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Gc 974.802 P53wat v. 3 1507837
M. L"
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02237 2012
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/annalsofphiladel03wats_0
JOHN FANNING WATSON.
ANNALS
OF
PHILADELPHIA, AND PENNSYLVANIA,
IN THE OLDEN TIME;
BEING A COLLECTION OF
MEMOIRS, ANECDOTES, AND INCIDENTS
OF THE
CITY AND ITS INHABITANTS,
AND OF THE
EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS OF THE INLAND PART OF PENNSYLVANIA;
INTENDED TO PRESERVE THE RECOLLECTIONS OF OLDEN TIME, AND TO EXHIBIT SOCIETY IN ITS CHANGES OF MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, AND THE CITY AND COUNTRY IN THEIR LOCAL CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS.
BY JOHN F. WATSON,
MEMBER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETIES OF PENNSYLVANIA, NEW YORK, AND MASSACHUSETTS.
ENLARGED, WITH MANY REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS, BY
WILLIS P. HAZARD.
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III.
" Oh ! dear is a tale of the olden time !" Sequari vestigia rerum.
" Where peep'd the hut, the palace towers ; Where skimm'd the bark, the war-ship lowers; Joy gaily carols where was silence rude, And cultured thousands throng the solitude."
PHILADELPHIA: LEARY, STUART & CO., 9 SOUTH NINTH STREET. 1909.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by ELIJAH THOMAS, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Copyright, 1877, J. M. STODDART & Co.
1507837 ANNALS OF
PHILADELPHIA AND PENNSYLVANIA
IN THE OLDEN TIME;
OR,
MEMOIRS, ANECDOTES, AND INCIDENTS OF
PHILADELPHIA AND ITS INHABITANTS
FROM
THE DAYS OF THE FOUNDERS.
BY WILLIS P. HAZARD.
PHILADELPHIA: LEARY, STUART & CO., 9 SOUTH NINTH STREET.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by J. M. STODDART & CO., In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
In Memory
OF
SAMUEL HAZARD,
WHOSE LABORS IN BEHALF OF HIS NATIVE CITY AND STATE ARE ATTESTED IN FIFTY-TWO VOLUMES,
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
MAN, drifting with the tide of life, oft fancies he is carving out his own fortune, and yet perhaps at his most fortuitous mo- ments he may be, and often is, the creature of circumstances, or perchance of destiny. That is, his destiny, all unknown to him- self, may be already marked out. Or the Law of Inheritance- that which proves that like begets like-quietly but surely out- lines his every thought, and leads him to shape his actions, his destiny, to carry out the fixed law. Surely, when the author of this volume, as it lies before him, reflects that circumstances over which he exercised no guiding hand have caused him to be the creator of its existence, he may believe some unseen power, whether it be that of Destiny or of Inheritance, has controlled his actions. For he is the third generation of his family in a direct line that has gathered materials for History, and, according to rule, in a descending scale. The first of the three generations collected materials for the history of the States ; the second, of the State ; and the third of the City.
The publishers of this volume, having purchased the plates and copyrights of JOHN F. WATSON'S ANNALS OF PHILADELPHIA, requested the compiler to prepare an additional volume of similar character, which, in the light of later research, would eliminate certain facts, and by additions bring some portions down to a recent period; also make necessary corrections of various things that either escaped Mr. Watson's notice, or which documents that were not then accessible have since proved to have been different.
It would have been far more easy to write an entirely inde- pendent work, and certainly a much more pleasant book might have been produced by thus doing; or it would have been better, perhaps, in many cases to have inserted this later matter in the form of foot-notes in the original volumes or as addenda to the various chapters. But the desire was to leave Mr. Watson's work just as he made it-a work sui generis-so that they who possessed it should be able to add this volume to those, and that they who now obtain the whole work for the first time shall know what is Mr. Watson's and what that of the present Editor.
There seemed, then, no other feasible method than to follow Mr. Watson's arrangement, and introduce our facts and articles seriatim and corresponding to his. While this has made a more useful book, it has prevented it being as agreeable a volume as
7
8
Preface.
might have been made of the materials, and sometimes has neces- sitated the repetition of some facts stated in the first two volumes.
Many facts in this volume have been derived from an inter- leaved copy of Watson's Annals in which Samuel Hazard had written a large number of notes, additions, and corrections, with references to other sources of information, which have been dili- gently followed up. His Annals of Pennsylvania have furnished the material for the greater part of the early history in this vol- ume, as have also his Colonial Records and Archives. His Reg- ister of Pennsylvania, 16 vols., has been largely drawn upon for many facts and incidents which his unwearied industry gathered.
