USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume II > Part 28
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Robert Evans (2) Hanmum, son of Robert Evans (1) and Georgeanna Maria (Baker) Hannum, was born in Market street, Chester, Pennsylvania,
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November 22, 1843. He attended private school in Chester and Oak Grove, then entered Episcopal Academy, Twelfth and Locust streets, Philadelphia, but his plans for an education were completely altered by the outbreak of the war between the states. He enlisted August 13, 1862, and was honorably dis- charged at Nashville, Tennessee, June 21, 1865. He was a private of the Fifteenth Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry and was first attached to the Army of the Potomac and fought at the battle of Antietam. He was then transferred to the Army of the West, serving at Nashville, under Generals Roseeran and Buell ; at Stone River : Chattanooga : Lookout Mountain under General Hook- er and at the last named battle had two horses killed, but he escaped unhurt. Shortly afterward, however, he was taken sick and spent several months in the hospital at Nashville, recovering in time to march with Sherman to the Sea. He was with his regiment in pursuit of the fleeing president of the Confed- eracy in 1865, and although they did not capture him they captured a wagon train with four hundred thousand dollars in specie belonging to the Confeder- ate government. After the war, Mr. Hannum became a professional nurse and continued in that profession many years, but now lives retired at No. 2344 Providence avenue, Chester. He has traveled a great deal, spending a long period in Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek, Colorado, and in other parts of the West. He returned from his travels, June 13. 1909. and has since made Chester his home. He is an Independent in politics, a member of Chester Lodge, No. 352, Free and Accepted Masons; Guard Mark Chapter, No. 214, Royal Arch Masons, Philadelphia, of which he is a life member, and of the Veteran Association of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.
Mr. Hannum married at Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. June 27. 1866. Mary E. Farson, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1845, daughter of Enoch S. Farson, a sea captain, later in the refrigerating business in Philadel- phia, and his wife, Lavinia ( Hackett) Farson, both deceased. Children: I. Albert B., born in Chester, April 5. 1867: resides in Philadelphia, a detective, unmarried. 2. Henry, born in Chester in 1869: now residing at Sea Isle City, New Jersey. 3. Leon, born at Marcus Hook in 1871 ; resides in Philadelphia. 4. Enoch, born at Marcus Hook in 1873: resides in Philadelphia. 5. Norval, born at Marcus Hook in 1875: resides in Philadelphia. 6. Martha, born at Marcus Hook in 1877: resides in Philadelphia.
PRICE The ancestry of Mrs. Sallie P. ( Eyre) Price traces to the stirring Coloniel times preceding the Revolution and to the early settlement of Delaware county. She is a descendant of Elisha Price, (son of Jolin Price and nephew of Elisha Gatchall, a lawyer of prominence) who rep- resented Chester county at a Provincial meeting of deputies from the several counties in Pennsylvania, held in Philadelphia, July 16, 1774. Elisha Price was appointed at that meeting one of a committee to prepare and report a draft of instructions to be presented to the General Assembly, asking that body to appoint delegates to the Continental Congress, then in session. Elisha Price was also a member of the body who met in Carpenter's Hall, June 18, 1776, assembled by the committee of correspondence from each county in the prov- ince to "adopt such government as shall in the opinion of the representatives of the people, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in particular and America in general." After making provision for representa- tion of every county in the province and for an election of members to the proposed Constitutional Convention, this Provincial Assembly adjourned June 24, 1776, after each deputy had signed a declaration which stated their "will- ingness to concur in a vote of the congress declaring the united colonies free
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and independent States." Elisha Price was commissioned justice of the courts of common pleas and quarter sessions, March 16, 1790, and was a prominent opponent of the removal of the county seat from Chester to West Chester.
Mrs. Price also descends from Robert (born 1648) and Ann (Smith) Eyre of Bethel, Pennsylvania, the English emigrants who first settled in New Jersey. Their son, William Evre, married 1723. at Haverford Meeting, Mary David, daughter of Lewis David of Darby, and resided in Bethel until his death.
Isaac Eyre, son of William and Mary Eyre, settled in Chester, where in 1766 in Chester Meeting he married Ann, daughter of Jonas and Jane Preston. He took so active a part in the measures for securing the independence of his country that he was disciplined by the Society and dismissed in 1775. In 1783 he made acknowledgment and was restored to membership in the meeting. In 1786 he married Abigail, daughter of Nathan Dicks, but because the cere- mony was performed by a magistrate he was again punished by dismissal.
