USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Blockley > Historic Lower Merion and Blockley; also the erection or establishment of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 1
USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Lower Merion > Historic Lower Merion and Blockley; also the erection or establishment of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 1
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NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 08178777 6
HISTORIC LOWER MERION AND BLOCKLEY
---
Quaker Meeting House, MAplon, Pa
DORA HARVEY DEVELIN, A. M.
OCT 8 1923
Lowre Menom
IST
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/historiclowermer00deve
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
Also the Erection or Establishment of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
1
By DORA HARVEY/DEVELIN, A. M.
Author of "Some Historical Spots in Lower Merion "
Member of the Montgomery County and Valley Forge Historical Societies, and League of American Pen Women
Regent of Merion Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (for 21 years)
President of the Martha Williams Society, Children of the American Revolution
BALA, LOWER MERION 1922
J.F.
109246A
Copyright, 1922, by DORA HARVEY DEVELIN
Printed by GEORGE H BUCHANAN COMPANY At the Sign of the Ivy Leaf Philadelphia
To the Memory of My Father
JAMES B. HARVEY, SR.
A Member of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, and the Centennial Association of Montgomery County.
Also to My Sister
MARGARET B. HARVEY, A. M.
A Member of the Historical Society of Montgomery County and Pennsylvania Historical Society ; of the Valley Forge Memorial Association ; and Historian of Merion Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
From each of whom much of the matter contained in the following pages was obtained, this work is affectionately inscribed by the Author.
DORA HARVEY DEVELIN
CONTENTS
PART I LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP
PAGE
Lower Merion Friends' Meeting House. 8
The General Wayne Tavern 17
The Ford Road. 20
The Old Lancaster Road.
22
Old Gulph Road 27
Hanging Rock Is Spared. 32
The Old Black Horse Tavern and Barn.
35
"Lilac Grove" 42
The Latch Homesteads
44
Seventh Battalion of Philadelphia Militia.
46
Lower Merion Academy
47
The Columbia Railroad.
52
Memorial Stone-Erected by Merion Chapter, D. A. R. 54
Camp Ground of the Georgia Continentals 56
"Harriton" 61
Old Dutch Church, Ardmore. 63
64
PART II EARLY HISTORY OF BLOCKLEY
West Park. 71
Reed's Map. 83
"Hestonville"-And Colonel Edward W. Heston 88
An Old Assessor's List 95
"Wynnstay" 99
The Five Points 101
Blockley Baptist Church. 102
Old Roads. 103
Valley Forge. 104
PART III
THE ERECTION OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
PART IV
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Lower Merion Baptist Church.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
First Welsh Settlements-Map of 1681
7
Lower Merion Friends' Meeting House. 9
The Price Mansion 10
Map of Merion and Blockley, 1750
11
The Thomas Homestead. 12
The Old General Wayne Tavern
18
Conestoga Wagon. 22
Tablet Marking Original Milestone.
23
Unveiling Tablet Marking Original Milestone 24
Water Mark of the Old Dove Mill Paper
29
Gulph Mill
31
Hanging Rock.
32
The Bicking Family Graveyard.
344 36
The "Black Horse" Barın
38
The Blue Bell Tavern
41
"Lilac Grove".
42
The Latch Homestead
45
Lower Merion Academy
47
Levering's Map of 1851
49-50
The Old Mill-Rock Hollow
51
Memorial Stone-Erected by Merion Chapter, D. A. R. 55
Bronze Tablet-Marking Camp Ground. 59
60
Parish House and Rectory-St. John's Church, Lower Merion, Pa. "Harriton"
62
Home of Jesse and Rebecca George.
71
Memorial Hall.