By the above books, the histories by Proud, Gordon, Dr. Smith, and various local histories, Watson's Annals, and that monument of perseverance, research, and historical acumen, Thompson West- cott's History of Philadelphia, this City and this State have had their history more developed and illuminated than that of any other City and State in this country, and the works of Watson, Hazard, and Westcott will be quoted as long as the State exists.
The records of Council in the early days of the city, by the quaint, formal jottings down of the period, of important matters to those of that day, but now of such trivial moment as often to provoke a smile, give a faithful picture of the times, of the slow progress of the growth of the City and of the people in the arts and luxuries of civilization, and have to be drawn largely from until the advent of the newspapers; those faithful chroniclers of current events, though they may be, as Dr. Rush says, " vehicles of disjointed thinking." Now, the newspaper is the Daily His- tory, though it may be written currente calamo. From the files of these the historian must glean many facts and elucidations.
A late writer on art has said, defining Originality, " It consists in the power of combining, transfusing, digesting, assimilating the material that comes into our possession from any source what- ever." That is all of originality that is, or well can be, in a vol- ume of this character, and the compiler claims no more. His aim has been rather to preserve such facts as may frequently be referred to than to make a fascinating volume.
From such an abundance of material as he had collected it was difficult to know what to cull out, and quite enough has been left to form another volume. This must account for its absence to many who will look for some article on his favorite topic; and to the many friends who sent us articles and which do not appear this must be our apology.
WILLIS P. HAZARD.
MAPLE KNOLL, WESTCHESTER,
March, 1879.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
PAGE
Arcade, The.
190
Auction Sales.
141
Banks, Panics, etc ...
381
Bar, Courts, etc., The.
164
Bingham Mansion, and Lans-
downe
271
Blue Anchor Tavern
175
Board of Trade.
89
Bradford Family
439
Burlington Anniversary
80
Capital City in 1682.
84
Carpenters' Hall.
278
Carpets, Oil-cloths, and Paper-
hangings.
125
Cemeteries
136
Chew Family, The.
166
Christ Church.
193
Churches.
306
Country-seats.
493
Crazy Norah.
451
Dancing and Balls.
159
Darrach, Lydia, and Captain
Loxley
265
Declaration of Independence,
First read
223
Declaration of Independence,
where Written
226
Delaware River.
490
Directories of Philadelphia
152
Duché's House and St. Peter's
Church
266
Duponceau, Peter S.
283
Education
160
Fairmount and the Park.
397
Fashions
124
Fifty Years ago in South-west
Part of City.
390
Fires and Fire-Engines
405
First Powder-House
303
Fort Wilson
286
Fourth and Market Streets.
301
Fox-Hunting
156
Free Quakers
435
Friends' Almshouse
287
Friends or Quakers.
431
Gas, Watchmen, etc.
130
Germantown Academy
462
Germantown Notes
457
Græme Park.
192
Historical Society
501
History of Philadelphia till
Penn's Death
17
Kelpius, the Hermit of the Wis-
sahickon
458
Lenape Indians.
466
Letitia Cottage.
117
Libraries
335
Logans, The.
446
9
10
Contents.
PAGE
London Coffeehouse.
203
Punishments.
163
Lotteries.
483
Market-Houses.
182
Mayors of Philadelphia.
87
McAllister, John.
454
Memoir of John F. Watson.
11
Relics of Washington.
495
Schuylkill Fishing Company ..
291
Schuylkill River.
491
Seasons and Climate.
473
Morris Mansion
464
Shop Signs.
368
Morris, Mrs. Ann Willing
448
Morris, Robert, by Mrs. Hart ...
251
New Public Buildings.
232
Newspapers ..
479
Office of Secretary of Foreign
Affairs.
283
Old Academy and University of
Pennsylvania.
275
Old Houses
148
One of the Peales.
94
Paper Money.
482
Passenger Railroads.
488
Pegg's Run
302
Penn Family
96
Pennsbury
465
Penn's Character, by Mac Veagh
99
Penn's Treaty Tree.
104
Pennsylvania Hospital
329
Poorhouses.
333
Post and Postmasters
475
Prisons
177
Progress of Philadelphia
234
Public Gardens
400
Streets, Names Changed
499
Swedish Church and the Swedes. 106
Swedish Settlements, Professor
Stillé's Address
113
Taverns and Hotels
344
Theatres and Actors.
