Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 17

Author: Runk, J.M. & Co
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chambersburg, Pa.
Number of Pages: 1482


USA > Delaware > Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I > Part 17


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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of Maryland gave him patents for a tract of land in what was then Worcester county, Maryland, lying at the head of Pepper's Creek, which was later, by the surveys of the boundary line between Maryland and Dela- ware in 1767, found to be in Delaware.


In 1774, all of these tracts were resurveyed to him under Penn and called "Dagworthy's Conquest." They contained, in the aggregate twenty thousand three hundred and ninety- three acres. This was a magnificent domain, and testifies to the esteem in which Col. Dag- worthy was held by the people.


From the exhaustive paper on the history and public services of Colonel Dagworthy, contributed to the Historical Society of Dela- ware by Dr. George W. Marshall, of Milford, in 1895, it appears that he umust have settled on his land soon after it was assigned him, for on the 24th of October, 1774, he was commis- sioned by John Pen as a justice for Sussex county. Afterwards, John MeKinly, Presi- dent and Commander-in-Chief of the Dela- ware State, commissioned him as a justice in the county of Sussex, dated Wilmington, March 8, 1777.


In consequence of the territory acquired from Maryland by Delaware, a law was en- acted in 1774 that the justice should ascertain the boundaries of the several ancient hun- dreds, and commissioners (of whom John Dag- worthy was one) were appointed to select free- men to conduct elections for inspectors and assessors.


Dagworthy was appointed one of the Com- mittee of Safety in Sussex county for the sun- pression of the Tory insurrection, and in the "Minutes of Council" for March, 1778, he


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is referred to as "Brigadier Dagworthy." The following resolution was adopted by Council, March 20, 1778:


WHEREAS, The Council is fully convinced that some of the disaffected inhabitants of the county of Sussex have taken up arms, much to the terror of the good people of said county and to the encouragement of the British forces to land and make incursions there; therefore,


Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Council, that, for restoring peace and har- mony in said county, the President of the State issue his orders immediately to General Dagworthy, to disarm and take the ammuni- tion from all the disaffected inhabitants of the County of Sussex.


That he was actively employed in the cause of the Colonies there is abundant evidence On October 9, 1776, Samuel Patterson wrote from Perth Amboy to General Read. "George Parvis, our acting quartermaster, was adjutant in Sussex to General Dagworthy's battalion." In May a lot of ammunition and other mu- nitions of war belonging to Maryland arrived in Indian River, and were taken in charge by Colonel Dagworthy and sent to Charlestown, Maryland, by land. In 1777, Thomas Me- Kean wrote, "We made a promotion in the militia by making Dagworthy brigadier."


Dr. Marshall, his biographer, says that General Dagworthy built a capacious one- story house upon his lands in Dagsborough hundred, Sussex county, which hundred and town were named after him. Here, sur- rounded by his family and a retinue of slaves, he dispensed a liberal hospitality to his many friends and admirers. He was honored and respected as a bold patriot and an earnest, honest citizen, solicitious for the best interest of his State and the community in which he lived, and where he largely developed the varied industries of the county.


General Dagworthy died in the early part of 1784, as his will was probated May 24th of that year. He made ample provision for his wife Martha, and for his sisters, Elizabeth Clayton, Sarah De Hart, and Mary; and for his nephews, James Mitchell, William Clay- ton Mitchell, Nathaniel Mitchell, and George Mitchell; and for his niece, Abigail Bell. But he left no lawful issue. To his ward, Eliza- beth Dagworthy Aydelott, whom he educated


under the care of his sister Mary living at Trenton, he gave liberally. She was highly educated and was a fine Latin and Greek scholar. She married William Hill Wells, who was born in Pennsylvania about 1760 and died at Millsboro, Delaware, March 11, 1829. He became the owner of the Dag- worthy estate. A lawyer by profession, he be- came prominent, and was recognized as a representative man. Ile was chosen to the U'nited States Senate to till the unexpired term of Joshua Clayton, deceased, and served from February 4, 1799, till May 6, 1804, when he resigned. On the resignation of James .. Bayard, he was again elected, holding his seat from June 10, 1813, to March 3, 1817. He left four sons and a daughter: I. Dagworthy; II. Henry; III. Edward; IV. Alfred and V. Rachel (Mrs. William D. Waples). Mrs. Waples bought the estate and resided there. The sons of William Hill Wells all studied law and were admitted to practice, but, with the exception of Alfred, the youngest, did not follow the profession for any length of time. Alfred Wells went to Ithaca, N. Y., and was engaged in legal practice until his death, serving as judge of the county and member of Congress. Henry Wells was sec- retary of the state under Governor Haslet. Edward Wells was Register of the Court of Chancery for several years, resided in George- town, and finally settled in Washington, where he died.


