in the Gneiss region. This is explained by the fact that the gneiss country afforded no facility for wide fissures, while the Mesozoic strata could be lifted AND ITS PEOPLE. i47 like the lid of a box, and would thus allow of any amount of out- flow. But inasmuch as some of these Mesozoic traps are fre- quently overflows, they must have occurred after lower deposit* had been made, and then the upper Mesozoic strata were deposited upon the trap. MINERALOGY. Tt would be a difficult matter to present a better outline of the minerals to be found within the lists of Chester County than that prepared by Dr. George G. Groff, a graduate of the West Chester State 2^ormal School, first president of the Alumni Association of that school, later Professor of Natural Science in the same institu- tion, and at present Professor of Organic Science in Bucknell Uni- versity, Lewisburg, Pa., and which was published in Futhey & Cope's History of Chester County in 1881. That outline or list is, therefore, incorporated in this work. It is as follows: THE MOST COMMON MINERALS, ORES AND ROCKS OP CHESTER, COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. MINERALS. Quartz. — Hardness, 7; white, red, blue, yellow; luster, glassy; brittle; form, six-sided crj^stals and massive; breaks irregularly; composition, silica (SiO); common in all parts of the county; cuts glass readily; infusible; the most common of all our minerals. Chalcedony. — Hardness, 7; all colors; luster, waxy; tough;, form, massive, no crystals; has a curved fracture; composition, silica; a variety of quartz, often translucent, and in beautiful forms; common on serpentine barrens, and in Warwick. Jasper. — Hardness, 7; red, yellow; luster, earthy; tough; form„ massive; has a curved fracture; composition, silica and clay; a variety of quartz, made impure by presence of clay; common on barrens, West Goshen. Calcite. — Hardness, 3; white, all colors; luster, glassy, pearl;. 148 CHESTER COUNTY brittle; form, crystals, rhombs, prisms; cleaves into crystals; com- position, carbonite of lime; this is limestone purified and crystal- lized, same as marble; common in mines and limestone quarries. Dolomite. — Hardness, 4; white, yellow, red; luster, glassy, pearly; brittle, form, ci'ystal, rhombs, massive; cleaves into crys- tals; composition, carbonate of lime and magnesia; calcite and magnesia; both effervesce in acids; common in mines and lime- stone south of Gi'eat Valley. . Serpentine. — Hardness, 3-5; shade of green; luster, feeble; "brittle; form, massive, no crystals, breaks irregularly; composition, silica, magnesia, water, distinguished by its green color and soft, grassy feel; found in barrens in the southern and western parts of the county. Talc. — Hardness, 1; white, green; lustei', pearly, greasy; flexi- ble; form, in scales and plates; splits into thin leaves; composition, silica, magnesia, water, distinguished from mica by its greasy feel ; is not so elastic as mica; common with serpentine. Hornblend. — Hardness, 5-6; brown, black; luster, pearly, glassy; tough; form, crystals, blades, scales; cleaves in smooth blades; composition, silica, magnesia, iron; the dark mineral in our gneiss and hornblend or trap rocks ; found in gneiss rocks and at Knauertown. Tourmaline. — Hardness, 7; brown, black, red; luster, glassy; brittle; form, long, three-sided, striated crystals, breaks irregu- larly; composition, silica, lime, magnesia, iron; often resembles hornblend, but usually in long, free, radiating crystals; common in all the southern and western parts of the county. Mica. — Hardness, 2; whitish; luster, pearly; elastic; form, in plates and scales, splits into thin leaves; composition, silica, potas- sium, al. f e. ; many varieties, but all are in thin plates, elastic, and not greasy; common in the southern and western portions of the •county. Feldspars. — Hardness, (>; white, all colors; luster, glassy. AND ITS PEOPLE. i49 pearly; brittle; form, usually massive; splits readily in plates; •composition, silica, potassium, al.; many varieties; the light-col- ored constituents of our gneiss rocks; found in gneiss rocks and in the southern and western parts of the county. Asbestos.— Hardness, 1-4; white, gray, luster, dull, silky; tough; form, in fibers, like linen or wool; splits into fibers; compo- sition, silica, magnesia, lime, etc.; its fibrous nature marks it; common with serpentine. Its value is increasing. Garnet. — Hardness, 7; all colors; luster, glassy, resinous; brittle; form, round crystals and dodecahedrons; breaks uneven; composition, silica, f e., ca. mn. ; always in crystals, which are never elongated; common in gneiss or mica schist. Cyanite. — Hardness, 4-7; blue, green, white, yellow; luster, ■glassy, pearly; tough; form, in long, flat blades; splits readily one way; composition, silica, aluminum, iron, it is distinguished by its long-bladed crystals and bright blue colors; found in the southern ^nd western parts of the county. Tremolite. — Hardness, 6; gray, green, white; luster, glassy; brittle; form, massive, fibrous, splite irreg|ularly ; composition, silica, lime, magnesia; bladed or fibrous crystals, gray or white color; found in southern part of the county. Actinolite. — Hardness, 5-6; bright green; luster glassy; brit- tle; form, crystals, columnar, fibrous; smooth and even; composi- tion, silica, magnesia, lime, iron, bladed or acicular crystals, and bright green or yellow colors; found in southern part of the county. Magnesite. — Hardness, 4-5; white, yellow; luster, glassy, dull; sectile; form, crystals, granular, massive; even, smooth; composi- tion, niagnesia, carbonic acid; radiated crystals on serpentine; foams in acids; found in serpentine quarries. Apatite. — Hardness, 5; green, all colors, luster, glassy, all ■colors, brittle; form, crystals, massive; even, good; composition, phosphate of lime; in abundance this mineral would be very valu- able for its phosphoric acid; found in limestone in southern part of the county. 150 CHESTER COUNTY Graphite. — Hardness, 1; iron-black; luster, metallic; sectile; form, scales, massive; into scales; composition, pure carbon; soils white paper; is infusible; a valuable mineral, found in gneiss in Uwchlan, Charlestown, Pikeland. Corundum. — Hardness, 8; blue, gray, brown; luster, glassy; tough; form, crystals, massive; good in crystals; composition, pure alumina; next to the diamond in hardness; very valuable; found in granular albite in Newlin. Epidote. — Hardness, 6-7; green, yellow; luster, glassy; brit- tle; form, crystals massive; even, good; composition, silica, lime, iron and magnesia; distinguished by its peculiar yellow green color; found in central parts of the country on hornblend. Aragonite. — Hardness, 4; white, yellow, red; luster, glassy; brittle; form, crystals, massive; even, good; composition, carbonate of lime; same as calite, but harder; in six-sided crystals; effervesces in acids; found in quarries and mines throughout the county. Scapolite. — Hardness, 5-6; gray, all light colors; luster, greasy, ' glassy; tough; form, crystals, massive; even in crystals; composi- tion, silica, alumina, lime; heavier and more fusible than feldspars; with acids gelatinizes; found in New Garden, Kennett, Marlbo- rough. Jefferisite. — Hardness, 1-5; brown, yellow; luster, pearly; brit- tle; form, plates and scales; into thin plates; composition, silica, alumina, iron, magnesia and water; swells up in flame; found in AVesttown and Xewlin, with serpentine. Named after William W. Jefferis, of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Deweylite. — Hardness, 2-5; yellow, brown; luster, resinous; brittle; form, massive, granular; into curved grains; composition, silica, magnesia, water; known by its peculiar resinous appearance; found with serpentine in West Goshen and West Nottingham. Pluorite. — Hardness, 4; purple, white; luster, glassy; brittle; from, crystals, massive; even, regular; composition, fluoride of lime; AND ITS PEOPLE. 151 commonly of a beautiful purple oolor, and on limestone or culiate, and found in Phcenixville, NeAvlin and Tredyffrin. Beryl. — Hardness, 7-8; green; luster, glassy; brittle; form, in hexagonal crystals and massive; breaks unevenly; composition, sil- ica, glucinum, aluminum; is distinguished by its color and its hexagonal crystals; found in Xewlin, East Nottingham and West- town. Staurolite. — Hardness, 7-8; brovpn, black; luster, glassy; brit- tle; form, in crystals, which are never slender; uneven; composition, silica, lime, aluminum, iron; named from crystals which are often cross-shaped, but never slender; found in West Bradford, West Goshen and West Marlborough. Zoisite. — Hardness, 6-7; green, gray; luster, glassy; pearly; brittle; form, long, fluted crystals; splits smoothly; composition, silica, iron, lime, aluminum; green color and crystals fluted, longi- tudinally marked; found on homblend rocks near West Chester and Kennett. Ziricon. — Hardness, 7-8; all colors except black; luster, ada- mantijie; brittle; form, crj^stals and grains; curved fracture; com- position, silica and zirconia; hyacinthe, a variety of zoisite; found in South Coventry, West Pikeland, Bast Bradford, and Unionville. Kaolin. — Hardness, X; white; luster, dull; sectile; form, mas- sive; even, earthy; composition, silica, alumium, water; formed by the decomposition of gneiss and feldspar; valuable; found in Xew- lin, East Nottingham, and Kennett. Margarite. — Hardness, 4-5; white, gray; luster, pearly; sectile; form, plates, scales; splits into thin scales; composition, silica, aluminum, iron; a micaceous-like mineral, pearly luster implanted on corundum; found in Newlin with corundum. Chesterlite. — Hardness, 5-6; white, yellowish; luster, glassy; pearly; brittle; form, crystals, very pei'fect; even, good; composi- tion, aluminuni, silica; named from Chester County, and found iu poorhouse quarry and Baily's, East Marlborough. 152 CHESTER COUNTY ORES. Pyrites. — Hardness, 6-7; pale brass yellow; streak, black, brit- tle; form, in cubes, crystals, massive; breaks irregularly; compo- sition, iron and sulphur; yellow color and striking fire with knife distinguish it; found in most parts of the county. Limonite. — Hardness, 2-6; brown, yellow; streak, yellow, yel- lowish-brown; brittle; form; massive, columnar; fracture curved; composition, iron, oxygen, water; marked by a brown or yellow color and yellow streak; this is tJie common iron ore of the county, Hematite.^ — Hardness, 6-7; gray, black, red; streak, red; brittle; form, massive in scales; irregular; composition, iron and oxygen; not common ; bright, shining pieces or occasionally in scales ; found in Warwick, Phoenixville aud East Brandy wine. Magnetite. — Hardness, 5-6; iron-black; streak, black; brittle; form, octahedron crystals, massive; irregular; composition, iron and oxygen; most valuable of the iron ores, but rare; found in War- wick, Newlin and Westtown. Chromite. — Hardness, 6; iron-black; streak, dark-brown; tough; form, massive; irregular, uneven; composition, iron, chro- mium; often magnetic, on fresh edge, dull luster; found with ser- pentine throughout the county. Titanic Iron. — Hardness, 6; iron-black; streak, black to red; brittle; form, massive usually; uneven, irregular; composition, iron and titanium; often magnetic, infusible, contains rare element ti- tanium; found in Elk, Newlin, Westtown, Thornbury and East Bradford. LEAD. Galena.— Hardness, 3; lead-gray; blue; streak, gray-black; brit- tle; form, cubes, massive, granular; regular, smooth; composition, lead and sulphur, marked by softness and cubical form; found at the mines near Phoenixville. Pyromorphite. — Hardness, 4; green, brown, yellow, white; AND IT 8 PEOPLE. 155-. streak, gray to white; brittle; form, columnar crystals; regular; composition, lead and phosphorus; crystals beautiful columnar green; change form on heating; found at the lead mines near Phce- nixville. Cerussite. — Hardness, 3-5; white, green, black; streak, gray to white; brittle; form, hexagonal crystals; good and regular; com- position, carbonate of lead; fuses very readily; foams in acids; found at the lead mines near Phoenixville. Anglesite. — Hardness, 3; white; adamantine luster; streak, white, brittle; form, beautiful crystals; regular; composition, sul- phate of lead; fuses readily, but does not foam in acids; found in the lead mines near Phoenixville. COPPER. Calcopyrite. — Hardness, 4; brass-yellow; streak, green-black; sectice; form, crystals, massive; uneven, irregular; composition, copper, iron, sulphur; resembles iron pyrites; but is much softer; found at the lead mines near Phoenixville. Malachite. — Hardness, 3-5; emerald green; streak, green; brit- tle; form, massive, incrusting; smooth, curved; composition, car- bonate of copper, colors flame-green; foams in acids, and is a valu- able ore; found in Warwick and in the mines at Phoenixville. Azurite. — Hardness, 4; azure-blae, streak, blue; brittle; form, massive; regular, uneven; composition, carbonate of copper; same as malachite, but blue; found in mines near Phoenixville. ChrysocoUa. — Hardness, 5; sky-blue green; streak, blue; brit- tle; form, massive; curved fracture; composition, copper and silica;, forms jelly with acids; found with copper ores, and in Warwick and mines near Phoenixville. ZINC. Calamine. — Hardness, 4-5; white, pale-yellow; streak, gray; brittle; form, crystals, massive; regular; composition, silica, zinc, 154 CHESTER COUNTY water, silky tufts and small white or yellowish crystals; a valuable ore; found in the mines near Phoenixville. Sphalterite. — Hardness, 4; yellow, brown; streak, yellow, brown; brittle; form, crystals, tables, massive; into plates, smooth; composition, zinc and sulphur; bright, glistening appearance, waxy luster, a valuable ore; found at the lead mines near Phoenixville. Entile. — Hardness, 6-7; black, red, adamantine; streak, black- brown; brittle; form, crystals, massive; imperfect; composition, titanium and oxygen; brown, red color, mitred crystals; '-money stone;" found in Sadsbury,East Bradford, New Garden, Thombury and London Grove. Pyrolusite. — Hardness, 2; gran, iron-black; sectile; brittle; form, massive; uneven; composition, manganese and oxygen; in- fusible; the black oxide of manganese in chemistry; found in Os- borne's Hill, East Bradford. ROCKS. Gneiss. — A hard, tough or brittle, light or dark rock, composed of quartz, mica and feldspar; found in the southeast part of the county and north of North Valley hill. Mica Slate. — Constituents, same as in Gneiss, but of a slaty structure, owing to great excess of mica. Found in a belt through the central and western part of the county. Talc Slate. — Same as mica slate, but mica takes the place of talc; soft and greasy feel; associated with mica slate. Serpentine. — Same as mineral serpentine, in the southern gneiss belt, in the southeast part of the county, in isolated deposits. Limestone. — Impure calcite, found in many parts of the county, but principally in the great limestone belt, called the Great Valley. Sandstone. — Small grains of quartz cemented together. A belt of sandstone runs the entire length of North Valley hill. Ked Sandstone. — A soft, shaly sandstone, colored red by the AND ITS PEOPLE. 157 oxide of iron. It is found in all parts of the county north of French Creek. Hornblende Eock. — A gneiss in which mica is replaced by hornblende. It is dark in color, hard and tough. Trap. — An igneous rock of volcanic origin, dark, hard, tough, and consisting of feldspar and hornblende closely mixed. Quartz. — Same as mineral quartz, rather a rock constituent than a rock, as it never alone forms hills and mountains. Scale of Hardness. — 1. Eeadily scratched by nail (Talc). 2. Scarcely scratched by nail (Gypsum). 3. Scratched by copper (Calcite). 4. Harder than copper, but will not cut glass (Fluorite). 5. Scratches glass slightly (Apatite). 6. Scarcely scratched by knife (Feldspar). 7. Not scratched by knife (Quartz). 8. Cannot be filed, and scratches 7 (Topaz). 9. Scratches 8 (Corundum). 10. Scratches 9 (Diamond.) 10 CHAPTER IV. WELSH AND OTHER SETTLERS. OHAPTEE IV. THE WELSH TRACT AND THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS A BARONY DESIRED TEXT OF THE WARRANT EXPLORATION OF THE TRACT THE WELSH PURCHASES — FIRST SETTLEMENT IN MERION TOWNSHIP — SUFFERINGS OF THE WELSH SETTLERS — OTHER BUYERS AND SETTLERS — SURVEY OF THE FARMS TRANSFERS FIRST SETTLERS IN OTHER TOWN- SHIPS QUIT-RENTS LETITIA's MANOR MANY OF THE FIRST SETTLERS NAMED — INDENTURES. IT is natural and is also liigMy commendable for men to take pride in the achievements of their ancestors; and from the his- torian each race, nationality and class is entitled to proper credit for the part it may have played in the great drama of the settle- ment of a new country, or in the establishment and development of its institutions, though it is exceedingly difficult for the human mind, especially vphen necessarily working within prescribed limits of space and time, even it is not impossible, to accurately apportion to each the credit due. These remarks are intended to introduce a brief account of the introduction of the Welsh into eastern Pennsylvania by William Penn. These early Welsh are certainly entitled to respectful consideration, even if their own claims and the claims of their descendants should not be granted to the full extent. Many of the early mayors of Philadelphia, both during Colonial times and for the first half of the present century, Avere either Welsh or the descendants of Cymric ancestry, and it is noteworthy that most of the distinguished physicians of the earlier days, and even many down to the present time, were and are of the same descent. For some time before they came to America William Penn i6i 1 62 CHESTER COUNTY had professed a friendship for the Cymric Friends, which senti- ment was natural, if it be true that he himself was on the paternal side of his family of Welsh descent. It is certain that he offered extraordinary inducements to Welsh settlers within his domains in this country. A conference was held in London by prominent Welshmen with the proprietor of Pennsylvania, with regard to the terms of settlement of Welsh people on a tract of land, in the latter part of 1681, those present being as follows: Dr. Grifflth Owen, Dr. Edward Jones, Dr. Thomas Wynne, John ap Thomas, Charles Lloyd, John ap John, Richard Davies, Ed- ward Prichard and others. The principal object of the Welsh appears to have been to establish a barony on a considerable tract of land in the new country, upon which they could control themselves, according to the ancient system of baronial govern- ment, which, as every student of history knows, was in reality inimical to individual freedom and equal justice. But the idea of a Cymric barony within the limits of Penn's province was never realized, although there is no doubt that the leading Welshmen who settled on this Welsh tract anticipated such a government and thought they had good grounds for such anticipation from the promises of Penn. The mistake they made at the conference above mentioned was that they "allowed themselves to be. persuaded by the founder that the powers given to him in his charter, and the general arti- cles of concession to all colonists, which papers were signed by the Welsh patentees, would be sufficient, with his personal prom- ise, to protect them, and enable them to carry out the plan they had in view." So far as known no one questions the sincerity of purpose of William Penn, but it was found by him utterly impracticable to carry out all the promises he had made to those whom he induced to become settlers within his province. Following is the warrant given in 1684 to Thomas Holmes, the surveyor-general. It is clear and concise and cannot be misunderstood. AND ITS PEOPLE. 163 "Whereas divers considerable persons among ye Welsh Friends have requested me yt all ye Lands Purchased of me by those of North Wales and South Wales, together with ye adjacent counties to ym, as Herefordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire, about forty thousand acres, may be layd out contiguously as one Barony, alledging that yt ye number already come, are such as will be capable of planting ye same much Avithin ye proportion allowed by ye custom of ye country, & so not lye in large useless vacancies. And because I am inclined and determined to agree and favor ym with any reasonable Conveniency and priviledge: I do hereby charge thee and strictly require thee to lay out ye sd tract of Land in as uniform a manner as conveniently may be, upon ye west side of Skoolkill Eiver, running three miles upon ye same, and two miles backward, & then extend ye parallel with ye river six miles and to run westwardly so far as this yt sd quantity of land be Compleately surveyed unto you. — Given at Pennsbury, ye 13th 1st mo. 1684." As a general explanation of the method of disposing of the lands in this tract to the coming Welsh settlers, it may be stated that after they were satisfied as to their safety in proceeding with their arrangements for a settlement in Pennsylvania, they organ- ized themselves into companies of adventurers and selected promi- nent members among them as trustees, who took out a patent in their own names for all the land for which the company had sub- scribed. This was in all probability agreed upon at the London conference, with the approval of the proprietor, in order to carry out successfully the proposed plan of a baronial form of govern- ment, and it was also necessary in order to obtain a first choice of land. After the above-named warrant to the surveyor-general was issued, he authorized an order to one of his deputy surveyors, David Powell, under date of 2d mo. 4th, 1684, by which the latter was directed "to survey and set out unto the said purchasers the 1 64 CHESTER COUNTY said quantity of land, there, in manner as before expressed, and in method of townships lately appointed by the governor at five thousand acres to a township," which directions were carried out only in part. Following is an account of the Welsh purchases by David Powell: "My Eespected Friend, "James Logan : — I hold myself obliged to give thee an account of those lands belonging to the purchases of Thomas Lloyd where David Lloyd is concerned, and likewise Eichard ap Thomas: that is, how much is taken up and subdivided to them and sold by them and what remains not disposed of by the said Thomas Lloyd and the said Eichard Thomas. Acres. "Thomas Lloyd had a right by his brother Charles to 2,500 took up between Mirion and Harford 1,100 and one 100 acres he ordered in his right to Thomas David the which was laid out to him 100 1,200 He also bought of Francis Smith Eemaining 1,300 the share Margaret Davis reserved to herself: 1,250 2,550 There is, I think, 100 acres of Liberty land laid out to him 100 The rest is to be yet settled; and warrants to be granted for the subdividing of it within the Welsh tract. Also Eichard ap Thomas: his purchase is, 5,000 out of which he sold to Phillip Howell 700 and one 100 of Liberty land to Hugh Eobarts 100 AND ITS PEOPLE. 165 and to Robert William 300 and I think to Edward Joanes 200 1,300 Eemaining to him to have warrants to himself for 3,700 As to David Lloyd part there is an imaginary sur- vey made about 1,800 acres, but not perfected. "When thou art pleased to order warrants for them or any others of the said Welsh purchase, I think there ought to be a recital of the first Avarrant by which the land was fii-st bounded : and the time of the survey likewise commanding a return of the respective subdivisions within the bounds of the said tract when not already subdivided to any other of the company, the which survey was done on the 28th of the 8th mo. 1684, and finished the — day of the 11th mo. ensuing. I request thee also to put an end to Phillip Howell's business to ease both thyself and the rest of the commissioners of his continual importuning; and I think it were best to let him have that lot on Thomas Joanes' account, and let him pay the money to Joanes, least the warrant granted by the Governor to Nealson takes hold of it, and the Governor forced to pay the 35 pounds to Joanes out of his own pocket; these things I refer to thy consideration, leaving it wholly to thee to order it as thou think best, and desire thy favor in letting me have an end to my one business that my most cordial friend and Governor left me to do ; for me else I am afraid that I shall suffer for want of it; who am thy real friend "D. POWELL. "Dated 5th, 12th mo., 1701." Following is "an account of the purchasers concerned in the Welsh Tract granted by the general warrant by which the said tract was laid out, and such lands as hath been laid out by war- rants duly executed within the same, and first of the old England purchasers: i66 CHESTER COUNTY "Charles Lloyd and Margaret Davis, 5,000 acres; Richard Davis, 5,000 acres; William Jenkins, 1,000; John Poy, 750; John Burge, 750; William Mordant, 500; William Powell, 1,250; Lewis David, 3,000; Morris Llewlin, 500; Thomas Simons, 500; John Bevan, 2,000; Edward Prichard, 2,500; John ap John and Thomas Wynn, 5,000; Edward Joanes and John Thomas, 5,000; Eichard Davis, 1,250; Eichard ap Thomas, 5,000; Mordicia Moore, in right of , 500; John MillintoA, 500; Henry Eight, 500; Daniel Medlecot, 200; Thomas Ellis, 1,000; Thomas Ellis for B. Eoulles, 250; Thomas Ellis on account of Humphrey Thomas, 100; David Powell, 1,000; John Kinsy, 200; David Meredith, 250; David Davis, 200; Thomas John Evan, 250; John Evans, 100; John Jormon, 50; David Kinsy, 200; Evan Oliver, 100; Samuel Mills, 100; Thomas Joanes, 50; David Joanes, 100; John Kinsy, 100; Daniel Hurry, 300; Henry Joanes, 400; John Fish, 300; John Day, 300; Burke and Simson, 1,000; the whole complement, 50,000 acres." Among the above names is that of John ap John, who, accord- ing to Thomas Allen Glenn, author of "Merion in the Welsh Tract," from which book numerous facts are taken to complete this brief outline of the Welsh in Chester County, purchased his lands September 15, 1681, but who never came to this county. Of the lands thus purchased John ap John sold as follows to dif- ferent persons: To Thomas Taylor, 500 acres; to John Eoberts, 500 acres; to Treial Eeider, 400 acres; to Mary Fouk, 200 acres; to Eichard Davies, 250 acres; to Owen Parry, 150 acres; reserving for himself, 500 acres; but he rebought the 400 acres sold to Treial Eeider, so that he had at last 900 acres reserved for him- self, which, however, he never saw. Besides John ap John and Thomas Wynne, the principal patentees to these lands, that is, those who bought for others in the capacity of trustees, were as follows: Charles Lloyd and Mar- garet Davis, who bought 5,000 acres; John Bevan, 2,000 acres; AND ITS PEOPLE. 167 John Thomas and Dr. Edward Bala, 5,000; Eichard ap Thomas, 5,000; Eichard Davies, 5,000, and Lewis David, 3,000. There was considerable land taken up by individuals on their own account, and outside of the 40,000-acre tract there were 10,000 acres taken up by Welshmen, or so reported, previous to 1684. Some of these lands were in Goshen, and some of it as far south as in what is now Delaware. The first settlement in the township of Merion was made by Dr. Edward Jones, Edward Eeese, William ap Edward, and a few others in the latter part of August, 1682, a short time previous to the arrival of William Penn, they having come from near Bala, Merionethshire, Wales. The Haverford and Eadnor purchasers came later, those in the former township coming prior to March 2, 1683, and those in the latter township about the same time. As the country became more and more settled by these Welsh immigrants their troubles increased, they suffering not only from the (pfflculties necessarily incident to the settlement of a new country, but they were discouraged by their failure to establish their barony, as they had confidently expected to do. Other set- tlers encroached upon their tract, as in the case of the English immigrants, for whom Charles Ashcombe, a deputy surveyor, had laid out lands within the limits of the 40,000 acres; but in this case the Welsh successfully resisted the encroachment, and for a time afterward maintained intact the territory they had pur- chased. Afterward there arose a dispute over the Chester County line. On March 25, 1689, Thomas Lloyd appeared before the Council and said that he understood something had been moved about adding the Welsh Tract to the County of Chester, and also said that if anything of the kind were contemplated he desired to speak. To this Governor Blackwell replied that nothing of the kind was yet brought before them; but that if anything should be wherein it were necessary to hear him, he should be notified thereof. 1 68 CHESTER COUNTY The fact, however, was that the justices of Chester County had already prepared the petition for adding the townships of Eadnor and Haverford to Chester County, the purpose being to cut ofE from Philadelphia County some sixty Welshmen, who, if left in that county, would elect persons to the Council who would oppose the policy of Governor Blaokwell. This petition of the justices was presented in the afternoon and came up for argument next day. After earnest discussion and protest on the part of the Welsh, the two townships were set off into Chester County; but, notwithstanding this, the sixty Welsh voters insisted upon voting for their candidate with the inhabitants of Philadelphia County, which caused a long debate, and resulted in an order for a new election. The final result of the contention was that after a long effort to maintain their barony intact, they were obliged to suc- cumb to influences too powerful for them longer to resist. A per- sistent effort was made by many outside of the tract to break up the Cymric Barony, in 1690 and 1691; but it should be said that the Welsh appear to have departed at that particular time from a determination to be too grasping. They decided that they would not, as asked to do, pay quit-rent on the entire tract from 1'684,, though they did consent to pay the quit-rent on the entire 40,000 acres. The commissioners of property thereupon resolved that the lands already laid out within the tract to other purchasers should be confirmed to them. Not long afterward the Welsh agreed* or offered, rather, to pay quit-rent from 1684, but the commis- sioners decided that it was then too late, the matter having been already settled. However, from this time on until about 1700 the Welsh continued their attempts, to regain what they had' lost, but without success, and the Welsh Barony became a barony only in name The three townships of Merlon, Eadnor and Haverford continued to be known as the Welsh Tract down to the Revolu- tionary War, and even into the present century. John ap Thomas was one of the prominent Welshmen that set- AND ITS PEOPLE. 169 tied on the great Welsh Tract. He and Dr. Edward Jones were the leaders of the Merion company, they taking out a patent for 5,000 acres of land, one-half of that which was allotted to Thomas in the county of Philadelphia, and the other half in the township of Goshen, Chester County. John ap Thomas' portion was 1,250 acres, 612^ acres being in Goshen. He did not, however, ever reach America, dying in England just when he was on the point of departure for this country. But his wife, Catherine Koberts, as she was called, according to the Welsh custom, came across the sea with her children, after the death of her husband, and set- tled on his lands, some of which are to this day in the possession of her descendants. Besides John ap Thomas, others purchasing lands in Goshen were as follows: Hugh Roberts, 67 acres; Dr. Edward Jones, 353 acres; Edward Jones, Jr., 158^ acres; Eobert David, 234^ acres; Eichard Eees, 75 acres; John Eoberts, 230 acres; Eobert William, 76| acres, and John Eoberts, 78| acres. The sons of John ap Thomas, named respectively, Thomas, Eobert and Cadwallader Jones, owned the 612^ acres taken up by their father in Goshen. An important part of Chester County, which was a portion of the great Welsh Tract and was early settled by Welshmen, was Tredyffrin Township, which is northwest of Eadnor Township in Delaware County, and of Easttown Township, in Chester County. The name, Tredyffrin, is, of course, Welsh. It is thus divided: Tre, meaning town, and Dyffrin, meaning "wide, cultivated valley," and the whole meaning is, therefore, the town in a wide, cultivated valley. In the early days an effort was made to Angli- cize the word, it being then sometimes called Valleytown, or Val- leyton. In 1708 a deed was made in which Lewis Walker, the grantor, is referred to as "of the township of Valleyton, in the county of Chester." As showing the course pursued by William Penn in the sale of his lands outside of the Welsh tract, the dates of several of 170 CHESTER COUNTY these sales together with the names of the parties purchasing lands of him, with a few other particulars, are here presented: Penn sold lands while in England to numerous parties still in England, definite amounts of land for definite prices and quit- rents, but without locating these lands further than to state that they were within the province of Pennsylvania. As to Bartholo- mew Coppock, of Saltney, in the county Palatine of Chester, Eng- land, March 22, 1681, five hundred acres of land for £10, the quit- rent being one shilling for each one hundred acres of land per year. This was the second purchase by Bartholomew Coppock of 500 acres on the same terms, the other being on March 21, 1681. Penn sold to James Dicks 250 acres of land March 3, 1681, which James Dicks sold to Peter Dicks August 16, 1684. Other purchasers were as follows: Eandall Vernon, March 4, 1681, 625 acres; Thomas Vernon, March 3, 1681, 625 acres; Thomas Minshall, March 22, 1681, 625 acres; Eobert Vernon, March 7, 1681, 625 acres; William Taylor and others, March 3, 1681, 1,250 acres; Thomas Powell, March 20, 1681, 500 acres; Randall Malin, March 7, 1681, 250 acres; John Pusey, October 11, 1681, 250 acres; Eobert Taylor, March 3, 1682, 1,000 acres; John Sharpless, April 5, 1682, 1,000 acres; John Hicks, October 11, 1681, 250 acres; Caleb Pusey, October 11, 1681, 250 acres; Daniel Smith on several different occa- sions bought land in various quantities, from 500 acres up to 2,000 acres, but none of these purchasers were located further than to lie within the province of Pennsylvania, One of the first, if not the first, to be described by metes and bounds, was a purchase by William Hitchcock, a tract of 500 acres: "Beginning at a corner walnut tree of Philip Eoman's land, running from thence south- southeast 83 perches, to a corner marked hickory; from thence east- north-east 400 perches; thence east-north-east by land of Nicholas Newlin 480 perches to a corner marked red oak; thence north- north-west 83 perches, to a corner marked red oak; thence west- south-west by land of John Harding, 480 perches to a street in the AND ITS PEOPLE. 171 said town; and thence west-soutli-west by the land of Philip Koman, 480 perches, to the first-mentioned walnut tree, contain- ing and laid out for 500 acres," etc. On the 8th day of the 4th month, 1697, George Willard exe- cuted a deed for 500 acres of land lying in Willistown Township to Peter Thomas, which 500 acres was one-third of 1,500 acres of land formerly surveyed and laid out by the order of the Governor, William Penn, for Thomas Brassie. This 500-acre tract was de- scribed in the deed as follows : "Beginning at a marked red oak, being the comer mark of Francis Yarnell's land; from thence north-north-west 166 perches to a corner post; thence east-north-east to a corner chestnut stand- ing by Crum Creek's side; from thence down the several courses thereof to a corner maple, being also the corner of Francis Yar- nell's land, and thence west-south-west by the said Yarnell's land to the mentioned red oak." It was in the present township of Willistown. Francis Yarnell had purchased five hundred acres of George Willard, a portion of the same tract, and on the 1st of October,. 1708, he sold one hundred and fifty acres of his purchase to John Caldwell for £60. On the 1st of March, 1690, John Bennett, who had been ap- pointed constable of Birmingham Township in 1686, sold to David Davis fifty acres of land, "Beginning at a marked small hickory, standing in Hugh Henry's line," etc., for £10 current silver money. And on May 8, 1695, Edward Harris sold to John Beckingham fifty acres of land adjoining Samuel wScott's land, for £5, good and lawful silver money. On the 30th of August, 1705, John Guest sold to Henry Hol- lingsworth, who was a very prominent man in the early history of Chester County, one hundred acres of land for £20, the land being "situate on the west side of the Brandywine Creek, begin- ning at a corner black oak, being a comer of a tract purchased 172 CHESTER COUNTY by the said Henry HoUingsworth from John Budd; thence west by the said Henry HoUingsworth's line 324 perches to a post stand- ing near a corner black oak ; thence south 49 perches and a half to a post; thence east 324 perches to a hickory; thence north 49| perches to the place of beginning; being part of a tract of land held by patent from the commissioners of property." The land mentioned above as having been purchased by Mr. HoUingsworth of John Budd, was purchased in August, 1704, and consisted of one hundred acres. Among the early purchasers of land in the township of West- town were Daniel Hoopes, who, in 1697, purchased 300 acres in the east part of the township. Aaron James and Benjamin Hick- man were thei'e in 1700, and John Bowater of Middletown pur- chased land in this township as early as 1704. He appears to have died in this township about the beginning of the year 1705, for, on the 4th of March, 1705, his widow, Frances Bowater, sold to George Smedley four hundred acres of land for £350, the land being described in the deed as follows: "Beginning at a white oalc tree standing at the corner of Daniel Hoop, his land; from thence by said land north 24 west, 462 perches to a lyme tree; from thence running by the land of Richard Snead north 66 east, 139 perches to a chestnut tree; from thence by land untaken up south 24 east, 460 perches to a post; from thence extending by the lands of John Wilcox and Joseph Baker south 65 west, 139 perches to the first- mentioned white oak or place of beginning, containing in the whole 400 acres of land." The Baker family was quite numerous in the early history of the county, 'and some members thereof very prominent. One of the Bakers, named Joseph, was a member of the general assembly and died in 1716. There is a full genealogy of the Baker family in Dr. Futhey's History of Chester County. Edward Eees, of the township of Merion, Philadelphia County, sold to Ellis David, of the township of Goshen, Chester County, a AND ITS PEOPLE. 17 S tract of land containing 367 acres, which is described as follows in the deed: "Beginning at the corner of Evan Jones & Oo.'s land; thence north-north-west 400 perches to a corner post; thence by- vacant land east-north-east 147 perches to a post, being a corner of Thomas Jones & Co.'s land; thence by the same land sonth- south-east 400 perches to another corner post; thence by Grifi&th Owen's land west-south-west 147 perches to the place of begin- ning, containing 367 acres." Griffith Owen was one of the commissioners appointed by William Penn October 28, 1701, the others being Edward Shippen, Thomas Story, and James Logan, who were authorized to grant lands for such sums and quit-rents as they should see fit. His name occurs frequently in the early history of the county, and he was a very prominent and useful man. On the 24th of April, 1708, Lewis Walker sold to Llewellyn David two parcels of land, one containing 160 acres, the other 400 acres, which are described in the deed as follows : "Beginning at a comer post standing by the land of John David; thence by the land of John Mordent, north-north-west 300 perches to another post set in the ground; thence east-north-east 160 perches to a third post standing in the line of John Havard's land; thence south- south-east 360 perches to the place of beginning." Lewis Walker, who, as elsewhere stated, is mentioned in this deed as "of the township of Valleyton, of the county of Chester," purchased this land of David Powell, who had purchased it of David Meredith, who had purchased it of the commissioners ot property appointed by William Penn. The Meredith family was a numerous one in the early history of this county, and there is given a full genealogical history thereof in Dr. Futhey's History of Chester County, as also of that of Llewellyn David, the latter of whom was a justice of the peace and a prominent citizen. On June 5, 1719, James Johnston sold to William Carter two 1 1 176 CHESTER C0UNT7 hundred acres of land in New Garden Township, "Bounded east of lands lately owned by William Penn, Jr., northward by Marlboro Township, westward by John M. Cook's land, and south by Robert Tranter's land." This land had been originally purchased by Thomas Garrett of Evan Evans, who was a most useful citizen, not only to the people who were his neighbors, but also to the country during the Revolutionary War. Among the first settlers in this township were Mary Rowland, who' purchased land here in 1708; Gayen Miller, who purchased 700 acres in 1712 ; and in the next year quite a number came into the township, land being bought by John Miller, James Lindley, John Lowden, James Starr, Michael Light- foot, William Halliday, Joseph Hutton, Abraham Marshall, and Thomas Jackson; and in 1714 Thomas Garnett and Joseph Sharp came in. These persons paid for their lands £20 per hundred acres. The next year William Penn, Jr., sold what was left of his lands, originally consisting of 14,500 acres in this township, pat- ented to him May 24, 1706, by the commissioners of property and bounded as follows: "Beginning at a hickory tree on the west side of a branch of White Clay Creek; thence east 925 perches to a corner of Letitia's Manor (Kenneth); thence by the same 2,314 perches to another comer; thence west-south-west 930 perches to White Clay Greek, west 58 perches and north by land of the London company 2,674 perches to the place of beginning." Previous to 1715 William Penn, Jr., had sold somewhat more than 5,000 acres of his lands, and in this year he sold the remainder, with the exception of 500 acres, to John Evans, and as a conse- quence this tract so sold was afterward sometimes called CoL Evans' Manor. The greater part of this, however, reconveyed be- fore the death of William Penn, Jr., which occurred in 1720, and who, when dying, left three children, viz.: Gulielma Maria, Sprin AND ITS PEOPLE. ^7T gett and William. Springett inherited his father's lands in Penn- sj'lvania, but as he died unmarried he was succeeded by his brother William, to whom Col. Evans granted a release to the manor iii 1736. June 9, 1696, George Willard sold to Edmund Butcher one hundred acres of land in the township of Birmingham for £4 down and one shilling quit-rent per year forever. Edmund Butcher on May 4, 1703, sold one hundred and eleven acres to Francis Ohadsey^ in the same township, for £6 Os. On September 20, 1718, William Penn, Jr., for £40 sold to James Lindley, "All that piece or parcel of land beginning at a corner marked hickory tree, near the corner of Thomas Garrett';* land; thence south by vacant land 160 perches to a small white oak; thence east by north on the top of Tankenemon Hill 239 perches to a black oak; thence north by vacant land 114 perches to a gum tree ; thence westerly by vacant land and the line of the said Thomas Garrett's land 234 perches to the place of beginning,, containing 200 acres of land, situated in Chester County." This land was in New Garden Township. The name of the hill given in this description is spelled as above in the deed. In 1700 the surveyor stated that he crossed the Dochcanamon Hill. Other forms of the name are as follows : Tokenamon, Taukenamon^^ Taughlikenemon, and that in use at the present time, Toughkena- mon, the meaning in the Indian language being according to tradi- tion, "Fire-brand Hill." In this same township there were in the early day, besides those already mentioned, the following: Robert Johnson, who owned 200 acres; Evan Evans, 500; Joseph Sharp^. 200; John Sharp, 200; Thomas Garnett, 300; William Tanner, 200; Benjamin Fred, 300; John Wiley, 200; Francis Hobson, 200; Gayen Miller, 700; Abraham Marshall, who has been mentioned above,, owned 200 acres of land, partly in New Castle County; Joseph Wood sold to David Phillip for £100, "All that mes- suage or tenement and plantation where Richard David formerly 178 CHESTER COUNTY dwelt, situated in Easttown in the said county of Chester, together with all of a certain tract or parcel of land thereto belonging upon part of said Joseph's purchase, of the said 3,380 acres of land," etc., "containing 200 acres." With reference to the above purchase, it should be said by way of explanation, that William Wood and William Shardlow had received from William Penn a grant of 5,000 acres, of which 3,380 acres were on December 1, 1684, laid out and surveyed by Oharlejs Ashton, surveyor, in the county of Chester, at the head of the township of Newton, and Joseph Wood, after the death of his father, William, on the 29th of August, 1704, obtained a writ of partition directed to the sheriff of the county to cut into two equal parts the aforesaid 3,380 acres, so that Joseph Wood and William Shardlow should each have 1,690 acres, and it was a part of Joseph Wood's 1,690 acres that he sold to David Phillip. Joseph Wood on September 1, 1690, sold 250 acres of land to George Simcock, who sold it to Matthew Clomison, who sold it to John Bently, who sold it to William Davies of Eadnor, who sold it to John Hugh. Then John Hugh on December 2, 1705, sold this 250 acres of land "Situated and being in Easttown, in the county of Chester, beginning at a corner post of the lands of William Shardlow, and from thence south-south-east by a line of trees 196 perches; thence south 55 west, 202 perches to a, corner post; and from thence north-north-west 196 perches, and from thence north 55 east, 202 perches to the place of beginning." On the 20th of February, 1706, John Guest sold to Daniel Mc- Farson for £60 three hundred acres of land, "The said three hun- dred acres lying and being in the township of Kennett, in the county of Chester, beginning at a post in the line of Ljietitia Penn's Manner, being a corner of Alexander Frazer's land, and thence east in the line of the said Frazer's land 324 perches to a post; thence south by vacant land 148 J perches to a white oak; thence west by the land of the said John Guest 324 perches to a white AND ITS PEOPLE. i79 oak; thence nortli by Laetitia Penn's Manner, 148^ perches to the place of beginning." John Guest on the 21st of November, 1706, sold to Alexander Frazer for £40 two hundred acres of land in the same township of Kennett, which two hundred acres was a part of six hundred and sixty-six and two-thirds acres which he owned by virtue of a warrant from the commissioners of property, laid out and sur- veyed to him on the 25th of December, 1703, the said two hundred acres adjoining the "Mannor" of Laetitia Penn. Francis Smith was also one of the early landowners and set- tlers in this part of the county, he having been probably one of the very first, if not the first, for land was surveyed to him in 1686. Up to 1703, however, the settlement of this township had not made much progress, the following being all, or nearly all, of those who had taken up land therein: Francis Smith, 440 acres; Henry Peirce, 190; Kobert Way, 425; Thomas Hope, 310; George Harlan, Israel and the Chandlers, 850; and a few years later the surveyor, Isaac Taylor, estimated the number of acres of land taken up at 12,100, and there were 2,000 acres in Laetitia Penn's Manor not surveyed. The settlers near the Brandywine about this time were the following: Peter Dicks, John Hope, George Har- lan, for whom Isaac Taylor surveyed land in 1702, and in 1703 he surveyed for the following: Isaac Few and William Huntley. The Laetitia Penn Manor may be as well be mentioned here as elsewhere. The tract of land included within this manor was conveyed by William Penn to Sir John Fagg of Sussex County, England, in trust for his wife, Gulielma Maria Penn, the convey- ance being dated September 4 and 5, 1682. The land, however, re- mained unlocated until after the death of William Penn's wife, Gulielma Maria, and also until after the death of all of her chil- dren, with the exception of two, William Penn, Jr., and Laetitia. On the 17th of the 12th month, 1699, a warrant was directed to Henry Hollingsworth requiring him to lay out for these two chil- i8o CHESTER COUNTY ■dren a tract of land, and on the 25tli of the 2d month, 1700, he surveyed for them 30,000 acres. This survey included all of the present township of New Garden, the larger portion of Kennett, and a smaller portion of New Castle County, Delaware. By a patent dated October 23, 1701, the eastern part of this large tract of land was confirmed to Laetitia Penn, and was de- scribed in the following language: "Whereas, There is a certain tract of land situated on the south side of Brandywine Creek in the province of Pennsylvania. Beginning at a bounded hickory tree standing by a branch of Bed Clay Creek, called Burrow's Run, being a comer tree of William Dickson's land, thence by a line of marked trees south and by west over Red Clay Creek at the fork thereof, twelve hundred and eleven perches to a bounded black oak standing in the line of George Reed's land; thence by the said line west forty -two perches to a "bounded black oak, being a corner of said George's land; thence south-south-west half westerly thirty-six perches to a bounded hickory, being a corner of William Guest's land; thence by the said Guest's land west 112 perches to a bounded white oak, being a corner of Brian McDonald's land ; thence north fifty perches to a bounded poplar; thence west forty-eight perches to a black oak; thence north-west eighty-four perches to a bounded chestnut tree; thence south four degrees westerly one hundred and ten perches to a bounded black oak; thence west one hundred and forty-foui- perches to a bounded black oak, being a comer of the aforesaid William Guest's land; thence by a line crossing Mill Creek, west- «outh-west to a bounded tree standing near Peck Creek, six hun- hn Hannum, George Hoops, Joel Bailey, John Gilliland, Joseph Bishop, Jr., John Kerlin, Edward Bones, William Lewis, Patrick Anderson, Joshua Evans, Thomas Hartman, Dr. Bran- son Van Leer, William Evans, Thomas Cowan, Thomas Haslep, Patterson Bell, Dr. Jonathan Morris, Andrew Mitchell, Thomas BuflQngton, James Bennett, Joseph Musgrave, William Miller, Richard Flower, Walter Finney, James Simpson. David Wherry, James Evans, Thomas Bishop, William Edwards, Jonathan Vei'- non, Jr., Lewis Davis, Sr., Joseph Gibbons, Jr., and Thomas Evans. This committee was authorized to continue until one month after the adjournment of the next Continental Congress, and to transact such business and to enter into such associations as to them might apear expedient. Of this committee Anthony Wayne was selected chairman and Francis Johnston secretary. The committee then unanimously resolved that any twelve or more of their number should be a 202 CHESTER COUNTY ■quorum, but that nothing should be done except upon the sanc- tion of at least twelve, and that in their opinion it was neces- sary that a provincial convention should be held as soon as pos- siblf-. They also resolved that twelve persons of their committee should be appointed to attend as delegates such a convention at such time and place as should be generally agreed upon. The proposed jjrovincial convention assembled at Philadel- phia January 23, 1775, and »remained in session until the 28th. Chester County was represented therein by the following ten persons : Anthony Wayne, Hugh Lloyd, Eichard Thomas, Francis Johnston, Samuel Fairlamb, Lewis Davis, William Montgomery, Joseph Musgrave, Joshua Evans and Persifor Frazer. The two members elected to attend that could not be present were Thomas Hockley and Thomas Taylor. A meeting of the Chester County committee was held March 20, 1775, at the house of Richard Cheyney in East Cain, at which meeting it was ordered that Mr. Hockley, Mr. Johnston, Mr. Oronow, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Frazer, Mr. Moore and Mr. Taylor be ap- pointed a committee to essay a draught of a petition to present to the general assembly of the province, with regard to the manu- mision of slaves, especiallj'^ relating to the freedom of infants hereafter born of black women within this province, and to make report of the same to this committee at its next meeting. At the tlrst meeting of the Chester County committee it had been resolved that subscriptions be taken up for the suffering peo- ple of Boston and Massachusetts Bay, in accordance with which resolution the Society of J^riends, acting in their meeting capacity, liberally contributed to the object. Chester Monthly Meet- ing contributed £70, Darby Meeting contributed £33 and Haverford Meeting also contributed to such an amount as was practicable. At the meeting of the committee held in March, above mentioned, it was on motion ordered that each, member of the committee use his utmost diligence in collecting the several -LYD ITS PEOPLE. 203 sums of money subscribed for the use of Boston, and pay the same into the hands of Anthony Wayne, treasurer, at the next meeting of the committee. The committee held a meeting at Chester May 22, 1775, at which it was resolved, in order to avert the evils and calamities which threatened the country, that they would use their utmost en- deavors to learn the military exercise, that they would pay a due regard to their officers, and that they would at all times be ready to defend their lives, liberties and property against all attempts to deprive them of them. On the 25th of September, 1775, a meet- ing was held at the sign of the Turk's Head in the township of Goshen, at which it was resolved that inasmuch as certain per- sons inimical to tbo liberties of America had industriouslj^ cir- culated a report that the military associators in the county, in conjunction with the military associators in general, intended to overturn the constitution by declaring an independency, etc., and as the report could only originate among the worst of men for the worst of purposes, "This committee have thought proper to declare, and they do hereby declare, their abhorrence even of an idea so pernicious in its nature, as they ardently wish for nothing more than a happy and speedy reconciliation on constitutional principles with that state from whom they derive their origin." On the 23d of October, 1775, the committee, composed in part of new members, met again at the house of David Cowpland in Chester and passed a motion ordering each of its members to immediately make return of the quantity of powder he had already collected or might collect within his district, together with the prices and the name of the owner thereof, that the same might be paid for, and it was also resolved that Anthony Wayne, Francis Johnston, Elisha Price, Mr. Richardson, Mr. Knowles, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Brannan be appointed a committee of correspondence for the county. The assembly, on the 30th of June, 1775, appointed a com- 204 CHESTER COUNTY mittee of safety, of which the Chester County members were as follows: Anthony Wayne, Benjamin Bartholomew, Francis John- ston, and Kichard Riley. Each county was required to furnish a certain number of firelocks, six hundred being required from Ches- ter County. These six hundred firelocks were manufactured by a Mr. Dunwicke and were ready to be tested by October 6, 1775. Of the committee of safety Benjamin Franklin was made president,. William Garrett clerk, and Michael Hillegas treasurer. And among the first labors of this committee of safety was the prepara- tion of articles for the government of those military organizations, known as "Associators." In October the committee of safety was reorganized, but the Chester County members were all retained, and Nicholas Fairlamb was added to their number. The Chester County committee held a meeting on December 26, 1775, in order to secure a more perfect organization of the Associators, and it was resolved that Anthony Wayne, James Moore, Francis Johnston, Dr. Samuel Kennedy, Caleb Davis, William Montgomery, Persifor Frazer and Eichard Thomas, or any five or more of them, be ap- pointed to represent the county if there should be any occasion in provincial convention for the ensuing year. At its session in May previous. Congress had resolved to raise a continental army, of which the portion allotted to Pennsylvania amounted to 4,300 men, and the assembly recommended to the several counties that they provide arms and accouterments for this force. At the request of Congress the committee recommended proper persons for officers in the several battalions. The com- jnittee recommended Anthony Wayne of Chester County as colonel of the Fourth Pennsylvania battalion. Francis Johnston was rec- ommended as lieutenant-colonel, and Nicholas Hansecker of Lan- caster County as major. Of the three the latter was the only one that went over to the enemy, this being soon after the battle of Trenton. The Provincial Convention that met in Philadelphia, January AND ITS PEOPLE. 205 23, 1775, recommended among other things the making of salt- l.)ettr, and, in accordance with this recommendation, extraordinary means were adopted to insure a proper supply. Benjamin Bran- nan, Walter Finney and John Beaton were appointed to attend the saltpeter manufactory in the city of Philadelphia, in order to perfect themselves in the art, and afterward made appointments to meet at several different houses in the county to teach and instruct all persons who might be pleased to apply at the times and places appointed. On February 7, 1776, a powder-maker by the name of Thomas Heimberger engaged to erect a powder mill in Chester County, about thirty-three miles from Philadelphia, a few miles from Yellow Springs, provided the committee advanced him £150 and kept him employed one year. On February 26, 1776, John Beaton advertised that he would be at several places at as many different times to instruct in making saltpeter, and on March 29 an order was drawn by the committee of safety in favor of the com- mittee of Chester County for £500 for the purchase of arms on account of Congress. Every necessary precaution was taken to prevent any portion of the British navy from passing up the Delaware River to Phila- delphia, chevaux-de-frize being sunk in the river, and only persons specially appointed to conduct vessels through the opening in the obstruction permitted to go below Chester. Provincial troops were rapidly organized along the river, and collected in such numbers that there were not houses enough in and around Chester to accom- modate them, for which reason the committee of safety on April 13, 1776, resolved that Col. Miles procure for the use of the troops one hundred good tents on the most reasonable terms possible. On April 17, an order was drawn for £1,500 by the committee of safety in favor of the commissioners and assessors of Chester County for the payment of firelocks, etc., made in that county for the use of the province. An application was made to the com- mittee of safety for 850 pounds of powder, in addition to the 400 2o6 CHESTER COUNTY pounds on hand, and lead enough for the whole, and for 1,500 flints to be distributed among the Associators, in order to supply them with twenty-th'i'ee pounds per man. May 7, 1776, Robert Towers was directed to deliver to CoL Samuel Miles, for the use of the Provincial troops under his com- mand, 1,000 pounds of gunpowder and 2,000 pounds of lead, or as great a part thereof as is in store. At the same time 20,000 car- tridges for muskets for the use of the Associators of Chester County were directed to be conveyed to Chester, and on the next day the commissary Avas directed to send down to Chester, for the '' use of the Provincial troops under Col. Miles, sixty firelocks. In June, 1776, the powder works in Chester County were as follows: That owned by Cowperthwaite & Biddle on French Creek, about four miles above Moore Hall; that of Thomas Heimberger, on a branch of French Creek about five miles above that first men- tioned ; one on Crum Creek belonging to Dr. Robert Harris, and be- sides these there was a small one in Bucks County on Swamp Creek. At this time the number ' of firearms fit for service, in Chester County, was as follows : First battalion, Col. James Moore, 380; Second battalion. Col. Thomas Hockley, 400; Third battalion, Col. Hugh Lloyd, 300; Fourth battalion. Col. William Montgomery, 450; Fifth battalion. Col. Richard Thomas, 300; total, 1,830. By order of the committee of safety the commissary, Robert Towers, was ordered to deliver to the colonels of the several bat- talions of Associators in Chester County the following quantities of ammunition: To Col. James Moore, 2,300 cartridges for provin- cial muskets; 2,070 cartridges sorted for the other bores of fire- locks, and 1,500 flints; to Col. Thomas Hockley, 2,300 of the flrst kind, 2,300 of the second kind, and 1,600 flints; to Col. Hugh Lloyd, 1,840 of the first kind, 1,610 of the second kind, and 1,200 fiints; to Col. William Montgomery, 2,760 of the first kind, 2,415 of the second kind, and 1,800 flints; to Col. Richard Thomas, 1,840 of the flrst kind, 1,610 of the second, and 1,200 flints. Each of these bat- talions also received lead and loose powder in the same proportion. AND ITS PEOPLE. 207 One of the important duties of the committee of safety was the preparation of articles governing the military organizations of the province, which articles are too lengthy and of too general a nature to require introduction here; but they were very rigid. Many of the citizen soldiers refused to subscribe to them or to submit to them, for the reason, as they claimed, that many persons^ claimed exemption from military service because of conscientious or religious scruples, the citizen soldiers thinking that where the liberties of all were in danger, all should bear their proportionate share of the risk and of the expense of defense. As a result of these objections to the performance of military duty on the part of those who were otherwise willing to perform them, the com- mittee of safety recommended to the assembly that provisions be made that such persons as were opposed to becoming soldiers on account of their conscientious or religious scruples might be per- mitted to pay an equivalent in money for such services as they would otherwise have to perform. The assembly thereupon re- solved that all persons between sixteen and fifty years of age, capa- ble of bearing arms, who did not associate for the defense of the province ought to contribute an equivalent for the time spent by the Associators in acquiring military discipline, except ministers of the gospel and servants purchased bona fide. And the county commissioners were empowered to assess on those not associated the sum of £2 10s. annually in addition to the ordinary tax. July 4, 1776, was the day that the Declaration of Independence- went forth. On the 5th Congress resolved that the declaration be sent to the several assemblies and conventions and councils, and to the several commanders of the Continental troops, that it be- read at the head of the army and in each of the United States. Letters were sent out by the committee to the different colonels of the battalions of the counties of Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester- and Lancaster, requesting them to have their troops ready to march at an hour's notice. The Associators of the province, divided into- 2o8 CHESTER COUXTY fifty-three battalions, met by delegates at Lancaster July 4, 1776, to elect two brigadier-generals to command the forces of Penn- sylvania, Daniel Koberdeau and James Ewing being chosen. To this convention at Lancaster, Chester County sent Major Oulbert- son. Col. Montgomery, Lieut.-Col. Gibson, Captains Wallace, Scott and Gardiner, and Privates Cunningham, Denny, Culbertson and Fulton. On July 12, 1776, Eobert Smith, who had been chosen lieu- tenant of the county, wrote to Thomas Wharton, Jr., president of the province, that he was under the necessity of applying to him for money to enable him to fill the first class of the militia of Chester County, which had long before been ordered to march, but that only 320 had arrived, of whom 200 were substitutes, and that the class when full would contain 700 men. The musket battalion composed of 444 men was under com mand of Col. Samuel John Atlee, the captains of the several com-' panies being Patrick Anderson, Peter Z. Lloyd, Francis Muncy, Abraham Marshall, Abraham Dehuff, Thomas Herbert, John Nice and Joseph Howell. On July 15, Abraham Marshall was per- mitted to resign and was succeeded by Joseph McClellan. This battalion, along with other troops from Chester County, was pres- ent in the campaign of New York. The fourth battalion, of Chester County, which was one of those in the New York campaign, was commanded by Col. Montgomery. One of the companies in this battalion was commanded by Captain James McDowell, the lieu- tenants being James Thorn and Daniel Hayes, the ensign Abra- ham Smith, the sergeants Charles Kamsey, John Wallace, Ezekiel Hopkins and John Arnell, and the drummer Neal Crossin. The number of private soldiers in this company was forty-six. Three battalions, including that of Col. Atlee, were formed into a regi- ment under command of Col. Samuel Miles, and were in the dis- astrous battle at Flatbush, Long Island, on the 27th of August. Several of Capt. Pat. Anderson's company were killed, one sergeant AXD ITS PEOPLE. 211 and nine privates were missing, and the Captain himself nar- roAvly escaped with his life. Colonels Miles and Atlee were taken prisoners, and Lieut-Col. Caleb Perry was killed. The command of the regiment then devolved upon Col. Daniel Broadhead. On August 1 there were 397 men in Col. Atlee's battalion, but on Sep- tember 22, according to a letter from Capt. Anderson, there were only eighty-three men left, on account of losses in killed, wounded, prisoners and deserters. The Pennsylvania troops suffered severely, not only in the bat- tle of Long Island, but also in the reduction of Fort Washington, Col. Atlee's and Col. Montgomery's battalions, among several others, being taken prisoners. General Howe then threatened Philadelphia, to which city Gen. Washington sent Major-General Israel Putnam to take charge of its defense. In the absence of the troops from Chester County on the expeditions mentioned above, the young women followed the plow and prepared the fallow fields for the fall seeding. All of the coarse blankets, clothing and stockings in the county were purchased, and the owners of stock, by order of the committee of safety, prepared to remove their stock back from the Delaware to a place of security, at least, to a distance of five miles. The salt in the possession of the committee was sent to the several counties in the province, Chester County, receiving eighty bushels, which was to be sold to the people at the rate of fifteen shillings per bushel. Dr. Robert Harris received fns for making powder, and it was proposed by Dr. Thomas Bond that hospitals be established for the sick at Darby, Chester, Marcus Hook, AVilmington and New Castle. The battle of Trenton, won by General Washington December 25, 1776, greatly relieved the drooping spirits of the people and removed the apprehensions that had been felt by the inhabitants of Chester County of any immediate attack on the city of Phila- delphia, which city was so near to them, and which would bring the war so near to their homes. On the morning of the 10th of March, 13 213 CHESTER COUNTY 1777, a serious accident occurred, in the explosion of the powder mill on French Creek, which, however, may not have been wholl.y an accident, for Peter Dehaven, who had charge of the mill, wrote to the committee of safety that he suspected the mill was blown up by Mr. Peck or his men, and, as a natural result, Mr. Peck and his men were all taken prisoners and kept under guard until an investigation could be made. One man was so badly burned that he died next day. After the .investigation had been made Mr. Peck, who was the powder-maker, and his men were set at liberty. The cannon cast at Warwick furnace during the year 1776 consisted of 23 12-pounders and 37 18-pounders, 60 in all, and those cast at Reading furnace consisted of 31 12-pounders and 61 18-pounders, 92 in all. On the 11th of November, 1776, Daniel Joy, from Eeading furnace, wrote to Daniel Eittenhouse in Phila- delphia, that he had sent him two 9-pounder cannon, proved with eight pounds of powder, two shot and three wads, that he in- tended to cast six more of the same size, and afterward one each day, but they would be somewhat larger. On the 12th of March, 1777, the offtcers of the Fifth Pennsyl- vania regiment were as follows: Francis Johnston, colonel; Persi- for Frazer, lieutenant-colonel, and Thomas Eobinson, major. On April 3 a requisition for wagons was made upon Colonel Caleb Davis, Chester County; Major Evans, near Yellow Springs; Col- onel William Dewees, at Valley Forge, and Isaac Webb, Milltown, now Downingtown. On April 28, 1777, Lieut. Eobert Smith wrote to President Wharton that he had used all the industry in his power in for- warding the business of the militia of Chester County, which had been divided into eight districts or battalions, that the field officers had been elected, and met that day to draw for rank, and he said that the number of persons returnable to him in the county as capable of bearing arms was upward of 5,000. On July 9 the council made a request that the justices of the AXD ITS PEOPLE. 213 peace should nominate proper persons to take an account of all the wheat, flour, gi^ain and other stores in the county of Chester -within twenty miles of the Delaware to the westward, and in accordance therewith the justices, namely, Isaac Davis, James Moore, Daniel Griffith, Philip Scott and Kobert Smith, made a return as follows : John Wilson, Isaac Taylor, George Curry, Charles Dilworth, Thomas McCall, Joshua Evans, James Ewing and James Lindsey. For the purpose of providing for and feeding the poor that might be removed from the city of Philadelphia, in anticipation of an attack on that city by the British general, Howe, the following gentlemen were appointed : Benjamin Bartholomew of East Whiteland, Daniel John of Charlestown, David Thomas of Vincent, Michael Hallman of Pike- land, Peter Crumbacker of Coventry, William James of East Nant- meal, John Brower of West Nantmeal, Thomas Evans of Uwchlan, George Thomas of West Whiteland, James Thompson of East Cain, John Fleming of West Cain, Joseph Parker of Sadsbury, Thomas Heslip and Samuel Futhey of East and West Fallowfi^eld, William Wilson of Oxford, William Pake of West Nottingham, and David Wherry of East Xottingham. On August 5, 1877, Lewis Gronow wrote to Timothy Matlack, stating that great dissatisfaction was expressed with the mode of hiring substitutes. The advance of such large premiums as was being made in Philadelphia County for two months' service was unreasonable and absurd. The county had given £25 for several that had been supplied, and the news guickly reached Chester County, which made it necessary to give as much in Chester County, otherwise the men would go elsewhere to enlist; that is, men who were not under marching orders, for which he said they could not be blamed. The question, therefore, was, Mr. Gronow said, whether he should pay such extravagant premiums. It was about this time that the British fleet approached Dela- 214 CHESTER COUNTY ware Baj, and it was expected that fleet would ascend the bay and river as far as practicable, and make the attack on Philadelphia from that direction. Washington was, therefore, directed to re- pair with his army to Philadelphia, and the militia of Maryland, Delaware and Northern Virginia were ordered to join the Pennsyl- vania troops. Upon Washington's arrival in Philadelphia he first met Lafayette, who had then recently arrived in that city, and Lafayette at once took up his quarters with the commander-in- chief. General Howe, after entering Delaware Bay, found ap- proach to Philadelphia too difficult by that route, so withdrew his fleet to the ocean, and entered Chesapeake Bay. August 25, the British army, consisting of 18,000 men, including a portion of the Hessians, disembarked near the head of the Elk Eiver, and on the 28th the vanguard arrived at the head of the Elk, and the day fol- lowing at Gray's Hill. Here it was joined by the rear guard under General Knyphausen, and the entire army posted itself behind the river Christiana, with Newark on the right and Pencander on the left. In the month of September two companies of militia of Chester County embodied themselves and applied for ammunition and arms at headquarters, fearing that the enemy would invade the county ; but their application was refused, it was thought, for the reason that thej^ were unwilling to join in with the other militia and be taken under the direction of the commander-in-chief. The day be- fore the British army landed, as narrated above, General Washing- ton marched his army through Philadelphia toward the Brandy- wine, and as the means of transportation for the army baggage was inadequate, an order was issued to the justices of the peace of each county of Philadelphia and Chester for twenty-five four-horse wagons. The headquarters were established at Wilmington, and on September 1 the militia called out in Lancaster County were ordered by him to join his forces at that place. The British army being put in motion, threatened with its right AXD iT.s' PEOPLE. 215 the center of General Washington's position, and with its left ex- tended threatened to turn his right wing. Perceiving the danger, General Washington retired behind the Brandywine and took up a position at Chadd's Ford, as the most practicable of all for defense, and encamped on the rising ground extending from Chadd's Ford in the direction of northwest to southeast. General Maxwell's riflemen scoured the right or west bank of the Brandywine in order to harass and retard the approach of the British army as much as possible, and the militia under General Armstrong was assigned a position on the left or east bank of the Brandywine, about two miles below the principal encampment of Washington, which enabled him to guard two fords, named Pyle's Ford and Corner Ford. In order to fortify the position at Chadd's Ford a line of breastworks was hastily thrown up on the bluff bordering on level ground a little to the north of the main road, and the right wing of the American army lined the banks of the Brandywine higher up, where the passages were more difficult. Having thus disposed his army Washington awaited the approach of the British, which, on the evening of September 1), entered Chester County in two divisions, one of which, under Gen- eral Knyphausen, encamped at New Garden and Kennett Square, and the other under Cornwallis, a short distance below Hockessin Meeting-house. The next day the two divisions of the army united at Kennett Square, in the evening the forces under Knyphausen advancing toward Welsh's Tavern, afterward known as the Anvil, those under Cornwallis remaining on the hills north and west of Kennett Square. On this day Peter De Haven wrote to Vice-President Bryan that Doctor Kanady had requested him to spare one hundred stand of arms at the "Yallo Spring," as there was a suspicion of the "Towrys raising." jBut Mr. De Haven could not spare any arms or ammunition without an order from the executive council. On the same day Mr. De Haven wrote another letter to the effect that a 2i6 CHESTER COUNTY part of "Mr. Hows armey is within four miles of Downins Town, and I believe they intend for our Magazene, and we are in a very poor situation for defending it. I should be very glad if you would send a proper Gard for this place. I have Eid threw this Naber- hood to Procure Waggons but could get but 8 or 10 to move som of the Powder toward Eeddin, but to what place I am a stranger." By the rapid approach of "Mr. Hows armey," Mr. De Haven was compelled to depart and to*burn the mills, removing to Hum- mel stown. Early on the morning of the 11th of September General Howe divided his army into two columns, one commanded by General Knyphausen, the other by Lord Cornwallis, the former marching direct to Ohadd's Ford by the Philadelphia road, and the other, accompanied by General Howe, taking a circuitous route through the townships of Kennett, East Marlborough, Newlin, West and East Bradford, and Birmingham, on the way crossing the West Branch of the Brandywine at Trimble's Ford, and the East Branch at Jefferis' Ford, and approaching Birmingham Meeting- house from the north. While this movement was being made by Cornwallis' column, Knyphausen's column was making repeated attempts to cross the Brandywine at Chadd's Ford, merely to divert the attention of the Americans from this important flank move- ment. By furious cannonading on the part of Knyphausen, alter- nate retreats and eager pursuits of the portions of Washington's army thrown across the Brandywine at Chadd's Ford, the flank movement was kept from General Washington until about noon, when General Howe had crossed both of the upper branches of tlie Brandywine and was proceeding down the left bank of the main branch with the view of suddenly falling upon and crushing the right wing of the American army. Upon being advised of this movement of the British general, Washington decided on the boldest move possible to be made — ^to cross the Brandywine with his entire army, fall upon Knyphausen with terrible force and to crush AXD-]1\^ PEOPLE. 217 Mm before Howe could arrive upon the scene. Had this move- ment been carried out the fortunes of the day would have been with the Americans, but when in the execution of this design a second report arrived at Washington's headquarters that no such move- ment as previously reported had been made by General Howe, that he had not crossed the upper branches of the Brandywine, that he had made a feint of crossing, but that he had really marched down the right bank of the stream, instead of crossing over, and was then on the point of uniting his forces with those of Knyphausen ; in which case. Gen. Washington knew that the British army would be superior to his both in numbers and in the fact of acting on the defensive, and hence his failure to crush Knyphausen and the loss to him of the battle of the Brandywine. In the midst of conflicting reports as to the movements of Lord Cornwallis' column, a citizen of Thombury Township named Thomas Cheyney, a justice of the peace, rode up to the forces under Oeneral Sullivan, and informed that general of the true state of affairs — that Cornwallis had crossed the Brandywine and was rap- idly marching down its left bank. Being rather uncourteously received by General Sullivan, Mr. Cheyney demanded that he should be conducted to the commander-in-chief, who at first disposed to doubt the correctness of the information, was at length convinced of its truth, and immediately disposed of his troops in such a manner as best to meet the new and unexpected emergency. The right wing of the army of Washington was in command of Gen- erals Stephen, Stirling and Sullivan, and under their respective commanders the three divisions of the right wing advanced to meet the British coming down from the north. The division under command of General Anthony Wayne remained at Chadd's- Ford to keep Knyphausen in check, and General Greene's division, accompanied by General Washington, formed a reserve, taking a position between the right and left wings, and ready to march ■either to the succor of Sullivan or Wayne, as circumstances might require. 2i8 CHESTER COUNTY The column of Cornwallis being now in sight of the American forces, General Sullivan drew up his troops on the ground above Birmingham Meeting-house, his left extending toward the Brandy- wine, and his right toward a thick piece of woods. His artillery was advantageously planted, but his division having taken a cir- cuitous route in getting into position, the battle began before he was really ready for it, about half-past four o'clock in the after- noon. The right, having been formed under the enemy's fire, first gave way, exposing that flank of the remaining divisions to a gall- ing fire, and the right continuing to break all along the line, the flight became general. The vanquished soldiers fled into the woods in their rear, the victors pursuing and advancing by the great road toward Dilworth. In order to check the pursuit the Tenth Vir- ginia, under Col. Stephens, and a Pennsylvania regiment, under Col. Stewart, neither of which had participated in the battle, were advantageously posted on the road taken by the fleeing army, and though at length dispersed by Gen. Howe's troops, yet performed good service in checking and putting an end to the pursuit. Gen. Greene also contributed largely to the same end, for, having placed, himself at the head of Muhlenberg's Brigade, in the rear of the retreating army, he kept up so destructive a fire from his artillery as to retard the enemy, and arriving at a narrow defile strongly protected on both right and left by woods, he immediately halted his forces, sent forward his cannon, and formed his troops, de- termined to dispute the pass, notwithstanding the superiority of the pursuing army. Though he was dislodged by Howe, the pur- suit .was here abandoned. While the above movements were in progress General Anthony Wayne was at the defense of Chadd's Ford, with three field pieces and a howitzer, his army for some time standing firm ; but learning that the right of their army had been defeated, and seeing some British soldiers coming out of the woods on their flank, they also retired in disorder, leaving their ai^tillery and munitions to the AXD ITS PEOPLK. 219 Hessian general. In their retreat they passed behind the position of General Greene, who still defended tlie position he had taken, and was the last to leave the field. Finally, after a long and obstinate conflict, darkness coming on, he also retired, and the whole .American army retreated that night by different roads to Chester. The next day Washington's army retired to Philadelphia. The losses of the American army in this battle are stated to have been 300 killed, GOO wounded and about 400 taken prisoners. They also lost ten field pieces and a howitzer. The loss of the British was something over 500, the killed being about 100. The reason for this great disparity of loss is thought to have been that many of the muskets used by the Americans were totally unfit for service. In his report to Congress, dated at Chester, twelve o'clock at night, September 11, 1777, Gen. Washington stated that he believed his loss was much less than that of the enemj'. While the American army was encamped on the Brandywiue thi headquarters of Gen. ^"ashington were in the dwelling of Benjamin King, a mile from Chadd's Ford, and the headquarters of Lafayette were at the dwelling of Gideon Gilpin, who was still living when Lafayette, who was wounded in the leg during the battle of the Brandj'wine, made his memorable visit to this country in 1824 and 1S25. Other Frenchmen who participated in this battle, whose names are worthy of mention, were Baron St. Ouary and Captain De Fleury, the latter of whom had a horse killed under him, and the former being taken prisoner. Count Pulaski, a noble Pole, was also in this battle, and displayed conspicuous bravery at the head of tlie light horse. "In the fight at Birmingham Meeting-house a party of the Americans for a time occupied a position inside the rear wall of the graveyard. A number of the British fell here. The killed of both armies who fell in the vicinity of the meeting-house were buried in the graveyard which partly surrounds it, their remains occupying one common grave just inside of the gate and on the 220 CHESTER COUNTY side next to the meeting-liouse. The meeting-house was used as a hospital while the British army remained in the neighborhood." A few days after the battle four or five hundred of the Ameri- can wounded were takeiji to Ephrata, in Lancaster County, and placed in a hospital, where the camp fever set in, and this, together with the wounds of the soldiers,,so baffled the skill of the surgeons that one hundred and fifty of the soldiers died, a fearful mortality. They were j'l'iiicipally from » Pennsylvania and i^ew England, though there were among them a few British soldiers who had deserted and joined the Americans. The place where Lafayette received his wound Avas on the higli ground a littlenorthwestof the frame public schoolhouse, and south- east of the residence afterward occupied by John Bennett. Tt was south of "W'i star's woods, a field which for years after the war was strewn with musket balls. In his Memoirs, General Lafayette says: "La confusion devint extreme, et c'est en ralliant les troubes que M. de Lafayette eut la jambe traversee d'une balle. A cette ■epoque, tout ce qui restait plia. M. de Lafayette dut a Gimat, son aide-de-camp, le bonbeur de remonter a cheval." The story as tO' Thomas Cheyney's carrying the correct infor- mation of the movements of Oornwallis' wing of the army to Gen- eral Sullivan is thought by some to be wholly apocryphal; but it is given on the authority of a "Lady near West Chester," she relating it in a letter to Dr. A. L. Elwyn of Philadelphia. But whether this storj- is true or false, it appears perfectly clear that the false information which led to the abandonment by Gen. Washington of his excellent plan for defeating the British army in detail, or at least the crushing of the German wing of it under Gen. Knyphausen, was conveyed to Gen. Sullivan by Major Spear, whom Washington had himself sent out to gain the very informa- tion that was needed, and tliat this false information was trans- mitted to Gen. Washington by Gen. Sullivan in time to prevent the success of Washington's proposed movement across the Brandy- AX'D ITS PEOPLE. 221 wine. This false information was confirmed by Sergeant Tucker before being forwarded to Wasliington. This is all most remark- able, for the reason that it was in direct contradiction of Gen. Sullivan's opinion of what Gen. Howe would do as a military man, and which, in fact, Gen. Howe did do, and it was this unfortunate communication of Gen. Sullivan to Gen. Washington that led to the loss of the battle of Brandy wine, and to many other misfor- tunes which followed in its wake. A considerable portion of the British army remained in the vicinity of the battlefield from the 11th to the morning of the 16l;h, the chief portion about Dilworthtown and south of that place. On the 12th a detachment marched to Concord Meeting-house, where it was joined on the 13th by Cornwallis with some light infantry and British grenadiers, and soon after Howe moved his army through Chester County toward the Schuylkill Eiver, with the view of crossing that river and then taking possession of Philadelphia. One of the principal crossing places of that river was at Swede's Ford, near the present southern limits of Norristown, and, as the water was deep lower down the Schuylkill, it was expected the British army would attempt to cross there or higher up the stream. As Washington did not want Philadelphia to fall into the hands of the British, he determined to risk another battle, and on the 15th of September left his camp at Germantown, crossed the Schuylkill with the main body of his army, and marched up the Lancaster road, with the intention of meeting the enemy and giving him battle. The British commander, learning that Washington was advancing on the Lancaster road, resolved to make an attack upon him, and that portion of his army which had been encamped in the neighborhood of Village Green left that point on the morning of the 16th under Cornwallis, proceeding northward toward the Great Valley on the Chester road by the present villages of Glen Eiddle, Lima and Howellville, and by Eocky Hill and Goshen Friends' Meeting-house. 222 CHESTER COUNTY The two armies moved to positions between the White Horse and Goshen meeting-houses, on the high ground south of the valley, and began making preparations for a battle. To Gen. Wayne was assigned the duty of leading and opening the battle, and skirmishing began between the advancing forces; but just at this time a sudden and violent thunderstorm came up and put an end to hostilities for the time being. Then, after a consultation, Washington decided to retire and form on the high ground in the Great Valley east of the White Horse, north of the old Lancaster road, where he waited until four o'clock in the afternoon for the advance of the British army. The point where the above-men- tioned skirmishing occurred was one and a half miles north of Goshen Meeting-house and about a half mile a little west of south of the old "Three Tuns" tavern, where twelve American soldiers were killed, a few wounded and some taken prisoners. When Cornwallis moved northward from the Village Green or Seven Stars, the British forces that had remained in camp near the battlefield moved forward under Knyphausen by the way of Turk's Head, now West Chester, with the view of uniting with Cornwallis. -A portion of this force under Brig.-Gen. Matthews proceeded from the Turk's Head by the Beading road to the Indian King tavern, and thence to the northeastern part of the farm occupied by James Dunwoody, near the Ship road, and went into camp in order to protect themselves from the rain, while the Hes- sian line took the road leading from the Turk's Head to the Boot tavern, and proceeded thence northward toward the Ship tavern. On the farm of Daniel Meredith they encountered a detachment of Americans, with which they had a sharp skirmish, a few being killed on both sides, and some prisoners being taken hj the Hes- sians. This engagement, which was likewise interrupted by the rain, occun'ed about the same as the other between Cornwallis' and Washington's forces, the two skirmishes being about three miles apart. The army of "\A'ashington retired to the Yellow Springs,, AXD 7T,S' PEOPLE. 223 and there an inspection disclosed the fact that on account of the wet condition of the powder there was scarcely a musket in the army that could be discharged. Washington therefore continued his retreat to Warwick furnace, on the south branch of French Creek, where a supply of arms and ammunition was obtained. On the 18th of the month the two divisions of the British army, under Cornwallis and Knyphausen, united their forces and moved down the Lancaster and Swede's Ford road into the township of Tre dyffrin, encamping at the village of Howellville and between that village and C^ntervi'Ue. On the 17th Gen. Wayne, with his division of about 1,500 men, was ordered to join Gen. Smallwood, in command of the Maryland militia, in the rear of the British army, and to seize every oppor- tunity to annoy the enemy, to cut off his baggage train, and thus arrest his march to the Schuylkill until the American army under Washington could cross the river higher up, pass down the east side and thus be in a position to prevent Gen. Howe from cross- ing over. On the 18th Gen. Wayne was encamped about three hundred yards to the eastward of the present Paoli monument, securely concealed, as he believed, from all knowledge of Gen. Howe. Wayne thought that he had taken abundant precautions against himself being surprised, and under ordinary circumstances such would have been the case, for the British general did not know the whereabouts of Wayne's forces; but there were Tories in the immediate neighborhood of Wayne's camp, who not only knew of his precise locality and the nature of the approaches, but who also conveyed all the necessary information to the British commander, who at once sent General Grey out to surprise him and cut him olT, and Col. Musgrave with the For-tieth and Fifty-fiftli regiments was moved up to the Lancaster road in order that if necessary he might aid Gen. Grey, and to intercept any of Gen. Wayne's troops who might attempt to retreat over that route. Gen. Grey marched from his encampment near Howellville 224 CHESTER COUNTY up the Swede's Ford road and massed his troops as near the camp of Gen. Wayne as practicable without permitting Wayne to know of his approach. Several of Gen. Wayne's pickets upon the ap- proach of the British fired upon them and escaped, but others of the pickets were silently bayoneted in the darkness, and the first knowledge Gen. Wayne had of the approach of the enemy was from one of the videttes whom he had sent out. Wayne directed CoL Humpton, who was second in command, to gain the road leading toward the White Horse tavern, and a part of the troops took the right road while others took the wrong -one, being thus brought within the light of their own fires, giving the attacking force a most important advantage over them. The artillery had taken the right road and were retreating safely. While General Wayne was attempted to cover the retreat of the artillery and preparing to receive the enemy, Gen. Grey approached his position about one o'clock in the morning of the 21st, under cover of the darkness. The troops under Wayne fought bravely for a considerable time, giving the enemy several close and well directed fires, but were soon obliged to retire before largely superior forces. Wayne there- upon immediately fiew to the Fourth Eegiment,with which he again received the enemy's charge, covering the retreat of the rest of his line, and after being again compelled to retire he rallied those of Col. Humpton's troops that had taken the right road in their re- treat about three hundred yards in the rear of the last stand, where he formed them ready to renew the conflict. Both parties, how- ever, withdrew without renewing the contest, and Gen. Wayne re- tired to the White Horse tavern, taking with him his artillery and ammunition, with the exception of that left upon the field, which fell into the hands of the enemy. The attack upon Wayne's men was made with the bayonet and light swords only, in a most ferocious spirit, Gen. Grey having ordered his men to remove the flints from their guns in order that not a single shot should be fired. Many were killed after they had AND ITS PEOPLbL 225 ceased, to resist, and even the wounded and sick were killed. It was this feature of the attack that has stigmatized the conduct of the British in this midnight battle as "barbarity" and "cold blooded murder," and which has given to it the title of the "Paoli massacre." The loss of the Americans was about one hundred and fifty killed and wounded, while the British report a loss of only seven or eight, though it is altogether likely that their loss was considerably larger. Fifty three mangled bodies were found upon the field and decently buried by those living in the vicinity of the battlefield on the very spot where now stands the Paoli monument. Among the killed was Major Marion Lamar, who fell in the midst of the British on the retreat, and in honor of this martyr in the cause of liberty a township in Chester County was given liis name. This attack upon Wayne's forces enabled General Howe to move his army without molestation, that general resuming his march on the morning of the 21st, down the road leading to Swede's Ford, with the intention of crossing the Schuylkill at that point, but as he disco^sered breastworks on the opposite side of the river occupied by Washington's troops, he turned up the river on the west side with the view of crossing at some of the fords higher up or, as Mr. Pennypacker says in his "Phoenixville and Its Vicin- ity," he induced Washington to suppose that was his object, or else to seize by a sudden movement the deposit of ammunition and other stores at Eeading. Washington, deceived by this movement, hastened up the east bank of the river to the neighborhood of Pottsgrove, when Gen. Howe suddenly wheeled his army on the- 23rd of September, marched rapidly down the river and crossed with but little opposition at what was then called Gordon's Ford». now Phoenixville, and at Fatland Ford, a short distance below, and slipped into Philadelphia almost before Washington knew how thoroughly he had been deceived, entering that city on the 26th. It will have been seen that the army under General Howe 226 CHESTER COUNTY entered Chester County on September 9, and left it on the 23rd, having been within its then limits, including what is now Dela- ware County, twelve days. This was the only time during the entire period of the Eevolutionary War when a British army was in the county, though foraging parties were sent out from Phila- delphia while the British remained in possession of that city. In his "Phoenixville and Its Vicinity" Mr. Pennypacker says with reference to the depredations committed on the people of this county by the British army during those two weeks : "In the course of these maneuvers, on Sunday afternoon, at four o'clock, on the 21st of September, 1777, the British army, num- bering about 14,000 men, entered Schuylkill Township and en- camped along Nutt's road from Fountain Inn to Fatland Ford. The English occupied the upper side of the road, and upon the other side the Hessians were stationed. The headquarters of Gen. Knyphausen, commander of the Hessians, was at the house of Frederick Buzzard, which, at that time, stood about midway be- tween the Corner stores and the Morris woods. The headquarters of Gen. Howe were at the house of William Grimes," recently occu- pied by John Acre, and the first house below the Bull tavern. "No sooner were the men dismissed and ordered to encamp than they commenced depredations upon the surrounding neigh- borhood. In a little while every house had been visited. All the provisions, clothing, straw and hay that could be found were car- ried off, and the cattle and horses were driven away. So com- pletely were the people divested of everything which could be used in the camp, that they, in many instances, suffered from the want of food and clothing. The only means by which anything could be retained was by application to the commanding general for a guard. Bequests of this kind were usually granted. "To the residence of Moses Coates, Jr., the Hessians came in droves as soon as the army halted, and they continued their in- cursions until the next morning, when a guard was obtained. The BAYARD TAYLOR. GEN. G. PEXNYPACKER. GEN ANTHONY WAYNE. T. BUCHANAN READ. WAYNE McVEAGH. AWD ITS PEOPLE. 