Jonas Eyre, eldest son of Isaac and Ann ( Preston) Eyre, was born 4 mo. 28, 1767, married ( second) II mo. II. 1801, Susanna, daughter of Joshua and Mary Pusey of London Grove, Chester county, born 10 mo. 17. 1776.
William Eyre, youngest son of Jonas Eyre and his second wife, Susanna Pusey, was born in Chester, April 25. 1807, died March 6, 1863 (another au- thority says that he was born 7 mo. 14. 1803, and that Joshua was his twin brother, this however is an error as the family bible in possession of Mrs. Price shows the birth of William as stated above, the latter being the date of birth of his brother, Joshua. ) In early life he and his brother. Joshua, began business as general grocers which then meant trading in all kinds of farm produce. Their old sloop "Jonas Preston" made weekly trips to Philadelphia carrying produce to market and returning loaded with goods for the store. William Eyre was engaged in the lumber business, at that time the only lumber yard in Chester. Prosperous in their business and universally esteemed they early retired from active business, yet occupying many high positions of trust in their community. Joshua P. Eyre represented the county in the legislature 1840-42. He refused nomination to Congress. Both were directors of the Delaware Mutual Safety, the old Delaware County Insurance Company, a Chester institution originally, now of Philadelphia. Excellent likenesses of both brothers by the celebrated Philadelphia portrait painter, Waugh, adorn the directors' room of the com- pany, a tribute of respect and in remembrance of their long faithful service. The close friendship and lifelong companionship of the two brothers was re- markable and was ever the subject of favorable comment. Both were tall, slender men, like most of their name and generation ; kind, gentle and cour- teous in their manners and in their friendships "true as steel." They built the "Old National Hall" in Chester and in all their business dealings were partners. Joshua never married and always lived with his brother and after the death of the latter, continued to live with the children, their guardian and friend and at his death his large fortune was divided among them. The old farm now a part of Chester, was long their home, but after their retirement from business they occupied the handsome residence erected in Chester by Archibald T. Dick.
William Eyre married (first) March 4, 1835. Anna Louisa, daughter of Dr. Job H. Terrill of Chester, who bore him two children : Joshua Pusey Eyre and another who died in infancy. He married (second) November 26, 1844, Rebecca P., daughter of Caleb Churchman, who bore him Caleb C. ; William P. and Rebecca, who married William Wilson, now living retired in Chester.
Dr. Job H. Terrill was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, November 18. 1786. In 1807 after receiving a certificate from the Supreme Court of New Jersey admitting him to practice medicine he started on horseback to find a
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suitable place to locate. He travelled to Washington, D. C. Returning he de- cided to settle in Chester. Here he married Margaret Smith. They had two daughters. Emmeline, married John O. Deshong, and Anna Louisa, married William Eyre. Dr. Terril! was one of the most prominent physicians of Dela- ware county. He died January 20, 1844.
Joshua Pusey Eyre, only son of William Eyre and his first wife, Anna Louisa Terrill, was born in Chester, January 19, 1836, died there September 25. 1889. He resided in Chester all his life. his home being the old family residence, Preston Place, on Concord Road ; in 1876 he built a new house near the old one, facing on Seventh street. He was a large property owner and gave his attention solely to the care of his private estate.
He married, June 25, 1862, Martha Smith Pennell, born in Chester, March 17, 1837, who survives him a resident of Washington, D. C. She married (sec- ond) George Gray Knowles of Upland, Pennsylvania, now living retired in Washington. Martha Smith Pennell is the daughter of Edmund and Eliza- beth Jaquett ( Price) Pennell and granddaughter of Jonathan and Ann ( De- Laney) Pennell of Chester. Elizabeth Jaquett Price was the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Smith) Price of Chester, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and again of Chester. John Price was an attorney and a soldier of the War of 1812, holding the rank of major. He was the son of Elisha Price, the patriot, whose valuable service to the Colonial cause has been given. Children of Joshua Pusey Eyre : William, died young, and Sallie Pennell.
Sallie Pennell Eyre, only daughter of Joshua Pusey and Martha Smith (Pennell ) Eyre, was born in Chester Pennsylvania, July 19, 1872. She at- tended private school in Chester until twelve years of age, then until sixteen years was a student at the Friend's School, Fifteenth and Race streets, and of Miss Agnes Irwin at her private school in Philadelphia. Later she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, and advanced English and history under the instruc- tion of Miss Susan Wharton of Philadelphia. She is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Chester, Delaware county, and of Daughters of the American Revolution.