THE FERRIS FAMILY.


Benjamin Ferris, of Wilmington, came of an old and honored ancestry. In Cope's Genealogy of the Sharpless family a very full record may be found. Samuel Ferris, grandfather of Benjamin, came from Read- ing, near London, and settled at Groton, Mas- sachusetts. He married Sarah Reed, whose father came from Awley in the southern part of England. They first settled in Fairfield, Connecticut, and afterward removed to New Milford, being one of the first twelve families settled there. The children of Samuel and Sarah (Reed) Ferris were: I. Joseph; II. De- borah; III. David; IV. Sarah; V. Benjamin; VI. Hannah; VII. John; VIII. Zachariah. The parents were of the Presbyterian faith, but several of the children became Friends.


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STATE OF DELAWARE


David Ferris, born at Stratford, Connecti- cut, March 10, 1707, removed to Philadelphia in 1733, became a Friend, and in 1735 mar- ried Mary Massey. In 1737 he settled in Wil- mington, Delaware, where he died December 5, 1779, having been a minister about twenty- four years. Ilis brother Zachariah came to Wilmington and was received into member- ship by Friends December 2, 1739. He was soon afterwards recommended as a n.inister, labored faithfully, and died January 6, 1803, aged eighty-five years, one month and twenty- four days.


John Ferris, of New Milford, born in 1710, was married March 15, 1738, to Abigail Tryon, of New Fairfield, and they had issue: I. Deborah, born December 7, 1738; II. Abi- gail, twin with Deborah; III. Nathan, born June 7, 1740; IV. Rosamond, born October 7, 1741; V. Ziba, born June 13, 1743; VI. Matthew, born January 14, 1745; VII. Eliza- beth, born December 7, 1746.


With these children they removed to Wil- mington in 1748, bringing certificates from the Monthly Meeting "held at the Oblong in ye county of Dutchess and Province of New York, ye 21st of ye 2nd mo. 1748." Of John it was said he had a gift for the ministry. He died of small-pox in 1750. Zebulon Ferris, perhaps a nephew, produced a certificate from Nine Partners, New York, dated March 17, 1750.


We are informed by Savage, in his Genea- logical Dictionary, that Zechariah (Samuel?) Ferris, of Charlestown, 1675, had children: I. Zechariah, baptized February 6, 1676; II. Sarah, November 12, 1678; III. Hannah, July 18, 1680. The name was written "Ferriss" by the second, third and fourth generations.


Ziba Ferris, born at New Milford in 1743, married Edith Sharpless, who was born in Middletown, October 30, 1742, and died in Wilmington, February 8, 1815. Her mar- riage took place January 12, 1769, at Middle- town Meeting. Her husband died in Wilming- ton, Delaware, April 24, 1794. They had issue: I. Phebe, b. 11 mo. 20, 1769; d. 8 mo. 20, 1770; IT. Mary, b. 3 mo. 16, 1771; d. 9 mo. 9. 1773; III. Deborah (Mrs. Joseph Bringhurst), b. 3 mo. 2, 1773; d. 8 mo. 20, 1844: TV. John, b. 10 mo. 12, 1775; d. 11 mo. 1, 1802; m. Sarah Harlan; V. Edith (Mrs. Caleb Harlan), b. 4 mo. 18, 1778; d. 4 mo. 20,


1827; VI. Benjamin, b. 8 mo. 7, 1780; d. 11 mo. 9, 1867; m. Fanny Canby and Hannah Gibbons; VII. Ziba, b. 1 mo. 25, 1786; d. 10 mo. 14, 1875; m. Eliza Megear.