229 garden, cellar and larder were emptied and the hen roosts soon made desolate. Among other things carried away was a large flock of geese. The last of them, an old gander, was pursued through the yard and finally caught around the neck by a huge Hessian, who held the bird aloft as he throttled it and cried exultingly to the members of his family: 'Dis bees goot for the poor Hessian mans.' One of the daughters expressed the hope that it would choke him to death, upon which he began to curse and departed with his prey. "The family of Patrick Anderson had been informed of their approach, and had removed and secreted as many things of value as possible. The bedding and clothing were locked up in the bureau drawers and the house was abandoned. The English, who knew that Anderson was absent in the American cause, broke open the doors of the dwelling and completely destroyed everything in it. They pushed the locks off from the bureau draw- ers and closets by thrusting their bayonets through the keyholes, and took possession of the contents. The furniture, which was in good condition, they broke into pieces and used for their fires. Mirrors were thrown upon the floor and paintings and others articles of vertu, with the single rather remarkable exception of a portrait of George Washington, which was left in its place upon the wall, were ruined. The cattle and sheep were slaughtered and the meat was salted and prepared in the parlor for transporta- tion. The bloodstains remaining after this butchery could be seen upon the floors when the house was removed in 1842. "They came to the residence of Matthias Pennypacker in the night and ransacked it in the search for provisions and clothing. The grain and flour in the mill became a valuable acquisition. The mill was at that time new and in excellent order, and to prevent its future use they hacked the machinery and cut the bolting cloth into strips. "From the Fountain Inn, where William Fussell then lived, 14 2 30 CHESTER COUNTY they carried away whatever could be obtained. In order to secure some bed curtains which she considered to have particular value, Mistress Fussell wrapped them about her person and covered tliem with her dress. Some Hessian women, however, who ac- companied the army, having their suspicions aroused, threw the lady unceremoniously on the floor, unwound the wrapping from about her and made it their spoil. "Lord Cornwallis came himself to the house of Benjamin Boyer after it had been thoroughly stripped. The beehives, for preservation, had been carried into a room in the west end of the house and covered over with sheets. Cornwallis inquired what was concealed there and was informed they were bees. Not to be deceived, however, by what he thought to be a subterfuge, with an impatient movement he removed the covering. The in- sects, already disturbed by their recent transportation, resented the interference by flying into his face and hair, and they probed him unmercifully. His lordship beat a hasty retreat. "A horse belonging to a son of Moses Coates, then quite a youth, was taken from the pasture field and it was known that the animal was among the British forces. The young man went to the headquarters of the commanding general and, upon mak- ing inquiries of some of the attendants about that officer's per- son, received only insolent and taunting replies. He insisted, however, upon an interview with their superior and was finally shown into Howe's presence. Upon making his errand known he was treated politely and detained in conversation. The subject of the condition of the American army was adroitly introduced and every effort made to elicit information from him. At length Howe said to him that he could have his horse if he would go over the Schuylkill and learn as accurately as he could the num- ber of Washington's troops. The offer was rejected, and Howe increased it by saying that he would not only return his horse, but give him in addition six guineas in gold. The youth replied with AXD ITS PEOPLE. 231 indignation that he could not be bribed to perform an act so base, and when it was found that he would not answer Howe's pur- poses he was given permission to search through the camp for his horse and to take it away." Historians generally agree that one of the greatest difficulties with which General Washington had to contend during the en- tire period of the Kevolutionary War was the fact that when the early enthusiasm had in some measure subsided and the war be- come a stern reality there was a large number of disaffected people always ready to convey correct and valuable information to the British commanders but who made it exceedingly difficult for the American general to procure reliable information of the movements and numbers of the British forces. Had ^^'ashington known the in- tentions of General Howe in moving northward on the west side of the Schuylkill on the 21st of September he might have pre- vented Howe's crossing that river, and thus have saved Phila- delphia. In corroboration of this view of the case the following letter, taken from the Pennsylvania archives, is here introduced: "BOARD OF WAR TO PRESIDENT WHARTON. "War Office, October 18, 1777. "Sir: * =i^ * * * =^- "I am directed to communicate to you for the considera- tion of the Committee of Safety that the board have received satis- factory information that a great number of the inhabitants of Chester County conveyed intelligence and supplied provisions to the enemy during their progress through that county and without such assistance their attempt upon Philadelphia would, in all probability, not have succeeded. These persons can be considered in no other light than as traitors to this state and avowed enemies to the United States, and therefore the great principle of self- preservation requires that the most effectual measures should be forthwith pursued to put it out of their power to persist in their 232 CHESTER COUXTY former mal-practices by taking from them such articles of cloth- ing and provisions, and of the former particularly shoes, stock- ings and blankets, as might serve for the comfort and subsistence of the enemy's army, and the acquisition whereof is of absolute necessity to' the existence of our own. The board, therefore, earnestly requests that the Council will with the utmost dispatch call forth and send to the countj^of Chester spirited and determined militia under the command of discreet and active of&cers for the purpose of collecting shoes, blankets and stockings for the use of the American Army from such of the inhabitants of the said county as have not taken the oath of allegiance to the state of Pennsyl- vania and have shown their attachment to the cause of the enemy, etc. EICHAKD PETERS, Sec." In accordance with the above suggestion of Richard Peters the following resolution of the Council of Safety was adopted at Lancaster, October 21, 1777: "Ordered. — That Ool. Evan Evans, Col. William Evans, Col. Thomas, Col. Gibbons Capt. Thomas Levis, Capt. William Brooks and Capt. Jacob Rudolph be authorized and required to collect without delay from such of the inhabitants of the county of Chester as have not taken the oaths of allegiance and abjuration or who have aided or assisted the enemy, arms and accouterments, blan- kets, shoes and stockings for the use of the army, and that they ap- praise the same when taken according to their quality, allowing at the rate of £3 for a new single blanket, and give certificates of the same to the owners, etc. TIMOTHY MATLACK, Sec." On October 31, 1777, President Wharton wrote to Col. Cheney and Col. Gronow of Chester County to the effect that no time should be lost in the embodiment of light horse militia in the county, and urged the immediate formation of three or four troops of light horse, and that they be put under the command of General Potter. Having quietly taken possession of the city of Philadelphia, Gen. Howe considered it a good opportunity to move his fleet up AXD ITS PEOPLE. 233 the Delaware to that city, and while he was engaged at this work, capturing the fort at Billingsport, and driving away the small gar- rison under Col. Bradford, Washington thought he could success- fully attack that wing of the British stationed in Germantown. The result was the battle of Germantown, fought October 4, 1777, and, through a combination of circumstances favoring the British, was won by them, and Washington had to retire from the field. After this defeat, and after the junction of his army and that of Gen. Gates, who had compelled the surrender of Burgoyne at Sara- toga, the combined forces went into camp at Whitemarsh, in Mont- gomery County. Here Gen. Howe made several attempts to draw the American army out of camp into a battle, but failed to do so, and Washington finally decided to go into camp at Valley Forge, the sufferings of his army at that place having become most his- toric. While the army was thus encamped many of the farm houses were selected by its officers for their quarters. Col. Clement Biddle was for some time at Moore Hall; Generals Gates and Mifflin were at the house of Moses Ooates, as were also Colonels Davis and Ballard. The house of Edward Lane and also that of Jacob Pennypacker were utilized in the same manner by other officers, and a company of horse soldiers was stationed at the house of Matthias Pennypacker. A number of sick soldiers was taken care of at the house of Philip Eapp, two of whom died and were buried in the woods. The house of Henry Miller was converted into a commissary store, and in the barn of David James delin- quents, deserters and spies were confined, and were continually watched by a guard. The old Varley house was converted into a hospital, and there was also a large hospital on the farm of Joest Smith, where many of the soldiers had the smallpox and camp fever. But the largest hospital was erected on some high ground in a field of the Gwynn farm, and about the hospital about 150 men are believed to have been buried. 234 CHESTER COUXTY Many of the farmers in the vicinity were engaged in teaming for the army, most of them voluntarily, others having to be impressed. All the rails in the immediate neighborhood, and most of the timber, were burned to keep the army warm. The head- quarters of the commanding general were at a stone house on the lower side of Valley Creek, only a few yards distant from the Read- ing Railroad, his wife spending the winter with him. One very cold morning, upon starting aWay from his house after breakfast, Washington passed the sentry standing in front of his house, who was stamping his feet and clapping his hands in order to keep warm. Washington asked the sentry if he had had anything to eat that morning, and on receiving a negative reply, took the soldier's musket and stood guard in front of his own house while the soldier went inside and ate some breakfast, waited upon by Mrs. Wash- ington. December 10, 1777, Congress passed a resolution requesting the legislature of. Pennsylvania to enact a law requiring all per- sons at the distance of seventy miles and upward from Washing- ton's headquarters and below the Blue Mountains, to thresh out their wheat and other grain within a short space of time, to be fixed by the legislature in its law, and in case of failure on the part of the farmers to comply with the law, to subject the same to seizure at the price of straw. The legislature failed to comply with this request, but the commander-in-chief, on the 29th of the month, issued the following proclamation: "By virtue of the power and direction to me especially given, I hereby enjoin and require all persons residing within seventy miles of my headquarters to thresh out half their grain by the first day of February, and the other half by the first day of March, next ensuing, on pain in case of failure of having all that shall remain in sheaves after the periods above mentioned, seized by the commissaries and quartermasters of the army and paid for as straw. AM) ITS PEOI'LIJ. 235 "Given under my hand, at headquarters near the Valley Forge, in Philadelphia Coimty, the 20th day of December, 1777. "GEO. WASHINGTON." There was an outpost of Valley Forge encampment in Radnor, ou property subsequently owned by Tryon Lewis, on which prop- erty about seven acres of timber land was cleared near the middle of a large ti'act of woodland, which was afterward cultivated and known for many years in the neighborhood as the "camp field." During nearly all that winter Gen. Wayne's command was encamped at Mount Joy, in Lancaster County, and aided in securing supplies for the army at Valley Forge. The encampment at Valley Forge waa partly in Chester and partly in Montgomery County. That part of it in Chester County was in Tredylfrin Township, in this township the headquarters of Generals Lafayette, Wayne, Knox and Woodford being located. Count DuportaiUs headquarters were with Gen. Woodford. Gen- eral Washington's headquarters were near the mouth of Valley Creek, where it empties into the Schuylkill River, and on the south side of the creek. The winter of 1777-78, during which Washing- ton's army remained in camp at Valley Forge, was uncommonly severe, and the troops suffered intensely from lack of clothing, food and shelter from the storms and wintry winds. But their patience and fidelity to the cause for. which they bore arms was sufficient to enable them to bear hardships almost if not quite unparalleled in the history of war. Lafayette, in his old age, said of them: "The patience and endurance of both soldiers and officers was a miracle which each moment seemed to renew." Thomas Wharton, in the name of Pennsylvania, Avrote: "The unparalleled patience and magnanimity with which the army under your Excellency's command have endured the hardships attending their situation, unsupplied as they have been through an uncommonly severe winter, is an honor which will be consid- 236 CHESTER COUNTY ered as more illustrious than could have been derived to them by a victory obtained by any sudden and vigorous exertion." Washington's own opinion of his soldiers was thus expressed: "Without arrogance or the smallest deviation from truth it may be said that no history now extant can furnish an instance of an army's suffering such uncommon hardships as ours has done and bearing them with the same patience and fortitude. To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie upon, without shoes (for the want of which their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet), and almost as often without provisions as with them, marching through the frost and snow, and at Christmas taking up their winter quarters within a day's march of the enemy, without a house or hut to cover them till they could be built, and submitting without a murmur, is a proof of patience and obedience which, in my opinion, can scarce be paralleled." Before taking up other military matters and movements of interest to Chester County people as being more or less directly con- nected with their history, it will be well to note the various hospi- tals used in the county for the benefit of the wounded and sick sol- diers after the battle of Brandywine. General Lafayette was cared for by the Moravians at Bethlehem in their great Inn, called the Sun. The German Seventh-day Baptists, whigs in sentiment, but opposed to war, opened their monastic institution at Ephrata, Lan- caster County, converting their entire establishment into a hospital. Joseph Downing's barn at Downingtown was used for hospital pur- poses, and in the vicinity forty soldiers were buried. The Uwchlan Friends' Meeting-house was used as a hospital, as was the old school-house at the intersection of the Valley and Brandywine roads at the Turk's Head tavern, and also the buildings at Yellow Springs, now named Chester Springs, where for a time Washing- ton had his headquarters. The wives of Zachariah Rice and Chris- AXD ITS PEOPLE. 237 tian Hench, through their attention to sick soldiers at Yellow Springs, contracted typhus fever and died therefrom. On the farm of Herman Prizer in East Coventry Township there was a barn that was used as a hospital for sick American soldiers, and there were many churches and meeting-houses in the county which were converted into hospitals, among them being the Brandywine Meeting-house, the German Reformed Church in East Vincent Township and Zion Lutheran Church, on the Schuyl- kill road in East Pikeland Township, which were about one mile apart, and which continued to be used during the entire winter of 1777-78. Xear the East Vincent Church twenty-two of the soldiers that died there were buried on grounds belonging to Henry Hippie, Sr., and in 1831 steps were taken by the military organizations of Chester County to inclose the graves of these soldiers and to erect a monument to their memory. The monu- ment as erected was a marble pyramid about eight feet high, inclosed by a strong wall and standing at the foot of the hill. Appropriate inscriptions were engraved on each of the four sides of the monument. The wall beginning to crumble, a committee was appointed to make the necessary repairs, the grounds were conveyed to trustees, funds were collected and a substantial wall erected on three sides of the grounds, containing twelve and thirty- seven hundredths square perches, and an iron fence was built in front. On the 14th of Nevember, 1777, the Council of Safety wrote from Lancaster to Eobert Smith, lieutenant of Chester County, advising him to be on the watch for Mr. John James of Philadel- phia, who had lately been clandestinely sent out by General Howe to promote the views of the invaders. On January 13, 1778, Jacob Dingee and Richard Strode delivered the body of Charles Dingee, late of Chester County, to the Council of Safety, to be committed to the gaol of Lancaster County until he should take the oath or affirmation of allegiance and give security. 2 38 CHESTER COUNTY On April 2, 1778, an order was drawn on the treasurer in favor of Steplien Cochran for the sum of £2,000, to be paid- to Sam- uel Futhey of Chester County, to purchase horses with which to mount the cavalry. On the 12th of this month the following forfeited estates were noted to be sold: Of Nathaniel Vernon, late sheriff of the county; of Curtis Lewis, blacksmith, and of Rich- ard Swanwick. On April 22, Col. Andrew Boyd wrote to President Wharton that there was a set of tory horsethieves in the county, and he also wrote that in some few instances Quakers insulted and even attempted to fire on two different guards Col. Boyd had out collecting fines. On May 6, 1778, commissioners were appointed for Chester County, as follows: William Evans, Thomas Cheyney, Thomas Levis, Patterson Bell and John Hannum, and on the 8th orders were issued that Henry Skyles, Thomas Bulla, David Dawson, Jacob James, Joseph Thomas, Nathaniel Vernon, Jr., and John Swanwick, all late of the county of Chester, be required to appear and abide trial for adhering to the enemy. June 15, 1778, a proclamation was issued by the Supreme Executive Council, designating as traitors nearly 500 persons, of whom sixty-five were named as then belonging to or having of late belonged to Chester County. General Joseph Reed, who had been elected President of the state of Pennsylvania, December 1, 1778, wrote on Julj 28, 1780, to Lieut. Robert Smith, regarding the patriotism manifested by some of the people of Chester County. He said: "It has been observed that less attention has been paid by your county to furnishing vol- unteers than any other county in the state. We fear that you Jiave not sufficiently attended to the importance of this duty, as we cannot suppose tlie county would not exert itself if the officers would lead the way. It is unpleasant to suppose that at so critical a season any gentleman in office whose exertions are important would omit them, but there has certainly been a deficiency in your county which we flatter ourselves will be made up," etc. AXD TTS PEOPLE. 239 Thus challenged by the president of the state, Lieut. Robert Smith, -who was really a capable and patriotic oi3ficer, replied as follows, on September 4, 1780: "Sir: The particular situation of this county under the late course of the militia induces me to lay before Council the follow- ing state of facts, and to request their advice and instruction thereon : "Our justices at their session in May last rated the average prices of farm labor at |20 per day as the standard of militia fines. This, as I was verbally informed by the president of the court, but 'no certificate under their hands and seals was received. According to this rate the fines for non-attendance on days of exercise, the former part of the present year were laid, and four companies of the militia were ordered into actual service, were marched before the August sessions under the same circumstances. Upon the militia being called out they expressed great dissatis- faction at their wages being lower than those in the city and other counties; and the court, at their August sessions, rated labor at |30 per day. And in the interim between the marching of the militia and the sitting of the court, some few officers were received at the former rate, as money was much wanted for the purpose of advancing those who marched; and it is now strongly controverted whether we have the right to levy the advanced price of labor upon delinquents, as the militia were ordered out and the fines incurred before the sitting of the court. It is likewise contended by some that as the militia are discharged before the expiration of their two months, the fines now collected should be propor- tioned to the time of service given. I have taken the liberty to state these circumstances, and would humbly request the advice and instructions of the Honorable Council on the subject, both with respect to the fines upon delinquents and the wages of those who have marched upon the late call, in order that we may proceed in a regular and uniform line of conduct in this matter. "ROBERT SMITH." 240 CHESTER COUNTY The extent of the ravages committed by the Bi'itish army in its march through Chester County was very great. It is not deemed necessary in this work to present a detailed statement of the losses of individuals, that having been done in a pretty thorough manner by Messrs. Futhey and Cope, in their "History of Chester County;" hence only the summary of losses by townships will be given, which is altogether likely considerably within the limit of truth, as many people* made no return of losses in any way. That recapitulation is as follows: AMOUNTS. TOWNSHIPS. PERSONS. „ S D . New Garden 8 951 2 8 Oxford 1 500 New London 2 114 9 Londongrove 1 451 7 6 Kennett 4 1,362 1 5 East Marlborough 4 109 4 6 Newlin 4 213 12 6 West Marlborough 5 225 4 West Bradford ' 5 583 9 2 East Bradford 1 125 5 Pennsbury 12 894 2 9 Birmingham 20 5,844 6 7 Thornbury 6 787 18 1 Westtown 4 169 10 Goshen 29 2,372 13 8 Willistown 13 636 18 4 Easttown 17 420 7 6 West Whiteland 10 1,116 14 4 East Whiteland 18 1,415 14 10 Tredyffrin 30 9,358 13 10 Charlestown 15 1,967 3 2 Pikeland 1 252 7 6 AND ITS PEOPLE. 241 East Nantmeal 1 200 Coventry 1 18 West Cain 2 88 Chester 31 2,742 12 6 Chichester 1 87 17 6 Aston 6 1,245 2 9 Concord 12 961 9 6 Marple 3 217 1 11 Newtown 3 86 3 3 Kidley 6 639 17 10 Edgemont 7 504 16 Haverford 22 1,733 1 3 Darby 26 1,475 18 2 Kadnor 29 1,499 9 363 41,372 6 10 This sum was equal to $110,326.24. Among the items of loss were 318 horses, 546 cattle, 1,480 sheep, 580 hogs, 9,062 bushels of wheat, 2,324 bushels of rye, 2,881 bushels of Indian corn, 775 bushels of buckwheat, 4,287 bushels of oats, and about 550 tons of hay. The capitulation of Cornwallis at Yorktown, October 29, 1781, not only gladdened the hearts of all patriots throughout the coun- try, but was the beginning of the end of the war. The treaty acknowledging the independence of the United States was signed November 30, 1782, and on January 20, 1783, the preliminary treaty of peace was signed. On April 11, following, Congress issued a proclamation enjoining a cessation of hostilities, and on the 16th of the same month the Supreme Executive Council announced at the court-house the happy event. And thus at length the long strife and unhappy war were brought to an end. But not so the feelings engendered by differences of attitude, nor the difficulties and settlements that were necessarily of longer con- tinuance. 242 CHESTER COUNTY After the movement in favor of independence of the colonies was fairly launched upon the great ocean of events, there were within each of the colonies at least three classes of people, with regard to their relations to this movement. First of these classes may be enumerated the Patriots, or those who believed in, fought for and sustained, if they did not actually fight for, the move- ment; second, those who opposed independence, aiding in every Avay in their power the effort of «what they considered the mother country to suppress the rebellion against her authority ; and third, those who remained in motive and in action neutral, permitting" the other two parties to fight the battle to the end; that is, per- mitted the attempted suppression of the rebellion to go on with the aid of the second class, who were called tories, while the first class were called whigs. The neutral class was composed in the main of members of the Society of Friends, who could not engage in war, on account of their conscientious and religious scruples against bearing arms. The whigs, however, could not in those active times distinguish between the active participants on the side of the Crown, that is, the tories, and the non-participants on either side; but regarded all who did not take an active part in the estaWishment of independence as having been enemies, and called both the second and third class tories alike, under the famous saying: He that is not for me is against me. It is not necessary now to present an analysis of the motives of the individual members of any one of these three classes of men. It is suflicient to know and to admit that generally speaking all men of all classes were conscientious in the course they took. But the sad fact has always existed that it is possible for men to be strictly honest and conscientious and at the same time wrong, and it is altogether probable that this will always be true. Men have always been divided on all questions — political, religious, his- torical, sociological and even scientific ones, and it appears to be correct to say that every opinion has a right to life, liberty and AXD /7'.S' PEOPLE. 243. the pursuit of happiness, as well as men, if it can only convince the world that that right exists. Then it is perhaps true that no system of religious or political thought is entirely without some- thing that is unreasonable, and hence it follows that each and every class of men should look ^itli charity upon what they consider the frailties of all the other classes; and first "pull the beam out of their own eyes before they attempt to pluck the mote out of their brother's eyes." After the victory was won it was perfectly natural that the state of feeling toward those who had actively or passively opposed the patriot war should find expression, as it did in such resolutions as follow: "At a meeting of the officers and other respectable inhabitants of the Fifth Battalion district, Chester County Militia, at the house of James Miles, in East Cain Township, on the 19th of June, 1783, Lieut.-Col. John Gardner in the chair, "Resolved unanimously. That in the opinion of this com- pany it is inconsistent with reason, justice and sound policy that such persons, of every description, as have deserted their country in the time of its calamities, and distress, and joined our enemies, or who have, by a conduct inimical to the Government and laws of their country, been obliged to fly to them for refuge, should ever be permitted to return or remain amongst us, to participate in the blessings of that Freedom and Independence, now so happily established, and which they have done all in their power to deprive us of; "Kesolved, 2ndly, That we highly approve the-laudable exam- ple of the officers of the militia of the City and Liberties of Phila- delphia, and will cheerfully concur with them in carrying their patrioti-c resolves into execution. "Resolx'ed, 3rdiy, That we will join with others of the com- munity in instructions to our Representatives in Assembly upon the subject, and in the meantime use our utmost endeavors and 244 CHESTER COUNTY influence to prevent the return of any of those enemies to their country; and that we will consider all persons who connive at, harbor or entertain them as unworthy the character of Free citi- zens, and justly liable to the displeasure and resentment of all true Patriots an4 Friends of Liberty. "Resolved, 4thly, That the proceedings of this meeting be communicated to the several and respective battalions of the militia in this county as soon as possible, for their concurrence, and like- wise published in the Philadelphia newspapers. "Resolved, 5thly, That a committee of five be appointed to correspond with and meet committees that may be appointed from the other battalions in this county, to draw up a set of instruc- tions to our Representatives in Assembly, on this subject. The persons chosen. Colonel John Gardner, Major John Culbertson, Mr. Samuel Cunningham, Col. Robert Smith and Mr. John Beaton. "Signed by order of the company, "JOHN GARDNER, Chairman." "At a meeting of the officers of the Seventh Battalion of the Chester County Militia, at the house of Ezekiel Webb, in the town- ship of Kennett, on Saturday, the 26th of July, 1783, Lieutenant- Colonel Isaac Taylor in the chair. "Whereas, During the late cruel and unjust war waged against these United States by the King of Great Britain, a number of persons, lost to all sense of honor and virtue, have deserted their country, joined her enemies and used every means in their power to distress and enslave us. And whereas (our struggles for liberty have beeen successful and their cruel designs frustratd), there is every reason to fear that these people will endeavor to insinuate themselves into these states: Therefore, to prevent this state from being a harbor for villains of every denomination, "Resolved, unanimously, That we will use our utmost endeav- ors to prevent persons of the above description from settling within the limits of this Battalion. And we hereby pledge our- AXD IT^S PEOPLE. 247 selves to each other, to unite and stand by each other, in expelling them from amongst us. And as there is reason to think that some of the aforesaid persons are harbored amongst us ; Therefore, "Resolved, unanimously. That we will hereafter inquire into the character, and examine every suspicious person that comes within our knowledge, and that we will assist each other in appre- hending and securing them, that they may be brought to justice; and that we will unite in the bringing to condign punishment all persons who aid, abet or harbor any of the said persons. "Resolved, unanimously, 3rd, That we will concur with other battalions of this county in instructing our Representatives in Assembly, agreeably to the above resolutions; and that Colonel Isaac Taylor, Major John Craig, Peter Bell and Captains William Whiteside and Absalom Baird be appointed as a committee to meet committees which may be appointed from the other battalions in this county, to draw up said instructions. "Resolved, 4th, That these resolutions be published in the Philadelphia newspapers. "Signed by order of the meeting, "ISAAC TAYLOR, Chairman." Col. Robert Smith, mentioned above as lieutenant of Chester County, was appointed March 12, 1777, and served until March 21, 1785. His sub-lieutenants were Lewis Gronow, Thomas Straw- bridge, Thomas Cheyney, Andrew Boyd, Robert Wilson, Thomas Wilson and Benjamin Brannan. The militia of the county was divided into eight classes, and when a class was called out many failed to respond, and it was necessary to make the deficiency good by hiring substitutes, procured by means of a bounty paid by the state, which was to be remunerated by fines imposed on delinquents and ranging from £15 to £50. Following is a statement of the amount of fines received by Col. Robert Smith and his sub-lieutenants from March 1, 1780, to April 1,1783: 15 248 CHESTER COUNTY CONTINENTAL MONEY. STATE MONEY. SPECIE. N^^ES. £ Sj, £SD £ SD Robert Smith 155,336 17 7 67 8 7 1,028 10 S Lewis Gronow 97,712 17 6 10 405 16 9 Andrew Boyd 27,634 15 4 Thomas Levis 89,915 14 9 110 3 6 701 7 Eobert Wilson 30,075 16 8 6 15 186 11 3 Thomas Cheyney 106,279 . 14 9 410 8 3 506,955 16 7 185 7 1 2,732 13 11 The methods of the patriots in dealing with traitors are clearly shown by the following proceedings: On August 1, 1779, an adver- tisement appeared in the Philadelphia papers to the effect that whereas the estates of Joseph Galloway, Nathaniel Vernon, Gideon Vernon, David Dawson, Eichard Swanick, William Maddock, Alex- ander Bartman, Curtis Lewis, Philip Marchinton and Joshua Proc- tor, late of Chester County, having been by due process of law for- feited and seized to the use of this State, we the subscribers, agents for the said county, do hereby give notice that the planta- tions heretofore belonging to the above-named persons, which are well watered and wooded, will be sold by public vendue on Satur- day, the 4th day of September next. Signed, THOMAS LEVIS AND JOHN HANNUM. The estate of Joseph Galloway, thus offered for sale, contained 422 acres; that of Nathaniel Vernon, 244 acres; that of George Vernon, 113 acres, all of them lying near the village of Chester; that of David Dawson, 450 acres, in the township of West Cain; that of Richard Swanick, 300 acres; that of William Maddock, 80 acres; that of Alexander Bartram, 90 acres, his place being known by the name of "Fox Chace;" that of Curtis Lewis, 403 acres, a part of which was near the Ship tavern; that of Philip Marchinton, 400 acres, and that of Joshua Proctor, 80 acres, located in New Garden Township. AND ITS PEOPLE. 249 At least one of the above-named individuals was hanged on attainder for treason, viz.: David Dawson, who was executed on the commons in Philadelphia, November 25, 1780, which fact was so stated in a letter by Hon. George Bryan to Hon. James Irwin of Philadelphia, the letter being dated October 20, 1784. In a report to President Eeed, dated in 1781, sent by John Shee and Jacob Morris, it was stated that up to that time the amount of sales of forfeited estates in Chester County was £128,030 14s. 7d., the commissions on which amounted to £3,991 2s. As supplementary to the fact of the sale of forfeited estates it should be mentioned that children were not always deprived of their inheritances because of the treason of their parents. An act was passed by the legislature of Pennsylvania, October 6, 1779, • in behalf of Thomas Vernon, Job Vernon, a captain of the Fifth • Pennsylvania regiment of Continental troops; Franklin Vernon, a major of the Eighth Pennsylvania regiment of the Continental troops, and John Vernon, all of them being children of Nathaniel Vernon, late of Chester County, one of the persons attainted of high treason by the laws of Pennsylvania, who showed by their petition that no matter how guilty their father might have been of the crime which occasioned the forfeiture of his estate, yet that the petitioners had every one of them demeaned themselves as good citizens, two of them having served in the army of Penn- sylvania and having thus aided in establishing the cause of free- dom, and they therefore prayed that they might not be reduced to indigence on account of their father's crime or transgressions, and they asked that his estate subject to his debts might be vested and established in themselves. The law passed in accordance with and in answer to their petition gave to them all the estate of their father, except what had already been sold in accordance with the act of attainder, and such as was not needed to pay his just debts. The officers of the several battalions of militia of Chester County, and the number of men in each battalion, were as follows: 250 CHESTER COVXTT lgt._Lieut.-Col., Thomas Bull; Major, Peter Hartman; num- ber of men, 672. 2nd.— Lieut.-Ool., John Bartholomew; Major, Cromwell Pearce; number of men, 873. 3rd. — Lieut-Col., George Pierce; Major, Edward Vernon; num- ber of men, 510. 4th. — Lieut.-Col., Ki chard Willing; Major, William Brooke; number of men, 670. 5th. — Lieut-Col., John Gardner; Major, John Culbertson; num- ber of men, 623. 6th. — Lieut.-Col., David McKey; Major, Samuel Evans; number of men, 484. 7th. — Lieut.-Col., Isaac Taylor; Major, John Craig. 8th. — Lieut.-Col., Joseph Speer; Major, John Boyd; number of men, 570. The captains who served at different times in the above bat- talions were as follows: Thomas Carpenter, Joseph Mendenhall, William Whiteside, Joseph Luckey, Hugh Eeed, John Boyd, John Bryan, David Curry, Eobert Curry, Thomas Taylor, Joseph John- ston, Sampson Thomas, Jonathan Rowland, Evan Anderson, Wil- liam Harris, Isaac Thomas, Alexander Lockart, John Craig, Thomas Levis, John Flower, Jonathan Vernon, John Lindsey, Edward Vernon, John Pitts, Mordecai Morgan, Joseph Bogg, John Fleming, and others whose Christian names are not at hand, as follows: Cypher, Wilson, Hister, Boylan, Morrell, Moore, Smith, Cochran, Henry, Marsh, McCloskey, Quin, Kirk, Price, Kemp, Pierce, Huston, Dunning, Allen, Graham, Denny, Barker, Elton, Scott, Beatty, Griffith, Carroll, Hollman, Brumback, Barber, Sny- der, Evry, Cummings, Jenkins, Kincaid, Corby, Hays, Williamson, Blackburne, Colby, Ramsay, McKee, Fulton, Evans, Black, Ram- age and Strode.* On July 1, 1776, there was a meeting held' at the house of Rich- ard Cheyney, in Downingtown, of the Chester Countj- committee, at AXD ITS PEOPLE. 251 which the following appointments were made of officers in tiie battalion of Chester County Flying Camp: Captains. — Joseph Gardner, Samuel Wallace, Samuel Culbin- son, James Boyline, John McDowell, John Shaw, Matthew Boyd and John Beaton. First Lieutenants. — William Henry, Andrew Dunwoody, Thomas Henry, Benjamin Culbinson, Samuel Lindsay, Allen Cun- ningham, Joseph Strawbridge and Joseph Bartholomew. Second Lieutenants. — Robert Filson, William Lockard, Thomas Davis, Samuel .Hamill, Jeremiah Cloud, Joseph Wherry, David Curry and Alexander McCarragher. Ensigns.- — William Cunningham, John Grardtrencher, John Filling, Andrew Curry, Thomas James, Lazarus Finney, Archibald Desart and John Llewellyn. That there were in Chester County, as in other counties in all of the colonies, men who were opposed to the war for independence, can neither be denied nor doubted, and hence it may be permiss- ible to brieHy discuss the question as to why they maintained the position which they did. This position was the same as that which for a long time was maintained by the several conventions, assemblies and legislatures of the colonies, and even by the Con- gress itself, down to the time of the Declaration of Independence, they all apparently preferring and hoping for an honorable adjust- ment of the difficulties then existing between the colonies and Great Britain, a redress of grievances, the difference being that those who are now, and have ever since been, called "Tories," adhered to that position all through the war, while the patriots became convinced that there could be no redress of grievances while they remained loyal to the crown. The tories feared that no government could be established in this country that would ever be sufficiently strong to preserve order, to protect the citizens against mobs and anarchy. That all parties were equally honest and conscientious in their convictions is now almost universally 2 52 CHESTER COUNTY conceded. But it is altogether likely that the tory part of the population, in addition to their hesitancy to taking up arms against Great Britain for the reason above given, also feared any move- ment looking to.ward independence would certainly be crushed out by the arms of the mother country; while the patriots were willing to take the risk of success in war. No one could with any degree of certainty foresee the end. That the issue was for years doubtful is of course well known, and this fact must ever be a partial justification for the hesitancy of the tory in attempting to expel British power from the country. The situation of the tory after the war he had opposed had been brought to a successful termination was anything but an enviable one. The accounts of the meetings of the militia of Ches- ter County, and the proceedings of the courts in the conviction of individuals of treason, their execution and the confiscation of their estates, proves this fact abundantly. The state of doubt in the mind of the tory as to what was best for him to do in the face of perseciition, to which he was frequently subjected for years after the war had closed, is well expressed in the following parody on Hamlet's soliloquy, doubtless written by some patriot poet of the times : THE TORY'S SOLILOQUY. "To go or not to go?" that is the question! Whether 'tis best to trust the inclement sky, That scowls indignant o'er the dreary Bay Of Fundy, and Cape Sable's rock and shoals, And seek our new domains in Scotia's wilds. Barren and bare; — or stay among the Rebels! And, by our stay, raise up their keenest rage, That, bursting o'er our now defenseless heads. Will crush us for the countless wrongs we've done them. Hard choice; Stay, let me think, T'explore our way Through raging seas to Scotia's rocky coast. AXD ITS PEOPLE. 253 At this dire season of this direful year Where scarce the sun affords a cheerful ray, Or stay and cringe to the rude, surly whigs. Whose wounds, yet fresh, may urge their desperate hand To spurn us while we sue — perhaps consign us To the kind care of some outrageous mob, Who, for their sport, our persons may adorn In all the majesty of tar and feathers; Perhaps our necks, to keep their humor warm. May grace a rebel halter! There's the sting! This peoples the bleak clime — for who can brook A rebel's frown ; or bear his children's stare When in the streets they point, and lisp, "A Tory," etc.* But- now, while looking upon the entire question in a calmer and more philosophical spirit than was then possible for any one, and while we cheerfully grant honesty and conscientious con- viction to all, including the poor, despised tory, yet we must ourselves have convictions as to the merits of the positions assumed by «ach of the several parties to the contest, as well as of those who refused to range themselves on either side. The patriots established for themselves, for their immediate descendants, and it is to be hoped for all generations to come, a form of government under which a resort to arms for the purpose of securing a redress -of grievances has been so far, is now and must continue to be so long as that form of government shall remain, not only unneces- sary, but even wicked and criminal in the highest degree. While it may be true, as we are occasionally told, that sometimes in all places, and perhaps at all times in some places, a portion of the people suffer from grievances equal to or even greater than any of which in 1776 the patriots complained, yet under the form of gov- ernment they established, the people can, if a majority of them so * Published in November, 1783. 254 CHESTER COUNTY desire, quietly remove those grievances, by the simple process of resorting to an election, which shall come at the end of a campaign carried on in a reasonable manner, during which the people may become convinced that they do really suffer from the grievances of which perhaps only a few at first complained, and by which election the majority place in power in the municipality, or county, or state, or nation, men of the same views and convictions with themselves. All that is required on the part of the people is a clear knowledge of what they themselves complain, and of the proper remedy to be applied; and in addition to this knowledge, virtue, intelligence, sound judgment, cultivated reason and self control. The institutions of government which, in order that they may be operated successfully, require such qualities of heart and mind as here enumerated, are most admirably calculated to develop in man the very qualities themselves, and it is this that makes so conspicuous the wisdom of the Fathers of the Revolutionary times, who founded and established the most perfect republican form of government that has so far been established in the world. September 20, 1817, the Eepublican Artillerists of Chester County, aided by their fellow-citizens, erected a monument over the remains of those killed at Paoli, September 20, 1777, by the British soldiers under Gen. Grey. On that occasion an address was delivered by Major Isaac D. Barnard, and an account of the massacre was given by Rev. David Jones, who was chaplain of Gen. Wayne's ill-fated army at the time of the massacre, and who at the time of the erection of the monument was in his eighty- second year. Col. Isaac Wayne, son of Gen. Wayne, was present at the time. This monument stood in Willistown Township, less than half a mile southwest of Malvern. On the one hundredth anniversay of the massacre a new monument was erected at this place, the old one having become injured and defaced to a great extent. On this occasion there were present from 8,000 to 10,000 persons, one of the largest gatherings AXD ]Tt< PEOPLE. 255 ever known in the history of the county. On this occasion Capt. William Wayne, a great-grandson of Gen. Anthony Wayne, was present, the captain having been an of&cer in the Union army dur- ing the Kebellion. This new monument is of Quincy granite, twenty-two and a half feet high, and a well-proportioned, chaste and beautiful obelisk. The polished die bears on its four sides appropriate inscriptions, those on the west, north and south sides having been written by Dr. AVilliam Darlington, the master spirit in the erection of the first monument in 1817, as Dr. Wood was in the erection of this in 1877, he being the principal mover in the entire enterprise, including the raising of the money. On the occasion of the dedication of the new monument in 1877, Governor John F. Hartranft and his staff were present. The meeting was organized by Dr. J. B. Wood of Westchester, at 12 o'clock, who named as president, Hon. Washington Townsend, and. numerous vice-presidents and secretaries. The exercises were then conducted in the following order: 1. Delivery of the monument by Mr. Van Gunden, on behalf of Messrs. Tan Gunden, Young & Drumm, of Philadelphia, the coq- tractors for the construction of the monument, to the committee. 2. Reception of the monument on behalf of the committee by Capt. Robert T. Cornwell. 3. Presentation of the monument by Dr. Wood on behalf of the committee to the president, Hon. Washington Townsend, for dedication. 4. Dedicatory address of the president. 5. Unveiling of the monument by Dr. Wood. 6. National salute of thirty-eight guns by the Griffen battery. 7. Prayer by Rev. Joseph S. Evans. 8. Historical address by J. Smith Futhey. 9. Oration by Hon. Wayne MacVeagh. 10. Benediction by Rev. Mr. Elliott. The military and citizens then formed in line and marched ^56 CHESTER COUNTY round the monument to the solemn music of the bands and the low roll of the muffled drums, which completed the exercises of the day, a day long to be remembered by those who participated in the ceremonies. The inscriptions on the four sides of this monument are as fol- lows: West Side: "Sacred to the memory of the PATEIOTS who on this spot fell a sacrifice to British barbarity during the struggle for AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE on the night of the 20th of September, 1777." North Side: South Side: "THE ATROCIOUS MASSACRE which this stone commemorates was perpetrated by British troops under the immediate command of MAJOR GENERAL GREY." "Here repose the remains of fifty-three AMERICAN SOLDIERS, who were the victims of cold-blooded cruelty in the well-known 'MASSACRE AT PAOLI,' AXD ITS PEOPLE. 2 $7 while under command of GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE, an officer whose military conduct, bravery and humanity were equally conspicuous throughout the REVOLUTIONARY WAR." East Side: "Erected by the citizens of Chester and Delaware Counties, September 20, 1877, being THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY of the Paoli Massacre." "The other inscriptions on this monument are copied from the memorial stone formerly standing here, which was erected by the Republican artillerists, and other citizens of Chester County, September 20, 1817." THE WHISKY INSURRECTION. What is known as the "Whisky Insurrection" broke out in 1794, in the western part of Pennsylvania, while Washington, was President of the United States. It was confined to the coun- ties of Fayette, Washington, Allegheny and Westmoreland. Tur- bulent proceedings continued in these counties for several years prior to 1794, in which year measures Tvere taken both by the state of Pennsylvania and the government of the United States to restore peace. Governor Thomas Mifflin, on the 6th of August, 2 58 CHESTER COUNTY appointed Chief Justice M'Kean and General William Irvine to proceed immediately to these western counties to ascertain the facts relative to the riots that had then lately taken place, and on the next day President Washington issued a proclamation of warning, commanding all insurgents, on or before the 1st day of September to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective homes. By this proclamation the President also directed the raising of troops, which were to be held in readiness to marcJi at a moment's warning. The quotas of the states from which troops were called out, were as follows: STATES. . INFANTRY. ^^"^Jlj^" ^^^^' TOTAL. Pennsylvania 4,500 500 200 5,200 New Jersey 1,500 500 100 2,100 Maryland 2,000 200 150 2,350 Virginia 3,000 300 ... 3,300 11,000 1,500 450 12,950 On the same day Governor Mifflin issued a proclamation similar to that issued by the President of the United States, direct- ing the quota of the State to be armed and equipped as soon as possible. Of the 5,200 troops required of the State, Chester County was required to furnish 378, to be drawn from the First Brigade of the Third Division of the militia. The entire body of state troops was to be under the command of Major-General William Irvine, and was to be divided into three brigades, the first brigade to be under the command of Brig.-Gen. Thomas Proctor, and to include the Chester County troops. When the command to secure these troops had been given, the Governor himself paid a visit to West Chester to aid in raising them, his influence being imme- diately felt, and the county's quota was quickly raised. At that time Joseph McClellan was sheriff of the county. He had been a captain of infantry during the greater portion of the Eevolution- AXD TT8 PEOPLE. 259 ary ^Yar in Gen. Anthonj^ ^Vayne's army, and when the difficulty arose over the excise tax on whisky in the western part of the State he was soon at the head of a troop of cavalry, and Aaron Musgrave was at the head of a company of artillery. Upon the organization of the troops into regiments Capt. McClellan became major of the regiment to which his company was assigned, and Thomas Taylor became captain of the company in his stead. This "Whisky Insurrection" was a resistance to the execution of the excise laws passed by the congress of the United States, which were designed to take the place of similar laws by the different colonies; as under the constitution of the United States, "All duties, imports and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States." While it will scarcely be expected that in this work a full history of the legislation in Pennsylvania which affected the minds of the people toward excise laws and which led up to this insurrection, yet that legislation must be mentioned and the reader referred thereto for a full and clear understanding of the conflict between the people and the Government resulting therefrom. The people in the Western counties of this State, within the confines of which the opposition to the excise laws so strongly- manifested itself, were of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and had heard of the oppressions and exactions that had been suffered in the old country, under precisely such laws as they were then opposing. They also remembered that the colonies themselves had rebelled against England a few short years before, in part on account of the stamp act and the duty on tea, they themselves having taken active and honorable part in said rebellion, and hence they could not understand how it was that the new government of the United States should so soon after resisting with all their power the enforced use of royal stamps and the payment of the duty on tea, attempt to impose upon her own inhabitants precisely the same kind of injustice, even though the duty was on whisky instead of on tea. 26o CHESTER COUNTY While the insurgents, from the peculiar circumstances in which they were situated and by which they were surrounded, had some show of reason on their side, yet on the whole that pro- vision of the constitution of the United States under which the excise laws were passed that caused this outbreak was wise and necessary, and the government had no recourse but to suppress the insurrection,- which it did under the command of President Washington, and it was discovered by all concerned in the incipient rebellion as well as by those who were merely interested spectators from a distance that the Government of the United States was a fixed and established institution, which could not safely be resisted by any State or part of a State, simply because its laws were distasteful to the people of such State or part of State. The officers of the seVeral companies sent out from Chester County at this time were as follows: Captain, Aaron Musgrave; Philip McAffry, first lieutenant, and William Culbertson, clerk. The captain, first lieutenant and several of the men of this com- pany were from West Chester, the number of men voting for their officers being thirty-six. Another company made up of men mostly from Tredyffrin Township contained thirty-three men, including officers, who werer Captain, John Parker; first lieutenant, John Lewis, and clerk^ David Craig. Captain Joseph McClellan's comapny of light dragoons con- tained thirty-nine men, including the officers, who were voters, and who elected Joseph McClellan captain, Thomas Taylor first lieu- tenant and Joseph Moore clerk. The entire number of men in this^ company was fifty-four. Captain George Wersler's company contained thirty voters,, who elected the officers, Daniel Shimer being first lieutenant and Yost Smith clerk, and there were fifty-two others in this company.. Captain Harris' company contained forty-one voters, who elected William Harris captain, Stephen Bowen first lieutenant and Thomas J. Bowen clerk. AND ITS PEOPLE. 261 Captain Alexander Sterrett's company contained twenty-two^ voters, who elected, in addition to their captain, Samuel McOlellan first lieutenant and Jesse Mason clerk. Captain William Weston's company contained sixteen voters,, who elected, in addition to their captain, William Ploughman first lieutenant and Charles Howell clerk. Captain Isaac Lewis's company contained twenty-six voters,, who elected, in addition to their captain, Alexander Nesbit first lieutenant and Eobert Darlington clerk. Captain Arthur Andrews' company elected Ebenezer Kennedy first lieutenant and J. Montgomery clerk. This company contained forty-four voters. GENERAL LAFAYETTE'S VISIT TO CHESTER COUNTY. One of the most interesting and historic events connected with the name of any individual was the visit in 1825 of Lafayette to the county. This visit to the United States was made by the general in response to an invitation authorized by Congress and ex- tended in 1824 by the President of the United States. Accom- panied by his son, George Washington Lafayette, and his private secretary, Lafayette landed in New York on August 15, 1821, and the news of his arrival reached West Chester on the ITth. A meeting was called to be held at the court-house, of which Colonel Joseph McClellan, who had served in the Continental army under Lafayette as a captain, was made chairman and General Isaac D. Barnard secretary. Judge Darlington delivered a short speech and offered a resolution to the effect that a meeting of the citizens be held at the court-house on Saturday, August 27, "to make ar- rangements for a suitable reception of that venerable patriot and friend of freedom," if he should be induced to visit Chester County, At the meeting held August 27 Hon. Isaac Darlington was made chairman and John W. Cunningham secretary, and a com- mittee was appointed consisting of Colonel Joseph McClellan, 262 CHESTER COUNTY Colonel Jacob Humphrey, Colonel Isaac Wayne, Dr. Jacob Eliren- zeller. Colonel Cromwell Pearce, General Isaac D. Barnard, General John W. Cunningham, Dr. William Darlington, General Joshua Evans and Abram Baily, to wait upon the general immediately upon his arrival in Philadelphia and invite him to honor Chester County by a visit and to also visit the battle-field of the Brandy- wine. When it was learned that General Lafayette and his com- panions would visit the battle-ground of the Brandywine July 26, 1825, and proceed thence to West Chester, preparations were made for his reception in the county, and early in the morning of that day the general was waited upon at the Duponts, where he had passed the night, by General John W. Cunningham, one of the committee of arrangements, and by Samson Babb and William Williamson, two of the marshals of the day, by whom he was con- ducted to Chadd's Ford, which place the general and his party reached at 10 o'clock a, m. Here he was received by the committee from Delaware and Chester Counties, headed respectively by Cap- tain William Anderson and Colonel Joseph McClellan. A large party was in waiting at Chadd's Ford to conduct the illustrious visitor over the battle-ground on which he had proven his devo- tion to the cause of American liberty, and on the battle-ground itself there was a large concourse of people in carriages, on horse- back and on foot, to welcome the nation's guest. About a mile from Chadd's Ford the general alighted from his carriage to call upon Gideon Gilpin, a very aged man, at whose house during the battle of the Brandywine he had made his headquarters. The procession then moved to Dilworthtown, where another large concourse of citizens awaited the arrival of the distinguished party. It then passed on to the Birmingham Meeting-house, where the general pointed out the spot where he had been wounded, a short distance east and south of the point where the road from the meeting-house comes in at right angles GENERAL LAFAYETTE, 1824. AND ITS PEOPLE. 265 with the east and west road. At the meeting-house another large assemblage of people had collected. The party then took dinner at the house of Samuel Jones, a short distance of the meeting- house, and the procession moved to Strode's Mill and thence to the Darlington woods, near the west line of the borough of West Chester. Here the volunteers of the Third Division were drawn up to escort the general and his party into town, the volunteers num- bering about seventeen companies. A salute of thirteen guns was fired by the Eepublican Artillerists, after which the entire party proceeded in to the borough commanded by General Isaac D. Bar- nard, by way of what is now Eosedale Avenue, to High Street, and thence up High Street. It was estimated that fully 10,000 people were assembled in West Chester to receive the general, and the welcome accorded was both hearty and sincere. The procession moved up High to Market, to Walnut, to Gay, to High, to Market, to Church, to Gay, to High and out to a field owned by Jesse Mat- lack on the hill east of the Friends' Meeting-house. Here the troops were reviewed by General Lafayette, who complimented them highly on their appearance, and then he was taken to the residence of Ziba Pyle, chief burgess of the borough, for a short rest. Then going to the grand jury room of the court-house he partook of an excellent dinner provided by Eber Worthington, proprietor of the Turk's Head hotel, and was there welcomed by Colonel Joseph McClellan in a neat speech, to which General Lafayette responded in a most happy manner. Toasts were drank and a song, "La- fayette at Brandywine," was sung by Dr. William Darlington. A large number of persons paid their respects to the general at the residence of Ziba Pyle, where he passed the night. Next morning he too^ breakfast at Humphreyville with Major John Filson, where a great concourse of people had assembled, and whence he was conducted to Lancaster by a committee from that place, the Chester County committee returning home. On the whole, it 16 266 CHESTER COUNTY was an occasion of great joy to the people of the county, such a one as, perhaps, can never occur again. The love of and veneration for the distinguished patriot and lover of libertj^ entertained by the ancient inhabitants of Chester County has been in its full strength transmitted to their descend- ants, vi^hich is evident from the fact that in 1895 a movement, started by the Chester County Historical Society, vs^as so nobly responded to by all the citizens of the county^ young as well as old, this movement having in view the erection of a monument to mark the spot where the general was wounded in the battle of Brandywine. After the necessary preliminary movements a com- mittee was appointed consisting of James Monaghan, Edwin A. Barber and James C. Sellers to conduct the correspondence and to consider the designs presented. The committee suggested a Eoman-Corinthian column, fifteen feet high, to be made of terra cotta, and a sum sufficient to pay for the shaft was quickly raised among the citizens and the school children. The place selected for the erection of this monument is a triangler piece of ground on the north side of a public road leading from Dilworthtown to the Birmingham Meeting-house, at a point where the properties of Mrs. Mardy D. Biddle and Minshall Sharpless join. It is one of the highest points on what is known as "Battle Hill," is in full view of the meeting-house and the hills to the north, over which the British approached on that eventful day. It is a short distance from where Lafayette was wounded. This monument was dedicated September 11, 1895, a large number of people from all parts of the county being present. The public school children from West Chester were taken there in wagons, others finding other means of transportation or going on foot, the whole number of children present being about 1,000. The entire number of people on the grounds was probably about 7,000. The exercises of the day began at West Chester by the firing of a salute by General George A. McOall Post, G. A. K., of thirteen AND ITS PEOPLE. 267 guns, and were continued throughout the day by different organ- izations and individuals. They were unusually interesting and will long be remembered. Arriving upon the ground in the vicinity of the monument the meeting was called to order by Dr. George M. Philips, president of the Historical Society, who announced the organization of the meeting, Captain William Wayne being the president and there being seventy-five vice-presidents and twenty- six secretaries. The Pbcenixville band furnished music for the day. The opening j)rayer was made by Eev. Dr. Owen P. Eachus, the address at the unveiling of the monument by M. Louis Vossion, the address of presentation by James Monaghan, the dedicatory ad- dress by Dr. George M. Philips, the historical address by Mr. Gil- bert Cope, the oration of the day by Charlton T. Lewis and the benediction by Eev. William L. Bull. The inscriptions on the monument are as follows: (Front.) "On the Rising Ground A Short Distance South of This Spot LAFAYETTE Was Wounded at the Battle of Brandy wine, September 11, 1777." (Right Side.) "Erected By the Citizens and School Children Of Chester County, Pa., Under the Auspices of the Chester County Historical Society September 11, 1895." (Back.) "The honor of having mingled my blood with that of many other American soldiers, on the heights of the Brandywine, has been to me a source of pride and delight." — Extract from La- fayette's speech at West Chester, July 26, 1825. 268 CnESTEB COUNTY (Left Side.) "May the blood spilled by thousands, with equal merit in the cause of independence and freedom, be to ensuing generations an eternal pledge of unalloyed Republicanism, Federal Union, Public Prosperity and Domestic Happi- ness." — Lafayette's toast at West Chester, July , 26, 1825. This monument thus erected is now, however, sinking rapidly to decay, the terra cotta not standing the weather as it was sup- posed that it would. It is becoming evident as time passes that if the historic spot where Lafayette received his wound is to remain marked for the contemplation of coming generations some more substantial monument must be erected in the near future. On the same day that this monument was dedicated to La- fayette there was dedicated also a monument to Colonel Joseph McClellan, who was also in the battle of Brandywine. The design of this monument was furnished by E. James Dallett, a great- great-grandson of Colonel McClellan. This monument consists of two blocks of Brandywine marble, one above the other, the lower one being about four feet square, the upper one somewhat smaller, and supporting a polished ball bearing the following in- scription : "In memory of Colonel Joseph McClellan, born April 28, 1747. Died October 14, 1834. Served in the brigade of General Anthony Wayne in the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777." On the lower of the two blocks there is the following inscrip- tion: "Erected by his descendants September 11, 1895." The total cost of this monument was |285.92. It was unveiled by James D. McClellan of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a grandson of Colonel Joseph McClellan, and the oration of the occasion was de- livered by Colonel Joseph McClellan Bell of Milwalukee, Wis- consin. CHAPTER VI. THE WAR OF 1812. THE MEXICAN WAR. CHAPTER VI. THE WAR OF l8l2 — CALL FOR TROOPS FIRST OFFER OF CHESTER COUNTY NINETY-SEVENTH REGIMENT ITS OFFICERS ENCAMPMENTS GENERAL OFFICERS — COMPANIES FROM CHESTER COUNTY THE MEXICAN WAR VOLUNTEERS NAMES OF SOLDIERS. IT is well known that difficulties between the United States and England existed for years before war was actually declared by Congress against the latter country, which was done June 18, 1812. But it was on May 12 that Governor Simon Snyder made a call upon the State of Pennsylvania for 14,000 militia, which were to be formed into two divisions, four brigades and twenty-four regiments, the whole to be in the proportion of 11,200 infantry, 1,400 riflemen, 700 cavalry and 700 artillery. The first offer of Chester County troops was made almost im- mediately after war was determined upon by the Government, this offer ha^^dng been made June 24, 1812, by Captain James Ealston of his company of cavalry. The Ninety-seventh Eegiment was mustered in May 5, 1813, rendezvoused at New London cross roads by order of Brigadier General John W. Cunningham, went to Elkton, Md., and was dis charged May 21, 1813. The officers of this regiment were as fol lows: Colonel, Andrew Thompson; lieutenant-colonel, George W Thompson; major, Washington Parke; paymaster, Robert Puthey; wningtown ; Micajah and William Speakman, in TJwchlan; John A^ickers and Charles Moore, in Lionville; Esther Lewis and her daughters, Marian, Elizabeth and Graceanna, Wil- liam Fussell, Dr. Edwin Fussell and Norris Maris, in West Vin- cent; Emmor Kimber, at Kimberton, and Elijah F. Pennypacker, at Phcenixville. There was still another branch which passed through Kennett Township, the station here being at Chandler Darlington's; East Bradford, the agent being Benjamin Price; to West Chester, where the agents Avei'e the Darlington sisters and Abrani D. Shadd (col- ored). At West Chester there were two forks to this branch, one leading to John Vickers', on the middle route, and the other to Nathan Eyans' place in Willistown, who was a sterling old Friend, and stood almost alone in the work in his neighborhood. Davis Garrett, of the same township, however, frequently aided Mr. Evans. James Lewis of Marple Township, Delaware County, was also an efficient worker on this line, and James T. Dannaker, who lived with Mr. Lewis, was made a conductor on the line. The great central station at which the Chester County and other southern routes converged was at the anti-slavery headquar- AND ITS PEOPLE. 247 ters in Philadelphia, which was in charge of J. Miller McKim, assisted by several persons, among whom was William Still, a former slave. In the early part of this combined movement to aid the slave to escape it was very difficult for the master and others in pursuit of the fugitives to trace them beyond Columbia. When the pursuers arrived there all trace of the fleeing slaves was as completely lost as if they had dropped down into the earth, and those in pursuit were accustomed to say, "There must be an underground railroad somewhere," and it was this saying that gave name to the route by which the slaves made their escape. This "Underground Railroad" had many branches in all parts of the Free States, even as far West as Kansas and Iowa, during the later years of the existence of the "peculiar institution." \A'est Chester was really one of the main stations on one of these routes, and one of those who distinguished himself in the service of the fugitives in this city was George Maris, who, as a lad, drew many a map of the road from there to Elijah F. Penny- packer's place, Mr. Pennypacker having a two-horse wagon in which he used to carry the slaves onward to friends in Montgomery County, or to Daniel Ross's at Norristown. At one time there was an exciting chase of a slave woman in West Chester, she having lived there for some years in a little home on West Miner street. Her master offered a large reward for her apprehension, which tempted one of the citizens of that place to divulge her where- abouts, and when the master, with a constable, had arrested her and carried her into court, before Judge Thomas S. Bell, whose ofl&ce was at the southeast corner of South Church and Miner Streets, she, by a ruse, got outside the office into the back yard, ran and jumped over a fence, which is said to have been seven feet high, and then running through alleys and streets, finally success- fully hid herself, and could not be found by anyone searching for her, though she remained in the town for some days. She at length made her escape in safety and got away to Canada. There were 348 CHESTER COUNTY many incidents of escape from the clutches of the master and the law which would make interesting reading, which would be in- serted in this work but for the fact that there is so much recent history that has not yet been put in book form, to which the pub- lishers feel in duty bound to give attention; hence only one instance of this kind will be here inserted, merely to show that lawyers were then to be found who were as keen in their lookout for technicalities as any of the present day, and* who would labor like many good physicians and other good Samaritans, without the hope of pecu- niary reward. About 1838 Eobert Purvis, a resident of Philadelphia, and well remembered even now to many citizens of Chester County, had in his employ a colored man named Basil Dorsey, who was an escaped slave, and who was betrayed to his former owner by a brother-in- law of his wife. This former master, together with a noted slave- catcher, found Dorsey plowing in a field on Mr. Purvis' farm. They caught him, handcuffed him and took him to Bristol, where they had him locked up in the prison cell. Mr. Purvis immediately followed them and next morning, before the case was brought before Judge Fox at Doylestown, had enlisted the sympathies of the entire crowd. Thomas Boss was employed as counsel, and in order to put up the best possible defense when the case should come to trial, succeeded in having it postponed a couple of weeks. Dorsey remained in jail, and the colored population made prepara- tions to rescue him by force in case Mr. Purvis should lose. Mr. Purvis secured as counsel for the defense David Paul Brown, then the most noted criminal lawyer in Philadelphia, who would not accept any fee. The counsel for the claimant, named Griffith, made a clear statement of the claim, presenting the bill of sale and other evidence of ownership, and also laws that seemed to seal the fate of Dorsey. Then Mr. Brown arose, and after admitting the force of the arguments presented by Mr. Griffith, went on to say: "But there is one fatal defect in the indictment, and upon that AXD ITS PEOPLE. 349 T take my stand: This is a land of law, this is a court of law, and nothing can be decided in this court without strict sanction of la-p'. You have not shown by proper evidence that under the laws of Maryland a man may be held as a slave, and not showing this, his case goes by default." Mr. Griffith then demanded a postponement of the case until the necessary proof could be procured, which could, of course, easil v have been done; but Brown was unrelenting, as might have been expected he would be, as he had won his case as it then stood, and he demanded the dismissal of the case for want of proper proof. Judge Fox thereupon arose and said, "The case is dismissed." Basil Dorsey went therefore free. In closing this part of the present chapter it remains only to be said that West Chester was well known far and wide as being friendly to the slave, willing to aid him in securing what was most dear in life, freedom to follow his own inclinations and interests ; and it is largely for this reason that so many colored people havf^ made and now make this city their home. They now constitute about one-fourth part of the population, have a ward of the city practically all to themselves, and have had representatives in the Council. They are as well treated here in the way of educa- tion as it is possible for them to be in the present condition of civilization! and are working out their own destiny to the best of their abilitv. CHAPTER X. EDUCATION. CHAPTER X. EDUCATION SCHOOLS FOSTERED BY THE CHURCH — FIRST TEACHER IN THE PROVINCE— BOOKS AND WAGES EARLY SCHOOLS OF THE FRIENDS THE FIRST COMPULSORY LAW — ESTABLISHMENT OF VARIOUS SCHOOLS STUDIES EM- BRACED STUDENTS AFTERWARDS PROMINENT MEN THE BOARDING SCHOOL — FIRST SCHOOL AT WEST CHESTER ACADEMIES AND NORMAL SCHOOLS THE BUILDINGS ATTENDANCE STUDIES FACULTY — COLORED SCHOOLS FUNDS THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ESTABLISHED THEIR EFFICIENCY HIGH SCHOOLS — GRADED SCHOOLS INSTI- TUTES EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS — LIBRARY — THE TRANSPORTING SYSTEM INTRODUCED. THE history- of education in Chester County is more or less directly or indirectly connected with the earliest moTements to educate the young in the Province of Pennsylvania. Hence it may not be inappropriate to briefly refer to the conditions and ideas from which the educational systems and institutions since then established in the present county have sprung. When the first Swedish colony was planted on the Delaware River there was no regular, independent educational system In their native land, that educational system being in the hands of the cliurch, as agent for the State, and in the hands of heads of families. The Church, in 1693, forbade the marriage of anyone who was without a knowledge of Luther's/ catechism; which shows the strength of the position of the Church in educational matters. From Holland, which country is said to have been, in the later part of the Sixteenth century, the first in Europe to establish public schools, came a considerable portion of the earlier settlers of the country on the Delaware; and a still larger portion of the 21 355 3S6 CHESTER COUNTY early settlers of New York were from that country. And it is- doubtless true that the Pilgrim Fathers, during their twelve years' residence in Holland, became familiar with the fundamental prin- cjlples which have made New England famous in the educational and intellectual history of the United State.s. It was also in Hol- land that William Penn acquired those broad and liberal ideas in regard to the education of the j'oung which have made Penn- sylvania no less famous in educational matters, and far more famous for I'eligious liberty than even New England. Among the inducements offered emigrants from Sweden to the New World was the promise that "in the same way schools and churches will flourish through it and be sustained, and further- more those who have learned something will be promoted to dig- nities and positions." In planting the Dutch colonies in America the same promise was made. "The patrons of New Netherlands shall also exert them- selves to find speedy means to maintain a clergyman and school- master, in order that Divine Service and zeal for religion may be planted in that country, and shall send, at first, a Comforter for the sick thither." This was about 1630. On July 12, 1656, the city of Amsterdam offered the following- conditions to persons settling in its colony at New Castle on the Delawai'e : "Said city shall cause to be erected about the market, or in a more convenient place, a public building suitable for Divine Serv- ice; item, also a house for a school which can likewise be occupied by a person who will hereafter be sexton, psalmsetter and school- master; the city shall besides have a house built for a minister. "The city shall provisionally provide and pay the salaries of the minister and schoolmaster." J The same year in which these conditions were prescribed Evert Pietersen, a man of some learning, was sent out to act as school- master, and zieken-trooster, to read the Bible, and to lead the sing- ing until the arrival of a clergyman. AND ITS PEOPLE. 357 Thus was Evert Pietersen the first school-teacher, or school- master, as such professionals were then called, to take charge of a school in what afterward became for a time a part of the province of William Penn. However, he was not the first European school- master in the colonies, or in Xorth America, having been preceded by several teachers among the Dutch at Manhattan, the first of these being Adam Koelansen, who taught the school of the Dutch Church in 1633, the first school established in what is now the United States, and which is still in existence. But as this chapter does not pretend to be a history of education in the United States, or even in Pennsylvania, it appears appropriate to mention only one more fact in this connection, which item in reality covers in part at least the territory to which it will be necessary to confine this sketch; and that is that along the Delaware River there was not for many years a high school or academy, and it was customary for those who could afford to do so, for some years, to send their chil- dren from the Delaware Eiver section, and even from Virginia, to an academy established in 1659 at Xew Amsterdam, of which, in 1662, Dominie Aegilius Luyck was Latin master. According to Wickersham, from whose History of Education in Pennsylvania the above facts have been extracted (without pain), there was no schoolhouse on the Delaware up to 1682, nor had there been any regular schoolmaster except Pietersen; and though the colonists were much in favor of the education of their children, yet it Avas very difficult for them to obtain for those children the proper instruction. On account of the scattered location of the families which rendered it impracticable to sustain schools, as is now done throughout the country districts, it was the custom of the ministers and missionaries, who had the education of the young in charge, to visit individual families scattered about in the settle- ments, and thus, in conjunction with the parents, to teach the young as best they could; but the difiiculties they encountered .may be imagined when it is stated, as it rests on good authority, 358 CHESTER COUNTY that in 16i»7 there were but three books in the entire Swedish col- ony on the Delaware, and these three books had been passed aronnd from one family to another in order that all might learn to read. The above remarks bring this narrative down to the first men- tion of education within the limits of the present State of Penn- sylvania, and the first attempt at education within what was once Chester County. This is a copy of a record of the court at Upland, and is the case of Edmund Draufton vs. Dunck Williams: "March 12, 167 . "The PI* demands of this Deft 200 Gilders for teaching this Deft children to read one yeare." "The G6^ haveing heard the debates of both parties as alsoe ye attestation of ye witnesses, Doe grant Judgment ag®* ye deft f^,. 200 gilders w*^ ye costs." "Eichard Ducket sworne in Court declares that hee was p'sent at ye making of ye bargaine, and did hear that ye agreem* was that Edmund draufton should Teach Dunkes Children to Eead ye bybell, & if he could doe itt in a yeare or a half yeare or a quart'^' then he should have 200 gilders." While the location of this primitive school is not certainly known, yet there is some evidence to prove that it was at Passa- yunk. It is not at all likely that Draufton taught a school, the evidence showing that he taught the children of Williams how to read "ye bybell," in doing which he probably earned the 200 gilders thus given him by the court. It is altogether correct to say that to the doctrines of the Friends, which will be found treated of briefiy under the head of religious history in this work, much that is noble and ennobling in education, as well as in religion and jurisprudence, is 1:o be traced. The Friends fully believed in education, and only feared that abuse of learning which is sometimes visible in the magnificatioi^ of self. They were all fairly well educated, and they had among them some very learned men, such as William Penn, Kobert Bar- . AND ITS PEOPLE. 359 clay, Thomas Loe, Thomas Ellwood, Isaac Pennington and others. And as the Friends were the pioneers in education in the province and also in the county of Chester, it is only appropriate that their proceedings, ideas and institutions should first be dealt with in this work. The first assembly called together by William Penn after his arrival in this country passed what is known in history as the "Great Law," of seventy-one chapters. Chapter LX con- tains a provision of great significance, as follows: "That the laws of this Province, from time to time, shall be published and printed, that eyerj person may have the knowledge thereof; and they shall be one of the books taught in the schools of this Province and territories thereof." The Second Assembly, which met at Philadelphia, March 10, 1683, passed numerous laws, of which the following is the most interesting in this connection: "And to the end that poor as well as rich may be instructed in good and commendable learning, which is to be preferred before wealth. Be it enacted, etc.. That all persons in this province and ter- ritories thereof having children, and all the guardians and trustees of orphans, shall cause such to be instructed in reading and writ- ing, so that they may be able to read the Scriptures and to write by the time they attain to twelve years of age ; and that then they be taught some useful trade or skill, that the poor may work to live and the rich if they become poor may not want, of which every County Court shall take care. And in case such parents, guardians or overseers shall be found deficient in this respect, every such parent, guardian or overseer shall pay for each such child five pounds, except there should appear an incapacity in body or understanding to hinder it." Extended comment on this remarkable law is left to the reader. But it may be stated here that it was at once the most comprehensive and strong compulsory educational law ever en- acted by any legislative body in America. After it had remained 36o CHESTER COUNTY in force ten years it was abrogated by King and Queen William and Mary; but it was re-enacted by Governor Fletcher, "by and with the advice and consent of the representatives," and though never formally repealed so far as anyone knows, yet it was per- mitted to become a dead letter, not being revived by subsequent forms of government. As a few of the first teacl^ers in the country have been men- tioned, it would be scarcely just to pass over Thomas Makin, the first teacher required to procure a certificate to teach in the Province. Thomas Makin was usher under George Keith, who, for one year, had charge of the Friends' Public School in Philadel- phia, and was then succeeded by Makin, who remained in charge of it several years. On August 1, 1693, Mr. Makin was called be- fore the Lieutenant-Governor and Council and told that he must not keep school without a license, and that he must procure a cer- tificate of his ability, learning and diligence from the inhabitants of note in the town (of Philadelphia) by the 16th inst. in order to obtain a license, which he promised to do. Makin lived to be a very old man, wrote a Latin poem descriptive of Pennsylvania in 1729, and on or about November 28, 1733, fell off a wharf in Phila- delphia into the Delaware River and was drowned. Up to the beginning of the Eighteenth century the Friends, throughout the State, continued to work faithfully and well to increase the general intelligence of the people by means of the education of the young; but from that time on to the Revolution- ary War little was accomplished by the State in this direction, the work falling back into private hands and into the hands of the several churches. It seems to have been too early in the de- velopment of the human race for the universal education of the youth throughout the Province by public authority. The diflB- culty may have been caused by the fact that the Province of Penn- sylvania was noted the world over as being the asylum of those who were persecuted at home for their religious opinions, and AND ITS PEOPLE. 361 that on this account it attracted to its bosom such large numbers of divers opinions that it was difficult for those entertaining these Gibbons, William Hughes, Eichard Hayes. 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 Lewis, John Owen. 1740.^Thomas Chandler, Joseph Harvey, James Gibbons, William Hughes, Samuel Levis, John Owen, Jeremiah Starr, Thomas Tatnall. 1741. — Joseph Harvey, Thomas Chandler, James Gibbons, John Owen, Thomas Tatnall, Samuel Levis, William Hughes, Jeremiah Starr. 1742. — James Gibbons, John Owen, Samuel Levis, Jeremiah Starr, Thomas Chandler, Joseph Harvey, William Hughes, Thomas Tatnall. 1743. — ^Jeremiah Starr, James Gibbons, Thomas Chandler, Joseph Harvey, Samuel Levis, Joseph Pennock, George Ash- bridge, Jr., Francis Yarnall. 1744. — George Ashbridge, Francis Yarnall, Joseph Pennock, Samuel Levis, James Gibbons, Joseph Harvey, Thomas Cummings, Thomas Chandler. 1745. — Joseph Pennock, Thomas Cummings, George Ashbridge, Francis Yarnall, Joseph Harvey, Samuel Levis, Kobert Lewis, Thomas Chandler. 434 CHESTER COUNTY 1746. — Francis Yarliall, George Ashbridge, Kobert Lewis, Thomas Worth, Samuel Levis, Peter Dicks, Thomas Chandler, John Owen. 1747. — Samuel Levis, Francis Yarnall, George Ashbridge, Thomas Worth, Peter Dicks, John Owen, John Davis, Thomas Chandler. 1748. — Thomas Worth, George Ashbridge, Francis Yarnall, John Davis, John Owen, Joseph James, Thomas Chandler, Joseph Gibbons. 1749.— Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge, Henry Hockley, Thomas Chandler, Nathaniel Grubb, Nathaniel Pennock, Eoger Hunt, Thomas Cummings. 1750. — Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge, Thomas Cummings, Henry Hockley, Thomas Chandler, Nathaniel Grubb, Na- thaniel Pennock, Peter Dicks. 1751. — Joseph Gibbons, Thomas Cummings, George Ashbridge, Nathaniel Grubb, Peter Dicks, Nathaniel Pennock, Henry Hockley, Thomas Chandler. 1752. — Joseph Gibbons, Thomas Cummings, Nathaniel Pennock, George Ashbridge, Peter Dicks, Nathaniel Grubb, Wil- liam Peters, Jacob Howell. 1753. — Thomas Cummings, Nathaniel Pennock, George Ashbridge, Joseph Gibbons, Nathaniel Grubb, William Peters, Peter Dicks, Joseph James. 1754. — George Ashbridge, Joseph Gibbons, Thomas Cummings, Peter Dicks, Nathaniel Pennock, Nathaniel Grubb, Joseph James, William Peters. 1755. — Thomas Cummings, George Ashbridge, Nathaniel Pennock, Joseph James, Joseph Gibbons, Nathaniel Grubb, Wil"- liam Peters (resigned and was succeeded by John Morton), Nathaniel Grubb. 1756. — Joseph Gibbons, John Morton, Eoger Hunt, George Ash- bridge, Hugh Trimble, Nathaniel Grubb, Peter Dicks, AXD ITS PEOPLE. 435 Nathaniel Pennock (the latter two resigning and being succeeded by Isaac Wayne and Kalph Pyle). 1757. — Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge, John Morton, Eoger Hunt, Isaac Wayne, Nathaniel Grubb, Hugh Trimble, Joshua Ash. 1758. — Joseph Gibbons, John Morton, George Ashbridge, Koger Hunt, Hugh Trimble, Joshua Ash, Nathaniel Grubb, Isaac Wayne. 1759. — John Morton, George Ashbridge, Joshua Ash, Joseph Gib- bons, Hugh Trimble, Roger Hunt, Peter Dicks, Isaac Wayne. 1760. — George Ashbridge, John Morton, Eoger Hunt, Joshua Ash, Joseph Gibbons, Nathaniel Pennock, William Boyd, Isaac Wayne. 1761. — Joseph Gibbons, George Ashbridge, Nathaniel Pennock, Joshua Ash, John Morton, Isaac Pearson, Roger Hunt, Isaac Wayne. 1762. — Nathaniel Pennock, George Ashbridge, Joshua Ash, Isaac Pearson, John Morton, Joseph Gibbons, John Jacobs, Isaac Wayne. 1763. — George Ashbridge, Joshua Ash, Isaac Pearson, John Mor- ton, Nathaniel Pennock, John Jacobs, Charles Hum- phreys, Isaac Wayne. 1764. — George Ashbridge, Nathaniel Pennock, John Morton, Joshua Ash, Isaac Pearson, Charles Humphreys, John Jacobs, John Fairlamb. 1765. — George Ashbridge, John Morton, John Jacobs, Nathaniel Pennock, John Fairlamb, (died and was succeeded by John Minshall), Charles Humphreys, Isaac Pearson, Joshua Ash. 1766. — George Ashbridge, Nathaniel Pennock, John Jacobs, Charles Humphreys, Isaac Pearson, Joshua Ash, John Minshall, John Morton (accepted the office of sheriff and Jonas Preston took his place). 436 CHESTER COUNTY 1767. — Isaac Pearson, Charles Humphreys, George Ashbridge, John Minshall, Jonas Preston, John Jacobs, John Sellers, Nathaniel Pennock. 1768. — John Jacobs, Nathaniel Pennock, George Ashbridge, Charles Humphreys, John Sellers, John Minshall, John Crosby, Isaac Pearson. 1769. — George Ashbridge, Charles Humphreys, 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, John Sellers, George Ashbridge. 1771. — John Morton, John Jacobs, John Sellers, John Minshall, John Crosby, Charles Humphreys, Isaac Pearson, George Ashbridge. 1772. — Charles Humphreys, Isaac Pearson, John Morton, John Jacobs, John Minshall, James Hockley, George Ash- bridge, Benjamin Bartholomew. 1773. — Isaac Pearson, Benjamin Bartholomew, John Jacobs, Charles Humphreys, John Morton, James Gibbs, John Minshall, Joseph Pennock. 1774. — Benjamin Bartholomew, John Jacobs, Joseph Pennock, James Gibbons, Isaac Pearson, Charles Humphreys, John Morton, Anthony Wayne. 1775. — John Morton (Speaker), Benjamin Bartholomew, James Gibbons, Isaac Pearson, John Jacobs, Charles Hum- phreys, Joseph Pennock, Joseph Pyle. 1776. — John Jacobs, Caleb Davis, Joseph Gardner, John Fulton, Samuel Cunningham, John Sellers. 1777. — Joseph Gardner, John Pulton, Samuel Cunningham, John Culbertson, Lewis Gronow, Stephen Cochran. 1778. — Joseph Gardner, John Fulton, John Culbertson, Stephen Cochran, John Fleming, Patrick Anderson. AND ITS PEOPLE. 437 1,779. — John Fulton, David Thomas, Henry Hayes, James Boyd, Patrick Anderson, Joseph Park, William Harris, Sketch- ley Morton. 1780. — David Thomas, Henry Hayes, Joseph Park, William Har- ris, James Boyd, Patrick Anderson, John Culbertson, Evan Evans. 1781. — John Culbertson, Evan Evans, James Moore, Persifor Fra- zer, Thomas Maffat, Patrick Anderson, John Hannum, John Lindsay. 1782. — Persifor Frazer, James Boyd, Evan Evans, Thomas Straw- bridge, Benjamin Brannan, David Thomas, John Lind- say, Thomas MafEat. 1783. — David Thomas, Evan Evans, John Hannum, Joseph Park, Eichard Willing, Thomas Potts, Thomas Bull, Edward Jones. 1784. — Eichard Willing, Anthony Wayne, Edward Jones, Eobert Ealston, James Moore, Thomas Potts, Persifor Frazer, Joseph Strawbridge, Charles Humphreys. 1785. — Anthony Wayne, Eobert Ealston, James Moore, Thomas Bull, John Hannum, Eobert Smith, Samuel Evans, Jona- than Morris. 1786. — Eobert Ealston, Eichard Willing, James Moore, Samuel Evans, Eichard Thomas, Townsend Whelen, and in 1787 ' the same members. 1788. — Eichard Thomas, James Moore, Mark Wilcox, John Mc- Dowell, Caleb James, Eichard Downing, Jr. 1789. — Eichard Thomas, John McDowell, Caleb James, Eichard Downing, Jr. 1790. — Eichard Downing, Caleb James, John McDowell, James Boyd. 1791. — Eichard Downing, Caleb James, James Boyd, Samuel Evans. 1792.— Dennis Whelen, Charles Dilworth, John Hannum, Samuel Sharp. 438 CHESTER COUNTY 1793. — Dennis Whelen, Thomas Bull, John Eoss, Joseph Pierce. 1794, — Thomas Bull, John Eoss, Eobert Frazer, Eoger Kirk. 1795. — Thomas Bull, Eobert Frazer, Eoger Kirk, Joseph Pierce,. Abiah Taylor. 1796. — Thomas Bull, Eobert Frazer, Eoger Kirk, Abiah Taylor, James Hannum. 1797. — Thomas Bull, Eoger Kirk, Abiah Taylor, James Hannum, Joseph Hemphill, * 1798 and 1799.— The same as in 1797. 1800. — Thomas Bull, Eoger Kirk, Abiah Taylor, Isaac Wayne. 1801. — Thomas Bull, John McDowell, Abiah Taylor (died and was succeeded by Isaac Anderson), Isaac Wayne, William Gibbons. 1802. — Joseph Park, James Fulton, Edward Darlington, Thomas Taylor, Methuselah Davis. 1803. — James Fulton, Edward Darlington, Methuselah Davis^ John Boyd, Hezekiah Davis. 1804. — The same members. 1805. — John Boyd, Methuselah Davis, James Kelton, Francis Gardner, John G. Bull. 1806. — Same members re-elected. 1807. — Joseph Park, James Kelton, William Worthington, Isaac Darlington, George Evans. 1808. — James Kelton, John G. Bull, Isaac Darlington, George Evans, Abraham Baily. 1809. — James Steele, John W. Cunningham, John Eamsay, Jacob Clemmons, Eoger Davis. 1810. — James Steele, John W. Cunningham, John Eamsay, Jacob Clemmons, William Harris. 1811. — Edward Darlington, Jacob Clemmons, William Harris, John Eeed, James Brooks. 1812. — John G. Bull, Abraham Baily, John Menough, Nathan Pen- nypacker. Lea Pusey. AND ITS PEOPLE. 439 1813. — Edward Darlington, John Harris, John Reed, James Brooks, James Hindman. 1814. — Nathan Pennypacker, John Menough, Lea Pusey, Jacob Humphrey, James Roberts. 