Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 93

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 93

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John Cowgill Corbit was married at Holy Trinity church, Philadelphia, November 30, 1859, to Emily P., daughter of Alexander and Ann Alee (Hoffecker) Peterson; she is a na- tive of Philadelphia. Their children are : I. Alexander P., farmer, at home, was educated in the public schools of Odessa, and at Haver- ford College, of which institution he is a graduate; II. Daniel, whose education was

similar to that of his brother, is also a farmer, and at home; III. John C., Jr., of Philadel- phia, shared the same educational advantages as those of his brothers.

The Peterson family is of Swedish origin, and came among the earliest settlers of the state of Delaware. Israel Peterson, the grandfather of Mrs. Corbit, was born in Kent county, Del., where also he lived and died. Ile married Margaret, daughter of John Cook, high sheriff of Kent county under the English crown. Their children were: I. John; II Henry; III. Margaret; IV. Elizabeth; V. Mary; VI. Alexander. All the family are now deceased, and their bodies are interred in the family burial place in the Odd Fellows' cemetery at Smyrna, Del. Alexander Peter- son, youngest child of Israel Peterson, was born near Smyrna in Kent county, March 10, 1796, was educated in subscription schools, obtained a position as clerk in Smyrna at the age of fourteen, and afterwards for a number of years held the same position in the store of Thomas Kelly, in Philadelphia. From that city he returned to Smyrna, where he and his brother John opened a tanyard. In 1837, he opened a tanyard on Front street, in Philadel- phia, still retaining his interest in the Smyrna tannery. Several years later, Mr. Peterson opened a leather store in William street, Phil- adelphia, which he continued until his death, which occurred in Philadelphia, in 1869. He was first a Whig, and afterwards a Republi- can, but was not active in political affairs. Alexander Peterson was married in Smyrna, Del., to Ann Alee, daughter of Henry and Sarah (Alee) Hoffecker; she was of French and German descent, and was born in Kent county in 1801. Their children are: I. Sarah; II. Margaret Cook, deceased; III. Mary Emory, deceased; IV. John, who died at the home of his sister, Mrs. Corbit, in 1895; V. Emily P. (Mrs John C. Corbit); VI. Ann, deceased. Mrs. Peterson died in Philadelphia in 1889, and she, as well as her husband, was buried in the cemetery of the I. O. O. F. at Symrna. . The family stands high in the com- munity, adding to the "claims of long descent" the more substantial claim of many excellent personal qualities.

DANIEL WHEELER CORBIT, Odessa, Del., son of Daniel and Eliza (Naudain) Cor- bit, was born March 7, 1843. Having re-

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STATE OF DELAWARE

ceived his primary education in home schools, he was sent at the age of twelve to the Friends' boarding-school at Westtown, Pa., then under the supervision of Samuel Alsop; there he studied for three years, and then in the Friends' school in Wilmington, Del., for one year. He made his final preparation for col- lege at Delaware City, Del., and was admitted to the sophomore class of Haverford College in 1860. After entering the senior class, he was obliged to relinquish the remainder of his course, and to return home, on account of the absence of his brother-in-law, Capt. Charles Corbit, then in the Union army. Mr. Corbit began farming, but on July 11, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, of the Delaware Emergency Regiment, under Col. Henry, for nine months, in the ranks. After doing duty for thirty days, the regiment was discharged near New Castle, and Mr. Corbit returned to his agricultural interests, giving much time and attention to his peach orchards, which were very extensive and thriving. He is warmly interested in all local enterprises, and is a Republican of strong convictions. As has been said carlier, his home is in the old his- torie family mansion.