Edith Ferris was the daughter of Ben- jamin and Edith Sharpless, of Middletown, Chester county, Pennsylvania. She is repre- sented as being a beautiful woman, but unaf- fectedly modest, social in her disposition, and possessing an unusual flow of spirits, but noted for her fortitude, and a clear, sound . understanding. She early became prominent in the Meeting and for nearly eighteen years filled the station of overseer to the satis- faction of her friends. In 1794 she was left a widow; and in 1802 she lost her eldest son. By these removals she was deprived of the two main pillars of her earthly hopes, but she struggled to bear these heavy afflictions with true Christian patience and resignation. She died as already stated in February, 1815.


John, eldest son, and fourth child of Ziba and Edith (Sharpless) Ferris, was born Oc- tober 12, 1775, and died November 1, 1802. Ile married in 1800 at Stanton Meeting, Dela- ware, Sarah Harlan, who was born August 7, 1780, at Mill Town, Delaware, and died April 17, 1869, in Wilmington. She was a daughter of Caleb and Ann (Jackson) Harlan, of Mill Town.


The fruit of this marriage was one son, John, born September 21, 1801, and died September 2, 1882, unmarried. His father died at the early age of twenty-seven of yel- low fever. In 1802, when this scourge pre- vailed in Wilmington, John Ferris was ap- pointed one of the Board of Health, which station he filled with diligence and strict at- tention to the necessities of the sufferers, without for a moment thinking of his own danger. He was finally seized with the fever and died November 1, 3802. His death caused much sorrow, as he was a man who stood high in the community and commanded great re- spect. The Board of Health paid a high tribute to his memory in a series of resolutions which were unanimously passed and spread upon the minutes. The record of his services by the Board says: "As soon as the disease appeared, * * * and consigned eighty-two victims to their graves, he commenced his arduous services; and during its continuance did not for a single day, intermit his attention


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to the sick, the dying, and the dead. The first mentioned he was in the constant practice of visiting twice a day. He took upon himself the care of the funerals of the deceased. When, after having performed a serious tour of duty, a duty enjoined by his commiseration for the distressed, and anxiety for their relief, he fell a victim, a late sacrifice to his exertions for the happiness of others, and left on the hearts of his fellow citizens a grateful remem- brance of his labors and his virtues."


Edith, fourth daughter and fifth child of Ziba and Edith (Sharpless) Ferris, was born April 18, 1778, and died at Mill Town, April 20, 1827. On the 23d of December, 1803, she married, at Wilmington Meeting, Caleb Harlan. He was born near Doe Run, Chester county, Pennsylvania, December 30, 1770, and died at Mill Town, August 8, 1840. Both are buried at Stanton Meeting. Caleb Harlan learned the milling business under his father, but it did not agree with his health, and he turned his attention to storekeping at Mill Town. He also owned land but did not farm it himself. They had issue (surname Har- lan) I. John Ferris, b. Feb. 23, 1805; d. No- vember 5, 1823; IT. Ann J., b. Aug. 11, 1808; d. ---; III. Edith, b. July 19, 1812; d. Der. 31, 1885; IV. Mary A., b. Ang. 31, 1813; d.


Benjamin, second son and sixth child of Ziba and Edith (Sharpless) Ferris, was born August 7, 1780, in Wilmington, and died there November 9, 1867. IIe married, first, on the 17th of May, 1804, at Wihnington, Fannie Canby. She was born November 11, 1778, in Brandywine, Delaware, and died in Wilmington August 3, 1833. He married, second, October 15, 1835, Hannah Gibbons. She was born in Lampeter, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, January 19, 1793, and died in Wilmington May 3, 1860; daughter of Abra- ham and Mary (Canby) Gibbons. Children all by first wife: I. William, b. Feb. 13, 1805; d. in infancy ; IT. Edward, b. July 24, 1809; d. Aug. 31, 1810; III. Anna, b. Nov. 27, 1811; d. Sept. 29, 1814; IV. Deborah, b. July 22, 1813; d. - , um; V. Anna M., b. June 11, 1815; d. -, unm; VI. Benjamin, b. April 2, 1817; d. Oct. 29, 1831; VII. Mar- tha, b. June 26, 1819; d. - , unm; VIII. David, b. July 16, 1821; m. Sarah Under- wood; IX. William, b. Dec. 14, 1822; m.