Miss Eyre married, June 1, 1893, in Philadelphia, at Church of the .1s- cension, by Rev. G. Woolsey Hodge. William Gray Price Jr., son of William Gray Price, of distinguished Pennsylvania ancestry. John Price, his paternal ancestor, who died in 1773, married Elizabeth Alrick, daughter of Peter (2) Alrick, who was a grandson of Peter ( 1) Alrick, (also spelled Alrich and Al- ricks). Peter (1) was ensign and commissary of the fort near Cape Henlo- pen, built in 1659 ; commander of Towns and Forts 1683: Counsellor under the Duke of York 1667: Deputy Governor 1673-1674: Member of Assembly 1682- 1683: Provincial Councillor 1685-1680: Justice 1677-1678-1680-1684-1689. and July 7, 1600, was commissioned as one of the Associate Judges of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, holding until 1693. After the transfer of the province to William Penn, Peter Alrick was the first commander of the standing mili- tary forces, which Penn was compelled to maintain. Peter (2), grandson of Peter (I) Alricks, married Dorcas Land, a granddaughter of Samuel Land. prominent in the affairs of the province, and recorded as being one of the nine persons who were in the fort and witnessed the surrender of the fort and gov- ernment to William Penn. October 28, 1682, and was a signer of the Declara- tion of Obedience to his government on the same date. Elizabeth, daughter of Peter (2), married John Price.
Samuel Price, son of Jobn and Elizabeth (Alrick) Price, was a member of the Committee of Observation of the Chester County Associators, Decem- ber 20, 1774, also a private in the company of Captain William Price, First Battalion of Chester county militia and served in the Revolution. He married
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Ann Richards, a descendant of Joseph Richards, who was one of the first pur- chasers under William Penn.
Major Samuel Alrich Price, son of Samuel and Ann (Richards) Price, was born in 1796, died in 1861. He was a major of the early Pennsylvania militia and a man of importance. He married, Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Davis) Bickam, of Philadelphia.
William Gray (1) Price, son of Major Samuel Alrich Price, was born 1828, died in 1906. He held the rank of lieutenant in the 37th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment. He married Jane E. Campbell, born in Rockdale, Penn- sylvania, August 28, 1837, eldest daughter of James Campbell, born in Stock- port, England, in 1805, died at Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1862, the pioneer cot- ton cloth manufacturer of that city ; married Angeline, daughter of John and Mary Turner Garsed (three of whose sons fought in the Civil War). James was a son of Joseph and Mary Dodge Campbell of Campbelltown, Argyleshire, Scotland. Children of William Gray ( 1) Price and Jane E. Campbell : Edward A., William Gray and Howard Campbell Price, Captain U. S. A.
William Gray (2) Price, son of Lieutenant William Gray (1) Price, was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. March 23, 1869, and was educated in private and public schools of that city. He entered the employ of the Delaware Coun- ty Trust Company. Chester, in 1887, continuing with at that corporation six years. On March 11, 1893, he located in Philadelphia, there engaging in the coal business for two years, then engaging as an operative builder on an exten- sive scale. He was continuously in successful business until the Spanish-Amer- ican War when he tendered his services to the Government, which were accept- ed and temporarily drew him away from private business. He was mustered out in October, 1898, and until 1906 was engaged in the same line of business in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In that year he returned to his native city, Chester, and is there engaged in building operations, similar to those engaged in, in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and also is president of the Wyoming Sand and Stone Company of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Price has held a distinguished military career in the Pennsylvania National Guards, beginning in his seventeenth year when he entered as a pri- vate in Company B, Sixth Regiment, on May 24, 1886. He has inherited his military ardor from his many warlike ancestors and when once started in mili- tary life his progress was rapid. On February 1I, 1889, he was made corpor- al: elected second-lieutenant of Company B, Sixth Regiment, April 13, 1891; elected first lieutenant of Company C. December 20, 1892; July 7, 1893, was appointed adjutant of the Third Regiment ; March II, 1895, appointed battal- ion adjutant of the same regiment ; May 24, 1895, he was commissioned ma- jor ; March 18, 1898, lieutenant colonel and on April 23, 1901, was elected colonel, being unanimously re-elected colonel in 1906. In April, 1910, he was appointed by Governor Stuart a brigadier general in the National Guard of Pennsylvania and assigned to command the First Brigade, consisting of the First, Second and Third Regiments of Infantry. During the Spanish Ameri- can War he served as lieutenant colonel of the Third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, being commissioned May 11, 1898, and was mustered out with his regiment October 12, 1898. General Price belongs to many social and patriotic societies ; is an original member of the State Armory Board, hav- ing been appointed by Governor Pennypacker, September 20, 1906. Among his other memberships is that of the Sons of the Revolution. Naval and Military Order Spanish-American War, and the Union League of Philadelphia. He is a vestryman of St. Paul's Church of Chester. In politics he is an active ardent Republican, but never accepted other than military office. He married as stated, June 1, 1893, Sallie Pennell Eyre, of equally distinguished colonial
