OLD MARKET STREET 
 
 CHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Historic Incidents That Have Taken Place Within 
 or are Associated With This Highway 
 
 By HENRY GRAHAM ASHMEAD 
 
 Reprinted from the Chester Times of May 4, 11, 18, 25, and 
 
 June 1, 1895, to Which Some Additional Incidents 
 
 Have Been Inserted 
 
 BULLETIN OF THE 
 
 DELAWARE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
 
 AUGUST, 1920 
 
 Chester, Pa. : 
 
 Press of Chester Times 
 
 1920 
 
Fl57 
 
OLD M ARKET STREET 
 
 Historic Incidents That Have Taken Place Within 
 or Are Associated With this Ancient Highway 
 
 By HENRY GRAHAM ASHMEAD 
 
 [Reprinted from the Chester Times of May 4, 11, 18, 25 and June 1, 
 1895 to which some additional incidents have been inserted.] 
 
 I invite tlie reader to accompany me 
 in a ramble along Market street from 
 the intersection of that thoroughfare 
 with Edgmont avenue to the Delaware 
 river, and as we proceed I will attempt 
 to relate the annals of the ancient 
 highway, recalling some of the inci- 
 dents that enter into the history of 
 Market street. In doing this I will not 
 repeat the stories of old buildings that 
 stood or now stand along it, but shall 
 strive to present a few of the notice- 
 able occurrences that have taken 
 place in the highway itself, and the 
 memories of which have not been 
 wholly obliterated in the lapse of 
 years. 
 
 The plan of Chester, as the residents 
 of the old town of half a century ago 
 remember it, was not adopted until 
 1700. Prior to that date, Edgmont 
 avenue, from Fi'ont street, had been 
 merely natural extension, following in 
 its development the course of Chester 
 creek, but after the establishment and 
 rapid growth of Philadelphia, it was 
 necessary to unite the settled parts of 
 Chester, with the main road leading 
 to the former city. The sharp angle 
 existing in Edgmont avenue above 
 Third street today, is the result of 
 that change. The Queen's Highway, 
 as we now know it in Fifth street 
 and Morton avenue, was not laid out 
 until 1706. Previous to that date the 
 road to the Quaker City was Twenty- 
 fourth street, which crossed Chester 
 creek at the ford, near the present 
 covered bridge at Upland, and Ridley 
 creek at Irving's mills, where in early 
 days the water \yas shallow. 
 
 The Darby Highway 
 
 Many of the people were dissatis- 
 fied with the present highway to Dar- 
 by when first projected, and it was 
 charged that Jasper Yeates, one of the 
 Commissioners appointed to lay out 
 the road, took it the present course 
 that it might benefit his own and his 
 father-in-law — Sandeland's — ground. 
 •'God and nature," they declared, "in- 
 tended the road to cross directly 
 across the creek, but the devil and 
 Jasper Yeates took it where it was lo- 
 cated." Second street, or Filbert, as 
 it was known in early times, was laid 
 out by David Lloyd in 1698, a thirty- 
 eight feet wide street extending from 
 the creek to the plantation at Welsh 
 streetfl recently known as the Porter 
 estate, which he had purchased of 
 Widow Laerson nine years before. 
 These highways — Edgmont avenue to 
 a short distance north of Third, and 
 Second street, were in existence when 
 Sandeland made the plan, and he was 
 compelled to recognize them on the 
 draft he submitted to William Penn on 
 November 19, 1700. In the petition ac- 
 companying he stated that he was 
 "possessed of a certain spot of land 
 lying in the sd county of Chester * * * 
 verie fitt and naturally commodious 
 for a town, and to that end" he had 
 "lately caused ye sd spot of land to be 
 divided and laid out into lotts, streets 
 and market" a copy of which he pro- 
 duced. The following day Penn gave 
 his approval of the draft, and Chester, 
 from the river to Seventh street and 
 from Edgmont avenue to Welsh street, 
 conforms in substance today to the 
 
plan that the Sandelaiul IVjiily pre- 
 pared, for excepting a small i)art, all 
 the land from the creek to Welsh 
 street was at that time the property 
 of that family. 
 
 A Review From the Past 
 
 We all recall the weird German bal- 
 lad by VonSedlitz, in which he de- 
 scribed how at the twelfth hour by the 
 night a ghostly drummer with his 
 drum went through the world beating 
 the reveille, summoning all the sol- 
 diers, who, slumbering in the sands 
 of Egypt, the snowdrifts of Russia, or 
 the sunny plains of Italy and Spain, 
 as well as in other parts of Europe, 
 had fallen victims to the ambition of 
 Napoleon. Last of all, when the dark 
 legions of ghosts had gathered, the 
 dim squadrons had mounted their 
 phantom horses and the long lines of 
 bayonets had moved into form — miles 
 after mies, there came the stately 
 horseman in the gray coat and the 
 cocked hat, passing between the mur- 
 muring ranks just as the moon beamed 
 for a moment and showed the flesh- 
 less arms holding the muskets that 
 rattled at his approach. Such a re- 
 view, drawn from the shadowy past. 
 «lo I summon for you as we stand near 
 the City Hall, now, as it has been for 
 more than two centuries, the heart of 
 Chester. * 
 
 It was early in the morning of Wed- 
 nesday. August 11, 1732, that Thomas 
 Penn, then a man of thirty, the son of 
 William, landed at Chester, and as 
 the Council and Assembly were in 
 session at Philadelphia, a messenger 
 was dispatched to that city to an- 
 
 * This idea is not that of the poet 
 only. Many of my readers will re- 
 call that on the 18th of December, 
 1840, the body of the greatest soldier 
 in all recorded history, amid unusual 
 funeral splendor, was carried through 
 Paris from the Place de la Concorde, 
 thp Arc de Triumphe to the Church 
 of" the Invalides. Shortly thereafter 
 Frederick Soulise published his one- 
 time noted "A Review of the Dead," 
 in which he pictured the apparition 
 of Napoleon, wrapped in the blue man- 
 tle in which he slept the night after the 
 battle of Marengo, with that of the 
 King of Rome at his side, standing on 
 the arch that commemorates his con- 
 spicious victories and pointing out to 
 his son the different divisions of the 
 spectral army, that from midnight to 
 dawn, filed along in military grandure 
 the Champ Elysies, in honor of their 
 great dead commander. See also the 
 masterpiece of Raffet "Le Revue Noc- 
 turne." 
 
 nounce his arrival. The Secretary of 
 Council immediately came to Chester, 
 bearing the congratulations of the au- 
 Thorities and "to acquaint him" — Penn 
 — "that tomorrow they would in per- 
 son pay their respects to him." The 
 next day, Deputy Governor Patrick 
 (iordon and the members of his Coun- 
 cil, accompanied by a large number of 
 gentlemen, came to Chester, where 
 they "waited on the Honorable Pro- 
 prietary and paid him their compli- 
 ments." 
 
 A Momentous Event 
 
 "After dinner the Proprietary and 
 his company, now very numerous, sett 
 out for Philadelphia." All the family 
 of Penn at this time had renounced 
 membership in the Society of Friends. 
 It was a momentous event for the lit- 
 tle hamlet when Thomas Penn, in the 
 lull maturity of his manhood, attired, 
 in the height of the London fashion, 
 at the side of the Deputy Governor, 
 who sat his horse like a veteran troop- 
 er as he was, accompanied by a caval- 
 cade of severel hundred horsemen, the 
 greater number dressed in sober drab, 
 rode up High street, as Market was 
 then called, and thence by the Queen's 
 Highway — Fifth street — proceeded to 
 Philadelphia. At the latter place he 
 was compelled to endure a tedious ad- 
 dress from Speakei- Hamilton. A 
 banquet was given him by the civic 
 authorities and a pow-wow by a party 
 of chiefs of the Five Nations, who 
 chanced to be on a visit to the city. 
 Later the fire engines squirted for 
 him and many other demonstrations 
 were made which show that exalted 
 public position a century and a half 
 ago brought with it those hours of ag- 
 onizing afflictions that attend it to- 
 day. Samuel Reimer, the eccentric 
 editor of the Pennsylvania Gazette, in 
 one of a series of letters in his paper 
 over the signature of "The Caribbean,' 
 laughed at Thomas Penn as a youth 
 who was frightened at the stalwart 
 reception accorded him. Reimer was 
 an elderly man, and like the Septua- 
 genarian of today, looked upon anyone 
 ten years his junior 'as only a boy.' 
 
 A little more than a year thereafter 
 ►Tohn Penn, the eldest son of William 
 by his secpnd marriage and known as 
 "The American," because of his birth 
 in Philadelphia, January 29, 1700 — the 
 <Mily child of Penn born in the new 
 world — on Thursday, September 20, 
 1733, with his brother-in-law, Thomas 
 Frame and his wife, formerly Margaret 
 Penn, together with their children, 
 reached Chester, where they were re- 
 ceived by Thomas Penn, who. with a 
 number of gentlemen came from Phil- 
 
 Gift 
 
 ^QJ H 020 
 
adelphia to greet the eldest living son 
 of the founder. That night was passed 
 here and the next morning the party 
 rode up Market and out Fifth street 
 to the capital city, where they were 
 received with manifestations of popu- 
 lar rejoicing very similar to those 
 which had gi-eeted Thomas Penn the 
 year before. At the banquet on this 
 occasion the health of the King and 
 that of others in authority was so re- 
 peatedly drunk that, it is believed by 
 many historians, the reports thereof 
 which got into geneial ciiculation, in- 
 fluenced Michael Walfare, one of the 
 hermits of Conestoga, to go to Phila- 
 delphia where, in his linen pilgrim 
 garb, with his tall staff and venerable 
 beard, he stood in the market place of 
 that cTty and proclaimed the judg- 
 ments of an offended Deity against 
 the iniquitous town. 
 
 Franklin's Visit 
 
 A greater man tlian any of these 
 now appears through the mist of 
 years. On November 7, 1764, Benjamin 
 Franklin rode down Market street, 
 then so-called, attended by a caval- 
 cade of more than three hundred 
 horsemen, who had accompanied him 
 from Philadelphia that they might 
 give him "God's speed" when he em- 
 barked on his second voyage to Eur- 
 ope as Commissioner to the Court of 
 St. James, representing there the 
 provinces of Pennsylvania and Massa- 
 chusetts. Franklin, by his outspoken 
 denunciation of the slaughter of the ' 
 friendly Indians by the "Paxtang 
 boys," had aroused an opposition that 
 compassed -his defeat as a member of 
 the Assembly, but that body shortly 
 afterwards appointed him to present 
 the petition of Pennsylvania to the 
 King of England, and his native prov- 
 ince clothed him with similar duties. 
 At that time he was the most con- 
 si)icuous man in all the Colonies, and 
 his lame had preceded him to the old 
 world. Richardson's wharl', at the foot 
 of Market street, then only recently 
 built, was crowded with people, for 
 the residents of the town and the 
 neighborhood had gathered there to 
 catch a sight of "Poor Richard," who 
 it was known would take the vessel 
 at Chester. As the boat pushed off, 
 Franklin stood In the stem- sheets, 
 while the assembled populace burst in- 
 to cheers which continued until he had 
 reached and boarded the ship that, 
 with anchor atrip, lay in midstream. 
 