1815. — John Menough, Jacob Humphrey, James Roberts, Joseph Sharp, John Jones (died and was succeeded by Isaac Dar- lington). 1816-17. — John Menough, Thomas Ashbridge, Evan Evans, Joseph Sharp, Samuel Cochran. 1818. — Thomas Ashbridge, Wallace Boyd, John G. Parke, Joseph Sharp, Joshua Hunt. 1819. — James Kelton, Thomas Ashbridge, Joshua Hunt, Abraham Baily, Thomas Baird. 1820. — James Kelton, Joshua Hunt, Thomas Baird, Stephen Webb, Joshua Evans. 1821. — Wallace Boyd, Timothy Kirk, Jonathan Jones, Elijah Lewis, Stephen Webb. 1822. — Wallace Boyd, Timothy Kirk, Elijah Lewis, Jonathan Jones. 1823. — Elijah Lewis, Joshua Hunt, David Potts, Jr., John Chand- ler. 1824. — ^Joshua Hunt, David Potts, Jr., John Chandler, William Thompson. 1825.— Same. 1826. — William Thompson, Townsend Haines, Robert Miller, Mat- thias Pennypacker. 1827. — Same members re-elected. 1828. — Robert Miller, John Morgan, Isaac Trimble, Dr. Sampel McOleane. 1829. — Joshua McMinn, Jesse James, Jesse Pugh, Gen. Matthew Stanley. 1830. — Thomas Ashbridge, Matthias Pennypacker, Arthur An- drews, Dr. Benjamin Griffith. 440 CHESTER COUNTY 1831. — Thomas Ashbridge, Arthur Andrews, Dr. Benjamin Grif- fith, Elijah F. Pennypacker. 1832. — Same members. 1833.— Oliver Alison, Dr. Samuel McOleane, Dr. Wilmer Worthing- ton. Dr. Thomas I. . 1834.— Elijah F. Pennypacker, Charles Brooke, John Hutchinson, John Parker. 1835. — Same members re-elected. 1836. — John Parker, Abraham R. Mcllvaine, Maurice Richardson, Isaac Downing. 1837. — Abraham R. Mcllvaine, Maurice Richardson^ William H. Dillingham, Benjamin J. Passmore. 1838. — Maurice Richardson, Richard M. Barnard, William K. Oor- rey, Beynard Way. 1839. — Joseph Baily, Joshua Hartshorne, John Morgan, Joel Swayne. 1840. — John D. Steele, Robert Futhey, William K. Correy, Dr. John B. Ohrisman. 1841. — William K. Correy, Robert Futhey, Emmor Elton, Robert Laverty. 1842. — Emmor Elton, Robert Parke, Jesse C. Dickey, John Beidler. 1843. — Robert Parke, Jesse C. Dickey, Joseph Whitaker. 1844. — Robert Parke, Jesse C. Dickey, William Price. 1845. — William Price, William D. Thomas, George Ladley. 1846-47. — George Ladley, Henry S. Evans, Thomas K. Bull. 1848.— Henry S. Evans, Thomas K. Bull, David J. Bent. 1849. — David J. Bent, John S. Bowen, John Acker. 1850. — David J. Bent, John S. Evans, James M. Dorian. 1851. — John Acker, William Chandler, Jesse James. 1852. — William Chandler, Jesse James, Dr. Joseph Hickman. 1853. — Robert E. Monaghan, Henry T. Evans, William Wheeler, 1854. — Dr. Matthias J. Pennypacker, Mark A. Hodgson, William R. Downing. AND ITS PEOPLE. 44 1 1855. — Andrew Buchanan, Joseph Dowdall, Eobert Irwin. 1856. — Dr. Ebenezer V. Dickey, James Penrose, Paxon Vickers. 1857. — John Hodgson, Eber W. Sharpe, Morton Garrett. 1858.— Isaac Acker, William T. Shaier, Caleb Pierce. 1859 and I860.— The same. 1861-62-63.— P. Frazer Smith, William Windle, Eobert L. McClel- Ian. 1864-65-66.— William B. Waddell, Nathan J. Sharpless, Dr. Nathan A. Pennypacker. 1867. — John Hickman, James M. Phillips, Dr. Stephen M. Meredith, 1868. — James M. Phillips, Dr. Stephen M. Meredith, Archimedes Eobb. 1869. — James C. Eoberts, Joseph C. Keech, Abel Darlington. 1870. — Joseph C. Keech, Levi Prizer, Samuel H. Hoopes. 1871. — Joseph C. Keech, Levi Prizer. 1872.— Levi Prizer, Dr. E. W. Baily. 1873. — The same two members re-elected. 1874.— Dr. E. W. Bailey, Peter G. Carey, John P. Edge, George F. Smith. 1876. — Samuel Butler, William T. Fulton, Jesse Matlack, John P. Edge. 1878. — Samuel Butler, William T. Fulton, Jesse Matlack, John A. Eeynolds. 1880.— John A. Eeynolds, Theodore K. Stubbs, John T. Potts, William Wayne. 1882.— John T. Potts, Theodore K. Stubbs, William Wayne, Levi Fetters. 1884. — Theodore K. Stubbs, William Wayne, Levi Fetters, Levi B. Kaler. 1886.— Lewis K. Evans, W. W. McConnell, John W. Hickman, D. Smith Talbot. 1887.— William Evans. 1888.— Lewis H. Evans, John W. Hickman, W. W. McConnell, D. Smith Talbot. 442 CHESTER COUNTY 1890.— David H. Branson, William P. Snyder, Dr. J. G. West 1892.— D. Smith Talbot, J. H. Marshall, T. J. Phillips, D. F. Moore. 1894.— D. Smith Talbot, J. H. Marshall, T. J. Phillips, D. F. Moore. 1896.— J. H. Marshall, T. J. Phillips, D. F. Moore, Plummer E, Jefferies. On the first Tuesday of October, 1765, the first American Con- gress convened in the city of New York, composed of delegates from nine of the colonies, and originating in a call by the Legis- lature of Massachusetts to take into consideration the oppressive measures of the British Parliament. The result of the delibera- tions of this Congress vras a declaration of rights, a memorial to Parliament, and a petition to the king, in which they objected to being taxed except by their own representatives. Their proceed- ings were approved by the assemblies of the several colonies, and thus for the first time a semblance of a federal union was formed or at least prefigured. In this first Congress Chester County was represented by John Morton, who resided in what is now Delaware County, and who afterward signed the Declaration of Indepen- dence. In the second Congress, usually known in history as the "First Continental Congress," which met September 5, 1774, in Carpen- ter's Hall, Philadelphia, Chester County was represented by John Morton and Charles Humphreys, and eight of the fifty-five mem- bers were from Pennsylvania. In the next Continental Congress, usually known as the Second, Chester County was represented by the same two members, and this was also the case in the next Congress, which met in 1776. In this Congress, when the vote was taken on the adoption of the Declaration, John Morton voted in its favor, and Charles Humphreys against it. Only two other mem- bers from Pennsylvania voted against the Declaration, John Dick- mson, its ablest opponent, Thomas Willing of Philadelphia County and these three gentlemen were succeeded in the Congress by AXD ITS PEOPLE. 445 Colonels George Eoss and James Smith, Dr. Benjamin Rush, George Clymer, and George Taylor, all of whom signed the Declara- tion of Independence as they had opportunity. Chester County was represented in Congress from 1777 to 1779 by William Clingan of West Cain Township, and in 1784 and 1785 by Dr. Joseph Gardner, who resided near Sadsburyville. Previous to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States members of Congress were elected by the legislatures of the several states, and at the first election for members of Congress held under that Constitution they were elected on a general ticket, the votes cast in Chester County for delegates to the first Congress under the Con- stitution being as follows: Henry Wynkoop, 904; Thomas Hartley, 903; Frederick A. Muhlenberg, 901; Thomas Fitzsimmons, 900; John Allison, 896; Thomas Scott, 895; George Clymer, 890; Stephen Chambers, 890. When the State was divided into congressional districts by act of March 16, 1791, Chester and Montgomery Counties became the Third district, and at the election held in October following, Israel Jacobs of Montgomery County was elected to represent it in Congress. On April 7, 1792, an act was passed providing for elec- tion of congressmen on a general ticket, and under this arrange- ment the candidates for Congress in the State who were elected and the votes cast for them in Chester County were as follows: Frederick A. Muhlenberg, 2,034; William Irvine, 2,011; Daniel Heister, 2,009; William Findley, 2,003; John Wilkes Kittera, 1,999; Thomas Hartley, 1,973; Thomas Fitzsimmons, 1,843; Henry Wyn- koop, 1,801; Thomas Scott, 1,787, and Samuel Sitgreaves, 1,721. The State was divided into twelve congressional districts by an act passed April 22, 1794, Chester and Delaware Counties forming the Third district, and this arrangement lasted until 1802, in which year the State was, as it has been in every tenth year since then, districted according to the number of members to which it was entitled under the several censuses of the United 26 446 CHESTER COUNTY States. Since 1802 the districts to which Chester County has be- longed, and the number of members of Congress the district has been entitled to, have been as follows : 1802. — Third- district, Chester, Berks and Laucaster, three members. ' 1812. — Second district, Chester and Montgomery, two mem- bers. 1822. — Fourth district, Ch^ter, Delaware and Lancaster, three members. 1832. — Fourth district, Chester, Delaware and Lancaster, three members. 1842. — Seventh district, Chester County, one member. 1852. — Sixth district, Chester and Delaware, one member. 1862. — Seventh district, Chester and Delaware, one member. 1872. — The same, and 1882, the Sixth, as it still remains. When the vote on the Declaration of Independence was first taken, the colonies, aside from Pennsylvania, were equally divided, and the vote of Pennsylvania was itself divided equally in the absence of one of Chester County's representatives in the Congress. John Morton, coming into the hall, turned the tide in favor of the Declaration, for, with his vote in favor of it, Pennsylvania was ranged on its side, and thus there was a majority in the colonial vote. At least this is the way this important point of history has usually been written and understood. And it is for the reason that John Morton was of such importance at a most critical junc- ture Lhat an exception is made in his ease, and a full sketch of his life here introduced. The first mention of the name of Morton in the history of ancient Chester County is in the list of names attached to the oath of allegiance of the Swedes to the Dutch in 1655, where it was spelled Martin Martens. In an old book of service at Harrisburg, dated 1675, may be found the following: "Laid out for John Cor- nells and Marton Marteson (Morton Mortonson) one piece or parcel AND ITS PEOPLE. 447 of land where they now dwell, situate, lying and being on the west side of the Delaware Eiver, and on a creek which cometh out of said river, said creek commonly known and called Amsland, or Mill Kill," etc. Morton Mortonson as early as 1655 lived on his plantation at Ammesland in Eidley Township, old Chester (now Delaware) County. He is always spoken of as "of Ammesland." There was a Morton Mortonson of "Calking Hook," whose will is dated November 1, 1718. Whether these two Morton Mortonsons were one and the same individual, or whether there were two indi- viduals of the same name, appears not yet to have been settled by local historians. But the Morton Mortonson of "Calking Hook" had children as follows: David, Andrew, John, Matthias, Katha- rine and Margaret. John Morton, the third of the above-named children, married Mary Archer, daughter of John Archer of Eidley, by whom he had but one son, also named John, born after his father's death, early in the year 1725. The widow married John Sketchley, an English- man, yeoman, who came from England in 1718, and settled in Eid- ley Township in 1724, and died in 1753 without children. His step- son, John Morton, in remembrance of his kindness, named one of his sons Sketchley, who became a major in the Eevolutionary army, and a man of note in his day. John Morton, the signer, married Ann Justis, by whom he had three sons and five daughters. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly for eleven years from 1756; was a justice of the peace for Chester County in 1757; was sheriff in 1767 and 1768; was a member of the Congress that sat in New York in 1765; and was re- elected in 1774 and again reelected in 1776; was a member of the first convention to frame a constitution for the State of Pennsyl- vania in 1776. He was appointed associate judge of the Supreme Provincial Court of Pennsylvania, and was the last appointment to that court under the old order of things. He died in December, 1777, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. 448 • CHESTER COUNTY His children were Aaron, Sketchley, John, Mary, Sarah, Lydia, Ann and Elizabeth, Major Sketchley Mprton married Rebecca Taylor of Tinicum, and had children as follows: Charles, Eebecca, Ann, Aaron Taylor, and John S., the latter of whom was born February 21, 1780. He married Susannah Crosby, June 30, 1S03, and had the following children: Ann Crosby, Rebecca Taylor, Susan Crosby, Sketchley, John Crosby, Ellen Elizabeth, Crosby Peirce, Franklin H., and Catharine Plummer. Of these Sketchley Morton was born October 12, 1810, and married Annesley Newlin, by whom he had John S., Benjamin N., Elizabeth N., Sketchley, Annesley, Susan, Mary, Crosby and Hattie, the latter two twins. That patriotism is inherent in the family is shown, by the fact that Sketchley Morton, Jr., son of Judge Sketchley Morton of Springfield, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, enlisted in the Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania volunteers, becoming first lieutenant of a company, and serving until his death by yellow fever Novem- ber 12, 1862, at the age of twenty-one years. Upon his death a poem was written as has been thought by Rev. John Pleasanton du Hamel, at one time rector of the Church of the Redemption, Phila- delphia, The poem in part is as follows : "A noble youth, a noble lineage. Descent of man whose patriot deed Gave Independence to our glorious Union; Aye, set his State, the Keystone Of this loved temple of our Liberties. "The name of Morton — when the Nation's fate Poised in dubious scale of destiny, (Who doubts may read) the balance shook, and to The side of Freedom sent the quivering beam," etc. Chester County has been represented in the Senate of the United States by one of her distinguished citizens, viz., Gen. Isaac AND ITS PEOPLE. 449 D. Barnard, who was elected to that high office in 1828, took his seat March 4, 1829, and served until 1831, when he resigned on account of failing health. He died at West Chester in 1834. Gen- eral Barnard was born in 1791 at Chester, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar at West Chester in 1816. He had been a gal- lant soldier and officer in the war of 1812, being under the command of Winder at Sackett's Harbor. He was promoted to the rank of major in the year 1813, and descended the Saint Lawrence River with Wilkinson and heard the firing at Chrysler Farm, unable to be present on account of illness. He greatly distinguished himself for bravery at the battle of Lyons' Creek, conducting the charge and driving the enemy from their ground. After the conclusion of the war he applied himself to the practice of the law in West Chester, becoming unusually popular on account of his courage and high character. In 1820 he was elected to the State Senate from the district composed of Chester and Delaware Counties, and in 1824 he was elected major-general of the Third district of the militia, in which capacity he aided largely in the hospitalities extended to the Marquis de Lafayette on his visit to Chester C-ounty. In 1826 he was appointed Secre- tary of the Commonwealth, and in 1828 he was elected to the Sen- ate of the United States, as above stated. In 1829 his friends made the attempt tO' nominate him for Governor of the State, but on ac- count of a factional fight in Chester County, the attempt was not successful. As a lawyer he was eminently successful, notwith- standing the many interruptions in his practice, by his engage- ments in military and political life, and the many able competitors then practicing at the Chester County bar. On October 19, 1854, his remains were removed from the Friends' graveyard on High Street, to the Oaklands Cemetery, where a monument to him had already been erected, Dr. William Darlington delivering an ora- tion on this occasion, which was made a very imposing military pageant, the procession reaching from the court-house to the cem- etery. 450 CHESTER COUNTY Following is a list of the members of Congress from Chester County, together with the number of the Congres^ in which they severally served, and the year in Avhich they were elected, since 1794: 1794-96-98.— IVth, Vth and Vlth congresses, Eichard Thomas, West Whiteland. 1800.— VII, Joseph Hemphill, West Chester. 1802-04. — YIII and IX, Isaac Anderson, Charlestown. 1806.— X, John Heister, Coventrs*. 1808.— XI, Daniel Heister, West Chester. 1810. — XII, Dr. Eoger Davis, Charlestown. 1812.— XIII, the same. 1814.— XIV, Dr. William Darlington, West Chester. 1816. — XV, Isaac Darlington, West Chester. 1818-20.— XVI and XVII, Dr. William Darlington. West Chester. 1822.— XVII, Col. Isaac Wayne, Easttown. 1824-26.— XIX and XX, Charles Miner, West Chester. 1828-30.— XXI and XXII, Joshua Evans, Tredyffrin. 1830-32-34-36.— XXII, XXIII, XXIV and XXV, David Potts, Jr., East Nantmeal. 1838-40.— XXVI, XXVII, Francis James, West Chester. 1843-44-46.— XXVIII, XXIX and XXX, Abraham E. Mcll- vaine. West Nantmeal. 1848.— XXXI, Jesse C. Dickey, Xew London. 1850.— XXXII, Dr. John A. Morrison, West Fallowfield. 1852.— XXXIII, William Everhart, West Chester. 1854-56-58-60.— XXXIV, XXXV, XXXVI and XXXVII, John Hickman, West Chester. 1862-64-66.— XXXVIII, XXXIX and XL, John M. Broomall, Delaware County. 1868-70-72-74.— XLI, XLII, XLIII and XLIV, Washington Townsend, ^^>st Chester. AND ITS PEOPLE. 45 1 1876-78-80.— XLV, XLVI and XLVII, William Ward, Dela- ware County. 1882-84.— XL VIII and XLIX, James B. Everhart. 1886-88.— L and LI, Smedley Darlington. 1890-92-94.— LII, LIII and LIV, John B. Kobinson, Delaware County. 1896.— L^', Thomas t^l. Butler. Hon. John Hickman, elected four times to Congress from Chester County, was one of the historic personages of his times. While he was a youth he was noted. for his uncommon intellectual ability, and it was this that led his parents to secure for him the best education obtainable. Having read law with the Hon. Town- send Haines, he was admitted to the bar in 1832, and being a good speaker he soon won a prominent position in the Democrat party of Chester County. In 1844 he was a delegate to the National Convention that nominated James K. Polk for President, but was himself in favor of Andrew Jackson. In that year he was nomi- nated by the Democrats of his dis-trict for Congress, but was de- feated by Hon. Abraham E. Mclhaine. In 1845 he was appointed district attorney, and was again appointed to the same office about the first of the year 1847. In 1854 he was again nominated for Congress by the Democracy, and was elected by a majority of 2,656, securing the vote of the Know Nothings, "through some influences which have never been satisfactorily explained." In Congress Mr. Hickman was an opponent of slavery, notwithstand- ing which he was again elected to Congress in 1856 by the Democ- racy of his district. Though he supported Mr. Buchanan for Presi- dent that year, yet in a speech delivered in the House on .January 28, 1858, he declared that the President had broken faith with the party in his Kansas policy, and he could no longer support him. In 1858 he was again elected to Congress by a large majority over both the regular Kepublican and Democratic nominees, and aided the Itepublicans to break the deadlock in the famous contest of 4S2 CHESTER COUNTY Speaker of the House, the result of which was the election of Mr. Pennington. During the two yeaors that followed Mr. Hickman made for himself a world-wide reputation by his able and sarcastic speeches against slavery. In reply to the threat of disunion, he said that the North would never tolerate a division of territory, because "eighteen millions, reared in industry, with habits of the right kind, will always be able to cope successfully, if need be, with eight millions of men with these appliances" of art. In 1860, when Mr. Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency, Mr. Hickman confidently anticipated the nomination for Vice- President; but failing in this he was again elected to Congress, and at the end of this term declined re-election. He gave his dis- trict a national reputation, and was much in advance of the times in regard to the freeing of the slaves, the r-ight of the President to confiscate all kinds of property of the rebels in arms, including slaves, and the arming of the blacks as soldiers in the Union army, his views at length being acted upon. It is presumed that all know how Presidential electors are chosen, hence all that is deemed necessary to do in this connection is to present a list of the Pennsylvania Presidential electors that have been residents of Chester County. Though it is proper to state that the electors who voted for General Washington when he was first elected President of the United States were appointed by the Legislature of the State. Following is the list since 1792, including two from Delaware County, representing the Congres- sional district: 1792, Washington's second election, Thomas Bull; 1796, John Adams' election, James Boyd; 1804, Thomas Jefferson's second election, James Boyd ; 1808, James Madison's first election, George Hartman; 1812, Madison's second election, James Fulton; 1816, James Monroe's first election, Isaac Anderson; 1820, Monroe's sec- ond election, William Clingan; 1824, John Quincy Adams' election, AND IT 8 PEOPLE. 45 3 Cromwell Pearce; 1828, Andrew Jackson's first election, John W. Cunningham; 1832, Jackson's second election, Oliver Alison; 1830, Martin Van Buren's election, Oliver Alison; 1840, William Henry Harrison's election, A. E. Mcllvaine; 1844, James K. Polk's elec- tion, Jesse Sharp; 1848, Zachary Taylor's election, John D. Steele; 1852, Franklin Pierce's election, N. Strickland; 1856, James Bu- chanan's election, John H. Brinton; 1860, Abraham Lincoln's first election, J. M. Broomall; 1864, Lincoln's second election, Eobert Parke; 1868, U. S. Grant's first election, Francis 0. Hooton; 1872, Grant's second election, John M, Broomall; 1876, Eutherford B. Hayes' election, Joseph W. Barnard; 1880, James A. Garfield's elec- tion, David F. Houston; 1884, Grover Cleveland's election, Horace A. Beale; 1888, Benjamin Harrison's election, Joseph E. T. Coates. Delaware County : 1892, Grover Cleveland's second election, Max- well Clower; 1896, William McKinley's election, Joseph H. Huddell. Gen. Anthony Wayne, one of the most famous soldiers of the Eevolutionary War and in the Indians wars in the West, whose rapid movements and fearless courage led to his being styled "Mad Anthony Wayne," was born in Easttown, Chester County, Pa., January 1, 1745. Having received a good academic education he began life as a professional surveyor at the age of eighteen years, and when he was twenty years old he was sent to Nova, Scotia to locate lands for a company. After a two years' residence there he returned to Chester County, married, and resumed the business of a surveyor. In 1773 he was elected to the Assembly, and in 1775 he was appointed to a command in the Continental Army, proceeding to Canada with General Thomas, and remaining there one year. He was then promoted to brigadier-general, and was actively engaged with General Washington in the battles of the Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth. In 1779 he made a determined attack by night on Stony Point on the Hudson, making the entire garrison prisoners. After conquering the Western In- dians in 1794, he died at Presque Isle, now Erie, Pennsylvania, 454 CHESTER COUNTY December 14, 1796, and his remains were there buried; but they were removed in 1809 to the family lot in the cemetery connected with St. David's Church, Delaware County, where they now repose. Washington Townsend, formerly a member of Congress from Chester County, was born in Chester County, January 13, 1813. He was a son of David and Kebecca (Sharpless) Townsend, and was educated by such old-time teachers as, Jonathan Gause and Joseph Strode at West Chester Academy. While occupying the position of teller in the Hank of Chester County he began the study of the law, reading with William Darlington, and was admitted to the bar May 7, 1844. From that time until his death he was success- fully engaged in the practice of his profession, though he served from 1848 to 1S57 as cashier of the bank, resigning this position in the latter year in order that he might devote himself more closely to the law. He served as prosecuting attorney from October, 1848, to April, 1849; was a delegate to tlje National Whig Convention of 1852 and to the National Kepublican Convention of 1860, which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency of the United States. He served in Congress from 1868 to 1876, during which time he warmly advocated a tariff for the protection of American industries, the national banking system, the appropriation of the public lands for educational purposes, and an improved policy with reference to the Indian wars of the nation. Succeeding John H. Ketcham as chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, he was also a member of the committee on education, the com- mittee on Freedmen's affairs and of the committee on finance and commerce. He strenuously opposed the bill, by the passage of which the members of Congress voted themselves back pay to the amount of |2,500 to each man, and after the bill became a law he refused to accept the sum to which, under its provisions, he was entitled. Eeturning to Chester County from Congress he was elected president of the National Bank of Chester County, filling the office until his death, March 18, 1894. AND ITS PEOPLE. 455 Hon. James Bowen Everhart, a man of rare ability, higWy distinguished, for his public services, was the third son of Hon. William and Hannah (Matlack) Everhart. He was born in West Whiteland July 26, 1821, and received his education at Anthony Bolmar's Academy and at Princeton College, graduating from the latter institution in 1842. He was admitted to the bar in 1845, and took special law courses in the universities of Edinburgh and Berlin. Eeturning to the United States, he practiced his profession until 1861, and then served bravely and faithfully in the armv of the Union. He was a popular Republican leader in Chester County, and served as a member of the State Senate from 1876 to 1882, during which time he pronounced eulogies on Bayard Taylor, Wil- liam Penn and Anthony Wayne, which have been pronounced the finest memorials ever heard in the State. Having in 1882 been elected to the Forty-eighth Congress, he resigned his seat in the State Senate, and was re-elected to Congress in 1884. He was a noted author, and his "Miscellanies," his "Poems," "The Fox Chase," and his "Speeches," are volumes of great usefulness and interest. He died August 23, 1888, honored and mourned by all that knew him. Hon. Wayne MacVeagh was bom in Phoenixville in 1833, and is a son of Major and Margaret (Lincolu) MacVeagh. He was educated at Freeland's Seminary in Montgomery County and at Yale College, graduating from the latter institution in 1853, the class of that year being rendered famous by many of its afterward distinguished members, among whom, besides Mr. MacVeagh, were Chauncey M. Depew, Andrew D. White, Charlton T. Lewis and Isaac Bromley of the Xew York Tribune. Mr. MacVeagh read law with Hon. Joseph J. Lewis of West Chester and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He was made district attorney in 1859, and was chair- man of the Eepublican State Committee in 1863, in which Gov- ernor Curtin was elected to the oiHce of Governor the second time. During the Civil War he served on the staff of General Couch, with 456 CHESTER COUNTY the rank of major, was appointed by President Grant Ambassador to Turkey, and in tlie constitutional convention of 1872-73, and was appointed by President Hayes as a member of the Louisiana Commission, wliich decided in favor of seating Governor Nichols as against Packard, some of the other members of that commission being ex-Gov. Joseph Brown of Georgia and Joseph Hawley of Connecticut. He was solicitor for the Pennsylvania Kailroad Com- pany for a number of years, and was made Attorney-General of the United States under President Garfield. By President Cleveland he was appointed in 1894 Ambassador to Italy, and is now engaged in the practice of the law in Washington the winters, and resides on his farm at Bryn Mawr in summer seasons. Mr. MacVeagh is noted for scholarship, and is in great demand as an orator on public celebrations, as at college commencements and other educational occasiops. For years he has been president of the Pennsylvania Civil Service Reform Association, and in poli- tics, though acting most of his life with the Republican party, is in favor of the Democratic doctrine of tariff for revenue only. His first wife was a daughter of Joseph J. Lewis, and his sec- ond wife a daughter of Gen. Simon Cameron. By his first wife he has two sons living, one of whom is practicing law in New York City, and the other residing in Philadelphia. By his second wife he had two children, a son and daughter, the former of whom is dead, but the second, Margarretta, is living. Major Levi G. McCauley, auditor-general of the State of Penn- sylvania, was born in Chester County, September 2, 1837, and is a son of John and Lydia (Gheen) McCauley. He was educated in the public schools and at Abington Center and at Wyoming Semi- nary. Prior to the late Civil War he was a practical mechanical engineer. He was the eldest of four brothers who joined a battalion of 200 men raised by their father in Susquehanna County in the latter part of April, 1861, and as the father was refused a commis- sion on account of his age, by Governor Curtin, Levi left the bat- AxYD ITS PEOPLE. 457 talion and joined a company of soldiers at Wilkesbarre, com- manded by Col. E. B. Harvey, this company afterward becoming Company F, Seventh Eegiment Pennsylvania Eeserves, and going into camp at Camp Wayne, West Chester, as a private soldier. He was promoted to first sergeant at Camp Wayne, and to first lieu- tenant in November, 1862. At the battle of Charles City Cross Koads Mr. McCauley was severely wounded, in consequence of which his right arm had to be amputated. Taken prisoner by the rebels, he was taken to the famous Libby prison, where he was confined seventy days, and being at length paroled he was taken to David's Island Hospital, New York, remaining there until the following November, when he was ordered to Harrisburg for duty in the recruiting service. Notwithstanding his maimed condition he re- joined his regiment in January, 1863, and in February, 1864, he was promoted to captain of his company and performed his duty with his regiment until the next December, when he was transferred to the "Veteran Eeserve Corps. He was breveted major in 1865 for gallant and meritorious services, and on January 30, 1866, was dis- charged because his services were no longer needed by the Gov- ernment. Ever since the close of the war Major McCauley has been an active leader in the Republican party. He was elected register of wills in the fall of 1869; was chairman of the Eepublican com- mittee from 1866 to 1890, and has been a delegate to numerous county, state and national Eepublican conventions. He was nomi- nated by the Eepublican State Convention in August, 1897, for auditor-general of the State of Pennsylvania, and in November following was elected by a vote of 412,652 as against 268,341 given to his Democratic opponent. His majority over all opponents was 79,456, and he led his ticket by a vote of 40,214. He was elected a delegate to the Eepublican State Convention in the spring of 1898. Major McCauley was married October 6, 1870, to Miss Isabel 458 CHESTER COUNTY Darlington, daughter of the late Hon. William and Catherine P, Darlington. For more than one hundred years, or from 1681 to 1790, the frame of government under which the Province of Pennsylvania prospered provided for a Governor, a Council and an Assembly, the Council being a portion of the time appointed by the Governor and a part of the time elected by the people of the several counties. But all of this time it was a J)ortion of the executive branch of the government, instead of being as the Senate has been since 1790, a part of the legislative branch. It has often been a matter of uncertainty as to where those constitution builders of Tennessee, in 1796, found a form of government after which to pattern, who attempted to provide the then new State with a legislative body, consisting of but one branch, or part; but they may have had the frame of government in vogue in Pennsylvania for the then past one hundred years in mind. At first, in the Province of Pennsylvania, it was directed that the freemen on the 20th of the twelfth month (February) should elect seventy-two persons as councilors, one-third for three years, one-third for two years and one-third for one year, next ensuing, and that on the 20th of the twelfth year afterward twenty- four persons, instead of seventy-two, should be so elected. The first election for councilors was therefore held on the 20th of February, 1682, and the Council elected met on the 10th of the next month, the sheriffs making their returns and presenting petitions from the inhabitants on that day. Thomas Usher pre- sented a petition from Chester County, to William Penn, proprie- tary and governor of the Province, to the effect that the freeholders of Chester County had chosen twelve persons for delegates to serve in the Provincial Council, and asking that, in consideration of the fact that there were but few people in the county acquainted with public business, and of the further fact that the county was unable to support greater elections and assemblies, three of the AND ITS PEOPLE. 459 twelve elected might serve as councilors, and that the other nine might serve in the Assembly. This arrangement was agreed to, the three men selected for the Council by the voters of Chester County being John Simoock, for three years; Ralph Withers, for two years, and William Clayton, for one year. By a new frame of government the number of councilors was reduced to three from each county, which number was subject to changes by the Governor, Council or Assembly, but was never to exceed the limita- tions of the charter. Governor Fletcher of New York, being placed in charge of the Province in 1693, chose his own Council of twelve persons, who served two years. Under Governor Markham the plan of electing the Council was resumed, but in the next year, 1796, the Governor selected his own Council. In this latter year a new frame of gov- ernment went into operation, under which there were two council- lors from each county, who served for one year. In 1700 the number of councillors from each county again became three, but the charter was surrendered in May of that year, and a new one granted, under which the councillors were appointed by the pro- prietary or his lieutenant. In 1702 John Finney, son of Capt. Samuel Finney, was selected as the member from Chester County, to serve in the Council, and from this time on until the Revolutionary War there were but few members chosen from Chester County. In January, 1775, the Revolutionary convention appointed a "Council of Safety," as did the convention of 1776, the latter con- vention finding it necessary for them to usurp the entire govern- ment, and to form a constitution, which went into immediate effect without having been submitted to a vote of the people, a high' handed proceeding, which would not be submitted to at the present time, and only justified by the overpowering necessities of the time. The members of Chester County to this convention were Benjamin Bartholomew, John Jacobs, Thomas Strawbridge, Albert Smith, Samuel Cunningham, John Hart, John Mackey and John Fleming. 46o CHESTER COUNTY This constitutional convention originated in an assembly called a "Provincial Conference," convened in pursuance of a resolution of Congress, recommending a change in the form of State Govern- ments. Of this provincial conference, which met at Philadelphia, June 18, 1776, the members from Chester County being Col. Eich- ard Thomas, Maj. William Evans, Col. Thomas Hockley, Maj. Caleb Davis, Elisha Price, Samuel Fairlamb, Col. William Montgomery, Col. Hugh Lloyd, Richard Kiley, Col. Evan Evans, Col. Lewis Greno, Maj. Sketchley Morton and Capt. Thomas Levis. Under this constitution the power of legislation was vested in a general assembly of one house, and the supreme executive power in a council of twelve persons, elected in fours for a term of three years, and the council and assembly elected a president annually by joint ballot. This constitution remained in force until 1790. Following is as complete a list as could be made of the mem- bers of the Council from Chester County: 1681.— Kobert Wade, James Sandelands, William Woodman- -see, William Clayton. 1683. — William Clayton, Ralph Withers, John Simcock. 1684. — William Clayton, William Wood, Christopher Taylor. 1685. — Nicholas Newlin. 1686. — John Simcock, Francis Harrison. 1687. — John Bristow. 1688. — Bartholomew Coppock. 1689. — John Blunston, declined to serve, and William Howell -elected in his place. 1689.— John Simcock. 1690. — John Blunston, declined to serve, and William Howell •elected in his place. 1691.— John Bristow. 1692. — Samuel Levis, John Simcock. 1693-94. — George Foreman. 1695. — George Maris, one year; Caleb Pusey, two years, and David Lloyd, three years. UL Ci/JIL ^/^^(^r-^ AND ITS PEOPLE. 4^3 1696. — Jasper Yutes. 1697. — John Simcock, Caleb Pusey. 1G98. — John Simcock, David Lloyd. 1699.— Caleb Pusey, David Lloyd. 1700. — David Lloyd, three years; Caleb Pusey, two years, and John Simcock, one year. After the Surrender of the Charter. 1700. — Caleb Pusey, continued until 1715. 1702. — John Finney. Committee of Safety. 1775. — Anthony Wayne, Benjamin Bartholpmevp^, Francis Johnston, Richard Riley, and after October, the same, with Nicholas Fairlamb added. 1776. — Council of Safety, Benjamin Bartholomew. Supreme Executive Council. 1777. — John Evans and John Mackey, from November 21. 1779.— Dr. Joseph Gardner; 1782, Dr. John McDowell; 1785, Evan Evans; 1788, Col. Richard Willing. In 1789 Dr. Thomas Huston was elected, by 1,586 votes, but his claim to a seat was rejected. In 1790 the Legislature was for the first time in this State made to consist of two bodies, a Senate and a House of Repre- sentatives, and by the Constitution under which this form of gov- ernment was established, the Senate was to consist of not less than one-fourth nor more than one-third of the House. Upon its organization the Senate was composed of eighteen members; but in 1801 the number was increased to 25, in 1808 to 31, in 1822 to 33, and in 1874 to 50. Under the Constitution of 1790 the term of service was four years; under that of 1838, three years, and under that of 1874, four years. In the division of the State into districts, Chester County, from 1790 to 1808, was a district in itself, and had one 27 464 CHESTER COUNTY member; in 1808 it was united with Delaware County in one dis- trict, which was allowed two members ; in 1836 Montgomery County was added to the district, which had three members ; in 1843 Mont- gomery County was placed in another district, and Chester and Delaware Avere allowed one naember; in 1864 Montgomery County was again added and the district was allowed two members, and in 1871 Delaware and Chester again became a district, with one member. Following is a list of the members of the senate from Chester County : 1790. — Eichard Thomas, elected for four years. 1794. — Dennis Whelen, three years. 1797. — Joseph McQlellan, one year. 1798. — Dennis Whelen, four years. 1802. — John Heister, four years. 1806. — Isaac Wayne, four years. 1810. — Isaac Wayne, one year. 1811. — John Gemmill, three years. 1814. — Abraham Baily, four years. 1818. — Samuel Cochran, four years. 1820. — Isaac D. Barnard, four years. 1822. — James Kelton, four years. 1826. — Joshua Hunt, four years. 1830. — William Jackson, four years. 1834. — Francis James, four years. 1838. — Nathaniel Brooke, four years. Baily, three Williamson, Evans, three Bull, three Worthing- Worthing- 1842.— Joseph years. 1845.— William three Tears. 1851.— Henry S years. 1857.— Thomas S years. 1863.— Dr. Wilmer ton, 3 years. 1866.— Dr. Wilmer ton, three years. 1870. — Henry S. Evans, served until his death in February, 1872. 1872.— William B. Waddell, for balance of term. 1874.— Robert L. Mcaellan, two years. 1876. — James B. Everhart, four years. 1880. — James B. Everhart, four j^ears. 1884. — A. D. Harluu, six years. 1892. — S. E. Nevin, served one day. 1892.— William P. Snyder, four years. AND ITS PEOPLE. 465 COUNTY OFFICES. The county offices, those of the Prothonotary, Register of Wills, Eecorder of Deeds, Clerk of the Orphan's Court, Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions and Clerk of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, were, under the Provincial Government, filled by appointment by the proprietary^ government. Under the Consti- tution of 1776 these appointments were made by the Supreme Executive Council and General Assembly. Under the Constitu- tion of 1790 they were made by the Governor, and under the Constitution of 1838 they became elective. From 1777 to 1821 the offices of prothonotary and clerk of the Orphans' Court and of the Courts of Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer were filled by the same persons, and from 1821 to 1824 one person was prothonotary and clerk of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and one person was clerk of the Court of Quarter! Sessions and of the Orphans' Court. From 1777 to 1824 the same person held the offices of register of wills and re- corder of deeds. From 1824 to 1836 the same persons held the offices of prothonotary and clerk of the Courts of Quarter Ses- sions and Oyer and Terminer, and from 1824 to 1828 the same person held the offices of clerk of the Orphans' Court and register of wills. From 1828 to 1886 the office of clerk of the Orphan' Court was separate from any other office. From 1824 to the present time the office of recorder of deeds has been separate from other offices, and the same is true of the office of register of wills since 1828. From 1836 to the pres- ent time the office of prothonotary has been separate from others, and the offices of clerk of the Orphans' Court and of the Courts of Quarter Sessions and Oyer and Terminer have been filled by the same person. PROTHONOTARY . Previous to 1777 the prothonotary was generally the clerk of the Quarter Sessions and of the Orphans' Court. Robert Asshe- 466 CHESTER COUNTY ton was commissioned prothonotary in 1712; Joseph Parker, pro- thonotary and clerk of the peace, in 1733, and Henry Hale Graham, prothonotary, clerk of the Courts and recorder, in 1770. Since 1777 the prothonotary has been as follows : Benjamin Jacobs, March 22, 1777, to April 4, 1777; Caleb Davis, appointed June 20, 1777; William Gibbons, appointed in 1791; Daniel Heister, Januaiy 6, 1800; Jesse John, February 1, 1809; John G. Wersler, March, 25, 1818; Thomas Davis, February 29, 1821; William Williamson, January 17, 1824; David Town- send, August 3, 1827; Dr. William Darlington, August 17, 1827; John W. Cunningham, February 15, 1830; Benjamin I. Miller, January 26, 1836; Samuel Pinkerton, appointed February 2, 1839, elected under Constitution of 1838, and commissioned November 4, 1839; Abner M. Chamberlain, November 12, 1842; James Davis, November 17, 1845; Samuel B. Thomas, November 25, 1848; Wil- liam Wollerton, November 22, 1851; James Bayard Jefferis, No- vember 10, 1854; Jacob Gillough, November 10, 1857; Emmor B. Lamborn, November 19, 1860; Franklin Haines, November 16, 1863; Alfred Kupert, November 16, 1866; Seneca G. Willauer, No- vember 20, 1869; John A. Rupert, November 19, 1872; Hannum Baldwin, December 28, 1875; James Lynch, December 28, 1878; Davis K. Loomis, in 1881; Jeremiah T. Carpenter, in 1884; William P. Snyder, in 1887; David a Windle in 1890; Elisha G. Cloud, in 1893, and E. D. Baldwin, the present incumbent, in 1896. REGISTERS OF WILLS. Previous to 1714 all wills made in Chester County were taken to the office of the register-general in Philadelphia and there filed. In 1712 an act of assembly directed the appointment of deputies in each county; but even such appointments were made many wills from Chester County, especially from the northeastern part, continued to be taken to Philadelphia, almost down to the time of the Revolution. Following are the names of the deputy-registers for Chester County for the times given: AXD ITS PEOPLE. 467 John Simcock, from 1714 to May, 1716. Joseph Parker, August 11, 1716, to January 12, 1759. Henry Hale Graham, March 5, 1759, to February 13, 1777. Following is a list of the Eegisters of Wills from March 25, 1777, to the present time, together with the dates of their several commi ssions : Thomas Taylor, March 25, 1777. John Beaton, April 6, 1782. Persifor Frazer, April 8, 1786. Stephen iloylan, April 7, 1792. John Hannum, Dec. 13, 1793. Richard M. Hannum, December 6, 1798. John Christie, January 6, 1800. James Bones, Feb. 22, 1804. John Smith, January 12, 1806. Charles Kenny, Jan. 12, 1809. Jesse Sharp, March 25, 1818. > Daniel Heister, Feb. 28, 1821. ' Joseph Pearce, Jan. 17, 1824. i Eber Worthington, April 23 1828. Robert Ralston, Feb. 15, 1830. %«• Nimrod Strickland, April 20, 1833. James Walker, Jan. 26, 1836. Jesse Coulson, Feb. 2, 1839. George AY. Parke, November 12, 1842. Henry Buckwalter, November 17, 1845. William Baker, Nov. 25, 1848. Alexander Leslie, November 22, 1851. Hickman James, November 10, 1854. Aniariah Strickland, November 10, 1857. Dr. Charles L. Seal, November 10, 1860. George C. M. Eicholts, Novem- ber 17, 1863. Hampton S. Thomas, November - ' 14, 1866. > Levi G. McCauley, Nov. 20, ,., 1869. I Lewis H. Evans, Nov. 19, 1872. -= George H. Paxton, December 28, 1875. AA'illiam S. Underwood, Decem- ber 30, 1878. 1881, B. Frank Widdicombe. B. Tevis Hoopes, in 1884. Nathan J. Waitneight, in 1887. Frank A. Thomas, in 1890. Jesse J. Hickman, in 1893, and William Eachus, the present incumbent, in 1896. RECORDERS OF DEEDS. The first deed recorded in Chester County was a grant from Urin Keen for a lot on which stood Chester jMeeting-house, the date of the deed being March 1, 1688, and "Inrooled" on the 10th of the same month. There were but few documents recorded pre- vious to July 1, 1688. Following is a list of those who ha^e held the office of recorder of deeds from 1688 to 1898: 468 CHESTER COUNTY John Bristow, about March 10, Joshua Fearne, March 25, 1691.. 1688. John Childe, January 3, 1695. Kobert Eyre, March 26, 1693. Peter Erans, April 17, 1706. Henry Hollingsworth, October 10, 1700. John Simcock, January 28, 1707, and on the 24th of Febru- ary, 1707-08, his commission was read in open court. At the ses- sion of the assembly of 1714-15 an act was passed, making the prothonotary or county clerk of Chester County the recorder of deeds until he should be removed by the Court of Quarter Ses- sions, his bond being fixed at £200. At this time John Simcock, who, it will have been seen, filled at one time or another most of the offices in the county, was still recorder of deeds, and it is thought he was succeeded in 1716 by George Yeates, he being clerk of the courts in 1717. Eichard Marsden, who was employed in the office as clerk as early as 1716, was either clerk or deputy clerk from 1719 to 1723, and in 1724 Joseph Parker became clerk and continued in office until 1766, when he died. Henry Hale Graham then became recorder and held the office until 1777. Since then the following persons have held the office, the dates of their commissions being given in connection Avith their names: Thomas Taylor, March 25, 1777. Persifor Frazer, April 8, 1786. John Hannum, Dec. 13, 1793. John Beaton, April 6, 1782. Stephen Moylan, April 7, 1792. Eichard M. Hannum, December 6, 1798. John Christie, January 6, 1800. James Bones, Feb. 22, 1804. John Smith, January 12, 1806. Charles Kennv, Jan. 12, 1809. Jesse Sharp, March 25, 1818. Daniel Hiester, Feb. 28, 1821. Nimrod Strickland, February 15, 1830. Eobert Ealston, April 29, 1833. Stephen Marshall, Jan. 17, 1831. Edward Bartholomew, January 26, 1836. George Hartman, Feb. 2, 1839. Abner Williams, Nov. 12, 1842. William McCullough, Novem- ber 17, 1845. Edward H. Hibbard, Nov. 25, 1848. Thomas Walter, Nov. 22, 1851. Eobert F. Hoopes, Nov. 10, 1854. Thomas S. Taylor, Nov. 10, 1857. Jonas G. Bossart, Nov. 19, 1860. David Andrews, Nov. 17, 1863. Dilwyn Parker, Nov. 14, 1866. John A. Groff, Nov. 20, 1869. C. Burleigh Hambleton, Novem- ber 19, 1872. 'AND ITS PEOPLE. 469 Edwin Bateman, Dec. 22, 1875. t Hugh Kenworthy, Jr., in 1880, Franklin P. Ash, Dec. 18, 1877. 1 and Harry Sloyer, Dec. 13, 1880. ;-^ Samuel Ivison, Jr., in 1892. Richard H. Plank, in 1883. ;• Thomas D. Grover, the present Sharpless M. Paxson, in 1886. incumbent, in 1895. CLERK OF COURTS. The first sitting- of the Upland Court, of which there is any record, was held November 1, 1670, and at this time it was ordered that Mr. William Tom, the former "clarke," should deliver unto the clerk at that time, Ej^hraim Herman, the records and other public books and writings belonging to the court. Since March i, 1681, the date of the charter for Pennsylvania, the following ha^e been clerks of courts: Thomas Eevell, September 13, 1681, to August 22, 1683; Octo- ber 17, 1683, to December, 1689; Joshua Fearne, September, 1690, to April 18, 1693; John Childe, June 13, 1693, to March, 1699-1700; Henry Hollingsworth, June 11, 1700, to February 22, 1708-09; -John Simcock, May 24, 1709, to about 1716; George Yeates, 1717; Richard Marsden, clerk or deputy, 1719 to 1723; Joseph Parker, 1721 to about 1766; Henry Hale Graham, 1706 to 1777. Since that time the dates of the commissions of those holding office have been as follows: Caleb Davis, clerk of all the courts, July 1, 1777; William Gibbons, the same, 1791; Daniel Hiester, the same, January 6, 1800; Jesse John, same, February 1, 1809; .John G. Wersler, same, March 25, 1818; Thomas Davis, of Oyer and Terminer, February 28, 1821 ; Henry Fleming, of Orphans' Court and Quarter Sessions, February 28, 1821; William Williamson, Oyer and Terminer and Quarter Sessions, January 17, 1824; Joseph Pearce, Orphans' Court, January 17, 1824; Joseph Pearce, Orphans' Court, Decem- ber 21, 1826; David Townsend, Oyer and Terminer and Quarter Sessions, August 3, 1827; Dr. William Darlington, Oyer and Ter- miner and Quarter Sessions, August 17, 1827; Simeon Siegfried, 470 CHESTER COUNTY Oi^phans' Court, April 23, 1828; John W. Ounninghani, Oyer and Terminer and Quarter Sessions, February 15, 1830; George Fisher, Orphans' Court, February 15, 1830; John W. Cunningham, Oyer and Terminer and Quarter Sessions, April 29, 1833; George Fisher, Orphans' Court, April 29, 1833; P. Frazer Smith, Orphans' Court, May 2, 1835; Horatio G. Worrall, of all the courts, January 26, 1836; James M. Kinnard, of all the courts, February 2, 1839; James M. Kinnard, elected and commissioned November 14, 1839; Oheyney Melds, commissioned November 12, 1842; Alexander Marshall, November 17, 1845; Thomas P. William, November 25, 1848; James Sweney, November 22, 1851; Thomas W. Parker, November 10, 1854; Addis M. Ayars, November 10, 1857; Thomas P. Evans, November 19, 1860; Thomas H. Windle, November 17, 1863; James E. McFarlan, November 16, 1866; William H. Guie, November 20, 1869; James H. Wynn, November 19, 1872, died October 31, 1874; William W. Scott, appointed to the vacancy, February 17, 1875; William W. Scott, elected in November, 1875, commissioned December 22, 1875; Pierce Hoopes, Jr., December 30, 1878; Edward Paist, in 1881; Davis O. Taylor, in 1884; Thomas W. Tayloi', in 1887; H. Morgan Euth, in 1889; Elias Bair, in 1893, and R. Jones Patrick, the pi'esent clerk, in 1896. SHERIFFS. The Dutch, while they exercised jurisdiction on the Delaware, had an officer which they called a "schout," who performed offices similar to those of a sheriff under the English system of govern- ment. And Governor Lovelace granted a commission to Herman Frederickson as schout at the Hoare-Kill, and notwithstanding that at a council held at Fort James May 17, 1672, it was agreed that the office of schout should be converted into that of a sheriff for the corporation, and that the sheriff should be chosen annually, yet the name was not dropped, for on August 1, 1672, Governor Lovelace signed the following order: AXD ITS PEOPLE. 47 1 "Upon the return of a double number from the inhabitants at the Whorekill, in Delaware Bay, for Schout and Comisary, I do approve of Hermans Frederick Wilbank to be Schout, and of Ottho Wolgast, William Claessen, and Isaac Savo to be Comisarys for the space of one year ensuing, after which time they are to make a new return." And as Edmond Cautwell was one of the two persons returned to the Governor of whom to choose the high sheriff, Mr. Cantwell was chosen for that office, and appointed to be high sheriff in place of the schout, and he was to enjoy all the perquisities and priv ileges of a schout This appointment was made August 2, 1672. Captain Cautwell was also authorized to receive the arrears of rents, in the place of William Tom, who had been commissioned receiver of quit-rents August 10, 1669, but had resigned. The Dutch having resumed control on the Delaware in 1673, Peter Alrichs was apjjointed schout; but this arrangement did not last more than a year before the English again became rulers on the Delaware and Captain Cantwell was appointed sheriff, serving from 1676 to 1681, when Governor Markham arrived and John Test became sheriff, and served until the arrival of William Penn. Under the "Charter of Privileges," granted by Penn in 1701, each county was authorized to present tAVO persons to the proprie- tary for the office of sheriff, one of whom he Tyas to commission for three years, which arrangement continued until the adoption of the Constitution of 1776, which provided that in each county .two per- sons should be annuall}' elected, one of whom should be commis- sioned by the President of the State. Under the constitution the commission to the sheriff was issued by the Governor for three years. Under the amended Constitution of 1838 one person was elected in each county. Following is a list of the sheriffs of Chester County, believed to be nearly correct, from 1076 to the present time: 472 CHESTER COUNTY N Capt. Edmund Cantwell, 16TG. John Test, 1681-82. Thomas Usher, 1682-83. Thomas Withers, Dec, 1683-S-i. Thomas Usher, June, 1686, to April, 1687. George Foreman, 1689 to 1692. Joseph Wood, 1693 to 1697. John Hoskins, 1701 to 1708. John Hoskins, 1709. Nicholas Fairlamb, 1717 to 1719. John Taylor, 1721 to 1728. John Parry, 1732 to 1734. John Parry, 1738 to 1739 John Owen, 1743 to 1745. John Owen, 1749 to 1751. John Fairlamb, 1755 to 1758. John Fairlamb, 1762 to 1763. John Morton, 1766 to 1768. Henry Hayes, 1772 to 1733. Eobert Smith, 1777. Eobert Smith, Xov. 21, 1778. John Gardner, October 19, 1780. Ezekiel Leonard, Oct. 13, 1780. Joseph McClellan, Oct. 13, 1792. AMlliam Worthington, October 13, 1798. James Kelton, October 21, 1801. Titus Taylor, October 22, 1807. Jesse Good, October 22, 1813. Samson Babb, October 21, 1819. Jonathan Jones, Oct. 29, 1825. Peter Osborne, Oct. 28, 1831. Joseph Taylor, Oct. 24, 1837. Nathan Frame, Nov. 1, 1843. James Bayard Wood, November 7, 1844. David Bishop, Oct, 30, 1850. David McNutt, Oct. 20, 1856. Kees Welsh, November 7, 1862. De Witt Clinton Lewis, Novem- ber 2, 1868. William B. Morrison, January 2, 1875. George E. Hoopes, Dec. 30, 1880. Benjamin Irey, in 1886; killed on his first day's work. William Gallagher, in 1887. Jeremy Collett, 1684-85. Joshua Feame, 1687 to 1689. Caleb Pusey, 1692 to 1693. Andrew Job, 1697 to iVui. John Simcock, 1708. Henry Worley, 1715. John Crosby, 1720. John Owen, 1729 to 1731. John Owen, 1735 to 1737. Benjamin Davis, 1740 to 1742. Benjamin Davis, 1746 to 1748. Isaac Pearson, 1752 to 1754. Benjamin Davis, 1759 to 1761. Philip Ford, lT(i4 to 1766. Jesse Maris, 1769 to 1771. Nathaniel Yernon, 1774 to 1775. Charles Dilworth, Oct. 17, 1778. David Mackey, October 16, 1779. ^^'illiam Gibbons, Oct. 20, 1783. Charles Dilworth, Oct. 17, -1789. Ezekiel Leonard, Oct. 17, 1793. James Bones, April 17, 1801. Jesse John, October 16, 1704. George Hartman, Oct. 25, 1810. Cromwell Pearce, Oct. 19, 1816. Jesse Sharp, October 15, 1822. Oliver Alison, October 30, 1828. Robert Irwin, October 25, 1834. William Eogers, Xov. 9, 1840. Clinton Frame, March 20, 1844. Brinton Darlington, October 21, 1847. Lewis Heffelfinger, November 4, 1853. Jacob HeffelUnger, November 8, 1859. Pusey J. Nichols, Nov. 3, 1865. Davis Gill, November 1, 1871. James E. McFarlan, December 31, 1877. William Baker, in 1883. AND ITS PEOPLE. 473 George E. Hoopes, appointed in 1887. James G. Parker, in 1890. Alexander H. Ingram, in 1893. Robert L. Hayes, the present in- cumbent, in 1896. The several coroners, or, as they were sometimes called in early days, the "crowners," so far as has been ascertained, have been as follows since 1684: CORONERS. James Kenela, 1684. Henry Worley, 1710. Robert Barber, October 4, 1721. Robert Parke, October 3, 172S. John Wharton, October 3, 1730. John Wharton, October 4, 1734. Aubrey Bevan, October 4, 1738. Joshua Thomson, Oct. 3, 1751. Joshua Thomson, Oct. 3, 1753. Davis Bevan, October 4, 1763. John Trapnall, May 27, 1766. John Crosby, Jr., Oct. 5, 1771. David Denny, Nov. 21, 1778. Benjamin Rue, October 12, 1782. Isaac Thomson, Oct. 14, 1785. John Underwood, Oct. 15, 1787. James Bones, Dec. 19, 1794. Jacob Righter, Nov. 4, 1800. Ephraim Bufiington, October 31, 1805. Joseph Pearce, Dec. 2, 1811. Joel C. Bailey, October 23, 1817. Emmor Bradley, Nov. 25, 1823. Davis Brooke, Nov. 5, 1829. Thomas Ervin, Nov. 6, 1835. Hezekiah Jackson, in 1841. Thomas Walker, in 1847. Hashabiah demons, in 1853. Benjamin F. Smith, in 1859. William H. Turner, in 1869. Joseph B. Smith, in 1872. Barclay Lear, in 1878. Ernest White, in 1884 and 1887. C. G. Troutman, the present in- cumbent, in 1896. Jacob Simcock, 1696. Henry Holliugsworth, 1707. Jonas Sandelands, commission dated October 3, 1717. John Meudenhall, Oct, 4, 1726. Abraham Darlington, October 4, 1729. Anthony Shaw, October 3, 1732. Stephen Hoskins, Oct. 4, 1737. Isaac Lee, October 4, 1746. John Kerlin, October 4, 1752. Philip Furd, May 22, 1761. Abel Janney, October 4, 1765. Joseph Gibbons, Jr., October 4, 1768. John Bryan, October 4, 1773. Allen Cunningham, October 19, 1780. John Harper, October 20, 1783. John Harper, October 13, 1786. Nathan Scholfield, October 717, 1789. Josliua Weaver, July 16, 1798. Robert Miller, October 27, 1803. Jacob Righter, Dec. 8, 1808. Jesse McCall, Dec. 15, 1814. Emmor Bradley, Nov. 9, 1820. Anthony W. o'lwine, 1826. Benjamin J. Passmore, Novem- ber 3, 1833. William Taggart, Oct. 30, 1838. 474 CHESTER COUNTY Daniel Melds, in 1844. William V. Rambo, 1875. David Williams, in 1850. W^illiam Mercer, in 1881. Eobert McNeely, in 1856. J. Jones McFadger, in 1890 and Joseph W. Barnard, appointed 1898. in 1862, and elected in 1863 and in 1866. Of tlie above-named coroners it is proper to note that John Harper was in office when the county-seat was removed from Chester to West Chester, an account of which is presented in another portion of this work, and that he was opposed to the removal, because he had property in Chester and naturally pre- ferred to remain there. It is also said that he had command of the belligerent forces that came over to the Turk's Head, with the view of demolishing the county buildings then in course of erection. AfterT\^ard he removed to West Chester, and for some time kept the famous Turk's Head Hotel. COMMISSIONERS. It is probable that the officers called "commissioners," in the early history of the county, performed duties somewhat different from those performed by the county commissioners of the present time. The earliest legislation found regarding commissioners was an act passed February 28, 1710-11, entitled "An act empowering commissioners to compel the collection of all arrearages of former taxes, of which the following language is a part: "Be it enacted by the honorable Charles Gookin, Esquire, by the Queen's Royal approval Lieutenant-Governor under the hon- orable William Penn, Esquire, absolute proprietary and governor- in-chief of the Province of Pennsylvania, etc., and by and with the advice and consent of the freemen of the said Province in general assembly met, and by the authority of the same, that in each re- spective county of this Province the persons hereafter named shall be commissioners for putting this act into execution: That is to say * * * for the county of Chester, Nathaniel Xewlin, Rich- AND ITS PEOPLE. 47 S ard Webb and Isaac Taylor, who are hereby empowered and required to meet together on the 13th day of the month of March, 1710, at the place where the respective courts of the county are held," that is, at the county seat, and they were empowered to call before them all collectors and receivers and all other officers and persons whatsoever who had been employed in the assessing, lev^'^- ing and gathering the rates and assessments aforesaid, and to cause them and every one of them to make and give a true and perfect account of all and every the aforesaid rates and assess- ments, etc. On the same day an act was passed entitled, "An act for rais- ing a supplj' of two pence per pound and eight shillings per head," under which for Chester County Jasper Yeates, Caleb Pusey, Nicholas Pile and Henry Peirce, or any two of them, were ap- pointed to put the act into execution. An act was passed February 22, 1717-18, entitled, "An act for the more effectual raising of the county rates and levies," ap- parently never submitted to the consideration of the crown, under which for the County of Chester, David Lloyd, Nathaniel Newlin, John Wood and Henry Miller were appointed commissioners to put the act into execution; and still later an act was passed, March 20, 1724-25, which was apparently not considered by the Crown, entitled, "An act for raising the county rates," which pro- vided "that the present commissioners for putting the said act into execution together wit.h the assessors of the respective counties of Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks, now in being, shall continue iu their several places and execute the powers and authorities giveu and required of them by the same acts for and during all the time thej^ were respectively appointed to serve according to the direc- tion of those acts." The duties of commissioners in the first place was probably the same as those performed by justices and the grand jury, and later by the grand jury and assessors. It is also probable that 476 CHESTER COUNTY four commissioners were elected to serve one year, for in January, 1721-22, when a supplementary tax bill was under consideration it was ordered that the three eldest commissioners in Philadelphia County, the two first named in Chester County and the first named in Bucks County, should be discharged on September 30, 1722, and that on October 1, that year, one commissioner should be. elected to take their places. A petition from Chester County was read February 28, 1721-22, praying that the county levy might be repealed, or that three commissioners might be elected yearly. On March 1 (the next day), petitions from the other counties were read, and the bill was read for the third time. And it was enacted that three commis- sioners should be elected annually on October 1. The act as finally passed enacted that one commissioner should be elected annually. And the act referred to above, passed March 20, 1724-25, provided that the newly elected commissioner and the assessors should take the following qualification of oath: "Thou Shalt well and truly cause the county debts to be speedily adjusted and the rates and sums of money by virtue of this act imposed, to be dxily and equally assessed and laid accord- ing to the best of thy skill and knowledge; and herein thou shalt spare no person for favor nor affection, nor grieve any for hatred nor ill-will." By this act the commissioners were required to issue precepts to the constables, requiring them to make return to the assessors of the names and estates of the inhabitants, and the assessors were required to lay the rates thereon. Following is a list of the commissioners since 1721, with the dates of their appointment or election : 1721, David Lloyd, John Wood, Nathaniel Newlin, Henry Miller; 1722, Kobert Pyle; 1723, Nathaniel Newlin; 1724, Samuel Hollingsworth; 1725, Kobert Pyle; 1726, Isaac Taylor; 1727, Wil- liam Webb; 1728, Henry Miller, Evan Lewis; 1729, Samuel Nutt; AND ITS PEOPLE. 477 1730, Evan Lewis; 1731, Jacob Howell; 1732, Samuel Lewis; 1733, George Aston; 1734, John Davis; 1735, Eichard Jones; 1736, Sam- uel LigMfoot; 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 Bun- tinm, vice Thomas Pennell, deceased; 1751, William Lewis; 1752, John Fairlamb; 1753, Eobert 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 Brice; 1764, Ben- jamin Bartholomew; 1765, Eichard Baker; 1766, John Davis; 1767, Eobert Pennell; 1768, John Webster; 17^9, John Evans; 1770, Jesse Bonsall; 1771, Eobert Mendenhall; 1772, John Fleming; 1773, Thomas Levis; 1774, Thomas Taylor; 1775, William Evans; 1776, Sketchley Morton; 1777, David Cloyd; 1778, Andrew Boyd; 1779, Benjamin Brannan; 1780, John Bartholomew; 1781, Joseph Strawbridge; 1782, Caleb James; 1783, John Davis; 1784, Joseph McClellan; 1785, Caleb James; 1786, Caleb North; 1787, John Worth; 1788, Joseph Gibbons; 1789, James Moore; 1790, Elijah McClenachan; 1791, John Mecham; 1792, Wiliam Trimble, Jr.;, 1793, Samuel Cochran; 1794, George Davis; 1795, George Miller; 1796, James Kelton; 1797, William Eogers; 1798, Even Evans; 1799, John Menough; 1800, Titus Taylor; 1801, John Einehart; 1802, John Eamsey; 1803, Thomas Taylor; 1804, James Lockhart; 1805, John G. Parke; 1806, Joshua Gibbons; 1807, David Denny; 1808, Jesse Good; 1809, William Evans; 1810, David Wilson; 1811, James Eamsey; 1812, Eber Worthington; 1813, David Townsend; 1814, Alexander Chandler; 1815, Jesse Mercer; 1816, Samuel Bald- win; 1817, Maris Taylor; 1818, Joshua Weaver; 1819, Benjamin Thomas; 1820, Jesse Pugh; 1821, Isaac Trimble; 1822, James Davis; 1823, Abisha Clark; 1824, Ezra Cope; 1825, Joseph Hughes; 1826, 478 CHESTER COUNTY Benjamin Parker; 1827, Isaac Thomas; 1828, Melchi Happersett 1829, James Alexander; 1830, George Gregg; 1831, Evan Evans 1832, Joseph Wood; 1833, Walker Yarnall (Eber Worthington ap pointed in place of George Gregg, deceased); 1834, John Malin 1835, Alexander Oorrey; 1836, Elijah Lewis; 1837, John Beidler 1838, John W. Passmore; 1839, Eibbard Evans; 1840, John Tem pleton; 1841, Hatton Mercer; 1842, John Worth; 1843, Mordecai Lee; 1844, Enos Pennock; 1845, Smith Sharpless; 1846, David Byerly; 1847, Daniel Thompson; 1848, John Hannum; 1849, Kees Welsh; 1850, Joel Thompson; 1851, Thomas Vendever; 1852, Jacob Kulp; 1853, Newton I. Nichols; 1854, Albert Way; 1855, William G. Martland; 1856, Joseph Eussell; 1857, Titns W. Gheen; 1858, Benjamin Ilartman; 1859, Caleb Windle; 1860, Thomas Bateman; 1861, Joseph G. King; 1862, Andrew Mitchell; 1863, Lorenzo Beck; 1864, Levi H. Grouse; 1865, Thomas H. Charlton, by appointment to fill vacancy caused by Andrew Michell's death, and in 1865, Thomas M. Charlton by election for three years; 1866, Joseph F, Hill; 1867, Joseph Doan; 1868, Washington Haggerty; 1869, C. Marshall Ingram; 1870, Nathan G. Grimm; 1871, Alfred Wood; 1872, Matthew Barker; 1873, John Irey; 1874, David Eamsey; 1875, David Eamsey, John Irey, John McWilliams; 1878, Jacob M. Zook, William M. Elliott, Edwin Otley; 1881, Joseph T. Eeyn- olds, Wellington C. James, Walter McFeat; 1884, Thomas Mercer, Samuel Whitson, G. Washington Beerbower; 1887, Thomas Mer- cer, Samuel D. White, Ebenezer D. Johnson; 1890, Samuel D. White, J. Harrison Eennard, D. Morgan Cox; 1893, Davis W. En- trekin, E. Thomas Garrett, John S. Mullen; 1896, E. Thomas Gar- rett, D. E. Chambers, Townsend Mouler. COUNTY TREASURERS. Following is a list of the county treasurers since 1695 : 1695, Jeremiah Collett; 1697, Walter Marten; 1704, Caleb Pusey; 1706, Walter Marten; 1720, Henry Pierce; 1724, Philip AND ITS PEOPLE. 481 Taylor; 1740, Joseph Brinton; 1756, Eobert Miller; 1761, Humphrey Marshall; 1765, Jesse Maris, Jr.; 1766, Lewis Davis; 1770, James Gibbons; 1775, Philip Taylor; 1776, John Brinton; 1778, Thomas Levis; 1779, William Evans; 1780, Persifor Frazer; 1781, David Cloyd; 1785, Andrew Boyd and David Oloyd; 1786, William Evans; 1788, Andrew Boyd; 1786, William Haslitt; 1791, John Hannum; 1793, Elijah McClanachan; 1794, John Mecham; 1795, William Trimble; 1796, Samuel Cochran; 1797, George Davis; 1798, Eobert Miller; 1799, James Kelton; 1801, Evan Evans; 1802, John Men- ough;1803, Titus Taylor; 1804, William Worthington; 1806, John Einehart; 1807, James Lockhart; 1808, John G. Parke; 1809, Joshua Gibbons; 1810, David Denny; 1811, Jesse Good; 1812, William Evans; 1813, David Wilson; 1814, John Eamsey; 1815,. Eber Worthington; 1816, David Townsend; 1817, Alexander Chan- dler; 1818, Jesse Mercer; 1819, Samuel Baldwin; 1820, Maris Tay- lor; 1821, Joshua Weaver; 1822, Benjamin Thomas; 1823, Jesse Pugh; 1824, Eobert Miller; 1826, James Davis; 1827, Abisha Clark; 1828, Ezra Cope; 1829, Joshua Hughes; 1830, Benjamin Parker; 1832, Melchi Happersett; 1833, James Alexander; 1834, Abraham Darlington; 1835, Joseph B. Jacobs; 1837, William Embree; 1840, Samuel M. Painter; 1842, S. C. Jefferis; 1843, Samuel M. Palter, appointed in place of S. C. Jefferis, deceased; 1844, Morgan Eeese; 1846,, James M. Hughes; 1848, Samuel Davis; 1850, George W. Pearce; 1852, Henry Beidler; 1854, Samuel Wickersham; 1856, Townsend Walter; 1858, Charles Fairlamb; 1860, Joseph I, Tustin; 1862, Eeuben Bernard; 1864, C. H. Kinnard; 1866, John T. Potts; 1868, Philip Price; 1870, Edwin Baker; 1872, Frank Shellady; 1874, Jesse E. Phillips; 1875, John G. Moses; 1878, John H. Buck- waiter; 1881, Emmor G. Griffith; 1884, David Cope; 1887, Eobert L. Hayes; 1890, Wilmer E. Pennypacker; 1893, Joel B. Pusey, and 1896, E. Vinton Philips. The Prohibition County convention held meetings May 10, 1898, with John Flint, chairman. They named Eichard T. Ogden 28 482 CHESTER COVNTTi I ' of Swarthmore, Delaware County, as their candidate for Con- gress, and the following executive committee was chosen: Harry L. Skeen, Downington; Granville Tyson, Spring City; James D. Peck, West Whiteland; J. H. Barp, Kennett Square; Dr. Levi Hoopes, West Chester; Kev. Alford Kelley, Frazer; J, H. Broom- all, Upper Oxford; Mordecai T. Bartram, Willistown, and J. E. Diverty, Phoenixville. The convention expressed themselves a» being in favor of Dr. Silas C. Swallow for Governor, and adopted the following platform : "We, the members of the Prohibition party of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in County Convention assembled, renewing our acknowledgment of and allegiance to Almighty God as the right- ■ f ul ruler of the universe, declare as follows : "First. We reaffirm our approval of the platform and declara- tions of the National and State Conventions. "Second. We declare ourselves as opposed to all forms of wrong everywhere, and hope suffering Cuba may gain her free- dom and independence, and that Sur flag may soon cease to pro- tect the saloon and all other evils. "Third. We instruct the delegates to-day elected to the State Convention to use their best endeavor to secure the nomination of Eev. Dr. Silas C. Swallow for Governor, believing he eminently represents the principles of the Prohibition party, and commands the entire respect and confidence of all good citizens of our State, to the end that his election would secure an honest and economical administration of State affairs." In closing this chapter on the politics of the county it is neces- sary to present the result of the Republican Convention held in West Chester, June 7, 1898. It is well known that the Kepub- „lican party in Pennsylvania is divided into two factions — Quay and Anti-Quay — and this is, of course, the case in each county. The convention was held in the opera-house and was under the control of the Quay faction. The ticket nominated was as follows : AND ITS PEOPLE. 483 Congress, Thomas S. Butler, West Chester; Legislature (East- ern District), D. Smith Talbot, West Chester; Northern District, William P, Corwell, East Coventry; Western District, James G. Fox, Cain Township; Southern District, Evan B. Evans, Penn Township; Eecorder of Deeds, Oscar E. Thomson, Phoenixville; Director of the Poor, Samuel Wickersham (Anti-Quay), New Gar- den, and county surveyor, Walter A. McDonald, West Chester. Following is the platform adopted by this convention: First. The Eepublican party of Chester County at the convention assembled ratifies and reaffirms the doctrines enun- ciated by the Eepublican National platform adopted at St. Louis in 1896 and the Eepublican State platform adopted in Harrisburg in 1898. Second. We declare our emphatic approval of the wise and patriotic course of President McKinley in his general administra- tion of the affairs of the Government, and we pledge to the admin- istration and to Congress our universal support in the wise and proper course which they are pursuing in the defense of humanity and the honor of the nation. Third. We congratulate Pennsylvania's representatives in the United States Senate and our member of Congress from the Sixth Pennsylvania District upon the support which they are giv- ing to the National Adminstration during this critical period. Fourth. We congratulate the Eepublican State Convention upon its selection of standard bearers of unimpeachable personal character and worth to lead the party to victory in the coming campaign and pledge to the Eepublican party the usual majority from Chester County. I'OPULATION OF CHESTER COUNTY. The following table shows the population of the county from 1790 to 1890, both years inclusive, according to the various cen- suses : 484 CHESTER COUNTY Year. White. Colored. Total. 1790 27,249 688 27,937 1800 30,902 1,191 32,093 1810 37,775 1,821 39,596 1820 41,710 2,741 44,451 1830 47,911 2,999 50,910 1840 53,372 4,143 57,515 1850 61,215 5,223 66,438 1860 68,671 5,907 74,578 1870 71,569 6,233 77,802 1880 76,402 7,073 83,475 1890 81,695 7,682 89,377 According to the Census of 1830 there were then five slaves in Chester County, three of whom were under twenty-eight years of age. This was somewhat of a surprise to a portion of the people, although it need not to have been, for from 1780 to 1830 was only fifty years, and in 1780 there were slaves that were very young, one at least that was only one month old, and female slaves of this age in 1780 might have become mothers late enough to have had children not yet twenty-eight years old in 1830. Following is the census table for the townships, boroughs and a portion of the villages of the county in 1880 and 1890 : Townships, etc. 1880. 1890. Atglen 347 397 Birmingham 503 458 East Bradford 1,480 1,043 West Bradford 1,620 1,281 East Brandywine 1,011 995 West Bradford 874 723 Cain 863 1,053 East Cain 539 256 West Cain 1,275 1,146 Charlestown 902 790 Coatesville 2,766 3,680 East Ward 1,426 Middle Ward 1,630 West Ward 624 East Coventry 1,259 1,219 AND ITS PEOPLE. 485 Township, etc. 1880 1890. North Coventry 1,441 1,605 South Coventry 569 495 Downingtown 1,480 1,920 East Ward 872 West Ward 1,048 Basttown 845 1,082 Elk 830 789 East Fallowfield 1,461 1,505 West Fallowfield 1,048 1,039 Franklin 966 791 East Goshen 724 684 West Goshen 1,133 1,111 Highland 896 910 Honey brook Tovpnship, including borough 1,849 1,876 Honeybrook Borough 470 514 Hopewell 216 213 Kennett Square 1,021 1,326 Kennett 1,247 1,185 London Britain 621 607 Londonderry 727 671 1 Londongrove 2,148 2,613 Malvern 641 East Marlborough 1,337 1,327 West Marlborough 1,146 1,041 New Garden 1,942 2,126 Newlin 779 680 New London 891 789 East Nantmeal 936 837 West Nantmeal 1,027 995 East Nottingham 1,351 1,305 West Nottingham 864 817 Oxford 1,502 1,711 Lower Oxford 1,429 1,384 Upper Oxford 1,696 1,096 Parkesburg 817 1,514 Pennsbury 795 773 Penn 739 632 Phoenixville 6,682 8,514 Wardl 1,801 Ward 2 1,086 Ward 3 2,127 Ward 4 1,724 Ward 5 1,176 486 CHESTER COUNTY Township,, letc. 1880. 1890. Pocopson 564 513 East Pikeland 804 823 West Pikeland 1,005 664 Sadsbury 749 843 West Sadsbury 693 774 Schuylkill 1,416 1,254 Spring City 1,112 1,797 Thornbury 262 251 Tredyffrin 1,975 2,549 Upper Uwchlan 848 824 Uwchlan 698 684 : Valley 1,07^ 1,187 Bast Vincent 1,252 1,285 West Vincent 1,238 1,081 Wallace 711 662 Warwick 1,267 1,487 Westchester 7,046 8,028 East Ward 2,157 Northward 1,324 ; South Ward 2,314 West Ward 2,233 Westtown 848 89S East Whiteland 1,273 1,157 West Whiteland 1,345 1,096 Willistown, together with Malvern. 1,620 1,390 CHAPTER XII. ROADS. CHAPTER XII. ROADS INDIAN TRAILS THE FIRST — THE UPLAND COURT'S ORDER OLD- METHOD OF MAKING ROADS — PETITIONS, ETC. — MANY ROADS VIEWED — ROAD DISTRICTS BRIDGES AND FERRIES — TURNPIKES — TAVERNS AND TOLL HOUSES PLANK ROADS STAGE ROUTES RAILROADS — LEGISLATIVE ACTS CANALS — CHAR- TERS THE FIRST TRACKS RIVAL PRO- JECTS SUBSEQUENT RAILWAYS. THE making of roads in any country is a matter of great importance. In the United States good roads have, as a matter of necessity, come slowly, because of the great extent of the country, of the poverty of the people and the great cost of such highways. The first roads in the country were the Indian trails, and in many cases more modern roads, even the railroads, have, to a consider- able extent, followed the ancient paths of the Eed Man. Early in the history of Chester County the question of the laying out and the establishment of better roads attracted the at- tention of the authorities. In 1678 the court at Upland ordered that every person should, within two months, so far as his land reached, make good and passable ways from neighbor to neighbor,^ with bridges where they were needed, to the end that neighbors might on occasion come together. Those who failed to comply with this order were to forfeit twenty-five guilders. Later the manner of making roads was prescribed, and was in effect as follows: That the road should be made clear of stand- ing and lying trees, and to be at least ten feet wide; stumps and shrubs to be cut close to the ground, and suificient bridges to be be made over all marshy and difficult places. The earliest ap- 489 490 CHESTER COUNTY pointment of overseers of roads, or supervisors, was made October 13, 1680, and the court, under the government of William Penn, continued to appoint overseers of roads and fence-viewers for dif- ferent precincts and townships until 1692, when the authority to so appoint these oflScers was conferred upon the townships them- selves. In the early days of the Province public roads were laid out by- the grand jury, which was continued until 1699, and after this time the practice was that six persons were appointed by the «ourt upon application. The first appointment of this kind was on December 12, 1699, and the first report of a jury specially ap- pointed by the court was made in December, 1700. This jury was composed of John Worrell, Kandall Malin, William Edwards, Oeorge Smedley, Eobert Pennell and Daniel Hoopes. In 1703, upon the petition of Humphrey EUiS, Daniel Lewis and fifty-eight others, to the Council, that council appointed Sam- uel Eichardson, David Lloyd, Kowland Ellis, William Howell, William Jenkins and Richard Thomas to view certain roads which had been laid out, and to survey and lay out one direct road fifty feet wide leading from William Powell's ferry on Schuylkill and passing Haverford Meeting-house to the principal part of Goshen Township, and thence continued in a direct course to the upper settlements on the Brandywine. In 1716 a petition was presented for a road leading from the west side of William Fleming's land to Cain Mill, and thence to William Brinton's in Birmingham, and James Gibbons, Richard Woodward, John Yearsley, Richard Thomas, Thomas James and David Davis were appointed to view'. In 1717 a road was laid out from Ellis Lewis' mill southeast to the county line. And the same year a road was laid out from the land of Griffith Owen on King's Road from Goshen to Edgemont and Chester, S. 60 E. 80; east a little south through Owen and George Ashbridge, 440 perches to mill; thence through Ashbridge, William Hudson, in Willis- AND ITS PEOPLE. 49 1 town, Thomas Garrett, east and east by north, 352 perches to road from mill to Chester, and across to comer of Thomas Garrett's land and Samuel Lewis' land, 60 perches E. i N., between Lewis and Thomas James, and through James and Thomas Mary, 220; east somewhat southerly to road from Chester to Valley, 100 perches to end of road formerly laid out from Newtown to Phila- delphia. Also in the same year a road was laid out from Joseph Pennock's to west end of Marlborough Street, and along the same 1,120 perches, and then north 52 east, along Thomas Wicker- sham's and Moses Key's land 132 perches to road running from Henry Hayes' to Brandywine Creek. In 1717-18 a road was laid out from John Mendenhall's in the valley to the forks of the Brandywine, by way of Edward Clayton, George Carter, Abraham Marshall, Thomas Buffington, William Buffington, William Baldwin and Jacob Taylor. In 1719 a road was laid out from Goshen to Philadelphia, -commencing at the intersection of the Goshen Mill Eoad with the Providence Road, this road passing by what had been known as the "Old Square," in Newtown Township, and a short distance beyond that point it entered the great road leading to Philadel- phia. In 1736 a road was laid out from the Susquehanna, near the house of John Harris, and falling into Conestoga Old Eoad near Edward Kinnison's in Whiteland, passing near Uwchlan Meeting- house, and was about 68^ miles in length. According to S. W. Pennypacker, in his "Phoenixville and Vicinity," "An early road entered the township at the French CJreek Bridge, aj)d pursued a southeasterly course until it reached the trail," this trail extending from the Indian village near the mouth of Pickering Creek, to a large and permanent settlement •called Indiantown, In the other direction it passed over Green Hill, reaching the Schuylkill at the old fording place near Perk- iomen Junction, "It remained the only thoroughfare in that direc- 492 CHESTER COUNTY tion until a jury in 1735 opened a road on a line between the prop- erties of Coates and Starr. From the active participation of Sam- uel Nutt in obtaining and locating this road, it received and has since borne his name. "The road leading from the village of Charlestown to the Fountain Inn and Starr's Ford, was opened in August, 1781, and at one time was called the 'Egypt Road,' because it connected two settlements, one in Chester County, the other in Philadelphia County, respectively honored with the suggestive names of Upper and Lower Egypt. "The White Horse Road, southward from the Long Ford, in the direction of Cedar Hollow, was laid out in the early days of the settlement to accommodate the residents of the valley on their way to the Schuylkill fisheries. "The road leadjng from Phoenixville northward to the Black Rock Bridge, was opened about the year 1730." On February 25, 1762, the county was divided into fifty-one districts, each township to be one road district. The following extract from a communication of Ziba Darling- ton to the Jeffersonian furnishes some interesting history con- nected with the laying out of the Street Road. "William Penn laid out a public road in Marlborough Town- ship, and named it Marlborough Street. It ran nearly, if not quite^ straight its whole distance, a stretch of some five miles, beginning in the Pennsbury line, east of the present Red Line Tavern, and ending at Marlborough Friends' Meeting-house. The highway from the end of Market Street, Philadelphia, was laid out in sections, as settlements extended westward in the colony. It was not known as the Street Road. Long after these old colonial times and ways, in 1815, the Legislature of Penn- sylvania authorized a State road to be laid out from Market Street Bridge, Philadelphia, to McCall's Ferry on the Susquehanna River. Governor Snyder appointed John Thompson of Delawai'o AXD ITS PEOPLE. 493 County, Edward Darlington of Chester County, and Samuel An- krim of Lancaster County, commissioners for such purpose. They, with their corps of target-bearer, chain-carriers, axmen and assistants, began the work at Market Street Bridge, but mad*; no change in the existing road thence to Marlborough Friends' Meeting-house. From thence to McCall's Ferrj^ ijhe road laid out was pretty much a new one. Burr, a noted bridge-builder, had got the heavy timbers for the bridge at McCall's Ferry ready, and during the winter of 1815 moved them on the ice to their position. The floor was not laid when the commissioners arrived there, and the target-bearer recollects walking out on the timbers over the Susquehanna Kiver. The commissioners would have cut off an angle in the road at the Marlborough Meeting-house premises had it not been for an old burial ground; so the right angle turn there yet remains. "The Street Eoad is the name applied to the highway from Market Street Bridge to McCall's Ferry, and got it from the old Marlborough Street of Penn." The above survey was made in 1815, John Thompson acting as surveyor, and Ziba Darlington of Chester County as target- bearer. At an early period a public road was laid out from Philadel- phia to Lancaster, which was known as the "Old Lancaster," or "Provincial" Koad. In Chester County it passed the present Eagle Station on the Pennsylvania Kailway, Paoli, Admiral Warren, White Horse, Moore's Mill, Ship, Cain Friends' Meeting-house, Wagon and Mariner's Compass. A portion of the bed of this road is now occupied by the Lancaster Turnpike, but the greater portion is still used as an ordinary public road. The Swede's Ford Road ran from a ford.ing over the Schuyl- kill just below Norristown, westward joining the old Lancaster Koad in East Whiteland Township. The road known as the "Boot Koad" ran from the ferry at Philadelphia by way of the "Boot 494 CHESTER COUNTY Tavern," in Goshen, to Moore's Mill (Downingtown). The Great Chester Eoad, running north from Chester, intersected this roacl at the "Boot," and is said to have been laid out on an old Indian trail. A road ran from Moore's Mill westward, a continuation of the Boot Eoad, crossed the west branch of the Brandywine near Coatesville, and Buck Eun at Pomeroy, and running north- ward of the valley to the Gap. The Strasburg Eoad dates from 1794 and was laid out at different times. Part of the original road is what is now known as "Goshen Street," forming the northern line of the borough of West Chester, and in its westward coiarse it unites with the pres- ent Strasburg Eoad at the foot of Black Horse Hill, in East Brad- ford, passing eastwardly by the residence of William P. Marshall and Fern Hill Station on the railway leading from West Chester to Frazer. The road from Wilmington to Eeading, passing through West Chester, is a very old one, and there was a road running from Downingtown, by way of Waynesburg, to the Conestoga settle- ments. On the bed of this last mentioned road runs for a portion of its length the "Horseshoe Turnpike." The road from Philadel- phia by way of Concord, Chadd's Ford, Hamorton, Kennett Square and New London, and on to Baltimore, is also an old one, and was long a leading stage route between Philadelphia and the Southern States. There was also a road from Wilmington to the Pequea Valley, by the way of Hamorton, Unionville, Doe Eun, Ercildoun, Humphreyville and Sadsburyville. This last men- tioned road was intersected at Humphreyville by another road which led past Upper Octorara Church and the old Black Horse Tavern northward. The "Gap and Newport Eoad" led from the "Gap" in Lancaster County to Newport, Delaware, and was long a leading road from Lancaster to Wilmington. There was a road leading from West Chester in a southwest direction, crossing the Brandywine at Jefferis Ford, which was AND ITS PEOPLE. 495 known as the "Oil-mill Eoad," fpom an oil-mill which stood on a farm lately owned, by Edwin James. This road was superseded by a State road laid out in 1830 from New Hope, on the Delaware Eiver, through Doylestown, Norristown, West Chester, Unionville, White Horse and Oxford to the Maryland line. The "Limestone Eoad," in the western part of the county, which passes through Oxford, was at one time an old Indian trail. The Valley or Mc- Call's Ferry Eoad, which runs from Parkesburg to McOall's Ferry, on the Susquehanna Eiver, was authorized in 1809 by an act of the Assembly of the State. Much might be written on the history of early staging on all of these roads did space and time permit. A brief sketch of the first turnpike in the United States is here introduced. The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Eoad was the first of its kind constructed in America, and hence is worthy of special mention. It was in 1790 or 1791 that it was agreed in the Assembly of the State to cause a survey to be made between Philadelphia and Lancaster, with the view of ascertaining the most eligible route for a turnpike road between the two cities. A company was incorporated under the name of the "Philadelphia and Lan- caster Turnpike Eoad Company," April 9, 1792, and the eager- ness of people to subscribe for stock in this company was remark- able, it being necessary to resort to the drawing of lots in order to determine who should first subscribe. This road as it was constructed has a length in Chester County of thirty-six miles, nearly seventeen miles along the Great Valley. It was a very expensive undertaking, on account of the inexperience of the engi- neers. The entire length of the road is sixty-two miles, and it was formed of three highways between its terminal points, the King's Highway of Lancaster County being extended to join the two lower sections. It was opened to travel in 1795 and immediately became the leading thoroughfare between Philadelphia and the West. The road was made of hard stones broken small, the pavement 496 CHESTER COUNTY being twenty-four ,f eet wide, eighteen inches thick in the middle and twelve inches thick at the sides. The cutting down of hills to the limits of four degrees elevation and the leveling of the platform was very expensive, the total cost of the road, including the construction of the bridges and aqueducts, being |465,000, or 4"j500 per mile. For the first twenty-five or thirty years the cor- poration had at its head Mr. Ellison Perot, of Philadelphia. For many years the travel upon it was enormous, which is one of the strongest evidences of the value to the community of good roads. It was lined with public houses, these houses being in some parts of its course through Chester County not more than one mile ^part. At night the yards of these public houses or taverns were filled with teams, the horses standing on each side of the wagon- tongue, on which a trough was placed for their feed. The team- sters spread their beds, which they carried with them, on the barroom floors or on the floors of other rooms. These taverns were usually conducted by their owners and were remarkable for their good order. But the glory of this great route of travel and of its hotels were doomed to disappear, for when the Pennsylvania Kailroad went into operation about forty years after its construction, it took away the travel and the transportation of merchandise over this turnpike, and its income from tolls diminished and the number of its hotels as gradually, or perhaps it would be better to say as rapidly, decreased, until at the present time the use of the road is only local, and the traveler may pass over many a mile of it without seeing a single sign inviting him to refreshment or to rest. Other early turnpikes were as follows: The Downingtown, Eph- j-ata and Harrisburg, otherwise known as the Horseshoe Pike, char- tered March 24, 1803; the Gap and Newport, taking the place to a ^•reat extent of the old Gap and Newport Road, chartered April 7, 1807; the Little Oonestoga, running from the Philadelphia and Lan- 40A^^M^.,,^:^ AND ITS PEOPLE. 499 caster Turnpike, near the Warren Tavern, to a point in Berks ('ountY, Avliere the Reading Eoacl intersects the Morgantown Road, chartered March 16, 1809. In 1811 a survey was made for a turnpike from the Philadel- phia and Lancaster Turnpike at or near the twenty-sixth milestone through Westchester to Wilmington, laws beiug passed by both Pennsylvania and Delaware authorizing the work; but the people of Delaware declined to take stock in the enterprise and the people of Pennsylvania then felt justified in abandoning the project. The people of Delaware then constructed a turnpike from Wilmington to the State line, a distance of about six miles, in the direction of West Chester. The West Chester and Wilmington Plank Road Company was organized in 1854 and a plank road constructed from West Chester to Dilworthtown, and in 1858 this road was converted into a macadamized road. Much of this information on early roads, with the exception of what is presented on the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road, has been derived from Judge Futhey's excellent "History of Chester County," due credit for which is thus given. In the early day there were the following stage routes ex- tending out of West Chester: One leading to Reading, over which a stage coach was run from West Chester every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and leaving Reading every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, by way of Oakland, Lionville, Eagle, Wallace, Loags, Morgantown, Joanna Furnace and Beckers ville, the fare to Reading being |2. Of this line John G. Dunwoody was proprietor in 1857. One to Cochranville, leaving West Chester on the same days, and Cochranville also on the same days as the above, the fare to Cochranville being |1. Of this line Francis Conway was the pro- prietor in 1857. One to XeAV Holland, leaving West Cliester on the opposite ^9 500 CHESTER COUNTY days from the above, as well as New Holland, passing Downing- town, Gallagherville, Brick, Brandywine Manor, RockYille and Waynesburg, the fare each way being |1.87^, and the proprietor of the line being E. Fox. One to Wilmington, leaving both West Chester on every Tues- day, Thursday and Saturday, the fare to Wilmington being |1, the proprietor of this route being George Court, in 1857. One to Philadelphia, leaving West Chester every morning, and leaving Philadelphia every afternoon, the fare each way being 62^ cents, and the proprietor being Stackhouse & Co., in 1857. RAILROADS. Chester County is well supplied with railroads. The Penn- sylvania Eailroad passes through the county from east to west; the Wilmington and Northern Eailroad crosses it from north to south, passing down the valley of the Brandywine; the West Ches- ter and Philadelphia Eailroad connects West Chester with Phila- delphia, and the West Chester Eailroad connects the latter rail- road with the Pennsylvania Eailroad at Frazer. The Pennsyl- vania and Delaware Eailroad runs from the Pennsylvania Eail- road at Pomeroy Station with Delaware City; the East Brandy- wine and Waynesburg Eailroad runs from Downingtown nortli- westerly to Waynesburg; the Chester Valley Eailroad runs from Downingtown eastward to Norristown; the Pickering Valley Eail- road runs from Uwchlan to Phoenixville ; the Wilmington and Western Eailroad connects Wilmington with the Pennsylvania and Delaware Eailroad at Landenburg; the Eeading Eailroad passes along the eastern boundary of the county, and the Perkio- men Eailroad connects with the Eeading Eailroad between Phoenixville and Valley Forge. Previous to the introduction of the railroad In Chester County, travel and transportation across the county and the country were AND ITS PEOPLE. SOi principally by stages and wagons.. Passengers and freight were carried from Philadelphia to Pittsburg and from Pittsburg to Philadelphia by means of these vehicles drawn by four or six horse teams, all owned by farmers of Chester and adjoining coun- ties. The wagons were large and high, on high wheels, strongly built, and covered over with canvas, supported by hickory hoops or bows. In thiw State these vehicles were known as Conestoga wagons, while farther to the west they were frequently called Pennsjdvania wagons, and are still thus referred to, though, as things of the past. A half dozen or more teams were in those early days frequently seen traveling in company along the Lan- caster Pike, on which a line of four-horse stages was run, which became quite popular with the traveling public and profitable to their owners. This pike was almost invariably taken in fine weather when the roads were good; otherwise both stages and wagons would take the Strasburg Eoad passing through West Chester. In addition to these two roads there were numerous others passing through West Chester. In addition to these two roads there were numerous others passing in different directions through the county, and at their intersections villages grew up and postoffices were established. The trip from Philadelphia to Pittsburg and return usually occupied from four to six weeks, the average value of a trip one way was one hundred dollars, and in case a load was found from Pittsburg back to the east it was 1150. About 1823 the public mind began to be exercised over the question of railroads, but the ideas entertained as to what a rail- road was were not always clear. From that time until 1828 sev- eral attempts were made to organize a company to build a rail- road to connect with the canals of the State, by which means it was expected to form a through line for both passengers and freight from Philadelphia to Pittsburg; bat capitalists, being like the rest of the world, ignorant of what a railroad was, were slow 502 CHESTER COUNTY to invest, as they always have been and always will be in a new thing. Each of these attempts therefore came to naught. But at length, in 1828, the Legislature of the State passed an act providing for the construction of a railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia, in Lancaster County, to be styled the "Pennsylvania Eailroad," and directed that twenty miles at each end of the road be built at once. Soon after this the people of West Chester began to take up the question of building a railroad and to discuss the question of how much more a horse could draw on such a road than on a common dirt road; for the idea of steam being used as a motive power on such a r'oad had then entered the minds of but few people, at least in the United States. In this connection it may be proper to state that according to Dr. George Smith, in his History of Delaware County, the jQirst railroad constructed in this country was in what Avas once a por- tion of Chester County — in Eidley Township, DelaAvare County, in 1806. This railroad was built by Thomas Leipei', who had seen a road of the kind in either England or Scotland, and before build- ing his road in Delaware County he had constructe'l for him an experimental road on a vacant lot in the Northern Liberties in Philadelphia, at a grade of one and a half inches to the ynvd, which on the day of trial proved to be a great success. This rail road in Delaware County was constructed by Mr. Leiper for the purpose of transporting stone from his quarry on Crum Creek to his landing on Eidley Creek, a distance of about one mile, the ascent being a graded incline plane, and the superstructure being made of white oak, with cross-ties and string-pieces. The wheels of his cars were made of cast-iron, and had flanges to keep them on the rails. This short railroad was afterward superseded by the Leiper Canal, built in 1828 by Hon. George G. Leiper, son of the builder of the railroad, the canal being in use until 1852. The great event which startled the country from one end to the other, and which really determined the merchants of Phila- A^D ITS PEOPLE. 