72
"Brunnenwald"
74
Greenland
75 76 77
"Ridgeland"
79
"Sweet Briar"
81
Reed's Map, 1774. 84
Map of Lower Merion and Blockley Townships, 1777. 86 Heston Homestead. 89
The Original "Wynnstay" 99
Washington's Headquarters, Valley Forge 105
Home of David Rittenhouse 124
"Black Horse Tavern"
Belmont Mansion
Horticultural Hall
Lower Merion Township
OWER MERION TOWNSHIP, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, was settled by a company of Welsh emigrants, from Bala, Merionethshire, North Wales, who landed at Pencoyd (Pen-y- coed) on August 14, 1682, two months before William Penn landed. They came over on the ship Lyon, John Compton, Master. Lower Merion is the oldest town- ship in the "Original Welsh Tract." The name Merion is derived from Merionethshire. Wales. (We are told that Merionethshire, itself, was named after an ancient Welsh hero, Merion, sometimes spelled Meriawn, who lived early in the Christian Era.)
The original 10,000 acres included in what is now Lower Merion was granted to John ap Thomas, a noble Friend, or Quaker, whose royal pedigree is said to be recorded all the way back to Adam (which means, as I understand it, where history and mythology meet). The document, a copy of which may be seen in the Library of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, goes a long way to carry out the belief of Welsh historians that the Welsh are the oldest civilized people in the world, and are descended from the Phonicians, Phrygians and Trojans, through Brutus, the great-grandson of ÆEneas, who landed in Britain, 1136, B. C.
John ap Thomas died in the spring of 1682, before he had the opportunity of seeing his vast possessions in Merion, but his kinsman, Dr. Edward Jones, who settled at Wynnewood, brought the colonists over. Wynnewood was named after Dr. Thomas Wynne, who was father-in- law to Edward Jones (he having married Mary Wynne.) Dr. Wynne was friend and physician to William Penn. Dr. Wynne was the first Speaker of the first Pennsylvania Assembly.
William Penn and Dr. Wynne came over on the ship Welcome two months after the Lyon landed. Dr. Wynne
5
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
settled in what was afterwards Blockley Township, and built "Wynnstay," which still stands, and has lately been restored. In Scharf and Westcott's "History of Philadel- phia" may be seen a copy of Holme's map, dated 1681. Lower Merion appears as "Edward Jones and Co., seventeen families." (Holme's map may be seen in the Library at Haverford College, Pa.)
Of the passengers on the ship Lyon no complete list exists so far as I have been able to find. William ap Edward, in his narrative mentions himself, his wife, and daughters, his friends David Jones, Robert David, "and others." The Jones record gives "Edward Jones, wife Mary, son Johnathan, daughter Martha."
According to the late Dr. James J. Levick, the follow- ing seventeen persons were represented in their families, although not all of these seventeen actually arrived with the colonists on the Lyon-Edward Jones, John Thomas, Hugh Roberts, Robert David, Evan Rees, John Edward, Edward Owen, William Edward, Edward Rees, William Jones, Thomas Richard, Rees John William, Thomas Lloyd, Cadwalader Morgan, John Watkin, Hugh John, Gainor Robert.
John Thomas, or John ap Thomas, although he organ- ized the Company, died on the eve of departure. Evan Rees made preparations to emigrate, but for some reason did not do so, but he was represented in the Lower Merion colony by his son, Rees Evans, who, according to Welsh custom, reversed his father's name.
From similarity of dates, as given in Smith's "History of Delaware County," and Howard M. Jenkin's "Historical Recollections of Gwynnedd" it would seem that David James of Radnor, and Robert Turner, also, came in the Lyon. Robert Turner was an Irish gentleman and a par- ticular friend of William Penn.
The name Schuylkill is Dutch, and means "hidden river." It was named so in 1616 by the Dutch under Hendrickson, who, on their first voyage up the Delaware, overlooked the mouth of the Schuylkill, which was con-
6
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MAN
OR OF
MOUNT JOY.
0
East
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william
Penn, Jr.
Willi Iofe Humfrey
Radnor Township.
40 settlements.
Row. land Ellis 25 Co.
Thes.
John Holland.
New Towne
Ellis.
Chris Pennock.
Thes. Enis.
Haverford Township.
John Hum. phrey $ Co
Daniel Medlicot
W. Sharlow.
John Roberts
W. Wood.
Jonathan llayes John Beaven Charles Beaven
Wm. Howell
Robert Taylor
32 settlements.