 The struggle between the Colonies 
 and the mother country had finally 
 culminated in an aiipeal to arms, and 
 in that "time that tried men's souls" 
 
 the legular tramp of soldiers was no 
 unusual sound in the streets of "Old 
 Chestei-," for even at that early day 
 the town was frequently so called, in 
 affection by some, in derision by oth- 
 ers. Early in February, 1776, Wayne, 
 the Colonel of the Fourth Battalion 
 of the Pennsylvania Line, mustered 
 his command at Chester, and on the 
 17th of that month reported that 560 
 officers and men weie present, al- 
 though more than three weeks prior 
 to that datjj he had ordered the com- 
 I)anies commanded by Captains Rob- 
 inson, Church and Lacey to New 
 Yoi-k, where they had reiiorted. The 
 schooling of raw recruits on Market 
 ."^treet was a daily sight to the people, 
 until old and young alike had grown 
 familiar with the middle-sized, ruddy- 
 complexioned, i)iercing-eyed man of 
 commanding carriage, who as "Mad 
 Anthony." was destined to xnake an 
 imperishable record in the history of 
 our country. Time and again Ches- 
 ter was the designated encampment 
 for the troops levied for the Continen- 
 tal service, and at such i)eriods the 
 drilling of the men at all hours of the 
 day were oi-dinary incidents in the 
 story of the street. 
 
 Warlike Scenes 
 
 It was the evening of August 24, 1777, 
 a sultry Sabbath day, that the Amer- 
 ican Army, sixteen thousand strong, 
 in its southward movement to meet 
 Sir William Howe, encamped in and 
 around Chester, and the hillsicles were 
 ^illuminated with the camp fires. Wash- 
 ington established his headquarters at 
 the "Pennsylvania Arms" t;ivern. now 
 the Washington House, its peculiar 
 situation immediately opposite the 
 Court House, rendering it a desirable 
 location for a commanding olficer. but 
 Lafayette, then a young man not 
 quite tweiiTy years of age, became the 
 guest of Caleb Coupland, at the pi-es- 
 ent Stacy House, now occupied by Mrs. 
 C. C. Eyre, on Market below Fourth 
 street. Eighteen days thereafter, on 
 Tuesday. Sei)tember 11. 1777. the same 
 army, which hjid suffered defeat that 
 day at Brandy wine, from eve to long 
 after midnight. straggled into the 
 town and encamped in the neighbor- 
 hood. It was no inspiring sight as 
 these disordered, ill-equipped, dust- 
 covered and powder-stained m.en, 
 many wearing dirty bandages conceal- 
 ing their hastily-dressed wounds, 
 tramped wearily up Market street and 
 out the Darby road as far as Leiper- 
 ville, but despite their reverses they 
 still carried on their bayonet points the 
 destinies of a nation. 
 
A more glittering scene now rises 
 froril the past. It was late in the 
 morning of Tuesday. November 18, 
 1777, that Lord Cornwallis, in com- 
 mand of nearly 3,000 men, reached 
 Chester, having left Philadelphia, 
 crossing the Schuylkill at the Middle 
 ferry about noon of the preceding day. 
 That night — Monday — the British 
 troops encamped a mile or so this side 
 of Darby, and their marauding parties 
 had plundered the inhabitants in the 
 neighborhood. It was a spectacle such 
 as the people of Chester never saw be- 
 fore, these well-fed, well-equipped and 
 admirably disciplined troops, for the 
 detachment was composed of the flow- 
 er of the English army, composing the 
 5th, 15th, 17th, 33rd and 56th Regi- 
 ments, as well as a battalion of Hes- 
 sians and the Light Infantry, together 
 »vith twelve pieces of artillery, several 
 howitzers and a train of baggage wag- 
 ons. The sugar-loaf hats, long white 
 leggings, carefully pipeclayed, the 
 scarlet coats of the grenadiers, faced 
 with white, which Hogarth's celebrat- 
 ed picture, "The March to Finchley," 
 has made so familiar to us all; the 
 Hessians, who "wore their beards on 
 their upper lips," at a time when all 
 the rest of the civilized world w^ere 
 closely shaven, would have attracted 
 attention anywhere and no wonder 
 was it that most of the people of the 
 town gathered on the sidewalks and 
 gazed with admiration and apprehen- 
 sion as the soldiers to the ruffle of 
 drums, with Lord Cornwallis at their 
 head, swung round the corner of the 
 Queen's Highway into Market street. 
 The able commander with his staff 
 drew reins at the "Pennsylvania 
 Arms," and he was the observed of all 
 observers. His lordship, then in his 
 thirty-ninth year, was in person short 
 and thick-set, his prematurely gray 
 hair, unpowdered, was worn in a 
 queue, his features regular, but an 
 affection of his left eye, which caused 
 it to blink incessantly, detracted much 
 from his appearance. He was exceed- 
 ingly nervous and his habit of raising 
 his hand to his head and changing 
 the position of his hat every few min- 
 utes when in thought, was very no- 
 ticeable that day. and the men knew 
 that "Old Corncob," as his soldiers in 
 the southern campaign afterwards 
 termed him, had serious business in 
 contemplation. Major Campbell, hand- 
 some "Mad Archy," of the staff, as he 
 stood by the side of his horse that 
 day in Chester, was in excellent hu- 
 mor, as he always was when battle 
 was in the air. 
 
 Archy Campbell's Romance 
 Strange how slight an incident in 
 the life of an individual may result 
 in dispelling the oblivion with which 
 time generally enshrouds the memory 
 of the dead. In Archy Campbell we 
 are confronted by one of these pecul- 
 iar cases. The story shows three years 
 thereafter. "Mad Archy" compelled 
 Rev. Edward Ellington, by a threat in 
 event of refusal to shoot the clergy- 
 man, the lady and himself, to perform 
 the ceremony of marriage whereby the 
 lovely Paulina Philips, of Charleston, 
 wUhout prior engagement, became his 
 wife, is one of the most romantic inci- 
 dents that cluster about the history 
 of the little English church on Goose 
 creek. South Carolina. It has furnished 
 William Gilmore Simms with material 
 for a chapter in his "Katharine Wal- 
 ton," and has imparted interest to in- 
 numerable magazine and newspaper 
 articles. While the fellow-members of 
 his Lordship's staff are forgotten, 
 Archy's marriage more than his death 
 in battle six months thereafter, has 
 kept his memory green. 
 
 The day was chilly, and while the 
 arrangements for the embarkation 
 were being perfected, that the men 
 might be removed from the tempta- 
 tion offered by the public houses, the 
 main body of the troops were with- 
 drawn to "Gallow's Hill," at the in- 
 tersection of Edgmont and Providence 
 Great Roads, that being elevated 
 ground affording a full view of the 
 Queen's Highway to Philadelphia, and 
 commanding the approaches to the 
 town. Over eighty English men of 
 war and transports lay abreast of 
 Chester, and the boats from these were 
 employed to carry the soldiers to the 
 Jersey shore. The surface of the Del- 
 aware was alive with crafts going to 
 and returning from the other side of 
 the river. The horses, artillery and 
 liaggage wagons were placed on floats, 
 which were towed by the launches of 
 the ships. A strict disciplinarian, Lord 
 Cornwallis, of all officers in the Eng- 
 lish army, was the best man to be in 
 charge of such an enterprise. So ad- 
 mirable were his arrangements that 
 the soldiers, who the day before in 
 solid column had taken an hour and 
 a half by actual timing to cross the 
 bridge at Darby, were all embarked 
 before sunset. The people of the lit- 
 tle hamlet breathed freer when they 
 had gone, for the times were hard and 
 the country had been swept by forag- 
 ing parties from both armies until pro- 
 visions were difficult to be had. Ma- 
 jor John Clark, who had been detailed 
 from General Greene's staff to keep 
 
Washington informed of the move- 
 ments of the enemy, the day after 
 Cornwallis had crossed over to Bil- 
 lingsport and captured the works 
 there, in a letter written from the 
 "Plow and Harrow" tavern, then kept 
 by Mrs. Withy, which stood where the 
 Hotel Cambridge is now, told the 
 American commander that "that the 
 only article of general food among the 
 people was potatoes," and they sold at 
 16 shillings a bushel, while beef, worth 
 7 shillings, 6 pence a pound, was difR- 
 cult to be had even at that price. 
 
 Jones, the Tory 
 
 Five days before Cornwallis passed 
 through Chester, the aufhorities of 
 Pennsylvania had published a hand 
 bill offering a reward for the arrest of 
 John James, a noted Tory. These 
 bills were posted in conspicuous places 
 throughout Chester county, for he was 
 a resident of the old bailiwick. An 
 aged gentleman who died nearly twen- 
 ty years ago related this instance to 
 me. His father, then hardly out of his 
 minority, one day noticed a man read- 
 ing one of these bills which had been 
 tacked on a tree near the corner of 
 Fourth and Market streets, wherein 
 James' was officially described as about 
 35 years of age, 5 feet 10 inches in 
 height, slenderly made, with a stoop 
 in his walk, leaning sidewise, and his 
 shoulders falling greatly. His eyes, it 
 stated, were dark, and hi.s hair, for he 
 wore no wig, was of a dark hue. He 
 usually dressed in drab, his coat in 
 the "strictest Quaker fashion being 
 lengthy in the skirts and without pock- 
 ets," while his hat was exceedingly 
 plain. The man who read the bill, my 
 informant's father said, was so very 
 like the person whose arrest the State 
 was so anxious to make that he never 
 doubted but that John James that 
 dav in Chester had seen the portrait- 
 ure of himself as officially presented 
 by the Supreme Executive Council. 
 James, however, eluded the authori- 
 ties. 
 
 "Sandy Flash" in Chester 
 
 It was earlv Sunday morning, Aug- 
 ust 22, 1778. that James Fitzpatrick, 
 the noted outlaw, who, as "Sandy 
 Flash," is one of the principal charac- 
 ters in Bayard Taylor's "Story of Ken- 
 nett," a prisoner under guard, was 
 brought to Chester, and at the jail door, 
 heavily manacled as he was, he 
 stretched out his hand and clasped that 
 of a youth of 19, who was in the crowd 
 about him. saying, "How are you,' 
 brother chip?" The incident brought 
 the youth under suspicion and in ex- 
 planation he stated that he. James 
 
 Shillingford. was an apprentice to a 
 blacksmith whose shop was near the 
 Fox Chase Tavern, in Newtown, on 
 the West Chester road. In the early 
 spring of that year he had gone to the 
 forgo and had started the fire prepara- 
 tory to the appearance of the master 
 smith. While thus employed, a hand- 
 some ;ithlotic young man, with sandy 
 hair and ruddy complexion, astride of 
 a blooded animal, rode up to the shop 
 and said: 
 
 "My horse has cast a shoe, do you 
 think you can put one on?" 
 