503 delphia and the people of Pennsylvania to build the railroad to Columbia, was the completion of the Erie Canal in 1826. They were quick to perceive l5iat unless something were done to prevent it their previously obtained and profitable Western trade, which had up to that time been carried by means of the great Conestoga wagons, would go by way of the Erie Canal to the city of New York; hence the passage of the act above referred to, to build the railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia, Thence it was thought travel could go by canal to Hollidaysburg, whence a railroad would pass over the mountains, and from Johnstown a canal would extend to Pittsburg. By such a route it A^as thought practicable to compete with the Erie Canal, as there would be a gain of time over the two stretches of railroad which this plan contemplated. In the construction of this first railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia many experiments were made in order to ascertain what kind of rail would be suitable. From the head of the inclined plane at Philadelphia to White Hall a heavy stone sill was laid, with a flat bar of iron spiked upon it; but this proved a failure. Then flat bars of iron were laid, which were two and a half inches wide by one-half an inch thick; but these proved too light. They would draw loose, and in one or two cases the bars curled up at the end and pierced the bottom of the car. Then even these rails had to be imported from England at a great expense, and were very poor, there being then no American mills in operation. American mills came later on. The Columbia Eoad was completed into Philadelphia in 1833, entering the city at Vine Street, whence a city track laid on stone sills was extended down Broad, Market and Third to the foot of Dock. Upon the completion of this road, although it would not by any means compare with railroads of the present day, the competition of the Conestoga wagon was soon extinguished, and the drivers and their horses were transferred to the railroad. The first cars for passengers which, as intimated, were for a time S04 CHESTER COUNTY drawn by horses, were four-wheeled vehicles, the body beiug sim- ilar to but much larger than that of a Troy coach. It is now time to turn attention to tjie construction of the first railroad that entered West Chester. It was in 1830 that this matter was taken up in earnest, the question being, or rather, per- haps, one question being, at what point should a railroad from West Chester connect with the Columbia Railroad, then well under way. A public meeting was held December 11, at the Turk's Head Hotel, at which a committee was appointed to con- fer with Major John Wilson, and as a result of this conference, with the consent of the canal commissioners. Major Wilson sent a corps of engineers to make a preliminary survey, the Major himself making an estimate of the probable cost. A second meet- ing was held December 22, at which a general town meeting was called for December 24, to take further and definite action. Dr. William Darlington' of the committee made a report which was accepted, and the following resolutions adopted: "Resolved, That it is expedient to construct a railroad from the borough of West Chester to intersect the Pennsylvania Rail- way at such point as shall be found most eligible. "Resolved, That Dr. William Darlington, William H. Dilling- ham, Thomas Williamson, Ezra Cope, David Townsend, Thomas S. Bell and John H. Bradley, Esq., be a committee whose duty it shall be to take the necessary steps to obtain a law authorizing the incorporation of a company to construct the said railway." Major Wilson reported on January 8, 1831, that he had located a satisfactory route and submitted an estimate of the cost of the road, which he had placed at |88,021.29. The charter was granted July 18 following, with all the privileges and concessions asked for by the petitioners. Anticipating the granting of the charter subscription books were opened in Philadelphia at the Merchants' Coffee House, at West Chester, at the Paoli Tavern and at the Washington House, AND ITS PEOPLE. SOS oil March 22, 1831. There was a grand rush made by those who wished to subscribe to the stocli of the companj-, and in a very s]iort time more than double the amount of stocli authorized had been subscribed; but this amount was later reduced, as provided for in the charter. The first board of directors, elected March 28, Avas composed of the following gentlemen: Dr. William Darling- ton, Ziba Pyle, William Williamson, S. C. Jefferis, Jonathan Jones, Joseph Hemphill and Elihu Chauncy, Esq. On May 3, 1831, Major John Wilson was appointed chief engineer, and John P. Bailey, assistant, and on May 26, the grading of the line was let out in one mile sections, and the work pushed rapidly to completion. A meeting of the board of directors was held September 18, 1832, at which it was announced that John P. Bailey had completed the construction of the entire line in sixteen months. The traclv laid at that time consisted of chestnut cross ties, supporting yel- low pine string pieces, on A^'hich Avere laid flat iron bars two and a half inches Avide by one half an inch thick, and the road was so ballasted betAveen the rails as to make a good patl!A\'aT lor horses. The first superintendent of the road Avas J. Lacey Darlington, Avho was paid a salary of one dollar per day, AAiien he Avas engaged in the service of the company, and the first general agent, Hickman James, received for his services |500 per year. The second annual meeting of the Board of Directors was held January 23, 1833, and it Avas then announced that the road had been opened pro forma September 13, 1832, and horses placed on the road, making par- tial trips for the accommodation and entertainment of the friends of the enterprise. On the 18th of October, 1833, the Canal Com- missioners had completed a line of rails to the head of the inclined planes, and the cars of the West Chester T\ai]way Comjiany were at once run to tliat ijoint, a\ hence passengers AAere conveyed into Philadelphia in stages and omnibuses, a drive of about four miles down the west side of the Schuylkill Kiver. On January 1, 1834, the company, declared tlie first dividend 5o6 CHESTER COUNTY and the stockholders were made happy with the prospect of future earnings of their road. During the year following it was deemed advisable by the West Chester Company to construcfa connecting road from Kirkland Station across to Whiteland, in order to reach the limestone and marble quarries in that section, and to shorten the distance to Columbia, where lumber was then obtained. The capital stock was increased |10,000 and the road was built. This road, however, was but very little used and went to decay for Avant of repairs, proving an almost total loss to the company. During the year 1835 a lot was jxirchased in Philadelphiaj on Broad Street, south of Eace Street, on which lot was built a hotel called the West Chester House, with tracks for the company's cars under it. In July, 1836, William P. Sharpless was appointed superintendent of the road and property to reside in Philadelphia, whence it was thought a, better supervision could be had of the property. Soon afterward adjoining lots were purchased on the southeast corner of Broad and Eace Streets, upon whicli lots was built a large warehouse suitable for a forwarding and commission house, and from this house the freighting to West Chester was done for several years. About this time the railroad boom that had so excited the entire country subsided, times becoming hard, and there was but little done for some years. The times continuing hard it became difficult for people to meet their obligations, and the West Chester Eailway Company was no exception to the general rule. There was no relief until after the passage of the tariff act of 1842. In order to meet the difficulties of the situation the company was compelled to raise the fare from one dollar to one dollar and twenty-five cents for the single trip. Then, too, the road had ene- mies, and an opposition company put four-horse coaclies on the road to compete w;ith the railroad, carrying passengers at reduced rates, and getting the carrying of the United States mails at about half what had been formerly paid to the railway company. Be- AND ITS PEOPLE. 5°/ sides all this the Canal Commissioners were endeavoring to induce the State Legislature to appropriate money in order to enable them to go down the Chester Yalle}' from Downingtown,thus avoid- ing the inclined planes, as it had been discovered that these planes were a great obstruction to travel, and must be avoided. Had the Canal Commisioners accomplished their object the West Ches- ter Eailway Company would have been left high and dry at Mal- vern, but the State was in debt to the extent of some |40,000,000 and the Canal Commissioners failed of their object. At the annual meeting held January 15, 1844, the following gentlemen were elected directors: Joseph J. Lewis, Isaac Thomas, Philip P. Sharpless, Edward Hoopes, James Martin, George Camp- bell and William M. Spencer. Philip Sharpless and Isaac Thomas became members of the executive committee and at once determined that if possible they would lift the road out of its difficulties. One of these difficulties was the exorbitant charge made by the Canal Commissioners in the shajje of tolls over their road, and it was resolved that because of these excessive charges they would, in case they could not secure a reduction of these tolls within three, months, suspend the running of all cars, and call a meeting of the stockholders to consult upon the best means of disposing of their property. In a few weeks, however, the demands for ;i reduction of tolls were conceded and the fare to Philadelphia was reduced to seventy-five cents. Efforts had been made at various times to induce the State authorities to furnish steam power to Jiaul the company's cars, and on January 31, 1844, the executive committee reported that they had appointed Samuel M. Painter, superintendent, and that an agreement had been made with the Canal Commissioners by which the company's cars were to be hauled from the head of the Inclined planes to the intersection a^t the rate of fifteen dollars per day for each train. This agree- ment went into operation May 25, 1844, at which time two second- hand eight- wheeled passenger cars were purchased for the service. So8 CHESTER COUNTY Afterward two new passenger cars were ordered built, which had a compartment for baggage underneath the body of the cars, to save wheel toll on the baggage car. These were for a time the best equipped and the most highly ornamental cars on the road. Previously only horse cars had been used, and horse cars were still to be used from the inclined planes to the city and on the West Chester Railroad. On May 26, 1845, the Canal Commission- ers agreed to haul the cars of the company from the inclined planes into the city of West Chester for |6,000 per annum, and horses were continued to haul the cars into the city of Philadel- phia from the foot of the inclined planes. In 1846 a turntable was constructed at West Chester, and the fare, which had been raised to $1 to Philadelphia, was again reduced to seventy-five cents. Although the locomotives used at this time ^vere very light, yet they were too heavy for the light irons on the road, and it was determined to lay a heavy T-rail as early as possible. Money was raised and the road rebuilt more permanently in 1847. ^Vbout this time the Canal Commissioners were having a great deal of difficulty with the properties under their management. They were c-onfronted with a deficit every year, and appeared de- termined to prevent the railroad now under consideration from makingxmy better showing. And the officers of the railroad began to consider the question of a new route to Philadelphia by whicl) it would be possible to avoid the State works altogether. An engi- neer, with a small corps in charge, was sent out to find a new route and to make a rough survey of such route when found. It was found that the cost of a railroad over this route would be about 11,000,000, and it was decided that the interest on this sum could not be earned if the road were built. Then some of the ablest professional men of West Chester, together with a few sound busi.- ness men of Delaware County, determined to make a trial survey of a route through the northern end of Delaware County, and AND ITS PEOPLE. S09 engaged Edward F. Gay to make the survey and estimate the cost. His estimate footed up |T68,829.03, which Mas too high for the gentlemen contemplating the enterprise. T. G. Sickles was therefore engaged to make an estimate, a ad, seeing where the dif ficulty lay, and knowing that none of those by whom he was em- ployed knew anything about railroading brought in an estimate about 1100,000 less than that of Mr. Gay. This estimate was satis- factory, and a public meeting was at once called for the purpose of organizing a company to build what became afterward known as the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad. Of this com- pany John S. Bowen, a lawyer of West Chester, was elected presi- dent; T. C. Sickles was the engineer-in-chief, and work was com- menced to locate the road. This was in 1851. About this time the old West Chester Railroad Company made an exchange of their Broad Street Depot in Philadelphia for a lot at the southwest corner of Eighteenth and Market Streets, upon which they erected a passenger and freight depot, and in the mean- time earnest efforts were made to effect a union between the old road and the direct West Chester road. But the owners of the old road, finding that their property was steadily increasing in value and promised dividends in the near future, rejected all overtures, advising all people to take warning by the experience they had had. However, after a fierce newspaper war, the West Chester Direct succeeded in getting a single track laid down to Glen Mills, where, for a time, the company was stranded. West Chester, by a popular vote, had invested to the amount of |20,000 in the stock, which was sold a few years afterward for |4,000, and some of the original stock sold as low as |1 per share. But at length, in 1858, a great effort brought the road through to West Chester, it having been chartered about ten years before. The road, having thus been completed, was transferred by the trustees, J. and I. T. Thomas, to the company, it having at the time |1,000,000 worth of bonds outstanding and all stock sunk. The road had cost about 510 CHESTER COUNTY 12,000,000, and several of the original projectors had been ruined and had passed out of the management. Iq the meantime the old West Chester Company had been improving and strengthening their road and reserving their income for the contest with the new road for the business of West Chester, which they realized must come. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was chartered April 13, 1846. This company was auth'orized to construct a railroad from Harrisburg to Pittsburg, a distance of 248 miles. The work of construction began at Harrisburg in July, 1847, and the division from Harrisburg to the junction with the Portage Kailroad (then a State work) at HoUidaysburg at the eastern base of the moun- tains, being opened September 15, 1850. The western division, from the western end of the Portage Railroad to Pittsburg, was opened September 10, 1852; the mountain division, and with it the whole line, being opened February 15, 1854. From Harrisburg to Philadelphia, a distance of 105 miles, the road was made up of the old Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad (originally a State work), and the Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mount Joy and Lancaster Railroad, chartered in 1832, opened in 1838, and leased in 1849. The Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad was purchased in 1857, with the main line of a system of public works in* the State. This system of public works was inaugurated in 1826, and contemplated the canals along the leading water courses. In this year the Legislature passed an act providing for a canal to be constructed at the expense of the State, and to be styled the Pennsylvania Canal. This canal was to extend from the Swatara River, at or near Middletown, where the Union Canal commenced, to the mouth of the Juniata, and from Pittsburg to the mouth of the Kiskiminetas and the Allegheny River. The design appears to have been to make the Juniata and the Kiski- minetas navigable by slackwater, and to use the Union Canal as the eastern end of the line, connecting with Philadelphia. AND ITS PEOPLE. S" Tu 1827 the Canal Commissioners yvere authorized by the Legis- lature to make examinations through Chester and Lancaster Coun- ties preliminary to the construction of a railroad to connect with the canal, and in 1828 the Commissioners were directed to locate a railroad from Philadelphia through Chester County, and on to Columbia, via Lancaster, the road to be completed within two 3'ears. This road was completed to Columbia with a double track in 1833. When this great public system of internal improvements was first undertaken it was supposed that a canal from the waters of the Susquehanna to those of the Allegheny was practicable. The Portage road across the summit was worked by a series of inclined planes, which Avas abandoned upon the completion of the Pennsylvania Kailroad. For the work purchased of the State be- tween Philadelphia and Pittsburg the company paid |7,500,000 in its fi\ e per cent, bonds, payable at the rate of |460,000 per jesiv, the balance of this payment, after the interest had been taken care of, to apply on the principal debt. In 1833 besides the completion of the road to Columbia the Portage was completed with a. single track, and the main line of the canal was also finished. In 1834 the entire line between Phila- delphia and Pittsburg was opened to travel. The first train of cars that passed over the Columbia Eailroad from Columbia passed over it on Wednesday, February 26, 1834. On March 6, 1834, the Whig, a newspaper published in ^\'est Chester, contained au ac- couut of this first trip, a portion of which account is as follows: "One track of this important State improvement being com- pleted, arrangeinents ^ere made by Mr. S. E. Slaymaker of Lan- caster for passing a train of cars from that city to Philadelphia on ^^'ednesday. The members of the Legislature from the city of Philadelphia and the counties adjacent to the line of the road, with others, arrived at Columbia on Tuesday evening, by the canal-packet from Harrisburg, and were immediately conveyed to Lancaster in a train drawn by the locomotive, 'Black Hawk.' The engine performed the trip in fiftj-five minutes. 512 CHESTER COUNTY "Ou Wednesday morning" (February 26) "a train of cars was again attached, and left North Queen Street at eight o'clock, ar- rived at the Gap at ten, passed with ease the works there con- structed, and arrived at the head of the Inclined Plane, near the Schuylkill, at half-past four in the afternoon, having made the trip in eight hours and a half, all stoppages for taking in water, receiving and discharging passengers and incidental delays in- cluded. ***** "Throughout the whole line the progress of the train was hailed with hearty acclamations by crowds of persons collected to witness the novel spectacle. An immense concourse of citizens was also assembled at the head of the inclined plane to greet its arrival at that point. The locomotive was there detached, the cars passed down without obstruction or serious diflliculty, and were thence conveyed to Broad Street and other points in the city." The locomotive Black Hawk, built in England, was the first put on the road. This was in 1832. In 1835 there were three locomo- tives, and in 1837 forty, horses being then relieved of the duty of hauling cars on the railroad. An offer having been made by the Pennsylvania Company for a lease of the old West Chester Railroad, an agreement was entered into by the two companies April 6, 1859, by which the former company agreed to run trains on satisfactory terms for five years. The manner in which the road was operated under this lease was not satisfactory to the old company, as there was no apparent effort put forth by the Pennsylvania to increase the value of the property, and the impression gained strength that the operating company intended to permit the property to run down and its value to become so impaired that they would be able at the end of their lease to purchase it at a merely nominal figure. But not- withstanding this the old company were able to pay dividends and to lay aside a considerable surplus. In the meantime the direct line to Philadelphia by way of AND ITS PEOPLE. SU Media was doing a fair and increasing business tlirougli tlie ener- getic management of its president, Marshall B. Hicliman. A short time previous to the expiration of the lease referred to above, Mr. Hickman made an offer to purchase the old line. Terms were agreed upon and the transfer of the road made without consulta- tion with the Pennsylvania Company, the old line thus passing into the possession of the Media Company. The Pennsylvania Comi^any was not satisfied with this arrangement, as it needed West Chester as a local station to and from Philadelphia, and the result was that this company purchased both roads, since which time the old and new lines from West Chester to Philadelphia have been parts of the Great Pennsylvania System. The East Brandywine and Waynesburg Eailroad Company was incorporated March 3, 1854, the road originally extending from Downingtown to Waynesburg, a distance of eighteen miles. The road was leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for ninety-nine years, November 1, 1876, and was reorganized after foreclosure, June 7, 1888. The name of the road was then changed to the Downingtown and Lancaster Eailroad, and now extends from Downingtown to Conestoga Junction, a distance of 37.58 miles. The Wilmington and Northern Railroad is the result of sev- eral consolidations. The Berks and Chester Railroad Company was incorporated April 20, 1864, and in 1866 it was consolidated with the Delaware and Pennsylvania Railroad Company, under the name of the Wilmington and Reading Railroad Company. The road from Wilmington to Birdsboro' was opened in 1870, and was extended to Reading in 1874. On May 8, 1876, the road was placed in the hands of trustees, A. Gibbons, George Brooke and George Richardson, by order of court, and by them operated until it was sold December 4, 1876. The Baltimore, Philadelphia and Nt'w York Railroad Company, successor to the; State Line and Juniata and Maryland, and Pennsylvania Railroad Companies, having the 514 CHESTER COUNTY right to build a railroad from Baltimore to Philadelphia, was absorbed by the Wilmington and Beading, and the purchasers of the road organized as the Wilmington and Northern, January 18, 1877. The extension of the road to Eeading was sold sepa- rately; but during the year 1887 the Eeading branch was consoli- "dated with the main line, of which it still forms a part. The total length of line operated on June 30, 1896, was 92.30 miles, and the total number of miles owned by the company was then 88.41 miles. The Philadelphia and Delaware Eailroad Company was incor- porated under the name of the Doe Eun and White Clay Creek Eailroad Company, March 24, 1868, the road to extend from the Pennsylvania Eailroad at Pomeroy to Delaware vState line, where it was to connect with a road running to Delaware City. Sub- sequently the name of the companj^ was changed to the Pennsyl- vania and Delaware Eailroad Company, and in 1873 the road was leased hj the Pennsylvania Eailroad Company, by which it has since been operated. It connects with the Baltimore Central Eailroad at Avondale, with the Wilmington and Western at Land- enberg, and with Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Eail- road near Newark. The road extends from Pomeroj^ to Delaware City. The Wilmington and Western Eailroad connects Wilmington Avith the Pennsylvania and Delaware Eailroad at Landerberg, its length within Chester County being between two and three miles. It was opened October 19, 1872. The Pickering Valley Eailroad Company Avas incorporated April 3, 1869, and was leased for ninety-nine years from September 1, 1871, by the Pennsylvania and Eeading Eailroad Company for thirty per cent, of its gross earnings. Its capital stock is |95,655. The road extends from PhoenixA'ille to Byer's vStation, a distance of 11.3 miles. The Perkiomen Eailroad Company Avas chartered March 23, A^^ AND ITS PEOPLE. 5i7 1865, and the road was opened May 8, 1868. It was leased from August 16, 1868, to Maj; 14, 1879, to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company, the road having been completed October 11, 1875. It extends from Perkiomen Junction to Emaus Junction, Pennsylvania, a distance of 38.5 miles, the track of the East Penn- sylvania Railroad Company being used from Emaus Junction to Allentown. The company was reorganized in 1887. The Philadelphia and Chester Valley Railroad Company was chartered May 7, 1888, as the successor of the Chester Valley Rail- road Company, which was chartered April 2, 1850, reviving the charter of an old company by the name of the Norristown and Val- ley Railroad Company, incorporated April 15, 1835, to construct a railroad from some point on the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad east of Brandywine Creek to a point on the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad near Norristown; but this company, after expending $850,000, became unable to complete their road within the time prescribed. The road is 21.50 miles in length, from Downingtown to Bridgeport, and is operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, in 1891 the latter company pay- ing for its use 45 per cent, of the gross earnings up to |30,000 and 50 per cent, on all above $30,000. The road cost |1,073,613.88. The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was constructed pre- vious to 1842, being opened for business January 10 of that year. The bill incorporating the company was introduced into the Leg- islature by Elijah F. Pennypacker, during the session of 1832-33. This was a difficult and expensive railroad to build, at least through Chester County, for bridges were required over the Valley, Pickering and French Creeks, besides one over the Schuylkill River. There is also a tunnel cut through solid rock, 1,932 feet long, and which was originally 19 feet wide and 17 feet high. This tunnel, begun in December, 1835, was completed in September, 1837. The Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad Company 30 5i8 CHESTER COUNTY was incorporated March 17, 1853, and on April 6, 1854, was author- ized to form a union with a corporation chartered by the State of Maryland. The main line of this road from West Chester Junction to the junction near Port Deposit with the Columbia and Port De- posit Kailroad, is 46 miles in length, of which 36| miles is in Penn- sylvania. From West Chester Junction to Lamokin is seven miles. The road was opened to Oxford in 1859, to Kising Sun, Maryland, in 1865, and to River Junctioft in 1869. It had been brought into use to Chadd's Ford and soon afterward to Avondale, some time previously. Among the men who carried forward this enter- prise to success may be mentioned John M. Dickey, Samuel Dickey, Dr. E. V. Dickey, Samuel J. Dickey, Ebenezer Dickey, Dr. Franklin Taylor, John M. Kelton, James E. Ramsey, Mark A. Hodgson, Isaac Watkins, John Richards, Samuel Martin, James A. Strawbridge, Job H. Jackson, Daniel Stubbs, Milton Cbnard and David Woelpper. Each of these men served for a time during the construction of the road as a member of the board of directors. The West Chester Street Railway Company was chartered August 4, 1890, with a capital of |60,000, divided into shares of |50 each. The officers of the company since its organization have been as follows: William Hayes, president; William S. Harris, secre- tary, and F. W. Worthington, treasurer. The directors have been as follows: William M. Hayes, R. T. Cornwell, M. H. Matlack, J. Carroll Hayes and A. G. McCausland. That part of the railway within the limits of West Chester was commenced in November, 1890, and the cars began running on it September 28, 1891. It consists of one track on High Street, extending from Virginia Ave- nue to Rosedale Avenue, and one track on Market Street, extend- ing from the Pennsylvania Railway to New Street, down New Street to Sharpless Street, the intersection of the two branches being at High and Market Streets. That part of the road extend- ing from Sharpless Street to Lenape Station on the Wilmington and Northern Railway, a distance of nearly five miles, was built AND IT8 PEOPLE. 5i9 during the month of June to November, inclusive, 1891, and the cars began running on this line November 10, 1891. Power to pro- pel the cars on the lines of this company is derived from theWest Chester Electric Light and Power Company. The Philadelphia, Castle Eock and West Chester Eailway Company was orgajiized December 15, 1892, and chartered with an authorized capital stock of |1,000,000, of which $100,000 has been subscribed. This company has already constructed an elec- tric railway from Philadelphia to Eidley Creek on the Phila- delphia and West Chester Eoad, and on March 31, 1898, it passed a resolution to the effect that in~order to increase its business and accommodate the travel of the public it was necessary to con- struct its railway from its western terminus, as above given, to the line of the borough of West Chester, and into the said borough along Market Street to Adams Street, then north on Adams Street to Gay Street, and then on Gay Street to Walnut. Permission being asked of the borough council of West Chester to so construct its railway inside the borough, a resolution was passed by the Council on April 11, 1898, granting the privilege asked. The president of this railway company is John N. M. Shriner and the secretary, William S. Taylor. CHAPTER Xlll. THE COURTS. CHAPTEE XIII. COURTS — THE FIRST IN CHESTER COUNTY— THE TRIBUNE— SEVERAL INTEREST- ING EARLY CASES — FIRST COURT OF EQUITY — FIRST ORPHANS' COURT — FIRST COURTHOUSE AND PRISON — STOCKS AND WHIPPING POST — COURT DISTRICTS — THE PRESIDING JUDGES OYERAND TERMINER CHAR- ACTER OF OFFENSES PROFESSIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEAD- ING PRACTITIONERS — LISTS OF OFFICERS — PUNISHMENT FOR CRIME — MURDERS COMMITTED — ADMISSIONS TO THE BAR LAW ASSOCIATIONS LIBRARIES. THE first court of Chester County, after William Penn's ar- rival, met at Chester February 14, 1682: John Simcook, president; Thomas Brasy, William Clayton, Robert Wade and John Bezer, justices; Thomas Usher, sheriff; and Thomas Eevell, clerk; Will- iam Rawson, James Browne, Jeremiah Collett, William Hewes, Walter Martin, Nathaniel Evans, Joshua Hastings, William Woodmanson, Thomas Colborne, Albert Hendrickson, Joseph Richards, and Edward Carter, jurors. There was also a Tribune established called the Peace Makers, consisting of three persons holding their appointment from the court. The duties of the Peace Makers appear to have been to arbitrate upon such questions as were brought before them. They were appointed for a specified time and held meetings regularly. At a court held June 27, 1683, it was ordered that the Peace Makers are to meet on the first Fourth-day every month, and at a court held August 5, 1684, the Peace Makers made the following order: "According to the order of the court to us directed we have seriously considered the premises between the plaintiff, Richard 523 524 CHESTER COUNTY Crosby, and the defendant, George Andrews, whereby we, the Peace Makers, do give, grant, judge and allow that the said de- fendant, George Andrews, his heirs and assigns, shall pay or cause to be paid unto the said plaintiff, Richard Crosby, or his assigns, such full and just sum, eighteen pounds, in lawful money of this province, at or upon the twentieth day of this instant, December, at the now dwelling house of James Saunderlaine, at Chester, one-half of said eighteen pounds, the said defendant, George Andrews, or his assigns, is to pay the said plaintiff, Eich- ard Crosby, or his assigns, as aforesaid in ready money, the other half as aforesaid, in good and merchantable wheat or rye at the common market price of this river. To which conclusion we, the Peace Makers, for this County of Chester, have set our hands at the aforesaid Chester, the 17th of the 10th month, 1683. "JOHN HASTINGS, "JOHN HAEDING." At a court held August 22, 1683, a most interesting case was tried, a case involving the title to the whole of Tinicum Island. This island had been given by deed of November 6, 1643, to Gov- ernor John Printz, and the Governor's daughter, Mrs. Papegoya, in 1662, had sold it to Jost De Lagrange, receiving in part pay- ment a bill of exchange which was protested. After returning from Sweden she brought suit to recover that portion of the con- sideration represented by the bill of exchange. The case was taken from the High Court of the Delaware to the Court of As- sizes of New York, where, on October 2, 1672, a verdict was ren- dered for the plaintiff for £350 and costs. Jost De Lagrange hav- ing died, his widow married Andrew Carr, and at the time of this verdict Andrew Carr and his wife were in possession of the island. The sheriff was ordered to put Mrs. Papegoya in possession of the island, and of the stock in payment of the debt, which was done, and Mrs. Papegoya afterward sold the island to Otto Ernest Cock. AND ITS PEOPLE. 52 5 To trace this case further would scarcely be interesting to the gen- eral reader, hence it is here dismissed. At a court held in December, 1684, Joseph Oookson was pre- sented by Robert Wade "for taking a wife contrary to, the good and wholesome laws of this Province," and. was ordered to find security in the sum of ten pounds, which, so far as could be ascer- tained, was the end of the case. A most interesting case came before the court which met January 6, 1685, entitled, "Justa Anderson vs. Laurentius Oaro- lus and James Saunderlaine." It appeared that Justa Anderson a few years before had purchased of Laurentius Garolus, the Swedish priest, his house and land, about 200 acres, for which he gave or agreed to give 800 guilders. It was probably in 1684 the Swedish priest had sold the same land or tried to do so, with the exception of the house and a small piece of land on which it stood, to John Grubb, and hence the suit against Carolus and Saunder- laine, for weakening the title to land. The verdict was in favor of the plaintiff, but the defendants carried the case to the next court of assizes held at Chester. Thus proceedings were held in the courts for many years, the recital of the details of which would be both tedious and uninter- esting to the general reader. The first Court of Equity for Chester County was held in March, 1685-86, the record being: "Att a court of equity held att Chester, the 5th day of the 1st week of the 10th month, 1686: "Commissioners present: — John Blunstone, John Simcocke, George Maris, Bartholomew Coppock, Samuel Levis, Eobert Wade, Robert Pile. — Robert Eyre, clerk." The first Orphans' court was held at Chester on the 3rd day of the 1st week of the 8th month, 1687. The first court-house in the county, called the "House of De- fence," was erected about 1678, and soon afterward a prison was 526 CHESTER COUNTY erected. A new prison was provided for in 1691, which was de- signed as a work-house for felons. It was to be of stone and 18x26 feet in size. This order was not, however, carried out, and an- other order was made in 1692, a poll-tax being levied to provide for the expense,, this being the first poll-tax levied in the county in which no distinction was made between freemen and servants. This levy not being made, a new order was issued in December, 1693, and early in 1694 an assessment was authorized for raising £150 for defraying the expense of the building of the new jail "at the true value of two pence per pound upon the real and personal estates of all the inhabitants of the county, seasable by the first act of the new laws — all freemen 6s per head." In 1693 the num- ber of taxables in the ten townships in what is now Delaware County was 140, and in 1696 this number had become 182. In 1697 a new court-house had been erected, and in 1700 the necessity for a pair of stocks and a whipping-post had become evi- dent. In 1703 this necessity was again presented. In 1724 an- other new court-house was erected in Chester, which served until after the separation of Delaware from Chester County, and for many years served as a town hall in Chester Borough. Under the Constitution of 1790 the State was divided into dis- tricts, each district to contain not less than three counties nor more than six. There was to be appointed by the Governor of the State a president judge for each district and associate justices for each county, not less than three nor more than four. In the divi- sion of the State into districts, Chester County came in the second, along with Lancaster, Dauphin and York. The first president judge of this district, William August Atlee, was appointed by Governor Thomas Mifflin. He presided over the courts of his dis- trict from November, 1791, to August, 1793. John Joseph Henry was also appointed by Governor Mifflin, and presided from Febru- ary, 1794, to May, 1800. John D. Coxe was the next president judge, serving from May, 1800, until May, 1805. William Tilghmaa presided from August, 1805, to February, 1806, both terms. AND ITS PEOPLE. 527 By an act of the Legislature passed February 24, 1806, tlie State was redistricted, Chester County being placed in the Seventh District, along with Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks; and soon afterward Bird Wilson, otherwise referred to in these pages, was appointed president judge of this district, remaining from Febru- ary, 1806, until November, 1817, when he became a clergyman in the Episcopal Church. In 1818 John Boss became president judge, remaining in that oilEice until May, 1821. A new district was then formed, composed of Chester and Delaware Counties, and named the Fifteenth Judi- cial District, over which Isaac Darlington presided from May, 1821, until his death, April 27, 1839. Thomas S. Bell was then appointed, and presided over the district from 1839 until he was elevated to the Supreme Court, November 18, 1846. John M. Forester, of Har- risburg, was then appointed, and served from December, 1846, to March, 1847, and then James Nill, of Chambersburg, Avas ap- pointed, presiding from March 23, 1847, until March 18, 1848. Henry Chapman, of Doylestown, succeeded Judge Mil, and pre- sided from March 18, 1848, until December 2, 1851, the office then becoming elective, and though Judge Chapman was solicited by both political parties to become a candidate for election to the office, he declined, because it was not convenient for him to reside within the district, as the law required. Under the elective system Townsend Haines was elected in October, 1851, was commissioned November 6, and presided over the district until December 2, 1861. William Butler was elected to this office in October, 1861, was commissioned November 20, 1861, and served until February 24, 1879, when he resigned, having been appointed United States district judge for the Eastern Dis- trict of Pennsylvania. On February 27, 1879, J. Smith Futhey was appointed by Governor Hoyt to serve during the remainder of Judge Butler's term, or until January 5, 1880, and was elected in November, 1879, there being no opposing candidate. Judge Futhey 528 CHESTER COUNTY served until his death, which occurred November 26, 1888. Dtiring the greater part of his term he was the only judge, the associate judges having been legislated out of office, as will be seen later on, in 1876, and it was doubtless due to the fact of the great amount of labor performed by Judge Futhey on the bench that his life was terminated as early as it was. It was also due to this great amount of labor performed by him that an additional law judge was provided for by an act of Assembly approved June 15, 1887, under which William B. Waddell was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacancy caused by the creation of this oflice. Judge Wad- dell's commission being dated July 7, 1887. Judge Waddell was elected to the office of additional law judge in the fall of 1887, and was commissioned January 3, 1888. Upon the death of Judge Futhey, Judge Waddell Avas ap- pointed president judge, his commission as such being dated De- cember 4, 1888, and in February, 1889, Thomas S. Butler became additional law judge. Judge Waddell served until his death, which occurred June 3, 1897, when Joseph Hemphill, who was elected additional law judge in November, 1889, became president judge, and is serving as such at the present time. William Butler, Jr., was appointed additional law judge August 29, 1897, and was subsequently elected, and on January 3, 1898, was commissioned for a term of ten years. Previous to 1790 the Court of Oyer and Terminer was held by the justices of the Supreme Court, who at stated times made a circuit of the counties. A sitting of this court was held at Chester October 3, 1698, before Joseph Growdon and Cornelius Empson to hear an appeal in a suit between Thomas Thomas and Morgan James, and another session was held October 2, 1705, before John Guest and Jasper Yeates, at which time the Governor's commis- sion to John Guest, Joseph Growdon, Jasper Yeates, Samuel Fin- ney and William Trent, or any two of them, was read. At this time David Lloyd, who was attorney for the defendant, showed AND ITS PEOPLE. 529 that the Governor's commission was defective, and consequently nothing could be done. The members of this court came, of course, from all parts of the State, the following being from Chester County : John Simcock, Avho served in 1690, and David Lloyd, who served from 1717 to 1726, both of whom were citizens but not na- tives of Chester County; and Thomas McKean, who was a native of Chester County and one of the ablest men of his time. He served in 1777. Under William Penn's form of government murder was the only capital crime; but about the time of his death the counterfeiting of bills of credit and current coin were made capital. After the Revolutionary War a revised penal code was adopted, in the pre- amble of which it recited the provisions of the royal chai'ter, that the English laws on felony should be in force in Pennsylvania until altered by the Proprietor and freemen. And it was enacted that high treason, murder, robbery, mayhem, witchcraft, arson and six other crimes should be capital crimes, and iines, whipping, branding and imprisonment were provided for crimes of lesser grade. Since then, however, one by one these crimes have been dropped from the list of capital ones, and at present the State has returned to the more humane code of William Penn, only one crime, that of murder, being now capital. Isaac Darlington, one of the foremost lawyers of the early part of the present century, was born in the township of West- town, Chester County, December 13, 1781, and it is said of him that probably no young man in Chester County was trained to more laborious habits in early life than he. He was instructed in the rudiments of an English education by the celebrated John For- sythe, the best schoolmaster of that period, and for two or three years he taught a country school, acquitting himself with remark- able success. When nearly eighteen years of age he began reading law in the office of Joseph Hemphill, a distinguished member of the 530 CHESTER COUNTY Chester County Bar, and he was admitted to the bar a short time before he was twenty-one years of age. In 1807 and in 1808 he was elected to the Legislature, and declined a re-election, but at a special election held in February, 1816, to fill a vacancy, he was again chosen to that body. At the general election in 1816 he was elected to a seat in the Fifteenth Congress, to represent Chester and Montgomery Coun- ties, and in 1820 he was appointed deputy attorney-general for Chester County, holding the position until 1821, when he was ap- pointed president judge of the district composed of Chester and Delaware Counties. This position he held until his death, which occurred April 27, 1839. Hon. Thomas S. Bell, formerly a distinguished attorney, and president judge of the district composed of Chester and Delaware Counties, was born in Philadelphia, October 22, 1800. Having studied law under James Madison Porter, he was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar April 14, 1821, and in May following removed to West Chester. In 1823 he was appointed deputy attorney-general for Chester County, and held the office until August, 1828. Con- tinuing in practice until May, 1837, he then became a member of the convention to revise the Constitution of the State, and in 1838 he was elected a member of the State Senate, but owing to some alleged errors in the returns his seat was contested and awarded to Nathaniel Brooke. On May 16, 1839, he was appointed president judge of the dis- trict composed of Chester and Delaware Counties, which position he filled until November 18, 1846, when he was appointed a mem- ber of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, holding this position until December 1, 1851, when the tenure of office was changed by the Constitution. He represented Chester and Delaware Coun- ties in the State Senate in 1858, 1859 and 1860, and in all the public positions he held was able and faithful in the discharge of his du- ties. His mind was remarkably active and correct in its opera- AND ITS PEOPLE. 53 1 tions, and he mastered his subjects, as it were, almost by intuition. A fluent speaker, a clear and forcible writer, uniformly courteous and honorable in his dealings and associations with men, he was missed greatly by all at his death, which occurred in Philadelphia, June 6, 1861. Hon. Persifor Frazer Smith, born in Philadelphia, January 23, 1808, was a son of Joseph and Mary (Frazer) Smith, the former being a son of Eobert Smith, of Uwchlan, Chester County, and lieu- tenant of the county during the Revolutionary War. Persifor Fraser Smith was educated in Philadelphia, principally in the classical schools of Dr. Samuel B. Wylie and Joseph P. Engle, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania July 31, 1824, and immediately removed with his father to East Whiteland, Chester County. In October, 1826, he began the study of the law in the office of William H. Dillingham, and was admitted to the bar of Chester County in 1829. In December, 1831, he was admitted to the Supreme Court of the State, and in October, 1832, to the Circuit Court of the Third District of Pennsylvania. In May, 1835, he was appointed clerk of the Orphans' Court of Chester County, and on February 25, 1839, he was appointed prosecuting attorney for Del- aware County. In February, 1849, he was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, and became widely known as an able and honest practitioner by both lawyers and jurists. He was well skilled in the intricacies of the law, and his opinion was frequently sought by his professional brethren. In 1861 he was elected a member of the State Legislature, and was returned in 1862, 1863 and 1864. During the Civil War he was one of the strongest sustainers of the Union cause in its strug- gle with armed rebellion, and in 1866 he was appointed State Re- porter of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, a position which he filled with ability for ten years, resigning in May, 1876. Almost every law library in the State of Pennsylvania contains the thirty- two volumes of State Reports compiled and arranged during the 532 CHESTER COUNTY ten years he held the office of State Keporter. He was also the author of a valuable legal text-book entitled "Forms of Procedure." He was a man of wide and varied reading, keeping fully abreast of the progress of the age in which he lived in scientific and literary matters, and he was always closely identified with every good work calculated to promote the prosperity of his town and county. Hon. J. Smith Futhey, who became president judge in 1879, and died while still holding that office, November 26, 1888, was one of the most distinguished men of Chester County. He was pos- sessed of unusual ability, was of independent thought and action, and of great and untiring industry. He was the only judge of his district for about eight years. It was stated that his death was largely due to overwork, and in 1887 the Legislature enacted a law providing for an additional law judge, in order that the president judge might be to some extent relieved. Besides performing his duties as judge, Mr. Futhey spent most of his leisure hours in historical research and other literary work, and it is to him that the people of Chester County, as well as histo- rians generally, are mainly indebted for information in regard to the early history of the county in all its varied lines. His genius for and appreciation of detail in matters of this kind was very great. Mr. Futhey was undoubtedly one of the most upright and faith- ful of the common pleas judges of the State, and it may be truth- fully said of him, and without the least disparagement of others, that no one preceded him or has succeeded him who was or has been of more sterling integrity or possessed of a higher apprecia- tion of the value of justice. Soon after his death the Bar of Chester County adopted the following memorial address : "The death of Hon. J. Smith Futhey is a serious loss to the bench and bar of this county. When stricken down he had nearly completed a ten years' term as president judge of this district. ^«Sf* AND ITS PEOPLE. S3i The absence of so prominent a personage from our midst leaves a void wliicli will be long felt and mourned. He was worthy of the ermine — able, industrious, merciful and just. In the trial of cases he knew no parties, and followed implicitly where the law and the evidence led. He was uniformly courteous and exceedingly tender and considerate of the feelings of others. His denials left no sting; his judgments no offense; his inflictions no wound. Taking him all in all, he will be hard to follow and his place difficult to fill. "As a member of the bar for nearly forty-six years, he was endeared to us by all the ties that can unite professional brethren. He was proud of his profession, and had a high sense of the integ- rity, honor and courtesy essential to it. His ability, industry and worth won for him a large, devoted and influential clientage. He was a consistent Christian gentleman, and was highly esteemed as a citizen. A friend of popular education, he labored assidu- ously for its promotion. His historical and other researches and publications are valuable contributions to the literature of the times and have been widely read. As husband, father, citizen, author, lawyer and judge, his life has been an exemplary one and full of good works." These eulogistic words were signed by William B. Waddell, president, and by J. Newton Huston, secretary. Hon. William Bell Waddell, formerly president judge of the District Court, was born in Philadelphia, September 21, 1828. The family was of Scotch-Irish origin and traced its ancestry back to the north of Ireland, peopled by the Scotch after the native inhab- itants had been driven out by King James I of England. , One member of the family, born in Ireland, has been rendered famous by William Wirt as the "Blind Preacher,'" in the History of Vir- ginia, and another member, grandfather of the judge, whose name was William, was also born in Ireland. His son Robert married Mary Bell, and they were the parents of Judge William Bell Wad- dell. 31 S36 CHESTER COUNTY Judge Waddell pursued his academic studies in the private scliool of James Orowell, and entered Princeton College in 1846, graduating therefrom in 1849. Returning to West Chester, he read law with Joseph Hemphill, father of Judge Joseph Hemphill, and he was admitted to the bar March 2, 1852. From this time on until his death he was almost continuously engaged in the practice of his profession in West Chester, until 1887, when he was elevated to the bench. In 1864 he was elected to the House of Representatives of the State Legislature, serving until 1867. In 1871 he was elected to the State Senate, and served until the close of his term in 1873, when he returned to the practice of law. In 1887 he was appointed to serve as additional law judge until the election in the fall of 1887, when he was elected for the term of ten years, from 1888 to 1898, but, upon the death of Judge J. Smith Futhey, he was ap- pointed president judge, his commission being dated December 4, 1888. This position he filled untl his death, which occurred June 3, 1897. He was always courteous as a jurist, was an able, honorable man and an upright judge. He was well respected by his fellow- citizens, and was widely and sincerely mourned at the time of his death. Hon. Joseph Hemphill, president judge of Chester County, was born at West Chester, September 17, 1842. After attending private schools at West Chester he went to Williston Seminary at East Hampton, Massachusetts, where he remained until compelled by sickness to return to his home. Entering his father's law office in 1860 as a law student, he read law there three years, and then spent one year in the law department of Harvard University, under the special instruction of Parsons and Washburne, well-known authorities on American law. He was admitted to the bar October 31, 1864, and the law partnership then formed with his father lasted until the latter's death, February 11, 1870, Prom 1864 to AND ITS PEOPLE. 537 at the time of his election as additional law judge he was in constant practice. Judge Hemphill is a democrat, and in 1872 served as a member of the Constitutional Convention, rendering valuable service in framing the present constitution of the State. This led to his nomination by the Democratic party of the county for additional law judge in 1889, and in the fall of that year he was elected over Thomas S. Butler, by a majority of thirty-two votes. Talking his seat January 6, 1890, he discharged the duties of his office to the satisfaction of all, and upon the death of President Judge William B. Waddell, succeeded to that position, which he is now filling. As stated above, the Constitution of 1790 provided that in each county there should be associate judges, not less than three nor more than four, to hold their offices during good behavior. The first associate judges in Chester County were appointed by Gov- ernor Thomas Mifflin, August 17, 1791. They were Joseph Shippen, of Westtown; Walter Finney of New London; and James Moore of West Nantmeal. Benjamin Jacobs of West Whiteland was ap- pointed the fourth associate judge July 3, 1792. Judge Shippen held the judgeship until December 28, 1792, when he resigned, and on January 5, 1793, Samuel Evans was ap- pointed first associate judge in his place. Samuel Evans, having removed to Lancaster County, resigned his office, June 29, 1793, and was succeeded by James Boyd, of what is now Penn Township, November 1, 1793. These four associate judges, Walter Finney, James Moore, Benjamin Jacobs and James Boyd, presided together until 1802, in which year Judge Moore died, and was succeeded by John Ralston of Vincent, who was appointed April 7, 1802. Judge Jacobs served until March 31, 1803, and was succeeded by John Davis of Tredyfifrin. From this time on until September, 1820, Judges Finney, Boyd, Davis and Ealston were associates, Judge Finney dying in that month, and no appointment was made to fill the vacancy, because the Legislature in 1803 has passed an act 538 CHESTER COUNTY providing that when a vacancy should thereafter occur, there should be no appointment until the number of associate judges had been reduced by death, resignation or otherwise, to less than three. In 1806 an act was passed providing for the reduction of the number of associate judges to two. Judge Boyd died August 10, 1821, and the number was thus reduced to two. Judge Ealston died September 1, 1825, in the eighty-first year of his age, and was succeeded' by Cromwell Pearce of East White- land, his commission being dated September 5, 1825. Judge Davis died in 1827, and was succeeded by Jesse Sharp, who was com- missioned January 26, that year. Judges Pearce and Sharp were associate judges until 1839, when, on account of defective hearing, Judge Pearce resigned, and was succeeded by Thomas Jones of East Whiteland, for the term of five years, in accordance with the Constitution of 1838. Judge Sharp's term having expired February 27, 1841, he was re-appointed for the constitutional term of five years, and on the expiration of this term he was again re-appointed for another term of five years. But on account of his age he resigned in December, 1847, and was succeeded by Nimrod Strickland of West Chester, whose commission was dated January 31, 184S. Upon the expiration of Judge Jones's term of five years, February 19, 1844, he was re-appointed, and at the expiration of his second term, in February, 1849, he retired from the bench. Samuel Shafer was appointed to succeed Judge Jones, and Judges Strick- land and Shafer served until the expiration of their terms of office, December 1, 1851, the office being made elective by amendments to the' Constitution, At the election of 1851 Samuel Shafer and Joseph Hodgson were elected for five years, and took their seats December 6, 1852. Judge Hodgson was a resident of Penn Township, and at the expiration of his five years' term declined a re-election. Judge Shafer, who was an unusually popular man, filled the office until AND ITS PEOPLE. 539 liis death, April 26, 1866, and was succeeded by Kobert Parke of Sadsbury Township, commissioned by the Governor May 9, 1856, for the remainder of Judge Shafer's term. At the general election in 1856 Nimrod Strickland and William Wollerton were elected, and commissioned for the term of five years from December 7, 1857, but in October, 1857, Judge Strickland was elected canal commissioner, and to fill out his unexpired term John P. Baily of West Chester was appointed, and was commissioned January 21, 1858. In October, 1858, Eobert Parke was elected in opposition to Judge Baily, and took his seat on the bench December 6, 1858. In October, 1861, John P. Baily was elected to succeed Judge Wollerton, who had declined a re-election and was commissioned for the term of five years commencing De- cember 2, 1861. In 1866 he was re-elected for another term of five years. In 1863 Benjamin J. Passmore of West Chester was elected to succeed Judge Parke, and was commissioned for the term of five years commencing December 7, 1863. He was subsequently re- elected twice, and served until his death, March 4, 1875. In 1871 Joel Hawley of Uwchlan was elected to succeed Judge Baily, was commissioned by the Governor and held the office until the ex- piration of the term, December 4, 1876. On the death of Judge Passmore in 1875, no successor was elected, the new Constitution of 1874 having provided for the abolition of the office on the death, resignation or termination of the office of any incumbent. Judge Hawley was the only associate judge, therefore, until the expiration of his own term of office, December 4, 1876. For a period of 110 years previous to 1793 the criminal busi- ness of Chester County was conducted by the attorney-general in person, on account of the prosecution. In 1793 the first deputy attorney-general was appointed, and from that time to 1850 the pleas of the Commonwealth were prosecuted by deputies ap- pointed by the attorney-general, with the exception of a brief S40 CHESTER COUNTY period. In 1850 an act of Assembly was enacted creating tlie office of district attorney, and since then these officers have been elected by the people. Among the attorneys-general of the Province, whose names it is not deemed necessary to present in this work, was Thomas Clarke, who, at a Court of Quarter Sessions held May 25, 1708, "appeared in open court and was qualified attorney-general for the county of Chester according tcf law. Of these attorneys-general, some of them were very able and distinguished men. One of them, Andrew Hamilton, is said to have been one of the greatest lawyers of his time, and filled several public stations with con- spicuous ability and integrity. His son, James, was several times Governor of Pennsylvania between 1748 and 1771. Tench Francis, attorney-general from 1741 to 1755, was one of the most eminent lawyers of the Province, and a relative of Sir Philip Francis, the one-time reputed author of the celebrated Junius Letters. Benja- min Chew, attorney-general from 1755 to 1769, was in 1774 ap- pointed chief justice of Pennsylvania, but being opposed to the Revolution, he retired from the bench in 1776, being thus the last chief justice of the Crown in Pennsylvania. Andrew Allen was the last attorney-general under the King of England, was also opposed to the Revolution, placed himself under the protection of Gen. Howe at Trenton, and lost his estates by confiscation by the new government. He died in England at the age of eighty-five. He was a grandson of Andrew Hamilton above mentioned. Following is a list of the deputy attorneys-general from May, 1793, to the year 1850: Eobert Frazer, May, 1793, to February, 1800; John Sergeant, May, 1800, to May, 1803; Thomas Sergeant, August sessions, 1803; William Hemphill, November, 1803, to November, 1808; John Duer, Jr., February, 1809, to April, 1816; Robert Frazer, July and November sessions, 1816; Isaac D. Bar- nard, January, 1817, to November, 1820; Isaac Darlington, Jan- uary and April sessions, 1821; William H. Dillingham, July, 1821, AND ITS PEOPLE. 54i to November, 1823; Thomas S. Bell, January, 1824, to May, 1828;^ Henry H. Van Amringe, August, 1828, to August, 1829; and from May, 1830, to February, 1835, the interim between August, 1829,. and May, 1830, there being no deputy; Joseph J. Lewis, May, Au- gust and November sessions, 1835; William Darlington, 1836, 1837 and 1838; Joseph Hemphill from 1839 to 1844, six years; John Hickman, during 1845 and the sessions in January and April, 1846; Joseph J. Lewis, July and October sessions, 1846; John Hickman, January sessions, 1847; John H. Brinton, April, 1847, to July, 1848; Washington Townsend, October sessions, 1848, and January sessions, 1849; J. Smith Futhey, from April sessions,. 1849, to November sessions, 1850, both inclusive, being the last of the deputy attorneys-general who prosecuted in Chester County. In 1850 an act of Assembly created the office of district at- torney, elected by the people, and the following gentlemen have since then filled this office: Paschall Woodward, November, 1850, to September, 1853; J. Smith Futhey, at October sessions, 1853, the remaining session of Mr. Woodward's term, and then by election from November, 1853, to November, 1856; William Butler, November 1856, to No- vember, 1859; Wayne MacVeagh, from November, 1859, to November, 1862; Henry M. Mclntire, elected in October, 1862, to January, 1863, when he died from wounds re- ceived in the service of his country; James J. Creigh, appointed in January, 1863, to serve until the election, and was elected in November, 1863, and served until November, 1866; Francis C. Hooton, November, 1866, to November, 1869; George F. Smith, November, 1869, to November, 1872; Abraham Wanger, November, 1872, to January, 1876; James H. Bull, January, 1876, to January, 1879; Thomas W. Pierce, January, 1879, to 1882; Francis Windle, 1882 to 1885; John J. Gheen, 1885 to 1888; Thomas W. Baldwin, 1888 to 1891; E. D. Bingham, 1891 to 1894; Joseph H. Baldwin, 1894 to 1897, and W. W. MacElree, 1897 to 1900. 542 CHESTER COUNTY It is not deemed necessary in this work to present a detailed account of the various crimes that have been committed within the county; but it is necessary, as a matter of history, to note the degree and nature of the punishment meted out to criminals in the different periods of the county's history. In the earliest times the most common punishment for ordinary offenses was the inflic- tion of fines. But from 1714 to 1759 most of the sentences em- braced whipping as the chief feature of punishment for offenses of this kind, and usually consisted of "twenty-one lashes on the bare back well laid on." During this period there was no imprison- ment, and rarely was standing in the pillory resorted to. One of the noted crimes in the early day was the murder of Jonathan Hayes of Chester County by Hugh Pugh and Lazarus Thomas, the murderers being immediately apprehended and lodged in jail. This was in 1715, but their trial did not begin until near the beginning of the year 1718, when the Supreme Court was so constituted as to hold a Court of Oyer and Terminer for the purpose. Being found guilty they were sentenced to be executed. On May 18, 1718, asserting three legal defects in their conviction, they petitioned the Governor for a reprieve until the pleasure of the King could be ascertained, these three defects being that the jury had been composed of Quakers, who affirmed instead tak- ing an oath; that the act for the proper qualification of judges, juries and witnesses was passed after the supposed commission of the murder, and that the said act was contrary to the statutes of Great Britain. The Governor rejected the petition, and in so do- ing was sustained by a majority of his council. The two mur- derers were ordered to be executed May 9, 1718. In April, 1728, John Winter and Walter Winter killed an In- dian and two squaws in the upper part of Chester County; war- rants were issued for their arrest, and they were soon safely lodged in jail at Chester. On June 19, 1728, they were guilty by a jury of twelve men, and sentenced to "be hanged by the necks until they and each of them be dead." AND ITS PEOPLE. 543 On August 1, 1752, John Thomas and Eleanor Davis were cruelly murdered in Tredyffrin Township by Bryan Doran, James Eice, alias Dillon, and Thomas Kelly. Eice and Kelly were soon afterward arrested, and tried November 27, 1752, the latter plead- ing guilty. Eice was executed December 9, 1752, and Kelly on the 16th of the same month. In 1764 a slave named Phebe, belonging to Joseph Eichard- son, was sentenced to be hanged for burglariously entering the house of Thomas Barnard and stealing divers goods. On March 23, 1772, Patrick Kennedy, Thomas Fryer, Neal Mc- Carriber and James Dever were convicted of a rape on Jane Wal- ker, committed November 30, 1771, and they each sentenced to death. Kennedy was ordered to be executed May 2, 1772, but the others were reprieved. On September 26, 1778, James Fitzpatrick was executed for burglary and larceny, of which he had been regularly convicted. In May, 1780, William Boyd, while in the discharge of his duty, as tax collector in Chester County, was murdered by John and Eobert Smith, and on May 13, the Governor of the Common- wealth, Joseph Eeed, offered a reward of |20,000 for their appre- hension. They were captured while en route to join the British army, by David Furman, sheriff of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and were tried in Chester County, June 26, and executed July 1, 1780. On November 2, 1784, Joseph Chalk, John McDonnell, and John Vamum, alias Benson, were executed for burglary. Since 1789, when Chester County was reduced to its present limits, the following executions have been had: Hannah Miller for the murder of her infant child, tried at the May session, 1805, sentenced June 1, and executed in public Au- gust 1, 1805, under the direction of the sheriff, Jesse John. Edward Williams (colored), for the murder of his wife, tried at the November sessions, 1830, sentenced November 30, and exe- cuted in public December 31, 1830. 544 CHESTER COUNTY Charles Bowman (colored), for the murder of Jonathan Mc- Euen, a blind fiddler, tried at the August session, 1834, sentenced August 25, and executed November 21, 1834. Jabez Boyd, for the murder of Wesley Patton, fourteen years old, tried at the July sessions, 1845, sentenced August 8, and exe- cuted November 21, 1845. ■ George Pharaoh, for the murder of Rachel Sharpless, tried at the January Sessions, 1851, Sentenced February 12, 1851, and executed August 29, 1851. Lewis Green (colored), for the murder of Jacob Marks, a ped- dler, generally known as Dutch Jake, tried at the August Sessions, 1861, sentenced November 1, 1861, and executed March 7, 1862. George Grant (colored), for the murder of Mrs. Amanda Spence (colored), tried at the October Sessions, 1871, sentenced January 31, 1872, and executed November 13, 1872. William Eachus Udderzook, for the murder of Winfleld Scott Goss, tried at the October Sessions, 1873, sentenced December 13, 1873, and executed November 12, 1874. This was one of the famous murder trials of the country. Udderzook and Goss were brothers-in-law, having married sisters. They entered into a conspiracy to defraud insurance companies, Goss securing insurance on his life in seyeral companies for $25,- 000. A dead body was then introduced into a frame shop in which Goss worked by himself near Baltimore, and the building fired and burned to the ground. Goss disappeared; it was given out that he was last seen in the burned building, and the charred remains of the body of a man was found in the ruins. These re- mains Udderzook stated were those of Goss, and they were buried as such. The insurance companies were not satisfied that the remains were those of Goss, and instituted inquiries with such success that they learned of a man whom they believed to be Goss in hiding under the assumed name of A. 0. Wilson, and as it was impossible AXD ITS PEOPLE. 545 to keep Goss in hiding Udderzook determined, in order to conceal his part in the attempt to defraud, to take the life of his brother- in-law. Accordingly he decoyed him to Jennerville, Chester County, stabbed him to death, and buried the body in the woods. The body was discovered through the agency of buzzards. Udder- zook, suspected, was tried and executed as above stated. Since the execution of Udderzook there has been no one hanged in Chester County; but the probabilities are that there will be an execution for murder in the near future. Jonas Preston, Jr., was tried at the April Sessions, 1898, for the murder of his wife, Ella Preston, in Penn Township. The defense set up was that of insanity, but Preston was convicted on April 28, of murder in the first degree, and if a new trial should not be granted, or if a a appeal to the Supreme Court should be without avail, he must be sentenced to hang. Eobert Emmet Monaghan, formerly one of the leading mem- bers of the Chester County bar, was a son of James and Catherine (Streeper) Monaghan. He was bom in West Whiteland Town- ship, Chester County. James Monaghan was engaged in the re- bellion with Eobert Emmet, and this rebellion failed young Mon- aghan was compelled to flee to the United States, and died on his farm in Chester County in 1841. It was on this farm that Eobert E. Monaghan was born and on it he remained until he was nearly twenty-one years of age. Eeceiving his preliminary education at the academies at Union- ville and at Kew London in Chester County, and at the Strasburg Academy in Lancaster County, he then began life for himself as a school teacher, at twenty dollars per month. Being offered a posi- tion as collector on the Pennsylvania Canal at Liverpool, Perry County, he retained it three years, in the meantime reading law with Hon. Hamilton Aldricks of Harrisburg. He was admitted to the Chester County bar at West Chester, and there began the practice of the law, continuing in practice up to the time of his death, which occurred June 29, 1895. 546 CHESTER COUNTY He served as a member of the borough council of West Ches- ter, and as a trustee of the West Chester State Normal School, for a few years being president of the board. He also served as president of the Chester County Agricultural Society, and vpas in all the positions he filled faithful and efficient and trustworthy. In 1890 he was appointed by Governor Beaver a member of the joint commission from the States of Pennsylvania and Delaware, composed of himself, Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, W. H. Miller, from the former State, and Thomas F. Bayard, Dr. B. L. Lewis, and Hon. John H. Hoffecker from the latter State, the duties of these commissioners being to define, settle and mark the dividing line between the States, this subject being fully treated in the chapter on the boundary lines of the State. William H. Dillingham, one of the foremost lawyers of Ches- ter County during the period he devoted to the profession, was born in Lee, Massachusetts, August 3, 1791. His preparatory educated was received at Lenox Academy, and when fifteen years of age he entered the sophomore class of Williams, remaining there as a student about a year and a half, and although he did not graduate, yet in 1815 his alma mater conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. In 1808 he began reading law in the office of Charles Chauncey of Philadelphia, and in 1811 was admitted to the bar. Eemoving to West Chester in 1817 he there rapidly rose in his profession, and was always prepared for trial. In 1821 he was appointed prosecuting attorney, holding the office a little more than two years. He was employed as solicitor of the Bank of Chester County for more than fifteen years, and in 1837 was elected to the State Legislature, and in the fall of 1841 after a residence of nearly twenty-five years in West Chester, he returned to Philadelphia, and there spent the remainder of his days. Mr. Dillingham was a man of public spirit, and aided every good work that needed aid, the public schools, charitable institu- tions of all kinds, and scientific and literary societies always found AND ITS PEOPLE. 547 in liim a friend. Althougli the productions of his own pen were not numerous, yet he contributed judicious essays to the leading journals of the times. His literary taste was refined, and his style was polished and terse. And it has been truly said of him that he touched nothing that he did not adorn. Townsend Haines, one of the most able and distinguished of the earlier citizens of Chester County, was born at West Chester, January 7, 1792. He was a son of Caleb Haines, a member of the Society of Friends, and one of their number that took the side of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, after its close becoming a refugee in Nova Scotia, and remaining there until an act of Con- gress provided an amnesty for all cases of the kind. Then re- turning to West Chester he married Ann Ryant early in 1791, Townsend Haines being their eldest son. In October, 1809, young Townsend entered the school of Enoch Lewis at Xew Garden, where he improved his knowledge of the various branches of higher mathematics up to and including trigonometry, and by this means became familiar with the processes of abstract reasoning, by which, if the premises are true, the conclusion is irresistible. In his latter life while engaged in the practice of the law he be- came fully convinced of this means of intellectual discipline, and to it was largely due his great measure of success. From his mother, who was a woman of taste and culture, he acquired a knowledge of elocution and rhetoric, which in his forensic efforts was of use to him, as was the development of his reasoning fac- ulties in the preparation of his cases. Removing to West Chester in 1815 he took lessons in Latin of Mr. Glass, with the view of entering the profession of the law. After a dilligent course of study in the office of Judge Isaac Dar- lington, he was admitted to the bar February 7, 1818, but for some- time the law practice of the county was divided up among the older professionals, and he was compelled to be content with a small amount of business in the Orphans' Court, and with such 548 CHESTER COUNTY criminal practice as came to him. Tliis latter class of practice brought him fame and popularity and led to the trial of jury cases in the Court of Common Pleas. In 1826 Mr. Haines was elected to the Legislature of the State, and was re-elected in 1827. Mr. Haines was a good lawyer, excellent in the examination of wit- nesses, and powerful in the presence of a jury. He always ap- pealed to the better nature of a witness and not to his fears, fram- ing his questions in such a way as to elicit the truth without pro- ducing the feeling of humiliation even in a witness that was un- willing. He was equally considerate of the feelings of his fellow- attorneys, his conduct being so uniformly courteous and fair that no resentment was ever awakened. Mr. Haines was an able man. The position he attained at the bar was the result of spontaneous action on his part; but the position he might have attained and which he knew he might attain, he studiously declined to strive for. He thought he could not afford the sacrifices such a struggle would involve. He felt sure that his profession would sustain him, and for distinction, which he knew was practically in his grasp, he did not care. The prominence he acquired came to him unsought, and simply from the force of circumstances, wKether that prominence were in the legal or political field. In 1846 Mr. Haines was a candidate for Congress on the Whig ticket, but was defeated by a single vote, his defeat being the nat- ural result of his opposition in previous years to Anti-Masonry. When William F. Johnson became Governor, he offered to Mr. Haines the position of Secretary of the Commonwealth, which offer was accepted, and in 1850 he was appointed by President Taylor, Treasurer of the United States, and in the fall of 1851 he was elected to the position of president judge of the Fifteenth Judicial District, composed then of the counties of Chester and Delaware, filling the office most acceptably for the ten years of the term. In February, 1865, his wife died, and he felt her loss very AND ITS PEOPLE. 549 severely. In September following he was himself taken ill, and rapidly sank to his death in October, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, respected and honored by all for his great ability, and for the uprightness and kindliness of his life. Hon. Joseph J. Lewis, one of the ablest men of his time, and a lawyer of distinction, was born October 5, 1801, at Westtown, Chester County. His education was received at the Westtown Boarding School, and in Philadelphia, where he studied Latin and Greek under Thomas Dugdale, and aftenvard he took charge for some time of the Chester County Academy in the Great Valley. In 1822 he was invited by Jonathan Gause to assist him in teach- ing mathematics in West Chester Academy. In 1824 he went to Xew York to complete his legal studies, and remained some time under the direction of Chancellor Kent, returning to West Chester in April, 1825, being admitted to the bar May 1, of that year. In 1835 he was appointed deputy attorney-general for Chester County, and in 1844 he was again appointed to the same position. He took a leading part in politics and in 1860 aided largely in securing the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for Presidency of the United States. From March, 1863, to July, 1865, he held the office of com- missioner of internal revenue, and drafted many important acts necessary for the efficient working of the internal revenue system. Taking him all and all there were few men more useful to their fellow-citizens than was Mr. Lewis, and his death was sin- cerely mourned by all that knew him. Joseph Hemphill, formerly a lawyer of Chester County, and one of the deputy attorney-generals for Chester County, was a worthy descendant of honorable ancestry. Alexander Hemphill, great-grandfather of Joseph Hemphill, came from the north of Ireland in the early part of the Eighteenth Century, and settled in Thornbury Township, Chester County. Joseph Hemphill, the eld- est son of Alexander, married Amy Wills, and by her had eight children, the eldest of whom was also named Joseph. The latter 550 CHESTER COUNTY Joseph Hemphill was an able lawyer, and served as a member of the Seventh, Sixteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-first Congresses, and for fourteen years presided over the district court for the county and city of Philadelphia. Joseph Hemphill, father of the present president judge of Chester County, was a prominent and distinguished member of the Chester County bar. He was born in West Chester December 7, 1807, and received his classical education at the hands of such teachers as Jonathan Cause, and Joshua Hoopes of Chester County, and James W. Bobbins of Lennox, Massachusetts. He read law with his brother-in-law, Hon. Thomas S. Bell, was ad- mitted to the bar August 3, 1829, and immediately afterward began the practice of the law. Being an industrious and an hon- est man he rapidly rose in his profession and soon won a place among the most prominent and successful members of the Chester County bar. His career extended from his admission to the bar in 1829 to 1870, and while he was always watchful of the interests of his clients, yet he was at the same time always fair to his opponents. From 1839 to 1845 he was deputy attorney-general for Chester County, and he was nominated by the Democrats in 1861 for president judge in a district then composed of Chester and Delaware Counties, but was defeated at the polls, though no one doubted his peculiar fitness for the place. His death occurred February 11, 1870, and on that day numerous deserved tributes of respect were paid to his memory, by Wayne MacVeagh, William B. Waddell, Eobert E. Monaghan and others. His loss was greatly felt by all that knew him. Hon. William Darlington, born October 19, 1804, studied law with his brother. Judge Isaac Darlington, and was admitted to the bar January 31, 1826. From this time until his death, which occurred December 6, 1879, he was devoted to his profession, which has always been looked upon as "a jealous mistress." While he occasionally engaged in the trial of cases before the AND ITS PEOPLE. 553 District Court of the United States at Pliiladelpliia, yet his princi- pal practice was confined to the county courts of Eastern Penn- sylvania. He served as deputy attorney-general for Chester County from 1835 to 1838, but he preferred legal science to crimi- nal jurisprudence, and as a consequence enjoyed a lucrative prac- tice. In 1837 he was elected a member of the State convention to remodel the Constitution, and he was also elected to represent the people of his county in the Constitutional Convention of 1873. His leading characteristics were courage, sagacity, equanimity, aptness, precision, brevity and force, an array of qualities which should make any man a formidable antagonist, and at the same time a powerful friend. He was most emphatically a scorner of cant, bigotry and hypocrisy, and though he had a birthright in the Society of Friends, yet beyond that he had no connection with any religious denomination. He was not in the ordinary accepta- tion of the term an educated man, but his success in life demon- strates the fact that college training, though of inestimable value to a man of sound mind and of lofty ambition, is not always essen- tial to the attainment of distinction among one's fellow men. But without natural ability no man can greatly distinguish himself. He was the youngest child in a family of twelve, but notwithstand- ing this he acquired the greatest estate of them all. While he did not, as many men do, mingle with the masses of the people, yet he was unusually and deservedly popular and highly respected by all. Uriah V. Pennypacker, third son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Funk) Pennypacker, was born in Schuylkill Township, Chester County, October 6, 1809. His father was a farmer and the family were Mennonites, descendants of a Dutch emigrant, Heinrich Pen- nebaker, who had settled in Montgomery County about 1716. Uriah was a pupil at the Union School-house in Charlestown Town- ship during the winter seasons, and was an interested listener to all debates held therein in the evenings. At eighteen years of age 32 554 CHESTER COUNTY he spent one session at the West Chester Academy, taught then by Jonathan Gause, and the following year began the study of law with his uncle, Matthias Pennypacker, a member of the Ches- ter County bar, and he was admitted to the bar after three years' study. He possessed a prodigious memory, and in a short time was noted for his vast and exact knowledge of the law and where to find it. He could repeat, verbatim, every definition in Black- stone. In 1834 he married Majy Fisher Wheeler, of West Chester. About that time the First Baptist Church of West Chester was founded, Mr. Pennypacker being a charter member. He was active in the formation of the Central Union Association of Bap- tist Churches. In politics he was an energetic Whig and retained during all his life an intense interest in public affairs. His rise in his profession was rapid, and for more than twenty years the Eeports of the Supreme Court attested his zeal, his skill and his learning. His manner was easy and graceful and his presentation of a case to a court or a jury was clear, concise and convincing. He enjoyed the marked confidence of his friends and neighbors, and was so liberal and considerate in his views that all parties supported him when he was twice elected chief burgess of West ' Chester. He was six feet seven inches in height, and used to re- mark facetiously that he "stood highest at the bar." His love of humor was great and his sayings and his stories were the delight of many a Chester County audience. Ill health diminished his ability to work, and the last ten years of his life witnessed a gradual relinquishment of business cares. He died August 16, 1867, and was buried at Oakland Cem- etery, surviving his wife six years. He was one of a group of great lawyers, who had made the bar of Chester County famous for learning, integrity and ability, and for a high sense of per- sonal and professional honor. In all the relations of life he was careful and exact, and at his death he was mourned by the bar, by the church and by the community of which he had so long formed a conspicuous part. His son is Charles H. Pennypacker. AND ITS PEOPLE. 5S5 Charles H. Pennypacker, one of the ablest members of the Chester County bar, was born in West Chester, April 16, 1845. Having received his preliminary and preparatory education in the public schools of his native city and in West Chester Academy, he then attended Philips Exeter Academy, at Exeter, New Hamp- shire, which he left in 1862. In December, 1863, he married Mrs. Elizabeth A. Passmore, widow of Levis Passmore, formerly of West Marlborough, Chester County. Mrs. Pennypacker, while a young lady, attended and graduated from the Friends' Westtown Boarding-school, and she has been for nine years a school director in West Chester. Mr. Pennypacker studied law with his father, Uriah V. Penny- packer, until his father died, and then with William B. Waddell, and was admitted to the bar in 1869. He was admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1870, and to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1888. He has tried hundreds of cases in all the courts mentioned, and the first case argued by him before the Supreme Court of the State is reported at length in Twentieth P. F. Smith. In 1873 he was counsel for the insurance com- panies in the celebrated Udderzook murder trial. His uncle, after whom he was named, was a distinguished lawyer of South West Virginia, having studied law with William Eawle of Philadelphia. His maternal grandfather. Dr. Thomas Ruston, was a graduate of the college of Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey, and was the first American graduate of the medical department of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Mr. Pennypacker has devoted many years to the study of sev- eral of the modern languages, especially the English. He has lectured in several of the States of the Union, and has written many articles for leading magazines and other periodicals. Dur- ing his entire life he has taken great interest in natural science, especially mineralogy, conchology and chemistry, and has had correspondence with reference to these subjects with leading 556 CHESTER COUNTY scientists in all parts of the world, who have furnished him ma- terial for the purposes of examination and identification. Mr. Pennypacker is a member of the Microscopical Society of Liver- pool, England, and of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- delphia. He was onef of the founders of the West Chester Philo- sophical Society, and has lectured before it many times. Mr. and Mrs. Pennypacker have had four children, as follows: Levis Passmore, a graduate of the Eensselaer Polytechnic Insti- tute at Troy, New York, in the class of 1888, and now a civil engi- neer engaged in his profession in Guatemala, where he has re- sided five years; Henry, a graduate of Harvard University in the class of 1888, and now a Master in the Boston Latin School, Bos- ton, Massachusetts, where he has resided for the last five years; Joseph Albert, accidentally killed when twenty years of age while residing in Salvador, Central. America, and Blanche, who died in infancy. Alfred P. Eeid, one of the most prominent members of the bar of Chester County, was born in Highland Township, Chester County, September 3, 1842, and grew up on his father's farm. His early education was secured at Parkesburg, Coatesville and West Chester, and he then entered Lafayette College, graduating from this institution in 1864. Reading law with Judge J. Smith Futhey he was admitted to the bar August 14, 1866, and has ever since been engaged in the successful practice of his profession in West Chester, though that practice extends into the adjoining counties and thus brings him in contact with the ablest legal minds in the State. Possessed of a fair, logical and judicial mind, his argu- ments are always of weight with the court and his influence is felt by all the judges on the bench. Outside of his regular profession Mr. Eeid has given much time to banking, and is recognized as an able financier. He has been president and vice-president of sev- eral different banks, among them the First National Bank of West Chester, to the presidency of which he was elected soon after AXD ITS PEOPLE. 557 the death of President Wollerton. By his ability, energy and in- tegrity he has won for himself a distinguished position in the pro- fession of the law and also in the financial world. Col. Hamilton H. Gilkyson, of Phcenixville, one of the most successful members of the Chester County bar, is a son of James and Anna (Henry) Gilkyson, and was born in December, 1848, at Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. James Gilkyson, his father, was of Irish ancestry, and was for many years a prominent practitioner at the bar of Bucks County, and served for a number of years as district attorney of that county. Hamilton H. Gilkyson received his education at private schools in Doylestown and at Pennington Seminary in New Jer- sey, graduating from the latter institution in 1864. For several years afterward he was engaged n the West as a teacher and in business as a merchant. Eeturning to Pennsylvania he read law in the office of his father in Doylestown, being admitted to the bar in 1872. He immediately afterward established himself in prac- tice in Phcenixville and has there been successfully engaged ever since, practicing in the courts of Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties, and is well known in all three counties as a careful, painstaking and able attorney, always thoroughly preparing him- self for the trial of cases before going into court. During the early history of Chester County, or say prior to 1750, there were but few attorneys at law within its limits. The method of bringing cases into court also seems to have been dif- ferent from what it is at the present time, the parties interested being permitted to make their presentations in person or through a friend. In June, 1677, it was ordered in the Upland Court that all declarations must be entered at least the day before the court, and that no person be admitted to plead for any other person as an attorney in court without first having his admittance of the court or a warrant of attorney for so doing from his client. While many persons appeared in behalf of others, those ap- 558 CHESTER COUNTY pearing not being familiar with the law, yet there were the follow- ing who were admitted to practice or who practiced in the courts of the county prior to 1750: In 1683, John White and Abraham Mann; in 1698, John Moore and David Lloyd; in 1726, Ealph Asshe- ton, John Kinsey, Peter Evans, Francis Sherrard and Joseph Growdon, Jr.; in 1730, Alexander Keith; in 1734, William Kawle; 1735, John Eoss, James Hamilton, John Eobinson, Thomas Hop- kinson; 1736, Alexander Piercey, James Keating and Andrew Ham- ilton; 1738, William Assheton; 1739, William Peters; 1740, John Webb; 1741, Tench Francis, Edmund Ackworth, Neil Harris; 1742, Eobert Hartshorne, Eichard Peters, John Mather and James Eead; 1743, John Moland and Townsend White; 1744, David Ed- wards; 1745, Benjamin Price; 1747, John Lawrence; 1748, Edward Shippen, Jr. ; 1749, Joseph Galloway and John Evans. Following is a list of those admitted from 1750 to 1776 : 1752, David Finney; 1753, Thomas Otway, John Price, Will- iam Morris, Jr.; 1754, Benjamin Chew; 1755, Samuel Johnson, Thomas McKean, David Henderson, William Whitebred; 1756, George Eoss, John Armond; 1760, John Morris; 1763, Nicholas Wain, James Tilghman; 1764, Hugh Hughes, John Ourrie, Elisha Price, Lindsay Coates; 1765, Andrew Allen, Alexander Porter, Nicholas Vandyke, Alexander Wilcocks, Joshua Yeates, Stephen Porter, Eichard Peters, Jr., James Biddle, James Allen, Henry Elwes, James Loyre; 1766, Isaac Hunt, David Thompson, jjames Vandyke; 1767, William Hicks, James Wilson; 1769, Jacob Eush, Miers Fisher, Daniel Clymer, John Euley, Stephen Watts; 1770, Abel Evans, Thomas Good, James Lukens; 1773, Joseph Eead, George Noarth, Jacob Bankson, Francis Johnson, Asheton Hum- phreys; 1772, Eichard Tilghman, John Lawrence, Peter Zachary Lloyd ; 1773, Christian Hook, William L. Blair, Phineas Bond, John Stedman, John McPherson, William Lewis; 1774, Edward Tilgh- man, Gunning Bedford; 1775, Andrew Eobeson, John Vannost; 1776, William Prince Gibbs, Collinson Eead. AND ITS PEOPLE. 