USA > Delaware > History of the state of Delaware, Volume II > Part 15
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The principal hotel on the corner of Main and Second streets was built in 1824 by William Polk, and is now run by Charles Lloyd ; a smaller hotel is kept by Mr. Massey. A
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public hall, a two-story frame building 36x70 was built in 1877. The Friends were the earliest religious denomination in Odessa. An account of their now disused little brick meet- ing-house will be found in the Chapter on Religious Denom- inations. Methodism began in Odessa in 1831, Joseph C. Griffith donated the ground, upon which in 1833 their first church was built, and gave also his services as a carpenter upon the edifice. The present commodious structure was erected in 1852, when Rev. Joseph Aspril was pastor. In 1859 the Odessa congregation separated from the Middletown church, and became a charge by itself. Rev. Richard Green- bank was the first minister in 1831-3; and Rev. W. E. Gunby is now (1906) their minister. The church has 150 members, and a Sunday-school of 125 scholars.
The modern Drawyers Church in the village was dedicated May 9, 1861, a fine brick edifice costing $11,000. In 1886 it was thoroughly renovated and refurnished within. After the year 1885 the church was closed until the coming of Rev. R. L. Hallett in 1901. Under his pastoral care the church is being revived, its membership in 1906 being forty-six, and his congregations good. The history of the venerable and ven- erated mother of this church, historic " Old Drawyers," has been given at length in the chapter on " Religious Denom- inations."
APPOQUINIMINK HUNDRED.
The old Appoquinimink Hundred included all the territory between Appoquinimink and Duck creeks. In 1875 Black- bird creek was made the dividing line, the portion north of that creek retaining the old name and the portion south being styled Blackbird Hundred. " Old Appoquinimini " is recited in a deed dated January 15, 1708, from William Grant to John Damarcier. " Appoquinimink " is an Indian word, and means "wounded duck." The land is fertile and well watered, and a few large farm tracts on the Delaware river side are reclaimed marsh land. There were forty taxables in the old
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Hundred in 1683, which number by 1751 had increased to 249, with a total assessment valuation of $2,915.
The country between the Appoquinimink and Duck creeks was attracting attention so early as 1669, when William Tom petitioned Governor Nichols that certain Finns and others be allowed to settle " upon ye Kill below Apoquemini." In 1671, 400 acres of land called " Mountain Neck " were patented to Abraham Coffin, but were later resurveyed for Johannes De Haes and Ephraim Herman. De Haes was the French an- cestor on the mother's side of the Janvier family, a man of note, a magistrate and member of the first Penn Legislature held in 1683. De Haes came at last to own the whole tract, besides other land in the county. His estate at his death passed to his son Raelef, a member of the first Legislative Assembly in Delaware in 1704. Thomas Noxon, the founder of Noxontown, acquired the land. Henry Peterson in 1742 conveyed a part of this land to Abraham Gooding, describing it as the " Lucas Neck, near Thomas Noxon's new mill-pond." General Cæsar Rodney, with a force of Delaware militia, en- camped for a time on this farm during the Revolutionary war just prior to the battle of Brandywine. Noxon bought other lands in this and St. George's Hundred, and erected two grist- mills near the " Mountain Neck " farm, one of which is still in operation.
Tradition tells of fairs annually held in the early days at Noxontown lasting several days, at which both the home products and those imported from England were exhibited. These fairs were seasons of great festivity, and many people came from a distance to attend them. On the Noxon place there stood a bake-house, a malt-house, a brew-house and a landing, which was used so late as 1855. A frame building, used in those days as a hotel to accommodate travelers and their guests, was torn down about 1885. Mr. H. N. Willetts has a stone inscribed "Thomas Noxon 1740," which was taken out of an old brick building, still in good repair, erected by Thomas Noxon on his land. The land on which he lived and
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the grist-mill are now owned by W. D. Evans, and the mill is run by him.