 "I tiiink I can," was the answer. 
 
 "Well. I'll let you try," said the 
 stranger, dismounting. 
 
 The apprentice, much pleased at the 
 opportunity to try his skill, took up 
 the horse's foot and began trimming 
 the hoof, when the stranger re- 
 marked : 
 
 "Give me your apron and you blow 
 the bellows while I try my hand .iust to 
 see what sort of a job I could do." 
 
 The youth protested that it was a 
 dangerous thing to drive a nail in a 
 horse's hoof, but the man insisted, de- 
 claring that he would assume all re- 
 sponsibilities on that sgore. The horse 
 was shod and the apprentice saw that 
 the stranger was an expert smith, and 
 as the latter thi-ew aside the apron 
 and resumed his coat the youth no- 
 ticed he was well armed and mentioned 
 it. 
 
 "l?t's dangerous traveling these 
 roads alone," replied the stranger. 
 "They tell me there is a Captain Fitz 
 who frequents the neighborhood and 
 the people are much afraid of him. 
 Have you ever seen him?" 
 
 "No." was the answer, "but I've oft- 
 en heard him described." 
 
 "Do I answer the description of Fitz- 
 patrick?" 
 
 "I don't know that you do," was 
 the cautious response. 
 
 The man mounted and threw a coin 
 to the apiirentice. saying: "Pay your 
 master for the shoe, and keep the rest 
 for yourself. So you have never seen 
 Fitzpatrick? I am going now and I 
 might as well say that Fitzpatrick 
 hapj)ens to be my name." The ap- 
 nrentice never saw him again until 
 he chanced to be in Chester on a vis- 
 it and was surprised that the noted 
 outlaw had recognized him. 
 
 The Herald of Great Tidings 
 
 It was neaiing midniglu. Sunday, 
 October 21st, 1781, when a horseman 
 drew rein and wearily dismounted at 
 the Washington House, the name of 
 this tavern had been recently changed 
 from that of the "Pennsylvani.i Arms" 
 
to the title it then V>ore. Then, as 
 before, it was recognized by the Amer- 
 ican authorities as a designated i)Ost 
 for the reception and dispatching of 
 intelligence for' the patriots. It was 
 not until he had beaten loudly for 
 some time on the door that mine host, 
 William Keilin was awakened and an- 
 sweied the summons. It was no un- 
 usual thing for him to be aroused at 
 all hours of the night by bearers of 
 momentous intelligence. In this case it 
 was tidings of great joy. The rider 
 told how about two o'clock on Friday, 
 October 19th, Lord Cornwallis had 
 surrendei-ed his command at Yorktown 
 to the combined American and French 
 armies, and how soon thereafter he 
 ■was dispatched to carry the momen- 
 tous news to Congress; how he had 
 left Yorktown, skirted the Rappannock 
 until he could ford that river, crossing 
 the Potomac at a ferry, then g-alloping 
 through Maryland, crossing the 
 Susquehanna at Bald Fry's Ferry (1), 
 then through Delaware to Newark, 
 Wilmington and finally Chester, cov- 
 ering the distance which often was 
 through wild forests and wretched 
 I'oads in fifty-six hours, stopped only 
 to change or bate his horses, or to 
 take some hasty refreshments him- 
 self. Here he changed his horse for 
 a fresh one, ate a hasty meal and af- 
 ter an hour's sleep mounted and be- 
 gan the final part of his journey to 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Although a town of less than six 
 hundred inhabitants, Chester and its 
 neighborhood, a fair representation 
 of the young and middle aged men were 
 in the Pennsylvania line, under Wayne, 
 and, notwithstanding the hour the 
 news spread rapidly, so that by day- 
 light few in the old borough were ig- 
 norant of the news that Cornwallis 
 had suirendered. • How the news waa 
 received in Philadelphia has frequent- 
 ly been narrated. But I cannot refrain 
 from relating what was told me when 
 a lad of sixteen, by an aged relative, 
 then in her ninety-fourth year. (2) On 
 that Sunday night, October 21, 1781, 
 she was visiting friends in the city, 
 living on Market street near Second, 
 close to the residence of Thomas Mc- 
 Keen, then president of Congress. We 
 all recall the story how the express 
 rider asked a watchman to take him 
 to McKeen's house, who after conduct- 
 ing him to the president's dwelling 
 and having learned the news, returned 
 to his duty of walking the rounds 
 and proclaiming the hour of the night. 
 My relative was a light sleeper and 
 easily aroused. She told me that she 
 
 was awakened by hearhig old Hurry, 
 a German watchman, and a well known 
 character of that day, crying the hour 
 but he was then so distant that she 
 failed to hear what he said. Presently 
 he came nearer and she distinctly 
 heard him cry "Bast dree a-glock, a 
 starlight night and Gornwallis isht 
 daken." She clearly remembered that 
 he proclaimed it was a "starlight 
 night." (3) 
 
 Washington's Visit 
 
 On Monday, April 20, 1789, Wash- 
 ington, then on his way to New York 
 to be inaugurated President of the 
 United States, reached Chester at 7 
 o'clock in the morning and breakfast- 
 ed at the Washington House. He was 
 accompanied by General Thomas Mif- 
 flin, Governor of Pennsylvania, Judge 
 Richard Peters, the Speaker of the As- 
 sembly, and the First City Troop of 
 I'liiladetphia as a guard of honor, who 
 had met the President-elect at Naa- 
 man's creek, the State line, whither he 
 had been escorted by- the authorities 
 of the State of Delaware. Washing- 
 ton travelled to Chester in a coach and 
 four, attended by Colonel David 
 Humphreys. his aid, and Charles 
 Thomson, "the perpetual secretary of 
 Congress," who had been dispatched 
 to Mount Vernon to officially notify 
 the General of his election to the 
 Presidency. Thomson was well- 
 known in Chester, his first wife, Mary, 
 being the daughter of .lohn Mather, a 
 noted resident here in the last century. 
 The inhabitants of the town flocked to 
 the tavern to see the distinguished 
 guests and the village urchins gazed 
 with admiration as the troops rode 
 into the yard, the jingling of swords, 
 the chami:)ing of the bits by the hors- 
 es, the showy uniforms of the men, 
 and the blare of the trumpet combined 
 to jiroduce a picture in the memories 
 of the young that could never be ef- 
 faced. The address of welcome to 
 
 (1) So called because Fry was bald 
 headed. Later known as Bald Frier's 
 Ferry. 
 
 (2) Mary Moulder, who died in 1864 
 aged 104, and is buried in Marcus 
 Hook Baptist Church yard. 
 
 (3) The New York Packet for No- 
 vember 1, 1781, reports: "An honest 
 old German, a watchman of Philadel- 
 l>hia, having conducted the express 
 rider from Yorktown to the door of his 
 Excellency, the President of Congress, 
 a few nights ago, continued the duties 
 of his office, calling out "Basht dree 
 o'glock and Gornwallis isht daken.'" 
 
Washington, by William Martin, the 
 Chief Burgess, and the unostentatious 
 response by the President-elect, con- 
 stituted an event of marvelous im- 
 I)ortanc'e to the town, as it was indeed 
 to tlie world, lor it was part in the 
 beginning of an untried form of gov- 
 ernment that with giant strides in a 
 few decades grew to be one of the 
 great powers of the earth. 
 
 Lafayette's Return 
 
 It was Tuesday evening, October 5, 
 1824, that General Lafayette, thea 'the 
 Nation's guest, was received at Clies- 
 ter. The steamboat which brought the 
 noted Frenchman was chai'tered for 
 the occasion, and among those who ac- 
 comiianied him hither were Governor 
 .John A. Shulze and staff. General Cad- 
 wallader and staff, a committee of the 
 Council of Philadelphia, the marshal of 
 the United States and a number of 
 prominent gentlemen, together with 
 the "Washington Grays," commanded 
 by Captain C. G. Shields, who were de- 
 tailed as a guard of honoi'. The First 
 City Troop had marched to Chester 
 that day, reaching here about sunset, 
 and had established their headquarters 
 at the Eagle Tavern, now the City Ho- 
 tel, then kept by Mrs. Polly Ehgle. 
 
 It was 11 o'clock at night when the 
 steamboat was made fast to the wharf 
 at Market street, and there had gath- 
 ered the people of the town and neigh- 
 borhood, while the Delaware County 
 Troop, commanded by Major Joseph 
 Wilson, was jtresent witli the City 
 Troop to receive the Marquis. Tli(i 
 town was brilliantly illuminated, the 
 windows of the houses were decorated 
 and in many places handsome trans- 
 parencies and designs were disjilayed; 
 bonfires blazed in the side streets, and 
 from the pier to Fifth street, on both 
 sides of the curb, stood a line of boys, 
 each bearing in his hand a lighted can- 
 dle of mammoth size, made especially 
 for this use. 
 
 The_ red glare of rockets lit u]) the 
 dark sky as Lafayette was conducted 
 to the Columbia House, its site now 
 that of the Hotel Cambridge, where 
 the troops. that were dismounted, 
 formed in open order and with their 
 swords made an arch of steel under 
 which the honored guest walked into 
 the room where forty-seven years be- 
 fore he had lain extended on a table, 
 while Mrs. Grossman Lyons, then Mary 
 Gorman, dressed the wound he had 
 sustained that day at Brandywine. Here 
 he was received by Doctor Samuel An- 
 derson, Iheii our member of the As- 
 sembly, as the representative of the 
 town, with an address of welcome. At 
 
 (he Cil.N liall, tlicn the t'ourt House 
 of Dolawart' counl.\- (1) which was dec- 
 orated tastefully, the ladies of the old 
 borough had provided "a sumptuous 
 entertainment, to which upwards of 
 KKi gentlemen sat down at one o'clock 
 in the morning." That night Lafay- 
 ette was the guest of Major William 
 Anderson, whose house at ffifth and 
 Welsh streets, removed recently to 
 make place for the government liuild- 
 ing, was one of the finest mansions in 
 the town. 
 
 The next morning at 7 o'clock, the 
 Colonial salute of thirteen guns was 
 tired l>y Captain .Ioser)h Weaver's Ar- 
 tillerists in honor of the General, and 
 fit)m the piaza of the Columbia House 
 he reviewed the military that marched 
 up Market street for that pur])ose. At 
 II o'clock the parade was formed and 
 Lafayette, in a coach and four, was 
 escorted down Market street to James, 
 now Third sti-eet, thence by the King's 
 Highway to the "Practical Farmer," 
 where "a, handsome cold collation" was 
 served. Here the l*ennsylvania au- 
 thorities took leave of the Marquis, 
 having transferred him to the care of 
 the State of Delaware. It may not be 
 uninteresting to add that in commem- 
 oration of the part that was taken by 
 the "Washington Grays" during the 
 reception that comi)an.v wa.s intro- 
 duced into the background of the full- 
 length portrait of Lafaj-ette. painted 
 for the city of Fhiladeliihia, which is 
 still to be seen in the old State House 
 building. 
 