C. Lloyd Tho. Lloyd Jon ap John Rich. Davis T. Bevan.
Edward Jones
& Co.
17 families.
Turner.
John Nixon
Darby Township
& LIBERTY L'ANDS.
Falls
FIRST WELSH SETTLEMENTS.
from HOLME'S
Fair Mount
MAP. 1681.
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Passyunk.
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John Howell.
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WELCH TRACT.
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
cealed by League Island. On their downward passage the Dutch navigators noticed the broad stream, and gave it the name it bears today. The Indian name was the pic- turesque one of "Manayunk." which, in spite of its asso- ciation with dingy mills and smoke, is worthy a place in literature. From the discovery of the Schuylkill, in 1616, to the time of the landing of the Lyon in 1682, few white travelers had ventured up this stream, except the Swedes in their canoes.
Lower Merion Friends' Meeting House
Built 1695-The oldest house of worship in the State of Pennsylvania.
Lower Merion Friends' Meeting House stands on the Old Lancaster Road (sometimes called Montgomery Pike), just beyond Merionville, formerly "Bowman's Bridge." Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. This is the oldest church edifice, or more properly speaking, house of wor- ship in the State, and was erected in 1695, on the site of a still older log meeting house, built in 1683. (The organi- zation of Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia, antedates that of the Welsh Friends of Merion, but the present church was not built until 1700, five years after Merion Meeting House.) This quaint picturesque structure is in the form of a cross. Its walls are made of jointed stone, two feet thick, and its window panes are of the small leaded type. The coating of plaster (which really disfigures it) was added in 1829, when, as a little tablet in the side wall tells us, it was "repaired."
Inside, above the elders' seats, two pegs are pointed out as those upon which William Penn hung his hat when he preached to a Welsh congregation (many of whom could not understand him). One of these pegs was stolen by a relic hunter during the Centennial celebration in Phila- delphia, 1876, but another was made from a piece of the original floor, to replace it. Since that time the relic hunter became conscience stricken and returned the original peg and it now may be seen in its former place. (The peg made
8
And Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
from the piece of the original floor was given by the clerk of the meeting to Miss Margaret B. Harvey, Historian of Merion Chapter, D. A. R., and Miss Harvey, in turn, gave it to the writer, and it is still in my possession.)
The first recorded burial at Merion is that of a little child, Catharine, daughter of Edward and Mabby Rees, October 23, 1682, only two months after the landing of the Lyon at Pencoyd. It is known that for some time after the
Quaker Meeting House
LOWER MERION FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE The oldest house of worship in Pennsylvania, built 1695 (on the site of a still older log meeting house, built in 1683).
landing, "meeting" was held at the house of Hugh Roberts, at Pencoyd. The ground where the log meeting house first stood belonged to Edward Rees, the same who buried the little child. The land was sold to the congregation of Friends for $2.50. Descendants of Edward Rees assert that, previous to this year, ground was leased, or loaned, and that, if the meeting house should ever be disturbed, they could lay claim to it.
Just across the field, on the same side of the old road, stood, until recently, the old Price (or Rees) homestead,
9
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
used by Lord Cornwallis as his headquarters during the Revolution, while he was in this part of the country. For some years this old mansion was used as a summer board- ing house and was called "Brookhurst Inn." It was owned by the McDowell family. What is now called "Brook- hurst Avenue," was the original lane which led from the road to the house. Edward Rees had children, some of
THE PRICE MANSION
Showing horse block. Now the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Mowrer.
whom were known as Ap-Rees-then Prees. (The Welsh prefix Ap means son of, or child of.) In a few generations the spelling has changed to Price. In the early records of Merion Meeting we see "Jane Prees, daughter of Edward and Mabby Rees."
Merion Meeting is shown on Scull and Heap's map. 1750.
On the opposite side of the road stands another Price mansion, a beautiful example of the old-time Pennsylvania
10
From
Meri
Map on &
Blocklel Y.
Scull & Heap's MAP.
Levering 2
1750. River
Wifealickon br
W
Shults Paper Met.