Daniel W. Corbit was married October 13, 1870, at Saint George's, Del., to Mary Clark, daughter of Anthony M. Higgins, of New Castle county, and sister of Hon. Anthony Higgins, of the U. S. Senate. She is a great- granddaughter of Governor Clark. The chil- dren of Mr. and Mrs. Corbit are: I. Sara Clark, wife of F. W. Curtis, paper manufac- turer, of Newark, Del .; II. Louisa Naudain. Mr. Corbit is an elder, and has been trustee and treasurer, of Drawyer's church, having united with the Presbyterian communion in 1875. Ile is a man of exemplary Christian life

WILLIAM FISHER CORBIT, of Odessa, Del., deceased, half brother of Daniel Corbit, was the son of William and Sarah (Fisher) Corbit. He received a good practical educa- tion, and became a merchant, taking a prominent part in the business affairs of Odessa. Ile was also a gentleman of literary taste and ability, wrote well in prose and in verse, being gifted with a poetic talent, in which he has few rivals in the state. William F. Corbit was married in

Smyrna, Del., to Rhoda Davis, sister of Judge Davis. Their only child was James Corbit, M. D., who died in 1840. Dr. James Corbit founded a public library in Odessa, which was the first free library in the state, and which is now maintained by the Corbit family. Mrs. William F. Corbit died in Odessa, where her husband also died; their remains rest in the Friends' burying ground at that place.

THE EAGLE AND HIS RIVAL.

BY WM. FISHER CORBIT, 1815.

The giant eagle soared on high

Into the regions of the sky.

Dashed through the clouds,

And on the highest mountain sat,

And said, "Here then I stand.

Head of my kingdom ; who shall fly

To this sublime untrodden land. Who can approach me ?"

"I," said a small voice ; he looked around

And spied an earth-worm on the ground. "We rivals-so !

How camest thou here ?" the eagle called. "I? from below." "And how then here ?" "I crawled." Ye Ministers and Generals,

Ye Chancellors and Cardinals,

Laureates and Lawyers-all. Who occupy those seats on high,

Come now and tell us. did you By, Or did you crawl ? 'Tis really odd, how oft one traces Mere crawlers to the loftiest places !

WILLIAM BRINTON CORBIT, M. D., son of Daniel and Eliza (Naudain) Corbit, was born in Odessa, August 2, 1840. He was educated in public schools, Friends' School, of Westtown, Pa., and Haverford College, and obtained his medical course in Jefferson Col- lege, from which he was graduated in 1863. He was appointed to Blockley Hospital for one year. For two years he was a Surgeon in the U. S. Army, and at the close of the war went to Europe, and continued his studies in Ber- lin, Vienna and Paris. After returning to his native land, he began practice at Phila- delphia, his residence and office being on North Broad street. In 1876, Dr. Corbit was married to Virginia Dove, daughter of Dr. Dove, a well known physician, of Washing- ton. After his marriage he removed to Wash- ington and became assistant to Dr. Wood- ward, of the Medical Department, U. S. A., and continued in this position up to the date of his death, July, 1882. ITis widow resides in Washington.

Ilis will conveyed to his wife $10,000, to be applied at her death to the Corbit Library,

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

of Odessa. The doctor was a linguist, a lover of books and one of the founders of the Cosmos Club, of Philadelphia.

MERRITT NOXON WILLITS, P. O. Middletown, Del., son of Horatio Nelson and Elizabeth Noxon (Merritt) Willits, was was born on the old Noxon farm, afterward known as Walnut Landing Farm, in St. George's hundred, near Middletown, Septem- ber 5, 1847.

The Willits family was for many genera- tions resident in England. We find the branch, of which Merritt Noxon Willits is a member, residing in 1657, at Hempstead, Long Island. The family was of the Society of Friends, its members good citizens, indus- trious, upright and peaceable, both in their native country and in America.

Thomas Willits, grandfather of Merritt Willits, was born near Tuckerton, N. J., and received a good education, the Friends being always careful to secure this advantage to their children. He became a farmer, and continued to reside near Tuckerton until he was about sixty-five years of age.