 A Tragic Episode 
 
 On Sunda.w Mai'ch 21. 18.'{0. in the 
 shadows of the evening, a closed car- 
 riage was driven at a rap)id pace up 
 .James, now Third street, by Market to 
 I'Mfth and thence to Philadelphia. This 
 coach bore an unusual i)assenger, a 
 corpse. i)laced in a sitting position on 
 the back seat, with a cap. very fa-sh- 
 ionable at that lime with young gen- 
 tlemen, drawn over the forehead to 
 shade the eyes, while on either side 
 .•-at a man. to proii the body in an uv- 
 right attitude, imparting to it the 
 semblance of life, so that an>one pass- 
 ing li.\- who would glance within the 
 carriage would not suspect the truth. 
 It was the mortal remains of William 
 Miller. Ji-.. a .\()ung lawyer of Phila- 
 delphia, who that afternoon had been 
 killed by Midshii)man Charles G. Hun- 
 ter, of the United States Navy, in a 
 
 (1) Delaware county was erected in 
 1789, after the removal of the Courts 
 of Chester county from Chester to 
 West Chester. 
 
duel near Naaman's creek. Several 
 young men of Chester, who had been 
 riding in the neighborhood of Claymont, 
 learned that a duel had taken place, 
 and as they reached here in advance of 
 the carriages, it was decided by the au- 
 thorities of the town to arrest the prin- 
 cipals at the bridge over Chester creek. 
 When the first carriage came in sight 
 the driver, noticing that a body of 
 men were assembled and aware of the 
 ghastly freight in his vehicle, applied 
 the whip vigorously, and his horses, 
 at a full gallop crossed the bridge and 
 dashed through the town. The sec- 
 ond carriage came along at an easy 
 trot and was, without difficulty brought 
 to a full stop! When it was found that 
 it contained only the suigeon and 
 some lookers on, it and its, passengers 
 were permitted to resume the journey 
 to Philadelphia. The first carriage, 
 after it had gotten beyond the town, 
 continued to its destination, and about 
 9 o'clock halted with its ghastly bur- 
 den at the house in Chestnut street be- 
 low Seventh, its site now occupied by 
 the German Democrat Building, from 
 which that noonday it had taken away 
 the dead, then a living man. Rumor 
 relates how all that night the men 
 kept the corjise in a room while those 
 present drank deeply, due largely to 
 the extreme excitement under which 
 they labored. The next day the father 
 of the dead young man was informed 
 of his son's fate and shortly after six 
 o'clock Tuesday morning the remains 
 were interred without waiting for the 
 legality of a coroner's inquest. 
 
 A Day of Mourning 
 
 On April 23. 1841, a mock funeral 
 took place in the ancient borough, a 
 tribute of sorrow at the death of Wil- 
 liam Henry Harrison, the first Presi- 
 dent of the United States to die in of- 
 fice. On that occasion the Sunday 
 school children, all the literary, tenti- 
 ])erance, beneficial and secret societies 
 took part, paraded and countermarched 
 on Market street. Major Samuel A. 
 Price was chief marshal, while Spen- 
 cer Mcllvain, John G. Dyer, Robert 
 McCay, Jr., Jonathan Vernon and Gif- 
 ford Johnson acted as aids. Rev. Mor- 
 timer R. Talbot, rector of St. Paul's, 
 delivered a funei-al oration in the old 
 church which stood for almost a cen- 
 tury and a half opposite where St. 
 Paul's now stands. It was taken 
 down in 1850. 
 
 Scenes of Another War 
 
 Chester, on Saturday, April 13, 1861, 
 alike with the whole country, was 
 startled by the news that the Amer- 
 ican flag, which floated over Fort 
 
 Sumter, in Charleston harbor, had 
 been hauled down in surrender to the 
 forces of tlie Palmeto State. The ex- 
 citement was intense, ordinary busi- 
 ness was suspended as by a common 
 imi)ulse, and the absence of intelli- 
 gence on Sunday, added by uncertain- 
 ty to the general impatience. On Mon- 
 (.ia>- President Lincoln issued a. procla- 
 mation calling for seventy-five thous- 
 and troops to be enlisted for a period 
 of three months unless sooner dis- 
 charged. That evening a meeting was 
 lield in the Town Hall and immediate 
 steps taken for the enrollment of a 
 company of volunteers. By Wednes- 
 day the ranks were filled and the late 
 Harry B. Edwards^ was elected cap- 
 tain, to whom Rev. Mr. Talbot, the rec- 
 tor of St. Paul's, presented the sword 
 that he himself had worn while a 
 chaplain in the United States Navy. 
 On Saturday, April 20, "The Union 
 Blues" was ordered to report at once 
 at Harrisburg, and at 6 o'clock that 
 evening the comj^any mustered in 
 liont of the Washington House, where 
 I'rom the piazathe late Judge Freder- 
 ick J. Hinkson, then president of the 
 Delaware County Bank, addressed the 
 "Blues." assuring them that the citi- 
 zens of the borough had pledged them- 
 selves to maintain and protect their 
 wives and families during the ab- 
 scence of the men at the front. Rev. 
 Mr. Talbot and Rev. 'A. W. Sproull, 
 then ijastor of the First Presbyterian 
 church, also made speeches, while 
 Rev. Father Haviland had personally 
 contributed and had solicited sub- 
 scriptions to a fund to be used in de- 
 fraying the cost of equipping the com- 
 l>any. The street between the Town 
 Hall and the hotel was crowded, and 
 no one old enough to remember these 
 early days of the war can forget the 
 departure of the first troops who re- 
 sponded to the call of the President, 
 or the ovation then extended through- 
 out the North to the "Boys in Blue," 
 l)efore constant repetition in the years 
 of battle that followed had imparted a 
 sameness to the movements of soldiers. 
 The company, as it marched up Mar- 
 ket street to the railway station made 
 little attempt to preserve military pre- 
 cision; that would have been almost 
 imiiossible, for friends crowded around 
 to shake the hands of the men, while 
 mothers, wives and sisters walked at 
 the side of their loved ones with affec- 
 tionate solicitude. The people of Ches- 
 ter, including refined and cultured wo- 
 men, gathered at the depot in num- 
 bers such as had never before occurred 
 in the history of the town. When the 
 engine and special train rolled from 
 
 10 
 
the station the impression that war 
 with all its attending horrors had in- 
 deed come ui)on the nation, caused the 
 populace to disperse in silence to their 
 homes. 
 
 The Nation's Natal Year 
 
 There are many among us who can 
 recall the night of Friday, December 
 31, 1875, the eve of the Centennial. Al- 
 most a score of years have gone by, 
 and the girls and boys then just enter- 
 ing their "teens" are now middle-aged 
 people, but the memory of that time 
 comes back to them as to their elders, 
 as vividly as if it were an incident of 
 recent happening. It is not difficult 
 to remember the public buildings, the 
 hotels, the newspaper offices, stores, 
 private dwellings — that night bedecked 
 with flags and streamers, the windows 
 brilliant with the tri-colors, while in- 
 numerable rows of Chinese lanterns 
 spanned the thoroughfares and were 
 radiant from every available place. Old 
 and young thronged the streets, while 
 a procession composed of the military, 
 fire and civic societies of the city and 
 outlying districts, traversed the prin- 
 cipal highways, greeted by the shouts 
 of the populace, the glare of rockets, 
 the noise of guns and fire crackers 
 producing a hubbub such as Chester 
 had never known before and it is 
 doubtful whether it has ever been 
 equalled since. At half past 11, at 
 Seventh street, near Market, a colon- 
 ial salute of thirteen guns was fired 
 by a detachment from Post Wilde, and 
 hardly had the reverberations of the 
 cannon ceased when the hands on the 
 illuminated clock in the belfry of the 
 Citv Hall, marked the hour of mid- 
 night. Then the crowd that packed 
 Market street in a dense mass broke 
 into prolonged cheers, the bells of the 
 city rang out joyous peels, the bands 
 played the national airs, the discharge 
 of firearms and cannon all combined 
 in producing a din such as never be- 
 fore had startled the ancient munici- 
 pality from her propriety, and will 
 never be forgotten by those who wit- 
 nessed the tribute to 1876, as that year 
 showed itself on the dial of time. The 
 parade on the Centennial Fourth of 
 July was the most imposing ever wit- 
 nessed in the city up to that period. 
 
 Off For the World's War 
 
 It was two o'clock on Wednesday 
 September 12, 1917, that Companies 
 C and P., of the Sixth Infanti-y Regi- 
 ment, National Guards of Pennsylva- 
 nia, commanded respectively by Cap- 
 tain Edmund W. Lynch and West S. 
 Blain, which for a fortnight had been 
 
 cantoned in Deshong l^ark. broke camp 
 and started to entrain for active ser- 
 vice in a war the like of which the 
 woi-ld's annals furnish no jiarallel. The 
 column, led by Taney's Military Band 
 and Colonels James A. G. Campbell, T. 
 Edward Clyde and George W. Thom- 
 son, Spanish War Veterans; Council- 
 man T. Woodward Trainer, marched 
 down Edgmont avenue to Market 
 street, to Market Square, where it 
 countermarched and was addres.sed by 
 Mayor Wesley S .McDowell and a tele- 
 gram from New York read in which 
 Senator William C. Sproul said "Re- 
 gret I cannot reach Chester to see the 
 boys of B and C leave. Give them my 
 love and wish them God speed." The 
 line then moved down Third street to 
 Trainer station, wheie they entrained 
 for Mount Gretna, the point of regi- 
 mental mobilization. 
 
 The Premature News of Peace 
 
 The autumn of 1918 bi-ought with it 
 a general impression that the great 
 World War was nearing a conclusion 
 of active hostilities. Germany and her 
 allies had suffered severe reversals in 
 the field and it was believed that be- 
 fore coming spring she would be forced 
 to sue for peace. No one thought the 
 end was so near. Hence, when, on 
 Thursday, November 7, 1918, the bul- 
 letin boards proclaimed that Germany 
 had signed an armistice, Chester, as 
 with other cities in the United States, 
 was thrown into a delirium of joyful 
 excitement. The whistles of the ship- 
 yards factories and workshops in 
 "long interrupted blasts shrieked out 
 the glad intelligence In which the tire- 
 houses and church bells joined in the 
 noisy rejoicing; all business abruptly 
 ceased, people sought the streets, giv- 
 ing the wildest expression to their 
 feelings in clangorous demonstrations. 
 Women and girls in the excitement of 
 the hour kissed each other and their 
 male acquaintances. Cheering crowds 
 blocked the streets. Never before had 
 Chester witnessed a like scene. Bands 
 of music were hastily summoned.- The 
 Fire Department, with clanging bells 
 and ear-piercing whistles, hurried to 
 the center of the city, adding to the 
 volume of the uproar. An impromptu 
 l)arade was organized and what it 
 lacked in formation was more than 
 compensated in enthusiasm. Governor - 
 elect William C. SprOul and a number 
 of leading men of the city, headed the 
 line, which roughly estimated com- 
 l)rised more than ten thousand partici- 
 pants, marched through the principal 
 streets for several hours. hailed 
 wherever it went by the crowds, which 
 
 11 
 
]ined the sidewalks, until it returned 
 to Fifth and Market streets, where it 
 was dismissed by the Governor-elect. 
 
