USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume I > Part 41
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During the Revolution, Newtown was visited by British foraging parties and much loss incurred thereby. Many of the losers being Friends, no demand was made on the Assembly for compensation by them; other claims, however, to the amount of £86 were presented, but there is no record of their having ever been paid.
On Hunter's Run, in Newtown township, and extending to the Marple line, was a tract of 170 acres owned by Matthias Aspden, who was declared an attainted traitor to the colony by act of March 6, 1778, unless he surren- dered himself and submitted to a legal trial for "such his treason." Aspden was one of the wealthy merchants of Philadelphia, fled to England, and the tract in Newtown was seized by the authorities, later being sold to Edward Bartholomew, to whom the state issued letters patent. In April, 1786, Asp- den was pardoned by the state, and much of his property returned to him. His will subsequently gave rise to the most extensive litigation ever had under the Confiscation Acts. The claimants numbered over two hundred. The deci- sion, as finally rendered by Judge Grier, awarded an estate of over $500,000, his decision being affirmed by the United States Supreme Court.
The principal village in the township is Newtown Square, so named at the establishment of a post office there in 1820. The population now is about 300. Another post office in the township is Wyola. In the eastern part of the township, extending from Newtown Square to the Radnor line is the tract upon which the Pennsylvania Hospital was erected, maintained by the state. At the extreme northern point of the township, old historic St. David's Church is located, the second oldest church edifice in Delaware county (see churches). In 1910 the population of Newtown township was 739.
Nether Providence Township .- Nether and Upper Providence township originally constituted one municipal district known as Providence township. The first mention of Providence is in 1683, when the court appointed Rich- ard Crosby and Andrew Nelson collectors of the "Levie for Defraying the
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charges of the Cort House and Prison att Chester," and appointed Thomas Nossiter constable for Providence. The first record of the division of the township into Nether and Upper Providence occurs in the minutes of Ches- ter Friends' Meeting, on the "13th of ye 8th month 1690." For over sixty years after this date, the southern part of the township as at present consti- tuted, was part of Ridley township, but for the convenience of the settlers, it was then made a part of Nether Providence. The township lies between Crum and Ridley creeks, extending from the line of Upper Providence township to the limits of the city of Chester, from which it is separated by the creek. In this southern part, John Nixon settled in 1683. Above his tract 200 acres known as "Smallgaine" were taken by Thomas Nossiter, who settled there in 1678. In 1684, Nossiter conveyed the tract to Walter Faucett. Above the Faucett tract Nossiter had 200 acres, which on September 12, 1682, he con- veyed to John Sharpless, who came with his wife Ann from England in 1682. On August 24, 1882, two thousand descendants of John and Ann Sharpless held a bi-centennial celebration at the old homestead. Robert Vernon, from Chester, England, owned adjoining land to John Sharpless, while in the immediate neighborhood, Thomas and Randal Vernon settled, they coming in 1682. Randal Vernon was a member of the Provincial Assembly in 1687. At the extreme northern end of the township, Thomas Minshall had 380 acres, purchased from Penn before he came to the province. A list of the taxables in 1715 contains these names: James Sharpless, Joseph Sharpless, Isaac Min- shall, Jacob Vernon, John Vernon, Joseph Vernon, Thomas Vernon, Henry Hasting, William Swafer, Jacob Edge, John Powell. The township settled rapidly and has always been an extensive manufacturing centre, Crum and Ridley creeks furnishing abundant water power before the introduction of steam as a motive power. These mills with schools and churches are treated elsewhere. The population in 1910 was 1941. The villages are Walling- ford, a residential village; South Media, Briggsville, Todmorden, Rose Val- ley and Waterville.
Upper Providence Township .- Lying between Ridley and Crum creeks. Upper Providence extends from Nether Providence to a north and south line dividing it from Edgemont. In the southern part of the township, the borough of Media, county seat of Delaware county, is situated, and in the extreme southern point is the village of Moylan. Near the Edgemont line the village and post office of Upper Providence is located. Near the centre of the town- ship are the grounds and club house of the Rose Tree Hunt Club. The taxa- bles of the township in 1715 were : John Edge, Jacob Edge, Henry Miller, Sarah Powell, Thomas Williamson. Joseph Taylor, Peter Taylor, William Sinkler, Zachary Butcher, Joseph Carter. Thomas Jones, Jacob Chandler, Ja- cob Malin, Joshua Calvert, Daniel Calvert, John Cam, Job Harvey, Randal Malin, Randal Croxson.