559 Of tliose above named Benjamin Chew was one of the most prominent. In 1755 he became attomej-general of the Province and he was president judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Phila- delphia. From 1774 to 1776 he was chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Province, and from 1790 to 1806 he was president of the High Court of Errors and Appeals, this court being abolished in 1806, upon the reorganization of the judiciary department. Another prominent man whose name is in the above list was Thomas McKean. He was born in New London Township, Ches- ter County, March 19, 1734, and in 1757 was elected to the Assem- bly of the Province. From 1762 to 1769 he was a member of the Assembly from New Castle County, in 1765 assisting in framing the address of the colonies to the House of Commons of England. He was elected a delegate to the first Provincial, or "Stamp Act,"^ Congress, which was dissolved October 24, 1765. In 1774 he was elected a member of the Continental Congress, and was annually re-elected until 1783. In 1778 he was a member of the convention which framed the Articles of Confederation, and in 1781 he was president of Congress. He was a member of the Pennsylvania convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States. He had signed the Declaration of Independence and had served during a part of the War of the Eevolution under Washington, in command of a battalion. He was Governor of Pennsylvania from 1798 to 1808, and was distinguished as one of the ablest men of his time. His death occurred June 24, 1817. One more of the above-named attorneys was an unusually able man, Hon. James Wilson, and was distinguished as being both a great lawyer and a great orator. He was a signer of the Declara- tion of Independence, was a member of the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States, and in 1789 he was appointed by President Washington an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, holding the office until his death in 1798. One of his sons, Kev. Bird Wilson, LL. D., D. D., was one of the most prominent lawyers and divines of the early 56o CHESTER COUNTY day. He was born in 1777, and in 1806 was appointed by Gov- ernor McKean president judge of the judicial district composed of Chester, Delaware, Bucks and Montgomery Counties, holding the office until 1818, when he became a clergyman of the Episcopal Church. Ordained deacon by Bishop William White, D. D., March 12, 1819, he became a priest in 1820. After about a year's rector- ship of the Episcopal Church at Norristown he became a professor in the Theological Seminary of 'the Episcopal Church in New York, and occupied this position twenty-nine years. He died April 14, 1859, aged eighty-two years. Following is a list of the attorneys admitted to the bar of Chester County from 1776 to 1800, some of whom it will be seen were readmitted after the Revolutionary War, none being permit- ted to practice law except those who supported the order of things brought about by that war: 1777. — ^John Morris, Andrew Eobeson, William Lewis, Will- iam L. Blair, John Kaley. 1778. — George Boss, Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant, Jacob Rush, Elisha Price, Alexander Wilcocks, Gunning Bedford, John Pancoast. 1779. — Edward Burd, Francis Johnston, Henry Osborne, George Campbell, Jacob Bankson, Jared Ingersoll, William Brad- ford, Jr. 1780. — Moses Levy. 1781. — Nicholas Vandyke, John Coxe, William Moore Smith, John Lawrence, Nathaniel Potts. 1782. — Joseph Reed, John F. Mifflin, Daniel Clymer, John Vin- 1783. — John Wilkes Kittera, Henry H. Graham, William Eawle. 1784. — William Ewing. 1785. — Peter Zachary Lloyd, Jacob R. Howell, Thomas Ross, James Hanna, John Andra Hanna, Joseph B. McKean, John Todd. AND ITS PEOPLE. 561 1786.— Eobert Hodson, Charles Smith, John Young, Benjamin Chew, Jr., B. E. Morgan, Jr., Richard Wharton, Thomas Mem- minger. 1787. — David Smith, James Wade, John Joseph Hemy, Will- iam R. Atlee, W. Montgomery, Sampson Levy, James Hopkins, Samuel Roberts, Samuel Bayard, Matthias Baldwin, James A. Bayard. 1788. — Thomas Armstrong, Peter S. Duponceau, Jasper Yeates, Peter Hoofnagle, Joseph Hubley, William Graham. 1789. — John Hallo well, Joseph Thomas, Robert Porter, Charles Healty, Anthony Morris, John Craig Wells, John Cadwallader, John Moore. 1790. — Thomas B. Dick, Abraham Chapman, John Thompson, Marks John Biddle, David Moore, Isaac Telfair. 1791. — Robert Henry Durkin, Seth Chapman. 1792. — Miles Merion, Robert Frazer, John Price. 1793. — Thomas W. Tallman, John H. Brinton, Evan Rice Evans, Joseph Hemphill, Michael Kepple, John Shippen, Henry Kelmuth, A. W. Foster. 1794. — Jacob Richards, Joseph B. Hopkinson, William Martin. 1795. — J. Harvey Hurst, James Hunter, Jr., James Milner, James Lattimer, Jr., John Cloyd, Joseph Reid, Isaac Wayne. 1797. — W. Lee Hannum. 1798.— C. Chauncey, Jr. 1799. — Jonathan T. Haight, John Taylor, William Hemphill. Jacob Rush, mentioned above as having been admitted in 1778, was a brother of Dr. Benjamin Rush. He was president judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, of the Court of Errors and Appeals, and also of the Supreme Court. John Lawrence and John Coxe were judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadel- phia, and Moses Levy was president of the District Court of Phila- delphia. Jonathan D. Sergeant was a member of the Provincial Congress, and was attorney-general of the State from 1777 to 1780. 562 CHESTER COUNTY William Bradford, after whom Bradford County was named, be- came attorney-general in 1780, and was one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the State from 1791 to 1794, becoming in the lat- ter year attorney-general of the United States by appointment by President Washington. Jared Ingersoll, admitted to the Chester County bar in 1779, was twice attorney-general of Pennsylvania, and was president judge of the District Court of Philadelphia at the time of his death, Joseph B. McKean, a son of Governor McKean, succeeded Jared Ingersoll as attorney-general, and also Served as president of the District Court of Philadelphia. Jasper Yeates became one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the State, and Seth Chapman became a district judge. Following is a list of the attorneys admitted to the bar of Chester County from 1800 to the breaking out of the War of the Kebellion in 1861: 1800. — Jonathan W. Condy, John Sergeant, T. Barton Zantzin- ger and William Dewees. 1801. — Isaac Darlington. 1803. — James D. Barnard, Thomas Sergeant, Samuel Jacobs, John Ewing Porter. 1804.— John Duer. 1806. — John Edwards, Charles W. Humphrey. 1807. — Eeuben Eachus. 1808.— Ziba Pyle. 1809. — Jefferis Moore, Matthias Morris and Daniel Addis. 1810.— Blaithwaite J. Shober, Archibald T. Dick. 1811.— Philip S. Markley, Michael W. Ash. 1813. — Benjamin Tilghman, Thomas Breintnall. 1814. — James Madison Porter, William B. Smith, Clement B. Buckley, Henry Shippen, John Kerlin, Benjamin Evans. 1815. — George B. Porter, Samuel Edwards. 1816. — George C. Willing, William H. Dillingham, Isaac D. Barnard, Thomas Kittera, Thomas A. Maybin. AND ITS PEOPLE. S^S 1818. — Townsend Haines. 1819. — Jesse Conard. 1820.— William Williamson. 1821.— William S. Haines, David Paul Brown, Thomas S. Bell, Edward Darlington, Henry H. Van Amringe, Jolin Freedley and Samuel Parke. 1822.— Abraham Marshall, 1821.— Daniel Buckwalter, John D. Pettit, 1825. — Matthias Pennypacker, Francis James, Joseph J. Lewis, Lewis G. Pearce, Owen Stover. 1826. — Benjamin Bartholomew, William Darlington, James M. Kinnard, Davis H. Hoopes. 1827.— John K. Zellin, Levi B. Smith. 1828.— William McK. Ball, John H. Bradley, Robert B. Dod- son, James A. Hemphill, James S. Tongue. 1829. — Mark Denny, Joseph Hemphill, Richard Bailey, P. Fra- zer Smith. 1830. — Lea Bennett, John Ilutter. 1831. — Volney Lee Maxwell, Uriah V. Pennypacker. 1832.— John H. Brinton. 1833.— John Hickman. 1834.— Horatio G. Worrall. 1835.- Addison May. 1836.— William Wheeler. 1839.— Ferdinand E. Hayes. 1840. — William Penn Miner, James H. Bull, B. Franklin Pyle. 1842. — John S. Bowen, George W. Pearce, Matthew A. Stanley. 1843. — J. Smith Futhey, James Davis, Joseph B. Townsend, William M. Bull, Howard Darlington. 1844. — John M. Broomall, Isaac D. Pyle, Washington Town- send, John P. Baily, Edward H. Williamson, Samuel B. Thomas, Thomas H. Speakman. 1845. — James B. Everhart, Joseph P. Wilson, James A. Gil- 564 CHESTER COUNTY more, William G. Smith, William Parker Foiilke, William Butler, 1846.— William E. Barber, William Nicholson, Thomas P. Potts, W. Eoss Cunningham, Henry 0. Townsend. 1847. — James P. Fleming, Paschall Woodward. 1848. — Eobert E. Monaghan, Joseph E. Morris, Samuel Eush, Eobert Frazer, James M. Meredith, James L. Jones. 1849. — Ezra Lewis, Edward Shippen, Jesse Landis, John F. Eoberts, Charles H. Garber. 1850. — Franklin Pennington, Clinton Auge. 1851. — Francis Darlington, A. Herr Smith. 1852.— William Bell Waddell, William L, Marshall, Jesse Bishop, Levi Kimes. 1853. — Edward J. Lewis, Charles D. Manley, William H. Dar- lington. 1854. — B. Markley Boyer, James Merrill Linn. 1855. — W. Arthur Jackson. 1856. — Wayne MacVeagh. 1857. — James J. Creigh, Egbert K. Xichols, George W. Conar- roe, Samuel M. Du Bois, Francis C. Hooton. 1858. — George M. Eoberts, Cheyney W. Neilds, Henry M. Mc- Intire. 1859. — Thomas S. Bell, Jr., George M. Eupert. 1860. — William T. Haines, Henry W. Carruthers, John J. Pink- erton, W. M. Hinkson, Gardner Furness, George W. Wollaston and J. C. Price. Following is a list of the attorneys admitted to the bar since 1860: 1861.— William T. Fulton. 1862. — Oliver Sidwell, Henry C. Bergstresser. 1863. — John J. Pyle, Abi^aham Wagner, Elbridge Meconkey, David Euth. 1864. — Eees Davis, Joseph Hemphill, George F. Smith, Will- iam W. Hayes, John A. McCaughey. AND ITS PEOPLE. 56 5 1865.— Joseph Beale, William J. Gibson, William H. White- head, James Allen Morris. 1866. — Augustus J. Feather, Nimrod Strickland, Jr., Alfred P. Reid, Eobert T. Cornwell. 1867.— William T. McPhail, Joseph W. Barnard. 1869. — Charles H. Pennypacker. 1870.— Joseph T. Perdue, D. Smith Talbot. 1871. — Abner Pyle, Thomas W. Pierce, Samuel D. Ramsey, William S. Windle. 1872.— Andrew C. Fulton, William B. Eeid, Henry H. Gilky- son, Charles Wesley Talbot, Francis Windle, B. F. McAtee. 1873. — George L. Maris, Robert J. Monaghan, Isaac Newton Wynn, Frederick S. Dickson, John B. Kinnard. 1874. — William E. Dingee, Curtis H. Hannum. 1875.— Theodore K. Stubbs, Thomas B. Taylor. 1876.— Ezra Evans, John A. Groff, William T. Barber. 1877.— Thomas S. Butler, Archibald D. Thomas, H. T. Fair- lamb. 1878. — John Jay Gheen, J. Newton Huston, Edward D. Bing- ham. 1879. — James Monaghan, William N. Needles, Jr. 1880. — Samuel H. Holding, George B. Johnson, Wilmer W. MacElree. 1881. — John Austin Purcell, Benjamin Miller, Leonard R. Thomas. 1882.— William Rhoads Murphy. 1883.— J. Frank E. Hause, Thomas W. Baldwin. 1884.— Archibald McCall Holding, Arthur T. Parke. 1885.— Robert Scott Waddell, Wallace Scott Harlan, William Butler, Jr., Barton Darlington, N. Warren Talbot. 1886.— Henry P. Waitneight. 1887.— S. Duffield Mitchell, William S. Harris. 1888. — R. E. M. Strickland, William W. Montgomery, Wilbur S. Yearsley. 566 CHESTER COUNTY 1889. — Gibbons Gray Cornwell, Joseph H. Baldwin. 1890.— Joseph McClellan Bell. 1891. — Thomas Lack, John Russell Hayes. 1892.— J. Carroll Hayes. 1893.— John Noble Guss, Hector Lee Ball. 1897. — Isabel Darlington, Carroll Brinton Jacobs. 1898.— George S. Dewees, The Chester County Law and Miscellaneous Library Associa- tion was organized December i, 1861, by the members of the Chester County bar. The first meeting of the association was held at the office of Joseph J. Lewis, who presided over the meeting, and William B. Waddell was the secretary. After the adoption of the constitution Joseph J. Lewis was chosen president of the association, and George M. Rupert, secretary, treasurer and libra- rian. The first executive committee was composed of J. Smith Futhey, William B. Waddell and Washington Townsend. January 22, 1877, at an annual meeting Joseph J. Lewis, William Darlington and William B. Waddell were appointed to secure the grand jury room for the use of the association, report- ing to the association on the 25th of the same month at a special meeting that an arrangement had been effected with the com- missioners of the county for the use of the room. This room was in the northwest corner of the old court-house, and is now used for the courts of Judges Hemphill and Butler. At an annual meeting of the association held June 5, 1891, a motion carried in favor of the enlargement, the initial movement having this object in view, and on January 4, 1892, the committee on enlargement reported that the plans had been completed and the erection of the addition or annex begun. May 13, 1893, at a special meeting, William B. Waddell announced that the room as- signed to the library association, which is in the south end of the annex, was ready for occupation, and the books were soon after- ward removed thereto. AND ITS PEOPLE. 5^7 The library at the present time contains the following classes of books: The statutes of the State of Pennsylvania from the earl- iest times down to the present; all the Pennsylvania State reports, and most of the side bar reports from the earliest times; all the British common law and equity reports commencing with Lord Coke in 1562 and coming down to the present time; the reports of the States of New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts; re- ports of the courts of various other States; a complete series of the reports of the Supreme Court of the United States; numerous editions of general reports covering the entire jurisdiction of the United States and Great Britain; and editions of text books cov- ering all branches of the law. This also contains numerous curi- osities of legal literature in the form of old black letter volumes setting forth the functions of justices of the peace, etc., as they were defined in the earliest times, obtained by Judge Hemphill from the British Museum. There are also bound volumes of the American Eepublican from its earliest issues down to the war of the Rebellion, and numerous miscellaneous works. The number of volumes of all kinds now in the library is 6,745. The officers of the association at the present time are as fol- lows: William M. Hayes, president; Thomas Lack, secretary and treasurer, and A. M. Holding, librarian. The executive com- mittee consists of A. P. Eeid, J. J. Pinkerton and J. Frank E. Hause. CHAPTER XIV. MINING AND MANUFACTURING, 33 CHAPTER XIV. MINING AND MANUFACTURING FIRST IRON MINES OPENED — LEAD MINING BOGUS MONEY FURNACES THE LAW OF 1750 SLITTING AND ROLLING MILLS FORGES PRODUCTS BLISTER STEEL CANNON CAST LATER EXPERIMENTS IN STEEL RECENT IRON WORKS ORE DEPOSITS COPPER MARBLE OTHER STONE VARIOUS MANUFACTUR- ING ESTABLISHMENTS PERSONAL NOTES. IT appears to be certainly true that one of the first miners of lead in Chester County, if not the first, was Charles Pickering, after whom, as stated elsewhere in this work, Pickering Creek was named, and also Charlestown Township. Charles Pickering was an Englishman, and owned land in the above-named town- ship and also in Schuylkill Township. He had for his principal assistant a man named Samuel Buckley, whose house was situated on Zachariah Acker's farm in Schuylkill Township. These two men in addition to mining lead also obtained silver to some ex- tent, by melting the galena in an ordinary forge, and from the silver thus obtained they manufactured silver coins, using copper as their alloy, or "allay," as it was called at that time. For this oflfense Messrs. Pickering and Buckley were tried before Governor William Penn and a council, consisting of Thomas Holmes, Lasse Cock, William Biles, William Clayton, Chr. Taylor, and John Sym- cock, the trial commencing on the 24th of the 8th mo., 1683. On this day Governor William Penn informed the board that it was convenient that warrant should be sent from the board to apprehend some persons upon suspicion of putting away bad money. The first person called on to testify was Eobert Felton, to whom the question was put as to whether he had received any 573 574 CHESTER COUNTY silver of Charles Pickering "to Quine for him." He answered: "Yes, twenty-four pounds of Bard silver." He also said that he made the scales and that Charles Pickering and Samuel Buckley helped him. The next question asked him was: "What did they add to the allay of the 15 lb. 2 oz. of silver?" He answered: "About 4 oz. of copper." "And what to the 9 lb. of silver?" "About 3 or 4 oz. of copper," but he could not be exact, however, as to the allay, because they did sometimes put in more than he knew of. Robert Felton also said that he had no silver brought to him but by the persons above named, and he "scroopled to do it, the silver having already been allayed, and if they did not put more copper in it they would lose by it, and they said they would Bare him out in what he did for them." The Governor then told Charles Pickering and Samuel Buck- ley of their abuse to the government in "Quining" of Spanish bitts and Boston money, to the great damage and abuse of the subjects thereof, and he asked them if they were guilty of the fact. They confessed they had put off some of those new bitts, but they said that all their money was as good silver as any Spanish money, but they denied that they had any hand in the matter of "quining." Charles Pickering said he would stand by and be -tried, and he declared that he had heard John Eush swear that he spent half his time in making the bitts. The Governor then asked Samuel Buckley if he had not helped to melt money and to put in some of the copper allay into the silver more than should be, and to have been at the stamping of new bitts and striking on the stamp. Samuel Buckley confessed that "he had been guilty of somewhat of that," and also that he had knowledge as to the amount of copper put into the silver that was melted. He also admitted that he had helped Charles Pick- ering's man to melt the silver and to strike the hammer and to see the silver, and to disperse some of the bitts, more or less. He also confessed that there was more copper put into the silver than there should be. AND IT 8 PEOPLE. 57 S Charles Pickering and Samuel Buckley were then required to give bail in the sum of £500 each to appear at the next opening of the court, which was the next day, when it was ordered that an indictment be brought against them both. Griffith Jones testi- fied against Mr. Pickering, as also did Mary Bartholomew. The grand jury brought in the indictment, and the petit jury taking the case, in a short time brought in a verdict of guilty as they were indicted. The Governor then imposed sentence on Charles Pickering to the effect that he should make full satisfaction of good and current pay to every person that should within one month bring in any of this false, base and counterfeit "coyne," according to their respective proportions, and the money should be melted down into gross before it was returned to him, and that he should pay a line of £40 into the court toward the building of a new court-house in that city, and should stand committed until the fine was paid, and that afterward he should find security for his good "abear- ance." Then Samuel Buckley was sentenced, but "being considered more Engenious than he that went before, they hath thought fit to fine thee £10 toward the public court-house, and that thee find good security as to thy good abearance." Kobert Felton was sentenced to stand in the stocks one hour the next morning. The proclamation of the Governor notifying all that held any of the spurious or counterfeit coin to bring it in within one month was issued on the 27th of that month. As stated above, Pickering Creek was named after Charles Pickering. It had been formerly named "Vincent Hiver." French Creek was also called Vincent Eiver,but at what time the change in name was made in ethier case is not now known. Sir Francis Vincent was a large land owner in that part of the county in those days, and the two streams must have been named after him. 576 CHESTER COUNTY The most valuable mineral in Chester County is its iron ore, which is found in various parts of the county and has been mined for many years. This industry began in 1716, Thomas Rutter establishing the industry at Pool Forge, three miles above Potts- town. In 1718 Samuel Nutt took out patents for 400 acres of land in one place and 800 acres in another, on French Creek. The 400 acres here mentioned is believed to be the property now owned by I. J. Brower and Dr.-Z. Taj'lor Chrisman. In 1719 there were surveyed 650 acres at Warwick Furnace; in 1720 there was laid out 300 acres in Coventry, and in 1721 Mr. Nutt purchased 300 acres in Coventry. There were in operation at this early day several forges and furnaces in the northern part of the county, as the Pool Forge and Warwick Furnace above mentioned. On French Creek there was a forge in operation before 1720, which was assessed in 1722 in Nantmeal, and in 1724 in Coventry, so that it must have been on the line or very near it. Nutt's road was laid out in 1726 from the iron-works on St. Vincent River in the township of Coventry leading to Uwchlan Meeting-house, beginning at the forge and passing over Mt. Austrie at the distance of foiir miles. In 1736 Mr. Samuel ISfutt and W. Branson agreed with John Potts to carry on Redding Furnace, then recently built near Coventry. Soon afterward the widow Nutt and her daughter built War- wick Furnace. Another furnace was built one and a half miles further up the creek, and the interests of all parties were consoli- dated by Rutter & Potts, of the Warwick Furnace, which consoli- dation lasted from 1778 to 1783. An iron-works was established on Crum Creek, in what is now Delaware County, but in what was then Chester County, in 1742, by John Crosby and Peter Dicks, and as one of the consequences Thomas Dell complained that the dam overflowed his land. Sarum Forge ou Chester Creek was owned by John Taj lor and was worked from 1745 to 1751, at least. In 1748 the Swedish naturalist, Peter AND ITS PEOPLE.. S77 Kalm, passed through the lower part of Chester County, spend- ing some time at Chichester, "a borough on the Delaware, where travellers pass the river in a ferry, and where they build every year a number of small ships for sale, and from an iron-work which lies higher up in the country they carry iron bars to this place and ship them. About two English miles behind Chester I passed an iron forge, which was to the right hand by the road- side. It belonged to two brothers, as I am told. The ore, how- ever, is not dug here, but thirty or forty miles hence, where it is first melted in an oven and then carried to this place." This must have been the forge on Crum Creek, mentioned above, and the ore must have been dug in what is now Chester County. A most remarkable fact connected with the early iron indus- tries of this and other counties in Pennsylvania and the other counties must be mentioned here. James Hamilton was then Deputy Governor, serving from 1748 to 1754, and in . pursuance of an act of Parliament having for its object the restriction of the manufacture of iron in the colonies. Governor Hamilton issued his proclamation requiring the sheriffs of the several counties to make a return to him of "every mill or engine for slitting or rolling iron, every plating forge to work with a tilt hammer, and every furnace for making steel which were erected within their several and respective counties," the date of this proclamation being June 24, 1750. In response to this proclamation John Owen, then sheriff of Chester County, certified "that there is but one mill or engine for slitting and rolling iron within the county aforesaid, which is situate in Thornbury Township, and was erected in the year 1746 by John Taylor, the present proprietor thereof, who, with his servants and workmen, has ever since the 24th day of June last used and occupied the same." Sheriff Owen also certified that there was not any plating forge to work with a tilt-hammer nor any furnace for making steel within the county of Chester. 578 . CHESTER COUNTY What had become of the iron-works within two English miles of Chester, as seen by Peter Kalm, above mentioned, can only be guessed at. They must have gone into disuse, for Peter Kalm was too careful an observer to make a mistake in such a simple and important matter, and Sheriff Owen was too honest to certify to a misstatement. The partnership between Branson and Anna Nutt, widow of Samuel Nutt, who died about the close of the year 1737, and Mrs. Nutt's nephew was continued as if Mr. Nutt had not died, for several years, terminating probably about 17-10, after which the Warwick and Reading estates were conducted independently of each other. Warwick Furnace was built on land devised to Mrs. Anna Nutt by her husband for that purpose, and the property remained in the possession of her descendants, by the name of Potts, except that in 1771 a half interest was purchased therein by Thomas Eutter. William Branson erected a second furnace in what is now Warwick Township, about a mile and a half above Warwick Furnace, which, according to tradition, melted ore before the Reading Furnace. William Branson obtained a warrant for 2,000 acres of land on French Creek near the iron-works on July 12, 3733, and on November 29, 1736, he obtained another warrant for 1,500 acres in the township of Nantmeal, near French Creek. William Branson died in 1760 and his grandchildren, fifteen in number, inherited his property. The interests of all these heirs were purchased by Rutter & Potts, by several conveyances, from 1778 to 1783, as stated above. In his "History of New Sweden" (1759) Acrelius writes of iron-works in Chester County as follows : "Friends' (French) Creek, in Chester County, near the Schuyl- kill. The mine is rich and baundant, from ten to twelve feet deep, commencing on the surface. Its discoverer is Mr. Nutt, who after- ward took Mr. Branz (Branson) into partnership. They both AND ITS PEOPLE. l?9 went to England, brought workmen back with them and continued together. Each has his own furnace — Branz at Bead- ing, Xutt in Warwick. Each also has his own forges — Branz in Windsor. Xutt supplies four forges besides his own in Chester County. "Saruni belongs to Taylor's heirs; has three stacks, and is in full blast. "Crum Creek belongs to Peter Dicks; has two stacks, is worked sluggishly, and has ruined Crosby's family. "Two others are in the Great "Smaller. "At French Creek, or Branz's works, there is a steel furnace, built with a draught-hole, and called an 'air-oven.' In this iron bars are set at the distance of an inch apart. Between them are scattered horn, coal-dust, ashes, etc. The iron bars are thus covered with blisters, and this is called 'blister-steel.' It serves as the best steel to put upon edge-tools. These steel works are now said to be out of operation." It will also be of interest to note that on January IS, 1745, John Taylor, mentioned above as the owner of Sarum Forge, made an agreement with Thomas Wills, forgeman and finer, who was to work in the forge two years, making anconies at 22s. 6d. per ton, and with Kees Jones on June 10, 1746, to coal 200 cords of wood in Middletown for lis. 8d. per 100 bushels. In 1851 John Taylor sent an invoice of bar-iron to Mr. Plumsted of Philadel- phia, for shipment to Boston, asking for the returns to be made in oil, loaf-sugar and rum. After its purchase by Eutter & Potts, Eeading Furnace was permitted to fall into decay and was replaced by a forge, which in 1788 was owned by Captain Samuel Van Leer, a grandson of VTilliam Branson, the forge being carried on successfully for many years by Captain Van Leer & Sons, but at length it had its fall and decline. Mordecai Peirsol, about 17G4, built Rebecca Furnace, which S,8o CHESTER COUNTY was supplied witli ore from Jones' mines. In 1793 this furnace was owned by Jacob Vinance, Thomas Kutter, Sarah May and Samuel Potts, but in 1794 it was discontinued because farmers refused longer to sell wood for charcoal. In 1786 Jesse Potts was assessed in Coventry for a steel fur- nace, which in 1787 appears to have been operated by Ellis Jones & Co., and in 1788 by North & Evans. In 1786 David Moore had a forge in West Nantmeal, which in 1788 appears to have belonged to James Moore, together with 564 acres of land. At Warwick Furnace, during the year 1776, sixty cannon were cast, of twelve and eighteen-pound caliber. Vincent Forge existed during the later years of the last cen- tury, and was owned by John Young, who in his will March 2, 1781, devised it to his son, John, upon his becoming of age. In 1788 it appears to have been operated by James Templin. Valley Forge was built originally about five-eighths of a mile from the mouth of Valley Creek, in Chester County. From the spring of 1757 it was operated by members of the Potts family until its destruction by the British, in 1777, about two months before the American army encamped at this historic place. Col. William Dewees, a son of Sheriff William Dewees of Philadelphia, became associated with the Pottses in 1771, and probably pur- chased an interest in 1773. Warwick Furnace furnished the iron for this forge. After the close of the Revolutionary War a slit- ting mill was erected in Chester County by Isaac and David Potts, brothers. In 1786 this mill and a forge across the Schuylkill, in Montgomery County, were operated by Isaac Potts & Company, the "Company" consisting of David Potts and his son James. In 1814 these works were sold to John Rogers and Joshua Malin, the latter being a cousin of the former, and the manager of the works. On April 1, 1816, Rogers bought Malin's half interest in the property, and in the following autumn James Woods became a partner of Rogers and manager of the works. Wood com- AND ITS PEOPLE. 581 pleted certain improvements began by Mai in and converted it into a saw factory mainly, but also manufactured shovels, spades, files and other implements of industry. At the rolling-mill boiler- plate, sheet-iron and band-iron were made. A portion of this output was slit for the nail-mill at Phosnixville, at which place there were no such facilities. The iron used by Wood was obtained from Laurel Forge, Coventry Forge and Springton Forge. Not long after 1818, several experiments having been made, cast-steel was successfully made here by Wood, clay for crucibles being brought from Perth Amboy. Early in 1821 Brooke Evans, of Sheffield, England, leased the property from Rogers, converted the gun factory and rolling-mill into gun factories, raised the roof of the rolling-mill and added two stories to it, and at Valley Forge made 20,000 muskets. Subsequently this building was destroyed by a freshet, but the building on the Montgomery County side, after serving its purpose as a gun factory, was en- larged and converted into a cotton and woolen factory. Mary Ann Forge was built in 1785 and was located on the north branch of the Brandywine, two miles north of Downing- town. Springton Forge was built in 1766 and was five miles north of Mary Ann Forge, on the same stream. Hibernia Forge was built in 1793 on West Brandywine Creek, four miles north of Coatesviile. A small rolling-mill was added in 1837, and both were abandoned in 1880. Eokeby Rolling-mill was built in 1795 on Buck Run, four miles south of Coatesviile, and Brandywine Rolling-mill was built at Cdatesville in 1810. Sadsbury Forges were built in 1800 and 1802 on Octoraro Creek, near Christiana. Ringwood Forge, also near Christiana, was built in 1810, was in operation as late as 1856, since which time it has been abandoned. Pine Grove Forge on Octoraro Creek, was built in 1800, and in 1844 a small rolling-mill was added on the Chester County side of the line, but these enterprises have been abandoned. Pleasant Garden Forge was built about 1806 and was about tAvo miles south- 582 CHESTER COUNTY west of New London, and a small rolling-mill was built about 1845, both of them being abandoned soon after this later date. Kentgen's Works, which obtained considerable celebrity from the attempts made there to manufacture German steel, were sit- uated in Pikeland Township. They were established in 1793, and in Swank's history of iron manufacture it is stated that Kentgen, on November 17, 1796, obtained a patent for forging round-iron, and that on June 27, 1810, he obtained a patent for rolling-iron in round shapes. The Phojnix Iron Works were started some time late in the Eighteenth Century for the manufacture of nails. In 1828 they were bought at sheriff's sale by Eeeves & Whitaker, the partners being Benjamin and David Eeeves and James and Joseph Whitaker. Reeves & Whitaker greatly enlarged and improved the works and added new machinery, building a new and improved rolling-mill and introducing self-heading nail machinery, thus more than quad- rupling the product of the establishment. They also erected a charcoal blast-furnace, which they ran until wood could no longer be obtained, and in 1845 they began the erection of two anthracite coal blast-furnaces, and in 1846 the erection of a rolling-mill for the manufacture of railroad iron. This rolling-mill was at the time it first went into operation at least equal to any other rolling- mill in this country, and the quality of its output was equal to that of any similar mill in England. Still later another and larger blast-furnace was erected, the mills again enlarged, and the ma- chine shop also increased in capacity, so that not only the quality of the mills was improved, but the quantity was considerably increased. Up to the close of the war railroad rails were a large part of the product of these mills, but since then attention has been given more to the manufacture of higher and finer qualities of iron. The manufacture of nails was transferred from these works to other works owned by the same firm at Bridgeton, New Jersey, in 1848, the nail-mill being at that time burned down at Phoenixville. AXD ITS PEOPLE. 5 §3 Since 1828 the owners of tlie works have been Reeves Sc Whit- aker, Ileeves, Buck & Co., and the Phoenix Iron Company, the Messrs. Keeves being from 1828 to 1881 the largest owners. The new mill, erected some time previous to 1881, was fire-proof, having an iron frame, iron sides and slate roof. -It was in the last named year the largest single mill in the country. At these works are manufactured all kinds of structural iron, such as is used by architects, engineers, bridge builders, fancy iron workers, including iron beams and joists used in buildings, and the ribs and decks of iron ships. These works rolled out most of the iron used for ribs and decks of ships built on the Delaware Eiver, includ- ing iron steamers running in the interest of the Pennsylvania Rail- road Company to Liverpool, and those built at Chester for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. They also made for the govern- ment large numbers of wrought-iron guns during the war of the Rebellion, these guns being an invention of Mr. -John Griffen, gen- eral superintendent of the company for twenty-five or thirty years, dying in 1884. The number supplied was about 500, and they were the most efficient field guns in the service. The presidents of this company have been as follows: David Reeves, Samuel J. Reeves and David Reeves. Secretaries — James Milliken, Robert B. Aertsen and George G. White. Treasurers- — Samuel J. Reeves, and James 0. Pease. The Phoenix Bridge Company is practically the same as the Phoenix Iron Company, taking contracts for the construction of bridges and then making contracts for the materials with the latter company. As above narrated, iron mining began at a very early day. It is now of interest to note where it has been mined in more re- cent times. According to Professor H. D. Rodgers, there were in 1853 several excavations for iron ore in the narrow limestone valley south of Bethel Hill, two of these excavations being east 584 CHESTER COUNTY of the gorge by Avliich Gulf Creek passes through that hill. At that time one group of pits was about a mile southwest of this hill, and about 150 yards south of the road running along the north side of the valley. The ore was smelted in Merion furnace. An old pit, near the fork of the road at the Baptist meeting- house, had a shaft seventy-six feet deep, the ore from which was of a superior quality, and there was another opening further east on the southwest side of the road. For some time there had been an ore-bank of considerable size, not far from the marble quarry owned by a Mr. Henderson of Upper Merion, which up to about 1854, yielded excellent ore, but which at length became unprofitable to mine. About 1,250 feet northeast of this bank there was another bank, then mined by George Fisher, and which contained good ore, the ore being used by the Phcenixville Iron Works. The average amount of dirt in this bank was about three to one of ore. Thomas Wid- dart's bank, Milliton's bank, Otto's bank, and Hughes & Jones' banks were all in this vicinity, and all yielded tolerably good ore. Ore was also mined in Tredyffrin Township, south of the vil- lage of Howellville, and there was a small ore-bank northwest of Howellville, on the Swede's Ford Eoad. Woodman's ore-bank was about 500 yards west of the Valley Forge Eoad, where the ore was in the proportion of two to one of dirt. Nathaniel Jones, Charles Beaver, and Buck & King had ore mines about half a mile from Centerville, and Samuel Beaver had one about half a mile from the head of Valley Forge dam, which was of consid- erable size, and yielded good ore. Holland's Bank, the ore from wliich was smelted at Phcenixville, was located about one and a half miles northwest of Howellville. Then, too, to the westward of the meridian of Paoli, there was another district of ore mines, in which were located William Buchanan's Ore-bank, about 400 yards north of Oakland Hotel, the ore from which was taken to Jones' Furnace on the Schuyl- AND ITS PEOPLE. 585 kill; G. W. Jacob's bank, between the North. Valley and the Columbia Kailroad, about two miles east of Oakland, and two other banks belonging to the same party, about one-fourth of a mile of Ship Tavern; Maguire's bank, about one mile north of the Ship Tavern, was of considerable size and furnished good ore. A Mr. Evans had a bank three-fourths of a mile east of Ship Tavern, which yielded good ore, and was a large deposit ; Frederick Neal had ore-banks in the vicinity which also yielded good ore, and al)out a mile northwest of Downingtown there was an ore mine near the foot of North Valley Hill, which had not been extensively opened, and which was not very promising. West of Cbatesville there had been two or three openings for ore toward the southern side of the valley, between the west branch of Brandywine and Buck Run. Two extensive excavations developed large deposits of iron ore about a half mile northeast of Yellow Springs, one of which was formerly known as the Fegley mine, the valley in which these excavations occur being separated from the valley con- taining the Lewis mine by a narrow belt of gneissic hills, the main body of the ore being in loose earth. The principal excava- ■ tion at Fegley's Mine in 1853 was about 200 feet long, 100 feet wide and 50 feet deep, the irregular ore bed itself being only about 40 feet wide. A short distance to the northeast of Fegley's Mine there was one still larger, where the ore dipped to the southeast and reposing against a slanting wall of altered (Mesozoic) red sandstone. The ore here was about twelve feet thick at the bot- tom of the bed. About the time mentioned Fegley's Mine was yielding 2,400 tons of ore per annum, which was taken by the Phoenix Iron Works. The other mine in the near proximity was yielding 2,000 tons per annum. The Latschaw Mine was situated about three-fourths of a mile southwest of Yellow Springs, and there was another mine owned by Keeves, Buck & Co., of Phoenixville, known as the Stite- 586 CHESTER COUNTY ler Mine, or Ore-bank, which was about three-fourths of a mile further to the southwest of Yellow Springs. It was situated five-eighths of a mile from the West Vincent line, was about 300 yards long by 200 yards wide, and at one time yielded from 5,000 to 8,000 tons of ore per annum. It has been abandoned for many years. Jones' Mine was near the Latschaw Mine, or, as it was otherwise called, the Harvey Mine, upon another rupture of the strata. Iron ore occurred also on the West Chester 'and Pottsgrove State Eoad, one-fourth of a mile north of Little Eagle Tavern, in Uwchlan Township. Similar iron ore was also found on the farm of Morgan Hoffman, and there was a small ore pit on the farm owned by William Parker. In 1853 the principal ore-banks being operated were the Stauffer, seven-eighths of a mile southeast of Pughtown, which was leased in October, 1880, by the Phoenix Iron Company, and afterrv^ard abandoned, they exhausting the ore when they had taken out about 4,000 tons; the Morris Russell Mine, one milejiorth of Chester Springs, in West Pikeland Town- ship, and owned by the Phcenix Iron Company; the Jones Mine, one-half mile northwest of Chester Springs, in West Pikeland Township, and worked by James Harvey; the Old Prizer Mine, one-fourth of a mile north of Chester Springs railway depot, and one-eighth of a mile off the line of the railway to the north- west, leased in July, 1865, bj' thePhoenix Iron Company, and later by the Monocacy Furnace Company, which took out a large quantity of ore, but abandoned it because the ore extended to too great a depth; the Isaac Tustin Mine, a quarter of a mile south of Chester Springs, first explored in 1851, and leased to the Monocacy Furnace Company, and in 1861 to the Phoenix Iron Company, which took several hundred tons of surface ore from it, and then abandoned it, because the ore did not extend to any depth. The Kaby Mine was owned by Pev. Mr. Raby, and situated ^^nr^/z^/d.Jc^c^ - AND IT 8 PEOPLE. S^9 one mile southwest of the Kimberton railway station, and was worked in 1882, several hundred tons of ore going to the S. Til- ton's Plymouth Furnace at Conshohocken. The Orner-farm Mine lay one-half a mile due west of the old Fegley Mine, and was owned by the Phoenix Iron Company. The Acker Mine, one- fourth of a mile due west from the Harvey Mine, was worked for some years by the Phoenix Iron Company, under a lease dated January 1, 1863, but in 1883 it was being worked by Mr. Acker for the Monocacy Furnace Company. The John Mosteller Mine of brown hematite iron ore, about one-eighth of a mile south of the Eagle and Kimberton Eoad, was in 1883 being worked by the Phoenix Iron Company, and was yielding about fifteen tons of surface ore per day. The Hopewell Middle Mine, in Warwick Township, was one of the most famous in the county. It was originally owned and run by Mr. Hopewell and by him worked by the open-cut method of mining, until the workings became too deep for this method. He then sank a shaft, and after the mine passed to the possession of the Pottstown Iron Company in 1873, that company sank an- other shaft, which passed down through the ore at the depth of 150 feet, where the vein averaged from twelve to fourteen feet in thickness. In 1882 the miners were robbing the pillars, and cutting away about thirty tons per day. St. Mary's Mines, in 1882, were being worked by the E. & G. Brooke Iron Company, the mining being done by shafts, and the yield being about twenty tons of magnetic iron ore per day. Steel's Iron Ore-pits were about one-half mile north of St. Mary's village in Warwick Township, but it had not been worked for many years. The Leighton Iron Ore-mine was a little to the south of the village of St. Mary's, from which, before its abandonment, more than 20,000 tons of ore had been taken. Knauertown Iron- mine lay a little to the north of Knauertown, the iron found here being very similar to that of the Warwick Mine, but there was 34 590 CHESTER COUNTY not enough ore to encourage mining to any considerable extent. Crossley's Iron Ore-pits were worked at one time, but were aban- doned previous to 1854, their location being about one mile north of Knauertown. Lead and copper ore come next in point of value to iron ore in the minerals of Chester County, but are far less extensively found. The Wheatley and Brookdale Lode in the Pickering Creek district is the best known and most valuable. This lode cuts at least three of the trap dykes of that region, and the metallifer- ous lodes which extend from the Perkiomen Mines in Montgomery County to the Charlestown Mines of Chester County are situated not far from the boundary line which separates the gneissic rocks of this region from the Middle Secondary formation of the red shale and sandstone, some of them lying on one side of this boundary line and some on the other; and some are partly within the gneiss and partly within the shale. Then, too, it is a curious fact that as a general thing those veins which are confined en- tirely or mainly to the gneiss bear lead principally, while those veins that are copfined entirely within the red shale forma- tion contain principally the ores of copper. But the zinc ores, as zinc-blende or calamite, prevail in both sets of veins, though perhaps to a relatively larger amount in the copper-bearing lodes of the red shale. The Perkiomen and Ecton Lode, the United Mine Lode, the Shannonville South Lode, the small French Creek Lode, the Port Kennedy Lode, and the Morris Lode, near Phoenixville, are genuine copper veins, and with no single exception are within the red-shale formation; while on the other hand the Wheatley and Brookdale Lode, the Chester County Lode, the Montgomery Lode and the Charlestown Lode all lie within the gneissic forma- tions and are all genuine lead veins. The following paragraph from Prof. Eodgers shows the rich- ness of these lodes and the variety of minerals which they contain: "Selecting the Wheatley Lode as presenting, perhaps, the AND ITS PEOPLE. 59 1 greatest diversity of species, and as that which has received alto- gether the closest study, we find the mineralogy of these veins represented by the following large and interesting catalogue: Sulphate of lead, carbonate of lead, phosphate of lead, arseniate of lead, molybdate of lead, chromate of lead, arsenio-phosphate of lead, sulphuret of lead, antimonial sulphuret of lead and silver, sulphuret of zinc, carbonate of zinc, silicate of zinc, sulphuret of copper, green malachite, blue malachite, black oxide of copper, native copper, oxide of manganese, native sulphur, native silver, quartz, cellular quartz, oxide of iron containing silver, haematite iron, brown spar, sulphate of barytes, iron pyrites, and two or three other species." The Brookdale Lode, an extension of the Wheatley Lode, was a remarkably regular silver lead vein. On May 1, 1853, there had been wrought a total length of 1,111 feet, and between the Wheatley and Brookdale engine shafts there was a further open- ing by an adit level of 456 feet, and there was but little if any doubt that the vein was much more extensive than its openings showed. In width the vein varied from one foot to two and a half feet and it was very productive. In the Wheatley vein the aver- age width was about eighteen inches, while in the Brookdale vein it was about two feet. The latter vein was rather fuller of quartz than the former. The main shaft at the Wheatley Mine was, in 1853, 234 feet deep, and the lode was very productive in ore,, as was also the Brookdale end. The Elizabeth Copper Mine was at one time a noted one. It was situated on the Knauertown Copper Lode, not far from Cross- ley's ore-pits, previously mentioned. The vein, according to Prof. Kodgers, consists largely of crystallized calcareous spar, in which occur crystallized oxide of iron, many brilliant octahedral crystals of sulphuret of iron, and some copper pyrites. The width of this vein or bed was about forty-five feet, an engine shaft descended 140 feet, and there was an interior underlay shaft descending 592 CHESTER COUNTY from the bottom of the main shaft forty-five feet deeper. Active work was suspended there in May, 1854. Sulphurets of copper and iron were found in the French Creek Magnetic Ore-mines, situated half a mile south of Harmonyville, where there were in 1854 two shafts about 250 feet deep, with hoisting and pumping engines at both, and the capacity of the mines was about 15,000 tons per annum. They were then worked by the E. & G. Brooke Iron Company. Valuable marble is found in various parts of the county. About three and a half miles east of Downingtown, just south of the Vallfey Turnpike, is an extensive quarry of superior marble, which for years supplied Philadelphia with the beautiful white marble of which so many of her public and private buildings were constructed. The beds of this quarry were slightly con- torted, the portion worked for marble separating into two beds. These beds were massive, mainly white, sometimes with a bluish tinge, and were quarried with ease and great facility. It was much used in the construction of Girard College and other public buildings in Philadelphia and neighboring towns. There have been opened extensive quarries of marble or lime- stone in the vicinity of the Valley Church, where the limestone is very similar to that quarried two or three miles below Valley Forge, and on the road from Glassley to Valley Forge, near the county line, there is a small hill over the east end of which the road passes, which hill is composed of slaty talcose calcareous rock. Near Valley Forge there is a stratum of feldspathic rock exposed in the creek and occasionally appears overlying the primal white sandstone at the foot of North Valley Hill. Near the White Horse Tavern the limestone is talcote and slaty, but near the Steamboat Tavern the limestone is of the more usual gran- ular structure. The limestone at Downingtown is compact and of a light color, several quarries of compact and granular lime- stone having been opened in the vicinity of this place. A^D ITS PEOPLE. 593 A blue limestone quarry near Downingtown was opened in 1831, the rock being stratilBled, with regular jointing and fine texture. It was used for building, lime burning and ballast. It was used in building Villanova College, Villanova railway station, railway bridge, abutments and piers. At Bell's Quarry, Midway, the limestone is of a light color, and in the vicinity of Buck's Run and Parkesburg it becomes darker and more slaty. Graphite and chrome are both extensively mined in Chester County, the latter mineral being found in considerable quantities in the southwest part of the county in both rock and sand. Dug and shipped to Europe it commands a high price. For many years the trade in chrome was under the exclusive control of Isaac Tyson of Baltimore, who procured from the farmers the right to dig and remove the mineral found on their farms. In this manner Mr. Tyson amassed a considerable fortune, and it doubtless was a profitable proceeding for the farmers, as the lands where this mineral is found are comparatively valueless for agricultural pur- poses. Graphite or plumbago of a superior quality is found apparently in inexhaustible quantities in Upper Uwchlan and adjoining town- ships, near the line of the Pickering Valley Railroad. Corundum has been mined for many years, especially in New- lin Townshiii, and formerly in numerous quantities. This ma- terial existed in a narrow vein of hard white albite. An attempt to mine it regularly, made some years ago by D. Lewis Williams, was not persisted in. But loose blocks of corundum rocks were at one time collected to the amount of six or seven tons and exported to Europe. By geologists corundum is said to be a metamor- phose of the gneiss composed more largely of alumina than the rest of the same rock, and while it is seldom found pure in nature, yet where found pure it is pure alumina. In the spring of 1866 John Leslie took up about five tons of corundum, which he sold at |60 per ton. 594 CHESTER COVNTY It is remarkable that during the last century there were sev- eral persons within the county who were engaged in the manu- facture of clocks. The brass works were probably brought across the sea, and fitted together in the county, the cases being gen- erally made where the clock was needed. Among the earlier work- men in this line were the Ohandlees, of Nottingham, Benjamin Chandlee being the pioneer, and removing from the neighborhood in 1741. His son, Benjamin, manufactured not only clocks, but also compasses and a general line of mathematical instruments. His son, Ellis, also carried on the same lines of manufacture, and is said to have been the m-ost ingenious of the family. Isaac Thomas of Willistown made clocks during the later years of the Eighteenth Century, his residence being on the Boot Eoad, near Crumb Creek. Caleb Hibberd, living a mile east of Sugartown, in the same township, made clocks during the early part of the present century. Isaac Jackson of New Garden is remembered as a man of ingenuity, working in the finer ma- terials, and being a maker of clocks. Benjamin Garrett began to make clocks about the yeax 1800, importing the castings, and his work was carried on quite extensively for twelve of fifteen years. Joseph Cave, of West Chester, made clocks and watches from about 1824 to 1834, his cases being made by Thomas Ogden. Others carried on the work until about 1835, when the Yankee clocks began to be introduced, and the home-made clocks were from that time on gradually superseded. The Thorndale Iron Works were erected in 1847, J. & J. Porsythe & Sons erecting the mill and sixteen dwelling houses. Soon afterward Horace A. Beale purchased the establishment, and he in turn sold them to J. B. Moore of Philadelphia, from whom they passed into the hands of William L. Bailey in 1868. Mr. Bailey, in connection with J. B. Hayes, ran the works about eight years, under the firm name of William L. Bailey & Co., and still later they passed into the hands of a stock company, of which AXD ITS PEOPLE. 595 Oharles L. Bailey of Harrisburg was president; Abraham S. Pat- terson, of the same city, vice-president; and William L. Bailey, treasurer. They manufactured plate-iron, such as is used in the construction of locomotives, boilers, bridges, ships, and tanks, in 1880 turning out 6,495,777 pounds of finished iron. These works ceased to operate several years ago. It has been stated that the first mill in Pennsylvania was located on Cobb's Creek, near the Blue Bell Tavern, erected about 1643. In 1683 the "Chester Mills" were erected on Chester Creek, not far above the present manufacturing village of Upland, in Delaware County. Eichard Townsend about 1730 set up a mill on Chester Creek, "which served for grinding corn and sawing boards," he being a tenth owner in the mill. Some of the earliest mills in Chester County, as at present bounded, were as follows: In Birmingham, Francis Chadds', in Tredyffrin, Thomas Jerman's, both mentioned as early as 1710; at Avondale, John Miller's, in 1714; in Kennett, Gayen Steven- son's in 1715; at Downington, Thomas Moore's 1716; in Goshen, George Ashbridge and others in 1717; in Kennett, Ellis Lewis' same years; in Birmingham, James Huston's 1719; in Bradford, Abiah Taylor's, in 1719; in Coventry, Thomas Miller's, in the same year; in Sadsburj-, John Jones' 1721; in East Bradford, Carter, Scott and Willis', 1721; in Pocopson, Joseph Taylor's, 1724; in New London, Abraham Emmit's, on Big Elk Creek, and Henry Hollingsworth's on Little Elk Creek, in 1724; in London- grove, William Pusey's, 1730; in Sadsbury, James Hamor's, in 1722; in Whiteland, "Vale Eoyal" Mill, Eichard Thomas, Sam- uel Phipps, William Williams and Magdalen Howell, in 1730; Jones' Mill, where afterward was erected Sager's Mill, on the Brandywine, in 1744. In West Nantmeal, in the west branch of the Brandywine, there was a mill erected in 1840, a litle above Beaver Dam. This mill went to decay after the erection of Mackelduff's Mill, this 596 CHESTER COUNTY being in 1762, there not being water enough for both. Mordecai Piersol built a mill in 1762, and in 1766 there was a mill built at Glen Moore. In 1770 Ackland's Mill was built, and White's Mill near Cupola Station, was erected in 1811. In this same year there was a mill on Naaman's Creek, owned by John Bellach, who "paid the highest price for grain," and Benjamin Jeffrie.s owned a mill near Kennett Square. Pennypacker's Mill was located in Pikeland Township, at least as early as 1812, this being for carding, spinning and weav- ing. The prices were as follows: Carding into "roles," 10 cents per pound; spinning, 12 cuts to the pound or less, 1| cents per cut; all over 12 cuts to the pound, 2 cents per cut. This mill was owned by Harman Pennypacker and William Stidham. Levi John and William McFarlan, in April, 1813, erected "a pair of machines for carding wool," at the mill, then lately occu- pied as a clover-mill in Vincent Township, near William Eeed's Mill. Wool -carding was also carried on by John Woodward, at the mill of William Woodward in East Bradford, by Mordecai Thomas at his own mill in Willistown, and by Joseph H. Down- ing in Downingtown. At this same time John Taylor had a grist- mill in East Bradford, run by water from Brandywine Creek. In 1817 James Hance built a mill in West Whiteland, which mill, in 1881, was purchased by George Hoopes, and later became the property of his son, Robert F. Hoopes. The Charlestown Woolen Mill was owned by Hood & Sandham, who man^ifactured both broad and narrow cloth, cassimeres, satinets, flannels, lin- sey and plaid, as well as broad and narrow blankets, carded and and wove woolen goods, and purchased wool. In West Chester, in 1818, Joseph Jones began the making of chairs, fancy, Windsor and rush-bottom, carrying on the business for several years. The Bloomfleld Factory, located near Kennett Square, was operated by John P. Chambers, who manufactured woolen cloths at the following prices: Blankets, 1 yard wide, 8 cuts to the AND ITS PEOPLE. 597 pound, 55 cents: flannels, 1 yard wide, 12 cuts to the pound, 75 cents; thick flannels, ^ of a yard wide, 12 cuts to the pound, 90 cents; cloth, | of a yard wide, 12 cuts to the pound, |1; cloth f of a yard wide, 16 cuts to the pound, |1.25; carding common wool into rolls, 10 cents; spinning, from 8 to 12 cuts per pound, 20 cents per dozen; from 12 to 20 cuts per pound, 24 cents per dozen;, all under 8 cuts, 10 cents per pound. There was a Union Woolen Manufactory in Sadsbury, Town- ship, manufacturing wool into broad and narrow cloth, cassi- meres, cassinettes, coarse and fine flannel, etc. Andrew Wilson carried on the carding and fulling business "at the stand formerly occupied by Calvin Cooper, deceased," in West Bradford Town- ship. Seneca Warner carried on wool carding at J. Buflington's Tilt-mil] in East Bradford Township, and himself owned a grist- mill in Bast Marlborough Township. The fulling business was also carried in by Elisha Davis, in West Bradford, on the road leading from Downingtown to the Center House. Jeremiah Bailey made fans, wire screens, rolling screens, etc., at his mill near Ken- nett Square. And that there was brick-making early in the his- tory of the county is shown by the fact that in 1818 Joseph Townsend of West Chester offered 50,000 bricks for sale, and also some draining tile. For several, if not for many years, William Work carried on coach-making in West Chester, commencing about 1824, and he had for sale the "highly approved patent G springs." The Doe Run Woolen Factory, located in West Nantmeal Township, was owned by Abel I. Thomas, and the Downington pottery, which, in 1824, was managed by Eber James, was pre- viously owned and managed by Jesse Kersey. Caleb Jackson at this time carried on coach and Dearborn-wagon making about half a mile west of Kennett Square, at the place then lately oc- cupied by Isaac Philips. In 1825 Samuel Bellerjeau carried on cabinet-making in 598 CHESTER COUNTY Downingtown, as did Thomas Ogden in West Chester, and Jona- than Rowland was a wool carder at Lapp's mill, near the Fox Ohase Tavern in TredyfMn Township. Townsend Eachus carried on wool-carding at his clover-mill in West Goshen Township, about one and three-quarter miles from West Chester, as also did Joseph Painter in East Bradford. George S. Downing had a tan-yard in East Cain Township, three miles west of Downingtown, and in 1826 Eobert and Canby Steel manufactured hats in West Chester. This year John Tweddle managed the Downingtown Brewery, at which he brewed porter, ale and small beer. The Platinum Works of J. Bishop & Co. are located at Sugar- town, in Willistown Township, six miles east of West Chester and three miles south of Malvern, on the main line of the Penn- sylvania Ilailroad. The founder of these works was bom in Portugal in 180G, where his father, an Englishman, was tempo- rarily residing, and where he was director of the Royal Fabrics. Joaquin Bishop, the founder, came to the United States with his parents in 1810, settled in Philadelphia in 1811, and was there apprenticed to a jeweler in 1826. In 1832 he became instrument maker and assistant chemist of the University of Pennsylvania, under Dr. Robert Hare, and in 1839 he began to work in platinum, in 1842 establishing what is now the firm of J. Bishop & Co. In 1845 he drew first premium at Franklin Institute for platinum work. In 1858 he removed his business to Radnor, and in 1865 to its present location. In 1876 he received first premium and diploma from the Centennial Commission, and in 1881 he asso- ciated with himself in partnership Edwin T. Cox, under the firm name of J. Bishop & Co. After a life of_ activity and usefulness he died August 4, 1886, leaving his interest in the business to his grandson, Joaquin B. Matlack. Mr. Matlack and Mr. Cox have since then carried on the business under the old firm name. Their work consists of refining and melting platinum ore or scraps, and manufacturing said metal into assaying apparatus vessels AND ITS PEOPLE. 599 and tubes of all decriptions, and all kinds of experimental instru- ments in use by analytical chemists, and in short anything made of platinum. For these goods a market is found in the labora- tories of universities, colleges, steel and iron manufactories, and among all kinds of professional and scientific men in the country, in Canada, Mexico, and to some slight extent in Europe. The Lukens Iron and Steel Company was originally estab- lished in 1790, though not under its present name. In that year Isaac Pennock, great-grandfather of Mr. A. F. Huston, present president of the company, built a mill and began the manufacture of iron at a place called Eokeby, on Buck Kun, Chester County, about four miles south of Coatesville. This mill was called the "Federal Slitting Mill," charcoal slabs being heated in an open charcoal fire, rolled out into plates, and then slit up into rods for general blacksmith use. In 1810 he bought a saw-mill property on the Brandywine, at Coatesville, which he converted into an iron- mill. This mill was called Brandywine, and afterward developed into the large plant now in operation, covering many acres of ground and furnishing employment to a large number of men. Rebecca W. Pennock, daughter of Isaac Pennock, married Dr. Charles Lukens, the latter leasing Brandywine of his father- in-law in 1816 and carrying on the business of iron-making until his death in 1825. It was between 1816 and 1825 that steam Ijoilers first came into use, and the first boiler plates produced in this country were made in this mill by Dr. Lukens. After the death of Dr. Lukens, his widow, in accordance with his request, continued to carry on the business, greatly increased the plant and continued successfully for many years, and it was as a tribute to her memory that the name of the works, after her death, was ■changed to the "Lukens Rolling-mills." The works have been continuously operated by the family from 1810 to the present jear, 1898. After the death of Mrs. Lukens the business was conducted 6oo CHESTER COUNTY by her sons-in-law, Abraham Gibbons and Dr. Charles Huston.. In 1855 Mr. Gibbons retired after a short but prosperous and honorable business career. The works then remained in Dr. Charles Huston's hauls, who, together with his partner, Mr.. Charles Penrose, who joined him a few years later, carried on the manufacture of iron until the death of Mr. Penrose, in 1881;. in the meantime Dr. Huston's two sons, A. F. and C. L. Huston, upon their graduation from college, in 1872 and 1875, having joined the company. The company was known from this time until 1890 as "Charles Huston & Sons." In this latter year a stock company was formed and chartered under the title of "The Lukens Iron and Steel Company," the officers of which were as follows: Dr. Charles Huston, president; A. F. Huston, vice-presi- dent; Charles L. Huston, general manager; R. B. Haines, secretary, and Joseph Humpton, treasurer. Xot long afterward Mr. Haines resigned the position of secretary, and Mr. Humpto^ was ap- pointed to this position, since then filling both offices of secretary and treasurer. Upon the death of Dr. Charles Huston, in 1897,. A. F. Huston succeeded to the presidency and Charles L. Huston became vice-president. Originally the boilers plates were made from single charcoal blooms, the blooms being made in the old-fashioned forge fire,, then reheated over an ordinary grate fire and rolled into plates.. These plates were shipped without being sheared. Later shears were introduced and the shearings were cut into nails. After- ward a revei'batory heating furnace was introduced, enabling tlie scrap to be worked up. The plate-rolls at this time were from sixteen to eighteen inches in diameter, and from three to four feet long between the housings, and were driven by an overshot water- wheel. Many a time, when it looked as if, the mill would stall, the workmen would rush to the water-wheel, climb upon its rim, and by their weight help the pass through the rolls. In this way a "sticker" was often prevented, which, whenever it came, meant fire-cracked rolls and later on broken ones. AND ITS PEOPLE. i6oi Owing to the constant increase of business the overshot water-wheel was superseded by the breast-wheel, so geared as to convey more power to the rolls, and in addition, a heavy fly- wheel was introduced, geared to a high speed for the storage of power. The use of larger rolls was thus permitted, those now introduced being twenty-one inches in diameter and sixty-sJx inches long. In 1870 a modern steam plate-mill was erected wit)i chilled rolls twenty-five by eighty-four inches, the old mill be- coming a puddling mill. At length there was put in position a three-high mill, with solid chilled rolls, 34 inches in diameter by 120 inches long, weighing eighteen tons each. At that time this was the largest mill of its kind ever erected in the United States. The capital (and surplus) employed in the business is over $1,000,000, the capacity of the works being 75,000 tons per year. The number of men on the pay roll is 500, and the amount of money paid out annually to employes is |250,000. The plant covers nearly fifty acres of ground, and the quantity of freight, both in and out of the works, is 175,000 tons per year. Connected with the plant at the present time are six open-hearth furnaces — in three of which is used the basic process, and in the other three the acid process. The heating furnaces number nine and the trains of rolls three. A machine-shop, a fitting-shop, a carpenter- shop, a blacksmith-shop, a turning department, a supply building and an electric apparatus constitute portions of the equipment. An electric charging machine performs the work of several men, and two small locomotives move material from place to place. Hydraulic handling cranes are placed wherever they can be used to advantage, the largest lifting eighteen tons. Four hydraulic cranes in the shipping house, which is 240 feet long, are each ca- pable of lifting five tons. Two large flanging machines, capable of turning the largest sized boiler heads, machines for making flue holes in boiler heads, one of them a hydraulic machine with 6o2 CHESTER COUNTT a cylinder 48 inches in diameter, and machines for manufactur- ing patent steel boiler braces, of which latter Mr. A. F. Huston is the patentee, are in position. One of the engines is 60x3(5 inches, having an indicated horse power of 2,000, and another engine is 48x28 inches. The twenty-five large gas producers sup- ply the steel plant and the plate mills, the four reverberatory fur- naces using coal. The mill across the Brandywine has four fur- naces. The officers of this company at the present time are A. F. Huston, president; C. L. Huston, vice-president, and Joseph Hump- ton, secretary and treasurer. This history of the Lukens Iron and Steel Company cannot well be closed without at least brief reference to the man to whose efforts, since the death of Mrs. Lukens, its success and present standing in the industrial world are mainly due. Dr. Charles Huston was born in Philadelphia in 1822, graduated at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania in 1840, finished a three years' course Jn medicine at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia in 1843, and supplemented this course in medical study by an eighteen months' special course in Europe. He began the practice of his profession in Philadelphia, married Miss Isabella Lukons of Coatesville, and settled down to the laborious life of a practicing physician. In 3848 he moved to the country, and in 1849 became engaged in the iron business, which he contimiously followed un- til his death in January, 1897. In 1875, when the government of the United States began requiring that plates used in the con- struction of steamboat boilers should be stamped with their tensile strength, Dr. Huston promptly purchased a testing ma- chine, and began investigating the properties of iron and steel, and in 1877, when the manufacturers of boiler plates were re- quested by the Treasury Department of the United States gov- ernment to send a committee to Washington to advise with the Board of Supervising Steamboat Inspectors in framing a proper AND IT8 PEOPLE. 603 standard of tests, Dr. Huston was chosen chairman of the com- mittee, and because of his practical knowledge of the character of metal and his experience in testing, his recommendations were adopted by the Board of Inspectors. In later years his counsel was frequently sought by the Government of the United States, and his views were also sought and followed by the leading steam boiler inspectors and insurance companies in this country. Dr. Huston was one of the leading authorities in the United States upon the iron and steel industry, and in 1878-79 he published revised articles in the journal of the Franklin Institute upon the behavior of iron and steel under varying conditions of heat and stress. These articles attracted the attention of engineers abroad years afterward, when they began this line of investigation. In 1895 Dr. Huston was selected by Chauncey M. Depew as the man best qualified by ability and experience to write the article on the iron and steel industry in his comprehensive history of "One Hundred Years of American Commerce." The natural ability of Dr. Huston and his scientific acquirements permeated every department of the Lukens Works, and the influence of his high personal character was always felt, not only throughout these works, but also throughout the community in which he lived. The Coatesville Boiler Works were started in 1886 by Fred- erick Sotter, A. J. George, H. C. Smith and Cyrus Shank, who rented the old planing-mill property of William T. Hunt's estate, and began making boilers under the firm name of Sotter, George & Co. The entire amount of capital invested in the business at first was less than |700, but each member of the firm was a skilled mechanic, and by turning out first-class work at moderate prices they gradually built up the business which amounted the first year to 111,000. In 1887 Messrs. Smith and Shank withdrew from the part- nership, and were succeeded by Frederic and George E. Eeif, ^04 CHESTER COUNTY Frederic Eeif selling his interest in 1890 to diaries Edgerton, a mechanical engineer of Philadelphia. This year the firm pur- chased the old round-house property of the Wilmington and North- ern Kailroad Company, and erected their present shops. The main building is 60x160 feet, with additional buildings for the en- gine and tool rooms, and an annex for the flanging department. September 15, 1891, the Coatesville Boiler Works were in- •corporated, with a capital stock of |50,000, and since the enter- prise has grown to its present large proportions. The machinery in this plant cost |20,000, and among the most important pieces is a pair of bending rolls 18 feet 6 inches between housings, with double engines attached, capable of bending plates 18 feet wide to a circle of 38 inches. These rolls cost $6,000 and weigh thirty- five tons. There are also large machines punching five-inch holes in |-inch plates with perfect ease. There is also other necessary machinery, which it is not necessary to describe. The products of these works consist of boilers of various sizes, smoke-stacks, stand-pipes, all kinds of tanks, including congealing tanks for ice plants, as well as other articles of iron. The num- ber of men employed is about sixty, the annual pay roll amount- ing to more than |20,000. The volume of business amounts to something over |125,000 per year, and the business has been so prosperous that the stock of the company is usually at a premium. The officers of the company at present are as follows: F. Sotter, president; Charles Edgertoo, vice-president, and A. J. ■George, secretary and treasurer. Ridgway's Foundry of Coatesville, manufacturing water- wheels and cranes, was established in 1863, the main business for many years being that of keeping in repair the rolling-mills of the town and neighborhood, and the manufacture of the old Tyler water-wheel. In 1879 William H. Ridgway was admitted to partnership with Mr. Craig Ridgway, and soon improved the Tyler wheel, bringing out the now celebrated Perfection water-wheel, A\D ITS PEOPLE. 60; which was a success from the start, and which is in use in Asia, Africa and all parts of Europe, as well as in the United States. In 1888 Mr. Eidgway produced, in the invention of his Balanced Steam Crane, one of the most notable inventions of the day. This is one of the most successful enterprises of its kind in the country. The Coatesville Casket Company was organized at a stock- holders' meeting held February 20, 1896, the directors elected then being Joseph N. Woodward, L. B. Henson, Charles W. Ash, John W. Thompson, W. P. Moore, 0. A. Boyle, W. S. Young, J. L. Lovett, and J. H. C. McClure, and these directors elected J. N. Woodlvard president, John W. Thompson treasurer and H. C. McClure secretary. The company was incorporated in March, 1896, with a capital of |25,000, at which it still remains. They purchased an old shoe factory building at the corner of Main Street and Sixth Avenue, to which they made some improvements ^nd additions, and which they still use. The product of the fac- tory consists of all kinds of caskets, the specialty being those made of oak and mahogany. The first year's output was worth about |40,000, the capacity of the works being about |50,000 worth of products. The officers of the company at the present time are the same as those mentioned above. The Viaduct Iron Works were purchased at sheriff's sale about 1853 by Hugh E. Steel and S. B. Worth, under the firm name •of Steel & Worth. They were then known as the Tridelphi Iron Worlds, but the name was changed by the new owners to the "Viaduct Iron Works, they being situated in the borough of Coates- ville, directly underneath the high Pennsylvania railway bridge spanning the Brandywine. At this time the mill consisted of two small trains of rolls, driven by water. Steel & Worth immedi- ately increased in size both sets of rolls, using all the water power to drive one set, and introducing a steam engine to drive the other. In 1861 they erected another steam mill, and in 1868 still another and larger mill was erected. Since 1872 all the rolls have 35 6o8 CHESTER COUNTY been operated by steam. In 1874, owing to the death of S. B, Worth, the firm was dissolved, and later the works were continued by Hugh E. Steel and the heirs of S. B. Worth, under the name of Steel & Worth Company, the same being incorporated. In 1880 the Worths withdrew from the corporation, and the name was changed to the Coatesville Iron Company. In 1888 the works were purchased by J. S. & W. P. Worth, who have since continued it under the firm name of the Coatesville Rolling Mill Company, The present capacity of the works is about 15,000 tons annually. The Brandy wine Rolling Mills was erected in 1880 by Worth Brothers (J. Sharpless and William P.). , Upon its commencement the product of the mills was about 3,000 tons of finished plates annually, and this capacity was increased from time to time, as occasion demanded. In 1895 the firm was incorporated as Worth Brothers Company, the Worths being the principal stockholders, the capital stock being placed at |250,000. Radical improve- ments were made and the works generally enlarged. An open- hearth steel plant and a large three-high plate-mill, including rolls eleven feet wide (the largest in Pennsylvania), were estab lished. These works are located in East Fallowfield Township, about one-half a mile from the borough line of Coatesville, and contiguous to the Wilmington & Northern Railway. The busi- ness consists mainly in the manufacture of open-hearth steel- plates and sheets. Steel is manufactured by both the basic and the acid process, and all the improvements in the methods or pro- cesses of making steel are here in use. The mills have a capacity of about 40,000 tons of finished steel per year, and this capacity is being increased by the addition of more furnaces. Hoopes Bros. & Darlington, manufacturers of wheels of all kinds, established themselves in business in West Chester in 1868, though, at the beginning, only William and Thomas Hoopes were in the firm. Shortly afterward Stephen P. Darlington became a member of the firm, and the name given above was adopted. AND ITS PEOPLE. 609 The business at first consisted of the manufacture of spokes, but in 1870 the manufacture of bent rims was added, and in 1872 the manufacture of wheels. From that time on the manufacture of spolfes gradually was discontinued, as the timber fit for such purposes diminished in quantity, and the manufacture of wheels as gradually increased, until, at the present time, it is almost ex- clusively the business of the company. All kinds of wheels are made, from those on the lightest wagons up to those on wagons which carry twenty-five tons. The market for the product of this establishment, which is located on Market Street, just east of the railroad, is confined mainly to a radius of three hundred miles, but still a portion of the product is shipped to England and other European countries. The floor space of the buildings is equal to about two acres; the capital employed is about $200,000; the force ranges from 140 to 175 men, and the product of the works ranges from $250,000 to $300,000 per year. The members of the firm at the present time are William and Thomas Hoopes and Edwin S. Darlington, the two brothers having been continuously in the com- pany. The Sharpless Separator Works were established in 1885 Jby Philip M. Sharpless in a building where the stocking factory now is located, with five men and less than .$200 capital, the success with which he has met being attributable to the mechanical knowledge acquired in various manufactories of steam engines and other factories of a similar nature and to industry and de- termination to succeed. The business which Mr. Sharpless owns and manages has grown in sixteen years to be one of the most successful in the country, turning out a product that goes ex- tensively into every dairy country of the earth. Many carloads of machinery were shipped in 1897 to Australia, New Zealand, Africa, South America, Europe, and other foreign countries. The special product is the Cream Separator, an implement which, within the last few years, has revolutionized the dairying 6io CHESTER COUNTY business of the country. Thousands of machines are annually put into the hands of dairymen and farmers, who, though not skilled in theiiandling of machinery, yet have no difficulty in man- aging a separator which makes 25,000 revolutions per minute, day after day, with an expense that is merely trifling, with rarely a breakdown and never a life endangered. The buildings are located in the immediate vicinity of the Villa Maria Academy, on the railroad, thus possessing every needed shipping facility. The works spend |20,000 per year in advertising, and in connec- tion with its branch houses at Dubuque, Omaha, and at ElgiUj employ about 300 people, and over half a million dollars of capital, and on January 1, 1898, there was not a dollar outstanding against them anywhere. The success of Mr. Sharpless in build- ing up and conducting this business has been most remarkable, and is a valuable object lesson to those who may feel that they have within them the enterprising spirit necessary to success, but yet hesitate to put it into practical operation. The Edison Electric Illuminating Company of West Chester was organized in 1885, and erected in that place the third plant of the kind in the State of Pennsylvania. The directors of the company at first were E. T. Cornwell, H. O. Baldwin, E. H. Hemp- hill, T. Brown, Dr. Isaac Massey, A. Hoopes, R. E. Monaghan, W. Hoopes and F. P. Darlington. The officers of this company from its organization to the present time have been and are as follows : E. T. Cornwell, president; John A. Eupert, secretary, and D. M. McFarland, treasurer. The object for which this company was organized was the manufacture of light and power, and for this purpose it purchased a building at the northwest corner of Chestnut and Walnut Streets, into which the first plant, which was much less in com- pleteness and effectiveness than that at present in use, was placed. The present building is a two-and-a-half-story brick, 50x120 feet in size, and there is a boiler-house one story high. The equip- AND ITS PEOPLE. 6il ment at the present time consists of five boilers and six engines, with an aggregate of 750-horse power. All of the engines are high-speed automatic ones, three of them straight' lines, one of the others being made by the McEwen Company, one by the Beck Company, and one by the Ames Company. The dynamos are as follows : Four 30-kilowatt dynamos, with 125 voltage, the first intro- duced in 1885, for the purpose of incandescent lighting and fur- nishing power to manufacturers of AVest Chester. Two 50-kilowatt dynamos, introduced in February, 1887, for the same purpose. Two 60-kilowatt railway generators of 500 voltage, for the purpose of furnishing power to the street railway company, in- troduced in the early part of 1891. One Edison series-arc thirty-five lights machine, for supply- ing commercial lights to stores, introduced in 1891, and another for the same purpose, introduced in 1892. One Thomson-Houston series-arc fifty lights machine, for supplying arc lights for the streets, introduced in 1893, and a similar machine, introduced in 1895. It may be proper to state in this connection that a kilowatt is a thousand watts, and that 746 watts is equal to one horse- power. The present directors of this company are as follows: E. T. Cornwell, H. C. Baldwin, T. Brown, J. S. Evans, F. P. Darlington, P. E. Jefferis, Abner Hoopes, and Samuel Marshall. Damon & Speakman were engaged for several years in the manufacture of various implments that are used on or about the farm, their foundry and machine shop being located in West Ches- ter, where now stands the artificial ice plant. They began busi-. ness about 1855, making horse-powers, corn-shellers, lime-spread- ers, etc. In 1858 they began making the Hubbard mowing ma- chine, then the best in use. They also made one-horse power 6i2 CHESTER COUNTY macliine, for running the churn, and the butter worker, all of these before the war of the Eebellion. The Parkersburg Iron Company's Works were started in 1873, by Horace A. Beale, and afterward the firm became Horace A. Beale & Co. by the admission of William H. Gibbons of Coates- ville to partnership. In 1882 the present company was organ- ized and incorporated with a capital of |125,000. The first offi- cers were Horace A. Beale, pi^sident; William H. Gibbons, vice- president; Amos Michener, secretary, Samuel E. Parke^' treasurer, and A. J. Williams, general manager. These persons remained in their respective offices until the fall 'of 1897, when Horace A. Beale died, and Mr. Gibbons became president, Horace A. Beale, Jr., vice-president; William C. Michener, secretary; George Thomas (3), treasurer, and the general manager remaining the same, though an assistant general manager was provided in the person of E. H. Brodhead. The product of these mills consists of boiler tube-iron skelp, the annual output being about 10,000 tons. The buildings con- sist of three mill buildings, one forge building, two charcoal houses, two scrap houses, a machine shop, two trimming houses and other necessary buildings. The mill consists of three two- high plate lines driven by a horizontal slide-valve engine; one three-high muck-bar roll-train driven by a vertical slide-valve engine; three puddling furnaces with double-acting upright ham- mer; nine heating furnaces; twelve forge fires, and two horizontal hammers. The machine shop is fitted up with all necessary ma- chinery. There are employed at these works about 300 men. Capt. Horace A. Beale, deceased, former president of the Parkesburg Iron Company, was born in Philadelphia, January 25, 1827. The first member of the Beale family to settle in Chester County was William Beale, a son of Thomas and Catherine Beale, of Calne, in Wiltshire, England. Horace A. Beale was a son of Joseph and Margaret (McDoAvell) Beale, the former of whom died AXD ITS PEOPLE. '613 on his farm near Downingtown, in 1841, his wife having died in 1834. Reared mainly in Chester County, Horace A. Bealei received his education in the old Philadelphia Academy and at the Uni- Tersity of Pennsylvania. In 1846 he became a clerk at the Laurel Iron Works, and there gained his iirst knoAvledge of the iron busi- ness. Going to Phcenixville soon afterward, he became a clerk in the Phcenixville Iron AYorks, and there acquired a knowledge of the iron business in all its details. In 1852 he purchased the Thorndale Iron Works, and while occupied in the management of these works made himself familiar with everything connected with the industry in which he was engaged. In 1882 he estab- lished the Parkesburg Iron Company, of which he was president the remainder of his life, and which he made an unusual success. One of the results of the location of the works in this place was the growth of Parkesburg from a population of about 300 to one of nearly 2,000, as it is at the present time. While Capt. Beale encoutered many obstacles, yet he overcame them all, and achieved a very substantial success. One of the features of Mr. Beale's character was his uniform courtesy and kindly disposition. He was in reality the idol of his employes, all of whom he knew by name, and all of whom he always treated with the greatest interest and sympathy. The result of this kindly interest was that every man in his employ labored diligently for the interest of his employer, and strikes in his works were unknown. This is believed to be the true secret of success in the treatment of the laboring man. He is entitled to justice under the bare contract for the surrender of his time and the expenditure of his energy, and he is in a certain sense entitled to more than justice, in order that he may be in some degree contented with his lot. And no one can appreciate more than he such kindly sympathy as was always extended by Capt. Horace A. Beale. When he died November 3, 1897, he was sincerely mourned by all, family, friends, employes, all that knew him. 6 14 CHESTER COUNTY The Downingtown Manufacturing Company (Limited), was organized as a stock company under the act of June 2, 1874, on November 20, 1884, though the business had been carried on from 1881 by Guyon Miller and A. B. Tutton as a private concern. When the stock company was formed it was authorized to have a capital of |33,500, which was subsequently increased to -150,500. The first officers of the company were A. B. Tutton chairman, and Guyon Miller secretary and tl'easurer. The works are located on Washington Avenue and the Pennsylvania Railroad, and consist of several buildings such as are needed in an establishment of the kind. The products of the works consist of patent beating en- gines and fourdrinier and cylinder paper machines. The annual capacity of the works is |125,000 worth of these goods. S. Austin Bicking's Paper Mills, Nos. 1 and 2, are located in Downingtown, No. 1 having been started in 1881 by Mr. Bicking at the corner of Brandywine and Lancaster Avenues. No. 2 wa» started in 1895, a flour mill formerly belonging to Mr. Shelmire being converted into a paper mill. At the present time Mr. Bick- ing's sons are in partnership with him in the operation of the mills, which manufacture wrapping, roofing and rosin-sized build- ing paper, and binders' and trunk boards. F. P. Miller manages a paper mill as agent, and William Kerr also has a paper mill in the southern part of Downingtown. The Downingtown Brick Works are located in East Downing- town, and are owned by W. Logan Eogers and Lewis Miller, under the firm name of Rogers & Miller. They were established in 1892 by Rogers & Kerr, who ran, them about one year, when the firm became Rogers & Parke. In 1897 the firm became Rogers & Miller, as it is at present. Twenty-one acres are occupied by the firm, who employ an average of about thirty men, and manu- facture about 3,500,000 brick per annum. James Florey's brick yard is also in East Downingtown, and was established in 1895. He owns fourteen acres of land, em- AXD ITS PEOPLE. 615, ploys from twenty-five to thirty men, and makes about 5,000,000 brick per year. Tlie Ohalfant Manufacturing Company's business, located at Atglen, was established in 1873 by Isaac P. Chalfant, who carried on the business alone until the company wasi incorporated in 1890, under the above name. Isaac P. Chalfant was the first president of the company, and T. S. Chalfant secretary. The business of Isaac P. Chalfant and of the company has been and is the manufacture of the Potts sad-irons, invented by Mr. Potts. These sad-irons are known all over the world, and since the patent expired in 1888 have been manufactured largely in most civilized countries. At the present time the headquarters of the company are at Lancaster, the establishment at Atglen being only a branchy and being located on a small branch of Octoraro Creek, about half a mile above the borough of Atglen. The American Koad Machine Company was organized March 1, 1886, with the following officers: Samuel Pennock, president;, George W. Taft, vice-president; C. J. Pennock, secretarj^, and Ed- ward Lewis, treasurer. From 1881 to 1886 the business was car- ried on under the name of S. Pennock & Sons' Company, and from 1877 to 1881 under the name of S. Pennock & Sons. Samuel Pennock is the patriarch of Kennett Squai'O. From a farmhouse just beyond the borough limits this now venerable man came to the place, and together with his brothers, Morton and Barkley, erected the machine shops now owned by J. M. Worrall, and engaged in the manufacture of agricultural imple- ments. Moses Pennock and his son, Samuel, invented the first practical grain drill in America, and also a corn-sheller, Samuel Pennock's harvesting machine was the first machiue of the kind which enabled the operator to manipulate it while remaining seated upon it. In the establishment where these implements were manufactured there were employed about thirty men. In 1858 or 1859 the car shops were built by the Pennocks, in which 6i6 CHESTER COUNTY freight cars, principally, were made, and about 125 nren were employed. Mr. Pennock invented the road-machine which gives its name to the American Koad Machine Company, in 1871^ without knowing of the existence of any similar invention in the country, but others were at work on the same idea, and many t\iousands have been sold, but the combined inventions of several companies have given the public the perfection of such a machine. For the past eighty-one years Mr. Samuel Pennock has been a resident of Kennett Square, with the exception of two years spent in Unioii- ville, one year with the Pusey & Harlem Company of Wilmington, Delaware, and four and a half years in Ithaca, New York. He nas been an anti-slavery man, a prohibitionist and a equal suf- fragist, and' is in favor of more light being thrown on every phase ^f socialism. In 1886 George W. Taft, of Abington, Connecticut, made a consolidation with the firm in Kennett Square, and the capital of the noAV company was increased to |250,000. Then about half of the buildings now in use had been erected, their elegant brick oifice building having also been erected since then. This com- pany manufactures road-machines, rock-crushers, road-rollers, and other valuable inventions. The officers of the company at the present time are: George W. Taft, president; Edward Lewis, vice-president; S. Jones Philips, secretary and treasurer, and the board of directors consists of the above-named officers and Henry C. Davis and Wilfred Lewis. Cassel's Terra Cotta Works at Kennett Square were located in this place in 1894, but had been in existence previously for about twenty years, for fifteen of which years in Philadelphia. In Kennett the building is a three-story brick, 40x80 feet in size, and here all kinds of rustic terra-cotta are made. The goods find a market in all parts of the United States and in Europe. The office of the works is at 709 Arch Street, Philadelphia. AND ITS PEOPLE. 