 While this demonstration was pre- 
 mature and parades later celebrated 
 the actual signing of the ai-mistice, all 
 creditable to the city the spontaneous 
 demonstration of November 7, 1918 is 
 the one which will remain hereafter 
 well defined in our local story. 
 
 City of Para Launch 
 
 On Saturday, April 6. 1878, the 
 mammoth steamship City of Para was 
 launched at Roach's yard, and the 
 event was rendered memorable from 
 the tact that President Hayes, the 
 members of his cabinet, Governor 
 Hartranft and a number of State offi- 
 cials were present. Senatoi-s and Con- 
 gressmen by the score were in attend- 
 ance, and it affords a striking instance 
 of the ephemeral chai-acter of politi- 
 cal greatness to note that out of the 
 list, exceeding- a hundred of then prom- 
 inent men, who were present on that 
 occasion, the reputations of less than 
 half a dozen have survived to this day. 
 From the station of the P., W. & B. 
 Railroad down Mai'ket street to Third, 
 and thence to Kerlin street^ was a 
 dense mass of humanity; the windows 
 were filled with spectators, as were 
 the housetops, and it was with much 
 difficulty that a platoon of policemen 
 could force a way for the military 
 acting as a guard of honor to the Pres- 
 idential party and the officials of the 
 city, in carriages, to pass to the yard. 
 The President, standing uncovered in 
 his carriage drawn by four horses, as 
 it moved along the streets, was re- 
 ceived by deafening cheers, which he 
 acknowledged by repeated bows. A 
 special train from Washington had 
 also been moved over the railroad on 
 Ulrich street immediately to the yard, 
 where its passengers had been disem- 
 barked. It was no exageration when 
 it was stated that more than twenty- 
 five thousand strangers were present 
 in our city that day. 
 
 Blaine's Visit 
 
 In the early spring of 1878 the Wood 
 tariff bill was pending in Congress and 
 the i)oliticians of Delaware county, as 
 in other places, deemed it important 
 for their own interests to foster an ad- 
 verse opinion to the measure. The 
 project was well carried out and a 
 huge demonstration, in the form of a 
 r)arade. which traversed the principal 
 streets of Chester, took place on Sat- 
 urday, April 20, of that year. James 
 (5. Blaine was induced to be present. 
 The pageant has passed awa.v like 
 
 mist on a mirror, leaving aio distinct 
 memories. Even Blaine's speech is 
 forgotten. Out of the past rises mere- 
 ly the figure of an old Emerald Island- 
 er, short in stature with ruddy, mot- 
 tled complexion, gray hair and scanty 
 gray whiskers, wearing a light colored 
 top coat over his ordinary dress, who 
 on Seventh street, near where the 
 Grand Opera House now stands, pre- 
 sented, in Milesian accents, the distin- 
 guished guesf of the hour, in the fol- 
 lowing words: "Fellow Citizens: I 
 have the honor to introduce to you 
 •lames G. Blaine, of Maine, the Gibral- 
 tar of America." All else but this has 
 passed totally from the recollections of 
 the people. 
 
 The Bi-Centennial 
 
 It was Monday, October 23, 1882, 
 when the Bi-Centennial anniversary 
 of the landing of William Penn, in 
 Pennsylvania, was celebrated at Ches- 
 ter. It was a public holiday, strangers 
 were present in the city in great num- 
 bors, including Governor Henry M. 
 Hoyt and staff, many of the State offl- 
 ciais and other prominent guests. The 
 streets and buildings were gay with 
 flags and other decorations, and the old 
 historic landmarks were designated 
 with banners bearing the date of con- 
 struction and other interesting data 
 plainly marked thereon. A flagstaff 
 over eighty feet in heignt had been er- 
 ected at the place of Penn's landing 
 from which floated the proud emblem 
 of the Union. It was high water about 
 nine o'clock that morning, and short- • 
 ly thereaftej' the Pacific Dramatic As- 
 sociation, assisted by the various lodg- 
 es of Red Men, at the foot of Penn 
 street, and, as near the exact spot 
 where Penn actually landed as could 
 l)e, considering the changes that had 
 occurred in the river bank in two cen- 
 turies, enacted the incident that had 
 happened there two hundred years be- 
 fore. 
 
 The dialogue written by William 
 Shaler .Johnson presented many drann- 
 atic featuies appropriate to the occa- 
 sion. At 10 o'clock a great crowd gath- 
 ered on the then vacant lot at the 
 noitheast corner of Concord avenue 
 and Second street, and address was 
 made by Mayor .lames Barton, Jr., a 
 prayer by Rev. Henry Brown, a bi- 
 centennial poem read by its author. 
 Rev. Samuel Pancoast, followed by an 
 able historical oration by the late 
 Judge John M. Broomall. The chil- 
 dren of the iiublic schools, nearly a 
 thousand, sang a bi-centennial hymn 
 written by Prof. C. F. Foster, the mu- . 
 sic composed by Prof. John R. Sweney, 
 
 12 
 
who also (lirecled the chihliPii that 
 (hiv. In the afternoon was a parade 
 under the marslialship of Colonel \V. 
 C. dray, in which, by actual count 
 made at the City Hall, more than 6,000 
 men i)articipated. Several of the in- 
 dustrial establishments and all the 
 manufacturing interests w-ere repre- 
 sented, many of which pi-esented nov- 
 el and attractive designs. The fifth 
 division, restricted to the various 
 trades, had numerous floats in line 
 whereon were displayed the craftsmen 
 at work, constituting- one of the most 
 interesting features of the great par- 
 ade. 
 
 Firemen's Day 
 
 The Eleventh Annual Convention of 
 the Firemen's Association of Pennsyl- 
 vania -was held in this city on the 16th, 
 17th and 18th days of September, 1890. 
 Fire organizations from every section 
 of the State were present, as were also 
 representatives from the cities of New- 
 York. Brooklyn, Washington, D. C, 
 and Wilmington. Del., Bayonne, Glou- 
 cestei-, Merchantville, Camden. Eliza- 
 beth. Bound-Brook. Raritan and Bur- 
 lington. N. J.. Winchester and Alex- 
 andria, Va., Baltimoie, Port Deiiosit 
 and Annapolis, Md. Thursday, Sep- 
 tember 18th. was the day set apart for 
 the pai'ade and it was one that will be 
 remembered in our city's annals. The 
 rieoi)le of Chester had extended to the 
 visitors a hearty welcome, and while 
 many droll incidents were enacted in 
 our streets, creating much merriment, 
 no scenes of disorder occurred. Tn 
 honoring the occasion, stores, hotels, 
 business places and dwellings were 
 elaborately decorated, while in many 
 places triumphant arches, appropriate- 
 ly ornamented, spanned the streets. 
 Nearly five thousand men were in line 
 and music from the extreme ordinary 
 to exquisite harmony, filled the air as 
 long as the line filed by. consuming an 
 hour and a half to pass the City Hall. 
 In the evening at various places se- 
 lected, bands furnished gratuitous con- 
 certs to the public. Capi)a"s New^ York 
 Seventh Regiment Band, which had 
 been secured at a cost of $1,200, by the 
 Hanley Hose Company, of this city, 
 was the peculiar attraction and for 
 nearly two hours it discoursed a num- 
 ber of "bright gems instinct with mu- 
 sic." 
 
 Back to Old Times 
 Let us stoi) a moment here at Mar- 
 ket Square. It was not until 1740 that 
 the old Market House which formerly 
 stood in the center of the square was 
 built and which, after standing one 
 hundred and eight years, was removed 
 
 in the spring of 18.57. The ancient 
 structure was erected on a raised brick 
 platform curbed with stone, extending 
 al)out fifty feet along Market street 
 and in breadth thirty feet. The build- 
 ing itself was thirty-five feet in length 
 and twenty-five in width. The shin- 
 gled roof was supported by seven brick 
 pillars on the east, and a like number 
 on the west side, the plastered ceiling 
 within foiming an archway the entire 
 length of the market house. On the 
 roof at the north end of the building 
 about 1829, a frame structure twenty 
 feet square was erected, on the roof 
 of which was a cupola, wnth green 
 blinds, surmounted by a spire and 
 weather vane. This room, which was 
 used as a town hall, where th<' Bur- 
 gesses sat and where the Chester Li- 
 brary Company kept their books, 
 was reached by a wooden stairway on 
 the outside, and at the east of the 
 l)uilding towards St. Paul's church. 
 When the market house was taken 
 down, the frame superstructure was 
 sold to Thomas Clyde, who removed it 
 to FMfth street, where it still stands. 
 oi)posite the Hotel Cambridge, and is 
 today used as a Chinese laundry. 
 
 A Romance of Old 
 
 It was in the square fifteen years be- 
 fore the market house was built, that 
 James Annesley. then a young man of 
 nineteen, who. in attempting to escape 
 from a brutal master, for he was a. re- 
 demptioner. had f";illen in with a party 
 who had committed a. theft in Ches- 
 ter. The hue and cry resulted in their 
 capture. Annesley and the others were 
 tried and found guilty — the punish- 
 ment for the offense at that time was 
 death. 
 
 When he was asked what he had to 
 say why sentence should not be im- 
 posed, he told the court his story and 
 as his presence with the criminals was 
 the only evidence against him. the 
 court i-emanded him. ordering that ex- 
 ecution should be suspended in his 
 case for the i)resent, but that on "the 
 fifth day of the week, called Thurs- 
 day." the day designated in the char- 
 ter from Penn on which market should 
 be held in Chester, he should "be set 
 ui) from early dawn to noon-day in 
 Market Square with a paper affixed to 
 his breast," whereby all persons who 
 i-ead it were reiiuested to report to the 
 authorities whether thev had ever 
 seen him in Chester before he was 
 thus exiiosed in the pillory. (1) If it 
 
 (1) The pillory stood on the 
 southeast corner of Market Square, for 
 it was then a square, not an octagonal 
 
 13 
 
should appear by creditable witnesses 
 that he had been here prior to that 
 time, the court ordered that the de- 
 ferred sentence should be carried into 
 execution at a date designated by the 
 Chief Justice, but if it could be shown 
 that his story was true, the Chief Jus- 
 tice, David Lloyd, who was a resident 
 of Chester, would discharge him on 
 such proofs being made. For five 
 weeks, each market day he was there 
 exposed, when his master, Drummond, 
 chanced to be In Chester, claimed his 
 servant and Annesley was delivered to 
 him. It is not necessary to follow fur- 
 ther this incident, but the subsequent 
 claims made by Annesley that he was 
 the kidnapi)ed son and heir of the Earl 
 of Anglesley, is one of the most noted 
 cases that was ever heard in any court, 
 and on the incidents that were pre- 
 sented in that trial. 
 