Schuylkill fiction Rd
Robeson
Lancaster Rd
Merrion Meeting. 1
Grans
Griffiths
Junio
Roberts
Junio
Falls.
R. George
Wenns
a Ford
Levellin
Humphries
E. George
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Hughes
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Colby (R.
morre
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Thomas
meredith.
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Roup
Sculli Ferry
A4 Juiner coulten "Begining at the Court House"
Gardner ,
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To Merion
Meeting
7 Miles 5 Fur.
A Scale of Vms Longo & Miles.
Drawn by Margaret B. Harvey. 2
in Baitert
Stradelman
Garriga Ferry
Peters
Roberts
Jones Haverford Rd
Warner
Marshall
of
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
architecture. Here the "horse-block," or stone steps, used by the riders in the early days, to mount and dismount from their horses. still stands under the wide-spreading sycamore trees. These steps were built in the Colonial period, and are as ancient as the beautiful old mansion .* This place is now owned by Mrs. John A. Mowrer, a grand- daughter of William Thomas, who came from Wales in 1818, and who bought 100 acres of the original Price prop-
THE THOMAS HOMESTEAD
erty. William Thomas, when the Pennsylvania Railroad was built through his plantation, gave the ground for a station which was for a great many years called Elm Station. He called it "Elm" for his old home in Wales. When he gave the land it was with the understanding that it should always bear this name. But this was not done, for the railroad officials changed the name to Narberth, and the suburban settlement or borough of Narberth now stands
*Note .- It is very amusing to all old inhabitants of Merion to read in a recent writer's book the assertion that these steps once stood at Merion Meeting and were lately moved to this old house.
12
And Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
on what was the Thomas place. Thomas's Lane (now called Haverford Avenue, which is most confusing, as it is frequently mistaken by strangers for the original Haver- ford Road (now Avenue) laid out by the Friends in 1690) ran from the Old Lancaster Road, almost opposite the "General Wayne Tavern," to Elm Station. Later William Thomas moved to a fine stone house on Merion Road, still standing, and occupied by his granddaughters Miss Kate Thomas and Mrs. A. Ely Tiley.
Merion Meeting is mentioned in the Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series, Volume XIV, page 221, in the Journal of Lieutenant James McMichael :
"Sept. 14, 9 a. m., We marched from Camp near Germantown, N. N. W. for a few miles up the Great road from Philadelphia to Reading, then turning W. S. W. we crossed the Schuylkill in the centre between Philadelphia and Swedes Ford, 8 miles from each. We reached the Great road to Lancaster at Merion Meeting-House, and proceeded up that road, then we camped in an open field, being denied every desirable refreshment." (This was in 1777. a few days before the massacre of Paoli. On this spot a granite memorial stone was erected by Merion Chap- ter, D. A. R., September 14, 1896, with interesting and appropriate ceremonies.)
On October 5 and 6, 1895, Merion Meeting held its Bi-Centennial Anniversary. Between two and three thousand people came from all parts of the country to be present at this most interesting celebration. A great tent was erected on the greensward, under the tall buttonwood trees, with seating capacity for about 1000 people, but this accommodated less than half who were present. They came carly, they came by train and wagon, they rode on horses (this was before the day of the automobile), on wheels, and they walked, until, as someone said, the fields adjoining the old "General Wayne Tavern" looked like a big day at a County Fair. (The old horse-block of flat stones at the top of the stone wall, under the wide-spreading
13
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
sycamore tree, where the maidens of yore used to dismount, still may be seen as it looked more than two centuries ago.)
The visitors were welcomed to the quaint old house of worship, and many valuable relics, such as the original deed of ground, dated 1695, and an old marriage certificate bearing the date of 1783, were displayed. Behind the Meeting House, running across the back of the "General Wayne" is the graveyard where many of the early settlers of Merion peacefully sleep. (Among them being the Rob- erts, George, Williams, Thomas, Jones, Harvey, Evans, Zell families.)