Manufacturing has always been important in the township. It was in Upper Providence that the first building of the Delaware County Institute of Science was erected. While located there, the map of Delaware county, pre-
ICEP
UPPER PROVIDENCE FRIENDS' MEETING HOUSE, MEDIA
DELAWARE COUNTY COURT HOUSE, MEDIA. (Before recent improvements.)
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS,
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pared by Dr. Joshua W. Ash, and the "History of Delaware County," by Dr. George Smith, were published under the auspices of the Society. Here also the grounds of the Delaware County Agricultural Society were established in 1855. In September, 1813, a library company was formed, erecting a build- ing at Bishop's Mill, the upper story being used for literary purposes, the low- er as an office by Amor Bishop. In May the company incorporated as the Union Library Company. The company had a successful career until 1867, when but four hundred of their fourteen hundred books remaining, they were sold by the sheriff to the Delaware County Institute of Science for the sum of $25. The population of the township in 1910 was 961. Providence road, which begins in Edgemont near the Chester county line at Edgemont post office, passes through the centre of both Upper and Nether Providence townships, leaving the latter at Waterville.
Radnor Township .- Radnor occupies the extreme northern part of Dela- ware county, bordering both Montgomery and Chester counties. From its extreme southern point to the Chester county line it borders Newtown town- ship, and from the same point to the Montgomery county line borders Marple and Haverford townships. Its first settlers were natives of Radnorshire, Wales, members of the Society of Friends, Radnor being included in the "Welsh Tract." In 1681, a Welshman, Richard Davies, purchased 1000 acres of land from William Penn in England, lying chiefly in the southern part of Radnor, which he soon sold to various purchasers, there being no record of his ever visiting this county. The highway, Radnor street or road, was laid out in 1683, and divides the township into nearly equal parts, the road running almost north and south through the township. John Jerman or Jarman, Ste- phen ap Evan, David Meredith, Richard Miles, John Morgan, Evan Protherah, Richard Ormes, William Davis, Howell James and others, all Welsh Friends, were the first to settle in Radnor and were all located on their lands by 1686. The first white child born in Radnor was John Jerman, Sr., November 12, 1684. Sarah, daughter of Stephen Evans, was the first girl born there. In the French and Indian war many Radnor men served, including eight young Friends, who on their safe return were "disowned" by the Society. Radnor suffered from the British foragers during their occupancy of Philadelphia. many families being left without live stock or provisions to carry them through the winter of 1777-78. The bill for damages from the township for losses in that year amounted to over f1000. Many skirmishes occurred in Radnor be- tween the British and the American militia.
After the Revolution, an unusual degree of prosperity was noticeable in Radnor-new highways were laid out, new settlers came in, and a new Meth- odist church erected. In 1792, the Philadelphia and Lancaster turnpike was commenced, to be completed two years later. This was the first turnpike built in America, and was the cause of increased travel through the central part of the township, causing the establishment of numerous wayside inns along its route. In 1809, Radnor Library was established, and through the liberality of eighteen subscribers five hundred volumes were placed in a store
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near Friends' Meeting House. In 1820 an attempt was made to annex Rad- ner to Montgomery county, but a strong opposition defeated the movement. In 1838 Radnor Lyceum was organized. In 1847, Radnor polled over 100 majority in favor of the removal of the county seat of Delaware county from Chester. Saw and grist mills abounded in the township as early as 1766, other mills following. Along the lines of the Pennsylvania railroad, the Lancaster pike and the electric railways, villages and numerous costly private residences have been built, making the northern half of the township a most popular resi- dential section. Among many others, George W. Childs, the Philadelphia pub- lisher, chose it for his country residence, purchasing ample grounds, creating a perfect country estate known as Wootton, residing there until his death. In cooperation with his friend, Anthony J. Drexel, the village of Wayne was founded, which has become the leading residential section of that part of Penn- sylvania. In 1906. Wayne had a population of about 3000, the entire popula- tion of Radnor township in 1900 being 5474. according to the census report. In 1910 the population of the township was 7094, according to the same au- thority. Banking advantages are furnished by the Wayne Title and Trust Company, organized in 1891, Louis H. Watt, president, John H. Maguire, sec- retary and treasurer. The Suburban, a Republican weekly newspaper, cstab- lished in 1895. is edited by A. M. Ehart.