Mary Wetherald; X. Edward, b. Dec. 20, 1825; m. Catharine Lehman Ashead.


Benjamin Ferris, father of the above fam- ily, was a man of remarkably vigorous intel- leet and his pen was frequently employed to disseminate his ideas, or to preserve a record of interesting local facts. He was the author of "A History of the Original Settlements on the Delaware," including a history of Wil- mington, published in 1846. It was the first publication of the kind, and a work of much merit and historic value. Copies are now very svarce and hard to secure.


As early as 1821-22, under the nom de plume of "Amicus," he engaged in a religious controversy with Rev. Dr. Gilbert ("Paul"), in a series of letters published in the Chris- lian Repository. These were afterwards pub- lished in a volume of over five hundred pages, with the title, "Letters of Paul and Amicus." Mr. Ferris in early life went to Philadelphia and learned the trade of watchmaking with the celebrated Thomas Parker. Returning to Wilmington he adopted the profession of a conveyancer, from which he retired with a competency to enjoy his literary labors,


On the announcement of his death in 1867, at the mature age of seventy-six, the Friends' Intelligencer paid a handsome tribute to his memory. Among other things it said: "ITis wonderful conversational powers adapted themselves with remarkable versatility to all ages and capacities; and all who knew him can recall the many times in which they have seen him in the centre of an admir- ing and listening group, while he poured forth the stories of his abounding treasury for their interest and instruction. He was a connecting link between the present genera- tion and the past, his retentive memory and power of representation enabling him, from an inexhaustible fund of anecdote and illus- tration, to give life-like pictures of the charac- ter and manners of those who have passed away."


Ziba, third son and seventh child of Ziba and Edith (Sharpless) Ferris, was born Jan- uary 25, 1786, at the corner of Third and Shipley streets, Wilmington, and died at ('liff- ton, near Wilmington, October 14, 1875. He married November 14, 1816, at Wilmington Meeting, Eliza Megear. She was born in Maryland, December 12, 1797, and died at


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Cliffton, May 4, 1880, daughter of Michael and Phebe (Pugh) Megear, of Wilmington. They had issue:


1. William Megear, b. Nov. 21, 1817; d. Jan. 23, 1819; 11. Elizabeth Sipple ( Mrs. Lindley Smith), b. Feb. 6, 1819; III. Mary (Mrs. William Sellers), b. Oct. 31, 1820; d. Dec. 1, 1870; IV. Infant son, b. Aug. 28, 1822; V. Edward Bringhurst, b. Feb. 22, 1824; m. Elizabeth Jenkins; VI. Phebe, b. April 15, 1825; d. in her sixth year; VII. Ziba, b. Sept. 18, 1828; in. Esther Lea; VIII. Frances, b. April 26, 1831; d. April 20, 1838; IX. Thomas Megear, b. April 17, 1834; X. Francis, b. Nov. 5, 1840; d Aug. . 2, 1843.


David, fourth son and eighth child of Ben- jamin Ferris (historian), and Fanny Canby, his wife, was born in Wihuington, July 16, 1821. Hle married Sarah Ann Underwood at Moorestown, New Jersey, April 12, 1849. David settled on a farm near Fallston, Mary- land, in 1841, removing in 1854 near Ranco- vas, New Jersey, thence to Fairfax county, Virginia, near Mt. Vernon, in 1871, and to Penn township, Chester county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1877. Issue:


I. Francis Canby, b. March 22, 1850; d. January 15, 1880, unm.


II. William Canby, b. November 17, 1851; machinist.


III. Matilda, b. August 19, 1853.


IV. Henry, b. August 16, 1855; in. Eliza- beth Ellis Marters, of Muncy, Pa., he is a printer and publisher in Wilmington; they' have issue.


V. Alfred Justice, b. June 21, 1864; printer.


VI. Walter, b. March 21, 1868; machinist.


William, fifth son and ninth child of Ben- jamin Ferris (historian), and Fanny Canby, his wife, was born in Wilmington December 14, 1822. On the 2d of January, 1845, he married Mary Wetherald, of Wilmington. She was born there December 14, 1825, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Haworth) Wetherald, of Wilmington. He has in his possession an old clock which is said to have been given by William Alexander to his daughter Mary, who married James Broome, and which has come down by direct line of descent to the present owner. They have isme :


1. Fanny, b. Harford county, Maryland, March 20, 1846; m. in Wilmington June 11, 1868, Charles Hallowell. They reside in Denver, Colorado, and have issue.


