USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume II > Part 47
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Ile married ( first ) February 20, 1867, Rebecca Hayes, daughter of Dr. Samuel Hayes and Lydia (Clark ) Harry, of Chester county, where Dr. Harry was a practicing physician for many years; there he died leaving issue: Dr. Sammel (2) ; Jesse ; Washington Atlee: Victoria Ann, married Charles Wol- laston : Lydia Maria, married Benjamin McCord: Rebecca Hayes, married Edward Worth. Edward Worth married ( second) February 17, 1897. Sarah
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ConTeu Dickerson M.D.
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Fookes Wright of Laurel, Delaware, daughter of Turpin Wright, of Seaforth, Delaware, a man of extensive inherited interests, and his wife. Jane Fookes, both living. Children of Edward Worth and his first wife, Rebecca Hayes Harry: 1. Samuel Harry, born March 26, 1868, married in 1891, Mary Strong. 2. May, born January 31. 1871, married Horace Fox. 3. Grace, born June 17, 1873, married Powell Stackhouse Jr. 4. George, born August 26, 1876, married Sarah Reed ; children: Rebecca. Elmore May. George Ed- ward. The family home of the Worths is at Media, Delaware county, where, in a beautiful residence, friends are warmly welcomed and hospitably enter- tained.
This name, which has been made familiar in Delaware coun- DICKESON ty, Pennsylvania, by the Doctors Dickeson, both father and son, was first borne in this country by Thomas Dickeson, who came from England to New Jersey as one of the original Fenwick Com- pany, and there founded a family which has ever since been resident in the state of New Jersey. From him sprang the Doctors Dickeson, of Delaware county.
Dr. William T. W. Dickeson was born in Woodbury, New Jersey, at the Woodbury homestead, in 1828. and died in Media, Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania, early in the morning of February 21, 1012. His preparatory education was an excellent one, and he subsequently became a student at the University of Pennsylvania. He had prepared for the profession of civil engineering. and had attained some prominence along that line, having made important surveys of coal and copper properties in North Carolina, and of coal lands in Sullivan county, Pennsylvania. His ambition and taste, however, were for a medical career, and in furtherance of that ambition he took instruction in pharmacy from Dr. Grafe, of Philadelphia, and later took a course in the pro- fession of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated with honor in the class of 1849. At the age of twenty-four years he was appointed professor of agricultural chemistry at the Wagner's Free In- stitute of Philadelphia. Not long after he had been graduated he opened a drug store in Philadelphia, which he conducted very successfully until the outbreak of the civil war, when he enlisted. He received an appointment as assistant surgeon of the Ninety-ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, and was later appointed surgeon, with the rank of major, of the Fourth Regiment of Pennsylvania Reserves. He continued in the service until this momentous conflict was ended, then returned to Pennsylvania, settling in Media, Delaware county, where the remainder of his life was spent. He established himself in the private practice of medicine and surgery, a course which was continued uninterruptedly until 1906, and in connection with this he conducted a phar- macy in Media until 1889. when he turned over the drug business to his son, William E. Dickeson, Ph. G.
Dr. Dickeson remained a student throughout his life. All the time which he could spare from his large practice was spent in scientific research, travel and study. lle made no specialty of any particular line, but his genius and talents enabled him to accomplish much in various fields of medical science. He was a student of the languages, of geology. mineralogy, archaeology and art-in his later years becoming greatly interested in, and a collector of an- tiques. His vacations, generally spent in travel, were utilized in adding to his fund of information concerning one or the other of these studies. As a phy- sician and surgeon he held high rank, and during all the long years of his practice in Delaware county, held the patronage of the best families of that
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section. Ile was a member of the American Medical, the State Medical, and the Delaware County Medical societies; the American Geological Society : Delaware County Institute of Science: Bradbury Post, No. 149, Grand Army of the Republic ; and of George F. Bartram Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, of which he was an honored past master. In all these bodies he took a deep interest, and in all he was held in the highest esteem.
Dr. Dickeson married (first) in 1855. Eunice, daughter of Judge Burch- ard, of Philadelphia, and (second), in 1862, Emily M. J., youngest daughter of Jacob Snider, of Philadelphia, who was the inventor of the "Snider Rifle," and of raised type to be used in the instruction of the blind. She was born May 12, 1841. Children by the first marriage: 1. William Eunice, twin, born May 13, 1856, died in 1910. He was a chemist. and was for twenty-two years the analytical chemist in the custom house at Philadelphia. 2. Jabez Burch- ard, twin, born May 14, 1856, died at the age of forty-one years. He was a promising young lawyer and a highly respected man. He was a member of the Delaware County Bar Association, and practiced his profession in Media. By his second marriage Dr. Dickeson had the following named children : 3. Thomas Wilson, died at the age of eighteen months. 4. Morton Phelps, see forward.