617 Joseph E. Gawthrop is engaged in the manufacture of fer- tilizers of all kinds in Kennett Square, succeeding his father, James Gawthrop, who died m 1887, his factory being located in the southern part of the village. The Fiber Specialty Company was organized June 8, 1898, with officers as follows: George W. Taft, president; Ishael Mar- shall, vice-president; C. J. Pennock, secretary, and S. Jones Philips, treasurer. The capital stock of the company is |50,000, and the plant is located on West Cedar Street and the railway. The "building is a two and a half story brick, 40x120 feet, and contains all the machinery for the proper carrying on of the business. The boiler is a forty-horse power one, and the engine is of fifteen-horse power. All kinds of fiber goods are manufactured, such as trunks, valises, traveling bags, etc. The Kennett Foundry and Machine Works, of which J. Eli was followed by Lays and Ballads (1848). He next made a col- lection of extracts and specimens from the Female Poets of America (1848), containing also biographical notices and portrait drawn by himself. An edition of his lyrics, with illustrations by Kenny Meadows, appeared in London in 1852, and 1853 a new and enlarged edition Avas published in Philadelphia. A prose romance, entitled The Pilgrims of the Great St. Bernard, was pub- lished as a serial. The New Pastoral, his most ambitious poem, de- scribes in blank verse the pioneer life of a family of immigrants, (1854). The more dramatic and imaginative poem that followed, entitled The House by the Sea (1856), gained for it more readers than had been attracted by its own superior merits. Next appeared Sylvia, or the Lost Shepherd and Other Poems (1857) and A Voy- age to Iceland (1857), and the same year a collection of his Rural Poems was issued in London. His Cofnplete Poetical Woi'ks (Bos- ton, 1860) contained the longer and shorter poems that had been already published. His next narrative poem was The Wagoner of the Alleghenies, a tale of Eevolutionary times (Philadelphia, 186). During the Civil War he wrote many patriotic lyrics, including the stirring poem of Sheridan's Ride, which was printed in a volume with A Summer Story and other pieces, chiefly of the war (Philadelphia, 1865). His last long poem was The Good Samaritans (Cincinnati, 1867). The fullest editions of his poetical works were printed in Philadelphia (3 vols., 1865 and 1867). Bayard Taylor, one of the most widely known literary writers of America, was born at Kennett Square, Chester County, .Janu- ary 11, 1825, his father and mother (Joseph and Rebecca (Way) Taylor, both living after his death. Robert Taylor, a rich Quaker who came to Pennsylvania in 1681 with William Penn, was his ancestor, and a part of the land taken up by this rich Quaker is now the site of Cedarcroft. The grandmothers of Bayard Tay- lor were both of South German descent. The name Bayard 674 CHESTER COUNTY was given him in honor of James A. Bayard, the United States Senator from Delaware at that time, and Bayard was "his only and true name." In 1829 the family moved to the farm a mile from Kennett Square, and there continued to live until the build- ing of Cedarcroft. "The education which he received at home and under the impulse of his own nature took precedence of the more formal culture of school life. Especially was he indebted to his mother, who understood well the refinement of his nature." And he says of himself that the books he read came from the village library, and the task of helping to fodder on the dark winter evenings was lightened by the anticipation of sitting down to Gibbon's Eome or Thaddeus of Warsaw. He derived the greatest satisfaction from books, and the eagerness with which he read was measured by the retentiveness of his memory of those early readings, and before he was twelve years of age he had "devoured" the contents of the circulating library of the little town of Kennett Square, and Cooper's novels, and the histories of Gibbon, Kobert- son and Hume. But his chief delight was in books of travel and poetry. His earlier education was supplemented by a regular course of study in the school, which was a great delight to him. The influence of the writings of others upon the tender mind is aptly illustrated by that upon his mind of a certain stanza of poetry, which in writing later to his old teacher at Kennett Square had cheered and encouraged him a thousand times when his prospects seemed gloomy. "O, why should we seek to anticipate sorrow, By throwing the flowers of the present away, And gathering the dark rolling cloudy to-morrow To darken the generous sun of to-day? In addressing old Quaker friends it was easy for him to throw his letters into the Quaker form, for his family, though not for- AWD ITS PEOPLE. 675 mally Quakers, yet generally adhered to the principles of the society. His mother -was reared a Lutheran, yet she became at- tached to the Quakers in early life, and taught her children the fundamental doctrines of the society. At fourteen he began the study of Latin and French, and at fifteen Spanish. At sixteen his schooling practically ceased, but he kept on until he was nineteen with Latin and French. In 1837 his father was elected sheriff of Chester County, and moved to West Chester, remain- ing there three years, and it was during this time that young Bayard attended Anthony Bolmar's school. Shortly afterward he attended the academy at Unionville, and there completed his formal schooling in 1842. It was in this latter year that he became apprenticed for a term of four years to Henry E. Evans, publisher of the Village Eecord, and it was during this apprenticeship that he began to write poems. One of these poems, to which he had given the name of "Kosalie," he afterward named Ximena. He believed that poetry owns as its true field the happiness of mankind. Quoting Channing, he said, "its use is to lift the mind out of the beaten, dusty, weary walks of life, to rouse it into a purer element, and to breathe into it a more profound and generous emotion." The first journey he ever made was to the Catskill Mountains, and his first purpose in publishing his volume of poems, Ximena, ^as to secure money enough to carry out a plan of going to the West Indies. After reading Howitt's Eural Life in Germany he became convinced that it was possible for him to see Europe on foot, after once having crossed the Atlantic. In order to accomplish this object he purchased the remainder of his appren- ticeship time from Mr. Evans, and made arrangements with cer- tain editors of magazines for letters from abroad, some of them paying him in advance as much as f 50 for twelve letters. In this way he secured $140, a sum which he thought sufficient to can^ him to the ends of the earth. »He made an agreement with Horace 676 CHESTER COUNTY Greeley by which he was to write for the Tribune letters descrip- tive of German life and society, Mr. Greeley admonishing him not to write until he knew something. Bayard Taylor reached the old world July 26, 1844, and spent there tAvo years in travel and study, which comprised his univer- sity education. While he ardently desired to travel in Greece, yet Rome was tlie end of his journey toward the East. Upon returning home in 184G his anxiety was great to undertake some occupation which should yield him a fixed income so that he might marry and settle down in life. Determining, therefore, to establish a weekly paper in Chester County, he was joined by Frederick E. Foster, and they located in Phoenixville, purchasing the Phcenixville Gazette, and changing its name to the Phoenix- ville Pioneer. The first number of this paper appeared Decem- ber 29, 1846, but its career was not what he anticipated. The inhabitants of the village of Phoenixville were mostly workmen in the several manufacturing establishments, and the country people were conservative farmers, and they preferred local news to anything he felt like preparing for publication in the Pioneer. His neutrality in politics made him enemies in both parties, and after one year's experience he gave up the business in despair and went to New York, "weighed down with a debt, the paying of which cost me the earnings of the next three years." Remaining in New York until 1849 his prosperity was so great that he was enabled to buy into the New York Tribune, which laid the foundation of his pecuniary fortune. Mr. Greeley and ho became very friendly, and in 1850 he went to California for the Tribune. In 1851 he went to Egypt, traveled up the Valley of the Nile, and saw much of the country. After traveling in Syria, Palestine and Asia Minor he reached Constantinople in July 12, 1852, and reached Catania in Sicily in time to see the grand festival of St. Agatha, which takes place only once in a hundred years. After this he went to the Farther East, reaching Bombay AXD ITS PEOPLE. 677 December 27, 1852, went to Agra, Delhi, Landowr, Dehra, Meerut, Cawnpore, Allahabad and Calcutta. In 1854 he returned home to find himself famous, and invitations to lecture poured in upon him. Though he found this field of labor profitable, yet he also found it very irksome. In 1856 he went to Scandinavia, being present before returning home in 1858 at the three hundredth anniversary of the ' University of Jena. In 1859-60 he built Cedarcroft, and at the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when his brother Frederick enlisted, he «old a share of his stock in the Tribune and devoted a thousand dollars to the cause of the Union. Then after a short tour in Germany he returned to his native country to aid in the prosecu- tion of the war. In 1862 he was sent with Simon Cameron to Rus- sia, as secretary of legation, and upon Mr. Cameron's return from St. Petersburg he was made charge d' affaires, and in this position was eminently useful to his country in preventing Russia from uniting with England and France in an intervention in American affairs, by showing Gortcbakoff that the United States was abun- dantly able to suppress the Rebellion. Bayard Taylor was engaged in literary work, novel writing and poetry from 1863 to 1867, most of the time at Cedarcroft. After this he spent a year in Europe, and then another year, 1869, at Ce- darcroft. In 1872 he again went to Europe, where his translation of Faust made him a man of mark and interest. From Germany he returned to America in the fall of 1874, in October of which year he removed to New York City with the view of making that his permanent home, leaving his parents in possession of Cedarcroft. In 1876 he wrote the National Ode, and early in 1878 he was appointed by President Hayes minister to Germany. He was greatly honored by his fellow-citizens of Kennett Square and West Chester on the occasions of his visits to those places when on his way to take passage to Germany. His last great work was "Prince Deucalion," and the last verse he wrote was called 678 CHESTER COUNTY "Epicedium," written in September, 1878, and read at the Cen- tury Memorial to William OuUen Bryant. He died November 19, 1878, and his remains, after lying in the cemetery at Jerusalem, reached America March 13, 1879. It is needless to say in conclusion more than that Bayard Taylor was one of the most industrious and illustrious writers of his day, and taken in every way one of the "best of men, high- toned, honorable and unselfish to an unusual degree. In the early spring of 1863 Bayard Taylor had the good for- tune to intercept dispatches from Secretary of State Bejamin of the Confederate States Government to Mr. Lamar, who had, been appointed agent of the Confederate States at St. Petersburg. These dispatches instructed Mr. Lamar not to permit the intro- duction into any treaty of amity and commerce which the Con- federate States might make of a clause prohibiting the African slave trade. In transmitting these dispatches to Hon. William H. Seward Mr. Taylor caustically remarked: "It is a curious illustration in the combat of the powers of light and darkness for the possession of the world, that on this 3d day of March, 1863, the day of the jubilee on which twenty millions of serfs became forever free, that I forward to you an insidious document in favor of human slavery." Upon the appointment of Hon. Cassius M. Clay as minister to Eussia, Mr, Taylor immediately resigned as secretary of lega- tion, and upon learning of the death of his youngest brother, Fred- erick, who fell at Gettysburg, he at once returned to America. CHAPTER XVI. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, CHAPTEE XVI. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION — FIRST SOCIETY ORGANIZED IN THE COUNTY LATER SOCIETIES THEIR PROCEEDINGS — STATE MEDICAL SOCIETY OFFICERS PROFESSIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EMINENT PRACTITIONERS HOSPITAL SERVICES LABOR OF PHYSICIANS IN OTHER FIELDS SCIENTIFIC ATTAINMENTS — THE SCHOOLS REPRE- SENTED DENTISTRY THE first medical society in Chester County was organized in West Chester in 1809, by the physicians of the place and the Ticinity. It was not sufficiently well attended to be maintained. Another was organized in 1828, which included the entire county. This society flourished for a number of years and then suffered a period of suspended animation, when it was revived, and by about 1850 it was in a flourishing condition. The society organized in 1828 was named the Chester County Medical Society, and its first meeting appears to have been held February 5 that year. Dr. Isaac Thomas being the chairman and Dr. Wilmer Worthington, secretary. A committee to prepare a constitution was appointed, consisting of Drs. William Darling- ton, George A. Fairlamb, William Harris, Samuel McClean, Ezra Michener, Joseph Griffith and John Kennedy. In addition to those named above the following participated in the forming of the society: Jacob Sharpless, Isaac L. Coffman, BartholomeAv Fussell, Isaac Pennington, Charles W. Parish and John B. Brinton. The constitution as adopted provided for a president, two vice-presi- dents, a recording and a corresponding secretary, and a treasurer. The by-laws made it incumbent on the members to report to the society aU remarkable cases of disease within their knowledge. A permanent organization was effected by the election of Dr. Wil- liam Darlington, president; Drs. George A. Fairlamb and William 68 1 682 CHESTER COUNTY Harris, vice-presidents; John Kennedy and Wilmer Worthington^ secretaries; Thomas Seal, treasurer, and Samuel McOlean, orator. During the next three years the new members added were Drs. Enoch P. Hoopes and Gideon G. Palmer. From 1831 to 1847 no meetings were held. In the latter year six of the old member* and thirteen other members met June 8, in the hall of the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Sciences, and effected a reorganiza- tion. At the next meeting, held in December, 1847, the society adopted the code of ethics then recently adopted by the American Medical Society and also a fee-bill, which it was hoped would "be found to approach as near as may be to the views and practices of the physicians of the county, and furnish no just grounds of complaint to patients." At the same December meeting resolutions were introduced by Dr. Wilmer Worthington and adopted by the society, having in view the formation of a State Medical Society, and directing^ the corresponding secretary to invite the cooperation of the vari- ous medical associations and schools of the State. The result of this correspondence was the organization of the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, which held its first meeting in Lan- caster, in April, 1848. In 1849 the stated meetings of the Chester County Medical Society were made semi-annual instead of quarterly, and the plan was adopted of holding an adjourned meeting in some other part of the county about a month after the stated meeting. In 1850 the Del- aware County Medical Society was organized, the members of Ches- ter County Medical Society living in Delaware County withdraw- ing to unite with their own society. This left in the Chester County Society somewhat more than forty members. In 1852 Drs. William Darlington, Charles W. Parish and Wilmer Worthington were ap- pointed a committee to prepare and report biographical sketches of deceased physicians of the county, which biographies were published in the Medical Keporter, a quarterly journal published .ii7£» ITS PEOPLE. 683 under the direction of tlie Chester and Delaware County Medical Societies, its first number appearing in July, 1853. This journal was published for three years, and was in charge of five editors, viz.: From Chester County, Drs. Wilmer Worthington, Isaac Thomas and Jacob Price, and from Delaware County Drs. J. T. Uuddleston and George Martin. Previously to the time of the Medical Eeporter the proceedings of the society were published in pamphlet form, first in 1848, and again in 1852. All other publications authorized by the society have been made through the transactions of the State Medical Society. In 1857 the State Medical Society held its annual meeting in the West Chester Court-house, and for several years after 1860 the Chester County Medical Society was in an inactive condition, for the reason that the War of the Kebellion attracted from it its most active members. The society in other ways showed the patriotism of its members by offering, in April, 1861, in a unani- mous resolution, and to attend the families of those who should volunteer in the service of the Union, in cases of sickness, so long as those volunteers should remain in the service, without charge. In 1869 the membership was thirteen and in 1880 it was thirty. Since 1880 the officers of this society have been as follows: Presidents — J. D. W. Henderson, E. V. Swing, George B. Spratt, B. Hopkins, William B. Brinton, K. B. Carey, Thomas D. Ingram, E. V. Swing, William E. Perdue, James Fulton, Thomas D. Dunn, J. K. Evans, E. B. Ewing, W. T. Sharpless, Charles J. Eoberts, J. H. Stubbs, U. Grant GifPord, Mrs. Elizabeth H. C. Howell, Benjamin Thompson, Ida V. Eeel, who fills the office at the present time. The corresponding secretaries have been as follows : Ephraim Hopkins, W. E. Perdue, Thomas D. Ingram, S. H. Wollerton, J. K. McClurg, P. C. Hoskins, both corresponding and recording secre- tary from 1885 to 1896, when S. H. Scott, the present official, suc- ceeded. 684 ■ CHESTER COUNTY The recording secretaries have been as follows: Ephraim Hop- kins, Edward Jackson, James Fulton, and P. C. Hoskins as above. The treasurers have been as follows: Charles E. Woodward,, until 1895, when Wilhelmina T. Nelson of West Chester became treasurer, holding the of&ce until the present time. Dr. James Anderson, one of the early physicians of Chester County, was born in Charlestown Township, April 11, 1782, and in 1804 began the study of niedicine under the instruction of Dr. Koger Davis. After attending lectures in the University of Penn- sylvania two years he received his degree in 1806, and he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession in the county for upward of thirty years. He died June 1, 1858, in the seventy- seventh year of his age. Dr. Nathan Hayes, one of the older physicians of Chester County, was born in the township of West Marlborough, Feb- ruary 5, 1787. He commenced the study of medicine with Dr. T. Griffith, a practitioner in the village of Unionville, completing his study with Dr. William Baldwin of Wilmington, Delaware. In the spring of 1808 he received the degree of M. D. from the University of Pennsylvania, the subject of his thesis being the "Modus Operandi of Medicine." He immediately located in Edge- mont Township, Delaware County, but at the end of a year he removed to Unionville, where he continued the practice of medi- cine during the remainder of his life. He died of consumption in July, 1819. Dr. Frederick William Heckel, Sr., was born in Saarbruck, Germany, in January, 1800, and came to the United States in 1823. In 1825 he settled in East Vincent Township and immediately began there the practice of medicine, and continued in the prac- tice of his profession until his death, which occurred June 30, 1861. Dr. Frederick William Heckel, Jr., was born February 21, 1829, and began reading medicine with his father and Dr. Charles AND ITS PEOPLE. 685 • Fronefleld, of Philadelphia. After attending lectures at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania he was graduated from that institution April 7, 1849, and thereafter spent one year in practice with his father. Then setting up for himself he continued in practice with increasing success until 1858, when he removed to his farm near Phoenixville, when he removed to East Vincent Township, and continued there to reside. In September, 1862, he was commis- sioned assistant surgeon in the Fifth Pennsylvania, and in Decem- ber following promoted to surgeon, and was ordered to take charge of the medical department of the One Hundred and Sixty- fifth Pennsylvania Eegiment, with which he served until it was mustered out. He has been always unusually successful as a physician, and highly respected as a citizen and as a man. Dr. Eoger Davis was bom in Charlestown Township, October 2, 1762, and pursued his medical studies under the direction of Dr. Duffield of Philadelphia, afterward taking three full courses of lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, though he took no degree. From 1785 to his death, which occurred November 20, 1815, he continued the practice of medicine in his native town- ship, with gratifying success. Dr. Samuel Kennedy, one of Chester County's early physi- cians, and one of its most sterling patriots during the Revolu- tionary War, was descended from the Kennedys of Ayrshire, Scotland. On January 3, 1776, he oifered his services as a sur- geon to the Continental Congress, and on the 19th of the same month it was resolved in Committee of Safety that he be ap- pointed surgeon to the Fourth Battalion of Pennsylvania troops in the service of the United Colonies. In May, 1777, he was ap- pointed senior surgeon in the military hospitals, and in November following he was appointed senior surgeon and physician in the General Hospital of the Middle Department. The general hospital had been erected at the Yellow Springs, on which property the American army was quartered for a time, .686 CHESTER COUNTY while the British occupied his homestead in the Great Valley, the occupation by the one being equally with that of the other. Dr. Kennedy went with Wayne to Long Island, was at Ticonderoga, and on the borders of Canada. He was also at the battle of the Brandywine, and of Germantown, and superintended the hospital ■at Bethlehem. For his invaluable services he received nothing from the public treasury. In his will he bequeathed a sum of money to be expended in the building of a stone wall around the graveyard of Oharlestown Meeting-house, where a neat monument commemorates his virtues and his services. His death , occurred June 17, 1778, in the forty-eighth year of his age. Dr. Thomas Euston Kennedy, son of the above, was born in Chester County in 1763, studied medicine under Dr. Morgan of Philadelphia, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. By Governor Mifflin he was appointed surgeon of Major Denny's battalion which was to relieve the garrison at Le Boeuf , near Lake Erie, the appointment being made November 17, 1794. He was subsequently surgeon to the troops under charge of Andrew Elli- cott, who constructed a fort at Presque Isle (Erie), and whose daughter Dr. Kennedy married. When Crawford County was or- ganized in 1800 he was appointed prothonotary and clerk of the courts, and died in Meadville, March 24, 1813, Dr. Thomas Kennedy was born in Wallace Township, Chester County, then, however, a part of Nantmeal Township, in 1766. Having attained his majority he began the study of medicine with Dr. Harris of Indiantown and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Entering upon the practice of his profession in his native township, he became in 1797 the successor of his preceptor, Dr. Harris. He had a large practice, and was strongly opposed to amputation whenever there was a chance of saving the limb. He died in April, 1814. Dr. John Kennedy was born in Baltimore February 13, 1800. ^Having graduated from the University of Maryland in 1820, he AND ITS PEOPLE. 687 became resident physician of the Baltimore City Hospital, and in February, 1822, located in Oxford, Chester County, where he rap- idly acquired an extensive practice and rose to deserved eminence in his profession. He was a charter member of the Chester County Medical Society, organized June 7, 1828, and which was the first institution of the kind in the State. He died May 28, 1838. Dr. William Darlington, LL. D., one of the most noted physi- cians and citizens of Chester County, widely known as a botanist., was the first student to graduate from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, While he gave much time to the practice of his profession, yet he gave more of it to botanical research. In 1826 he published his "Cestrica," and in 1847 his ^'Agricultural Botany." He also published many papers upon the science of botany, and served in the Fourteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses, and was always an active man. His death occurred April 23, 1863, and a monument erected to his memory bears the following inscription, written by himself twenty years before his death: "The plants of Chester which he loved and described, May they bloom forever above his tomb." At a meeting held April 22, 1898, Dr. William T. Sharpless spoke in part as follows, concerning the effect of Dr. Darlington's life on the people of Chester County: Dr. William Goodell, who once practiced medicine in West Chester, and who afterward became an eminent professor of a branch of surgery in the University of Pennsylvania, a man of great skill, fine scholarship and wide experience with the world, says in his book published in 1887: "I once knew a man, a mem- ber of our profession, a general scientist and withal a great bot- anist, who so molded the tastes of his fellow townsmen that there is, I venture to assert, no other town in this country which in pro- 40 688 CHESTER COUNTY portion to the number of its inhabitants contains so many excel- lent botanists, geologists, mineralogists, conchologists and ento- mologists. Few farmers in that county have not had a liberal edu- cation, and scores there are who can show a Avell arranged hortus siccus or give the botanical names of the indigenous plants and weeds. The town in which he lived has at this moment more suc- cessful schools, normal, public and private, than any other of its size in the United States." Dr. John Bowen Brinton, one of the most distinguished physi- cians of his day, was born in East. Bradford Township, Chestier County, on the banks of the Brandy wine, in 1804, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1825, and also from the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania, 1826. His preceptor was the celebrated sur- geon. Dr. George McClellan, father of Gen. George B. McClellaii. Almost immediately after his graduation he located in West Ches- ter, and there practiced his profession until his death, which oc- curred October 13, 1881, when he was seventy-seven years of age. "His urbanity and professional skill, ere the lapse of many yeari^, enabled him to rank among the prominent physicians of the county. The bent of his mind was in the direction of surgery, and he be- came well and widely known for his skill in surgical operations. During his professional career he performed many diflScult and highly important operations previous to the introduction of anais- thetics. At that time, however, the patient was frequently stupe- fied with laudanura." Dr. Brinton was devotedly attached to his profession, and he was scrupulously observant of its ethical code. He was one of the founders of the Chester County Medical Society, and remained deeply interested in its proceedings until advancing age com- pelled that interest to decay. His death occurred, as above statest Chester. He is a member of the Homeopathic Medical Society of Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, and also of the Homeopathic Medical Coun- cil of Philadelphia. Dr. Joseph E. Jones was born in West Chester in 1832, was educated at the University of Lewisburg, now the Bucknell Uni- versity, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1856. Then, after spending a year as resident physician at the Alms House in Philadelphia, he entered Hahnemann Medical Col- lege of that city, and graduated therefrom in 1859. Since that time he has been engaged in the practice of his profession in West Chester. AND ITS PEOPLE. 693 Albert Weeks, M. D., read medicine with Dr. D. D. Richardson, then of Philadelphia, and graduated from the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in 1S80. Then becoming assistant physi- i-ian in the insane department of the Philadelphia Hospital, he remained there until April 1, 1882, when he removed to Phcenix- Tille, opened an office and has been engaged in the practice of his profession there ever since, with more than ordinary success, owing to his superior and knowledge and skill. Percy C. Hoskins, M. D., was born in East Goshen Township, -Chester County, December 17, 1852. Having been educated in West Chester Academy and the State Normal School at West Ches- ter, he read medicine with his fatlier. Dr. John K. Hoskins, who was engaged in practice first at Sugartown, and later at East Goshen, but who removed to West Chester in 1877, remaining there in practice until his death in 1884. Dr. Percy C. Hoskins completed his medical education at Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, graduating therefrom March 13, 1875, and imme- diately opened an office at East Goshen; but in 1883 he removed to "\^"est Chester, and has since been engaged in practice there. Frank D. Emack, M. D., received his literary education at Co- lumbia College at Washington, D. C, and graduated from the Medi- cal Department of the University of Maryland in 1875. Almost immediately aften\'ard he was appointed resident physician of the Bay View Asylum of Baltimore, resigning shortly afterward to locate in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Removing to Phoenixville in 1881 he soon acquired a large and active practice. He is a member of the Chester County Medical Society and of the American Medical Society, and his standing among physicians is •deservedly high. G. D. Armstrong, M. D., one of the prominent physicians of Chester County, graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1839, having previously read medicine with Dr. H. F. Askew of Wil- mington, Dela-ware. He began practice at New London, Chester 694 CHESTER COUNTY County, at which place he has been ever since engaged in a large and successful practice. Charles S. Homing, M. D., began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Thomas L. Pratt of Norristown. After he entered the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, graduating from that institution in the spring of 1881. Beginning practice at Phoenixville, he remained there until 1886, when he removed to Shannonville, Montgomery County, but still continuing his prac- tice in Phoenixville. James Kea Maxwell, M. D., began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. John B. Martin, at Bart, Lancaster County, and after- ward entered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, from which institution he graduated in 1888. He immediately located at Parkesburg, where he has since continued in practice, and where he is deservedly popular. He is a member of the Chester County Medical Society. Charles E. Woodward, M. D., was born at Marshallton, Chester County, January 8, 1846. Having received a liberal education at the Westtown Boarding School, he attended the College of Phar- macy of Philadelphia, graduating therefrom in 1867. In 1872 he entered the Medical Department of the University of Pennsyl- vania, from which he graduated in 1874. Immediately he located in West Chester, where he has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession, is now a member of the United States Pension Examining Board that meets at Malvern, the other mem- bers of the board being Dr. Swizer and Dr. I. K. Evans. Dr. Sumner Stebbins, who died Julj- 12, 1884, was one of the prominent men of Chester County. Born in 1809, his boyhood was passed in a manner common to boys of that day. After a careful schooling he entered upon the study of medicine, and as a physician ranked second to none in the county. For several years prior to his death he lived a retired life, but many of the older citizens yet remember his many acts of mercy and kindness. In all AND ITS PEOPLE. 695. matters he was a man of advanced ideas, being no' less prominent in public than in social life, the temperance cause finding in him a warm advocate, and his influence in this direction was widely felt.. During the fifties he removed to Iowa, and there read law, but never practiced that profession to any great extent. After a time he removed to Michigan, where he achieved considerable promi- nence as editor of the Marshall Statesman, and in 1860 he re- turned to Chester Countj^, resuming the practice of medicine, his home being in Unionville. Dr. Stebbins was a man of rare attain- ments and left the impress of his character for good upon the people of the county and was highly respected by all with whom he came in contact. He married Mary Ann Pierce, by whom he four sons and one daughter. Dr. Edward Penn Worrall, formerly one of the prominent dentists of Chester County, vras bom in Baltimore, Md., July 14, 1820, and died in West Chester on his birthday, 1880. After the death of his mother, when he was yet a lad, he went to live witli his grandparents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and was edu- cated at Westtown, Chester County. He studied dentistrj^ in Philadelphia, and there practiced his profession, and was the first to administer ether in that city or in West Chester. In Phila- delphia he married Miss Sarah Foster, a native of Baltimore, and located in West Chester in 1817, residing there until his death. Dr. Worrall was a Christian in spirit and in deed, a great reader, an ever earnest student, and his writings for the press on religious and other subjects were widely read and as widely ap- proved. For many years he prepared lessons for Sunday-schools, Accumulating considei*able property, he believed that half what he earned should be bestowed to charitj^ and this idea he carried out to the end. He and his wife were the parents of five children, Thomas being the only one now living. Few better men have ever lived than Dr. Edward Penn Worrall. Septimus Augustus Ogier, M. D., born in Charleston, South 696 CHESTER COUNTY Carolina, September 17, 1821, was the seventh child of Thomas and Sarah Ogier, of Huguenot extraction, the family being forced to flee from France during the reign of Charles IX. In 1840 he began reading medicine with his brother, Dr. Thomas Louis Ogier, in Charleston, and in 1842 he graduated from the State Medical College of South Carolina, at Charleston. In 1843 he entered Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, graduating from that institution in 1844. In 1846 he settled in Philadelphia and en- gaged in the business of an apothecary, but this business not being suited to his tastes he removed to Glenloch, then called "The Steamboat," and succeeded Dr. Stephen Hands in the prac- tice of medicine in 1849. Dr. Ogier was one of those physicians who practice in part at least for the love of doing good, and was always at the post of duty, whether in the humble home of tlie poor or in the mansion of the rich. He soon became a member of the Chester County Medical Society, was its president one year, and on several occasions represented it in State and National As- sociations. In 1856 he was elected one of the secretaries of the Pennsjdvania State Medical Society, and so remained until his death, which occurred in Bast Whiteland Township November 26, 1857. Dr. William Brower, an eminent physician of Chester County, was born in East Coventry Township, February 25, 1842. Having received his academic education at Oakdale and Freeland Sem- inaries he entered the Millersburg State Normal School in 1862 and left there in 1863 as a member of the senior class. After read- ing medicine with Dr. A. E. Savidge of Parker Ford, he entered Jefferson Medical College, graduating therefrom March 9, 1867, and immediately aftem-ard located at Spring City, Chester County, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged in ' the practice of his profession. He is an affable and agreeable gen- tleman, and is well versed in the principles of medicine, and is skillful in his practice. AND ITS PEOPLE. 697 Dr. Notman Gatanach was born in PhiladelpMa in 1872, was educated at the Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia, and pro- fessionally at Jefferson Medical College, graduating from this lat- ter institution in 1896. After a year's practice in Jefferson hospi- tal he located in West Chester, where he is now engaged in general practice. Dr. Wilhelmina T. Nelson, a native of Rhode Island, was edu- , 1898. He was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1855, and was of Scotch ancestry, his paternal great-grand- father coming to th,e country from Scotland and settling in New Jersey. His parents were Eev. Thomas H. Dunn, a Seventh-Day Baptist preacher, and Diantha M. Curtis, a daughter of Miles Curtis of New York. Dr. Thomas D. Dunn entered the office of Dr. Jacob Price of West Chester, later entering the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1881. Imme- diately afterward he entered the University Hospital as resident physician, serving one year, and then spent six months at the Chil- dren's Hospital in Philadelphia. Then, settling in West Chester, he was continuously in practice there until his death. He shared the office of Dr. Jacob Price on South Church Street, the latter having every confidence in his judgment, and knowing him to be an 702 CHESTER COUNTY excellent physician and surgeon, in which capacities he was for years in great demand. Dr. Dunn was frequently called upon to give expert testimony in the county courts, and in the courts of other counties of the State, and it was to him, perhaps, more than to any other man that the Chester County Hospital became an established success, and it was at this hospital that he died, and -at the time of his death he was president of its medical staff. He was a member of the Philadelphia Pathological Society, .the Col- lege of Physicians of Philadelphia and of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society, and during the first year of President Harrison's administration he was appointed one of the Board of Examiners of applicants for pensions, Dr. Woodward and Dr. Patrick of West Chester being the other two. During the four years of his service he gave excellent satisfaction. Dr. Jacob Price, born in East Bradford, Chester County, in 1826, is a son of Benjamin and Jane (Paxson) Price, the former of whom was a son of Philip Price, founder of Price's Boarding School for Girls, at which school many a Chester County girl was educated. Dr. Price was educated in the Friends' School in West Chester, and at the academy of John Gummere in New Jersey, John Gummere being an eminent mathematician of the day in which he lived. Engaging next in a survey of Xew Castle County, Delaware, he made a map of that county, and later of the State of Delaware, by which means he earned the money to pay his expenses while pursuing the study of medicine. Entering Jeffer- son Medical College in the fall of 1848, he graduated from that insti- tution in September, 1850, and then locating in West Chester he has ever since been engaged in the practice of both medicine and surgery. At first he purchased the house at the southwest comer of South Church and Miner Streets, which he occupied until 1863, and then purchased the property at Xo. 114 South Church Street, formerly owned by Dr. Wilmer Worthington. Here he resided -and had his office until 1885, when he sold his residence to Dr. ~^Mji /p. Vce^c^u^ AND TTS PEOPLE. 7^3 Dunn, now deceased, and removed to a farm in the south corner of the borough of West Chester, where he still resides, retaining his office at No. 114 South Church Street. Dr. Price is still actively engaged in the practice of his profession. Since 1850 he has been a member of the Chester County Medi- cal Siociety, and has been twice vice-president of the Medical So- ciety of the State of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the American Medical Association, and of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. In 1851 Dr. Price married Rachel L. Thomas, daughter of Col. Philip D. Thomas, who at one time represented Chester County in the Legislature of the State. Dr. Isaac A. Pennypacker, one of the early physicians of Ches- ter County, was born in Schuylkill Township, July 9, 1812, and was a son of Matthias and Sarah (Anderson) Pennypacker, the latter being a daughter of Isaac Anderson. Isaac A. Pennypacker read medicine with his uncle, Isaac Anderson, and also with Prof. Will- iam E. Horner, and graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, March 26, 1835. In 1836 he estab- lished himself in the practice of medicine in Phcenixville, continu- ing to follow the profession until 1854, when he became Professor of the Practice of Medicine in the Philadelphia College of Medi- cine. In this professorship he displayed all the energy, manliness, integrity and sagacity which had previously distinguished him in his country practice, and as a professor as well as a man won the love and regard of his pupils to a high degree. In his manners he was mild and agreeable and in deportment affectionate and kind, and his wide and varied experience and reading of the best authorities fitted him admirably for the duties of life which he was called upon to perform. Dr. Nathan A. Pennypacker of Schuylkill Township was born October 20, 1835. During the war of the Rebellion he was captain of Company K, Fourth Pennsylvania Reserves, and in 1865, 1866 41 704 CHESTER COUNTY and 1867 was elected to the Legislature of the State. In 1877 lie was one of the commissioners to erect the State Hospital for th(j Insane at Norristown, and he also served as lieutenant-colonel on the staff of Governor Hoyt. His practice of medicine was car- ried on for many years successfully when not otherwise engaged. The history of dentistry in Chester County is practically the same as in oth,er counties in the State and in the cities throughout the country. Progress has been made sometimes slowly, and at other times sudden developments have come along to surprise and delight the profession and the public, by which the filling of teeth and the extraction of them when they could not be saved has been more successful and less painful. Among the very first dentists to visit the county was Dr. A. M. Freeman, or at least he was among the first to advertise in the local papers. This was in 1824. Dr. Freeman appears to have been located at Lancaster and to have visited West Chester, Wilmington, Delaware, and other places on his regular tours. There were two dentists in Philadelphia who advertised in the Chester County papers, one of whom was then recently from London, England, and< who had a tooth powder that would almost instantly cure the toothache. The other cleaned teeth and blocked them. This dentist said in his advertisement that "if the teeth are not preserved by the above operations they will fall into a state of decay, unless the mouth is very large and the teeth grow irregularly." He also built up teeth on stumps. Dr. Freeman continued to visit Chester County as late as 1829. It is believed that the first resident dentist in West Chester was Dr. Jesse W. Cook, who came to the place in 1835, and was a physician as well as a dentist. For some time subsequently he was president of the Young Ladies' Seminary, located where is now the Catholic School for Young Ladies. He left here about 1839, first going to Baltimore, and then became instrumental in founding the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, in 1842 or 1843, iu Cincinnati, Ohio. AXD ITS PEOPLE. 70S Dr. S. Sherburne Smith caine to the county about 1838, and was a man of considerable note as an operator. Dr. William Whitehead, who studied dentistry with Dr. Smitli, began to practice in West Chester in 1840, and continued to follow his profession there many years. He was also prominent in many other ways, as in literature and in temperance work. About the same time came Dr. Mahlon J. Gallagher, who was for that age a first-class dentist. He remained in West Chester until 1845. Besides dentistry he gave considerable attention to mechanics, and was somewhat of an inventor, inventing a self- priming hammer for the rifle and also a breech-loading rifle. Dr. Jesse Cope Green was one of his pupils in 1842 and 1843. Dr. Green began the practice of dentistry in West Chester ia August, 1843, and has ever since been continuously engaged there, besides being engaged in multifarious other lines of mental activ- ity, believing that every man owes it to himself first to keep hini- ^ self busy about something useful to mankind. He received his degree of D. D. S. from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in Philadelphia in the year 1865, and was elected a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Dental Surgeons in 1855. He took an active part in effecting the organization of the State Dental Society in 1868, Avas treasurer thereof in 1880 and president in 1883. He held a membership in the American Dental Association, which was organized in 1859, for many years, ajid was active in forming the first national convention of dentists in Philadelphia in 1855. In 1876, upon the enactment of the law requiring the organiza- tion of a State Dental Examining Board, Dr. Green was made sec- retary, a position which he has filled ever since. While the limits of this sketch preclude mention of almost everything else con- nected Avith Dr. Green's career, yet it must be stated that since 1855 he has been a volunteer observer of meteorological phenom- ena for the Smithsonian Institution, and also for the Weather 7o6 CUESTER COUNTY Bureau at Washington since its establishment, and also for the State Weather Service since its establishment in 1887. Dr. William Smedley graduated at the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgerj^ and located in West Chester about 1866. There he practiced six years, when he went to Denver for the benefit of his health and is living there at the present time. Dr. Joseph Eldridge succeeded Dr. Smedley in 1872, purchas- ing his professional business, remained in practice in West Chester until 1882, when he sold out to Dr. Justin E. Harlan, son of State Senator Harlan, and who continued in practice in West Chester until 1897, when he went to China for the purpose of pursuing his profession there, returning, however, to West Chester early in 1898, and is there now engaged in successful practice. Dr. John M. Surgison followed Dr. Price, practiced in West Chester some time and then removed to Marietta, Ohio. ' Dr. J. Lewis Baker graduated from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1866, and soon afterward began the practice of dentistry , in Coatesville, remaining there until 1881. Then going to Phila- delphia he was there one year, and located in West Chester in 1882 and remained in practice until his death in 1889. Dr. Charles McCowan located in West Chester in 1882, having graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dentistry in 1881. Kemaining in West Chester three or four years he then removed to Eichmond, Virginia, where he remained a short time, and then returning to Chester County located in Malvern, where he re- mained until the death of Dr. Baker, when he immediately re- turned to West Chester, where he has since enjoyed the confidence of the public, and has a successful practice. Dr. Kobert M. Scott graduated from the Dental Department of the University of Pennnsylvania in 1883, and located in West Chester in 1883, going there from Gettysburg. He succeeded to the' practice of Dr. Baker and has been unusually successful. Franklin Pierce Cobum gl'aduated from the Pennsylvania AND ITS PEOPLE. 707 Dental College in 1885, beginning the practice of his profession in West Chester the same year. In West Chester he has continued to reside and practice dentistry ever since. In May, 1892, Dr. Coburn gave the first demonstration of local anaesthetics, by means of hypodermic injections, as applied to dentistry, in Chester County, and in 1892 and 1893 he successfully demonstrated before the University of Maryland the value of local aujeesthetics in the painless extraction of teeth. In 1894 and 1895 he was honored with a judgeship in the gold medal contest given by the University of Maryland to the student performing the best work in operative dentistry, and has met with unusual success. Dr. D. G. Snyder was bom in Chester County in 1867, gradu- ated at the West Chester State Normal School in 1890, and from the Philadelphia Dental College in 1895. Locating in West Ches- ter this same year, he is still engaged in the practice of his pro- fession in that place. Dr. John Anderson commenced the practice of dentistry at Kennett Square about 1842, and was for years an unusually noted and successful practitioner, commencing life as a black- smith, he later acquired knowledge of dentistry, .which seemed to be better suited to his tastes, and he therefore followed this pro- fession for many years with great success and popularity. Dr. Eobert L. McClellan, a member of the noted McClellan family of Chester County, began the study of dentistry in April, 1847, with Sharpless Clayton. After spending fifteen months in this way he became an assistant alternately with William FI. Thompson of Coatesville and Eobert W. McKissick of Cochranville until the death of Dr. McKissick in the early part of 1851, when he began the practice of dentistry- for himself. After being for some time in practice he attended lectures in dentistry and in the Philadelijhia School of Anatomy, graduating from the Dental College with the degree of D. D. S., and returning to Cochranville for the practice of his profession. Dr. McClellan was successful 7o8 CHESTER COUNTY not only in his profession, but also in politics, being a member of the lower house of the State Legislature during the years 1862 and 1863. Dr. George M. Yard came to West Chester from Philadelphia about 1843, was a fair dentist, and remained until 1849, when he went to California. For some time he was postmaster in West Chester. Dr. Chalkley M. Valentine was another student of Dr. Galla- gher, and located first in Ooatesville in 1843. Removing to West Chester in 1847 he remained there until his death in 1883. Be was ai son-in-law of Joseph Painter. Dr. Elwood Penn Worrall located in West Chester in 1847 and practiced dentistry until his death in 1878. He was a good and successful practitioner, and was in other ways a prominent citizen. Dr. Isaiah Price graduated about 1853 from the Philadelphia College of Dental Surgery. He practiced in Chester County until the breaking out of the war of the Eebellion, when he raised a company for the Ninety-seventh Eegiment, Pennsylvania Volun- teers, became its major and was breveted colonel of United States volunteers. He was the husband of Lydia H. Price, a prominent minister among the Friends, and is now living in Philadelphia, but is not in the practice of his profession. Dr. George G. Cardwell located in West Chester in 1860. He graduated from the Second Philadelphia College of Dental Sur- gery, and pursued a most successful career as dentist in Chester County until his death. May 1, 1898. He was Demonstrator of Dentistry duding the years 1895-96-97 in the Pennsylvania Dental College, and was Avell known and highly esteemed as a professional gentleman and citizen. Dr. Meta T. Haley, the only lady dentist in Chester County, is a native of Virginia, and graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1892. In April, 1893, she opened an office AND ITS PEOPLE. 709 in the Assembly building in West Chester, and has been in active practice ever since. In 1897 she was quiz master in. the Penn- sylvania College in the Department of Operative Dentistry and Dental Physiology, and in 1898 she was Demonstrator of Operative Dentistry in the same college. Dr. C. I. Eeese was born in Atglen (then Penningtonville) Sep- tember 17, 1849, was educated at the public schools of Atglen and professionally at the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, grad- uating from the latter institution in 1874. He immediately located in Atglen, and has been there engaged in the practice of his pro- fession ever since. Dr. J. H. McClure of Cbatesville was bom in Chester County in 1860. He studied dentistry with Dr. J. L. Baker, and afterward attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with the class of 1881. Immediately locating in Ooatesville, he has been there engaged in practice ever since. Dr. Joseph Huggins, dentist of Downingtown, located there in 1897, immediately after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. David Z. Sahler, dentist, of West Chester, was bom in West Whiteland, Chester County, was educated at the West Ches- ter State Normal School, and at the Pennsylvania College of Den- tal Surgery, graduating from the latter institution in 1887. Lo- cating immediately afterward in West Chester, he has since then been engaged there in the practice of his profession. Dr. Wendell P. Lambom, dentist, of West Chester, was born in Newlin Township, Chester County, December 24, 1862. Upon the home farm in that township he was reared, obtaining his educa- tion principally in the public schools. Then he attended Edgefield Academy in Chester County two years, and entered the dental office of JFrank P. Coburn of West Chester, and graduated from the Pennsylvania Dental College of Philadelphia February 26, 1888, In January, 1891, he located in West Chester, and has there suc- cessfully followed the profession of dentist ever_since. 7IO CHESTER COUNTY Dr. F. Barnard, dentist, of Kennett Square, was bom in Cliester County, was educated in Chester and Lancaster Counties, and at- tended the Baltimore Dental College, and began practice in Ken- nett, in 1879. Since then he has been continuously engaged there in the practice of his profession. Dr. E. L. Coffman, dentist, of Phoenixville, is a native of that city. He is a son of the Jate I. Z. Coffman, mention of whom is elsewhere made in this work. After learning the science and acquiring the art of dentistry he established himself in his pro- fession in Phoenixville, and has been there successfully engaged therein ever since. The Chester and Delaware County Dental Society was organ- ized at the house of Dr. Jesse C. Green, October 27, 1894, Dr. S. Blair Luckie of Chester, Delaware County, being made president; Dr. James L. Paish of Avondale, Chester County, vice-president; Dr. Meta T. Haley, of West Chester, secretary, and Dr. Harry Leedom Smedley, of Media, treasurer. The society meets in Janu- ary at Media, in April at Chester, and in October at West Chester. It has now twenty-five active members and three honorary mem- bers. The officers of this society at the present time are as follows : Dr. J. L. Paist, president; Dr. Ellen MacMurray, secretary, and Dr. H. L. Smedley of Media, treasurer. George G. Groff, A. M., M. D., was born on the Welsh Tract, in Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, April 5, 1851. Until he reached his twentj'-second year his home was on his father's farm, and he was educated at the public schools, at the Norristown Sem- inary and at the West Chester State Normal School, at Michigan University and the Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, New York. He taught in the public schools, in the West Chester State Normal School, and since 1880 hasi been professor of Organic Science in Bucknell University at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He takes an interest in public affairs, has been coroner of his county and assistant surgeon in the Pennsylvania State National Guard. AND ITS PEOPLE. 7" He has been a member of the State Board of Health since 1886, and of the State Board of Agriculture since 1889, and is now (1898) president of the State Board of Health. He is a member of the State Medical Council, and of the State Dental Council. He is author of a series of school physiologies and of numerouK papers and pamphlets on hygiene and sanitary science. The Chester County Homeopathic Medical Society was or- ganized in West Chester, July 21, 1898, v/ith the following officers ; President, Dr. H. E. Williams, of Coatesville; A^ice-president, Dr. Hamilton Graham, of Kennett Square; Secretary, Dr. Charles \l. Palmer, of West Chester; Treasurer, Dr. S. A. Mullin, of West Chester, and Board of Censors, Drs. Hoopes, Taylor and Hughes. The new society meets bi-monthly. CHAPTER XVII. BANKING AND INSURANCE, CHAPTER XVII. BANKING AND INSURANCE — NATIONAL BANK OF CHESTER COUNTY — THE UNITED STATES BANK THE BANKING LAW OF 1814 COMMISSIONERS CHARTERS STOCKHOLDERS FORM OF NOTES — BUILDINGS CAPITAL AND LOANS — OFFICERS EARLY BANKING METHODS SKETCHES OF THE VARIOUS BANKS, NATIONAL AND PRIVATE, THROUGH- OUT THE COUNTY — INSURANCE — COMPANIES — OFFICERS RISKS LOSSES, ETC. The National Bank of Chester County has a history of unusual interest. At the session of the Legislature of 1812-13 a movement was made to establish twenty-five new banks in the State. The reason for this movement lay in the fact that the United States Bank in Philadelphia, the fate of which had been decided by the casting vote of Vice-President Clinton in the Senate of the United States, was about to wind up its affairs. The bill authorizing the establishment of these twenty-five new banks was passed by the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania by a vote of 43 to 42, and by the Senate by a vote of 14 to 13. Rev. John Gemmil, then the Senator from Chester County, and a Democrat, voted against the bill. On March 19, 1813, this bill was vetoed by the Governor. It did not provide for a bank in Chester County, no request having been made for one. The members of the lower house from Chester County, all Democrais, voted against the bill. At the next session of tbe Assembly a bill was passed entitled "An Act Regulating Banks," authorizing the establishment of fortj'-one new banks, one of which was to be in Chester County, al- though, curiously enough, no one had asked for it, and the mem- bers from this county in the lower house, John Harris, John Reed, Edward Darlington, James Brooke and James Hindman, all Demo- crats, voted against the bill, which is all the more remarkable, as members of the Democratic Party have, throughout the entire his- 715 7i6 CHESTER COUNTY tory of the United States, been generally in favor of local as against national banks. On the 19tli of the monthi (March, 1814), the Governor returned the bill with his objections; but it passed the Senate by a vote of 20 to 10 and the House by a vote of 66 to 24,. and became a law on the 21st of the month. The commissioners for taking the stock named in the act for the Bank of Chester County were Dr. William Darlington, John W. Cunningham, Jesse John, James Kelton, Joseph Taylor, Henry Ohrisman, Matthew Stanley, and Joshua Evans, Jr. Henry Chris- man declining to serve, the Court of Common Pleas appointed Joseph Pearce to serve in his place. Books for subscription to the stock of the bank were opened June 8, 1814, at West Chester, Downingtown, Tredyffrin, New London, Cross Eoads, and Cochran- ville, the commissioners distributing themselves among the several places named. A few persons promptly subscribed for as much of the stock as they could conveniently carry, but soon the subscrip- tions fell off, the people generally being somewhat shy of the pro- posed new institution. Up to near the time for subscriptions to close, the indications were that the new institution would fail to have a career; but then Charles Eogers and Daniel Hiester came forward and each subscribed for 1,000 shares, which left but little of the stock to be taken, and that little was then quickly sub- scribed. The bill provided for a capital stock of 4,500 shares at |50 per share, and as soon as the subscription books were closed the stock was immediately in demand. The charter was obtained August 2, 1814, and at a meeting of the stockholders held September 8, 1814, thirteen directors were chosen, as follows: Jesse Mercer, Jesse John, Joseph Taylor, Charles liogers, Daniel Hiester, Joseph McClellan, James Keton, Dr. William Darlington, John W. Townsend, Jesse Good, Isaac Darlington, Joshua Weaver and James Jefferis. The next day Joseph McClellan was chosen president and Daniel Hiester, cashier. Mr. Hiester then resigned as director of the bank, and AND ITS PEOPLE. 7^7 Thomas Hoopea was appointed in his stead. Rooms over the county offices at the northwest corner of Market and High Streets were obtained, which were opened for business November 11, 1814. On November 21, 1814, the second board of directors was chosen as folloAvs: Joseph McClellan, Jesse Mercer, Jesse John, Dr. William Darlington, Charles Rogers, David Dickej^, Isaac Darling- ton, Jesse Good, Thomas Hoopes, Joseph Taylor, John W. Town- send, Thomas Worth and David Townsend. At that time on account of the fact that West Chester was not widely known the directors thought it wise to state on the face of the circulating notes that the bank was "between Philadelphia and Lancaster," in order that holders might know where the bank was located. The following is the form of the note first issued : THE ^ANK OF CHESTER COUNTY, 'Between Philadelphia and Lancaster, 5 ttj Promises to pay to hearer on demand § I FIVE DOLLARS. ^ IVest Chester, Penna. ^ DANIEL HIESTER, JOSEPH McCLELLAN, S Cashier. President. On January 6, 1818, it was resolved to erect a banking-house and a committee previously appointed to select a site for the pro- posed building -Ras directed to olf er William Townsend |500 for a lot foi-ty feet front on Gay Street at the corner of Walnut, asking for a positive answer within a week. On January 20, 1818, it was resolved to purchase a lot thirty feet front on High Street for |500, and on the 23d the committee produced a deed for the lot therein described, but for some reason the project was not carried out. On March 17, 1818, it was ordered that the house and lot on High Street opposite the Court-house, belonging to Nathan H. Sharpless, be purchased for the use of the bank for |5,250, and the banking-house was fitted up at a cost of |1,426.19, and Joseph McClellan, presi- 7i8 CHESTER COUNTY dent of the bank, was allowed |250 for his wages for the year then closing. The bank was re-chartered March 22, 1824, and during the next few years the business of the institution was exceptionally good. So rapid indeed did the business increase that it became necessary to erect a new building, which, was done about 183G, the funds for its erection coming out of the profits of the„bank, which would otherwise under the law have been turned over to the State, as a dividend of more than six per cent, could not be declared. This building is a large and substantial one, built of Chester County marble, and having a noble Doric portico in front, there being four large fluted columns, four feet in diameter at the base and tapering to three feet at the top, and being twenty-five in height. The architect of this building was Thomas U. Walter of Philadelphia, one of the most noted architects so far produced by the United States. The cost of the building was about |30,000. To this build- ing the business of the bank was transferred in 1837. On May 30, 1843, the capital stock of the bank, which had then increased to |3G0,000, was reduced to |22.5,000, and the par value of the shares became |25. This reduction was made by deducting from the capital stock the following loans: Union Canal Loans, $25,000; Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Loans, |25,000; Susque- hanna & Tide-water Canal Loans, |35,000; Loans to individuals, $23,548.50; Loans to the State, |26,451.50; total, $135,000. On October 11, 1864, when it was in contemplation to change to a National bank, Joel Hawley, Joseph Dowdall, and P. G. Carey, not holding sufficient stock to warrant them in retaining their positions as directors, resigned. And on October 14, 1864, a series of resolutions was adopted providing for the surrender of the State charter, which had been renewed in 1837 for fifteen years and in 1852 for the same length of time, and organizing under the National Banking Law of 1863. The nahie of the bank then became the National Bank of Chester County, and the capital s.tock of the bank was fixed at |225,000, with authority to increase it to any AND ITS PEOPLE. 7^9 amount not to exceed |450,000. The number of this bank among the National banks is 552, the certificate of authorization bearing this number being signed by Hugh McCullough, October 25, 1864. On November 1, following, P. P. Sharpless, Joseph Dowdall, Will- iam Darlington and M. B. Hickman were appointed to fill vacan- cies in the board of directors occasioned by the resignations of others. The other members of the first boaxd of directors of this as a National bank were as follows: John Marshall, Thomas S. Cox, Brinton Darlington, Walter Hibbard, Samuel H. Hoopes, Eusebius H. Townsend, Dr. Isaac Thomas, Dr. George Thomas and William B. Waddell. Among the prominent men who were directors of the old Ches- ter County Bank were the following: William Darlington, who was the last survivor of the original board at the time of his deatli, April 23, 1863; Isaac Darlington, Joshua Weaver, William Wil- liamson, Isaac D. Barnard, W. H. Dillingham, Joseph Hemphill, Enoch Harlan and John Smith Futhey. The other members of the board of directors since the organi- zation of this as a National bank have been as follows : Lorenzo Beck, Henry P. Sharpless, Charles Fairlamb, Washington Town- send, Milton Conard, Robert Neely, Francis J. Darlington, H. T. Fairlamb, James Smith, M. Shaner Chrisman, William P. Marshall, J. Preston Thomas, Edwin James, William F. Dowdall, Joshua E. Hibbard, William B. Sharpless, Thomas W. Marshall, G. Morris Phillips, D. M. McFarland, Thomas S. Chambers and Thomas Hoopes, the last eleven of whom constitute the board at the present time, the number of directors having been reduced October 5, 1897, from thirteen to eleven. In 1874 the interior of the bank was entirely remodeled and new vaults put in, all at a cost of |10,048.73. In 1889 safety deposit vaults were put in at a cost of |15,223.62, and in 1898 a new floor was laid, of iron joists and iron lining, in order to render the build- ing entirely fire-proof. 42 720 CHESTER COUNTY The presidents of this bank since its organization have been as follows : Joseph McClellan, September 9, 1814, to November 25, 181G, and from November 24, 1817, to November 22, 1819; James M. Gib- bons, November 25, 1816, to November 24, 1817; Richard Thomas, Jr., November 22, 1819, until his death in Februaiy, 1830; Dr. William Darlington, February 23, 1830, until his death April 23. 1863; John Marshall, May 1, 1863, until his death June 22, 1873; Walter Hibbard, June 27, 1873, to his death July 31, 1879; Wash- ington Townsend, August 5, 1879, to his death March 18, 1894, and William P. Marshall, March 27, 1894, to the present time. The cashiers of the bank have been as follows : Daniel Hiester, September 9, 1814, to October 1, 1817; David Townsend, October 1, 1817, to April 10, 1849; Washington Town- send, April 10, 1849, to October 30, 1857; William W. Jefferis, Octo- ber 30, 1857, to June 12, 1883; Paul F. Whitehead, July 1, 1883, until his death, October 14, 1884, and I. Gary Carver from Novem- ber 1, 1884, to the present time. The present charter of this bank will expire October 12, 1904. Methods of transacting banking business were in the early days quite different from those now in vogue. The directors of tills bank, thirteeen in number, were selected in such manner as to give each part of the county a representation on the board, and these directors in coming from their homes to West Ghester were entrusted with the money which their neighbors desired to deposit in the bank. When a depositor desired to use money in the trans- action of his business it was customary for him to withdraw it in specie or paper and pay it out direct to his creditor. The great advantages of the check system had not then dawned Upon the minds of the people, whereas now from ninety td ninety-five pei cent of the transfers from debtor to creditor, including the payment of foreign bills, that is, debts in Philadelphia, New York and other distant places, are paid by the debtor sending his personal check AND ITS PEOPLE. 721 on his own bank. The deposits of this bank have steadily in creased, they being in 1850 from |215,000 to |250,000; in 1860 from 1175,000 to 1247,000; in 1870 from |300,000 to |600,000; in 1890 from 1130,000 to $645,000, and in 1898 from |750,000 to |950,00.0. Semi-annual dividends have been declared by this bank as follows: From 1850 to 1860, 5 to 6 per cent; 1860 to 1890, 6 to 8 per cent and from 1890 to 1898, from 6 to 7 per cent. The First National Bank of West Chester had its origin in the following manner: On November 13, 1863, the following-named gentlemen met in the banking-house of Brinton & Wilson in West Chester, to consider the expediency of establishing a national bank in said borough, viz.: George Brinton, David Woelffer, Joseph Hemphill, William Wollerton, Wellington Hickman, John Smith Futhey, and William S. Kirk. The following resolution was adopted : " Eesolved, That we associate ourselves together for the pur- pose of carrying on the business of banking under the act of Con- gress entitled: "An Act to provide a National Currency secured by a pledge of United States stocks, and to provide for the circula- tion and redemption tliereof," approved February 25, 1863." The name adopted for this neAV financial institution was the First National Bank of West Chester, and the capital stock was fixed at |50,000, each share to be flOO. Articles of association were entered into November 13, 1863, and on November 17, 1863, an election for directors was held, resulting in the election of the above named seven gentlemen. At the first annual election the same gentlemen were re-elected, and George Brinton was chosen president and William S. Kirk cashier. On November 17, 1863, Joseph Hemphill, William Wollerton and John Smith Futhey were appointed a committee to procure a building in which to carry on the business of banking, and on December 11 reported in favor of the house then owned by David Meconkey, which stood im- mediatelv north of the Bank of Chester County, which was leased 722 CHESTER COUNTY for five years. December 16 the capital stock of the bank was in- creased to 1100,000, and on January 2, 1864, the business of bank- ing was regularly commenced. On January 9 the number of direc- tors was increased to nine, and the following gentlemen were elected: George Brinton, William Chalfant, John Smith Futhey, Joseph Hemphill, Wellington Hickman, Andrew Mitchell, Eobert Parke, David Woelffer and William Wollerton. On May 24, 1864, it was resolved to erect a building for the use of the bank, and a lot was purchased of James D. McClellan, on which the present bank building stands, and the building was erected at a cost of |25,000. Into this building the bank moved March 15, 1865. On August 9, 1864, the capital of the bank was increased to $200,000. The presidents of this bank have been as follows; George Brinton, from the organization as given above to January 15, 1869 ; WUliam Wollerton, January 15, 1869, until his death, April 29, 1898; Alfred P. Eeid elected president May 21, 1898. The cashiers have been as follows : William S. Kirk, from the organization until April 16, 1867; James G. McCollin, April 10, 1867, to February 14, 1868; Thomas W. Marshall, February 14, 1868, to December 17, 1872; Enos E. Thatcher, December 17, 1872, to January, 1887; F. W. Wollerton, from January, 1887, to the present time. In 1897 the interior of the building was remodeled and im- proved, safety deposit vaults being put in containing 300 private boxes, the capacity of the vaults being upward of 600, the entire cost being about |11,000. These private boxes rent for from |3 to |12 per year, making it one of the most convenient banking rooms in the county. The First National Bank of Honeybrook was organized Jan- uary 1, 1868, with the following directors: Joshua Kames, E. D. White, R. W. Morton, Thomas Millard, William Corbit, Joseph C. Davis, Samuel Lemmon, James C Eoberts, and Thomas S. Ingram. AND ITS PEOPLE. 723 Joshua Karnes was the first president and Kichard D. Wells first cashier. The bank was opened for business at Honeybrook Feb- ruary 8, 1868, and on April 9, 1868, both the president and cashier resigned their positions. E. D. White then became president and K. W. Motton, cashier. January 11, 1877, Samuel Lemmon became president, serving until his death in February, 1892. Then he was succeeded by John S. Gait, who has served ever since. Mr. Morton served as cashier until January, 1892, when he died and was succeeded by John E. Tinger, who has served ever since. The capital of this bank was at first |100,000, at which it re- mains. The present directors are John S. Gait, Theodore M. Stoob, Jacob Hertzler, John A. Lemmon, Thomas Millard, William Mar- tin, John Stauffer, Jacob Hartz. E. D. Haines & Co., private bankers of West Chester, began business in 1868. The members of the firm at the beginning of and up to 1883, when Mr. Haines died, were E. D. Haines and J. T. Murtagh, their place of business being No. 19 North High Street. Pyle & Brown (Abner Pyle and Thomas B. Brown), private bankers of West Chester, began business in February, 1871, each of them having been in business separately in West Chester for two years. They moved into their present building in 1872, Nos. Ill and 113 North High Street. The business is of the nature of general banking, loan, real estate and insurance. D. M. McFarland, banker of Wester Chester, has been engaged in this business since 1868. It was established in 1820 by a Mr. Warren, who was succeeded therein by Thomas Williamson, and he was succeeded in 1834 by David Meconkey. The latter gentle- man carried on the business until 1868, when Mr. McFarland took charge. The business includes in addition to banking, conveyanc- ing, and the drawing up of legal papers of all kinds, and Mr. Mc- Farland has acted as administrator for many estates. The office of the bank is on North High Street, opposite the Court-house. 724 CHESTER COUNTY 'The Downingtown Bank was organized as a State institution September 3, 1860, beginning business May 16, 1861, with a capital of 150,000, which in 1863 was increased to |100,000. It was changed to a National bank December 30, 1864, under the name of the DoAvningtown National Bank of Pennsylvania, with the follow- ing directors: William Edge, Jonathan C. Baldwin, Samuel Eing: wait, Peter Dampman, David Shelmire, Dr. John P. Edge, Leonard F. Eoberts, William Eogers, Jacob Edge, Samuel P. Miller, and Jonathan P. Butler. The presidents of this bank have been as follows: Charles Downing, November 23, 1860, until Ms death, May 3, 1863; David Shelmire, June 1, 1863, to November 3, 1863; William Trimble, No- vember 23, 1863, to his death, December 18, 1863; William Edge, December 28, 1863, to May 29, 1865; Jacob Edge, May 29, 1865, to March 13, 1889; Joseph E. Downing, April 4, 1889, to the present time. The cashiers have been: Mordecai T. Euth, from the organiza- tion until December 1, 1863 ; Joseph E. Downing, December 1, 1863, until April 4, 1889; Thomas W. Downing, April 11, 1889, to the present time. The Parkesburg National Bank. On April 14, 1869, Parke, Smith & Co., a private firm, established themselves in the banking business, with a capital of $50,000, and a board of directors consist- ing of Eobert Parke, Eobert Baldwin, Eobert Fairlamb, John N. Chalfant, John A. Parke, and Ezekiel E. Young. Eobert Parke was president, and Samuel E. Parke, cashier. The name of this pri- vate institution was the Parkesburg Bank. On April 22, 1873, Eobert Parke resigned as president. Samel E. Parke becoming- president, and Eobert Agnew Futhey, cashier. On March 30, 1880, this institution became a National bank, under the name at the head of this article, with the same president and cashier, and the following directors : Samuel E. Parke, Eobert Parke, Eobert Fair- lamb, John A. Morrison, M. D., John Y. Latta, and James B. Ken- AXD ITS PEOPLE. 72 S nedy. At the present time the directors of this bank are as fol- lows: John A. Morrison, John Y. Latta, James B. Kennedy, Kobert Futhey, John A. Parke, and A. T. Parke, the officers being Samuel E. Parke, president, and M. F. Hamill, cashier. The National Bank of Chester Valley, at Coatesville, was or- ganized first as a State bank. May 1, 1857, with the following board of directors: Abraham Gibbons, Nathan Eambo, Enoch S. McCaughey, William Dripps, Henry G. Thomas, Caleb Pierce, Lewis Maxton, Hugh E. Steele, Isaac Hayes, Charles Downing, John W. Wagoner, Samuel Slokum and James King Grier. Abra- ham Gibbons was the president and Francis F. Davis cashier. On November 17, 1861, it became a National bank, the same of- ficers remaining in charge until 1882, when Mr. Gibbons resigned and was succeeded by William Mode. Cashier Davis died in 1883 and was succeeded by John W. Thompson. In 1893 Mr. Mode re- signed the presidency and was succeeded by Mr. Thompson, H. J. Branson becoming cashier. The first directors of this bank when it changed to a National bank were the following: Abraham Gib- bons, Samuel Slokom, James Penrose, Hugh W. Robinson, Alex- ander Moore, Jr., Joseph Davis, Levis. Pennock, Jr., James King Grier and Dr. Charles Huston. The present board of directors is as follows : H. Preston Baker, William H. Gibbons, Lewis B. Hen- son, A. F. Huston, Alexander Mode, Jesse Shallcross, J. H. Schrack, Brinton Walker and J. W. Thompson. In 1895 the building was enlarged and improved, and a large fire and burglar proof vault was put in, containing 210 small safes of various sizes, which are rented at a merely nominal cost. The Octoraro Bank at Oxford was chartered by the State in 1857 and organized in July, 1858. The first board of directors of this bank was as follows: Samuel Dickey, John M. Kelton, John B. Harlan, Dr. D. W. Hutchinson, J. C. Taylor, G. W. Lefevre, A. F. Eves, David Hayes and Daniel Stubbs. Dr. E. V. Dickey, the first president, died soon after his election, and was succeeded by 726 CHESTER COUNTY Kev. Samuel Dickey, who remained president until his death, Janu- ary 14, 1884, when he was succeeded by S. E. Dickey. On February 19, 1865, the State charter was surrendered and the bank was opened as a National institution under the name of "The National Bank of Oxford," with the following directors: Samuel Dickey, John M. Kelton, J. C. Taylor, K. H. Kirk, A. F. Eves, Alexander Turner, D. W. Hutchison, Newton I. Nichols, P. W. Housekeeper, James E. Eamsey, James A. Strawbridge, Will- iam E. Bingham and Daniel Stubbs. The present directors are: S. E. Dickey, William E. Bingham, William T. Fulton, G. D. Arm- strong, E. B. Patterson, Edgar F. Fulton, T. J. Foulk, J. M. O. Car- hart and J. E. Eamsey. The capital of the bank, which at first was 1100,000, is now |125,000, the surplus fund is $25,000 and the un- divided profits |25,000, and the total amount of dividends paid since it became a National bank is |2T6,000. Dr. James H. Cunningham was cashier of the Octoraro bank and of the National bank until May, 1866, when he was succeeded by John Janvier, who died in July, 1878, and was succeeded by by James E. Eamsey, who is still cashier. The Farmers' National -Bank of Oxford was established in 1868 as a private bank by Kirk, MacVeagh & Co. In 1870 it became a State bank under the name of the Oxford Banking Company, was incorporated March 11, 1872, and was chartered as a National bank in 1883. The president of the Oxford Banking Company wa& James Wood, president, and David M. Taylor, cashier. The of- ficers at the present time are as follows: President, D. M. Tay- lor ,and cashier, E. A. Walker. The board of directors is as follows r H. A. Menough, J. Dickey Smith, J. D. Nelson, Eber Heston, M. D., C. Blackburn, Amos K. Bradley, Levi B. Kirk, D. M. Taylor and Henry Cope. The capital stock is |75,000; deposits, |170,672.45;. discounts, |205,460.32, and the surplus fund and undivided profits,. 132,000. J. A. Watt & Co., bankers at Oxford, began business here in AXD ITS PJJOPLBl. 72r 1873, and carry on a general banking business in all its branches. J. A. Watt is sole proprietor of tlie business and G. N. Lawrie is the , cashier. The Dime Savings Bank of Chester County, located in the As- sembly Building, at West Chester, was incorporated April 22, 1890. The purposes of the bank are indicated by the act under which it was organized, which was approved May 20, 1889. It receives deposits from all classes in any amount, from ten cents to- •f 5,000, and allows interest at the rate of three per cent, per annum on all deposits aggregating two dollars remaining on deposit three calendar months or more. The net earnings of the bank are also- divided among the depositors. The officers of this bank at present are Alfred P. Reid, president; William P. Marshall, vice-president;, Thomas E. Parke, second vice-president; Joseph S. Evans, secre- tary, and John A. Rupert, cashier. The following statement shows the condition of this bank at the close of business May 14, 1898: Mortgages, |195,675; munic- ipal bonds and premiums on same, $55,944.75, and money in bank and cash on hand $4,194.99. Total resources, |255,814.74; liabili- ties, to depositors, $250,344.89, and undivided profits, $5,469.85. This bank has issued altogether 6,756 bank books, and at the present time there are 4,500 open accounts. The board of trustees of this bank are aS follows : K. T. Cornwell, S. D. Ramsey, Henry C. Baldwin, L. J. Brower, Wallace S. Harlan, J. Prank E. Hause, Davis W. Entriken, Marshall H. Matlack, Joseph S. Evans, Lewis C. Moses, Alfred P. Reid, Geo. Morris Philips, J. Preston Thomas, Plummer E. Jefferis, Addison Jones, William P. Marshall, Michael J. Murphy, Elisha G. Cloud, J. Comly Hall, Thos. E. Parke, M. D. Evan T. Pennock. The National Bank of West Grove was organized in 1882, with a capital of $50,000, The officers have been as follows : President, Samuel K. Chambers; cashier, Walter W. Brown; vice-presidents,, 728 CHESTER COUNTY Samuel C. Kent, 1882-94; Menander Wood, 1894-97; Robert L. Pyle, 1897 to the present time. The first board of directors was as fol- lows : Samuel K. Chambers, Samuel C. Kent, Henry Cope, Charles Dingee, David. Mercer, Robert !>. Pyle, ^Villiam 11. Pyle, Mordecai y. Taylor and Menander Wood. The present board is as follows: Samuel K. Chambers, Henry Cope, Alfred F. Conard, Joel P. Conard, Alonzo B. Criswell, William B. Harvey, David Mercer, Robert L. Pyle and Emmor B. Wood. The bank is located oh Exchange Place, owns its building, and rents rooms to the postofflce authorities and to private parties. The capital remains as at first, the surplus is |22,000, deposits, ^125,000, and with the exception of the first six months, a dividend of three per cent, has been declared semi-annuallj . The National Bank of Avondale was established June 25, 1891, with the same officers as at present, except the vice-president, viz.: Samuel Wickersham, president; M. B. Kent, vice-president, and E. Pusey Passmore, cashier, then the youngest cashier in the State. The vice-president since 1894 has been W. J. Pusey. The first board of directors "s^as as follows: S. Wickersham, S. John Pyle, W. J. Pusey, M. B. Kent, Edwin C. Cloud, Augustus Brosius, Will- iam Willard, Harry C. Taylor, I. Frank Chandler, W. F. 'S'ernou and Z. Lamborn. The present board is as follows: S. Wickersham, W. J. Pusey, S. John Pyle, Augustus Brosius, B. H. Chambers, Samuel Sharp- less, William Willard, Thomas H. Marvel, M. G. Brosius, John T. Alexander, and Solomon J. Pusey. The bank building, one of the most neat and elegant little huildings in the countj^, stands on Pennsylvania, No. 116. It is of Avondale limestone, and (,'ost |13,000. There is in it a safety deposit vault of modern construction, which contains seventy-two boxes which rent from. |2.50 to |6 per annum. The business was trans- ferred to this new building, which is heated by a water heater, in October, 1896. The capital of this bank is as at first, |50,000, the AND ITS PEOPLE. 729 surplus on May 5, 1898, was |15,000, the deposits then amounted to 1127,000, and beginning in 1894, it has declared a dividend of two and a half per cent, semi-annually. The Farmers' National Bank of West Chester was organized December 5, 1882, and was chartered January 11, 1883, with a capi- tal of 1100,000. It commenced business in a rented room in the building standing on the southwest corner of Market and High Streets, West Chester, but purchased the building January 1, 1897. Its presidents have been as follows: Samuel Butler, H. B. Buckwal- ter and A. P. Hall, and its cashier has been and is William Dowlin. The directors at the present time are J. M. Baker, A. P. Hall, II. F. Hoopes, Levi G. McCauley, Thomas W. Baldwin, Jesse Darlington, •John E. Huey, H. P. Worth and Samuel K. Downing. The capital remains as at the beginning and the surplus is now |15,350. The National Bank of Kennett Square was authorized to begin the business of banking by certificate dated May 16, 1881. The first board of directors was John Marshall, Thomas Marshall, George B. Sharpe, J. Mitchell Baker, Ellwood Michener, Thomas J. Webb, Ezra L. Baily and William Press. The first president was John Marshall, and the first cashier D. Duer Philips. On May 23, 1885, John Marshall died, and was succeeded by Edward E. Darlington, who is still president. The capital stock of the bank has been increased to |100,000, the deposits amount to from $210,- 000 to |250,000, and the bank is in an unusually prosperous con- dition. The National Bank of Coatesville was established March 9, 1889, and began business on the 25th of the same month with a capital of |100,000. On April 1, 1889, the erection of the present handsome brownstone structure occupied by this bank a.nd the postoffice was begun, and by October 1 of the same year it was ready for occupancy. The first board of trustees of this bank was as follows: Samuel Greenwood, president, W. P. Worth, James B. Wright, J. S. Worth, J. W. Boyle, E. W. Schrack, Joseph 730 CHESTER COUNTY Beale, John GilflUan, and O. A, Boyle. The cashier has been M. W. Pownall since the establishment of the institution. The National Bank of Spring City was organized July 23, 1872^ with directors as follows: Casper S. Francis, Charles Peters, Ben- jamin Prizer, Jacob Chrisman, John Stauffer, Benjamin Eambo, A. D. Hunsicker, John N. Miller, and Charles Tyson. The first president of this bank was Casper S. Francis, and the first cashier, John T. Eachus. The capital originally was #100,000, but in 1873 it was increased to |150,000. The second president of the bank was Daniel Latshaw, and the third and present one, A. P. Fritz, The second and present cashier was W. J. Wagoner. The directors of this bank at the present time are A. P. Fritz, Davis Knauer, Dr. W. Brower, Daniel B. Latshaw, Edward Brownback, Milton Lat- shaw, Franklin March and P. W. Brownback, The Farmers' and Mechanics' National Bank of Phoenixville was incorporated February 5, 1872, with a capital of $50,000, which in 1874 was increased to $150,000. The first board of directors was composed of Elias Oberholtzer, Newton Evans, Matthias C. Penny- packer, Hyram H. Stover, Abraham Grater, Andrew Tyson, J. D> Wismer, and Jesse Gabel. The first president was Elias Ober- holtzer, who died December 17, 1876. John Kennedy succeeded him and died September 4, 1877. Aaron H. Stover then became president and held the office until February, 1887; John Detwiler was president until 1889 ; J. Thomas F. Hunter until 1891, and the present president, I. J. Brower, was elected January 15, 1891. The first cashier was J. Newton Evans, who was succeeded in the office July 1, 1875, by J. Theodore F. Hunter who held the office until 1887; George K. Eoberts, until 1890; D. W. Brower, until 1892, and H. A. Jenks, the present cashier, was elected January 14, 1892. Harry W. Brower is now teller in the bank. This bank was re-organized in 1891, placed under new management and since then it has had a very successful career. The present board of directors is as follows: I. J. Brower, Mahlon Miller, Isaac Detwiler, AND ITS PEOPLE. 73 1 Hiram Buckwalter, J. G. Detwiler, E. L. Buckwalter, J. H. John- son, H. F. Ealston and Amos G. Gotwals. The National Bank of Phosnixville. The first attempt to estab- lish a bank in Phronixville was in 1852, when Messrs. Pennypac-ker, Sherwood, Kreamer, Bonner, Wheatley, Nicholas Bean and Joseph ^A'hitaker organized themselves into such an institution; but the Legislature refused to grant a charter, and the attempt was aban- doned. The next attempt was made in 1856, which resulted in the organization of the Bank of Phoenixville March 12, 1859, the first board of directors being Joseph J. Tustin, William M. Taylor, Nicholas Bean, Daniel Latshaw, Nathan T. MacVeagh, John Mor- gan, Levi B. Kaler, N. M. Ellis, Benjamin Prizer, William M. Stephens, Isaac Ohrisman and Daniel Bucher. The first president was Samuel Buckwalter, and the first cashier, Jacob B. Morgan, who resigned in 1890, and was succeeded by Horace Lloyd, who has held the office ever since. This bank on December 30, 1864, organized as the National Bank of Phoenixville, with the following directors : Samuel Buck- waiter, John Morgan, Samuel Kreamer, Samuel Moses, Jacob B. Landis, Henry Fink, Casper S. Francis, Joel Fink, Levi Prizer, and C B. Heebner. The first president of the bank, Samuel Buck- waiter, held the position until his death, his successor, Henry Loucks, being elected March 18, 1869, and holding the office until January, 1890, and was succeeded by P. G. Carey who held the office until his death, in June, 1897, and then L. B. Kaler, the pres- ent official, succeeded him. The capital of this bank was originally |100,000, but it was in- creased from time to time until it became |200,000. At first the business was conducted in a dwelling-house, but a commodious banking-house was afterward erected, which has all the modern appliances for convenience and safety. This bank has a surplus of 150,000, and for many years has paid its stockholders a semi- annual dividend of four per cent. 732 CHESTER COUNTY The Phoenix Mutual Fire Insurance Company was incorporat- ed November 8, 1875, its first president being W. W. Waitneight and first secretary, George M. Bishop. The business of the com- pany has always been conducted in a careful and conservative man- ner, and has in consequence been eminently successful. It has paid losses by fire aggregating |151,120, and has averaged only one assessment a year. The officers at the present time are as follows: George M. Bishop, president; P. Strode Brown, secretary, and G. C. Brownback, treasurer. The directors are as follows: George M. Bishop, Phoenixville; A. E. Eachus, Phoinixville ; Daniel Bixstine, PhcBnixville; L. E. Walters, Phoenixville; Abraham Det- wiler, Phoenixville; H. Pratt, Coatesville; Gideon S. Moore, Mil- ford Mills; John Eees, Aldham; Daniel Schlipp, St. Peters; Jolin White, Honeybrook; John T. Comly Jenkintown; E. Krauser, Xor- ristown; L. P. G. Fegley, Boyertown, Pa, The Phoenix Mutual Storm Insurance Company of Phoenix- ville was chartered July 30, 188G, for the purpose of insuring property against losses by wind, hail and lightning; and also crops in the field, glass in houses and hothouses against loss by hail. Many people are protecting their property against losses of this nature by insuring in this company. Its officers and directors are as follows: Hon. D. F. Moore, president; P. Strode Brown sec- retary, and Abraham Detwiler, treasurer. The directors are: Hon. D. F. Moore, Phoenixville; Daniel Bixstine, Phoenixville; Abraham Detwiler, Phoenixville; P. Strode Brown, Phoenixville; Harry Pratt, Coatesville; Jacob Emery, Chester Springs; John White» East Earl; L. P. G. Fegley, Boyertown; Joseph Kelso, Douglassr ville; Henry Wamsher, Monocacy; Daniel Schlipp, Smedley; John Comly, Jenkintown; Jonathan Eees, Aldham. The Penn Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Chester County was incorporated August 14, 1867, and its first policy was issued January 1, 1868. The first board of directors was as follows : Will- iam P. Townsend, William Darlington, Washington Townsend, AND ITS PEOPLE. 733 Elijah F. Pennypaoker, Isaac Haves, William Windle, Levi H Grouse, John D. Worth, K. Ilaines Passmore, Jonathan Roberts Pennock E. Marshall, and George C. M. Eicholtz. The first of fleers were William P. Townsend, president; Elijah F. Penny packer, vice-president; and Enoch Harlan, secretary and treasurer The succeeding presidents have been as follows: William Windle, January, 1870, to January, 1877; J. Smith Futhey, until February 1879; Elijah F. Pennypacker, until 1887; Edwin James, until 1892 and Alfred P. Reid, from 1892 until the present time. Enoch Harlan remained secretary and treasurer until his death in the summer of 1872, when he was succeeded by his son, Thomas W. Harlan, who resigned in July, 1873. He was succeeded by George M. Rupert, who held the office until 1884, and was then succeeded by Barclay Lear, the present secretary, the two offices being separated in 1884, William P. Sharpless becoming treasurer and serving until 1891, when Plummer E. Jefferis was elected and still holds the position. The Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Chester County, lo- cated in Coatesv^ille, was incorporated April 21, 1840, and was or- ganized on May 16 following, at the public house of Hayes Clark in Doe Run village. Joseph M. Thompson was elected its first presi- dent; Amos Fredd, treasurer, and Enoch Harlan, secretary. On October 5, 1840, business was commenced with fire risks to the amount of |>100,000, but the company was without a permanent office until 1860, the directors in the meantime meeting in vainous places throughout the county. During the summer of 1860 a building was erected in Coatesville, at which place the business of the company has since been conducted. This building was used until 1896, when the present commodious structure was erected. Commencing with policies to the amount of |100,000 the com- pany had policies out January 1, 1898, to the amount of |31,070,211, and the total amount of losses paid by the company up to the same date was |1,655,640.14, while the amount received for assess- 734 CHESTER COUNTY ments was |1,800,559.87. No extra, assessment lias ever been made. The Storm Department of the company was organized in 1890, -and on December, 1896, it had in force insurance to the amount of $1,708,542. The following officers have served the company since its or- ganization : Jos. M. Thompson, Morris Cope, Solomon Lukens, Moses Whitson, Charles Downing, Smedley Darlington Downing, dec'd. Enoch Harlan, Jacob Edge, Wm. W. Eachus, Archimides Robb, Levis Pennock, Jr., Abraham Gibbons, John P. Edge, PRESIDENTS. from 1840 to 1844 1844 " 1848 " 1848 " 1850 " 1850 " 1853 " 1853 " 1863 to fill unexpired term of Chas, to April, 1864 from April, 1864 to 1868 " " 1868 " 1869 " " 1869 " 1876 " " 1876 " 1880 " « 1880 " 1894 " 1894 " date. SECRETARIES. Enoch Harlan, from 1840 to 1863 Caleb H. Bradley, a 1863 ti 1880 Isaac Spackman, u 1880 a 1895 Brinton Cooper, Ass't, a 1880 a 1895 B. P. Cooper, Sec'y, « 1895 u date. Thos. Speckman, Ass't Sec'y, a 1895 a date TREASURERS. Amos Fredd, from 1840 to 1841 Morris Cope, a 1841 a 1844 AND ITS PEOPLE. 735 Jos. M. Thompson, " Henry G. Thomas, " John A. Keynolds, " Dr. Charles Huston, " Levis Pennock, Jr., " Alexander Mode, " Wm. H. Eidgway, " John M. Lindsay, of Bryn Mawr, appointed a receiver in 1857, and surveyor in 1862, still holds both positions, having served for a longer term than any other of the present officers. Moses Eambo was elected manager in 1869, and still holds the office. 1844 " 1854 1854 " 1867 1867 " 1874 1874 " 1881 1881 " 1887 1887 " 1894 1894 " date. 43 CHAPTER XVllI. RELIGION. CHAPTER XVIII. RELIGION — THE EARLIEST CHURCHES — NAMES OF PASTORS — THEIR METHODS 6f INSTRUCTION THE FRIENDS THEIR VARIOUS SOCIETIES DIVISION IN THEIR RANKS THE CATHOLICS THEIR GROWTH AND PRESENT STRENGTH — THE PRESBYTERIANS — BAPTISTS METHODISTS EPISCOPALIANS — REV. MR. USSHER LUTHERANS — OTHER DENOMINATIONS — SUNDAY-SCHOOLS CHARACTER OF PASTORS — BUILDINGS AND STATISTICS. IN writing the history of religion in Chester County it is not deemed necessary to go further back into the history of the Prov- ince of Pennsylvania than about the time when William Penn landed upon the Delaware, in 1682. Then there were churches at Christina, New Castle, Wicaco and Tinicum. The church at Chris- tina was built soon after the arrival of Minuit, the date of which has already been given. Rev. Reorus Torkillus was the first min- ister to begin the performance of his duties, probably in 1640. A handsome frame church building was erected on Tinicum Island by Governor Printz, which was dedicated in September, 1646. The first pastor here was the Rev. John Campanius. In what is now Southwark, Philadelphia, there stood in 1682 a small block-house, which appears to have been first, used for religious purposes in 1677, the first sermon therein having been delivered on Trinity Sunday, that year. In 1667 the people of Christina and New Castle united in the building of a church at Cranehook, half way between the two places. During or shortly after the close of the adminis- tration of Grovernor Printz, Rev. Lars Carlsson Loock, Rev. Israel Holgh, and perhaps a few others, came from Sweden. Dominie Loock had charge of two congregations, that at Christina and that at Tinicum. Rev. Petrus Laurentii Hjort and Rev. Mathias Nico- lai Nertimius came over with Governor Risingh in 1654, but left with him the next year. Rev. Evardus Welius, a Dutch minister, 739 740 CHESTER COUNTY in 1657 came to New Castle and relieved Pietersen of his pastoral duties. Pietersen remained thereafter simply "fore-singer, zieken- trooster, and deacon." For some years the necessity for religious instruction was greatly felt as those who had come over from Europe, as mentioned above, grew old and sick, unable to perform their usual duties, and for some time there was not one acti-^-e Swedish clergyman in the province, none but lay readers. At Tinicum Church Anders Bengtson, an old man, sat and read postils, and at Christina, Charles Springer, a Swede who had been a slave in Virginia, read to the congregation. But at length under Charles XI., King of Sweden, missionaries and books were supplied at the expense of the government, and afterward, between 1696 and 1786, not less than twenty-four ministers were sent out by Sweden to the settlers on the Delaware. Rev. John Campanius was pastor at Tinicum from 1642 to 1648, spent much time in missionary work among the Delaware In- dians, and according to his own account converted many of them to Christianity. He studied Indian languages, and framed a vocabulary of the Delaware language, into which he translated for the benefit of that nation Luther's Shorter Catechism. Dr. Smith in his History of Delaware County says: "This year" (1668) "a Swedish church was erected at Crane Hook, at which Mr. Loock officiated, as well as at the church at Tinicum." This has reference to the church built, as stated above, in 1667. On April 13, 1671, according to the same authority, a pass was granted "to the Magister Jacobus Fabritius, pastor of the Lutheran confession," to go to New Castle. Mr. Fabritius became the first pastor at Wicaco. In 1675 Rev. William Edmundson, a minister of the Society of Friends, traveled through this new country and found Robert Wade settled at Upland, and at Mr. Wade's house, a few other Friends having been collected, Mr. Edmundson held a meeting, AND ITS PEOPLE. 