In 1839, having a strong desire to share the advantages of what was then the far West, he went to La Porte, Ind., where he resided until his death. For the first two years after his migration to Indiana, Mr. Willits continued the pursuit of farming, finally retiring from active life. He was, in his early manhood a Federalist, and on the formation of the Whig party, naturally gravitated into its ranks.

Thomas Willits was married at Tuckerton, New Jersey, to his second wife, who was the daughter of his father's brother, James Willits, of Little Egg Harbor. Their chil- dren were: I. Horatio Nelson; II. James R., M. D., of Fredonia, Kas .; III. Hannah, married William Holmnan, M. D., of La Porte, Ind .; IV. Martha, married Asa C. Ridgway, of La Porte, Ind .; V. Phebe, married Allen R. Pharo, of Philadelphia; VI. Louisa, mar- ried Isaac Holman, of Rochester, Ind .; VIT. Marietta, married George Anderson, of ('hi- cago; VIII. Henry, of California.

Thomas Willits died at La Porte, Ind., in 1876, at the age of seventy-two. The death of his wife occurred at the same place, in 1881, when she was in her ninety-third year. They were both life-long Friends.

IToratio Nelson Willits, the eldest of the

children, was born near Tuckerton, December 15, 1809, and was named in honor of the la- mented victor of the then recent battle of Tra- falgar. Hle first attended school in his own neighborhood, and principally in the winter months, as he assisted on his father's farm during the busy season. By his own efforts, he afterwards supplied many of the deficien- cies in his early education. At the age of tif- teen, he became apprenticed to his uncle, Joseph Bartlett Willits, of Philadelphia, a well known contractor, builder and architect. Having completed his apprenticeship and reached his majority, he entered into partner- ship with his brother-in-law, Allen A. Pharo, of Philadelphia, for the purpose of being edu- cated as a builder. They erected many pri- vate dwellings as well as public buildings, among them the Noble street Friends' Meet- inghouse, and the Asylum for the Blind. The partnership lasted until 1842. Mr. Wil- lits then continued the business alone for a short time, after which he removed to Balti- more and was for a year engaged in the manu- facture of umbrellas.

In 1846, he settled on the Maple Grove farm, a part of the tract which came into his wife's family by conveyance from William Penn. This farm Mr. Willits cultivated until 1870. In 1847, he built a commodious dwell- ing on this property. From 1870 till 1880, he was one of the most extensive dealers in and producers of peaches on the peninsula. His own trees were very numerous and pro- ductive; at one time he had forty thousand in bearing. During the year 1888, Mr. Wil- lits purchased a peach evaporating factory in Middletown, from which were turned out large quantities of fruit. In this year he re- tired from business at the age of seventy- nine. Mr. Willits was an active and thorough business man, a stockholder and di- rector of the New Castle county National Bank, of Odessa, and one of the oldest mem- bers of its board. He was connected in the same way with the Cantwell Fire Insurance Company. To these positions, his son, Mer- ritt Noxon Willits, has succeeded. Politi- cally, Mr. Willits was a Whig, and decided in his opposition to slavery, espousing the cause of the Union, and contributing liberally from his means for its maintenance.

On April 1, 1846, Horatio Nelson Willits was married the second time to Elizabeth

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STATE OF DELAWARE

Noxon, daughter of Thomas Schee and Mary Paxson (Noxon) Merritt. She was born in Wilmington, Delaware, March 7, 1823. Their children were: I. Merritt Noxon; II. Horace C., died in infancy; III. Clarence Douglas, who also died very young. Mr. Wil- lits was, prior to his marriage, a Friend, after which he became a member of St. Anne's Protestant Episcopal church at Middletown, of which he has for many years been senior warden. Both he and his wife still live on the old homestead.