At this celebration many well-known speakers took part, among them being Robert M. Janney, Dr. James B. Walker, of Philadelphia ; Mary J. Walker, Chester Valley; Rufus M. Jones, Allan G. Thomas and Dr. Frances Gum- mere, of Haverford College, and others. The paper by Mr. Isaac H. Clothier, on "The influence of the Society of Friends Today" was especially interesting.
Miss Margaret B. Harvey, Historian of Merion Chap- ter, Daughters of the American Revolution, wrote an "Ode to Merion Meeting House" upon its Bi-Centennial. (It was published in the Bryn Mawr Home News, September 27, 1895.)
Meeting is still held here on First day morning each week at 11 o'clock. Many of the most distinguished, in- fluential and wealthy families of Pennsylvania are proud to claim descent from the grand old forefathers who founded Merion Meeting.
A short distance below stands an old stone house, built the same year (1695.) It adjoins the "General Wayne," and has always been the property of the Meeting. On one occasion Washington slept in the second story front room.
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, was descended from the early settlers of Merion. The Welsh stock of Pennsylvania sent numerous branches Southward and Westward. This is one reason why the annals of the South and West are so full of Welsh
14
And Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
names. Howard M. Jenkins, in his "Historical Recollec- tions of Gwynnedd," gives the following pedigree of Abra- ham Lincoln, from John Hanke :
Abraham Lincoln was the son of Thomas Lincoln, of Kentucky, and Nancy Hanks, his wife.
The grandson of John Hank of Rockingham County, Virginia, who lived in that locality in 1797.
The great-grandson of John Hank, of Fayette County, Virginia, who was born in 1712.
The great-great-grandson of John Hanke, of White- marsh, Pennsylvania, who was married to Sarah Evans, 6 mo., 11th, 1711.
Many Welsh families who first came to Merion fol- lowed the Wissahickon to its heights and settled Gwyn- nedd and vicinity. For many years Gwynnedd Meeting was under the care of Merion and Haverford Meetings.
Beyond Merion Meeting on the Old Lancaster Road stands an old stone house called the "Owen House," built in 1695. It was the home of Robert Owen, a noted patriot. It is built on a portion of the Wynnewood property. It is also called "Penn Cottage." It was once occupied by General John Cadwalader, who married Martha Jones, daughter of Edward Jones, the founder of Wynnewood. . A straggling settlement nearby was, for many years, called "Libertyville," or "Crow Hill."
"The Welsh Tract" saw the beginning of Pennsyl- vania's literature. We have a Welsh poem written by Thomas Ellis in 1683. Almost as early, Haverford Meet- ing ordered the printing of a Welsh book.
During the Colonial period a number of offices were held by Welsh Quakers, many of them connected with Merion and Haverford Meetings. Among them may be mentioned Thomas Lloyd, Deputy-Governor; Thomas Ellis, Register-General; Thomas Wynne, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Griffith Jones, Mayor of Phila- delphia.
During the Revolutionary period the following patriots were descended from the Welsh: John Dickinson,
15
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
author of the "Farmer's Letters"; Generals John and Lam- bert Cadwalader ; Nicholas Biddle, Clement Biddle, Owen Biddle and Edward Biddle, General Anthony Wayne, Colonel Samuel Miles and countless others.
Joshua Humphrey, "Father of the American Navy," a descendant of Dr. Thomas Wynne and Daniel Hum- phrey, of Bryn Mawr, constructed the vessels which made possible our success in the War of 1812. The Mexican War was signalized by the bravery of General Taylor and General Ringgold, who inherited the Welsh strain from the founders of Merion Meeting.
Coming down to the Civil War, we find among the officers known to be descended from the same stock, Gen- eral Hancock, General Humphrey and General Thomas.
Among the poets in whose veins flows the blood of Wales may be mentioned George H. Boker, Bayard Tay -. lor and Thomas Buchanan Reed.
Among other well-known characters whose pedigree can be traced to the Welsh Barony are Daniel Boone, the pioneer of Kentucky : Dr. Isaac Hayes, the Arctic Explorer ; John Jarmon, the first of American Astronomers; Enoch Lewis, the earliest of American Mathematicians; Grace Anna Lewis, the eminent woman naturalist; Mary Ander- son, the actress; Newbold H. Trotter, W. T. Richards and George Wright, the artists; Robert J. Burdette and John H. Williams, the humorists; Senator M. S. Quay and Wayne MacVeigh.