 Our Boys in the Spanish American War 
 It became evident early in April. 
 1898, that open hostilities between 
 Spain and the United States was in- 
 evitable. Although Congress did not 
 declare that a state of war existed un- 
 til Monday, April 25th, on the preceed- 
 ing Saturday, under authority already 
 given the Executive. President Mc- 
 Kinley by proclamation had called one 
 hundred and twenty-flve thousand 
 men to the colors, which was designed 
 to include the organized, equipped 
 militia of the several SUites. So rapid- 
 ly did the Pennsylvania authorities 
 act, that the National Guards were or- 
 dered to mobilize at Mount Gretna, in 
 one week's time. On Wednesday, the 
 27th, Mayor Crosby M. Black notified 
 the fire department of Chester that 
 the following morning companies B and 
 
 form, in front of the unimproved lot 
 owned by the Rev. Richard Backhouse, 
 rector of St. Paul's Episcopal church. 
 
 The Annesley case is one of the most 
 famous in law and literature. It is 
 reported in Hargraves' State Trials, 
 Vol. 9, page 431; in Howell's State 
 Trials, Vol. 17. Burk's Trials connect- 
 ed with the Aristocracy, p. 249; Trial 
 at Bar between Campbell Craig, lessee 
 of James Annesley, Esq., and the Earl 
 of Anglesey, London, 1744; Craik's 
 Peerage Cases, and "Celebrated Claim- 
 ants, Ancient and Modern," London, 
 1873. Annesley himself wrote the 
 "Memoirs of An Unfortunate Young 
 Nobleman," and Chambers, in his 
 "Stories of Remarkable Persons," page 
 272, treats of this notable case. 
 
 On this case Lady Morgan founded 
 her once popular but now almost for- 
 
 C. of the Sixth Regiment N. G. could 
 leave at an early hour for Mount 
 Gretna and instructed the organiza- 
 tions to be present to take part in 
 giving the soldier boys a suitable de- 
 parture for the war. That Thursday 
 morning ushered in a day of most un- 
 l)r(>pitious weather; a wild wind ac- 
 companied with a downpour of rain, 
 hail and sleet. Despite all this the 
 parents, wives, sweethearts and friends 
 of the soldiers gathered at the Armory 
 on Fifth street to bid goodbye to the 
 troops. When the time came to in,- 
 train Company B Captain Daniel Mc- 
 Devitt and Comi)any C Captain Sam- 
 uel D. Clyde marched up Fifth street 
 to Market, to the Square, and where 
 they counter marched to the station, 
 where they embarked. Col. Perry M. 
 Washabaugh and staff accompanied 
 the Chester companies, ,picking up 
 other units of the regiment on the way, 
 reaching Mount Gretna well along in 
 the night. There the railroad officials 
 notified the Colonel to disembark his 
 command. The storm which had con- 
 tinued all day, was then raging violent- 
 ly. "Detrain my men in this tempest 
 and darkness! I'll not do it. Sir. Until 
 morning they shall not leave these 
 cars." The official persisted but the 
 Colonel was immovable. Finally the 
 train was run on a siding and remain- 
 ed until daylight, when under a clear 
 sky they were disembarked. 
 A Gay Young Colonist 
 Let us stop a moment here opposite 
 the Steamboat Hotel. The house was 
 built by Francis Richardson subse- 
 quent to 1760. In that year Grace, the 
 widow of David Lloyd, died and by her 
 will she devised the bulk of her es- 
 
 gotten novel, "Florence McCart- 
 ney"; Tobias Smollett, his famous 
 "Roderick Random," and Sir Walter 
 Scott his "Guy Mannering," while in 
 recent years, following very closely 
 the testimony in the case, Charles Read 
 in his "Wandering Heir," has again 
 employed the story of James Annesley 
 as the ground work of his novel and he 
 presents an exceedingly graphic pic- 
 ture of the pillory scene in the old 
 market place, in this city. To law- 
 >ers the case is ever of interest for in 
 it the rule which Chief Justice Holt, 
 somewhat vaguely announced on the 
 trial of Ambrose Rockwood in 1691, 
 that council could not call a witness, 
 if objected to, unless he first stated to 
 the Court the nature of the testimony 
 he was expected to give, was so well 
 settled that it has never since been 
 questioned. 
 
 14 
 
tate which was larg^e to her cousin, 
 Francis Richardson, then a merchant 
 in I'hihidclphia. He removed to Ches- 
 ter and erected tliis building as his 
 personal mansion. He was of «» spec- 
 ulative disposition and somewhat im- 
 jirovidcnt, and the long war ot the 
 Revolution, in uiTsettling values, ul- 
 timately caused his financial ruin. His 
 eldest son, Francis, was " a person of 
 groat personal beauty," we are told 
 by John F. Watson, the annalist, a 
 statement that is fully corroborated by 
 Mrs. Deborah Logan. Another author- 
 ity informs us "that he was fair and 
 delicate to effiminancy, reserved in his 
 intercourse with he fellows, but very 
 attractive in his conversation and 
 manneis, that he dressed with studied 
 care, particularly favoring in his at- 
 tire scarlet cloths. of fine texture, a pe- 
 culiarity that was exceedingly obnox- 
 ious to the Friends, of which society 
 he was a birthright member. His 
 courtly bearing, his costly raiment and 
 his custom of wearing a handsome 
 dress sword when on the street were 
 resented by the plain people of the 
 town, who regarded him as "a brand 
 for the burning." While a young man 
 he visited England, where he became 
 the associate of distinguished men of 
 letters and was received in the best 
 society of London. When he first went 
 to Europe he chanced to lodge in the 
 same house in which Samuel Foote, 
 the noted comedian, celebrated wit and 
 successful playwright, lived. It is re- 
 lated that one day as Richardson came 
 out of his room he met Foote on the 
 stairway, when the latter said, "Rich- 
 ardson, a person has just been asking 
 for you, expressing a strong desire to 
 see you and pretended that he was an 
 old Philadelphia acquaintance. But I 
 knew better, for he was a d d ill- 
 looking fellow, and I have no doubt 
 the rascal was a bailiff, so I told him 
 you were not at home." Foote's career 
 was a life-long struggle with the bail- 
 iffs, and by his mistaken kindness, 
 Richardson failed to meet Mr. Willing, 
 one of the wealthiest merchants of 
 Philadelphia, who had been particu- 
 larly requested by his father to visit 
 his son and see in what manner he 
 was faring in London. 
 
 Richardson has been termed "one of 
 the most singular and successful of 
 American adventurers." He acquired 
 the reputation of an expert swordsman 
 and an unerring pistol shot, so that 
 men were chary of offending this deli- 
 cately handsome man. He oblained a 
 commission in the Coldstream Guards, 
 the regiment that was and is the high- 
 est in its social afUliations of all the 
 
 F^nglish army. He ultimately rose to 
 be its Colonel, a rank that is coveted 
 even by men of royal birth. His regi- 
 ment was not ordered to America dur- 
 ing the Revolution, where, had he 
 come, he would have found his father, 
 a Friend as he was, one of the active 
 spirits in the cause of the Colonists. 
 
 Richardson's Wharf 
 
 The foregoing incident is a digres- 
 sion, but we have reached the foot of 
 Market street, when our ramble must 
 needs end. Prior to 1762, when Fran- 
 cis Richardson built a wharf there, the 
 vessels stopping at Chester must have 
 tiischarged their cargoes in the most 
 primitive way. The craft was brought 
 as close to the shore as possible on 
 the high tide (we are told that vessels 
 in the early part of the late century 
 could stand into the land until the 
 branches of the trees growing on the 
 t)ank would brush their rigging), when 
 she was moored stem and stern, 
 grounding on the ebb. Of course, as 
 the cargo was discharged, the vessel 
 rode higher in the water. Return 
 freight which, in those days, consisted 
 entirely of cereals and peltry, was 
 loaded in like manner, but the last 
 portion of the cargo was put on board 
 by lighters while the vessel was at 
 anchor in the stream. The piers that 
 Richardson built consisted simply of 
 logs driven in the mud with planks 
 laid thereon from the head until the 
 structure united with the firm land. 
 The flow of water was uninterrupted, 
 save only by the piles themselves, for 
 there were no cribs filled with stones 
 and earth, as is the case with the pres- 
 ent wharf. Richardson firmly believed 
 that Chester could be made a commer- 
 cial rival of Philadelphia, arguing that 
 the river rarely was frozen over at this 
 I)lace sufficient to arrest navigation 
 wholly, whereas the Delaware at the 
 horse-shoe for months together in the 
 winter season, in those days of sail 
 navigation entirely, would be blocked 
 ,with an impenetrable field of ice. He 
 spent money lavishly to carry out this 
 project, and finally became a bank- 
 rupt. 
 
 The Tea Tax 
 
 It w-as Christmas — Saturday — 1773 
 that the ship "Polly." which had sailed 
 from London on the 29th of the pre- 
 ceding September with a cargo of tea 
 consigned to merchants in Philadel- 
 phia, anchored off Richardson's wharf. 
 Captain Ayres had followed another 
 vessel up the Delaware this far. In 
 the heated state of the public mind, 
 no pilot dared to bring the "Polly" up 
 
 15 
 
the river, lor six weeks prior to this 
 time, when it was learned that the 
 ship was coming-, a public meeting- 
 had been held in the State House 
 Square, in Philadelphia, at which it 
 was, amid boisterous applause, re- 
 solved "that whoever shall directly 
 or indirectly aid or abet in unloading, 
 receiving: or vending the tea," while 
 the objectionable tax was imposed, "is 
 fin enemy to the country." Richard 
 Riley, who died 1820, a venerable man 
 ot over ninety, and for seventy years 
 one of the leading men of this section, 
 from his dwelling, which with broken 
 walls and rafters fallen still remains 
 at Marcus Hook, on Front street be- 
 tween Church and Market, had kept a 
 careful lookout for the vessel, and 
 when the "Polly" hove in sight, he rode 
 to Chester to consult with William 
 Kerlin, then the proprietor of the pres- 
 ent Washington House, as to what ac- 
 tion ought to be taken. 
 
 Whether the traditional account in 
 this particular is correct or not, cer- 
 tain it is that a courier was immedi- 
 ately dispatched, post-haste to Phila- 
 delphia, to announce the unwelcomed 
 news. The messenger reached that 
 city the same evening, as did also Gil- 
 bert Barclay, one of the consignees of 
 the ship, who had been a passenger 
 on the vessel, had landed here and rid- 
 den immediately to Philadelphia. 
 Three members of the committee were 
 ordered to come to Chester and obtain 
 an interview with Captain Ayres. in 
 which they were to picture to him the 
 inflamed condition of the public mind 
 and to advise him that personal dan- 
 ger to him would in all probability re- 
 sult should he act contrary thereto. 
 