Dr. Morton Phelps Dickeson, son of Dr. William T. W. and Emily M. J. (Snider) Dickeson, was born in Media, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, Octo- ber 8, 1864. Ile obtained his primary and intermediate education in the Friends' School in his birthplace, later entering Shortlidge's Academy. His professional education was secured at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, from which he was graduated in the class of 1886, and at the Medico-Chirur- gical College of Medicine, from which he was graduated in the class of 1888, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, the highest class honors in the award of the institution having been presented to him. He remained eight months as resident physician, having previously had charge of the college dispensary. Subsequently he was appointed prosector to Dr. William II. Pancoast, profes- sor of anatomy at the college, and also served as assistant in the department of bacteriology. In 1888 he severed his professional connection with the college. and in April of that year located at Glen Riddle, and established himself in the practice of his profession there. In 1906 he returned to Media and there took up the practice of his father. In the quarter of a century which has just elapsed, Dr. Dickeson has broadened and developed as a surgeon and physi- cian until he stands in the foremost ranks of the medical profession. He has a large practice, both in Delaware county and in Philadelphia, and possesses the entire confidence of the public by whom his skill and integrity are unques- tioned. He is a member of the American Medical Association, the State and County Medical societies, and was a member of the State Board of Medical Examiners for a period of ten years. He has been a member of the State Board of Health for nine years ; is an ex-president of the alumni of the Med- ico-Chirurgical College, and he belongs to the Philadelphia Medical Club. He is also interested in the Burmont Specialty Company, of Delaware county, a corporation formed for the manufacture of chemical specialties, and he is the supervising chemist. In 1907 Dr. Dickeson established a private sanitar- ium, which has been very successful, and which necessitated the purchase of additional property in 1913. He is a past state councilor of the Junior Order of American Mechanics, has served as state councilor for a period of six years, and is now a member and secretary of the finance committee of the National Council of that order. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his wife are members of the Episcopal church
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and interested in charitable works of all kinds. In political faith he is a Dem- ocrat, interested in township affairs, but is entirely devoted to his profession and has never accepted public office, other than serving six years as school director.
Dr. Dickeson married. September 21, 1907, Alice Smith, a daughter of Philip and Harriet (Dodd) Baker, of Oxford, Chester county, Pennsylvania, an old and prominent family of the county. At an early age she commenced the study of music with H. Ogelsby, of Chester, Pennsylvania, and at the age of twelve years showed such remarkable talent as a performer on the vio- lin, that she obtained a scholarship and entered the Spruce Street Conservatory of Music, where she was at first a pupil of Gustave Hille, and subsequently of Herman Cosman, and under the instruction of the last named artist. and ac- companied by him and his wife, she went abroad, and was accepted as a pupil of Anton Veteck, at that time concert master of the Philharmonic of Berlin. She was also fortunate enough to study under the famous Eugene Ysaye for several months. She was elected a member of the Paris Academy of Music. and is one of the only three American girls who ever achieved that distinction. She followed the profession of music as a solo violinist from 1897 until the time of her marriage. with an unprecedented amount of success. She is known throughout the country and in Europe as a violinist of great talent and a masterly technique, and her style has been compared very greatly to lier credit with that of her celebrated teacher, Eugene Ysaye. She is a member of the Woman's Club and chairman of the music committee.
Rev. William Boyd, son of William Boyd, who came to America BOYD from Scotland in 1850, was born in Philadelphia. February 5. 1852, and was for many years a minister of the Presbyterian . church. Rev. Boyd married Annie E. Culver, born in Philadelphia, died in 1890, leaving three sons: 1. William Fairview, born in Glenmoore, August 21. 1877, now traveling auditor for the United Gas Improvement Company of Philadelphia, residence Lansdowne. 2. Andrew Culver (of further mention). 3. Albert Barnes, born in Glenmoore, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1881, now elec- trical engineer with the Diamond Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio.