The Township of Radnor was also settled by the Welsh Quakers who came over on the ship Lyon in 1682. The Friends at Radnor met in private houses until 1718. The Bi-Centennial Celebration of Radnor Friends' Meeting House was held on September 28, 1918. The old horse- block is still standing near the door of this quaint structure. In 1778, this house of worship was occupied by Continental officers, one of Washington's outposts being near the Meet- ing House.
Old St. David's Church. Radnor, was built in 1715. The outside stairway leading to the gallery was added in
16
And Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
1771, and the vestry room, to the north, at a little later date. On Sunday, September 1. 1918, this historic church cele- brated its 203d anniversary.
In the little "God's Acre" adjoining, is the grave of General ("Mad") Anthony Wayne, surmounted by a monu- ment erected by the Society of the Cincinnati. Another noteworthy stone is that over the grave of Dr. Henry Yates Carter. He was a surgeon on Lord Nelson's Flagship, the l'ictory, at the battle of Trafalgar, when Lord Nelson was killed. Dr. Carter later came to America and died here.
The General Wayne Tavern
The General Wayne Tavern stands on the Old Lan- caster Road (now called Montgomery Pike), adjoining Merion Meeting House. This old inn was opened in 1704. From that time on, until about twenty-five years ago, the "General Wayne" was used as a post office.
The building is well preserved ; it is a two-story-and-a- half house with a porch on the ground floor and a veranda running across the front of the second story.
On the smooth roadway in front stands a tall pole, which once had been a giant of the forest, from which swings the time-worn sign board. This sign has been repainted a number of times, but it is the identical one which first announced the opening of "Ye olde General Wayne." Across the top are the words "Established in 1704." In the center, astride what is supposed to be a fiery charger, we see a representation of the gallant Anthony Wayne (whose ancestral home was only about ten miles distant.) Beneath, we are told that there can be found "Accommodations for man and beast." At the base of the pole a rim of white-washed stones surround the little green mound in which it stands .*
The room that answers as "Ye setting Roome" looks about as it did a century ago. Across the ceiling run heavy rafters, dark with the stains of time, while the wide-open
*Since prohibition has been established this sign has been taken down (1922).
17
Historic Lower Merion and Blockley
fireplace with its "ingle-nooks," the high mantel, the quaint cupboards, the broad settees, all speak of the past. In the wall which divides "Ye setting Roome" from the barroom is a broad, dark, heavy door. This is divided into two parts (like a "Dutch door"), the upper part being a little
THE OLD GENERAL WAYNE TAVERN (Opened 1704), where Merion Chapter held its inauguration, April 17, 1895. Washington and Lafayette both slept in this old inn on several occasions.
door of itself. A knock on this is quickly answered from the other side; the little door swings open and a beaming face appears. Methinks I can see some quiet, dignified Quaker in his garb of grey; some sturdy farmer, with his homespun "jumper," or a swaggering red coat tapping on this little door, and in reply to the ruddy face which ap- pears, ordering something to sustain him after a long and dusty ride.
18
And Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
From a little entryway a steep pair of stairs leads to the second story. The steps, though hard wood, are hol- lowed, as though scooped out, from the tread of many feet.
Washington and Lafayette both slept in this quaint old inn on more than one occasion. When, on the way to Paoli, Washington's Army encamped within a few hun- dred feet of "The General Wayne," Washington slept there that night, September 14, 1777.
The inn was kept for many, many years by the same family, the descendants of Captain Llewellyn Young, 7th Battalion, Philadelphia Militia, and the Misses Young used to conduct the visitor to the room where Washington and Lafayette slept, with its high "four-poster," little chintz curtains and massive chest of drawers. The Young family have a rare collection of old Colonial and Revolutionary relics, including two quaint old chairs brought from Wales in 1692, a money chest, also brought from Wales, apothe- cary's scales, and old china decorated with animals.
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