74 1 after which they went in a boat to Salem, where they met with John Fenwick and a few Friends, who that year had come from England witli John Fenwick. These names are especially note- worthy, for Eobert Wade and John Fenwick, who, together with other Friends who in 1675 came from England, were the first mem- bers of the Society of Friends that settled within the limits of ancient Chester County, or even within the limits of the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania, and this meeting at Eobert Wade's house was the first meeting of Friends within the county or common- wealth. And, of course, the Eev. William Edmundson was the first minister of that Society to hold a meeting within the county. Eobert Wade was a purchaser of land from John Fenwick. While there were doubtless several other meetings within the county earlier than 1681, yet there is no record of any such meeting in Pennsylvania before that year, the first minute being as follows: "The 10th day of the 11th month, 1681. A monthly meeting of Friends belonging to Marcus-hook, alias Chester and Upland, held at the house of Eobert Wade." Meetings were held alternately at the places above mentioned and were but one monthly meeting; but later the meeting at Eobert Wade's became Chester Monthly Meeting, and that at Mar- cus Hook, though at first calld the Chichester Monthly Meeting, became at length merged in the Concord Meeting. According to Dr. Smith the only Friends or Quakers who were heads of families settled at Chester and Marcus Hook, at the time of the arrival of the first vessel sent out by William Penn, were as follows: Eobert Wade, Eoger Pedrick, Morgan Drewet, William Woodmanson, Michael Izzard, Thomas Eevel, Henry Hastings, William Oxley, James Browne, Henry Eeynolds and Thomas Nos- siter. But it would be scarcely proper to pass over the Eev. William Edmundson without further mention. He is spoken of as an "emi- nent minister of the Friends," and in 1675-77 made a missionary 742 CHESTER COVNTYi I four along the Atlantic coast from EHode Island to the Caro- Unas, stopping on the way at several places, holding meetings with the Friends and taking part in several controversies upon religious doctrines with ministers and others of other denomina- tions, according as he was moved "by the Spirit of the Lord." Inasmuch as the central idea, thought or principle of the religion of the Friends has had a most powerful effect upon the civilization of Pennsylvania, and other colonies and later States, and so upon the entire country, in its educational, religious and civil history, it is not only proper but actually necessary to present in as clear light as possible that central thought or doctrine in this connection. And it will doubtless be more entertainingly and in- structively presented in the language of this eminent minister of the Friends as he was holding an argument with a certain minister of another religious society. After describing his expulsion from a "Worship-House" and his removal under guard to the "Guard Firelocks upon the Hill,"^ in New Hertford, Connecticut, he says: "So that the officer who had me in charge first complained of the sharpness of the weather, and askt me, How I could endure the Gold? For he was very cold. I told him It was the Entertain- ment, that their great Professors of Keligion in New England, af- forded a stranger, and yet professed the Scriptures to be their rule, which commanded to entertain strangers, and besides they had drawn my blood, &c. * * * Then he took me to an Inn, and presently the room was filled with Professors, much discourse we had, and the Lord strengthened me, and by his Spirit brought many passages of Scripture to my Eemembrance; so that Truth's Testimony was over them. As one company went away, another came. "When they were foiled a Preacher amongst the Baptists took up the argument against Truth, charging Friends with holding a great error, (which was) That every Man had a Measure of the AND ITS PEOPLE. 745 Spirit of Clirist, and would know if I held tiie same Error? I told him, that was no Error, for the Scriptures witnessed to it plenti- fully: he said, he denied that the World had received a Measure of the Spirit, but Believers had received it. I told him, that the Apostle said, a Manifestation of the Spirit was given to every oru^, to profit with all; he said, that was meant to every one of the Be- lievers. I told him, Christ had enlightened every one that came into the World, with the Light of his Spirit; he said, that was every one of the Believers that came into the World: and as I brought him Scriptures, he still applied them to the Believers,, saying, there was the Ground of our Error, in applying that to every Man, which properly belonged to Believers. Then the Lord by his good Spirit brought to my mind the Promise of our Saviour, (when he told his Disciples of his going away,) that he would send the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, that should con- vince the World of Sin, and should guide his Disciples into all Truth; thus the same Spirit of Truth, that leads Believers into all Truth, convinces the World of Sin. So thou must grant, that all have received it, or else show from the Scriptures a SELECT Number of Believers, and besides them a WORLD of Believers,, that hath the Spirit, also another WORLD of Unbelievers, that hath no Measure of the Spirit to convince them of Sin, "Here the Lord's Testimony came over him, so that he was stopped, and many sober Professors, who staid to see the eud, acquiesced therewith, and said, indeed Mr. Rogers, the Man is in the right; for you must find a SELECT Number of Believers, be- sides a WORLD that hatb a Measure of the Spirit, that convincesi them of Sin, and a WORLD that hath not the Spirit, so not con- vinced of Sin. This thou must do or grant the argument. "He was silent and the people generally satisfied in that mat- ter, their Understandings being opened : so they took their Leave of me very lovingly, it being late in the Night." " * The passage of Scripture on which the Friends rely to sustain this doctrine of the Light of the Spirit, or the Inner Light, is as follows; " That was the true light that lighteth every man that oometh into the world." John 1, 9. 744 CHESTER COUNTY This doctrine of the Inner Light is still entertained by and is still the fundamental doctrine of the Friends. In an address delivered in West Chester, February 1, 1898, John J. Cornell of Baltimore, a leading Friend, said that he had heard the silent monitor within address him on the "First day morning last, the command being 'Go to West Chester on Second day.' " . And as he made it a rule to obey this voice he had come, and the passage of Scriptui^e suggesting itself to him was "What shall I do to be saved?" In ansAver to this question he said that obedience to the inner voice to the highest expression of what is right, is that which will bring salvation. He said that a man needs' not so much a pardon at the close of life for errors committed while he lived as he does guardianship during life that will keep him from error. To keep him from error is the mission of the inner light, and if a man be preserved from sin in the present life he will have no sin to atone for at the end of life. This is the sub- stance of Mr. Cornell's remarks on the Inner Light. William Penn's idea as to religious liberty is clearly expressed in the fol- lowing paragraph from his "Frame of Government": "That all persons living in this Province, who confess and acknowledge the one almighty and eternal God to be the creator, upholder and ruler of the world, and that hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall in no ways be molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion or practice iu matters of faith and worship, nor shall they he com- pelled at any time to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatever." While this for the times in which it was promulgated was very broad and liberal, much more so than were the laws laid down for the government of religious matters in most of the other colonies, yet it is, as will be noticed, not without qualification. And it Avas the doctrine of the Friends regarding religious liberty and peace on earth and good-will toward men that drew so large a AND ITS PEOPLE. 745 number of people from oppression in Europe, wlio entertained such a great variety of opinion on religious matters, to this province, and this great variety of opinion would have made religious tolera- tion a necessity, even had there been any disposition on the part of the government or of any one denomination to interfere. The Friends, however, remained in the majority as to numbers up to the time of the Kevolutionary War, yet there were many repre- sentatives of the German sects, as Mennonites, Dunkers, Amish, etc., and also Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Catholics, etc. It is with these various denominations that this history has now to treat. Among the Friends meetings were at first held in private houses; but at length, as soon as their numbers had sufficiently increased, they erected small, plain buildings, usually of logs, which plain buildings were used for religious or educa- tional purposes, or both. Among the oldest of these buildings in what was once Chester County, but which is now Delaware County, were those at Springfield, Providence, Middletown, Radnor and Newtown, and the oldest in what is now Chester County were at Goshen, Uwchlan, Cain, Kennett, Birmingham, Nottingham, West Nottingham, New Garden, London Grove, Brad- ford and Valley. "Meetings" among the Friends are of several kinds. The Preparative Meetings consist of one or more meetings for wor- ship. The Monthly Meetings consist of one or more Preparative Meetings. The Quarterly Meetings consist of one or more Monthly Meetings. The Yearly Meetings consist of several Quarterly Meetings. The Monthly Meetings are the principal executive branch of the Society. As nearly all of the Meetings within the limits of Chester County belong to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the date of the organization of that meeting is here given, 1681. The Meetings in both Delaware and Chester Counties which belong to this Yearly 746 CHESTER COUNTY Meeting, are here presented, those in Delaware County having been in Chester County when established. Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, 1682; Haverford Monthly Meeting, 1G84; Haverford Meeting, 1683; Radnor, 1686; Valley 1714. Chester (Concord) Quarterly meeting, 1683; Chester Monthly Meeting, 1681; Chester Meeting, 1675; Springfield, 1686; Provi- dence, 1696; Middletown, 1686. Darby Monthly Meeting, 1684; Darby Meeting, 1683 (?). Concord Monthly Meeting, 1684; Chichester Meeting, 1683; Concord, 1685. The dates of the organization of the several Meetings in the present Chester County are as follows: Goshen Monthly Meeting, 1722; Goshen Meeting, 1702; New- town (Delaware County), 1696 ; Willistown, 1784; Whiteland, 1816; Malvern, 1880. Birmingham Monthly Meeting, 1815; Birmingham Meeting, 1690; West Chester, 1810. Wester Quarterly 'Meeting, 1758; Newark (Kennett) Monthly Meeting, 1686; New Castle (Delaware) Meeting, 1684; Newark, 1686; Kennett, 1707; Wilmington, 1737; Marlborough, 1801; Kennett Square, 1812; Union ville, 1845 (Hicksite). New Garden Monthly Meeting, 1718; New Garden Meeting, 1712; West Grove, 1787; London Britain, 1834; Mill Creek, 1838. London Grove Monthly Meeting, 1792; London Grove Meet- ing, 1714; Fallowfield, 1792. Fallowfield Monthly Meeting, 1811; Fallowfield Meeting, 1792; Doe Eun, 1805. Penn's Grove Monthly Meeting, 1842; Penn's Grove Meeting,. 1820; Oxford Meeting, 1879; Homeville, 1839. Centre Monthly Meeting, 1808; Centre Meeting, 1687; Hockes- sin, 1730. Cain Quarterly Meeting, 1800; Bradford Monthly Meeting,. AND ITS PEOPLE. 747 1737; Bradford Meeting, 1719; Cain, 1716; West Cain, 1756; Romansville, 1846. Sadsbury Monthly Meeting, 1738; Sadsbury Meeting, 1723; East Sadsbury, 1810; Lampeter, 1732. Uwehlan Monthly Meeting, 1763; Uwchlan Meeting, 1712; Xantmeal, 1739; Pikeland, 1758; Downingtown, 1784. Baltimore Yearly Meeting includes the following meetings io Chester County: Nottingham Quarterly Meeting, 1819; Notting- ham Monthly Meeting, 1730; East Nottingham Meeting, 1705; West Nottingham, 1719; Elk, 1825. From the time of the first recorded meeting at the house of Robert Wade, already mentioned, meetings continued to be held there from time to time for some years. One was held on the 9th day of the 3d month, 1682, and another on the 3d day of the 6th month, 1682. At the first Quarterly Meeting held at Chesiter, 12th month, 4, 1683-4, it was ordered that the Chester Monthly Meeting be held on the first second day of every month, the time being changed in 1695 to one week earlier. The meeting having been held for some time at the house of Robert Wade, was in the 12th month, 1686, changed to the house of Walter Fosett, from that time on until 1700 being held at various places, private houses, and in this latter year it became settled at Providence. In 1721 the number of meetings had increased to seven, viz.: Chester, Springfield, Providence, Middletown, Goshen, Newtown and Uwchlan, these meeting together for the last time, 12th month, 26, 1721, afterward Goshen, Newtown and Uwchlan holding a separate monthly meeting. Newark Monthly Meeting was first held in 1686, and has been known as Kennett Monthly Meeting since 1760. The preliminary steps for holding this meeting were taken in 1685, but the meetings for a year or so were very irregular. It was held for the last time at Newark in 1707, and then for some time in Center Meeting- house. At length it settled at Kennett, when it dropped the old name, Newark. 748 CHESTER COUNTY Center Meeting met for some time at the house of George Harlan, who in 1689 lived probably in New Castle County, Dela- ware, but later he lived in what is now Pennsbury, Chester County. In 1702 the Friends belonging to this meeting were accustome Lean was pastor from September 9, 1878, until February 24, 1881. Since then the pastors have been Eevs. Joel S. Gilflllan, from April, 1881, to September 27, 1887; Josiah L. Estlin, June 6, 1888, to May, 1893, and Thomas W. Pearson, installed June 28, 1894, and still re- mains. In 1885 a parsonage was built of greenstone, at a cost of 12,642.49, not considering the work of members. A kitchen was added in 1889 at a cost of |229, exclusive of the value of the stone, which was given by Joseph Brinton. The principal contributor to AND ITS PEOPLE. 777 "building of the church erected in 1877, and to tlie maintenance of the organization since then was and lias been Mrs. Henry I. Biddle. Church membership at the present time is about 75 and the Sunday- school has about 100 members. Coatesville Presbyterian- Church was organized in 1833, the first building being erected that year. This building was used by the Presbyterians, Baptist, Episcopalians, Methodists and Friends, but no minister was permitted to preach in it unless he could come ^'ell recommended as a member of one of the churches named aboTe. The constitution also provided that no minister should re- ceive a salary for preaching in that house, and that no collections should be taken up except for the incidental expenses of the coh- gregation. This latter_ provision v/as, however, stricken out of the constitution by more than a two-thirds vote in 1838. In 1842 the trustees of the property were authorized to sell it to the Presbyte- rians, and it was conveyed to the Presbyterian Church at Coates- ville, September 20, 1843. This building was taken down in 1849, and a new one, 43x55 feet in size, erected, which was used until 1866, and in this year and 1867 it was enlarged to its present size. In 1877 a neat stone chapel was erected at Eock Run for a Sunday- .school and other religious purposes. From April, 1823, to 1846, Kev. Alexander G. Morrison was the pastor of this church and of the Doe Eun Church, at which time he became pastor of the Coatesville Church alone, and so continued until his death, October 20, 1870, although for the last three years of his life he took no active part in the ministry. He was followed by Eev. James Eoberts, who was called January 15, 1868, and was installed May 28, 1868, remaining with the church until 1885, and being succeeded by Eev. Henry A. MacKubbin, who remained nine years, and was succeeded by the present pastor, Eev. S. Harry Leeper, who was installed in September, 1895. The membership of the church is about 519, and of the Sunday-school 618. The building stands at the corner of Main Street and Fourth Avenue, 778 CHESTER COUNTY • is a handsome stone structure, will seat 600 persons, and is valued at $45,000. Honeybrook Presbyterian Church was organized November 28, 1835. It was the result of a great revival in Brandywine Pres- byterian Church, some of the new converts living in the vicinity of Waynesburg, too far away from the Brandywine to attend. The first meeting was held January 10, 1835, and the first pastor was Rev. W. W. Latta, who was installed May 9, 1837, resigning in 1858. The church was incorporated April 16, 1840. The second pastor was Eev. John C. Thom, from May 19, 1859, to Septembeiv 1865, he resigning to go to St. Louis. Eev. J. H. Young became pas- tor in 1866, and remained until February 7, 1869. Eev. William A. Ferguson then came and remained until October 3, 1871; Eev. W.. W. Totheroh was installed October 31, 1872, and remained until 1882; Eev. Thomas J. Sherrard became pastor in 1883, and re- mained six years; Eev. James B. Umberger came in 1890 and re- signed in 1893, and Eev. Oswell Gifford McDowell, the present ef- ficient pastor, was installed September 18, 1897. The present large and commodious church edifice was erected in 1874 on a lot donated in 1852 by Eev. W. W. Latta and Abner Griffith. The property of the church is valued at |10,000, the mem- bership is 287, and the Sunday-school in all a membership of 140. FairAnew Presbyterian Church, formerly West Nantmeal Pres- byterian Church, was organized January 1, 1840, the first building being erected about that time. The first pastor was Eev. Alexan- der Porter, from 1840 to 1845. The second was Eev. William TI. McCarer, until 1849; Eev. Beriah B. Hotchldss, until 1858; Eev> David C. Meeker, until 1868; Eev. Ambrose N. HoUifleld, until 1876; Eev. Adam Boyd, Jr., installed in June, 1876, and remained until 1883; Eev. William P. Breed, Jr., 1883-89; Eev. Albert F. Lott, 1893-96; Eev. Charles E. Gubler, 1897 to the present time. The church membership is now 200, and of the Sunday-school 180. The present church was erected in 1861. AiYD ITS PEOPLE. 779 East Wliiteland Presbyterian Church was organized in 1830. and was incorporated May 21, 1840. Its pastors have been Revs. J). H. Emerson, Mr. Barton, J. McKim Duncan, W. S. Drysdale, George Foote, Mr. Jones, John McLeod, A. M. Stewart, Thomas J. Aiken, John C. Clyde, William C. Stull, installed October 28, 1879, and remained until 1886; Eev. Villeroy D. Reed, D. D., 1887-89; Rev. Yates Dickey, 1890-92; Rev. Alford Kelly, 1894 to the present time. The present church edifice was erected in 1877, and tlie property of the church is now worth f 5,000. The present member- ship is 105, and of the Sunday-school 55. Phcenixville Presbyterian Church was organized April 16, 1848, in the Mennonite Meeting-house. A handsome church edi- fice was erected on Main Street, south of Washington Avenue, and dedicated September 30, 1850. The pastors of this church have been as follows: Revs. Jacob Bellisle, John Thomas, Joseph F. Jennison, Joseph W. Porter, George H. S. Campbell, 1876-80; Xathaniel P. Crause, 1881-96, and William Mudge, 1897-98. The church membership is 240, and that of the Sunday-school 239. The Central Presbyterian Church, of Downington, was or- ganized July 17, 1861, and had for its first preacher Rev. John L. With row, he being at that time a student at Princeton College. The first regular pastor mus Rev. Matthew Newkirk, Jr., installed May 21, 1862, and remaining until 1868. Rev. John Rea was pastor until 1872, and was succeeded by Rev. Francis J. Collier, installed October 9, 1872, and remained until September 18, 1888; Rev. Charles E. Craven, from January 17, 1889, to December 12, 1894; the pulpit Avas then vacant about a .year, and Rev. John S. Helm came and remained about a year, leaving in August, 1896, and wan followed February 11, 1897, by the present pastor, Rev. William P. Patterson. The church membership is 165, and that of the Sunday- school 151. A parsonage was erected in 1889. The Trinity Presbyterian Church, of Reeseville (Berwyn), was organized April 29, 1862, the church building being dedicated De- 78o CHESTER COUNTY cember 30, 1862. The pastors of this church haA'e been Revs. John McLeod, A. M. Stewart, Thomas J. Aiken, William M. Rice, D. D.,^ Dr. Hartman, Algernon Marcellus, installed October 17, 1879, and remained until 1885; Rev. Thomas J. Aiken, 1886 to the present time. The membership of this church is now 252, and of the Sun- day-school 292. Kennett Square Presbyterian Church was organized November 1, 1862, Rev. John S. Gilmor becoming its first pastor, he being in- stalled May 15, 1863, and remaining until 1872. He was succeeded by Rev. James Frazer, installed May 22, 1872, and remained until 1883; Rev. D. W. Moore, 1883-86; supplies until 1890; Rev. R. A. Hunter, 1890-98. The present membership of the church is 139, and of the Sunday-school 160. In 1889 a Young People's Societ^- of Christian Endeavor was organized, and in 1892 a junior society of the same order. In October of this year a Circle of the King's Daughters was formed, and there is also a Presbyterian Union which has aided the church largely in a financial way. There is also a Woman's Foreign Missionary Society and the Anemone Band. The Presbyterian Church of Avondale was organized Decem- ber 9, 1870, with Rev. John S. Gilmor as pastor. In May, 1872, Rev. James Frazer succeeded, remaining until April 9, 1873. Rev. William R. Bingham then became stated supply and remained in that relation until 1876, and since then the pastors have been Rev. Charles H. Whitaker, Rev. George B. Carr and Rev. J. Calvin Krause. The churth membership is 74, and that of the Sunday- school 70. The church building was erected in 1873 and dedicated Janu- ary 17, 1874. There was a Presbyterian Chapel erected in Tough- kenamon in 1877, and in 1878 the building which had belonged to the Episcopalians was purchased, repaired and fitted up as a Pres- byterian Chapel. The pastors here since 1890 have been as follows: Rev. Malcolm J. McLeod, 1890-92; Rev. George B. Carr, 1895; Rev. AND ITS PEOPLE. 781 Charles C. Walker, 1896, and Eev. J. Marshall Eutherford, 1897-98. The mebership of this church IkS 39, and that of the Sundaj'-school 100. There Avas a Presbyterian Church at Lincoln University, or- ganized in 1867, and known as the Ashmun Church. The Second Presbyterian Church of "West Chester (colored), was organized May 2, 1887, with twenty members. A Sunday- school was organized some time previously. At the present time the church is withoiit a pastor, but the membership is kept up to about fifty, and that of the Sunday-school to about the same num- ber. Westminster Presbyterian Church of West Chester was or- ganized May 25, 1892, with 103 members, 100 of whom were from the First Presbyterian Church. The Sunday-school was organized May 29, 1892. A lot was purchased on the corner' of Church and Barnard Streets, for $9,000, and a chapel erected thereon at a cost of $8,416.43. Eev. B. Canfield Jones was pastor from 1892 to 189.5. Eev. Alexander Esler has been the pastor of this church since June 1, 1896, and the membership is 396. The Sunday-school has 510 members, that at Goshenville has 75 members and that at Cope- land 65, total number of Sunday-school scholars, 510. The Second Presbyterian Church of Oxford (colored) was es- tablished in 1881, and is the strongest church organization among the colored people at this place. First pastor was Eev. F. L. Logan, who remained until 1886; Eev. E. F. Eggleston from 1886 to 1887; Eev. W. A. H. Albony as a supply from 1891 to 1892, then Eev. Samuel W. Johnson from 1892 to the present. The church was erected in 1881, and is worth |1,700. The membership is 43, and of the Sunday-school 66. The Presbyterian Church of Penningtonville (now Atglen), was regularly constituted by a committee of New Castle Presbytery, in 1851. In 1852 the present building was erected, and during the same year the church was dedicated. A unanimous call was ex- 782 CHESTER COUNTY tended to Kev. James Latta, wlio had been pastor of Upper Octo- raro Presbyterian Church for a period of forty years, and in 1857, the village of Christiana, in Lancaster County, having no place of vi^orship, erected a church in connection with that of Atglen. The pastors have been as follows : Eev. James Latta, 1852 to 1862 ; Eev. J. W. Edie, 1862 to 1868; Rev. W. F. P. Noble, 1869 to 1872; Eev. W. E. Halbert, 1872 to 1878; Eev. C. D. Wilson, 1880 to 1883; Eev, A. Marcellus, 1884 to 1887; Eev. J. D. Eandolph, 1887 until near the time of his death. May 21, 1898, and Eev. J. B. Eendall, Jr., from October, 1897, to the present time. The membership of this church at the present time is 90, and of the Sunday-school, 50. West Grove Presbyterian Church was the result of the estab- lishment of a Sunday-school by Edward P. Capp, in August, 1806. In 1874 the Sunday-school moved to a hall, Dr. E. B. Ewing being then the superintendent. In 1876 Dr. W. E. Bingham became pas- tor, and services continued to be held in the hall until it became necessary to erect a church building. For this purpose money was raised in 1883, and in 1884 a building committee was appointed, consisting of S. K. Chambers, James Mendenhall, and Isaac Conard, who held the title to the property until the organization of the church. The cornerstone of the new building was laid October 3, 1884, Dr. Bingham, Eev. B. T. Jones and Prof. John B. Kendall officiating. The church was organized May 27, 1886, and Dr. Bing- ham continued as stated supply until 1890, when Eev. Charles H. Whitaker became pastor in connection with Avondale, remaining until October 17, 1893, when he resigned. On October 9, 1893, the relations existing between West Grove and Avondale Presbyterian Churches were severed, and West Grove and Unionville were united, at a congregational meeting held July 18, 1894. October 24, 1894, Eev. J. Calvin Krause was installed pastor of the two churches, and so remained until March 27, 1895, and he was called to West Grove exclusively April 23, 1895. At an adjourned meet- ing of the Presbytery held at Oxford September 19, 1895, a call was AND ITS PEOPLE. 783 extended from tlie Avondale Church to the Kev. J. Calvin Krause, which call he accepted and he has since been pastor of the two churches. The church building in West Grove stands on Evergreen Street, and v^'ill seat 250 people The church membership is now 118, and that of the Sunday-school is 203. The first Baptist Church in Pennsylvania was established at Cold Spring, in 1684, Eev. Thomas Dungan of Khode Island being the pastor. This church Avas dissolved in 1702. About two years after the organization of this Cold Spring Church a young man by the name of Elias Keech arrived from England, dressed like a min- ister, and began to preach, but in his first sermon while he pro- gressed fairly well for a time, he at length became confused and confessed that he was an impostor, becoming greatly distressed. Hearing of the church at Cold Spring he sought the pastor of it, sought his counsel and was by this pastor baptized and ordained. In 1688 he organized the Pennypack or Lower Dublin Baptist Church, which i^ now the oldest Baptist Church in the State. Four jears later Kev. Mr. Keech returned to England. In Chester County the Baptist Churches, classified according to the associations to which they belong are as follows: Philadelphia Association. — Great Valley, organized in 1711; Brandy wine, 1715; Bethesda, 1812. Central Union Association. — Vincent, 1771; Beulah, 1823; Hephzibah, 1810; Goshen, 1827; Phoenixville, 1830; Glen Kun, 1832; Windsor, 1833; West Chester, 1834; East Nantmeal, 1842; East Brandy wine, 1843; Pughtown, 1856, and Coatesville, 1867; Lawrenceville, 1858; Oxford, 1881, and Green Valley, a branch of Hephzibah. North Philadelphia Association. — Willistown, 1833; West Oaln, 1842; Berean, 1878. Other Churches. — London Tract, 1780. The Great Valley Baptist Church was constituted April 22, 1711, Hugh Davis being chosen minister; Alexander Owen and 46 784 CHESTER COUNTY William Eees, elders. The former officiated until February, 1812,. when Griffith Jones from Rydwilim, Wales, amved in the county, and was appointed to the station. The meetings of this congrega- tion were for the most part held at the house of Richard Miles in Radnor, until 1722, a log church building being erected in the mean- time in Tredyffrin Township, 28 feet square. This little log church stood on high ground by the highway, near a small stream, called Nant yr Ewig. There was also a branch church at Yellow Springs and also a school-house, and in 1770 both churches had a member- ship of ninety-two families. Of these two' churches Rev. Hugh Davis was the minister until his death, which occurred .October 13, 1753. He was succeeded by Rev. John Davis, who had been for some time assistant to Rev. Hugh Davis, and who from 1753 until 1775 had sole charge of the church, and remained pastor until his death in 1778. In 1775 Rev. David Jones became assistant to Rev. John Davis, but during the Revolutionary War he was absent much of the time as chaplain in the American Arijiy. In 1805 a new meeting-house was erected and in 1816 a new parsonage. In 1820 the privilege of voting on all questions that might arise was conferred upon the women members of the congre- gation on equal terms with the men. In 1821 the pastor. Rev. Thomas Roberts, and Isaac Cleaver, John Farrier, Elizabeth Rob- erts, Elizabeth Jones and Rachel Cleaver, were dismissed for the purpose of forming a mission among the Indians in Tennessee, Evan Jones also accompanying them to the mission ground, where his son. Rev. John B. Jones, was born, and where he became a translator of the Bible into the Cherokee language. This church also planted other churches in its own immediate vicinity, as the Seventh Day Baptist Church, at French Creek, in 1726; Vincent Baptist Church, 1771; Phoenixville Baptist Church, in 1830; Norristown Baptist Church, in 1832; West Ches- ter Baptist Church, in 1834; Willistown Baptist Church, in 1833, and Radnor Baptist Church, in 1841. AND ITS PEOPLE. 785 Following is a list of the pastors of the Great Valley Baptist Church from the beginning of its history: Hugh Dayis, 1711-53; John Davis, 1732-78; David Jones, 177.";- 76, 1792-1820; Thomas Jones, 1776-83; Nicholas Cox, 1783: John Boggs, 1791-1801; Jenkin David, 1795-98; Thomas Roberts, 181-1- 21; Thomas J. Kitts, 1822; John S. Jenkins, 1823-27; Thomas Brown, 1828-31; Leonard Fletcher, 1832-40; Charles B. Keyes, 1841-45; James F. Brown, 1846-54; George Spratt, 1854-58; Will- iam M. Whitehead, 1858-61; James E. Wilson, 1863-65; B. C. Morse, 1867-70; James H. Hyatt, 1870 to 1874; George Pierce, 1874 to 1883; J. M. Guthrie, 1883 to 1886; H. B. Garner, 1887 to 1893; J. G. Booker, 1893 to 1896; E. M. Levy, D. DJsupply), Januarj^ to September, 1897; and James Craighead, from November, 1897, to the present time. Isaac A. Cleaver has been clerk of this church since 1875. In the latter part of the year 1886, a chapel was opened at Berwyn in Tredyffrin Township, for public worship. The cost of the ground and the building furnished was |7,000. July 26, 1895, the interior of this chapel was seriously damaged by fire. Having been repaired and improved it was reopened December 15, 1895, the cost of the repairs and other improvements having been |3,000. The parsonage farm of fifty acres was sold in 1892 for $10,000, and the proceeds invested in first mortgage on Chester County real estate. The present value of church and chapel properties is |15,- 000, and the investments of the church society amount to $10,800. The present membership is 130. There are two Sunday-schools, the superintendents being Isaac A. Cleaver and Dr. W. B. Farley, and the officers, teachers and scholars number 200. During the latter part of the year 1896, fifty members of this church severed their membership therewith and formed the First Baptist Church of Berwyn. Goshen Baptist Church is situated in West Goshen Township, at the junction of the old Philadelphia and Strasburg Roads. A 786 CHESTER COUNTY few Baptists living in the vicinity of this place worshiped in an old frame school-house for some years before a church building- was erected, .which was in 1809, and in which any evangelical min- ister might preach, the understanding being that whenever the Baptists were strong enough to establish a church the property should be transferred to them. The building was opened for wor- ship on Saturday and Sunday, December 16 and 17, 1826. Early in the year 1827, nine persons were dismissed from the Brandywine Church to form this church, and they were constituted a church on January 20, 1827. From that time until August they were without a pastor, and then Eev. Simeon Seigfried was called, remaining with them until February 20, 1830, when he resigned, and was dis- missed to Bethesda Church. After a couple of years of supplies Eev. Eobert Compton became pastor January 14, 1832, serving two years. Eev. Mr. Seigfried then returned and served from April, 1834, until July, 1835, when Eev. Mr. Compton again became pastor, remaining this time six months. Eev. Charles E Moore then be- came pastor July 16, 1836, and remained until September, 1838; Eev. Enos Barker served from September, 1838, until 1839, and then Eev. Mr. Moore returned and served six months. Eev. Mr. Compton then returned and served until January, 1841, and in 1842 Eev. Thomas Griffith was the pastor. Eev. George W. Mitch- ell became pastor in 1846, and preached two years. Eev. F. Jasin- sky served from April 1, 1848, until January 20, 1851, when Eev. Mr. Compton returned once more and remained until 1856. Eev. John Eeece served from 1857 until 1860, in which latter year Eev. J. W. Warwick became pastor and served until April 1, 1861. Joseph S. Evans was licensed to preach November 17, 1860, and was ordained pastor of this church November 4, 1861, serving the church from tlyg time until the present. In February, 1874, the church building was badly damaged by fire, and a new one was erected on the old site, the new one being dedicated November 25, 1874. In 1894 a two-story stone annex AND ITS PEOPLE. 7^7 was added to tlie church for the uses of the Sunday-school. The total value of the church property is now $6,000, and the member- ship of the church is 245, that of the Sunday-school being 130. The Brandywine Baptist Church was established June 14, 1715, at the house of John Powell of Providence, the first name given to it being the Baptized Church of Jesus Christ, It had four- teen original members, seven men iind seven women. It was origi- nally in Birmingham Township, Delaware County, and the meet- ings were held for a time at the house of John Powell in Upper Providence. In 1717 the meetings were removed tO' Birmingham. A division occurred in this church, but at what precise time does not appear, over the question of the Sabbath day, those preferring Sunday to Saturday forming the Brandywine Church. In 1741 a new meeting appeared to be necessary in Newlin Township, and a building was erected on land given for that purpose by Jeffrey Bentley. In 1770 there A^ere about twenty-six families in the two branches. Kev. William Butcher was the first pastor, remaining iTntil 1721, and from that on until 1761 there was no regular pas- tor, Bev. Abel Griflfiths coming in that year and remaining until 1767. The church at Birmingham was erected in 1718 on land given by Edmund Butcher, one of the original members of the church. The Hephzibah Baptist Church, though not organized so early as 1710, was yet in a certain sense in existence then, and has since been a power for good. The people of religious instincts in the neighborhood of its location were ministered to until in the early day by Eev. Owen Thomas, who settled in Vincent in 1707, and was the first regiilar Baptist minister in Mewlin Township. On Janu- ary 7, 1747-48, Ei chard Buffington of Bradford in his will gave £5 to Eev. Owen Thomas, minister of the Anabaptist Society, which then held its meetings at John Bentley's house, in Newlin, and to the society itself he gave £20. After the death of John 788 CHESTER COUNTY Bentley, the meetings were held ati the house of his son, Jef frey Bentley, who in 1752 gave a piece of land upon which with the assistance of others he erected a meeting-house. Eev. Owen Thomas, who first preached for this church, continued to do so until 1759, when he was succeeded by Kev. Abel Griffith, who remained until 1767, and who came again in 1775, remaining this second time until 1791, when he was succeeded by Rev. Joshua Vaughan, who remained until 1808. During his pastorate the meeting-house became too small and a new one was erected where the Hephzibah Church now stands. It was finished by May, 1793, and was dedicated on the 18th of that month by Rev. David Jones. At the death of Rev. Mr. Vaughan, August 2, 1808, the number of members of this church was 140. For a short time afterward Rev. Jethro Johnson supplied tlie pulpit, and in March, 1810, Brandywine Church granted a letter of dismissal to its members living in East Fallowfield in order that they might form a separate organization, the result of which was that on May 20, 1810, the Hephzibah was constituted, the first busi- ness meeting of this new church being held on Saturday, June 16, 1810. In 1823 about twenty members were dismissed to form Beulah Baptist Church, for which Rev. Jethro Johnson preached as well as at Hephzibah, until his death, July 15, 1838. Rev. Silas C. James was ordained pastor December 3, 1838, re- maining until April 1, 1840. Rev. John S. Jenkins became pastor in June, 1840, and remained until February, 1842, when twenty- six members were dismissed to form the West Cain Baptist Church. Eev. D. A. Nichols supplied the pulpit from April, 1844, until April, 1846, and Rev. George H. Mitchell from April 8, 1846, until September, 1852. During the latter pastorate the present church edifice was erected, being finished and ready for worship In January, 1848. Eev. Leonard Frescoln became pastor in January, 1855, and remained until April, 1857, when Rev. David W. Hunter began his pastorate in May, 1857, remaining until June, 1872. AND ITS PEOPLE. 7^9 Bethesda Baptist Church is situated in the northwest part of the county, about half a mile from the Berks County line. It was organized December 8, 1827, and the first pastor, Rev. Simeon Seig- fried, ser^^ed it from that time until about 1830. The other pastors of this church have been Eev. John Booth, Rev. Andrew Collins, Rev. Enoch M. Barker, Rev. Dieres A. Nichols, Rev. Leonard Preshcoln, Rev. William H. H. Marsh, Rev. John G. Perry, Eev. John Eberle, Rev. William Barrows. Glen Run Baptist Church was established in 1832, being con- stituted December 8, that year. The name was derived from a small stream Avhich has its rise in the immediate vicinity of the church building first erected. The origiual membership consisted of nine persons, from the Hephzibah Church, they being gathered together through the labors of Rev. Enos M. Philips, who was then performing missionary labors in the west part of Chester County. Almost immediately after the organization eleven more united with the nine, and the church building was dedicated December 9, 1832. Before the end of that month forty more joined, and when the Rev. Mr. Philips resigned his pastorate in 1840 the membership was 115. In January, 1841, Rev. Robert Compton accepted the call, to the pastorate, and remained until 1842, when the Rev. Mr. Philips returned, and in 1843 sixteen members were dismissed to form the Coleraine Baptist Church in Lancaster County. In 184G a church building was erected in Parkesburg, services being held in both houses for some time. Rev. Mr. Philips remained until 1840, when he resigned to go to Wisconsin as a missionary for the Home Missionarj- Society. Rev. Allen J. Hires, pastor of the Vincent Church, became pastor of this church in 1850, and in 1853 twenty- eight of the members were dismissed to form a new church organi- zation at Parkesburg, Rev. Mr. Hires filling both pulpits until 1855, when he resigned. In this latter year Rev. Joseph Curran became pastor, and remained until 1856, about which time most of the mem- bers of the Parkesburg Church returned to the Glen Run Church. 790 CHESTER COUNTY The location of the church building having now become unsat- isfactory, a new building was erected at Penningtonville, in 1858, the basement of which was ready for occupancy next year, in which year Eev. Leonard Fletcher became the pastor, serving from April 1 to August 16, when he died. Rev. William T. Bunker be- came pastor in November, 1860, and remained until 1862, the new church building being completed and dedicated in the meantime. In 1863 Eev. A. H. Bliss became pastor, resigned in August, 1864, to enter the Union Army as a private soldier, and was succeeded in the church by Rev. Joseph Sharp, who remained until 1860, when he was followed by Rev. W. W. Dalbey, who remained from 1870 until September, 1871. In 1872 he was followed by Rev. James Walden, who remained until 1877, and in September of that year Rev. T. S. Snow became and remained until 1885, when he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Whitmarsh, who remained until 1887. Rev. J. B. Soule was pastor from 1887 to 1890; Rev. V. S. Marsh from 1890 to 1892; Rev. F. H. Buffum from 1892 to 1894; and Rev. R. J. Holmes from 1895 to 1898. The present membership of the church is 150, and of the Sunday-school, 90; the church prop- erty being valued at |10,000. Vincent Baptist Church was organized in 1737 as a branch of the Great Valley Baptist Church, which built a church edifice within 200 yards of the present church building. The new organi- zation was supplied for some years by the Rev. William Davis and the Rev. John Davis, the latter being pastor of the Great Valley Church. In 1748, Vincent Church was granted by the Great Val- ley Church independent action. Rev. Owen Thomas was minister here some time, and died November 12, 1760. For about ten years afterward Vincent Church was supplied more or less by the Great Valley Church pastors, but on October 12, 1771, the Vincent brethren were constituted a separate and independent church, forty-eight members of the Great Valley being dismissed to aid in forming the new organization. On April 6, 1791, it was incor- AND ITS PEOPLE. 79 r porated by the Legislature. At this time Rev. John Blackwell was the minister, and Avas succeeded by the Eev. Abel Griffith, and he by Rev. Thomas Fleeson, these three ministers serving up to 1800. Since then the pastors have been Revs. Joshua Vaughan, H. G. Jones, Daniel James, Charles Moore, the latter resigning in 1842, having been pastor twenty-two years and eight ■ months ; J. Y. Allison, A. J. Hires, J. N. Tucker, J. W. Griffith, A. J. Hay, George Sleeper, S. F. Forgues, J. S. L. Sagebeer, D. W. Shepperd, A. J. Grey, C. D. Parker, D. M. Lennox, and the present pastor, W. C. Leinback. The membership of this church is now 190, and the property is valued at $15,000. The Sunday-school was opened in May, 1829, a tract society was formed in 1833, a missionary society was organized the same year, and in February of this year, thirty-nine members were dis- missed to form Windsor Church. In May, 1833, the Vincent Church became a member of the Central Baptist Association. The property of the church contains 7.79 acres which was deeded to the society August 23, 1797. This is one of the endowed churches^ of the county, the Legislature about 1780 authorizing the sale of a farm which in 1775 had been so left in his will by Daniel Evans that two-thirds of its income should go toward the support of the pastor, and after sale two-thirds of the proceeds thereof were put at interest, the interest to go toward paying the annual salary of the pastor. The share of the church in the property amounted to 14,396.91. In May, 1862, Phebe Christman died, leaving a bequest of |300, the interest of which is to go to the same end. Beulah Baptist Church was constituted June 3, 1823, with nineteen members. The meeting-house was built that year, and Rev. Jethro Johnson Avas the first pastor, remaining in this rela- tion, and also of Hephzibah Church, until his death, July 15, 1838. The next pastor was Rev. Enos M. Philips, who was succeeded by Rev. Robert Compton. Rev. William Rudy became pas- tor April 23, 1842, remaining until March, 1845, Avhen 792 CHESTER COUNTY Eev. Mr. Compton returned, remaining this time until 18-49. liev. William M. Wliitehead was pastor eighteen months from October IT, 1850, and was succeeded By Eev. J. Perry Hall, who remained until 1859. The pastors subse- quent to this have been: Eevs. M. K. Williams, J. M. Perry, J. D. E. Strayer, J. M. Lyons, James P. Hunter, J. M. Lyons again, Samuel Godshall, W. E. McNeil. Windsor Baptist Church was organized April 12, 1833, the first meetings for worship being held in the house of Eev. Josiah Philips. During that summer a church building was erected and in the fall Eev. Thomas C. Teasdale agreed to preach for them once each month during the year for |100. October 11, 1834, Eev. Enos M. Philips made a similar agreement. From this time on until 1835 there was preaching also by Eev. Josiah Philips, Eev. William Stedman and Eev. G. I. Miles. Eev. T. S. Griffith, who preached once each month from 1837 to 1840, began in this latter year to give his whole time to the church and remained until January 1, 1845, when he was succeeded by Eev. H. S. Haven, who Hied December 28, that year. Eev. J. M. Eichards came next, remaining until Oc- tober 1, 1850. The pastors who have since preached for this church have been as follows : Eevs. J. S. Eisenbray, Uriah Coff man, J. W. Griffith, Jacob Lawrence, E. V. King, John Owen, during whose pastorate a union with East Nantmeal Church Avas effected and Eev. D. J. E. Strayor became pastor; then followed Eev. J. M. Guthrie, who remained pastor some years and resigned to become pastor of the Berean Baptist Church in West Chester, in 1879. Since then the pastors have been as follows: Eevs. William Bar- rows, E. B. Waltz, E. E. Albin, and J. E. Kej'lor, the present pastor. Eepairs have been recently made to the property which add much to its appearance. The church building is valued at $5,000 and the parsonage at |2,000. The membership of the church is now 124, and that of the Sunday-school. 90. The First Baptist Church of West Chester was organized in AXD TT8 PEOPLE. 793 1834, meetings having been held for some time previously at the house of Eobert Ferguson to take into consideration the question of effecting such an organization. On January 23, 1834, this church was constituted with twenty-five members, Kev. Thomas C. Teas- dale being the first pastor. A lot was purchased on Church Street, between Market and Miner Streets, for |400, and a new building erected thereon by Samuel Bart, at a cost of |l,065,lthe cupola cost- ing flOO. In 1842 the tower and steeple were added at a cost of ^575, including the belfry. The church was chartered by the Legi;. lature in 1844, and in 1855 the property was sold to George Fitz- simmons for $1,800, a lot having been purchased on South Hign Street upon which a new building was afterward erected, the cor- ner-stone being laid July 4, 1854, the lecture room being occupied for the first time January 7, 1855, and the completed building dedi- cated August 28 and 29, 1857. This church, including the lot on which it stands, cost $10,811.67. The pastors of this church, since the retirement of Kev. Mr. Teasdale, been as follows: Kev. George I. Miles, Lemuel Covell, H. K. Green, Silas W. Palmer, Emerson Andrews, Thomas S. Griffith, William A. Koy, Alfred S. Patton, Levi Parmley, Kobert Lowrey, William E. Watkin- son, James Triekett, Alfred Harris, .William E. Cornwell, George H. Trapp, William E. ISTeedham, J. H. Chambers, Joshua E. Wills. The church property is worth $12,000, seating capacity of church being COO. The building was re-modeled in 1886, chairs taking the place of pews. A new pipe organ was put in in 1897, at a cost of $1,500, -and was heard for the first time on Thursday evening, November 25, Thanksgiving evening. The church membership is now 413, -and the Sunday-school has a membership of about 363. The pres- ent pastor, Kev. Joshua E. Wills, came to West Chester from Swarthmore, Delaware County. He is a literary gentleman as well -as pastor, having published several books, among his most recent 794 CHESTER COUNTY ones being a pamphlet entitled "Satan," in which he argues in fa- vor of the doctrine of the personality of the arch adversary of man. Phoenixville Baptist Church was organized May 28, 1830, with eight members, public sei'vices being held next day in the Metho- dist Church. A church edifice was erected in 1833, which was su- perseded in 1858 by a commodious structure at the corner of Church and Gay Streets, and was dedicated in July, 1834. The pastors here have been Eevs. Jonathan G. Collon, William Smith, Thomas Larcombe, Dyer A. Nichols, Andrew Collins, William S. Hall, John P. Hall, Joseph Currin, William S. Hall, Joel E. Brad- ley, I. D. King, G. G. Craft, William H. Stenger, Jonathan Mchols,. J. Madison Hare, and A. J. Hughes, the present pastor. The mem- bership of this church is 512, and the church property is valued at 123,500. East Nantmeal Baptist Church was organized November 5, 1841, with twenty-six members. Meetings were held for a couple of years in a school-house, but in 1843 a church building was dedi- cated, which cost |800. In 1880 a new church building was erected which cost $3,500. The pastors here have been Kevs. A. Collins, D.. A. Nichols, John Duer, William H. Ellis, F. Wilson, J. W. Plannett,. C. H. Mellotte, and Walter Whitley, the present pastor. The mem- bership of the church is 103, and the property is valued at $5,000. East Brandywine Baptist Church was organized February 21, 1843, with fifty-three members, a church building having been erected the previous year. This building was burned down in 185G, and rebuilt the same year. The church was incorporated August 9, 1864, and the parsonage, which was purchased in 1870, is sit- uated in Guthrieville. The pastors of this church have been Kevs. Thomas S. Griffith, H. S. Haven, William J. Nice, John S. Christine, John M. Kichards, George H. Mitchell, Jesse B. Williams, B. H. Fish, George H. Mitchell, S. Livermore, E. W. Ring, C. E. Young, T. G. Guessford, Maris Gibson, T. A. Lloyd, William Marlow, James- AND ITS PEOPLE. 795 M. Guthrie, Morris Gibson, A. M. McCurdy, TV alter Mayo, F. W. Eandall and G. W. Renshaw, the present pastor. The membership of the church is twenty-five, and the property is valued at |4,500. Pughtown Baptist Church was organized January 19, 185G, with twenty-five meniibers. Two days previously it was resoh^ed to abstain from the use of intoxicants for sacramental purposes. The pastors of this church have been as follows: Kevs. Theophilus Jones, John Peny, John Entriken, J. G. Walker, E. P. Barker, S, Belsey, AYilliam Bari'ows, David Landis, J. H. Hyatt, M\ O. Owen, and is now supplied by Rev. William T. Johnson. The membership of the church is now eighty-one, and the property is valued at 12,800. The First Baptist Church of Coatesville was organized Sep- tember 3, 1867, with forty-nine members, a building having been secured on April 3, previously, from the school board, and then fitted up for a place of worship. In 1869 most of this building was torn down and a new one erected in its place on the southwest cor- ner of Third Avenue and Main Street, w.hich was opened for wor- ship January 1, 1870, and dedicated November 10, following. The pastors of this church have been as follows: Revs. A. C. Wheat, C. M. Deitz, E. Wildman, E. Edwards, from December 5, 1880, to July 9, 1882; E. E. Jones, November 1, 1882, to April 1, 1887; Joseph L. Sagebeer, September 1, 1887, until his death in 1890; Benjamin C. Needham, October 1, 1890, to 1896, when owing to fail- ing health he "nas compelled to cease from labor and was suc- ceeded by Rev. William E. Needham. The membership of the church is about 450, and the church property is valued at f25,000. Willistown Baptist Church was organized in 1833, as a branch of the Great Valley Baptist Church. A church building was erected in 1875 at Malvern to take the place of the old building and the parsonage was erected in 1877. In 1881 the membership was 319, Rev. E. W. Bliss being pastor at that time. Since then there has been but one pastor, Rev. W. W. Dalbey, who came to the 796 CHESTER COUNTY church June, 1893, the Eev. Mr. Bliss having closed his pastorate December 2, 1892. The church building is now valued at |15,000, and the parsonage at |4,000, total |19,000. The church society hx entirely free from debt. The church membership is now 284, and that of the Sunday-school, 150. Since 1880 a fine double shed ca- pable of holding 28 teams has been erected, and a bell has been put on the church weighing 700 pounds. West Cain Baptist, Church was organized as a branch of the Hephzibah Baptist Church in 1842 with twenty-six members, their petition for a separate church organization being granted upon condition that they pay all arrearages due the Hephzibah Church. Eev. Mr. Jenkins was permitted to devote one-fourth of his time to the new church. Subsequent to his pastorate the following have been the pastors of this church: Rev. David Jefferis, Eev. George H. Mitchell, Eev. A. G. Compton, Eev. W. H. H. Marsh, and Eev. George Coulter. At the present time no stated meetings are held by this church, which as an organization has ceased to exist, but preaching is supplied occasionally from Coatesville, as the pastors there may arrange. Lawrenceville Baptist Church was organized April 14, 1858, and the church building erected that year was dedicated December 12, 1858, the cost of the building having been |1,700. The pastors of this church have been as follows: Eevs. W. H. H. Marsh, John M. Perry, A. B. Still, Eobert Dunlap, David Philips, A. H. Emmons, J. W. Griffith, C. W. O. Nyce, J. B. Soule, and the present pastor, Eev. W. T. Johnson. The membership of this church, now named Parkerford instead of Lawrenceville, is 186, and the property is valued at .f5,000. The Berean Baptist Church of West Chester was organized as the Mount Olive Baptist Church of West Chester, February 10, 1874. On April 2, the name was changed to the West Chester Baptist Church, and on the 16th of the same month the name was again changed to the Berean Baptist Church. The first sermon was AND ITS PEOPLE. 797 preached by Hex. W. E. McNeil. Noygmber 2, 1874, the corner- stone of a church building was laid by the Rev. Edward McMinu. pastor, on a lot on the west side of Walnut Street, between Miner and Barnard Streets, the building being completed and dedicated in 1875. The pastors of this church have been as follows: Eev. Edward McMinn, William E. McXeil, T. A. Lloyd, James il. Guthrie, and David E. Landis, the last pastor. In 1889 this church property was purchased by H. J. Clouser, who lives adjoining it on the south, and in 1892 he sold it to tlie Second Presbyterian Church (colored), which has since occupied it. The building was erected in 1874. The London Tract Baptist Church, so, named because it was located on a tract of land purchased by the London Company, in Chester County, was made an independent church November 21, 1780. Previous to this date its history is involved in that of the Welsh Tract, which etends back tO' the beginning of the Eight- eenth centurj'. At the time of the organization of this church there were dismissed from the Welsh Tract church eighteen per- sons to aid in its formation. The Evans family were among the most prominent of the original members, and the church building stood upon their land. The first pastor appears to have been Rev. Thomas Fleeson, appointed November 22, 1780. In 1808 Eev. Jethro Johnson was pastor, preaching two Sundays each month, one at Brandywine and one at Hephzibah. Eev. Thomas Barton was pastor of this church for a period of fifty years, dying March 23, 1870. Eev. George W. Stator became pastor in March, 1873, and was succeeded by Eev. Joseph L. Stator in March, 1880. Early in the history of this organization a new stone building was erected with the entrance on the south side; but in 1863, when this building was remodeled, the entrance was placed on the east side. The only pastor since the retirement of Eev. Joseph L. Stator, who died in 1892, has been Elder A. B. Francis. The membership of the church is now ten, and the property is worth |3,000. There is 798 CHESTER COUNTY no Sunday-school connected with this church, as the members do not believe in them or in missions. This is an old-school Baptist Church, and they firmly believe in the doctrine that only the elect will be saved, hence Sunday-schools and missions are useless. In their view the Lord does all, and as a consequence of this belief their church seems doomed to continued decay and early extinc- tion. Green Valley Baptist dhurch was organized June 19, 1834, when a considerable number of members was dismissed from Hephzibah Church for that purpose. But it does not appear that a church building was erected for them until 1868, the question as to whether a building was needed in Newlin being investigated in 1860 by J. G. Powell, John Y. Woodward, and Job Keech from Hephzibah Church. In August, 1867, a "harvest home" was held in Daniel Pennock's woods, which brought in $320, and in June, 1868, a location Avas selected for the meeting-house, the corner- stone of which was laid July 30 that year. The basement of the building was opened for worship December 3, 1869, the sermon be- ing preached by Rev. D. W. Hunter, and on October 9, 1870, the main audience room was opened for worship, the building being dedicated September 9 and 10, 1871. The sermon on this occasion was preached by the venerable Simeon Seigfried, and there was one preached also by the Rev. James Trickett. The Oxford Baptist Church was constituted May 12, 1881, services having been held in that place then about two years by Rev. William R. Mcl^eil. Rev. William Barrows is pastor at the present time. At first Brinton's Hall was used as a place of worship, but in 1886 the so- ciety purchased the church building which had been formerly used by the Methodists and still own the building. The Seventh Day Baptists of Pennsylvania first became known in the Province in 1697, when Abel Noble, who is claimed to have been the first Seventh Day Baptist to come to the Province (in 1684), A^W ITS PEOPLE. 799 baptized Thomas Martin, a friend, in Eidley Creeli. Afterward Mr. Martin baptized other Quakers until nineteen had left their own society to become Baptists. On October 12, 1697, they were incor- porated into a church with Thomas Martin as their minister. From that day no other Keithian Quakers ^ere baptized. In 1700 a dif- ference of opinion arose among them as to the Sabbath day, some claiming it to be Saturday, others, to be Sunday, and this differ- ence of opinion broke up the church, those adhering to the Seventh day remaining together in Newtown. This Newtown society held its meetings at the house of David Thomas, and after Thomas Martin had for ministers two named Buckingham and Budd. After the death of these tw^o the society did not flourish to any great extent. The dead members of the church lie buried in the cemetery now owned by the Newtown Bap- tist Church. Another society of Seventh Day Baptists was organized at Not- tingham, Chester County, their meetings being held sometimes at the house of Abigail Price, but chiefly at the house of Samuel Bond of Cecil County, Maryland. They originated with the Keithians in Upper Providence, but, having no minister, they could not expect to grow. There was still another society of this denomination at French Creek in East Nantmeal Township, which originated in 1726, a few members withdrawing from the Great Valley Baptist Church in Chester County. They had a meeting-house built in 1672 on a lot containing one acre of ground. There were six families belonging to this society, which had no regular minister. Their meeting- house, a frame one, was destroyed many years ago. The German Baptists, or Dunkers, living in Coventry Town- ship, organized themselves into a church in 1724, with the assist- ance of Bishop Peter Becker of Germantown. They celebrated a "love feast" and the Lord's Supper for the first time November 7, 1724, with eight communicants. Martin Umer was their first min- 47 8oo CHESTER COUNTY ister, he being formally ordained in 1729 and serving the church until his death, in 1755. Mr. Urner's assistant, Casper Tngles^ served also until Mr. Urner's death. The next regular minister was Martin Uruer, a nephew of the first, who was ordained in 1756. Up to this time they had met in private houses, but under the super- vision of Ilev. John Price, familiarly known as "Johnny Price, the boy pastor," the present church building, known as "Price's Meeting-house," was erected. The Sunday-school was organized ■ with about 110 members, some little time after the establishment of the church. Other noted ministers of the church, besides those already mentioned, have been Eev. George Price, the first bishop, and Eev. John Baugh. It has been found impracticable to secure later data in connection with this structure. The Parkesburg Baptist Church was organized in 1888 with •48 members, after having been a branch of Glen Run Church for many^ years. In 1873 a lot was purchased on Rumford Street, near Gay, and a church building erected that year, which has a seating capacity of about 200, the cost of the building being $1,400. The pastors have been as follows: Eevs. O. O. Owen, S. V. Marsh, F. H. Buff'um, HavTj S. Allen of Philadelphia, for about a year and a half; supplies then from Crozier; S. McGinnis about sixteen months; and at the ijresent time William C. Stiver, who has been supplying the pulpit since December 1, 1897. The present mem- bership of the church is 50, and of the Sunday-school 30. The church property is valued at about |1,200. Olivet Baptist Church of West Chester was organized April 1, 1897, with 113 members, of whom 112 were regularly dismissed by letter from the First Baptist Church. Rev. J. H. Chambers, who had been for several years pastor of the First Baptist Church, became pastor of the new organization. The Sunday-school was organized April 4, 1897, with 144 members. For some time the congregation occupied the Opera House and later the Armory, but at length a lot was purchased on the corner of Union and New AND ITS PEOPLE. 80 1 Streets, on which a commodious chapel was erected early in 189S at a cost of $8,000, the lot having cost |2,000. This chapel is con- structed of blue stone, and contains 600 sittings. A church edifice is hereafter to be erected on Union Street front. The location of this church building is in a new and thriving part of West Chester, and it has made rapid strides in progress and prosperity. Tlie pastor, Kev. J. H. Chambers, is an alumnus of Bucknell University and of Crozier Theological Seminary, and is an active, earnest man. St. Paul's Baptist Church (colored) of West Chester, was organ- ized in 1888, and a church building erected between Miner and Baxnartl Streets and between Penn and Adams Streets. Rev. Asbury Smallwood was the first pastor, remaining until 1893, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. J. C. King. The building belonging to this organization was destroyed by fire on Sunday, February 6, 1898, while church services were in progress in the other churches, St, Paul's congregation being driven out by the fire. They, however, immediately rented Sisters' Hall and continued their services therein while the old building was still burning. The building destroyed was worth about |500, on which there was no insurance, and the contents of the building, which were destroyed, were worth about |200. A new building is noAV (July, 1898) in process of erection, the cornerstone to be laid August 7. When completed, the new building will be worth $3,000, and as the lots owned by the con- gregation cost |800, the entire property, including the furniture and organ, will be worth |4,000. The First Baptist Church of Kennett Square was organized December 20, 1882, at a council held for the purpose, seventeen churches being represented in the council. The first meeting held with this object in view was at the house of D. Duer Philips, and was under the direction of Rev. W. C. Naylor. Then came the evangelist, E. C. Romine, and after the organization of the church Rev. J. M. Lyons was sent as pastor, remaining from January 5, 802 CHESTER COUNTY 1883, to January 24, 1884. Rev. Clarence Larkin became pastor October 12, 1884, and remained until June, 1898. A lot at the comer of South Union and Cypress Streets was purchased October 22, 1883, and on May 12, 1885, ground wa.s broken for the erection of a church. October 4, 1885, the building was opened for public services, Eev. W. H. Conard of Philadelphia preaching the sermon. Up to this time the services had been held in the second story of Taylor's Hall. The total cost of the new church was |5,649.25, and it was improved in 1892 at a cost of |280. On October 4, 1894, it was dedicated free from debt The membership of the church is 160, and of the Sunday-school, 150. A mission of this church was organized at Unionville in March, 1897. Since the dedication of the church a lot has been purchased on the north for |1,100 and an annex built thereon at a cost of $1,300. There are several societies connected with the church, all of which are doing good work. The present pastor of this church, Eev. J. Eyland Murdoch, entered upon his duties on Sunday, July 3, 1898. Methodism was introduced into Chester County, it is believed, by Eev. Isaac EoUins about 1772, he reaching the center of the county in 1773. Shortly afterward Francis Asbury came into the county, as, according to his journal, he reached Marlborough, where there was "a large congregation waiting," March 21, 1773. Isaac Rollins preached there that night and on the 23d Asbury was at Woodward's, on the Brandywine. In 1783, when not far from Yellow Springs, Isaac Eollins was thrown from his horse and killed on the spot. Between these dates, 1773 and 1783, there was preaching at several places in what is now Chester County. In 1774 Daniel Euff and William Watters preached in this county, and it is thought that Eev Joseph Pilmore, one of the first Meth- odist missionaries to America, preached in the township of Uwch- lan in 1772. In 1774 an appointment was made by several preachers in Uwchlan, near the Little Eagle Tavern, where Ben- AND ITS PEOPLE. 803 son's Chapel was built in 1781, where Benjamin Abbott preached in 1780. From this meeting came Hopewell Methodist Church, and the lot on which it stood, still having on it a few graves, is still in possession of the Methodists. Grove Methodist Church was founded in 1774, and is at tlie present time the oldest Methodist Church organization in the county, those formed previously having ceased to exist. The pres- ent church edifice was erected in 1844. The church was incorp(j- rated in 1868. In connection with this church there was what was called the "Smith Shop," which was located a short distance from Boot Tavern. It became a preaching place in 1834, being put in condition therefor by John S. Inskip. This was not a separate church, but was a kind of mission in connection with Grove Church. John S. Inskip was admitted on trial in 1836, and con- tinued to preach for about fifty years. The West Chester Methodist Episcopal Church was started in 1815, when the first class was formed in that place. Eev. William Hunted had preached there, however, in February, 1810, in the old court-house, he being presiding elder on the Schuylkill Circuit that year. The first church building was erected on Gay Street, east of Darlington, in 1816, and a new church was erected in 1840-42 on the corner of Market and Darlington. Under the pastorate of Eev. John B. McCullough in 1866-68 this building was remodeled and improved. The first preacher after West Chester was set apart from Chester Circuit was Whitefleld Hughes, and since then the following have been pastors here: Revs. Daniel Parish, Jesse Thompson, Levi Scott, Thomas Sovereign, Josiah F. Canfield, James H. McFarland, Bartholomew Weed, John Lednum, Dallas D. Lore, William Urie, Matthew Sorin, John Nicholson, Thomas Muller, who filled the vacancy caused by the death of Rev. Mr. Nicholson; Elijah Muller, David E. Gardner, David Shields, James L. Houston, Alfred Cookman, Charles Karsner, Peter J. Cox, Michael D. Kurtz, James M. McCarter, James R. Anderson, Curtis F. Turner, John B. McCul- 804 CHESTER COUXTT lougli, William Major, Wesley C. Best, George Ciimniins, Sylvester N. Chew, Kobert J. Carson, J. T Swindells, 1884-86; W. H. Schaffer, 1887-90; William J. Mills, 1891-92; T. M. Jackson, 1893-96; and D. M. Gordon, 1897 to tke present time. The church property is valued at about |20,000, and the parson- age at |3,000. The membership at the present time is about 480, and the number of probationers is somewhat more than fifty. Pha?nixville Methodist Church Avas formed in 1826, the first Methodist sermon being preached there by Rev. Samuel P. Levis. The first building used by this church congregation was a paint- shop, and their first church building was erected in 1828. The present building was erected in 1854, during the pastorate of Rev. C. J. Crouch. The regular pastors of the church have been as follows: Revs. David Shields, 1839-40; William W. McMichael, Thomas S. Johnson, Isaac R. Merrill, Joseph H. Wythes, Nicholas Ridgely, Henry R. Calloway, James Y. Ashton, Stearns Patterson ; in 1853 Salem, Charlestown and Valley Forge were associated with Phcenixville and made a circuit, the preachers being C. J. Crouch and John F. Meredith; 1854, C. J. Crouch, and one to be supplied; 1855, Samuel R. Gillingham, Wesley Reynolds; 1856, S. R. Gil- lingham, Charles W. Ayars; 1857, John Shields, Horace A Cleve- land; 1858, John Shields, George D. Miles; 1859-60, Phcenixville, a station, Allen John; William Major, Jeremiah Pastorfield, Allen John, James Flannery, George Heacock, Henry R. Calloway, John Dyson, Henry E. Gilroy, Goldsmith D. Carrow, T. C. Murphey, 1882-84; J. J. Timanus, 1885-87; H. Wheeler, 1888-92; H. T. Quigg, 1893-94; Theodore Stevens, 1895-97, and J. E. Diverty, 1898. Anderson's Methodist Church, near Valley Forge, was organ- ized soon after 1780, and was in existence until about 1825, about which time a class was organized at Daniel McOurdy's in the Val- ley. Anderson's Church was named after Isaac Anderson, a very prominent man in his day, at whose house the meetings of this class were held. Mr. Anderson had been a member of the Leeis- AXD ITS PEOPLE. 805 lature of the State, and also a member of Congress. Francis As- bury preached at his house in 1812. Eev. Jacob Gruber was the preacher here in 1828. Isaac Anderson was for some time a local preacher among the Methodists. His grandson, Rev. James Rush Anderson, was a member of the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Church, and died November 8, 1863. This church be- longs in Cochran ville Circuit, Cochranville being in Lancaster Oounty. Laurel Methodist Church was established about 1800, meet- ings being held for several years at the house of William Ball, who moved to the neighborhood of Laurel in 1798. Rev. Richard Sneath was here as preacher about 1800, the church being then in Chester Circuit. He came again to this circuit about 1810. In 1812 a lot was purchased for a church building, for fl, the size of the lot being thirty-eight perches. The church building was erected on this lot in 1813. John McCarroll, father of Rev. Thomas McCarroU, was the first class at Laurel after the revival of the society. This church belongs to Thorndale Circuit, and is sup- plied from that place. Romanville Methodist Church, in West Bradford Township, was established early in the present century. A cemetery was purchased here in 1811, upon which a church was to be erected. The land was conveyed by deed to Richard Webster, Isaac Rollins and John King, all of whom became famous in the ministry. One of the most noted Methodist divines that ever preached in Chester County was Rev. Thomas McCarroll, who was admitted on trial in 1829, and who died May 9, 1860. The church building was im- proved in 1868 by Rev. John C. Gregg, at a cost of |500, and an addition of twelve and three-fourths perches was made to the lot in 1871. The ministers of this church have been as follows: The same as in the Grove Methodist Church up to 1833; in this year Laurel became a part of a new circuit, called Soudersburg, on which were Revs. Thomas Miller and William Ryder; 1831, Revs. 8o6 CHESTER COUNTY JohnLednum, Eobert E. Mori'ison, Thomas Sumption; 1835, John Lednum, John Edwards; 1836, John Edwards, John A. Watson; 1837, Eobert Anderson, Dallas D. Lore; 1838, Enos K. Williams, John A. Boyle; 1839, Enos R. Williams, Amos Griner; 1840, Brandywine Circuit formed, including Laurel, David B. Gardiner, Charles Wilson; 1841 to 1859, pastors same as in Marshallton Methodist Church; 1859, with Kennett Square; 1860, with Guthrie- Tille Circuit, Thomas Newman; 1861, Thomas Newman, who left, and John A. Watson was appointed to take the place; 1862-63, Ne- hemiah W. Benham; then followed John C. Gregg, James Carroll and Alfred A. Fisher. In 1867 J. Pastorfield served this church and Marshallton; 1868, John C. Gregg; then followed William Coff- man, J. W. Knapp, Frederick Illman, Thomas Montgomery, John O'Neill, William W. Wisegarver, John T. Gray. Springfield Methodist Church was formed in 1801, Elijah Bull being appointed to take charge of it. Regular services were held in various dwelling-houses until 1816, when the first church build- ing was erected in Springfield, West Nantmeal Township, at a cost of $800. The present building was erected in 1868, just across the street from the old one, at a cost of $10,000, the parsonage being erected in 1879, at a cost of $1,450. The name of the circuit ha» been changed six times, and the following have been the pastors : Strasburg and Chester Circuits. — 1798, William P. Chandler,, Daniel Higby; 1799, William Colbert, Edward Larkins, Robert Bonham (sup.); 1800, Stephen Timmons, Richard Sneath, Thomas Jones; 1801, William Hunter, Stephen Timmons, Robert McCoy; 1802, William Hunter, John Bethel; 1803, Anning Owen, William Brandon; 1804, William Hunter, Joseph Osbom, Joseph Stephens; 1805, William Hunter, David James, James Moore; 1806, John Walker, William Early; 1807, Daniel Ireland, Peter Beaver; 1808, Asa Smith, John Bethel, Thomas Miller; 1809 (Lancaster), James Smith, Thomas Burch; 1810 (Chester), Richard Sneath, John Fox; 1811, Richard Sneath, James Laws; 1812 (Lancaster), William Tor- AND ITS PEOPLE. 807 bert, John Fernon; 1813, Eicharcl Saeatli, William Torbert, Joseph Samson; 1814, Asa Smith, James Mitchell, J. Samson; 1815, Thomas Miller, Phinehas Price; 1816, David Beat, Thomas Miller; 1817, Robert Burch, John Woolson; 1818, Robert Bnrch, Phinehas Price; 1819, William Leonard, John Tally; 1820, John Woolson, William Ross; 1821, John Woolson, Henry G. King; 1822, H. Boehm, Wesley W. Wallace; 1824, Jacob Gruber, Thomas Miller, James Moore; 1825, Thomas Neal, George Wiltshire; 1826, Thomas Neal, Pharoah. A. Ogden; 1827, Samuel Grace, George G. Cookman; 1828,. Samuel Grace, David Best, John Lednum; 1829, (Reading), David Best, Manlove Hazel; 1830, (Waynesburg), John Lednum, Daniel Fidler; 1831-32, George Woolley, Jacob Gru- ber; 1833, David Best, Richard W. Thomas; 1834, Thomas Miller, John Spear; 1835, William Torbert, Allen John, John S. Inskip; 1836 (Springfield), William Torbert, Allen John; 1837, John Ed- wards, Henry Sutton; 1838, John Edwards, Henry Sutton; 1839-40, Jonas Bissey, Thomas Sumption; 1841, James Hand, William L. Gray; 1842, James B. Ayars, Arthur W. Mil by; 1843, James B. Ayars, Peter J. Cox; 1844, James Hand, George D. Bowen; 1845, Richard M. Greenbank, Samuel Pancoast; 1846, Richard M. Green- bank, Henry B. Manger; 1847, John Edwards, John Walsh; 1848, John Edwards, Samuel E. Gillingham; 1849-50, Enos R. Williams, John Cummins; 1851, Eliphalet Reed, Peter Hallow ell; 1852, Joseph Carlisle, Abraham Freed, John T. Gracey; 1853, Abraham Freed; 1854, Joshua H. Turner, Henry R. Bodine; 1855, Joshua H. Turner, Jerome Lindamuth; 1856, Lewis C. Pettit, William T. Magee; 1857, Lewis C. Pettit, William Smith; 1858, Elijah Miller; 1859, John Shields, E. Elliott; 1860-61, Valentine Gray, then follow: John A. Watson, William M. Eidgway, James F. Mc- Clelland, Charles J. Little, Joseph S. Lane, Thomas C. Pearson, John Dyson, John W. Knapp, Benjamin T. String, Adam L. Wil- son, James I. Boswell, Samuel Howell, Maris Graves, J. O'Neill, 1882-84; R. A. Mcllwaine, 1885-87; W. Powick, 1888-90; G. W. 8o8 CHESTER COWNTY North, 1891-93; A. L. Hood, 1894-95; T. A. Hess, 1896; John Priesi. 1897-98. Hopewell Methodist Church was known originally as Batten's Meeting-house. In this locality there there was a society as early at least as 1805. The second building occupied as a church was erected in 1823, the first one having been a log building. The name became Hopewell probably about 1828. The third church edifice erected was in 1872, during the pastorates of Eevs. Allen John and George S. Quigley. The present edifice was erected in 1867. The pastors have been as follows: From 1805 to 1829, the same as those with Grove Church ; 1829 to 1840, the same as those of the Waynesburg Church; 1840 to 1857, the same as those of the Coatesville Church; 1857 to 1880, the same as those of the Hibernia Church; in 1881 this was a separate charge, with Rev. John W. Geiger, pastor. Since then the pastors have been as follows : Revs. A. I. CoUom, 1884-86; G. Alcorn, 1887-90; J. S. McKinlay, 1891-92; G. S. Kerr, 1893-97; R. C. Wood, 1898. Coatesville Methodist Church was formed about 1824, though there had been preaching by Methodists in this vicinity as earlj' as 1817. During the year 1827 Rev. William Cooper preached at Coatesville in a school- house. In 1830, as a result of a camp-meeting at Prendship in Highland Townshp, a number of persons were converted, and united with the church, and in the fall and succeeding winter a school-house was used for meetings, held every alternate Saturday night. As the society increased in numbers meetings were occa- sionally held in the Union Meeting-house, mentioned in connection with the Coatesville Presbyterian Church. During 1839 the Union Meeting-house became too small and a building which had been used as a blacksmith shop was secured. This building, popularly known as the "turtle-shell," was occupied as a church until May, 1845, when the first Methodist Church within the limits of Coates- ville was erected, and dedicated by the Rev. William Urie. In AND ITS PEOPLE. 809 1856 a new church was built. From 1.840 to the present time the preachers have been as follows: Brandywine Circuit. — 1840, David E. Gardiner, Charles Wil- son; 1841, Henry Sutton, Wesley Henderson; 1842, Allen John, Oeorge S. Quigley; 1843, Allen John, Henry S. Atmore; 1844, James Harmer, George W. Lybrand; 1845, James Harmer, Stearns Patter- son; 1846, John Bayne, William Kobb; 1847, John Bayne, Jacob Dickerson; 1848, Joseph Carlisle; 1849, Joseph Carlisle, Joseph S. Cook; 1850, Henry Sanderson, Joseph S. Cook; 1851, Henry Sander- son, T. B. Miller; 1852, John Shields, Abel Howard; 1853, John Shields, James N. King; 1854, George W. Lybrand, E. S. Wells (six months), Edward T. Kenney (six months); 1855, George W. Lybrand, Edward T. Kenney; 1856, T. S. Thomas, A. M. Wiggins; 1857, Coatesville made a station and the pastors since then have been as follows: Eevs. T. S. Thomas, William J. Faxon, William Eink, Isaac E. Merrill, Sylvester N. Chew, Wilmer Coffman, William S. Fugh, Wesley C. Johnson, John E. Kessler, Silas B. Best, Eeuben Owen, Charles C. McLean, Samuel W. Gehrett, A. L. Wilson, E. C. Yerkes; 1891-96, H. Wheeler, D. D.; 1897-98, . The church membership is about 475, and the church building, erected in 1883, standing on the corner of Chestnut Street and Third Avenue, cost $16,000, and will seat 900 persons. Andrews' Methodist Church was established about 1828, meet- ings being at first held in the house of Henry Andrews. The meeting-house was built in 1831, on a lot of one acre gi-^en by Mr. Andrews on one corner of his farm. The building was sold in 1856 to -James Smith, and by him converted into a dwelling. The pas- tors' from 1831 to 1856 were as follows: 1831, Strasburg and Colum- bia circuit — Thomas Miller, Eliphalet Reed, E. W. Thomas; 1832, Thomas Miller, Eliphalet Reed, John Edwards, Eobert E. Morrison; 1833 (Soudersburg circuit), Thomas Miller, W. Eyder; 1834, John Lednum, Eobert E. Morrison, Thomas Sumption; 1835, John Led- num, John Edwards; 1836, John Edwards, John A. Watson; 1837,, 8io CHESTER COUNTY Robert Anderson, Dallas D. Lore; 1838, Enos E, Williams, John A. Boyle; 1839, Enos R. Williams, Amos Griner; 1840, Samuel Grace,^ Thomas S. Johnson ; 1841, Samuel Grace, John D. Long ; 1842, Gas- . way Oram, John C. Owens; 1843, Gasway Oram, G. D. Carrow,' 1844, William K, Goentner, David Titus; 1845, William K. Goent- ner, Henry Sanderson; 1846, Allen John, John A. Whitaker; 1847, Allen John; 1848, James Harmer; 1849, John Bayne, George W. Brindle; 1850, John Bayne, John Thompson; 1851, William L, Gray, John J. Jones; 1852, Samuel G. Hare, Francis B. Harvey; 1853, Samuel G. Hare, John O'^'^eill; 1854, Thomas Newman, James- L. Killgore; 1855, Thomas Newman, Abel Howard; 1856, John B. Dennison. Elk Ridge Methodist Church, in East Nottingham Township,, was organized about 1825, a class meeting being held that year in the house of Abraham Buckalew. The church building was completed in 1832, at a cost of |1,300. The pastors here have been as follows: 1830 (with Port Deposit Circuit), George WooUey, William Bloomer; 1831, Thomas McCarroU, Robert E. Kemp; 1832, Thomas McCarroll, J. B. Hagany; 1833, Jacob Gruber, John Spear; 1834, Levi Storks, Edward Kennard; 1835 (with Northeast Circuit), P. E. Coombe, C. J. Crouch; 1836 (with West Nottingham Circuit), Samuel Grace, John S. Inskip; 1839, W. Torbert, M. D. Kurtz; 1840, W. Torbert, Charles Schock; 1841, William C. Thomas, H. S. Atmore; 1842, Edward Kennard, James M. McCarter; 1843, George Barton, D. L. Patterson; 1844, George Barton, Abraham Freed; 1845, Eliphalet Reed, Henry B. Manger; 1846, Leeds K. Berridge, Thomas Miller; 1847, John D. Long, J. A. Whitaker; 1848, C. Schock, W. Robb; 1849, C. Schenck; 1850, Jonas Bissey; 1851 (Ox- ford Circuit), Jonas Bissej^ John Thompson; 1852, John F. Boone,, Reuben Owen ; 1853, John Cummins, A. Howard ; 1854, John Cum- mins, John Byson; 1855, John Edwards; 1856, T. B. Miller, E. T. Kenney; 1857, T. B. Miller, H. H. Bodine; 1858, John B. Dennison,, John France; 1859, John B. Dennison, T. F. Plummer; 1860-61 AND ITS PEOPLE. ' 8ii Sur., George ^V. Miller, M. D.; Adjutant, Henry W. Carruthers; Quartermaster, David Jones; Chaplain, Rev. ^V'illiam E. White- head. The following statistics of the regiment are interesting in this connection: Total number of volunteers in 1861 1,089 Total number of drafted men and substitutes 995 Total number of men that belonged to the regiment . . 2,084 Number killed in action 69 Number that died of wounds 71 Number that died of disease 166 Total number of deaths 306 Number that resigned 32 Number discharged during period of service 502 Number discharged at expiration of service 267 Number transferred 98 Number that deserted 151 Number not on muster roll 15 Total 1,065 Number mustered 713 Total 2,084 The money with which this monument was erected was raised entirely within the members of the regiment, the fund being com- menced while the men were yet in the service, and accrued from 888 CHESTER COUNTY the percentage levied upon the sutler for the benefit of the regi- ment. On June 2^, 1864, this fund amounted to |1,800, and a committee appointed to complete the fund, on April 7, 1867, con- tinued their labors until 1886, when it amounted to |5,000, and it was then decided to erect the monument. In this year the borough council of West Chester gave the association the north- west corner of Marshall Square, upon which to erect the monu- ment, and there it was erected, and dedicated as above narrated. In 1852 a company was formed with the view of establishing a convenient and beautiful place for the repose of the dead. The location selected is about a mile and a half north of the village, and is known as Oaklands Cemetery. Drives and walks were laid out through the ground and graded, and other improvements were made by an engineer of taste and skill, and the cemetery was dedicated December 10, 1853. A considerable company was in attendance, and the services were both impressive and interesting, the principal address being made by the Honorable Samuel Rush. The dedication ode was written by George W. Pearce, and was as follows: DEDICATION ODE. "Solemn and slow, with measured tread. We come to hallow for the dead, A calm and holy fame; Where sweet and undisturbed repose i Shall o'er the weary pilgrim close, When Death shall round him reign. "Those arching trees and shadowy dells, Where nature's purest beauty dwells, A scene of tranquil bliss. We consecrate by rite and prayer, To human love, affection's tear. The last, the parting kiss. AND ITS PEOPLE. 889 "O sacred be this spot of earth! From foot profane and idle mirth, We ask it to be pure; For here shall molder into dust The good, the brave, the meek, the just. The noble, the obscure. "When death has beat his signal drum. Hither the sable train shall come. To give the sleeper rest; While out from yonder ^-illage towers The knell shall float, like passing hours. And die amid the West. "Here shall the living heart repair, When the full tide of woe is there, To pour its note of wail; And chasten'd and subdued by grief, Shall drink those draughts of sweet relief. From streams that never fail. "Amid the Winter's blighting breath. With Faith's uplifted eye, in Death, These sylvan shades we give. And wait the summons that shall call From forth its dark and gloomy pall The prisoned clay to live." Like all wide-awake villages and towns. West Chester very early appreciated the fact that there was danger of loss by fire, and so, in 1797, organized the West Chester Fire Company, which had its engine house at No. 26 North Church Street, and held its meetings on the last Saturday _of each month. This one company appeared to be sufficient until 1833, when the Good Will Fire Com- pany was organized, and was incorporated in 1846. In 1857 it had 890 CHESTER COUNTY its engine house at No, 44 North Church Street, and held its meet- ings on the last Saturday evening of January, March and May, each year. In 1838 the Fame Fire Company was organized, and incorpo- rated July 29, 1852, the date of organization being February 22, 1838. In 1857 the engine-house of this company was at No. 49 East Market Street, and its meetings were held on the second Saturday evening of each month. This company celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its organization February 22, 1898, the committee on banquet being John C. Heed, Edward Brinton, O. F. Groff, Harry G. Johnson and William Cudlipp. The West Chester Board of Trade was organized as a result of several meetings held in November, 1887, the first of these meetings being held on the 16th of the month. The president of these preliminary meetings was Marshall S. Way ; the vice-presi- dents, Herbert P. Worth and George Achelis, and the secretary Robert G. Dock. The organization of the Board was effected No- vember 30, with the following officers: Thomas Hoopes, presi- dent; Joseph W. Barnard and Marshall S. Way, vice-presidents; David E. Allen, secretary, and L. Cary Carver, treasurer. The di- rectors were Frank P. Darlington, A. D. Sharpless, Plummer E. Jefferis, Abner Hoopes, D. M. McFarland, Herbert P. Worth, William P. Sharpless, Charles W. Eoberts and Marshall B. Matlack. For some time meetings were held in the council chamber, then in the Moore building on Market Street. In its earlier years the organization held its meetings regularly each month, that is, the directors of the board, but the entire body came together only on special occasions. In recent years the directors have held their meetings only on special occasions. During the existence of the board it has, in an indirect way, aided several industries to locate in West Chester, but its principal function has been to investigate the financial standing of such industries as might appear to desire to locate in this city, and to recommend to the business men and AiYD ITS PEOPLE. 891 capitalists those that were, -after such investigation, considered worthy of encouragement. It has published pamphlets, setting forth the advantages of West Chester as an industrial center, and as a place of residence, and on one occasion brought a large num- ber of people from Philadelphia to make an investigation of these advantages. It originated the movement that led to the introduc- tion of manual training in the public schools of the town, and raised a fund by subscription to aid in macadamizing a consider- able portion of the road from West Chester to Paoli, called the Paoli Eoad. On several occasions it has carried advertisements of the city in such publications as the North American Keview. While of recent years it cannot be said to have been as active as when first organized, which is in part owing to the discourage- ments to all classes of business caused by the depression of 1893- 97, yet it continues, whenever occasion presents itself, to aid in the establishment of such industries as possess merit, and to pro- mote their prosperity, though not to the extent of advancing funds to any great extent. The present officers of the Board of Trade are as follows: Marshall S. Way, president; Frank P, Darlington and Jerome B. Gray, vice-presidents; Herbert P. Worth, secretary, and I. Gary Carver, treasurer. The West Chester Library Association was organized Feb- ruary 22, 1873, and was incorporated about the same time. Dur- ing the first year there were 104 stockholders, representing |1,160, which sum was invested in books, and on February 22, 1898, when the twenty-fifth anniversary was held, there were 272 stockholders. At first the annual dues of stockholders were |3 per year, and of subscribers, |5 per annum; but there was only one small room used and no employe except the librarian, so that the expenses were light. Later the dues were reduced, of stockholders to |1 per an- num, and of subscribers to |3 per year. When the room at first occupied was needed by its owner, the lot on which the present 892 CHESTER COUNTY building stands was presented to the association by Mrs. Hannah M. Darlington, the deed being dated September 15, 1886. The building was almost immediately afterward erected, and cost $6,000. As to. the usefulness of the library, the following facts are indicative: In 1887, the first year of the occupancy of the present building, the number of books taken out was 5,970, while in 1895 the number had increased to 12,380. The number of readers in 1887 was 896, while in 1895 this number had 'increased to 6,044. There are now somewhat more than 3,000 volumes in the library, and the association subscribes for from fifteen to twenty periodi- cals. The expense of running the library is now about $1,200 per annum. At the time of the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the organization of the association, a committee was appointed, consisting of Capt. E. T. Oornwell, Frank P. Darlington and John J. Pinkerton, whose special duty it was to consult with the board of managers as to the future of the association and the library. A few weeks later the borough council of West Chester offered to appropriate $1,500 per annum toward the maintenance of the library, provided the library were made free to all residents of West Chester, and on June 6, 1898, at a meeting held to consider the matter the offer of the council was accepted in such a way as to preserve the identity of the management. At this meeting the following officers were elected: President, Mrs. Eachel L. Price; vice-president. Miss Margaret G. Townsend; secretary, Miss Han- nah A. Marshall; treasurer, Mrs. William P. Darlington. Six di- rectors were elected as follows: Mrs. Thomas Baird, Mrs. John E. Gilpin, Miss Sallie D. House, Mrs. William S. Kirk, Mrs. Eichard G. Park, and Mrs. Joseph T. Eothrock. The West Chester Philosophical Society was organized about 1878, through the active efforts of Dr. John E. McClure, Joseph J. Lewis and Charles H. Pennypacker. In its membership it has AND ITS PEOPLE. 