 When the men Had reached the high 
 ground this side of Darby they were 
 met by another messenger from Ches- 
 ter, who informed them that the Polly 
 had that Sunday, at noon, sailed up 
 the river. The vessel was hailed at 
 Gloucester Point, and Captain Ayres 
 was i)revailed on by the committee to 
 anchor the ship and go with them to 
 the city. On Monday morning 8,000 
 men gathered in the State House yard, 
 when it was decided that the ship 
 should not be reported or permitted to 
 enter at the custom house; that the 
 tea should not be landed, but must be 
 taken back to England; that a pilot 
 should be put aboard the Polly, with 
 instructions on the next high water to 
 carry her to Reedy Island; that Cap- 
 tain Ayres could stay one day in the 
 city to i)rocure supplies for the return 
 voyage, and that being done, he must 
 put to sea immediately. 
 
 This he did on Tuesday, only forty- 
 six hours having elapsed from his 
 dropping anchor off Chester until he 
 sailed on his return voyage. Captain 
 Ayres came by land hither, where he 
 boarded the sloop carrying supplies to 
 the Polly. When the ve.ssel reached 
 England Earl Dartmouth demanded 
 that the insult "offered this kingdom 
 * * * should be fully explained." Rich- 
 ard Penn, who was then Governor, had 
 returned to England and John Penn, 
 the grandson of William, and son 
 of Thomas Penn, had been com- 
 missioned in his stead. He was 
 arrogant and reserved, besides the 
 great mass of the people — super- 
 stition was very strong at that time — 
 looked upon him as unlucky, for on 
 his arrival at Philadelphia to assume 
 office on Sunday, August 30, 1773, the 
 eastern part of Pennsylvania was 
 shaken by an earthquake, accompan- 
 ied by a loud roaring noise, an ill omen 
 for his administration. He was never 
 able to have the Assembly take any 
 action on Dartmouth's demand, and as 
 in a little more than a year the Revo- 
 lutionary struggle began in earnest, 
 the "insult" was never "fully ex- 
 plained." 
 
 Washington in a Hilarious Mood 
 
 It was here an incident occurred 
 in .our national and local history of 
 which I had no knowledge until re- 
 cently. On Wednesday, September 8th, 
 1781, Washington left Philadelphia 
 (where the rear of the French army 
 had arrived, the American army hav- 
 ing already passed through that city) 
 for the head of the Elk, now Elkton, 
 where he designed to overtake his com- 
 mand. In his journal he records that 
 at Chester he "received the agreeable 
 news of the safe arrival of the Count 
 de Grasse in the Bay of Chesapeake." 
 His Excellency J. J. Jusscrand, em- 
 bassador from France to the United 
 States in a recent article (1) gives a 
 charming account of Washington's 
 meeting with Rochambeau and his 
 staff, at Chester, which until M. Juss- 
 crand's article appeared was com- 
 paratively unknown to American his- 
 torians, but show's the Father of his 
 Country in a novel light. The dis- 
 tinguished writer tells us that "On 
 the 5th of September. Rochambeau and 
 his aides took boat from Philadelphia 
 to Chester and when they reached the 
 latter place Closen" ("Captain Baron 
 
 (1) "Our First Alliance." National 
 Geographic Magazine, June, 1917, page 
 518. 
 
 16 
 
dc ClosiMi. of llic Kepiniciu de Kt)yal 
 Deux- I'onls) "records, we saw in the 
 distance General Wasiiington shaking 
 his hat and a white handkerchief and 
 showinpr signs of great joy. Rocliam- 
 beau iiad scarcely landed when Wash- 
 ington, usually so cool and comi)osed, 
 fell into his arms, the great news had 
 arrived, de Orasse had come, and while 
 Cornwallis was on the defensive at 
 Yorktown, the l'"'iench fleet was ban - 
 ing the Chesape.ike." 
 
 A Naval Hero 
 
 It was late on the afternoon of April 
 10. 1782, that the good people of Ches- 
 ter saw two vessels standing up the 
 river. The foremost floated two en- 
 signs, the Stars and Strii>es being dis- 
 played on the same halyards with the 
 meteoric flag of Great Britain, but the 
 last was undermost. 'The intelligence 
 ran quickly through the town and in a 
 short time a crowd had collected on 
 Richardson's wharf, for the people 
 knew that Captain Joshua Barney, who 
 had sailed from Philadelphia on the 
 8th in the Hyder Ali, had met and cap- 
 tured the English vessel -of- war. Gen- 
 eral Monk, that had been lying in wait 
 at the mouth of the Delaware, a terror 
 to all the merchants of Philadelphia 
 as well as to the owners of vessels at 
 smaller places along the river. When 
 the ships rounded to and lay by the 
 pier a gang plank was run out frona 
 the General Monk, and Captain Bar- 
 ney came ashore, followed by four sea- 
 men bearing a stretcher on which lay 
 Captain Rodgers, of the Royal navy, 
 grievously wounded. The English of- 
 ficer was taken to the house of a Quak- 
 er lady who nursed him for several 
 months before he entirely recovered 
 from his injuries. Who it was that 
 nursed him I do not know, but in the 
 biography of Commodore Barney, pub- 
 lished in 1831, it is stated that the lady 
 was then alive and resided on Pine 
 street, Philadelphia. 
 
 American Strategy 
 
 The crowd gave but passing atten- 
 tion to this incident. They were busy 
 in i)ainting out to each other the many 
 scars of battle the captured vessel ex- 
 hibited, and gazing with amazement 
 at the mizzen staysail, in which small 
 canvas alone could be counted 305 
 shot holes. With open-mouthed won- 
 der the rustic population listened to 
 the story of the battle: How the Hy- 
 der Ali, carrying only sixteen six- 
 pounders and a crew of 110 men, in- 
 cluding the marines, who were Bucks 
 county riflemen, disguised as a mer- 
 chantman, had met the General Monk, 
 
 • irnied with twenty nine-pounders and 
 13() men; how Captain Barney had in- 
 structed his people to execute every 
 command as though an exactly con- 
 tradictory order had been given; how, 
 as the Englishman ranged alongside 
 of his vessel, the American officer, in 
 a voice so loud that it was heard by 
 the enemy, cried out: "Hard-a-port 
 your helm! Do you want him to run 
 aboard of us?" In resi)onse to which 
 the man at the wheel clapped the helm 
 hard-at-starboard, and by so doing the 
 jibboom of the English ship caught in 
 the fore- rigging of the American, giv- 
 ing the latter a raking i)osition; how 
 when Barney shouted "Board." the 
 brave Englishmen crowded together to 
 repel an assault, and were met with a 
 close fire that swept the deck with an 
 iron hail of death, and when the com- 
 mand "P^ire!" Avas given, to the sur- 
 prise of the British, the Americans, 
 cutlasses in hand, sprang in a body 
 on the deck of the English vessel; how 
 in twenty-six minutes twenty-three 
 broadsides were fired by the American 
 ship, and how when the General Monk 
 was captured every officer, except one 
 midshipman, was killed and wounded 
 and the casualties among the crew 
 were near one hundred, while the 
 Americans had four killed and eleven 
 wounded. The next day Captain Bar- 
 ney took his prize to Philadelphia, and 
 the following evening returned to Ches- 
 ter and sailed in the Hyder Ali for the 
 cai)es, but the English vessels of war 
 had gone to sea. 
 
 The First Steamboat 
 
 It was during the month of June, 
 1790, that the inhabitants of Chester 
 were astonished to learn that a mar- 
 velous craft, vomiting volumes of 
 black smoke from a pipe amidships, 
 was in a direct line, and against the 
 wind, making for the pier at Market 
 street. It was John Fitch's steamboat 
 — the first vessel of that description 
 ever succijssfully navigated in the 
 world — seventeen years before Robert 
 Fulton built his celebrated steamboat. 
 The Clermont. The people of the town 
 who gathered at the wharf to inspect 
 this peculiar vessel — which had no 
 name other than "the steamboat" — 
 when it was made fast at the wharf, 
 saw a mere cockle-shell sixty feet in 
 length, eight feet beam, for which 
 power was supplied by an eighteen- 
 inch cylinder engine, and the propul- 
 sion was made by four iiaddles, two 
 on each side, located at the stern. This 
 wonder attained an average speed of 
 eight miles an hour. 
 
 17 
 
In the New York Magazine for that 
 year appears a letter dated at Phila- 
 delphia, August 13th, in which the 
 writer says: "On Saturday morning 
 she sets off for Chester and engages 
 to return in the evening— 40 miles," . 
 and adds, "God willing, I intend to be 
 one of her passengers." In the Fed- 
 eral Gazette, published in Philadelphia, 
 in the issue of July 30, 1790, appears 
 an advertisement informing the pub- 
 lic that "The steamboat sets out from 
 Arch street wharf on Sunday morn- 
 ing, at 8 o'clock, for Chester, to return 
 the same day." During the months of 
 June, July, August and September, 
 1790, this boat made regular trips, 
 carrying freight and passengers — one 
 day "to Wilmington and return, anoth- 
 er dav to Burlington and Bris- 
 tol, but to Chester always on 
 Sundays, for Chester at that time 
 for some reason was an exceed- 
 ingly attractive locality for the rest- 
 less public of Philadelphia. At the 
 end of the season the boat became 
 disabled, the machinery being defec- 
 tive, and Fitch, a man of limited 
 means, was not able to pay for the 
 repairs, while the men who had ad- 
 vanced the money for the construc- 
 tion of the boat had grown tired of 
 an experiment that yielded no finan- 
 ciaT returns — the boat was dismantled 
 and sold to discharge the debts already 
 outstanding. 
 
 Visit of the U. S. Scout Cruiser Chester 
 On November 29th, 1909, by order of 
 the Secretary of the Navy Truman 
 H. Newberry, the United States Scout 
 Cruiser "Chester," (whose sponsor was 
 Miss Dorothy, daughter of Senator 
 William C. Sproul) commanded by 
 Captain Henry B. Wilson, visited the 
 city for which she was named, anchor- 
 ing in the Pennsylvania channel of the 
 Delaware, off Chester Island, and for 
 five days until December 1st, her offi- 
 cers, marines and crew were the 
 guests of officials and citizens of the 
 city. During the cruiser's stay each 
 day was apportioned to events design- 
 ed especially for the gratification and 
 entertainment of the "Devil Dogs," the 
 Blue Jackets and their officers, the 
 guests of the city. 
 