11. Benjamin, b. Hartford county July 24, 1847; m. Rachel Richardson.


III. Joseph W., b. Hartford county April 6, 1849; d. January 19, 1858.


IV. Mary HI., b. Wilmington September 3, 1854; m. October 10, 1877, Eldridge C. Price, of Baltimore. They have issue.


V. William, b. Wihnington, July 26, 1859. VI. Deborah, b. Wilmington, March 27, 1863.


VII. Anna M., b. Wilmington, November 5, 1864.


Edward, youngest of the ten children of Benjamin and Fanny (Canby) Ferris, was born December 20, 1825. He married June 5, 1855, Catherine Lehman Aslunead, of Philadelphia. They reside at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and have descendants.


Elizabeth S. Ferris, daughter of Ziba and Eliza (Megear) Ferris, b. Wihnington, Febru- ary 6, 1819, married there October 3, 1839, Lindley Smythe. He was born in Winning- ton, July 28, 1816, son of David and Anna (Canby) Smythe. After marriage, they took up their residence in Philadelphia. Issue, (surname Smythe) :


I. Ferris, b. September 8, 1841; d. April 2, 1843.


II. Horace, b. March 9, 1844; m. Mary Elizabeth Hanson in 1865, and have descen- dants.


III. Marriott Canby, b. November 13, 1845; m. in 1876, Clara Lauderbach, of Phila- delphia, place of residence, Philadelphia; they have children.


Edward B. Ferris, son of Ziba and Elizabeth (Megear) Ferris, born February 22, 1824, Wilmington; married Elizabeth Jenkins No- vember 7, 1861, of Philadelphia. They re- side in that city, and have one daughter, Anna J., born August 21, 1865.


Ziba Ferris, born September 18, 1828, son of Ziba and Eliza ( Megear) Ferris, of Wil- mington, married June 24, 1856, at her home and place of birth, Esther Lea, born October 12, 1837. She was a daughter of William Lea and James S. Lovett, of Wilmington. They reside in their native city and have a son and daughter-Alice Lea, and William Lea.


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THE ROSS FAMILY.


In early times there were none more promi- nent in Delaware than the family of Rev. George Ross. He became rector of the church at New Castle in 1705. This church, accord- ing to the authority of J. Henry Rogers, Esq., was built on the site of Fort Casimir, and still stands to-day an antique and venerable edi- " fice, surrounded by its old-time graveyard, in which sleep many of the early settlers in New C'astle.


The Rev. George Ross, born in 1676, was the son of David Ross, the second Laird of Balblair, and head of one branch of the Highland Clan Ross. He could trace his de- svent to Malcolm, Earl of Ross, who was con- temporary with Malcolm, King of the Scots in the twelfth century. George Ross was edu- cated at Edinburg, where he received the de- gree of A. M., in 1700. At first he thought of becoming a Presbyterian minister, but changed his mind and received orders in the Church of England. About 1703 he emigrated from Scotland to Delaware, settled at New Castle, and in 1705 became rector of the Epis- copal Church (Immanuel), at that place. Some time in 1707 he married Joanna Wil- liams, his first wife. She came from Rhode Island, and was noted for her piety and Chris- tian grace. They had issue: I. David, b. be- fore 1708; II. Margaret, b. in 1712; III. John, b. in 1714. Some time before the Revolution he was Attorney General under the Crown for the Lower Counties on the Delaware, and in his day was one of the most distinguished and successful lawyers of Phila- delphia. Ilis only rival at the bar was An- drew Hamilton. Samuel Adams in his diary refers to him as a lawyer of great eloquence and extensive practice. At first he favored the loyalists, but became a convert to the cause of liberty; IV. Aeneas, b. in 1716. He entered the ministry, succeeded his father as rector of the Parish of New Castle, May 3, 1758, and served until 1782. He was an earn- est supporter of independence, preached patri- otic sermons and was a pillar of strength in the cause of liberty. His son, John Ross, became the liusband of Elizabeth Griscom (Betsy Ross), who made our first national flag in Philadelphia, and whose house is still pointed out on Arch street; V. Anne, b. in 1719, mar- ried John Yeates, of Delaware, a cousin of the distinguished jurist, Joseph Yeates, a judge


of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and a resident of the city of Lancaster, Pa .; VI. Jacob, b. before 1726. Little of his history is known. Some writers say that he became a physician. Holcomb, the historian of the church over which the father presided so long, says that two of his sons became clergymen. It is probable that Jacob was one of them.