893 numbered nearly all the members of the bar, the judges of the courts, and the ministers of the various churches, and many elo- quent and able lectures have been delivered before it, by various gentlemen from all parts of the country. Each lecture has been followed by a discussion, because it has a free platform, open for the discussion of every phase of every subject. Both men and women are admitted to membership, and its meetings are held on every Thursday evening, during nine months of the year. Marshall S. Way, one of the most prominent and popular citi- zens of West Chester, is a lifelong resident of the borough, being bom in the house in which he now resides. He is one of the citi- zens who has always been proud of his native town, and has striven for its welfare, always being identified with any step toward its progress and further development. He started business as a clerk in the hardware and grocery store of Wood & Fairlamb, in the old Townsend property, corner of Gay and High Streets, and in a few years, with T. Elwood Townsend, bought out the business. From the grocery business Mr. Way turned his attention to the coal and lumber business, and in 1867 was one of the partners in the pur- chase of the coal and lumber yard of Shoemaker & Robison, in which business he later became associated with his brother, Sam- uel E. Way, under the name of Way Brothers. In 1877 Mr. Way started his real estate and loan business, which, together with insurance, he has followed to this time, and the success attained in these lines has made him well known throughout Chester County as one of its successful business men. A Republican in politics, he was admitted to the borough council in 1885, and in the following year was elected Chief Burgess of West Chester, a position which he held by successive yearly elections until the spring of 1897, when an Act of Legislature went into effect electing the Chief Burgess for a term of three years and not allowing him to succeed himself. Mr. Way is justly recog- nized as having been one of the best and most progressive chief «94 CHESTER COUNTY officials of West Chester, and perhaps there never was a more popular candidate to run for the office, and in his party no opposi- tion was ever presented against him for the office of chief executive of the borough. December 25, 1867, he married Miss Anna E. Smedley, and to them have been born two sons, viz., Marshall Warren and Chan- ning. Mr. Way is a busy man, for, in addition to the care and over- sight of his large office business, he is vice-president of the First National Bank of West Chester, a director and member of the adjusting committee of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Chester County, a trustee of the State Normal School of West Chester, and one of the directors of the Assembly Association of West Chester. The Jacobs family, of which Mr. Francis Jacobs is a member, and of whose father a portrait is herewith presented, is one of the most ancient and distinguished of Chester County. The founder of this family in America was John Jacobs of Perkiomen, who, together with his brother, Richard, came to America during the reign of Charles II and settled in the Province of Pennsylvania in the autumn of the same year in which William Penn obtained his grant, 1681. John and Richard Jacobs werp young Quakers, and came from England near the border of Wales, and may have been in fact Welshmen. Upon arriving in the province they held patents for land from William Penn, which land they located in what is now Montgomery County. John settled on the Perkiomen, and Richard on the Schuylkill. John had six children, four sons and two daughters. One of these four sons Avas named John. He married Mary Hayes, by whom he had ten children, as follows: John, Richard, Israel, Joseph, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Hannah, Mary, Isaac and Jesse. Of these, John, born in 1722, died in 1782, was in the direct line of descent to Francis Jacobs. He married Elizabeth AND ITS PEOPLE. 895 Havard. Hannah, the seventh of the above family, married David Eittenhouse, the famous mathematician of the early history of this country. Israel, the third of the family, was a member of Con- gress in 17TS. Jesse, the youngest, was a soldier during the Revo- lutionary War, was at tlie battle of Cedars, the tating of Bur- goyne, at the battle of Monmouth, at the battle of Brandywine, joined the Maryland brigade, was at the battle of Camden, at the battle of Guilford Court-house, at the battle of Cowpens, at the battle of Eutaw Springs, and would have been at the surrender of Cornwallis but for the fact that he was taken ill on the march. He held a captain's commission and died a bachelor. Isaac was a Quaker preacher. The children of John and Elizabeth (Havard) Jacobs were four in number, viz., Benjamin, Hannah, John and Sarah. John and Elizabeth. Jacobs lived on what was known as "Solitude Farm," in the Great Valley. John was a member of Council under the British Government for sixteen years in succession, and was the representative of his county. When the war of the Eevolu- tion broke out he became a violent Whig, and this drew upon him the vengeance of the Tories, his house becoming a target for British cannon under General Knyphausen, whose soldiers were encamped on South Valley Hill. The light-horse tried to capture him, but he fled to the woods, where they dared not follow for fear of ambush. His son, John Jacobs, from whom these notes are taken, drew for General Washington a draft of the surrounding country, when encamped at Valley Forge. He procured commissions for several young men in the army, for his brother, Jesse Jacobs, for John McClellan, Benjamin Bartholomew, John Davis and Colonel Hum- phreys. He was speaker of the- first General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which began its sittings in Phila- delphia, November 28, 1776. While in the performance of his duties his health failed, and he was taken home by his son, John S3 896 CHESTER COUNTY Jacobs, and died in 1782. He had four children, two sons and two daughters, John, Benjamin, Hannah and Sarah. John Jacobs, eldest son of the above, married Mary Brinton, daughter of Thomas Hill Brinton of Dilworthtown, Chester County. During the Revolutionary War he hauled wounded sol- diers to Lancaster Hospital, and also Continental money. His brother Benjamin was one of the signers of the Continental money. He was born in 1757 and died in 1846, his wife, Mary Brinton, being born in 1767 and died in 1848. They were the parents of nine chil- dren, viz.: Phebe B., Elizabeth, Sarah, Thomas Hill Brinton, Christi- ana, George, John, Joseph Brinton and Brinton. Of these children Joseph Brinton Jacobs married Ann Bowen. He was born in 1798 and died in 1861, and she died in 1870. Joseph Brinton Jacobs and Ann, his wife, had five children, viz.: Mary B.; Jane Bowen, Francis, Emily and Richard Brinton. Joseph Brinton Jacobs was a prominent citizen of his county, was a stanch Whig and was always identified with the old Whig and modem Republican party. He was highly honored by his fellow- citizens, took part in all public movements designed to benefit the community at large and was elected to several of the town- ship offices. In 1835 he was elected county treasurer, and served two years. He lived in Chester Valley, and during his life was esteemed for his public spirit and high-toned moral charcter. When he died he was mourned by a large circle of relatives and friends. Francis Jacobs, of West Chester, Pa., is the third child of Joseph Brinton and Ann (Bowen) Jacobs. Previous to his removal to West Chester he was engaged in the iron commission business in Phila- delphia. He is one of the directors of the First National Bank of West Chester. During the Civil War he was actively engaged in filling the different drafts made by the military authorities for the Union army, on his township. East Whiteland, from which township numerous young men had volunteered, and which had AND ITS PEOPLE. 897 the credit of being the first township in the county to fill its quotas. Mr. Jacobs is at present residing in the city of West Chester. He married Jane Brinton Johnson, daughter of Edward and Euth P. Johnson, of Philadelphia. Francis Jacobs and his wife have the following children: Carrol Brinton Jacobs, an attorney at law of West Chester; Florence Bowen Jacobs, living at home, and Francis Brinton Jacobs, a medical student. The Chester County Hospital was incorporated in 1892 as the West Chester Hospital, under an act of Assembly, approved April 29, 1874, the name being changed to the Chester County Hospital, under a decree of the Court of Common Pleas, made August 7, 1803. The corporation has no capital stock, and its yearly income, other than from real estate, was limited to |100,000. The board of man- agers consists of fifteen members, those for the first year having been William P. Sharpless, Dr. J. T. Eothrock, Miss M. G. Town- send, William Scattergood, Dr. George M. Philipsi, George P.. Thomas, Lydia W. House, K. T. Corawell, Miss Mary H. Hartshorne and Thomas B. Taylor, all of West Chester; J. Preston Thomas, Whitford; Mrs. Eichard Darlington, East Bradford; Mrs. C. W. Eoberts, East Bradford; Eichard G. Parke, West Goshen, and Dr. T. E. Parke, Downingtown. On June 2, 1893, an act was passed by the Assembly, making an appropriation of $5,000, or so much there- of as might be necessary, for the completion of the building, and of 12,000, or so much thereof as might be necessary, for the furnish- ing of the building. This hospital is open to all classes of patients without regard to pecuniary conditions, color or creed, so long as there is accommodation for the applicant. The corporation is com- posed of three classes of members: First — Life members, or those who pay in cash to the treas- urer flOO or more. Second — Perpetual members, or such institutions or com- panies incorporated or organized under the laws of Pennsylvania, 898 CHESTER COUNTY and unincorporated companies or firms, as pay to the treasurer flOO; and Third — Annual members, or such institutions or companies incorporated or unincorporated, firms and persons, as pay annually to the treasurer the sum of five dollars. A contribution of $2,500 constitutes the endowment of a per- petual bed. The property purchased upon which to erect the hospital buildings was located on the northwest side of Marshall Square, 375 feet front, and 175 feet deep. It had belonged to Mr. T. P. Apple, and the purchase price was |4,000, of which Mr. Apple donated |200. The erection of the building was commenced im- mediately after the purchase was made, the contract having been given to Mr. William Burns, and ground was broken October 1, 1892. On February 28, 1893, the board of managers held their first meeting in the building. On March 1, 1893, Miss Mary G. Marshall, head nurse and superintendent, took charge of the hos- pital, and on the same day the first patient was received. Dur- ing the first three months there were received twenty-three patients. Numerous donations were made to the hospital during its first year, in money and necessary articles, the largest one being |6,000 in money by Mrs. Henry P. Norris, for the endowment in perpetuity of a private room as a memorial of her husband. The main building was completed in December, 1893, and oc- cupied during the month, and at the end of the year twenty beds in the wards and four private rooms were in readiness. Miss Mary G. Marshall resigned her position on March 1, 1893, as also did Miss Marian Pusey, assistant nurse. Mrs. lola L. Ctu-penter, a gradu- ate of the Philadelphia Hospital, succeeded to the position of head nurse and superintendent. During the first year there were en- dowed four beds, by Mrs. Sarah T. Bull, Miss Anne Bull, Mrs. Mary T. Jones, and Mrs. James C. Smith, respectively. The build- ing fund was increased through the eilorts of the Daily Local AND ITS PEOPLE. 899 News, which through an advertisement in its columns raised the sum of |1,400, in recognition of which, assistance a bed received the name of the Dailj^ Local News bed. The average expense of maintaining the hospital during its first year was |250 per month. During the year ending June 1, 1895, there were received 273 patients, 122 operations were performed, and sixteen deaths occurred. St. Agnes' CatholicOhurch contributed 1729.55, a single Sunday's offering, and the Fame Fire Company of West Chester provided an ambulance, which made its first trip in September, 1894, and during the remainder of the year ending June 1, 1895, conveyed sixty-four patients. In April, 1895, Mrs. lola T. Carpen- ter resigned her position, and was succeeded by Miss Marion Forde, a graduate of Johns Hopkins Training School. During the year the Women's Auxiliary raised for the use of the hospital $1,950.72. During the year ending June 1, 1896, Mrs. Sarah T. Johnson of Philadelphia endowed and furnished a private room in memory of her husband, and a legacy of $1,000 was left by Miss Sarah S. Scattergood. Many other donations were made, and the endow- ment fund then invested in the name of the hospital amounted to 123,000. In August, 1895, Miss Marion Forde resigned her posi- tion, and was succeeded by Miss Julie King. In July, 1895, Mrs. Sarah E. Bull and Kev. William L. Bull of Whitford, Chester County, offered to erect an annex ward to the hospital in memory of their daughter and sister, Miss Anne Bull, which offer was ac- cepted, and in October of the same year Mr. and Mrs. Bull made the gift of a second annex, similar to the first, to be erected as a memorial to Mrs. Bull's sister. Miss Jane Thomas. By the gift of $12,000 the board of managers found themselves in a position to carry out the original plan of finishing the hospital, with a large central building, and a wing at each side. The average sum neces- sai-y to maintain the hospital had increased to between |600 and $700 per month, toward which the state granted |270 per month. 900 CHESTER COUXTY And the Women's Auxiliary continued to be of great assistance to tlie institution, particularly in the way of securing the means of support. The increase in the usefulness of the hospital is seen by the statement that during the first year there were received 139 pa- tients; the second year, 232; the third year, 292, and the fourth year, 445. In April, 1897, a clinical and bacteriological labora;tory was established through the generosity of Dr. Thomas D. Dunn, who was in fact the originator of the hospital, and a small build- ing was erected for the reception of such cases as required isola- tion. During the year ending June 1, 1898, there were received into the hospital wards 5.57 cases, and besides these 60 occupied private rooms, making a total of 617 persons received in the hospital. In April, 1898, Kev. William L. Bull offered to present to the hospital a building for a nurses' home, and as a memorial to his mother, Mrs. Sarah R. Bull, deceased, who had intended to make the dona- tion herself. This generous offer was accepted, and ground was purchased bacli of the property on which to erect the building. The Women's Auxiliary contributed to the treasury |3,624 during the year. Mrs. H. P. Xorr-is offered to endow a bed in memory of Miss Virginia Norwood, which offer was gratefully accepted. After the declaration of war with Spain the board of- man- agers offered to the Governor of Pennsylvania the resources of the hospital for use in caring for such sick or wounded soldiers as might be in need of aid. The treasurer's report for the year ending June 15, 1898, showed that the expenses of the institution had been |13,555.42. The officers of the hospital have been from the first, Mr. E. T. Cornwell, president; Miss M. G. Townsend, secretary, and William P. Sharpless, treasurer. This institution is one in which all the people of Chester County take great pride, as it is of increasing usefulness, and is AXD ITS PEOPLE. 901 well appointed in every respect, and most excellently managed. The one necessity remaining to be supplied is a comfortable annex or ward for those afflicted with! contagious diseases, who noAV have to be taken to the county almshouse. During the year 1892-93 a Women's Hospital Auxiliary Soci- ety was formed, the membership of which extends over the county. Local branches were organized in different parts of the county, that at Kennett Square being the first of the county auxiliary. Mary Bacon Parke was the first president^ and Martha G. Thomas, first secretary. In the year 1898-94 there were eight branches; in 1894-95, there were eleven ; and in 1895-96, twelve. In connection with, the hospital is a training school for nurses, established in 1893. During the first year there were seven nurses in training, and during tlie second year ten, of whom two grad- uated in 1895, viz.: Miss Lily North and Miss Nellie Schwarder, In 1896 there were four graduates; in 1897, four, and in 1898, •eight. The first Masonic lodge originally chartered in Chester County was No. 50, which was permitted to hold meetings within five milea of the sign of the "White Horse." The petition to thus hold meet- ings was granted December 6, 1790, and there were twelve charter members. There had, however, been a lodge of this fraternity pre- viously organized in Chester, but it was practically a branch of No. 11, Newtown, Bucks County, which was constituted August 17, 1768, and surrendered its charter December 24, 1781. A new war- rant was issued to branch No. , and this branch held meetings at a place called "Halfway House," Londongrove Township, Chester County, February 16, 1782. This was surrendered and renewed March 7, 1791. West Chester Lodge, No. 322, was the first chartered within the jurisdiction of lodge No. 50, after this lodge was dissolved, its charter being dated March 1, 1858. It had eight charter members, of whom four had been members of No. 50. 902 CHESTER COUNTY West Chester Lodge, No. 42, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, was chartered September 26, 1831. On the 28th of March, 1832, this lodge erected a building on a lot it had purchased on Church Street, but the enterprise was not prosperous, the property was sold by the sheriff, and the lodge soon afterward was dissolved. Pocahontas Lodge, No. 316, was instituted June 19, 1848, and in 1871 this lodge purchased Cabinet Hall on Church Street, re- modeled the building, and in the third story of this building holds its meetings weekly on Thursday evenings. Canton Brandywine, No. 27, Patriarchs Militant, I. O. O. F.> meets on the first and fourth Fridays of each month. Florentina Lodge, No. 203, D. of E., I. O. O. F., meets every Friday evening in the postoffice building. General Marion Encampment, No. 91, I. O. O. F., meets alter- nate Fridays at No. 26 West Gay Street. Benjamin Bannaker Lodge, No. 14, Knights of Pythias, meets in Masonic Hall, on the second and fourth Thursdays of eacb month. Brandywine Council, No. 758, Jr. O. U. A. M., meets every Monday evening at No. Ill North High Street. Kenehha Council, No. 248, O. U. A. M., meets every Thursday evening at No. 20 East Market Street. West Chester Council, No. 632, Jr. O. U. A. M., meets every Friday evening at No. 21 North Church Street. Court No. 4, Heroines of Jericho, meets on the first Wednes- day of each month at Masonic Hall. Encampment No. 25, U. V. L., meets over the postoffice on the first Thursday of each month. Junior O. U. A. M., Funeral Benefit Association of Chester County, meets' at No. 28 West Market Street. Orpheus Court of Oalanthe, No. 5, A. C. C. K. of P., meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month in Masonic Hall. Peace and Plenty Lodge, No. 2581, G. U. O. O. F., meets every first and third Mondays of each month in Masonic Hall. AND ITS PEOPLE. 903 Pilgrim Chapter, No. 11, E. A. M., meets on the last Saturday ot each month in Masonic Hall. Harmony Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M., meets on the first Satur- day in each month in Masonic Hall. Howell Chapter, No. 202, F. & A. M., meets every Monday after the full moon in the Farmers' National Bank building. Stella Lodge, No. 131, K. of P., meets every Monday evening at No. 21 North High Street. Uppowac Tribe, No. 47, I. O. R. M., meets every Wednesday evening at No. Ill West Market Street. , Washington Camp, No. 673, P. O. S. of A., meets in Postofflce building every Monday. West Chester Castle, No. 226, K. G. E., meets every Friday evening in the Assembly building. West Chester Conclave, No. 61, 1. O. H., meets at No. 21 North High Street. West Chester Council, No. 1003, E. A., meets at No. Ill West Market Street every second and fourth Thursday of each month. West Chester Lodge No. 322, F. & A. M., meets in the Farmers' National Bank building every Monday on or before the full moon. West Chester Lodge, No. 42, I. O. O. F., meets every Tuesday evening at No. 21 West Gay Street. General George A. McCall Post, No. 31, G. A. R., meets every Friday evening in the Postoffice building. George F. Smith Post, No. 330, G. A. E., meets every Tuesday evening at No. 345 East Miner Street. The J. C. Smith Memorial Home, at Oakbourne, Chester County, consists of property bequeathed by the late Mrs. Heloiese Drexel Smith to the Protestant Episcopal Mission as a retreat for white women twenty-one years of age and upward, who are ill and convalescent, "free and without charge." The funds for its maintenance were also bequeathed by Mrs. Smith. The house, which is a three-story stone building, is one and a half miles 904 CHESTER COUNTY from West Chester, on the road to Media, and is surrounded by thirty-six acres of ground, twenty-four of which are woodland, and the remainder in a high state of cultivation. On these grounds, which are well laid out, is a lookout tower commanding a view of the surrounding country to a distance of fifteen miles. The house is so arranged that it will accommodate twenty- one women, and anothpr building has been fitted up to accommo- date six women, so that there are now accommodations for twenty- seven. The convalescents are allowed to remain two weeks, and in special cases four weeks. Up to March 31, 1897, there had been admitted 148 patients, and to June 8, 1898, there had been admitted 290. The Home was opened with appropriate ceremo- nies May 9, 1896, and religious services held for the first time May 24, 1896. These services have since been held regularly every Sunday morning, according to the rites and forms of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The institution opened with Mrs. Matilda B. Stevenson, formerly of St. Stephen's Parish, Philadel- phia, as matron, and Mrs. Martha Merchant as assistant matron, both of whom still retain their respective positions. The health of the patients is attended to by physicians from West Chester, Dr. P. C. Hoskins and Dr. Dunn being the physicians in charge until the death of the latter, and since Dr. Hoskins alone. The Pennsylvania Epileptic Hospital and Colony Farm, lo- cated one mile from Oakbourne Station, on the Philadelphia, Media and West Chester Kailway, sprang from the Hospital of St. Clem- ent's Church, which was organized in 1886, and located on Cherry Street, Philadelphia, between Twentieth and Twenty-first Streets. In 1892 this hospital became devoted almost exclusively to the the treatment of epileptics, and its accommodations were soon taxed beyond their limits. The management therefore decided to found a colony of epileptics, and purchased the land near Oak- bourne Station for a little more than |14,000, the amount neces- sary being contributed by Miss Eebecca Coxe and Eckley B. Coxe, AXD ITS PEOPLE. 905 Jr. For the erection of the buildings Henry C. Lea donated |50,000 and money for other necessary worlv was contributed by James Dundas Lippincott, William Garrett and others. Dr. Wharton Sinkler is president of this corporation, Charles M. Lea vice-president, J. Howard Climenson treasurer, and Dr. Samuel W. Morton secretary, and J. F. Edgerly, M. D., superin- tendent. There are 110 acres in the farm, and there are now three buildings, an administration building with a cottage on each side. Besides these there is one tenement house and other buildings needed for the successful management of a model farm. The demand for accommodations such as supplied by this hospital are greatly in excess of its capacity, each cottage being capable of holding from twelve to eighteen patients, the number now being cared for being forty-three. Fallowfield Township was originally a very large one. It lay in the middle west part of the county. It is believed to have been named after Lancelot Fallowfield, of Great Strickland, West- moreland County, England, who was one of the first to purchase land from William Penn. John Salkeld, a noted preacher of the Society of Friends, came from the same part of England in which Fallowfield lived, bought the land from him, and took it up in 1714. In 1718 there were only three taxables in the township, viz.: Thomas Wooddell, George Lenard and Robert Holly. From this time on until 1728 Fallowfield and Sadsbury formed one assess- ment district, and then the boundaries were defined by order of the court, as follows: 2^orthward with East Sadsbury, eastward with the settled limits of Bradford, southward with Marlborough, to the northeast corner of Penn's Manor, thence west 800 perches, and northwest to Octoraro Creek, and thence up the same to Sads- bury. In 1743 the township was divided by the north branch of Doe Eun, since called Buck Eun, and in 1841 the line between West Fallowfield and Upper Oxford Township was run by order 9o6 CHESTER COUNTY of the court, in order to ascertain its exact location. As a result some farms which had previously been supposed to be in Upper Oxford were found to be in West Fallowfield. In 1853 West Fallowfield was divided and the eastern division called Highland Township, the western division retaining the old name. Thus Highland Township comes in between East and West Fallowfield, which is not the case with any other townships in the county bearing the same general name. Honeybrook Township was formed in 1789 from the western part of West Nantmeal Township, settlements having been made there as early as 1718 or 1720, when surveys were made at the head of the western branch of the Brandywine for Jeremy Piersol, James Gibbons, John Adams, William Cloud, Henry Batterton, William Buffington, Thomas Baldwin, Kichard Parker, William and Jeremiah Dean, Matthew Wilson and Edward Harris. The borough of Honeybrook was incorporated August 17, 1891, and the first council was as follows: Stephen Long, D.H. Buchanan, James Buyers, John E. Finger and W. W. McConnell. The bur- gesses have been as follows: John H. De Haven, 1891-94; John W. Morton, 1894-97; John E. Finger, 1897-1900, Secretaries — A. M. Anderson, 1891-97; S. Marple Lemmon, 1897-1900. Treasurers — John W. Morton, 1891-94; Stephen Long, 1895; John E. Finger, 1895-97; John W. Morton, 1897-1900. The members of the council at the present time (1898) are as follows". John H. De Haven, L. R. Guiney, Thomas J. Hughes, Jacob Lemmon, William Lemmon, James McConnell and G. W. Piersol. On May 11, 1896, the borough of Honeybrook accepted a prop- osition with regard to the establishment of a system of water- works, the cost of which was to be |12,500, and purchased a small property on the side of Welsh Mountain, on which there was a spring having a flow of seventy-six gallons per minute. A reser- AiA^D ITS PEOPLE. 907 voir was constructed capable of holding 1,200,000 gallons of water and from this reservoir the borough is bountifully supplied with the best of spring water, all of the inhabitants, except eight fami- lies, having put water in their houses. The pressure is thirty- seven pounds and gives force sufficient to throw the water over the tops of the highest buildings, so that now a fire department is not needed. The charge is five dollars per spigot and the pay- ments on the bonds amount to |600 per annum. A fire company was organized about 1887, which did good work until the introduction of the water into the village, as above recorded, but at present it is practically out of date. The village of Hamorton is in the northeast part of Kennett Township. In the early days of the county it was known by the name of Logtown. Previous to 1830 it contained less than half a dozen houses, the name Hamorton having been given to the place when the post office was established in 1829. About 1844 a stock company built a hall which has since been used for various purposes, lectures by eminent men, concerts, etc. There are nearly fifty houses in Hamorton, and its people have always been noted for patriotism, morality and temperance. This village is undoubt- edly one of the pleasantest spots in Chester County. Kennett Township lies in the southern part of the county, bordering on the circular line and being between the townships of New Garden and Pennsbury. It originally included all of the latter township and a part of Pocapson. It is thought that the name was suggested by Francis Smith, who came from Devizes, Wiltshire, England, in wliich county there is a town by the name of Kennett. Francis Smith, in 1686, took up 200 acres of land within the original limits of the township at the mouth of Pocop- son Creek. Smith's original purchase amounted to 500 acres, and 300 acres were surveyed to him afterward at a rate of one penny per acre per annum. The settlement of this territory appears to have proceeded slowly, for in 1703 the following amount of land 908 CHESTER COUNTY was returned by Isaac Taylor as having been surveyed: Francis Smith, 440 acres; Henry Pierce, 190 acres; Kobert Way, 425 acres ; Thomas Hope, 310 acres; George Harlan, Israel Helm, and the Chandlers, 850 acres; total, 2,215 acres. Afterward Isaac Taylor, in addition to the above resurveys, made new surveys for the follow- ing persons: Peter Dicks, 554 acres; John Hope, 200; George Har- lan, 500; total, 1,254 acres, m 1702; Isaac Few, 600, and William Huntley, 200, in 1703, all of which was near the Brandywine. An account of Letitia's Manor, which lay in part in this town- ship, may be found on another page in this work. Kennett Square was incorporated in 1855. It is on the line of the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Kailroad in the midst of an exceedingly fertile section of the country. The village which had been known as Kennett Square from before the Revolution- ary War, formed the nucleus of the borough, the name first appear- ing about 1769, when William Dixson conveyed a piece of laud to Joseph Musgrave, "near a place called Kennett Square." The scene of Bayard Taylor's "Story of Kennett is laid in Kennett and adjoining townships. Kennett Lodge, No. 475, F. and A. M., holds its meetings each Thursday evening on or before the full moon, in Chalfant Block. Kennett Chapter, No. 275, R. A. M., meets in Chalfant Block, on the first Wednesday after the full moon. Kennett Castle, No. 243, K. G. E., meets every Tuesday night, in Unicorn Hall. Kennett Council, No. 182, U. O. A. M., meets in Unicorn Hall every Thursday evening. Kennett Conclave, No. 207, I. O. H., meets in Swayne Block, on the second and fourth Monday evenings of each month. Division No. 2, A. 0. H., meets in Unicorn Hall on the second Saturday evening of each month. Kennett Grange, No. 19, Patrons of Husbandry, meets in Uni- corn Hall, on Wednesday evening on or before the full moon. AXD ITS PEOPLE. 509 Kennett Fire Company meets in the borough hall on tlie last Friday night of each month. Kennett Square is well supplied with water, derived from springs about a mile north of the borough. A great deal of money has been spent in procuring water, changes in the source of supply having been made from time to time, the present springs, the east branch of Red Clay Creek, and of the west branch of Red Clay C^eek, having been at different times the source. The pumping station is half a mile north of the borough, or half way between the borough and the springs which sup- ply the water, and there are two standpipes on the borough lot, Avhich cost almost |20,000. Nearly every inhabitant in the borough takes water from the system, and the revenue that is derived by the borough ti'easury is about |4,000 per annum. The Kennett Electric Light, Heat and Power Company was incorporated in 1893, with W. W. Gawthrop president, John C. Yeatman treasurer, and N. P. Yeatman secretary. The capital at first was |25,000, but it was increased to |50,000 in 1896. The plant of this company is situated in the southwest part of the borough, and consists of a one-story brick building, 40x60 feet in size, with an equipment of two 100-horse power boilers, a 150-horse power engine, and two dynamos sufficient to maintain 800 incan- descent lights each, each light of 16-candle power, and one dynamo of 300 incandescent lights of the same power. At present there are four arc lights on the streets, and about 70 incandescent lights, while in stores, churches and private houses there are about 2,000. From this plant goes out to Toughkennanion, Avondale and West Grove, electricity for lighting these villages, and other vil- lages are constantly calling for the same kind of light, but as yet the company has not the means to wire these other towns. The present council of Kennett Square is as follows: George R. Bowman, president; Dr. C. S. Reynolds, John Duncannou, 9IO CHESTER COUNTY George W. Taft, F. T. MacDonald, H. D. Entriken, and H. Willis Taylor. The Baj'ard Taj^lor Memorial Library was established Feb- ruary 10, 1894, several preliminary meetings having been previ- ously held. On the date given a board of trustees was elected, con- sisting of the following persons: William W. Polk, Joseph S. Heald, William F. Wickersham, D. Duer Philips, Charles J. Pen- nock, and Edward Swayne. A lot was purchased on the corner of Broad Street and Apple Alley, upon which the building was erected, at a, cost of |6,791.50, and it was dedicated September 12, 1896. Alice W. Swayne is the librarian, and 5,396 persons attend the reading department during the year 1897. The success of this library is assured. London Britain Township lies in the southern part of the county, and contains the triangle which extends down between Maryland and Delaware. A considerable portion of this township was originally included in the survey of the lands for the Lon- don Company, an east and west line crossing the township about the latitude of Kimbleville, being the southern boundary of this tract. The township was at one time enlarged by taking a por- tion off from the west side of New Garden. The first settlers are believed to have been Welsh Baptists, who established a church. John Evans came from Eadnorshire, in Wales, about 1700, and was one of the prominent men in his day. His son, John Evans, who died in 1738, held large tracts of land, and also fulling and grist mills on White Clay Creek, and there was formerly an In- dian village on this creek, near Yeatman's Mill. A petition for the organization of the township was presented to court in 1725, which was granted, Kichard Whiting being the constable, John Devonald supervisor of highways, and John Evans and Thomas Morris overseers of the poor. And in 1775 the court appointed Thomas Woodward, Levis Pennock and Joseph Musgrove to make a survey and ascertain the line of Lon- don Britain and New Garden Townships. AXD ITS PEOPLE. 9" Londonderry Township Avas set up in 1734, beino- separated from Xottingham, and then included the territory from London- grove to the Octoraro River. About one-third of the township, as it is at the present time, was included in Fagg's Manor, elsewhere described. In 1754 Oxford Township was taken from the west side of Londonderry, and in 1819 it was again reduced in size, by the organization of Penn Township, taken from its southern side. A small part was added to it in 1866, taken from Londongrove a'nd West Marlborough. The settlers came originally and mainly from Ireland, which explains its name. Londongrove Township lies west of New Garden and East Marlborough Townships, and was settled as early as 1714 by Francis Swain, John Smith, Joseph Pennock, William Pusey and a few others. On August 12, 1699, William Penn sold to Tobias Collet, Daniel Quare, Henry Godney and Michael Russell, all of London, England, a large tract of land and granted a warrant for the location thereof August 17, 1699. The above-named per- sons admitted others into partnership with them and formed the liOndon Company, the number of shares reaching ultimately 8,800 and the shareholders numbering several hundred. This grant in- cluded a considerable portion of the present townships of New London, London Britain, East Nottingham, Penn and London- grove, the entire amount of land taken up by the company being 65,000 acres, 17,200 acres of which were in Chester County, the rest being in Lancaster, Delaware and Bucks Counties. The pat- ent for the 17,218 acres in Chester County was granted June 25, 1718. As in the case of lands in other townships, much of this land was leased for a term of years to early settlers, with stip- ulations that a certain number of acres should be cultivated or cleared and plowed each year. According to Joseph J. Lewis the rents usually charged were 40s. per 100 acres, but there were a few tracts of land sold by the company itself to different pur- chasers, from 1718 to 1720. The rest remained in the possession 54 912 CHESTER COUNTY of the company until about 1762, by which time the heirs of those who originally constituted the company had become so scattered, many of them being entirely unknown, that an act of Parliament was procured authorizing the sale of the land, and Dr. Fothergill, Daniel Zachary, Thoas How, Devereaux Bowly, Luke Hinde, Kich- ard Howe, Jacob Hagan, Sylvanus Grove and William Heron were the agents appointed to superintend the sale, their attorneys- in -this sale being Samuel Shoemaker, Jacob Cooper and Joshua Howell, and each settler purchased the land on which he was then living, A large part of the settlers in Londongrove were members of the Society of Friends, among their names appearing the names of Allen, Chandler, Jackson, Lamborn, Lindley, Morton, Pusey, Scarlett, Starr and Underwood. In 1866 the line separating Londongrove and West Marl- borough was so altered that a small part of the northwest corner of Londongrove and the southwest corner of West Marlborough were attached to Londonderry Township, the territory thus an- nexed to the latter township including within its limits the famous old White Horse Tavern, in order that the inhabitants of the township might have a convenient place to hold elections. West Grove was incorporated as a borough January 29, 1894, the following officers being elected: Chief Burgess, John P. Chev- ney; Councilmen, John H. Turner, president; T. C. Moore, Hick- man W. Sparks, James A. Wilson, I. C. Jefferis and Isaac Martin, The secretary was John E. Strode, and treasurer, Walter W. Brown. Dr. C. F. Quimby was elected chief burgess in 1897 for three years, the secretary and treasurer being re-elected then for the same period. The council elected in 1897 was as follows: John H. Turner, T. C. Moore, I. C. Jefferis, Chester Keynolds, Eber Heston, John P. Cheyney and E. C. Austin. The streets and business houses, as also many private resi- dences, are lighted by means of the incandescent light, received AXD ITS PEOPLE. 913 from Kennett Square. On the streets there are forty lights and in business and private houses about 125. This light was intro- duced in 1894, the same year of the incorporation of the town. West Grove is indebted to Joseph Pyle and his father-in-law, Milton Conard, for its water system, Mr. Pyle beginning this enter- prise in 1862, when he constructed a reservoir holding 6,000 gallons of water. His second reservoir, built in 1875, had a capacity of 25,000 gallons. People gradually got into the habit of taking water from this system, and at length when new houses were erected they were so built that water was taken into them from the reservoir system, Mr. Pyle put in a hydraulic ram in 1878, and a second one in 1881. Later he put in two wind mills, and in 1881 he leased the water privilege on the farm adjoining that of his father-in-law on the north side of the town, bored a well 213 feet deep, from which there was a flow of twenty gallons per minute. In 1885 he put in a Dean steam pump, which was used until February, 1897, when he put in a gasoline engine, which pumps fifty gallons per minute. At the present time eighty-five families take water from this system j^nd seventeen business houses. The borough of Avondale was incoroprated in February, 1894, and the following officers elected: Chief Burgess, W. R. Shelmire; Councilmen, W. J. Pusey, president; Robert K. Mackey, Morris Watson, William Miller, John L. Hood and B. H. Chambers; Sec- retary, E. Pusey Passmore, and Treasurer, Edward Pusey. In 1897 the following officers were elected: Burgess, August Brosius; Councilmen, W. J. Pusey, president; Dr. J. L. Paiste, Robert K. Mackey, Joshua Thomas, Charles Y. Wilson, Morris Watson and Eber H. Greenfield; Secretary, Fred. Glenn, and Treasurer, E. Pusey Passmore. Avondale, like West Grove, receives its electric light from Kennett Square. This light was introduced here in 1893, and now there are on the streets about forty lights, and in stores. 914 CHESTER COUNTY churches, private residences, etc., there are aboiit 500 others, mak- ing nearly 550 incandescent lights in all, ranging from 16 to 32 can- dle power. In Avondale there are two societies, viz. : One of the Patriotic Order of Sons of America, and a social club, the latter organized in 1893, and which maintains a lecture course. Its work is highly appreciated and forms one of the most useful and delightful feat- ures of the social life of the place. W. J. Pusey & Co., the "Co." being James C. Pusey, built their flouring mill in 1893. It stands on the railroad about 600 feet west of the railway station. The building is 76x56 feet in size and three stories high and contains machinery of the most modern pattern, the roller process being used, and the capacity of the mill being 150 barrels of flour in twenty-four hours. Avondale Ice and Cold Storage Company was incorporated in 189.4, its first officers being William F. Dowdall, president; Joel B. Pusey, vice-president; H. M. Carpenter, secretary, and E. Pusey Passmore, treasurer. The same persons have held these offices ever since. The plant is located on Pennsylvania, and con- sists of an ice plant capable of manufacturing fifteen tons per day, and of a storage house with a capacity of 500 tons. This com- pany has its own electric light plant. Marlborough Township lay in the southern part of the county, north of Kennett, New Garden and Londongrove. It was named from Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was laid out in part in 1700, in right of purchases made in England. It was organized as a township in 1704, Thomas Wickersham being the first constable. Among the first settlers wei'e Joel B.aily, Thomas Jackson, Caleb Pusey, Francis Swayne, John Smith and Henry Hayes. Joseph Pennock was one of the first in what is now West Marlborough, where he built Primitive Hall, which is still standing. In 1729 the township was divided into East and West Marlborough. In East Marlborough he obtained a patent for land which included AND ITS PEOPLE. 915 the present Peiree's Park, or Evergreen Glade, and the famed home of Bayard Taylor, Cedar Croft, is in East Marlborough, less than a mile north of Kennett Square. A farm formerly owned by William Chalfont in East Marlborough Township, near Unionville, was named by him Clermont. In 1849 a part of this township was taken off in the formation of Pocopson, and in 1875 the line between West Marlborough on one side and Londonderry and Highland on the other was re-established by the court. Nantmeal Township lay in the northern part of the county, northeast of Honeybrook and bordering on Berks County. The name is derived from Nantmel, Radnorshire, Wales, whence came some of the early settlers, and this is the proper spelling. The meaning of the W^lsh word is sweet stream, or honey brook. Surveys were made in 1717-19 at the head of the north branch of the Brandywine for Thomas Callowhill, Howell Powell, Edward Thomas, William Iddings, Thomas Rees, John Broomall, David Thomas, Daniel Moor, William Trego, John Moore, and Richard and John Peirsol, and the first assessment was made in 1720. In 1722 the name Nantmeal first appears, when it contained eighteen taxables, among them being Samuel Nutt, noted as being one of the very first ironmakers in the country. In 1740 the township was divided into East and West Nant- meal, in which year there were 83 taxables in East Nantmeal, and 123 in West Nantmeal. Originally the settlers were for the most part Welsh, but later the Scotch-Irish came up from the southern part of the county and settled in the western township. In 1789 West Nantmeal Township was divided by the erection of Honeybrook Township, taken from the western part. In 1852 it was again divided by the erection of Wallace Township, and East Nantmeal was divided in 1842 by the erection of Warwick Township. New London Township lies in the southern part of the county -north of Elk, and like Londongrove and London Britain, is be- 9i6 CHESTER COUNTY lieved to have derived its name from the fact of its including a portion of the London Company's tract. In 1704 Abraham Emmitt purchased a square mile of land and had a mill on Elk Creek, one of the first in the neighborhood. Robert Assheton had 500 acres of land to the north of Emmit's land, and Michael Harlan, in 1714, had a tract of 900 acres surveyed. In 1720 several surveys were made in the northeastern part of this tovs^nship — for Jeremiah Starr, for Francis, Alexander, James and Patrick Moore, for Su- sanna McCane, for William Eeynolds, and for Gabriel Alexander. In 1721 there were surveys made for Thomas, John and Samuel Steel. In the northern part of the township were Samuel Camp- bell, James Shaw, Robert Mackey, Robert Finney, John Morrison and others. The land owned by Susanna McCane lay on the road leading from New London to Kimbleville, near the line of Frank- lin Township. She was the grandmother of Governor Thomas Mc- Kean, a brief sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. In 1725 the township was divided and London Britain Town- ship erected, and in 1852 the township of Franklin was taken from New London, since which time the latter township has contained none of the land belonging to the London Company. New Garden Township lies in the southern part of Chester County and borders on Delaware and is west of Kennett Township. It was named from New Garden County Carlow, Ireland. It was included in the survey of 30,000 acres, made in 1700, to Henry Hollingsworth, of which 30,000 acres, 15,500 acres were patented to Letitia Penn, as has been elsewhere related. The_ remainder of 14,500 acres was patented to William Penn, Jr., May 24, 170fi, by the commissioners of property, Edward Shippen, Griffith, Owen, and Thomas Story, and like the tract of Letitia Penn, received the name of Stenning. The boundaries of the manor have been elsewhere described, and it is only necessary to say here further that the township as it was before losing a corner to London Britain, embraced that part of the manor lying north of the cir- AND ITS PEOPLE. 917 «ular line, or according to an early estimate, 8,913 acres. Before obtaining his patent William Penn, Jr., had appointed as his at- torneys, Griffith Owen, James Logan and Eobert Ashton, and after a few years several families of Friends arrived from Ireland, and settled there, giving tke name of New Garden to their new home in remembrance of their old home in Ireland. Among those who first settled in this township were John Lowdon, John Miller, Michael Lightfoot, James Starr, William Halliday, Joseph Hutton, Thomas Jackson, and Abraham Marshall, as early as 1712, and in 1714 Thomas Garnett and Joseph Sharp. The whole amount of land purchased by the above named settlers and a few others wag 5,413 acres, at the price of £20 per hundred acres, or about f 1 per acre. In 1715 William Penn, Jr., sold the remainder of his manor, except 500 acres, to Colonel John Evans, from which circumstance it was frequently referred to as Colonel Evans' Alanor. It is said that John Lowdon or Lowden (the name is spelled both ways by local historians), who was a noted minister in the Society of Eriends, suggested New Garden as the name of the township, he having been a member of the New Garden meeting. County Car- low, Ireland. He traveled much in the service of the ministry, and died in 1714. John Miller owned the land afterward owned by Mr. Ellicott, of Baltimore, and upon White Clay Creek, which passed through his farm, erected a mill, long known as the Old Mill, which did the grinding for the farmers for many miles around, even as far away as Lancaster. This was the second mill of tlie kind within the limits of the county, Townsend's Mill having been the first The early inhabitants of this part of the county were in the habit of separating their farms by ditches to prevent the ravages of fire, to which they were exposed in the fall, that being the sea- son of the year when the Indians were accustomed to burn the woods in order to facilitate hunting. Newlin Township lies south of West Bradford, and was named after Nathaniel Newlin, one of the most prominent citizens of 91 8 CHESTER COUNTY the early day. On tlie 22d and 23d of March, 1681, William Penn granted 20,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania, and some lots in Philadelphia, to certain trustees for the Free Society of Traders, these trustees being Nicholas Moore, James Claypoole, Philip Ford, William Sharloe, Edward Pierce, John Simcock, Thomas Bracey, Thomas Barker and Edward Brooks. On September 20, 1688, there was surveyed unto Benjamin Chambers, president of the Free Society of Traders, for that society's use, 7,100 acres -of land, in Chester County, a part of the said 20,000 acres, and on the 10th of June, 1724, the Free Society of Traders, by its trustees, Charles Read, Job Goodsonn, Evan Owen, George Fitzwater, and Joseph Pidgeon, conve3^ed this tract of 7,100 acres to Nathaniel Newlin, in consideration of £800, current money of Pennsylvania, Thus Nathaniel Newlin, who was an Irishman, became the owner of the tract of land which afterward became the township bearing his name. After its purchase by Mr. Newlin it was resurveyed and found to contain 7,700 acres, and Mr. Newlin made arrangements for the sale of portions of his purchase. Followine are the names of some of the purchasers, and the amounts of their several pur- chases, together with the prices paid: George Harlan, 169 acres, for £50 14s; Stephen Harlan, 20 1^ acres, £20 10s; Joseph English, 200 acres, £30; Mordecai Cloud, 326 acres, £97 16s; Abraham Marshall, 120 acres, £36; Joel Baily, 228 acres, £68 8s; William Dean, 124 acres, £37 4s; George Lashly, 7.5 acres, £22 10s; Ealph Thompson, 75 acres, £19 9s 9d, a total of 1,337 acres for £383, or very nearly 5s 9d per acre. Nathaniel Newlin died in 1729, owning 7,843 acres of land, of which 533 acres were in Concord Township, Delaware County, and the rest in Chester County. It was in this township that a diffi- culty arose with the Indians, who had been allotted lands therein, but as this matter is treated of in another chapter in this work, it is merely referred to here. In the formation of Pocopson Town- ship something more than 300 acres were taken from Newlin AND ITS PEOPLE. 9i9 Township and included therein. Up to 1738 the settlers here were assessed as of Marlborough or Bradford, according as they were on the north or south side of the Brandy wine, but about this time the inhabitants petitioned for the formation of a new township, which petition was granted, and the township named Newlin. For some time the name was frequently written Newlinton. Nottingham Township was laid in the extreme southeastern part of the county. At a meeting of the commissioners of prop- erty, at which all were present, held January 14, 1701, Cornelius Empson, for himself and several others to the number of twenty families, proposed to make a settlement on a tract of land about halfway between the Delaware and Susquehanna Eivers, or nearer to the Susquehanna, on the Octoraro Creek, provided they could have a grant of about 20,000 acres at a certain rental. To this proposition the commissioners of property agreed, and issued a warrant, in pursuance of which a tract of 18,000 acres of land was laid out in May, 1702, commencing at a point about seven and a half miles west of the northeast corner of Marjdand, and extending thence to the Octoraro, a distance of about ten miles. The south line of this tract corresponded with or nearly with the present southern boundary of the county, and was nearly straight, but the northern line was crooked, in order to take in good lands and leave out poorer tracts, and in width this tract was about three miles. A road was laid out east and west through the mid- dle of the tra,ct, and dividing lines were run north and south at suificient distances from each other, so as to make thirty-seven divisions, each division containing about 500 acres of land. This large tract was galled Nottingham when first laid out, probably in remembrance of Nottingham County or shire in England. It was supposed to be in Pennsylvania, but when the boundary line was at last determined it was found to be largely in Maryland. In the survey, although the lines were intended to be parallel to the Maryland line, yet, owing probably to the variation of the 920 CHESTER COUNTY compass, not so well understood then as now, they run a little to the south of west as they proceed to the west. The north line of lots Nos. 5 to 10 crosses the State line between the fourteenth and fifteenth milestones. Lots Nos. 11 to 16 were bounded on the north by a straight line, which at its eastern end is a littJe more than three-quarters of a mile, and at its western end less than half a mile north of the State line. Northward of these lots the territory was described as being ^'back of Nottingham," but at length having been taken up by settlers, was included in the township of Nottingham. In 1718 both East and West Nottingham appear, and in 1734-35 London- derry was separated from Nottingham. Previous to the erection of Lancaster County in May, 1729, this township extended beyond Octoraro Greek. In 1833 a portion of East Nottingham was taken off to form Oxford Borough, and in 1853 Hopewell Borough was taken from it in part In 1857 it was still further reduced by the erection of Elk Township. Oxford Township lies in the southwestern part of the county, north of Nottingham. It was established in 1754, being taken from the township of Londonderry. It is not now known whether the name was given in honor of Oxford, England, or of Oxford Township in Philadelphia County, which is now a part of Phila- delphia. In 1797 it was divided into Upper and Lower Oxford. In 1841 the line between Upper Oxford and West Fallowfleld was established. William Penn's Manor embraced all the eastern part of Upper Oxford and a small part of Lower Oxford, and the set- tlers on these lands secured their titles after 1747. Hopewell Borough was incorporated May 2, 1853, the terri- tory being taken from Lower Oxford and East Nottingham Town- ships. Oxford Borough was incorporated by an act of Assembly April 8, 1833, and was taken from Lower Oxford and East Nottingham, principally from the latter. Still later its area was enlarged by a AND ITS PEOPLE. 921 decree of the court. It was not until about 1870 that the place began to assume the importance to which it has now attained. The first material improvement made by the borough was the establishment of water-works, one of the most difficult problems problems for solution in country towns. The Oxford Gas and Water Company was incorporated in 1868, for the purpose of •erecting works to supply the borough with water. These works were built by the company, in 1869, and were purchased by the Ijorough in 1870 for |30,000. The supply was taken at first from Elk Creek, which had an available drainage area of three square miles ; but later the source of supply was changed to artesian well'5 sunk to a great depth, the water thus procured being determined by chemical analysis to be the purest for drinking purposes, and also for manufacturing, causing but little rust in boilers. Inas- much as the sources of supply are practically inexhaustible, fears of a water famine can never be felt in Oxford. The water is pumped from two drilled wells into a reservoir, which is 80 feet square at the top, 25 fieet square at the bottom, and is 18 feet deep, having a capacity of 500,000 gallons. The wells are each eight inches in diameter and have a depth respectively of 189 1-3 feet and 543 feet. The entire cost of the works up to 1894 was $50,808.96. The borough being the sole owner of the works, the result is that while a comfortable revenue is derived from them, yet citizens and industries are supplied at a fairly reasonable figure. About the same time that the water-works were established an efficient fire company was also established, named the Union Fire Company, which has always deserved well of the community. It was chartered in 1872, erected a substantial frame building in 1874, which was remodeled in 1880. The building is two stories high, 27x55 feet in dimensions, and has a stable in the rear 16x27 feet in size. It has a Silsby steam fire engine, a hose wagon carrying 500 feet of cotton hose, one hand-hose carriage also car- 922 CHESTER COUNTY vying 500 feet of hose, and a hook and ladder truck. One of the most useful ordinances of the village, that establishing fire limits, was procured by the Union Fire Company. Oxford is lighted by electricity, J. W. Bowman being the founder of the system, and the current being furnishQd by the Oxford Electric Light and Power Company. This company has a well-equipped plant, the streets^ stores and churches being lighted^ both arc and incandescent lights being used. The Oxford Agricultural Society was established in 1870, its grounds are located in the northern part of the borough, and con- sist of twenty acres, well laid out. This has been since its estab- lishment one of the greatest advertising features of the place. The Oxford Board of Trade was incorporated December 19, 1892, for the purpose of promoting domestic commerce, and in- creasing commerce, manufactures and general industries. It has been largely instrumental in laying the foundations for a broad and liberal policy, which has awakened a spirit of progress, and has attracted the attention of railroads and manufacturers to the manj' advantages of the place. At the election for borough officers in 1838, Thomas Alex- ander was chosen chief burgess, and L. K. Brown clerk and treas- urer. The council was composed of the following gentlemen: Alexander Irwin, Levi K. Brown, John M. Dickey, Robert Mur- dagh, and Ebenezer Speer. The present officers and councilmen are as follows: Burgess, Thomas F. Green, elected in 1897; Coun- cilmen, William T. Fulton, Joseph M. Showalter and Milton Walker, all elected in 1896 for three years; Samuel McDowell and David A . Caldwell, elected in 1897 for three years, and Samuel L. Martindale and Branson Slack, elected in 1898 for three years. The secretary, J. Cyrus Kerr, has held his office since 1877, and the treasurer, Jackson A. Watt, has been in his office since 1877> with the exception of the years of 1893-4-5. Pocopson Township was formed in 1819, from parts of Penns- bury, East Marlborough, Newlin and West Bradford, and was .LVD ITS PEOPLE. 923 named from the creek that flows through it. It is bounded on the east by the Brandywine. Benjamin Chamber.s of Phila- delphia, in the early days of the Province, took a large quantity of land on the Brandywine, which he sold to settlers, Joseph Taylor purchasing several hundred acres of him in 1711, and afterward building a mill on Pocopson Creek. The Marshalls settled the northern part and were succeeded by the Bakers. Penn Township was formed in 1817, by dividing up London- derry Township. The settlers Avere largely from the north of Ire- land, among them being John McKee, Daniel McClane, George Miller, Henry Charlton, Samuel Fleming, Hugh Luckey, Robert Brown, James Strawbridge, John McGrew, Matthew Harbesou, Eichard Carson, Thomas Province, John Hayes, William Young, William Finney, and William Graham The southern line of this township, separating it from Xew London, was the southern line of Fagg's Manor. In 1703 and 1704 surveys were made for William Bradford, Thomas Wickersham, Hannah Hammond, and Susanna Cadmau, the surveys being made in right of old purchases, no one of these four persons settling on the land. In 1857 the line between Penn and Londonderry was so altered as to include in the latter township a small portion of the former, . this being done for the accommodation of school districts. Jennerville, in this township, was so named by Dr. Josiah Ankrim in honor of Dr. Edward Jenner, the discoverer of vac- cination. Brook Haven is the name given by John D. Nelson to his fine farm, which is situated just east of Penn Station on the Phila- delphia and Baltimore Central Eailroad. The location is unusually pleasant and beautiful. Pennsbury Township was created in 1770, from the eastern part of Kennett Township, and comprised the earliest settled part thereof. The first surveys were made about 1686, but there were 924 CHESTER COUNTY few settlements made before 1700. Among the names of those who first took up land in this township, were those of Francis- Smith, Henry Peirce, Robert Way, Thomas Hope, George Harlan,. Isaac Few and William Huntley. Later came the Harveys, Tem- ples, Mendenhalls, and Webbs. John Parker, who was located therein during the time of the Revolution, was an eminent minis- ter among the Friends, and- it was after him that the village of Parkersville was named. In 1849 Pocopson Townshjp was taken from the northern part of Pennsbury. Pikeland Township lies northwest of Schuylkill and Oharles- town Townships. In 1705 this township was granted by William Penn to Joseph Pike, merchant of Cork, Ireland, the patent being dated December 3. This was done in order to induce Mr. Pike to emigrate to the Province of Pennsylvania. It embraced the terri- tory now contained in the townships of East and West Pikeland, equal to 10,116 acres. Joseph Pike died in 1727, seized of this tract and also of about 1,400 acres in Cain Township, on the southern part of which now stands Cain Friend's Meeting-house. All his lands in America, Joseph Pike devised in fee to his wife Elizabeth, who held them until her death, in 1733, devising them likewise in fee to her son Richard Pike. Richard Pike died in 1752, having devised in his will all his estates in Pennsylvania to his kinsmen, Samuel Hoare and Nathaniel Newberry, merchants in London, England, subject to the payment of certain legacies. In 1756 Samuel Hoare, having purchased the interest of Mr. New- berry, became sole owner. On December 3, 1773, Samuel Hoare, by his attorney, Amos Strettle, sold and conveyed "the lands known by the name of Pikeland," to Andrew Allen, taking from him a mortgage thereon for £16,000, part of the purchase money. Andrew Allen sold the lands in parcels to 115 persons, receiv- ing from them the purchase money; but failed to pay ofE his in- debtedness to Samuel Hoare, and hence the mortgage was sued out against Allen and the 115 purchasers from him; and the en- AND ITS PEOPLE. 925 tire township was sold as one tract to Ezeliiel Leonard, sheriff of Chester County, and was repurchased by Samuel Hoare, hold- ing the mortgage, and was reconveyed to him by deed dated August 26, 1789. As those who had purchased from Allen failed to procure from him releases from the mortgage, the sheriff's sale to Samuel Hoare divested their titles, but they generally compromised ^\'ith Hoare, and by making additional payments received deeds of confirmation from him; though some were unable to make any agreements, and so lost not only their lands, but also the improvements they had made thereon. Samuel Hoare thus again becoming owner of Pikeland, ap- pointed Benjamin Chew, Alexander Wilcoxe, and Benjamin Chew, the younger, all of Philadelphia, his attorneys to make sale of his lands, which they proceeded to do, and the titles to all the lands in the two Pikelands are derived from him, either through the agents named above, or through other agents sub- sequently appointed. When the title to Pikeland was vested in Samuel Hoare it was largely leased in small tracts to settlers, with the right to purchase after twenty years' possession, at a valuation then to be made. Among those who first settled in this township were Samuel Lightfoot, Michael Lightfoot and Thomas Millhouse, the first of whom built the first mill in the vicinity, and Michael Light- foot was a tenant on the place afterward held by Mr. Penny- packer, living for some years in a cave. The Yellow Springs, now known as Chester Springs, are lo- cated in West Pikeland Township, the mineral properties of the waters having been discovered as early as 1722. For many years these springs were a fashionable resort, but a length their pop- ularity waned, owing in part, at least, to their distance from rail- road facilities. They ceased to be kept up in 1868. Mr. Snyder and his wife conveying the property in this latter year to Charles W. Deans and others, who in 1869 conveyed it to the Chester 926 CHESTER COUNTY Springs Soldiers' Orphans' School and Literary Institute. The old frame-house which stood on the hill-side in the rear of the former hotel buildings was erected by the direction of General Washington, during the Revolutionary War, and was used as a hospital for his sick and wounded soldiers. For a long time it was known as Washington Hall. In 1810 James Ross, a native of Chester County, wrotQ. a Latin poem on the Yellow Springs. The first stanza is as follows: "Quereret si quis, socios, amicos', TJnde sanaret, vacuos salute, — Flavulor fontes adeant salubres Fontis ad undas." In 1838 the township was divided into East and West Pike- land Sadsbury Township, formerly written Sudbury, possibly after Sudbury, Suffolk County, England, lies in the middle western part of the county, bordering on Lancaster County. The township was organized in 1717, though the name Sadsbury appears as early as 1708. This toAvnship lies in the Great Valley and to the north- ward thereof, that part lying in the valley being taken up at an early day, in right of purchases made in England, and that north of it at a somewhat later period. In 1718 the taxables were nine in number, William Grimson, James Hamer, Thomas Hay ward, John Musgrave, William Smith, John Whitesides, and John Moore. The first township officer mentioned was William Marsh, Novem- ber 26, 1717. In 1728 a petition was presented to the court, asking for the definite location of the boundaries of the township, which on November 27 of that year was granted. In 1813 the line be- tween Sadsbury and West Cain Townships, was rielocated and set- tled. In 1852 Sadsbury was reduced in size by the formation of Valley Township, previous to which time it extended eastward to the Brandywine at Coatesville. By an act of Assembly passed AND ITS PEOPLE. 9V March. 1, 1872, the borough of Parkesbur^ was erected, thus re- ducing the township in size, and by .a decree of the court of Decem- ber, 20, 1875, the borough of Atglen was established, thus further reducing the size of Sadsbury. In 1878 the township was divided into East and West Sadsbury. The early settlers of this or these townships were Friends from England and Scotch-Irish Presbyte- rians Among the noted citizens of this part of the county in the olden time was Colonel Andrew Boyd, son of Rev. Adam Boyd, who was lieutenant of Chester County during a part of the Revolution- ary War. John Fleming, Sr., another prominent citizen of this part of the county, was a member of the convention that framed the State Constitution in 1776, and he was a member of the As- sembly in 1778. Dr. Joseph Gardner was an active Revolutionary patriot, Avas three years a member of the Assembly, and was a member of the Continental Congress in 1784-85, and John Gardner, son of the former, was sheriff of Chester County from 1781 to 1783. Atglen, formerly Penningtonville, was incorporated by a de- cree of the court, December 20, 1875. It is in the Great Valley, on the Pennsylvania, about one mile from Octoraro Creek, the west- ern boundarj' of the county. The borough officers of Atglen have been as follows: Burgesses—Robert Futhey, 1876-77; Charles Reese, 1878; E. T. Good, 1879; Hibbert Chalfant, 1880; Andrew J. Irwin, 1881; Isaac Acker, 1882; Hibbert Chalfant, 1883-90; A. J. Hennis, 1891; Hibbert Chalfant, 1892-93; H. C. Yerkes, 1894-96; A. J. Hennis, 1897-1900. Secretaries— Aaron Sill, Jr., 1876; Robert Holsin, 1877-78; William J. McKim, 1879; Jacob Airgood, 1880; William Wilde, 1881; P. Goodman, 1883; Frank Cowan, 1888; R. C. Cowan, Jr., 1896-98r The council at the present time is composed of the following gentlemen: Robert Futhey, John Miller, John Hoover, Jacob 55 928 CHESTER COUNTY Heyberger, Samuel Whitson, and Samuel Ehoads, the terms of the first three expiring in 1899, and of the last three in 1900. During the year 1898 the electric light was introduced into At glen from Christiana, Lancaster County, only the incandescent lights being used. These vaTy in strength from sixteen to thirty- two candle power, the larger ones being in use to light the streets, the twentj'^-four candle, power lights being used in churches and stores, and the sixteen candle power lights being in use in private houses. In all there axe nearly 1,000 lights in the village. Atglen prides herself on her public school building, erected in 18951 It stands on East Main Street and Newport Avenue. It is of brick, with green stone foundation, is one-story high, and contains two school-rooms, each room capable of accommodating eighty pupils. It cost |7,000, and is provided with the Smead sys- tem of heating and ventilating. The size of the building is 80x50 feet. Parkesburg Borough was incorporated March 1, 1872. It is located on the Pennsylvania Kailroad, and when the railroad was constructed from Philadelphia to Columbia the State shops were located here, remaining until 1861, when they were removed to Harrisburg, and the buildings thus vacated .were afterward owne».I by Horace A. Beale, and used for a rolling-mill. The place re- ceived its name from an old aud influential family by the name of Parke. Three generations of this family have occupied seats in the Legislature of the State, Joseph Parke, John G. Parke and Eobert Parke, the latter having also been an associate judge of the county. The first oflicers of this borough consisted of the following persons: Samuel E. Parke, burgess; J. M. Eawlins, secretary; J. W. Wright, treasurer. Since then the brugesses have been as fol- lows: John GilfiUan, 1873; Amos Michener, 1874; J. Nevin Pome- roy, 1875; William B. Bassett, 1876; P. U. B. Stroud, 1877; Thomas Boyd, 1878; A. G. Wilson, 1882-83; Philip D. Handwork, 1884; AND ITS PEOPLE. 929 Amos Michener, 1885-86; Thomas C. Youiif>-, 1887; A. C. Ferree, 1888-89; S. Cromleigh, 1890; T. J. Kennedy, 1891; William C. Mich- ener, 1892; T. J. KenuedY, 1893-95; S. Cromleigh, 1896; Amos Strickland, 1897-98. Secretaries — J. M. Eawlins, 1873-74; John M. Dean, 1875-76; John D. Wilson, 1877-78; John D. Wilson, 1882; J. F. Matlack, 1883; M. F. Hamill, 1884-85; E. H. Brodhead, 1886; W. 0. Michener, 1887-90; H. G. Book, 1891-93; M. F. Hamill, 1894-95; A. P. Eeid, 1896; M. F. Hamill, 1897; Maris C. Mullin, 1898. Treasurers — K. Agnew Futhey, 1873; Thomas Boyd, 1874-76; C. C. Owens, 1878; William B. Haslett, 1882; Samuel Jackson, 1883; A. J. Williams, 1884-85; J. V. Eice, 1886; A. G. Wilson, 1887; M. F. Hamill, 1888-93; A. P. Eeid, 1894-95; M. F. Hamill, 1896-98. The Parkesburg Water Company has its plant on the hills north of the town, and by means of wells and a wind engine pumps water into the mains, and thus supplies the inhabitants of the place with excellent water. The Parkesburg Electric Light Company was established in 1893, and at the present time has eighteen arc lights for street lighting and numerous incandescent lights in stores, churches and private residences. ■The borough erected a lock-up in 1885. The borough of Coatesville was incorporated by a decree of the court, August 5, 1867, and it Avas ordered that the electors should meet on the second Friday of March, each year, to elect borough officers, except for the year 1807, the election being that year held October 8, resulting in the choice of Abram Gibbons, Craig Eidg- way, Eichard Strode, William T. Hunt and Joseph Suydam, coun- cilmen, and William B. Morrison, burgess. Joseph L. Suydam was elected secretary and Abram Gibbous, treasurer. The burgesses since then have been as follows: George W. Price, Horace A. Beale, E. E. Smith, Joseph Doun, J. N. Woodward, J. T. Pierce, Moses Eambo, George G. Myer, N. H. Stone, T. H. Windle, John Speakman, and J. H. Duulap, present burgess. 930 CHESTER COUNTY Secretaries — Joseph L. Suj'dam, William E. Ash, H. D. Har- lan, Benjamin T. Lewis, H. 0. Wilson, Caleb Brown, B. F. Wicker- sham, Isaac Spackman, W. S. Harlan, and J. W. Wingard. Treasurers — Abram Gibbons, O. H. Branson, E. D. Baldwin, F. B. Speakman, W. S. Harlan, J. H. Van Ormer, and C. N. Speak- man. The council at the present time is as follows: C. P. Green- wood, president; J. W.' Doan, Joseph Graham, Albert Pawling, Eobert Yochum, Grier M. Hoskins and S. V. Hughes. Not long after tlie incorporation of the borough it became evi- dent that water-works were a necessity, and in 1871 the present system was introduced. The system is owned by the borough, and the capacity of the reservoir is 3,000,000 gallons. The original cost of the works was |80,000, and in 1897 money was borrowed to the amount of |23,000 for the purpose of increasing the supply of water. The reservoir was repaired, a new pump and engine in- stalled, and the system otherwise improved and repaired. The Coatesville Gas Company was organized June 28, 1871, with Dr. Charles Huston, president, and A. D. Harlan, secretary. On August 8, 1871, a permanent organization was effected by the election of Abram Gibbons, president; John L. Martin, secretary, and the following board of directors : Dr. Charles Huston, Kichard Strode, S. B. Worth, W. B. Mendenhall, and Washington Miller. The capital stock originally was |20,000, but on November 28, 1871, it was increased to |30,000, and on December 30, following, the plant was completed, the first gas being manufactured that day. There was manufactured nearly 2,000,000 feet the first year, the price being $3.50 per 1,000 cubic feet. February 6, 1877, the price was reduced to |3, and on June 5, 1884, the price was re- duced to |2.50, at which it remained until December 6, 1892. At this time the price was reduced to $1.70 per 1,000 feet for lighting purposes, and to |1 for heating purposes, and in 1893 a contract was made with the United Gas Improvement Company, of Phil- AND ITS PEOPLE. 931 adelphia, to furnish a new plant complete, by which the "Lowe system" of water gas would be introduced. Under this arrange- ment each gas light was equal to 20-candle power, whereas before each light was only 18-candle power. The Coatesyille Board of Trade was organized about March 25, 1890, with C. W. Ash, president; M. W. Pownall, secretary, and John W. Thompson, treasurer. In a very short time nearly every business man of the place had become a member of the organiza- tion, and it was thought that a new era of prosperity had dawned upon the town. The influence of this board was soon felt in vari- ous ways. The Western Union telegraph polesi were removed from Main Street, better train accommodations were secured from the Pennsylvania Eailroad Company, and sanitary measures received proper attention. A board of health was soon established, an agita- tion was begun for a better water supply, and various committees were appointed to look after the various interests of the place. Lewis B. Henson was elected president of the board January 12, 1891, and was later succeeded by William H. Gibbons, the lat- ter being succeeded by Hugh Kenworthy. The Young Men's Christian Association of Coatesville ^^as organized in the fall of 1891, with the following officers: Charles L. Huston, president; Lewis B. Henson and William H. Gibbona, vice-presidents; William H. Eidgway, secretary, and John W. Thompson, treasurer. A site on the south side of Main Street was purchased on which a building was erected, which cost nearly |30,- 000, is three storied high, the front being of Indiana limestone, and the building itself mainly of brick. To become a member of this association it is not necessary to be either a Christian or a church member, any man of good moral character being eligible to mem- bership. The fact that Coatesville has a public library is due to the late Mrs. Isabella Huston, who fitted up a building at her own expense for its use, and purchased many books for its shelves. The first 932 CHESTER COUNTY officers of the Library Association were as follows: Dr. Charles Huston, president; Abram Gibbons, treasurer, and John S. Hope, secretary. The first board of directors was as follows: Kev. G. G. Field, Mrs. Isabella Huston, Clara Huston, S. B. Worth, Kev. Dr. Roberts, Benjamin Miller, and Mrs. Morris, and Col. Evart was the first librarian. People of wealth and liberality became interested in the cause, and the enterprise was a success from the first. The Washington Fire Company of Coatesville was organized June 12, 1871, and it was incorporated August 17, 1871, the first meeting being held September 1 of that year. The borough council then purchased the old Kingsessing hose carriage, a hook and lad- der truck, gum-buckets, and 500 feet of leather hose, and pre- sented all to the new company. April 1, 1873, the company pur- chased the site of their present quarters at the corner of Chestnut Street and Third Avenue for $3,000, erected thereon a house worth $5,000, and moved into it November 15, 1873. In December, 1875, a Qapp & Jones steam fire engine, a hose carriage and 500 feet of rubber hose were purchased for f3,850 'by the borough, and pre- sented to the company, and the company is now one of the best equipped and most efficient of any in any inland town in the State. The Coatesville Electric Light Company was chartered March 28, 1892, with a capital of |25,000, and the borough entered into a contract with the new company tO' light the town with arc lights at a cost per annum of -$93.33 for each light, the contract to remain in force for five years. A substantial brick building was erected at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Eailroad Street, and on January 2, 1893, the town was redeemed from darkness by the electric light, for the first time. The incandescent sj'stem is in general use by business and private houses. The Coatesville Board of Health was organized in April, 1891, with Dr. E. V. Swing, president, and Dr. Ida Vriel, secretary, she being the first lady to serve on a board of health in the State. As a result of the labors of this board, Coatesville is one of the AND ITS PEOPLE. 933 liealthiest places in the State, as well as one of the most beautif al. The board holds meetings once each month, and is ever ready to take notice of any matter pertaining to the improvement of the sanitarj' condition of the corporation. The population of Coatesville in 1870 was 2,025; in 1880, 2,76(1; in 1890, 3,680, and at the present time (1898) is estimated at 5,000. The fraternal organizations of Coatesville are numerous and prosperous. Goddard Lodge, No. 383, F. & A. M., was chartered March 5, 18C7, and at the present time has a membership of about 100. Its meetings are held in Goddard Hall, on the Tuesday even- ing which occurs on or first after the full moon. Coatesville Lodge, No. 564, F. «& A. M., was constituted Oc- tober 22, 1886, and chartered with nineteen members. At present it has about 100 members and its career has been one_ of uninter- rupted success. Coatesville Koyal Arch Chapter, No. 267, was constituted De- cember 28, 1887, and its officers formally installed. The member- ship at the present time is about sixty. Centennial Commander}-, No. 55, Knights Templar, was con- stituted October 18, 1876, with nine charter members. The com- mandery has always been successful in its work, and is in a flourishing condition. Lilly of the Valley Lodge, No. 59, F. & A. M. (colored), was con- stituted in 1875, and has a membership of about thirty. It meets on tlie second and fourth Wednesday evenings of each month in Masonic Hall Building, on Coates Street. Star of Hope Lodge, No. 199, I. O. O. F., was established Au- gust 17, 1846, at Youngsburg. Being removed to Coatesville its place of meeting was for many years in West Coatesville, but in 1890 it sold its building and removed to the Opera House, where its meetings were held until April 1, 1892, when it moved into a new building, which had been erected for its use by its trustees, on the corner of Third Avenue and Main Street, and here it holds 934 CHESTER COUNTY meetings each week, on Saturday evenings, and pays to those in need $4 per week. Chosen Friends Encampment, No. 88, I. O. O. F., was insti- tuted April 9, 1849, and meets on Wednesday evening of eacli weelc. Huldah Lodge, No. 37, Daughters of Eebecca, was instituted September 27, 1892, with 76 charter members. It meets on the sec- ond and four-th Monday evenings of each inonth. Sober Eetreat Lodge, No. 2750, Grand United Order, was -js- tablished in Coatesville about 1885, is distinct from the indepen- dent order, is composed of colored people, and holds^ meetings on the first Wednesday and third Saturday of each month, in Samari- tan Hall, on Merchant Street The Household of Euth Lodge, No. 514, was organized by the wives and daughters of the members of Sober Eetreat Lodge, with twenty charter members, the organization being effected in 1888. Coatesville Castle, No. 94, Knights of the Golden Eagle, was instituted April 26, 1886, with twenty-six charter members. This is a semi-military order, and pays $4 per week benefits for dis- ability, $100 death benefit, and 175 benefit at the death of a mem- ber's wife. Wayne Lodge, No. 266, K. P., was instituted September 20, 1870, with eighteen charter members. It has now about 60 mem- bers. Charles Sumner Lodge, No. 18 (colored), was established June 14, 1890, with sixty-eight charter members. Uniformed -Eank, No. 16, is a branch of this order, and the Court of Calanthe, No. 8 (ladies), is attached to Charles Sumner Lodge. Onondago Tribe, No. 83, Improved Order of Eed Men, was orgajiized February 10, 1868, with fifteen charter members. Onondago Haymakers' Association, No. 83^, was instituted June 21, 1886, and holds its meetings on the last Monday of each month. AND ITS PEOPLE. 935 Uncas Chief tan's League was organized 20tli Sun, Sturgeon Moon, G. S. D., 398, and meets on the third Monday of each month. Coatesville Council, No. 421, Junior Order United American Mechanics, was organized July 1, 1891, and was instituted on the 11th of the same month, with sixty-three charter members. The council pays $5 weekly for sickness or disability, $250 in case of death, and $30 on the death of the wife of a member. White Star Council, No. 730, was instituted in November, 1891, with twenty charter members, and at the present time has about fifty members. This council pays |4 weekly benefits, and has the optional benefit fund of f250. Coatesville Lodge, No. 16, Independent Order of Good Temp- lars, was instituted July 27, 1889, and meets each Saturday even- ing in G. A. E. Hall, on Main Street. Washington Camp, No. 519, Patriotic Order Sons of America, was instituted August 5, 1890, and has now a membership of about fifty. This camp pays -fl weekly benefits in case of sickness or accident. St. Paul's Lodge, No. 19, Sons and Daughters of Samaria (col- ored), is a beneficial and charitable organization, and has been in existence since about 1880. It owns Samaritan Hall, on Merchant Street, in which several other organizations of colored people hold their meetings. Brandywine Post, G. A. II., No. 54, was organized June 20, 1878, with thirteen charter members. This post meets every Fri- day evening. Brandywine W. 11. C, No. 149, is an auxiliary to the above, and was organized September 4, 1891, with thirty-six charter members. Daniel C. Reed Post, No. 599, G. A. R., was organized October 20, 1890, with sixteen members. It is composed of colored members, Schuylkill Township lies in the northeastern part of the county on the Schuylkill Eiver, east of Charlestown, from which it was taken in 1826. Among the early settlers of this township were 936 CHESTER COUNTY the families of Anderson, Buxzard, Boyer, Buckwalter, Bodley, Bartholomew, Coates, Coxe, Davis, Dehaven, Each, Fussell, Grif- fith, James, Kennedy, Longstreth, Maris, Miller, Moore, Koberts, Pennypacker, Eapp, Eobinson, Eossiter, Starr, Steward, Schofield, Wagoner, and T\''ersler. Moore Hall in this township, more than a hundred years ago, one of the most aristocratic mansions in the county. The borough of Pho^ixville was taken from the east part of Schuylkill Township, and incorporated by a decree of the court March 6, 1849. The first election for borough officers way held April 13, following, it being a contest between those favorable to and those opposed to incorporation. The vote was as follows: For burgess, Isaac A. Pennypacker, 225; Samuel A. Whitaker, 156; for the councilmen that were elected: George Walters, 361; John Vanderslice, 271; Major MacVeagh, 256; William King, 248; Francis Bonner, 229, and John Mullen, 214. Following are the names of tlie Burgesses of Phoenixville since its incorporation: Isaac A. Pennypacker, 1849, 1851 and 1853; Joseph B. McAllister, 1850; N. M. Ellis, 1852 and 1856; John Mor- gan, 1854; Isaac Z. Coffman, 1855; John Griffen, 1857; John E. Dobson, 1858; Isaac Phillips, 1859 and 1860, and Joseph Dobson to fill out the unexpired term of Isaac Phillips, deceased; Benjamin Hallman, 1861, 1865 and 1866; Levi Oberholtzer, 1862 and 1863; Harman Yerkes, 1864; Isathan Wagoner, 1867; Aaron B. Thom- son, 1868; Jacob Baugh, 1869; Jacob B. Morgan, 1870, 1871, 1872 and 1873; Levi B. Kaler, 1874; J. B. Morgan, 1875; Benjamin G. Essick, 1876-77; N. B. Broomall, 1878-79; B. G. Essick, 1880; Frank L. Kreamer, 1881; Levi Oberholtzer, 1882; P. G. Carey, 1883; Z. S. Colehouer, 1884; N. M. Ellis, 1885; N. B. Broomall, 1886; N. C. Van- derslice, 1887; Daniel F. Moore, 1888; John Denithorne, 1889; S. Eobert March, 1890-92; ^y. H. Mosteller, 1893; John Denithorne, 1894-96; William H. Bitting, 1897-98. Clerks of the Council— Jacob B. Morgan, 1849-1851; O. E. AND ITS PEOPLE. 937 Strickland, part of 1852; J. B. Morgan, 18.j2-1854; P. G. Carey, 1855-56; David Bonner, 1857-58; P. G. Carey, 1859-62; Benjamin Hallman, 1863-64; P. G. Carey, 1865-72; Josiah P. Eaclius, 1873-98. Treasurers— Samuel Moses, 1849-77; Horace Lloyd, 1878-98. The present council of Plio3nixville is as follows: E. J. Hen- derson, J. K. Eyrich, E. L. Buckwalter, A. Y. Coffman, N. J. Wait- neight, W. J. Hodge, E. J. McGettigan, M. J. O'Donnell, Noali Buck, S. E. Fitzgerald, C. G. Barth, William LaPorte. The president of the council is E. L. Buckwalter, and the clerk, Josiah P. Eachus. The Phoenisville Board of Health is as follows: M. G. Lippert, president; J. G. Shoemaker, M. D., vice-president; I. E. Miller, secretary; Joseph Moore, healtli officer; E. M. Massinger, V. S., milk inspector; Jesse Hall, Eugene McCabe, James O'Neill. In 1859 an amendment to the charter of the borough was ob- tained from the Legislature, providing for a council of nine per- sons, three to be elected each year to serve three years, and au- thorizing the burgess and town council to borrow |10,000 for the erection of a town-hall and market-house. Previous to the secur- ing of this amendment the burgess had not only presided over the meetings of the council, but he had also been an active partic- ipant in borough legislation, and the question then arose as to whether his authority had been superseded by the amendment, as was intended. Thisi construction was put upon the amend- ment, and Isaac Phillips, who was burgess during 1859 and a part of 1860, quietly acquiesed in this construction; but Benjamin Hall- man, elected in 1861, insisted on his right to preside, which was re- fused, and a motion to enter his objection to the proceedings of the council was voted, down, by a vote of 4 to 5. The solicitor of the borough coincided in opinion with Burgess Hallman, and as soon as this was ascertained some of the active members of the council hastened to Harrisburg, and almost immediately returned with an act of Assembly so amending the charter that the burgess was de- 938 CHESTER COUNTY prived of all legislative power and made a mere executive officer. Since that time the burgess has not presided over the council. In 1861 the council purchased a lot of ground on the east side of Main Street, beloAv Bridge Street, upon which they erected a fine brick market-house, which has since been a great convenience to the people of the place. In J 872 arrangements were perfected to supply the town with water. The construction of water-works in Phoenixville was com- menced in 1872, and completed in 1873. Water is obtained from the Schuylkill Kiver to the north of the borough and just above the tunnel bridge. It is pumped into a reservoir located about 500 feet from the pumping station, and elevated 185 feet above the leA^el of the river. The reservoir has a capacity of 2,600,000 gal- lons, and from this reservoir it is piped through the town. The pressure is from 60 to 70 pounds, and almost every resident of the borough takes water from the system, those that do not paying a protection tax. The minimum water rate is f6 per year, and it may, according to circumstances, run up to $50 per year. There are two Worthington pumps, one having a capacity of 1,000,000 gallons, the other of 1,500,000 gallons per day, and the cost of the system as it stands today was |225,000. B. H. Willauer is water superintendent. The Phoenix Military Band was organized June 5, 1847, in the home of W. W. Waitneigh, on Bridge Street, Phoenixville. There were at first seventeen members, all of whom are now dead except Philomen Eiehards, of Germantown, who is now over eighty years of age. The first leader of this band was Samuel T. Reeves, and the first set of instruments which were manufactured in New Hampshire cost !l?500. One of those instruments is still in existence, but is out of date. The band has had in all six sets of in- straments, the aggregate cost has been |5,500. Since Samuel T. Reeves, the leaders of this band have been Lawrence S. Fox, Robert B. Williamson, John G. Moses, from 1855 AND ITS PEOPLE. 939 to 1878, and L. B. Vanderslice, nephew of Mr. Moses. Mr. Vander- slice having been elected April 29, 1876. The professional teach- ers of the band have been James P. Giffen, Philip Neuber, and John P. Eowbothani. This' organization has had tliree band wagons, the present one having been purchased in 1868, costing |1,100, and being now as good as when new. The band has had three names^ — first the Militai^ Brass Band of Phoenixville; sec- ond, the Phoenix Brass Band, and third, the Phoenix Military Band, being organized under this name July 27, 1867, and incorporated August 9, 1880. It has held the position since its organization of the best band in Chester County, and most of the time it has com- pared favorably with the leading bands in the State. The Phoenixville Hospital was incorporated June 12, 1898, as the Stratford Castle Hospital, and re-chartered May 25, 1805, as the Phoenixville Hospital. The first year's work under its present name, showed 433 cases treated, 317 of which were sur- gical and 116 medical. The second year's work ending in June, 1897, showed 485 surgical cases and 245 medical, a total of 730, and a total for the two years of 1,163. Tlie dispensary work of the hospital from the first grew rapidly, and was of great benefit to the sick and afflicted who were without the necessary means to purchase needed remedies or to employ a physician. The building occupied by this valuable institution stands near the Gay Street Viaduct and French Greek, but the work so rapidly increases that a new building is essential to its success, and a plot of ground on Nutts Avenue, in the southern part of the borougli, was purchased about the beginning of 1897, on which the neces- sary buildings will be erected as soon as the funds can be secured. A building committee was appointed consisting of Samuel Wynne, Harry Sloyer, Paul S. Eeeves, D. F. Moore, Clarence Keely, and L. B. Kaler, and this excellent committee will secure the erection of buildings as soon as practicable. The officers of the hospital are Levi B. Kaler, president; C. M. Vanderslice, vice-president; 940 CHESTER COUNTY Samuel Wynne, secretary, and Harry Sloyer, treasurer. Mrs- Alice Evans, matron; Miss Katherine N. Miller, chief nurse; Thomas Leidy Ehoads, chief surgeon; and Myron W. Snell, M. D., resident physician. The expense of conducting the hospital for the year ending June 1, 1898, was |3,209.25. For the year ending June 1, 1898, the number of patients treated was 942, making a total since the opening pf thte hospital, December 16, 1893, 2,203. The number of deaths occuring in the hospital has been 21. Plans for the new building reached Phoenixville in August, 1898. It is to be a three-story stone building above a basement, and is ex- pected to cost 115,000. The Phoenixville Park is one of the beauty spots of the county. It is situated on South Main Street, and occupies a full square of ground. It was donated to the city about 1874, and was opened to the public in July, 1878, with a grand demonstration of bonfires, music, and speeches. It will long re- main an evidence of the generosity of its donor, David Reeves, of Avhom there is a fine bronze monument within its limits. The secret societies of Phoenixville are as follows: Phcienix Lodge, No. 75. F. &. A. M., organized March 12, 1798, at Pughtown. Phcenix Chapter, Xo. 198, E. A. M., organized September 13, 1861, and holds its meetings every Saturday next after the full moon. Phoenix Lodge, No. 212, I. O. O. F., organized January 20, 1847, and meets every Wednesday at Temperance Hall. Adelaide Lodge of Kebekahs, I. O. O. F., which meets in the postofiice building, on the third and fifth Tuesdays of the month. Wayne Council No. 27, Sr., O. U. A. M., which meets every Wednesday evening at Temperance Hall. Wayne Council, No. 46, Jr., O. U. A. M., which meets every Friday evening at Temperance Hall. Lieut. Josiah White Post, No. 45, G. A. R., which meets every Friday evening in Caswell & Moore's building. AND ITS PEOPLE. 941 Andrew G. Curtin Camp, No. 100, Sons of Veterans, meets every Monday evening in Caswell & Moore's building. Division No. 1, A. O. H., meets on tlie second Sunday of each montli at Hibemia Hall. The German Beneficial Society, No. 1, meets Thursday even- ings after pay-day in the postofflce building. Jerusalem Commandery, No. 15, K. T., meets at Masonic Hall on the Tuesday on or before the full moon. Manarvon Council, No. 1,010, Eoyal Arcanum, meets in the postoffice building on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Palestine Council, No. 8, E. & S. M., meets ever\^ Tuesday even- ing on or before the full moon, in. Masonic Hall. Phoenix Council, No. 164, P. of L., meets each Wednesday evening in the postoffice building. Sanakac Lodge, No. 08, K. of P., meets every Monday evening at Temperance Hall. Stratford Castle, No. 67, K. G. E., meets every Monday even- ing in the Whitaker building. Washington Castle, No. 45, K. G. E., meets every Mondaj evening in the Postofflce building. Spring City, formerly Springville, is on the Schuylkill River, and was taken from the east part of East Vincent Township, in 1867, being then incorporated by a decree of the court. The name became Spring City in 1872, in order that the name of the village and the postoffice might be the same. The village is located op- posite Eoyer's Ford, on the Eeading Railroad. The Phcenixville Gas Light & Fuel Company was a corporation chartered by letters patent issued by the governor of Pennsylvania on the 18th day of November, A. D., 1873. Prof. S. C. Lowe, now of Los Angeles, California, was the principal incorporator of the company, and it was through his energy and largely by his capi- tal that the first works were built in the borough of Phcenixville. 942 CHESTER COUNTY Prof. Lowe was the inventor of what is known as the water-gas process of making gas, and these works were built by him for the purpose of putting his invention into practice. Phoenixville, there- fore, has the honor of having the first water-gas works erected in the United States. The old works were built on Prospect Street, east of Main Street in the borough of Phoenixville, and were very small and crude. Among the incorporators were J. P. Morgan, cashier of the National Bank of Phoenixville, Ellis Beeves, of the firm of Eeeves & Starkey, and John Griffen, superintendent of the Phoenix Iron Company, all of whom are deceased. The United Gas Improvement Company purchased all the pat- ents of Prof. Lowe, and upon these patents and improvements thereon all the water-gas works were operated in the United States, as well as in foreign countries. In 1887 the works Avere sold at the suit of the bondholders to the trustee named in a mortgage, and were purchased by a syn- dicate of bondholders, who reorganized the company and procured from the State a charter for the new company, under the name and title of the Phoenix Gas Light & Fuel Company. This charter is dated March 15, A. D., 1888. The first presi- dent of the new company was George E. Griffen, and the first secretary was Henry E. Griffen. The new company continued to operate the old works until the year 1895, when they purchased a tract of ground along the Schuylkill Eiver, abutting on the Phila- delphia & Eeading Eailroad, where they erected new and improved works, at a cost of |30,000. The works were erected under contract with the Western Gas & Improyement Company of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the company relaid a large number of the old mains, and have materially increased their business by the change. The annual output of gas from the present works is about seven million cubic feet. '^e.3^o ig tt a a^aj^^aaaiaK.^ .