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descent. Children of Gen. William Gray and Sallie Pennell (Eyre) Price ; Joshua Pusey Eyre, born April 25, 1894, in Philadelphia, graduate Chester high school, now a student at the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1915; Terrill Eyre, born in Philadelphia, November 13, 1895, graduate Chester high school, now a student of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1915 ; William Alrich, born in Philadelphia, February 22. 1897, now a student at Chester high school ; Martha Eyre, born at Secane, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1899: Elizabeth, born at Secane, April 15, 1902: Virginia, born at Secane, August 7, 1903: these three now attending Friends School at Media ; Sarah Eyre, born in Chester, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1907.
BAGSHAW The Bagshaws of England have long been seated in that country, the first of this branch coming to the United States when a young man, being the only one of a large family to leave England for a home in this country.
William Bagshaw born in Manchester, England, in 1824, died in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in November, 1900. He came to Pennsylvania before his marriage, taking passage in one of the sailing vessels of the Cope line, con- suming six weeks on the voyage. He settled at Leiperville, Delaware county, where he was employed in a mill. thence coming to Chester, following the same employment until 1873. He was an energetic, careful man and accumulated suf- ficient capital to start in 1873, a confectionery and ice cream establishment in Chester, which he successfully conducted until his death. He was a Democrat in politics, but supported William McKinley for the presidency when opposed by William J. Bryan. He married Ann Robinson, born in Manchester, Eng- land, in 1823, died in Chester in 1890; children : John, died young : William L., died in Chester in February, 1911. He was associated with Prof. Jackson in the manufacture of fireworks, later was a confectioner in Chester. He mar- ried (first) Miss Hoopes, ( second) Miss Worrell, who survives him a resi- dent of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania : Mary Ellen, died in Chester aged twenty- three years, unmarried ; James R., see forward.
James R. Bagshaw, youngest son of William and Ann (Robinson) Bag- shaw, was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1860. He attended the pub- lic schools of Chester and was a student in high school, when in 1873 he left school to assist his father in his business, later becoming a partner and was the active manager of a prosperous and constantly increasing ice cream and con- fectionery business until 1898. He then retired from the firm and until 1906 was in the employ of Wanamaker and Brown at Sixth and Market streets, Philadelphia. In 1906 he returned to business in Chester, opening a clothing store. having gained an expert knowledge of that business during his eight years in one of the best known of Philadelphia's clothing stores. He opened his store at the corner of Edgmont avenue and Welsh street. where he has built up a very large business in clothing and gentlemen's furnishings. In his shoe department he has very strong lines, including the sole agency in Chester for the W. L. Douglas shoes. Mr. Bagshaw has been engaged in retail mer- chandising since a lad of thirteen years of age and for fifteen years has devoted himself exclusively to his present line. He is a wise buyer, a good salesman and manages his iarge business with a wisdom that results in a constant growth, a loyal army of patrons and a satisfactory balance sheet.
Mr. Bagshaw has also been prominent in the public and official life of Chester. In 1887 he was the successful Republican nominee for common coun- cil, serving through successive elections five years. From 1893 to 1896 he was chief of police, then was elected to select council, serving for twelve consecu-
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tive years, having retained home and residence in Chester during the years he was in business in Philadelphia. He also was appointed to fill out an unex- pired term in the office of City Comptroller. He served his city well in official capacity and left behind him in each position held, a record of duty faithfully performed. He attends St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church ; is a mem- ber of Chester Lodge No. 236, Free and Accepted Masons; Larkin Lodge, No. 78, Knights of Pythias ; Chester Lodge, Patriotic Order Sons of America ; Chester Eyrie No. 159, Fraternal Order of Eagles, of which he is past presi- dent ; Chester Lodge, Loyal Order of Moose, of which he is dictator ; treasurer of the Moyamensing Hook and Ladder Company, of which he has been a mem- ber twenty-five years, and was chairman of the general committee of the State Fireman's Convention held in Chester in the summer of the present year 1913. He has interests outside those mentioned and is president of the Edgmont Avenue Business Men's Association.