Other stations on the Pennsylvania Railroad in the township are : Villa- nova, where the college of the Augustinian Fathers, known as Villanova College, is located : Radnor, and St. David's. On the Philadelphia & Western railway, which enters the township at Bryn Mawr station, running westward across the township to Stratford, the stations are : Rosemont, Villanova, Rad- nor. Ithan, St. David's, Wayne, and Stratford. On the Philadelphia & Dela- ware County railroad, which crosses the southern corner of the township, a station is maintained at The Hunt, not far from the grounds of the Radnor Hunt Club. Darby creek is the principal water course of the township, run- ning in a general southeasterly direction through the southern part of the town- ship. not far from the Newtown line. Good roads and all the attending condi- tions of a prosperous suburban section prevail in all parts of the township. Its streets, churches, and mills, are elsewhere described.
Thornbury Township .- The present township of Thornbury, in shape, baffles description, the wonder being that any surveyor was able to run its lines and then describe them. The line separating the township from Chester county, resembles nothing so much as a series of mountain peaks and table lands, and could only have been determined by allowing each landowner to elect which county he wished to be in, when the act of September 26, 1789, created the new county of Delaware. In 1842 a part of Aston township, was annexed, which added further irregularity to its shape in a parallelogram of land lying between Middletown and Concord townships. The original township was divided by the erection of Delaware county, about three-quarters of its area going into the new county, the other fourth constituting a town- ship of the same name in Chester county.
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The first mention of Thornbury as a municipal district occurs in 1687, when Hugh Durborow (Darborough ) was appointed constable. In that part of the township formerly Aston, Joseph Baker, John Worrilow and Daniel Hoopes on Ist mo. 12th day, 1699, took up 500 acres, part of John Simcock's grant of 1500 acres, 400 acres of which comprised almost all the territory of Aston. Neither of these purchasers settled on the tract, the greater part of which in 1724 was purchased by John Taylor, who erected at Glen Mills the noted Sarum Forge. That portion of the township jutting into Edgemont and extend- ing to the Middletown line was seated by William Bostock in March, 1681. West of the Taylor tract and on a straight line drawn from the overlapping corner of Edgemont across the township to the Birmingham line, 1500 acres was surveyed to John Simcock in March, 1681. This tract embraced the present village of Thornbury and all the land south of the line mentioned to Concord township. The tract later passed to the ownership of a number of persons: Joseph Taylor, before mentioned, obtaining the greater part of 500 acres, Randolph Vernon, John Kingsman, George Pearce, and Elizabeth Hickman, also obtaining large portions. West of Thornton, Edward Brown took up 500 acres in 1683. A great deal of the land in Western Thornbury was taken up in one hundred acre lots, but in the north, 1500 acres belonged to John Beller, taken up in 1685, but in 1724 passing to the ownership of John and Thomas Cheney. Chester Creek with its abundant water power, attracted many manufacturing enterprises, including one of the earliest iron works in the county, Sarum Forge, of which Acrelius wrote, referring to the period of 1756, "Sarum belongs to Taylor's heirs, has three stacks and is in full blast." (See chapter on manufacturing for an account).
Glen Mills is the principal village in the township, having a population of 300, with paper mills, stone works, etc. Thornton is another village, early located ; Cheney and Locksley are stations on the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore railroad, as is Glen Mills. In Thornbury is located the House of Refuge, a well managed institution with ample grounds and good buildings. In 1910 the population of Thornbury township was 1944.
Springfield Township .- Beginning at the southern end of Haverford, Springfield's northwestern boundary is Marple township to Crum creek, where from a point near Western school house it follows the line of the creek, to Avondale, thence along the line of Ridley township to near Secane station, thence north along the line of Upper Darby to Darby creek, following the line of that creek to the extreme northern point of the township to the place of starting. Within these limits Swarthmore and Morton boroughs are located. the first mentioned borough being the seat of Swarthmore College (q. v.).