Robert Moreton received a patent from Governor Lovelace in 1671 for 500 acres of land, and marsh appurtenant, lying west of Delaware river, " betwixt Blackbird creek and Appo- quimine." This tract came through many ownerships into the hands of Samuel Thomas, who in 1820 owned large tracts in the northeast section of the Hundred. The Thomas Land- ing, on the Appoquinimink, at which many boats used to stop, and at which the steamer "Clio" yet touches, is on this land, which is now owned by John C. Corbit. "Knowlbush Haven," a 400-acre tract patented in 1671 to William Warner, and "Poplar Hill," north of Hangman's Neck, containing 200 acres, were both once owned by Thomas, but are now the property of John C. Corbit. One of the large land-owners in this Hundred was Captain Edmund Cantwell, who lived near Odessa, then called after him " Cantwell's Bridge." Governor Lovelace granted him 800 acres on Appoquinimink creek, September 5, 1672, being a point of land between two branches of the creek ; he likewise owned a big tract between Hang- man's Branch and Blackbird creek, containing 2,200 acres. At his death he owned 1,500 acres of land highly improved called " Redelift," which in 1709 became the property of Henry Garrettson, and was afterwards divided and owned by various persons. The 800-acre piece was sold by Cantwell's heirs in 1707 to William Dyre, and was later also divided up among several proprietors, among whom were Robert T. Cochran and Richard L. Naudain.
Adjoining Cantwell's grant was a 400-acre tract patented by Penn to Bezaliel Osbourne, and through his heirs came into the hands of John Healy in 1704. John C. Corbit now owns part of this land. The other part was held by James V. Moore, and it has for many years been the home of his son Elias N. Moore. The Naudains once owned considerable land in Appoquinimink Hundred. They are descendants of Elias Naudain, a French Huguenot emigrant born in London.
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His certificate of naturalization as an English subject, was recorded at New Castle, June 12, 1720, though he had settled in this Hundred a dozen or more years before that date. His brick residence built in 1711 in Appoquinimink, is now owned by Daniel W. Corbit. He bought a large quantity of land in this and St. George's Hundreds at various times, e. g., 100 acres in St. George's Hundred from Moses Mckinley ; the "Sutton " 300-acre tract from Jacob Read, and 200 acres on Drawyers creek from Jonas Wright. He also bought of Johanness Jacquett a tract of 229 acres on Blackbird creek near its mouth, called " Hartops Pasture." Richard Naudain owns his father's share in the Cantwell tract of 800 acres above referred to, and another branch of the family own land in the Hundred.
Early in the eighteenth century, Daniel Corbit, a Scotch Quaker, settled on land in Appoquinimink Hundred adjoin- ing lands of Richard Cantwell and Elias Naudain. William Corbit, whose tannery at Odessa has been mentioned, was a · descendant of his. Daniel Corbit, a great-grandson of the first Daniel Corbit, owned the three manor houses and lands once possessed by Cantwell, Naudain and Daniel Corbit, and his heirs, John C. and Daniel W. Corbit, and the heirs of Captain Corbit, now own them. A portion of the 1,000-acre tract in Maryland called " Worsell Manor," granted by Lord Baltimore in 1683 to Peter Sawyer, is in Appoquinimink Hundred. James Heath was once the possessor of the land, and was buried on it, within the limits of the State of Mary- land it was thought ; but the survey of the land showed the grave to be on Delaware soil. Thus runs his epitaph : " Here lyes the body of James Heath who was born att War- wick on the 27th day of July 1658 and dyed the 10th day of Nov. 1731, Requiescat in pace." The farm was owned by Samuel R. Warren.
Dr. James Crawford came with Sir Robert Carr from New York to New Castle, and in 1667 obtained a warrant for land in that town. He was a sergeant in the force that took the
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town from the Dutch, and received land " in consideration of good services performed as a soldier." He received from Governor Andros in 1675 a warrant for 400 acres on St. George's creek, and in 1682, one for 400 acres on Duck creek. He died in 1683, and his widow afterwards married Edward Gibbs, the ancestor of the Gibbs family now living in St. George's Hundred. Dr. James V. Crawford, an estimable physician and citizen who died in Middletown a few years ago, was a great-grandson of this Sergeant James Crawford.
John Scott and wife Lydia came from Ireland and settled in Appoquinimink Hundred prior to 1772. His son, Rev. Thomas Scott, was born in 1772. In 1796 he married John Lattomus' widow Anna. Levi W. Lattomus, formerly a leading business man in Townsend, was John Lattomus' son. Three children were born to the Rev. Thomas Scott and his wife Anna ; Sarah, Thomas and Levi. They were among the earliest Methodists in their section, and Levi Scott became the famous and deeply beloved minister and bishop in that church. The house in which the future bishop was born, like the great Lincoln's birth-place, like that of the great soldier Grant, and other famous Americans, was a humble building "of sawed poplar logs, with its narrow hip sheds, front and back, run- ning the whole length of the building, and throwing off the falling showers from the doors of the dear old homestead !" as the bishop was wont lovingly to describe it. A more modern house on another site was built in 1841. The great- ness of Bishop Scott is disclosed by the fact that like Lincoln and Grant, his personal and official manners were marked by the greatest simplicity and modesty ; and never when occa- sion offered did this truly apostolic bishop think it beneath the Episcopal dignity to preach like His Master in the meanest villages to a handful of rustics. The venerated ashes of this devoted man of God, as if in death illustrating the lowly spirit of service that actuated him in life, repose at the door- way of the little cross-roads Methodist meeting-house in his native neighborhood, known as the " Union " among " the
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common people who heard him gladly," as also they did his Master.