Merritt Noxon Willits, the eldest son, be- gan his education at St. Anne's rectory, taught by Rev. H. Harold, then studied at the Middletown Academy; afterward at- tended boarding school at West Chester, Pa., under Professor Myers; and finally pursued his course of study under Rev. Dr. Clemp- son, at Claymont, Del. He had now begun preparation for the study of the law, when his eyes becoming seriously affected, he was compelled to lay aside his life's choice. He returned home, but enjoyed five years' in- struction under private tutors, among whom were Mr. Sharer, a Confederate prisoner then on parole, and the Rev. James HI. Brooks, now of Oil City, Pa.

After completing his education, Mr. Wil- lits took charge of the Maple Grove farm, and continued actively engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1892. He was interested for years with his father in peach culture, and is still extensively engaged in fruit raising, be- sides superintending the cultivation of about eight hundred acres of land in St. George's hundred. Mr. Willits has the excellent busi- nes qualifications of enterprise and sound judgment, which are called into requisition in publie concerns as well as private affairs. He was one of the originators and is a stockholder in the Creamery Company at Middletown. He has succeeded his father as stockholder and director in the Odessa National Bank and the Cantwell Fire Insurance Company, and has been for one term Trustee of the Poor for New Castle county. His polities are Repub- lican, and he holds a membership in the Masonic Lodge, No. 5, A. F. and A. M., and in the Junior Order of American Mechanics, both of Middletown.

Merritt Noxon Willits was married, Oc- tober 9, 1869, to Laura Eugenia, daughter of Elias S. and Mary J. (Brooks) Naudain.

Their children were: I. Horatio Nelson; II. Laura Eugenia; III. Merritt Noxon.

The eldest, Horatio Nelson, was educated for the profession of law, having registered as a student at the New Castle County Bar, under Hon. Edward G. Bradford, now Judge of the U. S. Court for the District of Dela- ware. Ile continued his studies in the office of Mr. Bradford and his partners, Lewis C. Vandegrift and William Michael Byrne, under their personal direction for one year, when he entered the Law Department of the University of Pennsylvania, retaining as his private preceptor, Hampton L. Carson, Esq., of the Philadelphia Bar, and member of the faculty of the Law Department. Under Mr. C'arson's immediate instruction, he completed his term of three years, and was graduated, June 8, 1898, as Bachelor of Laws. Merritt Noxon Willits, the younger, received a liberal education and entered commercial life in Philadelphia. Mrs. Willits died February 9, 1875, and was interred in the cemetery at old St. Anne's.

Mr. Willits married again in 1879. His second wife was Louisa W., daughter of Jesse C. and Lydia W. Ridgway. They had issue: I. Clara Lydia; II. Jesse Royden; III. Eliza- beth Noxon, died in infancy. Mr. Willits's family are all members of the Episcopal Church, he being treasurer and for many years a vestryman.

The Merritt family, maternal ancestors of Merritt Noxon Willits, have for generations been residents of New Castle county, holding a respectable and influential position in the community. Thomas Merritt, born in New Castle, 1768, was all his life a farmer in St. George's hundred. In politics, he was a Federalist. He married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Schee, an extensive farmer in the county, of Dutch descent. Their only child was Thomas Schee, born in 1794. Thomas Merritt, when not yet thirty years of age, died, September 1, 1797.

The son, Thomas Schee Merritt, being then only three years old, was cared for by his uneles, Drs. Benjamin and John Merritt, of Wilmington, who gave him a good education. When of age, he went to Philadelphia, where he learned the art of tanning. Afterward, he moved to Appoquinimink hundred where he began farming on the tract of his land now owned by Robert Cochran. Mr. Merritt

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BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

afterward settled on part of the old Noxon traet known as Sunnyside, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a Whig and afterward a Republican, was Trustee of the Poor for New Castle county, and a man who enjoyed the confidence and respect of his neighbors.