Mr. Bagshaw married, May 14, 1895, in Chester, Esther Turner, born in Rockdale, Pennsylvania, daughter of George W., deceased and Jane (Faulk- er) Turner, who survives her husband, a resident of Chester; children, all born in Chester: James R. (2), born May 18, 1896, graduate Chester high school class of 1913; Leon, born February 3, 1898: Mary E., August 4, 1900.
Alexander Brooke Geary, of the Delaware county bar, with
GEARY offices in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania, resides at Walling- ford, in Nether Providence township, Delaware county, Penn- sylvania, where he was born. November 24, 1870. His education was obtained in the public schools of that township, which he attended until he was fourteen years of age. After leaving school he worked on a farm until he was seven- teen years of age, and then worked in the Baldwin Locomotive Works until October, 1892, when he entered the office of Oliver B. Dickinson, Esq., of Chester, Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the bar of Delaware county on December 3, 1894.
Soon after his admission he opened an office and has since been engaged in general practice, being a member of the Delaware county bar, the Philadel- phia bar, the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania and the United States Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He lias been counsel in a number of important cases and in public investigations. At the unanimous request of the grand jury in 1899, he acted as special counsel in the investi- gation of a bridge contract. He was also of counsel for a committee of citi- zens in the audit of the accounts of the Directors of the Poor, which resulted in the surcharging of the officers and also the prosecution of them. When the stuffing of the jury wheel for the December court of 1912 was discovered, he was appointed chairman of a Bar Association committee to investigate the matter, and at this writing the committee is engaged in the discharge of its duties. He has never represented an applicant for a liquor license, but has consistently appeared as counsel in opposing the granting of licenses and is at the present time counsel for the No-License League of Chester.
In politics he is a Democrat, and has been a member of the Democratic county executive committee since attaining his majority. In 1905 he was se- lected as the candidate for district attorney on the fusion ticket, and while de- feated, an adverse majority of about 15,000 of the previous year was reduced to 1400. He was also the candidate of his party for state senator in 1912. He was elected school director in Nether Providence township in 1899, and served for a term of three years. During his term the old Union school house was abandoned and the handsome new building erected on the Providence road, at
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Wallingford. He was the moving spirit in the organization of the Horace Howard Furness Free Library at Wallingford, the name of which has since been changed to the Helen Kate Furness Free Library, and has been the treas- urer of the corporation since its organization. He is actively engaged with the other officers and directors in preparing for the erection of a new library building for the library.
In January, 1909, the county commissioners elected him county solicitor, and he served as such for one year. During his term in that capacity he gave strict attention to the duties of the office and saved the county considerable money by insisting that officials should not be paid more than they were enti- tled to by law, so careful was he of the county's interests that the bosses brought pressure to bear upon the county commissioners and at the end of the year he was dismissed from the office. He is the editor and publisher of "The Weekly Reporter," the legal journal of the county, which in book form is known as "The Delaware County Reports."
He is a descendant of James Geary, who came to America with a brother during or immediately preceding the Revolutionary War. The father of James was an officer in the English navy, and as the boys were sympathizers with the colonies it seemed best that they should come here. James settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and married Dinah Carrell, a direct descendant of James Carrell, who was one of the founders of the old Log ( Presbyterian) church in Bucks county. Dinah, the wife of James, was the daughter of Solomon and Mary Carrell. Solomon was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and was killed or died while with the American army on Long Island. His widow Mary afterward married Charles Ryant, a member of the Society of Friends of Concord township. After his death she purchased a tract of land in Nether Providence township and erected a house upon it which is still standing, and in which she resided until her decease. She lived to the advanced age of 104 years. Her daughter, Dinah Geary, also lived to the age of 104 years, leaving to survive her three children, one of whom, William, was the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. William was born in Philadelphia in 1789, and died in Nether Providence township in 1880. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a carpenter by trade, and for a number of years taught school. He married Ann Abbott, a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania. He left three sons-Davis, who died without children ; Albert, who died in Nether Provi- dence, leaving five children ; and George, the father of Alexander B.
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