William Wilson was born in 1810, and was a large land- owner on the "Levels." Through his energy and judgment, by the close of his three-score and ten years of active life, he had acquired the large estate of 3,500 acres of choice land on this peninsula, largely in Delaware, besides other possessions. His farms were chiefly devoted to raising cereals, wheat, corn, etc .; and when the peach culture was at its zenith he had 3,500 trees in bearing at one time. At his death in 1879 he left nine children ; but to-day not an acre of all his large domain is owned by one of his descendants.
In 1787 Elias Naudain, tax collector, returned 477 taxables for the old Appoquinimink Hundred. The Hundred is begin- ning to have a share in the benefits flowing from the improved methods and facilities afforded by the modern system of public instruction. The forlorn shacks in which some years ago the bare rudiments of an education, the customary "three R's," were taught in a few winter months have given place to better buildings, better books, better teachers, and necessarily to better scholars. A full account of St. Anne's Protestant Epis- copal Church, the pioneer in New Castle County, has already been given in the chapter on "Religious Denominations." The Emanuel M. E. Church at Townsend is the largest Methodist church in the Hundred. Their little building was dedicated August 20, 1871; they had 150 members in 1887. A new church with a parsonage, costing $2,000, and a mem- bership, Union and Blackbird churches included, of 254 members (1906), attest its prosperity. Rev. F. C. McSorley is their pastor. White Chapel and Dickerson Chapel were small early churches. The Union was built in 1848, and is with the Blackbird Church on the Townsend circuit.
The old Noxontown mill stood on a branch of the Appo- quinimink creek, and was built probably very early in the eighteenth century. Ships ran up the creek and were loaded at the mill door. The creek is now no longer navigated above
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Odessa, some two miles lower down the stream. The mill has been run by many persons since Noxon's death, and is now (1906) operated by W. D. Evans. In 1736 Thomas Noxon built the second mill, about a mile northwest of the Noxon- town mill. It was called the Willow Grove mill. To the west of the old Noxontown mill is one known as the Harmon mill, erected about 1800, and still in operation. Townsend is the only town in the Hundred, and is a fast-growing trade and railroad center. It was incorporated in 1885. In addition to the Delaware Railroad, which passes through it, the Queen Anne and Kent Railroad ends there. It has a population of 800. It has no manufacturing interests other than its cream- ery and, in summer, a canning establishment. Daniel B. Maloney, George M. D. Hart, W. A. Scott and J. S. Lattomus are leading citizens in the town. The town site is being con- stantly improved and fine residences being built. Good schools, churches and a fertile farming country around, together with its excellent railroad facilities, make it a promising town. Its Building and Loan Association, organized in 1883, has been quite successful, and has lent great aid to the rapid home building of the town. Fieldsboro is a little settlement three miles northeast of Townsend, and has two stores and a few houses. It was formerly called " Hard Scrabble."
BLACKBIRD HUNDRED.
The territory now comprising Blackbird Hundred was set off from that of Appoquinimink, by an Act of the Legislature March 9, 1875. The portion north of Blackbird creek forms Appoquinimink, and that south Blackbird Hundred. Until within a few years it was densely wooded, but is now largely cleared, three-fourths of the soil being under tillage. Large purchases of land in this Hundred were made of the Indians before William Penn's time. A tribe of them inhabited Thor- oughfare Neck, and their sachem, Mechaeksit, sold land to the settlers. John Morgan got a warrant for 800 acres, and John Denny for 200 acres. William Pierce bought both tracts in
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1679, and brought an action in ejectment against a squatter named William Green, " Att a Cont held in the Towne of New Castle by his majues authority the 3rd, and 4th of June 1679." The Court ordered finally that " Plt. have ye land according to Pattents of this Court Grant and that ye deft. quit ye same."