Thomas Schee Merritt was married to Mary - Paxson, daughter of Benjamin and Martha (Black) Noxon, born near Norton. Their issue were: I. Elizabeth Noxon, married Horatio Nelson Willits; II. Sarah Gorrell, died at the age of eleven months. Mrs. Merritt died in 1828, and was buried in the family vault at Noxonton, from which place her body was removed to St. Anne's Ceme- tery, and placed with the remains of her hus- band's second wife, her sister, Sarah Noxon. The offspring of the second marriage were: I. Mary Noxon; II. Martha Black, married Horatio Willits, son of Allen Ridgway and Phebe Willits Pharo; III. Hannah Schee, married John J. Lockwood. Mrs. Sarah Merritt died in 1874; her husband survived her until 1878. Both were interred in St. Anne's cemetery. The family were all mem- bers of that church.

Few families have been better known in the state that the Noxons who founded and gave their name to Noxonton, at which place for many years country fairs were annually held. The tents occupied either side of the main road for a long distance. This old landmark, now so quiet and ancient looking, was in those days the resort of merry-makers and gay crowds of country people from round about. Noxonton is located on Appoquinimink Creek and in the hundred which derives its name from that stream.

Thomas Noxon, the first of the name in Delaware, was born in Kingston, New York, 1669, came to Delaware while yet a young man, and settled on Appoquinimink Creek, where Noxonton now is. There he purchased a tract of some 3000 acres of land, which was cultivated by the large number of slaves owned by him. Here, Thomas Noxon built one of the finest brick mansions in the state. Near it was constructed the old vault to be used as a place of burial by himself and his descendants forever. This was the first of its kind in the region, and still holds the remains of its builder with those of many of his name.

Thomas Noxon's wife was Mary, daughter

of Colonel B. Pierce, an officer in the English army and a resident of Maryland, where Mrs. Noxon was born. Of their five children, only two, Benjamin and Sarah, lived beyond their infancy. The bodies of all now repose in the vault before referred to, where more than one hundred persons have, in the past, been in- terred.

Benjamin Noxon, son of Thomas, was born on the old homestead, educated and afterward made milling and farming his vocations. He was a large land owner and man of business, and lived and died in the vicinity of Noxon- ton. His wife was Elizabeth Harrison Ward, of Maryland. One child, who died in in- fancy, was the fruit of this marriage.

After his first wife's death, Benjamin Nox- on married Sarah Gorrell, daughter of James and Ruth Gorrell, of Maryland. Their chil- were Benjamin and James, the last of whom died at the age of twenty-seven years. Benja- min cultivated the home farm all his life, which, however, was not a long one, his death occurring when he was thirty-two. His re- mains were laid with those of the rest of his family.

He was married to Martha Black and had by her four children: I. Sarah, died in in- fancy; II. Mary Paxson; III. Sarah Gorrell; IV. Elizabeth Black. The last named died when twenty-five years old. The first two children, as before stated, were married to Thomas Schee Merritt. By his union with the eldest, Mary Paxson Noxon, he became the grandparent of Merritt Noxon Willits.

JONATHAN KNIGHT WILLIAMS, P. O. Odessa, Del., son of John Jarrett and Lydia (Knight) Williams, was born in Cheltenham township, Montgomery county, Pa., May 25, 1828.

His grandfather, Anthony Williams, a strict Friend, and of Welsh descent, was a resident of the same part of Pennsylvania, where, since their first immigration, the fam- ily had been greatly esteemed and respected for industry and unwavering adherence to principle. Anthony Williams, being a Friend, was a non-combatant; and during the war of the Revolution, he obeyed his convic- tions with a zealous spirit of a martyr. Every effort was made to bring him into the ranks of the British army; but persuasions, threats, and even attempted coercion were alike in

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STATE OF DELAWARE

vain. Anthony Williams married Rachel been president since 1889; he has been a Jarrett, a member of another large and re- school commissioner of his hundred. spected family of Friends. Their son, John Jamiett Williams, was born in 1782; he was a farmer. Hle always followed the faith and customs of his Quaker ancestors, except in his marriage, for which he fell under the cen- sure of the meeting; his wife, Lydia, daugh- ter of Jonathan Knight, not being a Friend. They had five children: I. Mary Knight; H. Thomas, a farmer on the homestead; III. Jonathan Knight; IV. John Jay, farmer, of Cecil county, Md .; V. Harriet, who died in infancy. John Jarrett Williams died at the age of sixty-nine, in November, 1851.