 A Chester Hero 
 
 It was about noonday of March 11, 
 1813, that the American 32-gun frigate 
 Essex, Captain David Porter com- 
 manding, reached Chester and an- 
 nounced the glorious victory in which 
 the British frigate Castor, outnumber- 
 ing in guns and men the Essex, had 
 been compelled to strike her colors to 
 
 the caliant seamen, whose heroic deeds 
 are part of the national history and 
 liave imparted lustre to the annals of 
 our town. The people of the hamlet, 
 even those who were adverse to war, 
 were enthusiastic at the welcomed 
 news, for in the glory of the officer so 
 well known to tnem all, they felt a 
 personal pride. Aaron Cobourn, then 
 postmaster, in dispatching the mail 
 that afternoon for Philadelphia, en- 
 dorsed as a postscript to the way bill 
 that by the regulation was then re- 
 quired to accoinpany each mail sent 
 out from a postoffice, a brief statement 
 of Captain Porter's arrival, the cap- 
 ture of the "Castor" and the fact that 
 the loss of the latter had been enor- 
 mous — 150 men of the British frigate 
 having been killed and wounded. The 
 news was published in the Freeman's 
 Journal, of Philadelphia, the next day 
 and from its columns copied by the 
 press throughout the country. 
 
 The Piers 
 
 The War of 1812 was followed by 
 great commercial activity, although 
 the fictitions values that it had stim- 
 ulated ,in the adjustment that ensued 
 produced a period of protracted busi- 
 ness depression. As the commerce of 
 Philadelphia at that time largely ex- 
 ceeded that of any port in the United 
 States, the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- 
 vania, on March 11, 1816, made an ap- 
 propriation for the erection of piers at 
 Chester, to afford a safe harbor to ves- 
 sels in the winter season, when drift- 
 ing ice rendered navigation of the Del- 
 aware exceedingly dangerous. The 
 owi^ers of the then existing wharves, 
 David Bevan, that at Market street, 
 and Ephraim Pearson, that at Edg- 
 mont avenue, conveyed their titles to 
 the State. Durijig the year 1817 the 
 CommonweJllth built new piers at the 
 points designated, but the cost of 
 keeping them in repair became so on- 
 erous that the State rued the accept- 
 ance of thfe gifts. Finally it was so 
 desirous of being relieved from the ex- 
 liense of the maintenance of these 
 white elephants that it succeeded, 
 through the influence of its Senators 
 and Representatives in inducing the 
 National government to accept the 
 piers at Chester, the only condition 
 made being that they should keep 
 them in good repair. The United 
 States acceeded to the proposition, 
 and on April 11, 1825, the Common- 
 wealth formally ceded the wharves 
 here to the general government. The 
 latter, as had the State, soon regretted 
 its bargain, for yearly a goodly sum 
 was required to be expended in keep- 
 
ing the piors in a serviceable condi- 
 tion, and il was not until an interval 
 of sixty-two years had elapsed when, 
 on May !», 1887, William K. Endecott, 
 Secretary of War, under the provisions 
 of the Act of Congress of August 6. 
 1886, conveyed the title of the United 
 States to the wharves here to the City 
 of Chester. 
 
 A New Naval Type 
 
 It was in the .summer of 1845, that 
 the iTinceton, the first screw propel- 
 ler in the American service, and the 
 first vessel of war or mat character 
 in the history of the navies of the 
 world, sailed from Philadelphia to take 
 part in the Mexican war. The steam- 
 ship was designed by Commodore 
 Richard F. Stockton, and was a mar- 
 vel at that time, although when com- 
 pared with the man-of-war of the 
 present, she dwarfs into insignificance. 
 Her total length was 165 feet, breadth 
 30 feet and her original cost $212,000. 
 She was pierced for 30 guns and car 
 ried in addition a large swivel on the 
 maindeck. She was ship-rigged, and 
 her maximum speed 10 knots an hour. 
 She was launched at tjie Philadelphia 
 navy yard in the fall of 1843. After 
 the "bursting of the "Peacemaker," the 
 big swivel gun, at Washington, D. C. 
 on P'ebruary 28. 1844, an accident by 
 which many distinguished men lost 
 their lives, spreading gloom over the 
 whole country, she was refitted at the 
 Philadelphia navy yard. 
 
 I have particularized these facts be- 
 cause the Princeton revolutionized the 
 system of naval architecture just as 
 nineteen years thereafter the Monitor 
 brought about a similar radical change 
 in the s,ame science throughout the 
 world. My first distinct boyhood rec- 
 ollections are connected with the sail- 
 ing of that vessel in 1845. All Chester 
 was anxious to catch a glimpse of 
 the marine wonder, for one of her 
 birth-right citizens. Commander, af- 
 terwards Rear Admiral. Frederick 
 Engle. was its captain and along the 
 wharves the people of the town gath- 
 ered to be eye witnesses of the scene. 
 Doubtless, the commander, as the 
 vessel steamed by, was complimented 
 bv the interest the inhabitants of his 
 natal place exhibited that day. The 
 Princeton, under his command, was 
 conspicuous in the bombardment of 
 Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan 
 d'Ulloa. March 22, 1847, and a shot 
 from this vessel made the first breach 
 in the walls of that fortress. 
 
 A distinguished naval officer who 
 ^ad taken part in that action told me 
 that early one morning in the summer 
 
 of 1845 the Princeton foi- the first 
 time steamed into the i>ort of Vera 
 Cruz, her sails nicely furled, her yards 
 squared and the Stars and Stripes at 
 the i)eak. As she burned anthiacite 
 coal no smoke was discernible from 
 her stack, which was so short that it 
 was only a trifle above her bulwarks, 
 and as a strong wind was blowing it 
 caused her to careen slightly, giving 
 to her the appearance of having struck 
 on ;i reef. Several French and Span- 
 ish men-of-war were at anchor in the 
 hai-bor, as was also the English frig- 
 ate Euridyce. Captain Endicott, the 
 commander of the latter, observing 
 what he sui^posed was the critical con- 
 dition of the vessel, dispatched an of- 
 ficer to acfiuaint Captain McClung, 
 commanding the United States sloop- 
 cf-war .lohn Adartis, that an American 
 sailing ship had struck on a reef. Be- 
 fore the boat could retuT-n, much to 
 his surprise and that of the other for- 
 'ign naval officers, the ship, still ca- 
 reening and without apparent cause 
 rapidly drew near and they discov- 
 '•red that it was the famous steamship 
 Princeton aiiproaching them. The 
 foreign naval vessels as the marine 
 wonder glided by greeted her with 
 hearty cheers. 
 
 Wounded Warriors 
 
 It was Tuesday. July 17, 1862, that 
 the steamship State of Maine made 
 fast to the wharf, having on board 223 
 sick _and wounded Union soldiers, who 
 had been captured by the Confeder- 
 ates in the seven days of battle before 
 Richmond and had recently been ex- 
 changed. The men presented a most 
 pitiable sight. Some had strength 
 barely sufficient to walk ashore; oth- 
 ers were unable to stand without as- 
 sistance and many had to be borne on 
 stretchers. The pallid features, the 
 emaciated forms and extreme weak- 
 ness present in every instance, aroused 
 the heartfelt sympathy of all behold- 
 ers. It was an object lesson, for it was 
 a realistic picture of war, bereft of 
 the gilt and glitter that cast^a glam- 
 our over the career of the solcfier; con- 
 spicuously lacking in the pride, pomp 
 and circumstance of battle, which is 
 wont to stir the blood of youth; noth- 
 ing was i)re'sent but sorrow, suffering 
 and the shadow of death. The in- 
 stance is noticeable in that it was the 
 first time the people of Chester in re- 
 cent years had witnessed such a 
 scene, and because it was the initial 
 consignment of i^atients to the Crozer 
 Hospital, where, during the following 
 three years, thousands of men. Union 
 and Confederates alike, were received 
 
 19 
 
and tenderly nursed, many to be re- 
 stored to health and many never more 
 to emerge therefrom in life. On the 
 deck of a steamship under the torrid 
 sky of the guff, while journeying amid 
 the everlasting snows of the Rockies, 
 and beneath the cloudless heavens of 
 the State of Utah, I have met men who 
 have told me of the hours they, as 
 wounded soldiers, had passed at the 
 Crozer Hospital at Chester, and of the 
 kindness, while convalescents, that 
 had been extended to them by the peo- 
 ple of the town, and these cherished 
 recollections welled up from their 
 memories in unfeigned emotions of 
 gratitude. 
 
 Grant's Journey 
 
 On Tuesday afternoon, April 17th, 
 1877, Chester was gay with bunting. 
 Over the City Hall, school houses, 
 mills, woKk shops and numerous pri- 
 vate dwellings, "old glory" floated 
 proudly in the air, while on the piers 
 at the foot of Market street and Edg- 
 mont avenue, on the docks along the 
 river front, at every available place, 
 on roof tops and on the decks of the 
 vessels on the stocks and lying at the 
 piers at Roach's yard, tHe people of 
 the town came together in a mass, foV 
 ex-President Grant that day set out 
 on his memorable tour around the 
 world. It had been arranged by the 
 committee in Philadelphia that he 
 Should board the Indiana down the 
 river below New Castle, and to carry 
 out this purpose the Twilight had been 
 chartered. The illustrious soldier was 
 accompanied on the steamboal by a 
 great number of prominent men, con- 
 snicuous among whom were General 
 Sherman. Senators Zachariah Chand- 
 ler and Simon Cameron, and ex-Sec- 
 »etary of the Navy George M. Robe- 
 son. The flotilla of yachts, steamboats 
 and launches, as well as the mammoth 
 
 steamship itself that was to bear him 
 to the old world, where he was to be 
 accorded a welcome from princes and 
 potentates such as had not been ex- 
 tended to any other man in modern 
 times, as it moved down the Delaware 
 a mass of flags presented a scene of 
 marvelous animation and inspiration. 
 
 When the pageant neared the wharf 
 at Market street, the sfeam whistles 
 of the city screamed out the universal 
 expression of public approval; the ar- 
 tillery served by the cadets of the 
 Pennsylvania Military College, sta- 
 tioned at Roach's yard, shook the air 
 with their discharges, the cheers of 
 men rose in a mighty swell, and the 
 flutter of handkerchiefs and scarfs by 
 thousands of women, combined in pro- 
 ducing a picture of popular enthus- 
 iasm such as has rarely been accorded 
 to man. The Twilight drew close to 
 the shore, that the General could be 
 seen by our iteople, and as the steam- 
 boat moved slowly by, a continuous 
 ovation was extended to the citizen 
 who had held two of the most exalted 
 offices in a great nation, and had, in 
 nccordance with its system of popular 
 government, laid fhem both aside to 
 lesume that of private station. In 
 that aspect alone it was an incident 
 that will never be wholly blotted from 
 the records of time. 
 
 Our ramble is ended. The story of 
 the main street of Chester-on-Dela- 
 ware has merely been outlined in these 
 l)apers. The subject coveriny- over 
 two centuries, with no continuity of 
 events, necessarily required its pres- 
 entation in a paragraphic form, but if 
 T have succeeded in demonstrating 
 that our city is not devoid of historic 
 interest, my purpose has been at- 
 tained. A people without history is a 
 ])eople without patriotism, stagnating 
 in arrested civilization, which is the 
 beginning of disintegration. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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