Prior to 1680 Morris Liston bought 1,200 acres of the In- dians; and that same year Mechaeksit granted Ephraim Her- man the land between Duck creek and Cedar Swamps, begin- ning at Liston's Corner. Liston was an Englishman, and received 897 acres on the Delaware, south of Blackbird creek. The two-story hip-roof brick house still owned by Samdel, son of Robert Derrickson, was built by Liston. The Derricksons, Cummins and Davids, now own his land, though his name yet lingers in the point of land there jutting into the Dela- ware, as "Liston's Point." Though gone from Delaware, the family is prominent in Preston County, Virginia. Another early settler was Abraham Staats, a Hollander, who left Man- hattan, New York, when the English came, and went to Staten Island, whence its name. When the Dutch conquered the Swedes upon the Delaware, Staats settled in Thoroughfare Neck, and bought land of the Indians. The Staats family in this and adjoining Hundreds, are descended from him. An Abraham Staats was a captain in the Revolutionary War. He had on his farm a mill through which a stream ran large enough to float a vessel. A vessel that sank near the now abandoned mill is covered with grass and sod. The farm is now owned by a great-grandson of Captain Staats.
About 1673 John Wooters settled on the south side of Blackbird creek, and built a house, planted trees and raised a crop. Shortly afterwards his house and improvements, to- gether with all his crops, were burned. Peter Bayard peti- tioned the Court, January 2, 1678, for 400 acres of land on Duck creek. A Spanish privateer, probably commanded by an Englishman, landed in 1747 on the land now owned by the Derrickson estate and plundered the dwelling and carried off a number of colored women and children. The pirates
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then forced the owner, Edmund E. Liston, to go with them to the farm of John Heart, whom they also robbed of goods and slaves, though not until they had fired into his house and wounded his wife, and with threats of burning him out forced him to surrender.
Abram Enos received in 1737 a warrant for 200 acres south of the northwest branch of Duck creek called "Slave Getter's Hall." North of Duck creek was a tract of 1008 acres called "New Bristol," which in 1754 was warranted to Isaac Norris, of Philadelphia, and Isaac England, of New Castle County. The greater part of the land in the northwest section of the Hundred was granted to William Dulany, and formed "Dulany's Manor." In 1849 a Mr. Bernard built a wooden railroad from the woods to the "Brick Store Landing." It was operated for two years, the cars being drawn by horses over the wooden rails. The land is now owned by various persons. John Donaldson at an early day owned 1910 acres in "Thoroughfair Neck," and in 1697 sold the land to Richard Bonsall and John Wood. The land touched Cedar Swamp, and the Northwest Branch rose on part of it. Bonsall's inter- est was large, and in 1702, 1356 acres of the tract, 80 acres of marsh and 864 acres of adjoining land, were put in trust for his children. Richard Bonsall's son Jacob sold 1310 acres in 1709 to Matthew Rue, George Cummins and Matthew Walton.
Ten persons were the first trustees of Friendship M. E. Church, and April 20, 1782, Robert Appleton conveyed an acre of ground to them for the church, and they built a chapel out of cedar logs, which was used until in 1867 a larger frame church, costing $5,000, took its place, Bishops Scott and Ames and Revs. England and Price being present at its dedi- cation. This church, Severson's and Jerman Chapel have a membership (1906) of 184, and Rev. Albert Chandler is pastor. There is a small Methodist church in the southwest corner of the Hundred called Dulany's Chapel. The Salem M. P. Church was built in 1842, and had a big revival in 1845, when Ezekial Wright and wife "moved to the church with
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bedding and provisions and remained day and night." After 1857 the church was closed for a time, whereupon Rev. D. F. Ewell came forward and paid its debts, and remained its pastor for eleven years. It has about 75 members.
A few private schools antedated the public schools, and since the introduction of that system facilities for education have been better and wider. One of the early local roads was laid out in 1780, and connected Thoroughfare Neck with the main road southward through the county. In 1825, $3,340 was voted by the Levy Court for a new bridge over Blackbird creek where the old Taylor's bridge stood. In 1827 a $400 appropriation was made for " Long Bridge" over the north- west branch of Duck creek. Later, many roads and bridges were built, and there is now good communication with all parts of the Hundred. A roller flour-mill near Blackbird is operated by Mortimer Records, and turns out about forty barrels daily. A number of old mills used in the early days are not now operated.