Jonathan K. Williams was educated with the care always bestowed upon children of Friends. He attended the common schools until he was fifteen years old, when he was sent to the excellent boarding schools of the Society at Claymont and Byberry, for four years, and afterwards for one winter to the Friends' Academy, at Alexandria, Va. These schools imparted to him thorough training in the English branches and in mathematics. Af- ter his course was ended, he assisted his brother, Thomas, in the cultivation of the homestead farm. On March 25, 1852, he re- moved to the farm in Delaware on which he has ever since made his home. It consists of 300 acres of arable land, and is principally devoted to the cultivation of cereals, and fine orchards of apples and pears. In 1871, Mr. Williams purchased the Mapleton farm, and five years later the Foard tract, between Odes- sa and Middletown. He is active and enter- prising, and attends carefully to the improve- ment and cultivation of his extensive prop- erty, introducing such methods as he finds best calculated to increase and maintain the productiveness of the soil. He also rears horses and cattle of superior breeds. Mr. Williams is regarded by all who know him as entirely trustworthy; his frank and candid speech, coupled with just and honorable deal- ings in all matters of business, inspire general confidence. He is a Republican. During the war of the Rebellion, he was constant and un- compromising in his devotion to the Union canse. Ifis business abilities are placed at the service of the New Castle county National Bank, of Odessa, of which he is a director: of the Odessa Creamery Co., of which he has

Jonathan Knight Williams was married September 15, 1853, to Fannie, daughter of Ja- cob and Margaret (Fox) Shalleross, of Phila- delphia, and sister of Sereck Shalleross, of Saint George's hundred. Their children are: I. Lydia (Mrs. Leonard Aspril), of Odessa; II. John J., died when fifteen months old, in 1856; III. Margaret (Mrs. G. E. Hukill), of Middletown; IV. Mary Knight (Mrs. Edwin S. Wood), of Horsham township, Montgom- ery county, Pa .; V. Adeline Evans, died aged four years, in 1865; VI. John Jay, died when one year old, in 1863; VII. Fannie Shall- eross; VIII. Bessie C. In 1868, Mr. Wil- liams became a member of the Methodist church of Odessa, and is active in the service of the congregation, as steward and trustee. Mrs. Williams is a lady of genial manner, and "given to hospitality."

The Shalleross family is descended from three brothers, of English birth, who settled in Pennsylvania early in the history of that colony, one in Bucks county, another in Dela- ware county, and the third, Thomas Shall- cross, great-grandfather of Mrs. Jonathan K. Williams, in Oxford township, in the north- ern part of Philadelphia county. They were Friends, and were of the peaceable, kindly and contented character for which members of that Society are noted. Thomas Shalleross and his son, also named Thomas, were farm- ers, and passed their entire lives in Oxford township. Thomas Shalleross, 2, was born in 1763; he owned a tract of 112 acres in or near the old borough of Frankford, and now included within the limits of the city of Phila- delphia. As a Friend and a non-combatant, he took no active part in the Revolutionary war, but came into very close contact with the army under General Washington, that great commander and his forces encamping on the Shalleross farm during the memorable winter of 1776. The family were obliged to pen up their sheep carefully, to keep them from fora- gers; their cattle they chained in the stalls, but that did not prevent their losing many of them, for the soldiers would decapitate them, leaving the beasts' heads hanging in the chains, while they carried their bodies off and cooked them over the camp-fires, never offering any compensation. Thomas Shall- cross, 2, was an industrious farmer, and a

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Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, Vol. I, Part 93

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

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