The first record of Springfield as a township is in 1686, when Peter Les- ter was appointed constable. In the south, 850 acres had been surveyed in 1681 to Henry Maddock and James Kennerly. Henry Maddock represented Chester county in the General Assembly in 1684, but subsequently returned to England, the tract mentioned becoming the property of his son, Mordecai, and included the present grounds of Swarthmore College. Other early land own-
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ers were: John Gleaves, Peter Leicester, Jane Lownes, (a widow, who came in 1682, settling on 150 acres in Springfield in 1684: on this farm, yet owned by her descendants, is a stone bearing this inscription : "Jane Lownes, her cave and home. 1684") ; Robert Taylor ; Bartholomew Coppock ; Bartholomew Cop- pock, Jr., at whose house the first Friends' meetings in Springfield were held, and who gave the two acres of land on which the church and graveyard were located, he a member of the Provincial Council and representing Chester coun- -y in the General Assembly several terms ; George Maris and others. George Maris located, October 26. 1683, 400 acres lying along Darby creek, from Mar- ple township above the mouth of Lewis run. In a valley he built a stone house near a spring ( from which it is asserted the township derived its name) and there lived until his death in 1705. He was a man of influence; was justice, and from 1684 until 1693 (excepting 1689) represented Chester coun- ty in the General Assembly. In 1722 the old house was removed by his grand- son, George Maris, who erected on its site "Home House," a two and a half story stone building. In the grove back of this house, on August 25, 1883, the two hundredth anniversary of the coming of George Maris and family was held, more than a thousand descendants attending. Samuel Levis came in 1684. He was a justice of the court, and was frequently elected to represent Chester county in the General Assembly; Francis Yarnall had 150 acres, and John Simcock of Ridley was a very large land owner in Springfield. Besides the Levis, Coppock, Maris and Lownes families, the taxables of 1715 were : William West, Isaac Taylor, senior and junior, Samuel Hall, James Barrot, Thomas Poe, Thomas Taylor, George James, Richard Woodward, John Glere, Nicholas Smith, Thomas Kendall, Mordecai Maddock, William Miller.
The northern part of Springfield is rural, but in the south much more thickly populated, Morton and Swarthmore being thriving boroughs. Schools are located in the eastern, central and western sections, in addition to those maintained in the boroughs (see schools). Friends' meeting were early cstab- lished, followed later by other denominational organizations.
Springfield has the honor of having been the birthplace of Benjamin West, the great early American artist, his birth date being October 10, 1738. Pennsdale farm, directly opposite Lownes Free Church, has since prior to 1800 been owned in the Thompson family. Prior to that year it was owned by John Thompson, a noted engineer, who when a young man was in the employ of the noted Holland Company. He built at Presque Isle (now Eric, Pennsylvania ) a small schooner in which he made the voyage to Philadelphia, his vessel, the "White Fish," being the first that ever passed from Lake Erie to Philadelphia, being taken around Niagara Falls by land and relaunched in Lake Ontario. The journey from Oswego to New York City is thus described :
"Up the river Oswego to the Falls, 20 miles, then by land around the Falls, one mile, thence up the same river to Three Rivers Point twelve miles, thence up the straits lead- ing to Oneida Lake 19 miles, thence through the Oneida Lake 28 miles, thence up Wood Creek 30 miles to the landing between Wood Creek and the Mohawk River, thence by
Drawn by C.P. Tholey
BIRTH PLACE OF BENJAMIN WEST.
Bowen & Co.lith. Philada
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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land passing Fort Schuyler-formerly Fort Stanwix-one mile into the Mohawk River, then down the Mohawk River 60 miles to the Little Falls, thence around the Falls by land one mile to the landing, thence down the same river 60 miles to Schenectady thence by land 16 miles to Albany thence down the river Hudson 170 miles to the City of N. Y .; thence by sea 150 miles to the Capes of the Delaware River, thence up the Delaware to this city 120 making in all (from Erie) 947 miles."
The "White Fish" was taken to Independence Square and remained until decayed. This voyage was made in 1795.