Blackbird is the most important village in the Hundred, and lies about midway between Middletown and Smyrna, on the old State road. It has two stores, a post-office, a church, a school house and about fifty inhabitants. Its old hotel, built at a very early date by Benjamin Donoho, has been used as a private residence since 1841. Blackbird's earliest business man, and its first postmaster in 1838, was Bassett Ferguson, who died there in 1853. In 1849 he was elected State Senator, and rendered valuable service to his county and State by his close and conscientious attention to the duties of that office. Mr. Ferguson was a modest, honorable citizen, highly respected, and gifted with great natural intelligence and judgment. A recent writer (Sept., 1906) says of him that "he was at one time a masterly and controlling mind in Appoquinimink Hundred." He married Miss Susan T. Wel- don, and twelve children were born to them. Two of their sons, Richard and Colen Ferguson, were members of the General Assembly, and the last named was also Clerk of the
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STATE HOUSE AT DOVER. A. D. 1777.
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Orphans' Court of New Castle County for ten years. A grand- son of Bassett and Susan Ferguson, Professor John Bassett Moore, of Columbia College, New York City, is a distinguished author and authority upon international law.
The Hygeia House was built at Collin's Beach in 1850, and was well patronized as a summer and bathing resort until the big flood of 1878 washed away much of the beach and many of the buildings. The hotel itself was later torn down. There are post-offices and a store or two at the little hamlets of For- rest and Taylor's Bridge.
KENT COUNTY.
Kent County is the middle county of the State, having an area of about 615 square miles. On the north it is bounded by New Castle County, on the east by Delaware Bay, on the south by Sussex County, and on the west by the State of Maryland.
In the early history of the State, Kent County had no distinct political identity. Under the Dutch regime, the con- fines of what is now Kent County were included in the larger county known originally as Hoornkill, later as Horekill or Whorekill, the county seat of which was at the town of Whorekill (now Lewes). At that time the county of Hoorn- kill extended from Bomptyes Hoenck (Bambo Hook, now Bombay Hook) to Cape Hinlopen, including in its boundaries what is now both Kent and Sussex Counties.
About the year 1680, after the Dutch had been supplanted by the English, the following petition was addressed to Gov- ernor Andros :
" Wee whose names are hereunto subscribed, living and ambitious to abide under the sunshine of yor Honors Governmt Inhabetinge in the upland part of the Whorekill County :
" In all humble manner show unto yor Honor the great greivances Hazards and perils both by land and water that wee undergoe in going to the Whorekill Court, not only the distance beinge to some of us 50, some 60 miles, want of commo- dacons of man or beast there, butt the unpassable, dangerous waies by reason of perillous Creeks, which many tymes can not bee past over by man or beast, the
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hazardous large Marshes and myreous and difficult branches which are past through to the said Court, which doth onely nott putt us greate straits and jeop- ardy of our lives, butt hath and doth give great discouragement to others intend- inge to seat in these upwardparts from Maryland, that some have deserted in their designes rather than in hazard of their lives to goe down to the said Whorekill Court ; And for as much as the grievances aforesaid are Insupportable to us, and these parts dayly increasing with diverse considerable families with considerable Estates, and more intendinge to remove from Maryland. that wee are in these altogether yf nott more populated than the other part of the County, and nott onely the Inconveniences aforesaid yf nott by honor remedied, butt also the downe of Delaware beinge in like manner inconvenient to these upward parts, That should the inhabitants hereoff appeare att either Court ytt would not onely cause the present Seaters to withdraw back hence, and disencouragement to others de- signed to seate here ;
"The premises considered with all humble reverence wee leave the discuss of the whole matter to yor Honors grave and wise consideracon and hope yor Honor for the Encouragement of us, the prsent inhabitants and others that are cominge to seate in these parts, Out of your wonted clemency, Tender Care and Willing- ness at all tymes for encouragement of Seaters and Preservinge us under the sun- shine of yor happy Government from all danger, and removeing Inconveniences and perils that might ensue, for the ease and prosperous setlement of these parts will be graciously pleased to order, authorize, constitute and appoint a Court to be held in some convenient place in St. Jones Creeke, at such tymes and upon such daies as yor Honor in yor wisdom shall thinke fitt, and that all prsons in- habiting from the north side of Cedar Creeke to the south side of Blackbird Creek, be ordered and required to appeare, doe suit and service, obey process in law and bee deemed and taken to be within the jurisdiction of the said Court, and yield obedeyance to the authority thereof, Nott doubtinge butt yor Honor may make and find persons capable in the preincts thereof for administration of Justice, and others as ministerial officers to attend the same Court and execute all process and orders, and keepeing and makeing Records of proceedings and acts done by authority thereof, And we, as in duty bound, shall ever pray for yor Honors health, and happiness, That age may Crown your snowy haires with Caesors honors and with Nestor's years."
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