The wife of Rev. George Ross, Joanna Williams, dying soon after the birth of Jacob, he married, secondly. Catharine Van Gezel, a granddaughter of Gerrit Van Gezel, who was secretary to Jacob Alrichs, one of the Dutch governors of the colony on the Dela- ware. Their children were: VII. George, b. May 10, 1730, at New Castle. He studied law, and after his admission to the bar he set- . tled in Lancaster in 1751, and there com- meneed his professional and distinguished career. Angust 17, 1751, he married Anne Laulor. His success at the bar brought him in a few years the appointment of prosecutor for the Crown, an office which he filled with distinguished credit.


In 1768 he was chosen a representative to the General Assembly, and continued a mem- ber of that body until 1777, excepting the years 1772 and 1776. When the Tories be- came thesubjects of persecution and sometimes imprisonment, and it was esteemed next to treason to defend them, he, with James Wil- son and a few other eminent persons, was ever ready to plead in their behalf. He was, how- ever, among the first of the colonists to be- come sensible of the arbitrary acts of the Eng- lish Government and to feel "the sting of British tyranny." The Virginia resolutions, proposing a Congress of all the colonies, were received in the General Assembly on the eve of its adjournment. Many members were anxious for delay, to hear from their con- stituents, but so commanding was his influence among his colleagues that it was decided to act at once, and he was appointed a committee to draft a reply to the speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. In that reply he ex- pressed with clearness and force how sensible the members of the Pennsylvania Assembly were of the importance of co-operating with the representatives of the other colonies in every wise and prudent measure for the preservation and security of their general rights and liberties.


The success of his services in the Assembly


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made him available for other and higher du- ties. On the 22d of July, 1774, he was one of seven delegates chosen to represent the Province in the Continental Congress. On the 15th of October, on motion of Mr. Ross, it was ordered that John Dickinson, of Dela- ware, be chosen an additional delegate. That Congress met on the 5th of September and adjourned on October 26th of the same year.


As George Ross shared the distinction achieved in that short session of seven weeks, it may be worth while to pause long enough in our narrative to take a glimpse of that not- able Assembly, the first Continental Congress. It met in Carpenter's Hall, that sacred edifice which still stands in Philadelphia, and is venerated as the shrine of liberty. Many noted men were there, not the least of whom was the distinguished son of Delaware, George Ross. Their work was the grandest of the age. They surveyed and mapped the rights of man, declared that no law enacted without his consent was binding upon a British subject, that taxation without representation was tyr- anny, that the common law of England was every Englishman's birthright.


But Mr. Ross was not a one-term congress- man. Ile was re-elected on December 15, 1774, to the Congress which convened May 10, 1775. To the succeeding term he was not clected, but on July 20, 1776, he was again elected, and immediately took his seat. In January, 1777, he obtained leave of absence on account of illness, and never afterward re- turned. He thus occupied a seat in the Con- tinental Congress from September 14th to October 26, 1774; from May 10th to Novem- ber, 1775, and from July 20, 1776, to Janu- ary, 1777. On July, 4, 1776, at the very hour the Declaration of Independence was being adopted by the Continental Congress, he was at Lancaster presiding at a meeting of the officers and members of the battalions of As- sociators of the colony of Pennsylvania, to choose two brigadier generals. When the signing of the immortal document took place on the 2d of August following, he was present and affixed his name to it. He was the only signer of the Declaration from the county of Lancaster. In appreciation of his services in the Assembly and Congress, a public meeting held at Lancaster passed a resolution granting him £150, but he graciously declined the gift. The remnant of his life, after his retirement




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