369
Thomson, Charles
442
Tilghman Mansion
193
Tunkers or Dunkards.
461
Wardrobe of Franklin
121
Washington
and
Franklin
Squares.
229
Washington's Carriage.
128
Watches and Clocks.
122
Windmill, or Smith's, Island ...
489
Railroads and Canals
485
Ready-made Garments and Man-
ufactures.
149
Meschianza
470
Military.
168
Miscellaneous Facts.
503
Slate-Roof House.
119
Sports and Amusements
154
State House
204
Steamboats.
483
Stoddart, John
450
Stoves, Public Stages, Toma-
toes, etc.
132
PAGN
Quacks
478
MEMOIR
OF
JOHN FANNING WATSON.
THE life of a man of the character of JOHN F. WATSON is marked by few incidents. The greater portion of his life was passed in a routine of responsible official duties, offering little variation, but requiring prompt attention, good judgment, and unswerving honesty : all these he possessed in an eminent degree. As a recreation from these duties his spare hours were devoted to the acquisition of information relating to the early history and progress of Philadelphia and its neighborhood.
He said of himself: "I was born in the stirring times of the Revolutionary War, on the 13th of June, 1779." He adds : "My mother, wishing to identify me with the scenes of the Revolution, when THE FLAG OF PEACE was hoisted to the breeze on Market Street hill held me up in her arms and made me see and notice THAT FLAG, so that it should be told by me in after years, she at the same time shedding many tears of joy at the glad spectacle. And now, an octogenarian, I feel a melan- choly pleasure in recording this my testimony for the consider- ation of my own posterity.'
The ancestors of Mr. Watson, by both the father's and mother's side, were among the earliest settlers in the States of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
His paternal ancestor, Thomas Watson, born in Dublin of English parentage, came to Salem, New Jersey, in 1667, and afterward removed to Cohansey, where he had a town-lot of six- teen acres in 1685.
His father, William Watson, was born in Salem, and married there, in December, 1772, Lucy Fanning, whose family emigrated to New Jersey from Stonington, Conn.
His maternal ancestor, Gilbert Fanning, came to this country from the vicinity of Dublin in 1641, with his bride, " the beau- tiful Kate," daughter of Hugh O'Connor, earl of Connaught, and settled in Groton, Conn., about the year 1645, on a place called Fort Hill, formerly fortified against the Indians, and which re- mained in the family for more than a century.
11
12
Annals of Philadelphia.
The Fannings were, most of them, noted for their patriotism and celebrated in the defence of their country.
John F. Watson therefore came of excellent stock. His father, William Watson, married Lucy Fanning. His father was "a true patriot, of a noble, generous nature, who would sacrifice his own interest for that of his country." " At the beginning of the Revolutionary War my father, being the owner of several vessels, disposed of his property therein, and, putting the proceeds into Continental money, went to sea as a volunteer in the General Mifflin, private ship of war, with my uncle, Lieut. John Fan- ning." They were shipwrecked and nearly perished, but going to sea in another vessel they captured several prize-vessels.
Afterward he left his bride and served in a detachment under Pulaski to resist a British invasion; his commander was shot, when Watson brought off his company. His house was fired Nov. 10, 1781, and he was taken prisoner by the refugee Joe Mulliner, sent to the New York provost, and placed sick in the Stromboli hospital-ship; and returned home in May to find his Continental money depreciated and himself surrounded by ad- verse circumstances. Finally, on a voyage to New Orleans with one of his sons, both were lost.
Mr. Watson's mother was a noble woman, with rare accom- plishments, a highly cultivated mind, and great purity of heart. She was a vocal and instrumental performer, a composer of music, a poetess, and an artist both with her pencil and her embroider- ing-needle. Though a woman of great beauty, she possessed great piety.
Of such parents John F. Watson was born June 13th, 1779, at Batsto in Burlington county, New Jersey. After receiving a good education he entered mercantile life in the counting-room of James Vanuxem, an eminent merchant in Philadelphia, where he learnt to speak and write French. Here he continued until he was nineteen years of age, when (in 1798) his having joined the Macpherson Blues offended the French interests of the firm, and he therefore had to resign and withdraw. He next became a clerk in the War Department at Washington, where he re- mained until 1804, when, in his twenty-fifth year, he formed a business connection with Gen. James O'Hara of Pittsburg, quar- termaster-general to Gen. Wayne's Indian army. He was soon appointed to the office of commissary of provisions for the army at all the posts in Louisiana. This brought him in contact with many prominent citizens and officers and their families-people of refinement and intelligence. He wrote an interesting journal of this period, including the long and tedious ride in a rude boat down the Ohio and the Mississippi, drifting with the current.