Andrew Culver Boyd, second son of Rev. William and Annie E. (Culver) Boyd, was born in Glenmoore, Chester county. Pennsylvania, March 23. 1879. He was carly educated in the public schools of Camden, New Jersey, prepar- ing for college at Eastburn Academy, Philadelphia, entering Princeton Univer- sity, whence he was graduated A. B., class of 1900. Choosing the profession of law, he entered the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 1903. He was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in June, 1903, to the state and federal courts of the district in the same year and to the Delaware county bar in 1904. He is well established in gen- eral civil practice, giving but little attention to the criminal branch of his pro- fession. He is solicitor for the Lansdowne school board and for the two build- ing and loan associations of the county. He is a member of the state and county bar associations ; George W. Bartram Lodge No. 298, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, Media, and is a communicant of the Presbyterian church. In college athletics he was especially interested in base ball and foot ball. a love he has not outgrown. In political faith a Republican, he has always been ac- tive, was for years a member of Lansdowne borough council ; is an ex-presi- dent of the Lansdowne Republican Club and a frequent delegate to party dis- trict and state conventions.
He married, October 19, 1907, Eliza G. Gross, born January 16. 1885,
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in Kutztown. Berks county, Pennsylvania, daughter of William and Laura ( Wanner) Gross. Children: Mildred Culver, born July 29. 1908; Andrew Culver Jr .. December 8, 1900.
In April, 1893, Mr. Boyd moved to Lansdowne where he has a beautiful home at No. 120 North Lansdowne avenue. His law offices are at No. 806- 807 North American Building, Philadelphia: his practice being before the conrts of that city and of Delaware county.
TAYLOR The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose suc-
cess has been worthily achieved and whose prominence is not the less the result of an irreproachable life than of natural tal- ents and acquired ability in the field of his chosen labor. Dr. Horace Furness Taylor occupies a position of distinction as a representative of the medical profession at Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, and the best evidence of his capa- bility in the line of his chosen work is the large patronage which is accorded him. It is a well known fact that a great percentage of those who enter busi- ness life meet with failure or only a limited measure of success. This is us- ually due to one or more of several causes-superficial preparation, lack of close application or an unwise choice in selecting a vocation for which one is not fitted. The reverse of all this has entered into the success and promi- nence which Dr. Taylor has gained. His equipment for the profession has been unusually good and he has continually extended the scope of his labors through the added efficiency that comes through keeping in touch with the marked advancement that has been made by the members of the medical fraternity in the last decade.
Dr. Horace Furness Taylor was born at Wallingford, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, July 29, 1881, and he is a son of Millard Fillmore and Hettic Carpenter (Fitch) Taylor, the former of whom is now deceased and the lat- ter of whom is residing at Westtown, Pennsylvania. Millard Fillmore Tay- lor was a son of David and Elizabeth ( Simmons) Taylor, natives of West- town. Chester county, this state, where they passed their entire lives. David Taylor was a carpenter by trade and in addition to building he conducted a general merchandise business in his home town. He and his wife were de- vout members of the Presbyterian church. They were the parents of seven children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Millard Fillmore, father of the doctor : George S .. a native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, is there city registrar and a member of the board of health ; Anna J., is the wife of Henry Cox and they maintain their home at West Ches- ter : Frank. is a plumber by trade and lives at West Chester, Pennsylvania : Fred. is a farmer in New Jersey : Llewellyn, is a contracting plumber and has his headquarters at West Chester : Laura, is the wife of T. Bloom, of Chester, Pennsylvania.
Millard Fillmore Taylor was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1856. He grew to maturity and was educated in his native place and after his marriage he entered the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, for which concern he worked in all thirty-seven and a half years. He was station agent first at Wallingford, whence he was transferred to U'p- land and thence to Westtown, in which fatter place his demise occurred Febru- ary 2. 1910, aged fifty-four years. He was a staunch Republican in his politi- cal faith and in a fraternal way was a valued member of the Improved Order of Red Men. His religious views were in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a zealous member. Mr. Taylor married Hettie Carpenter Fitch, who was born in Chester county,
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Pennsylvania, February 21, 1854, and who is a daughter of Thomas and Mary Fitch, natives of Marshallton, Pennsylvania. Mr. Fitch was a teamster and a farmer and he resided on a farm near Marshallton for a period of forty- four years. He and his wife were both Quakers. He died at Westtown in 1899, aged seventy-nine years, and she passed to eternal rest in 1882. There were three children in the Fitch family, namely: Hettie Carpenter, mother of the doctor : Hannah, who is single, lives at West Chester ; and Mary, widow of Elwood Brinton, lives in Philadelphia. After the demise of her husband Mrs. Taylor succeeded him in his position as station agent at Westtown. Pennsyl- vania, and she continues as such at the present time, in 1913. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor : Dr. Horace Furness, the immediate sub- ject of this review ; and John Wyeth, who is deceased.