John Thompson after this returned to Delaware county, and was the leading spirit in the building of the Philadelphia, Brandywine & New Lon- don turnpike, later known as the Delaware county turnpike. The company incorporated March 24, 1808, and in 1810 nine of the forty miles of turnpike was constructed at a cost of $3500 per mile. The road was twenty-one feet wide, and laid to a depth of fifteen inches in broken stone. John Thompson built the bridge on this turnpike over Stony creek, inserting a stone in the wall, thus described : "Built Gratis by John Thompson for the Philadelphia, Brandywine and New London Turnpike Company in 1811." In 1815, when the legislature authorized the State road from Market street bridge, Philadel- phia, to McCall's Ferry, on the Susquehanna river, John Thompson was one of the commissioners appointed, and chief engineer of the survey. He built the Leiper railroad in Ridley, and was employed as civil engineer in the con- struction of the Delaware & Chesapeake canal. He died in 1842. Pennsdale farm passed to the ownership of Isaac Taylor, the first Commissioner of Agriculture, appointed to that office by President Taylor, when that bureau was created by Congress, and continued in office under every president until his death. The farm was later purchased by J. Edgar, a son of John Thomp- son. He was born on the farm, February 10, 1808, and became a civil engi- neer under his father. In 1827 he was employed on the survey of the Phila- delphia & Columbia railroad, continuing until 1830, when he entered the employ of the Camden & Amboy Railroad Company as first assistant engineer of the Eastern Division. He then visited Europe, inspecting public works, and shortly after his return was appointed chief engineer of the Georgia railroad, then controlling 213 miles of railway, then the longest system controlled by any one company in this country. He continued until 1847, when he was elected chief engineer of the Pennsylvania railroad. On February 2, 1852, he was elected president of that company, continuing until his death, twenty- two years. He was a great engineer and a great railroad executive, and in the history of the railroads of the United States there is none greater than J. Edgar Thompson.
The Springfield Free Fountain Society was formed in April, 1882, at a meeting of men and women at the home of C. C. Ogden; they incorporated, and in July, 1882, erected their first fountain, on the state road opposite the property of George Maris, obtaining a neverfailing supply from a spring on his grounds. Other fountains have been erected in the township by the society, whose first president was Joseph P. Maris. The last of the Indians
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who had a home in Delaware county, was "Indian Nelly," who had her cabin in Springfield near the line of the Shipley farm, residing there as late as 1810. The population of Springfield in 1910 was 1132; of Swarthmore bor- ough (q. v.) 1899; of Morton borough (q. v. ) 1071.
Ridley Township .- This township as at present constituted, extends from Darby to the city of Chester and Nether Providence township, and from Springfieldl township to the Delaware river, on which it has a frontage ex- tending from the mouth of Darby creek to the mouth of Crum creek. The former creek separates the township from its mouth to Prospect Park borough. from Tinicum. the latter creek forming the boundary between Eddystone bor- ough and Ridley township. Boroughs incorporated in the township are Eddy- stone, Ridley Park. Prospect Park, Norwood and Rutledge (q. v.). Stations on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad are : Holmes, Folsom. Ridley, Milmont and Fairview : on the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington railroad stations are located at Crum Lynne. Ridley Park. Prospect Park and Norwood. Leiper- ville, a post village, and Wyndon, are in the northern and southern parts of the township respectively. That part of the township now Eddystone, was taken up by Olof Persson Stille, one of the Swedish settlers coming with the third Swedish emigration in 1641. He was a millwright, but had agreed to engage in agriculture. He seems to have become an important man in the colony. After the conquest by the Dutch, he was one of the four magistrates appointed "to administer justice among the inhabitants," thus was a judge of the first court of record on the banks of the Delaware. His son, John Stille. in 1664 was living in Passyunk, Philadelphia. One hundred acres of the Stille land was patented to Neals Mattson. June 13. 1670. It was his wife. Margaret Mattson, who was tried February 27. 1683-1684, on an indictment for witchcraft, before William Penn and a jury. Above this tract 100 acres was set apart by a court held at Upland, November 12, 1678. to Anthony Neal- son, a Swede, father of the above Margaret Mattson. East of Crum creek. south of now Avondale, Jacob Hendricks had 100 acres called "Stony Point." Valuable stone quarries were later opened in that neighborhood. Charles Ashcomb, the surveyor, had 300 acres which included the present village of Leiperville and a greater part of the lake at Ridley Park. John Simcock was a large early land owner, part of his 2200 acres being in Ridley. He was a wealthy Friend, who came in 1682. He was a member of Penn's council, con- tinuing one of the governors council until Gov. Blackwell in 1680. lle was then appointed one of the judges of the Provincial Court, and in 1691 was again a member of the council. In 1693 and again in 1696 he was elected to the Assembly, and chosen speaker the latter year. In 1697-98 he was a mem- ber of the council. He was one of the commissioners appointed to settle the boundary dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania, and was deputy presi- dent of the Free Society of Traders. He died March 7. 1703, aged seventy- three years. The following were taxables of Ridley in 1715: Jacob Simcock : Joseph Harvey, John Stedman. John Hanby. Thomas Dell. John Sharpless. Jacob Simcock, Junior, John Simcock, Joseph Powell, John Crosby, Lawrence
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