His residence at New Orleans after two years was cut short by the distressing news of the loss of his father and brother and all on board of the vessel. He soon returned to his mother at Phil-
13
Memoir of John Fanning Watson.
adelphia, and shortly after established himself as a publisher on Chestnut street, and so continued for several years. He was espe- cially interested in publishing the American edition of Dr. Adam Clarke's Commentaries, and also the Select Reviews of Literature.
In 1812 he married Phoebe Barron Crowell, daughter of Thomas Crowell of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, a lineal descend- ant of Oliver Cromwell. The two brothers, coming over to this country, when at sea were informed of the unpopularity of the name with some. They therefore determined to make a new family name, and with form and solemnity cast the m into the sea and adopted the name of Crowell.
Mr. Watson's union with Miss Crowell proved a very happy one; they lived together for forty-seven years ; she died in 1859. They had seven children ; two died in early life, and five survived their parents-three daughters and two sons.
In 1814, Mr. Watson was elected cashier of the Bank of Ger- mantown on its organization, and held the office for thirty-three years, faithfully performing its duties. He was chosen treasurer and secretary of the Germantown and Norristown Railroad in 1847, and resigned the cashiership. He resigned in 1859, " not wishing to occupy any office after his eightieth year," though he said he felt like " Caleb-as strong to go out and come in as he was forty years before." During all the period of these duties he was scarcely ever detained from his office one day by sickness, and was never sick in bed until the last two years of his life.
As early as 1820, Mr. Watson commenced to collect antiqua- rian material, beginning with the legends and histories about Ger- mantown. Probably the first time any of these was printed was in 1828. In May of that year my father printed in the Register of Pennsylvania (vol. i. 279 and 289) some extracts from Mr. Watson's MS. books, and prefaced them with a short introduc- tion, in which he said they were "collected by him from various sources, principally from aged persons in that town, either de- scendants of early settlers or others who had opportunities of ascertaining the facts communicated. The opportunity at present afforded by ancient persons being still alive, who can communi- cate anecdotes and facts, ought to be embraced for obtaining them, as in a very few years the old generation will have passed away, and even the few facilities we now have of acquiring information of the characters, manners, and habits of the settlers, and the cir- cumstances attending their early settlement of those towns, be for ever removed. From this small example we may see how much information may be acquired by a single person with Mr. Wat- son's industry and application to inquiries of this nature; and these notes form a very small portion of what he has amassed re- specting the early history and incidents of this city, which we hope he may at some future period be induced to present to the public."
×
14
Annals of Philadelphia.
These hopes were realized, for in 1830 Mr. Watson issued the first edition of his Annals of Philadelphia ; being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and its Inhabitants from the days of the Pilgrim Founders ; also, Olden-Time Re- searches and Reminiscences of New York City in 1828. It was in one volume, 8vo, of about 800 pages, illustrated with a number of lithographs. In 1842, as the work had been long out of print, he republished it, revised and enlarged, in two volumes, 8vo, pp. 609, 586. Again, in 1856 he made his final revision and additions, increasing the second volume by an appendix of 47 pages. In the later editions he omitted the portions relating to New York, but added a number of fine woodcuts from original drawings, of which he gives an account in his work, as well as of the artist.
In 1833 he published in one volume, 12mo, Historic Tales of Olden Time concerning the Early Settlement and Progress of Phil- adelphia and Pennsylvania, the sale of which, he says, paid him no profit.
(For an account of his writing these books see the Annals, Vol. II. pp. 1-16, where he speaks feelingly of his subject.)
It is due to Mr. Watson's memory to say that his writings awakened an active spirit for antiquarian research, which culmi- nated in the Historical Society. Two years before he published his Annals Samuel Hazard had commenced the Register of Penn- sylvania, which was partly devoted to the preservation of our early history. They worked hand in hand in unearthing many facts that would otherwise have been lost; they were lifelong friends.
A letter to Edward Everett by Mr. Watson shows how he had himself gained his information : " First, aim to give an intellect- ual picture of Boston and its inhabitants, customs, etc. as it stood at its settlement, and then at successive stages of thirty to fifty years. My scheme enables you to detail much of that which would not suit the gravity and dignity of common history ; indeed, I rather aim to notice just such incidents as that omits. You will perceive that the mind which shall be qualified for such a pleas- ing task must possess such taste, enthusiasm, and energy to ex- ecute his will and express his feelings as must prompt a poet to lay everything under contribution to his art. He must seek out old people of all descriptions ; he must not scruple to act without formal introduction ; he must labor to bring back to the imagina- tion things which none can any longer see; he must generate the ideal presence and learn to commune with men and manners of other times. He should seek out and carefully run over the oldest gazettes, magazines, etc .; their local news will furnish many facts and valuable hints. Another source of local informa- tion will be found in consulting the earliest court records, etc. ; but more particularly in the presentments of the grand juries of
15
Memoir of John Fanning Watson.
each court you will get at the earliest condition of the place and people. Collect from the old soldiers of the Revolution all the remarkable incidents coming to their knowledge of the war. This would collect many proofs of individual valor and many moving anecdotes. Get also from those pioneers who were the first set- tlers in the interior the many strange things they first saw in its savage state, and the contrast now." It was in this spirit he worked, making short journeys in every direction, consulting every old person likely to give him hints, watching the demo- lition of old buildings, and examining MSS. and papers wherever he could hunt them up. It is by his unwearied diligence that many things are preserved that would otherwise long since have passed into oblivion. In his rambles he collected many curios- ities, pictures, portraits, autographs, etc., and his MS. annals in the Philadelphia Library and Historical Society are not only very curious, but valuable.
In this spirit of preserving the memory of the great and good he caused the remains of Godfrey, the inventor of the quadrant, and those of his parents, to be removed to Laurel Hill and a monument to be placed over them, and a monument to be erected over the remains of General Nash ; another over Colonel Irwin, Captain Turner, and others who fell at the battle of German- town ; one over the British officers, Brigadier-General James Ag- new and Lieutenant Bird, who fell in the same battle; he en- deavored to honor in like manner John Fitch's memory by a stone on the banks of the Mississippi, and interested himself in the erection of a monument to Charles Thomson in Laurel Hill.
Mr. Watson's long life may be attributed to his temperate habits, his love of exercise and gardening, and his equanimity of temper. He was a man of few but strong attachments, of un- tiring energy and perseverance-strong in a religious belief, a firm patriot, though no politician, and a man of retentive memory.
Besides the Annals and other local works, he wrote on many subjects, particularly on theology. While in New Orleans, and not then a pious young man, he originated the first Episcopal church there. For thirty years, up to his death, he was a com- municant in St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Germantown.
He persuaded G. W. P. Custis to write out his Recollections of Washington, and suggested the topics for that work. He was one of Macpherson's Blues, who formed a guard of honor in the funeral procession in memory of Washington, December 26th, 1799, which marched to the Lutheran church to hear the oration of General Henry Lee. Not one is now living.
Mr. Watson died Sunday, December 23d, 1860, in the eighty- second year of his age.
The Historical Society at a meeting on the 14th of January passed a series of resolutions expressing their deep regret at the
16
Annals of Philadelphia.
loss of one of its most distinguished members, and requesting Rev. Benjamin Dorr, D. D., to prepare a memoir, which was read in public. From this memoir, with facts added by mem- bers of his family, this sketch of Mr. Watson has been prepared. This memoir was supplemented by a touching eulogy of the deceased by Hon. Horatio Gates Jones.
In New York, Benson J. Lossing, the historian, and a friend of Watson, announced his death to the New York Historical Society in some appropriate remarks, and the society adopted a series of resolutions. Mr. Lossing also prepared a memoir of him, and published it in his Eminent Americans.
Only two months after Mr. Watson's decease another annalist, and one of his friends, passed away-Dr. John W. Francis, the historian of New York City.
ANNALS
OF
PHILADELPHIA AND PENNSYLVANIA.
FROM HUDSON'S DISCOVERY OF THE DELAWARE TO THE DEATH OF PENN.
CHAPTER I.
SETTLEMENTS BY THE DUTCH ON THE DELAWARE, 1609-1638.
THE originator of these Annals having already given an out- line of the Colonial History of Philadelphia (Vol. I. p. 6, et seq.), it only remains for us to add a few details.
Those who see the great city in our time can form but little conception of its appearance in 1609, when Hudson entered the bay, hesitating to pursue his way farther up the stream on ac- count of shoals. But its site was a trackless wild, and covered with hills where now all is so level, and these again intersected by creeks. The inhabitants were numerous, principally of the Lenni Lenape Indian tribe.
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