To the public schools of his native place Dr. Horace Furness Taylor is indebted for his preliminary educational training, which included a course in the Friends' High School, West Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1898 he was grad- uated in the Swarthmore Preparatory School and in the fall of that year was matriculated as a student in the University of Pennsylvania, in the medical department of which famed institution he was gradnated as a member of the class of 1903, duly receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine. He received his initial experience as a physician and surgeon as an interne in the Chester County Hospital, where he remained for six months, at the expiration of which he entered the Chester Hospital, where he remained for an equal period of time. In 1904 he entered upon the independent practice of his profession at Punxsutawney, in Jefferson county, remaining there for three months and go- ing thence to Toughkennamon, Pennsylvania, in which latter place he was lo- cated for two months.
March 14, 1904, marks the advent of Dr. Taylor at Ridley Park, in Dela- ware county, where he bought out the practice of an old and established phy- sician and where he has since maintained his professional headquarters. Dur- ing the early part of his residence here his work was confined to a general medical practice, and later he began to branch off into surgery also. He has met with unqualified success both as physician and as surgeon, having accom- plished several almost miraculous cures. February 10, 1910, he opened up a private hospital on the old Joseph Burk property at Ridley Park but by 1913 his practice had grown so extensive that he was forced to seek more spacious headquarters. In the latter year he erected a modern hospital directly oppo- site his old place of business. This building is thirty-six by seventy feet in lateral dimensions and is three stories high. It contains thirty beds and re- quires the aid of a staff of seven nurses. The institution is known as the Taylor Hospital and from the time of its inception it was a charitable concern to a certain degree, Dr. Taylor standing the charity, but in 1913 it received recognition from the state and now has a state fund for its charity patients.
Dr. Taylor is coroner's physician and is a member of the Ridley Park board of health. In connection with his medical work he is a valued and ap- preciative member of the Delaware County Medical Society and of the Phila- delphia Medical Club. Although not a politician nor an office seeker, he is a stalwart Republican in his political convictions and is a member of the Dela- ware County Republican Committee. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with Prospect Lodge, No. 578, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; with Broad Race Consistory, at Philadelphia ; and with Lulu Temple, Mystic Shrine.
October 12, 1904, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Taylor to Miss Katherine Grace Manly, a daughter of Charles Manly. Dr. and Mrs. Taylor have one son, Horace Howard Furness Jr., whose birth occurred January 22. 1910.
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The professional career of Dr. Taylor excites the admiration and has won the respect of his contemporaries, and in a calling in which one has to gain reputation by merit he has advanced steadily until he is acknowledged as the superior of most of the members of the profession in Delaware county, hav- ing long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few.
BRIGHTON The ancestral seat of the Brighton family of Delaware coun-
ty, Pennsylvania, was Spaulding. Lincolnshire, England, where Thomas, the father of the American emigrant, spent his entire life. He was a contractor and did a great deal of work, draining and reclaiming the waste marsh lands of the locality. Both he and his wife were life-long members of the church of Eng- land. He died in 1900, aged eighty- four years. He married Mahala Brad- ford, died in 1906, aged eighty-one years. Children: 1. Edward, a farm- er of Old Leak, England ; married Pol- ly Burgess. 2. Betsey, deceased : mar- ried Richard Hunt. 3. Sarah Ann, de- ceased ; married John Gray. 4. Thom- as, deceased : married Amy -. 5. Polly, deceased ; married Charles Malt- by. 6. George. deceased : a h hotel- proprietor : married Agnes Donaldson. 7. Mahala, deceased : married Benja- min Britton. 8. Abram, of whom further. 9. Samuel, married Elizabeth Bailey. 10. Lourina. deceased : married John Smith; have a son living at St. Davids, Nebraska. II. Maria, de- ceased, married Walter Wiley. 12. William, deceased : a farmer. 13. Rose, deceased : married Alfred Flowers. 14. Charles, a minister of the church of England: broke down his health in church service and died aged twenty- three years.
(11) Abram, son of Thomas and Mahala ( Bradford) Brighton, was born in Spaulding. Lincolnshire, England, January 31, 1858. He had little oppor- tunity as a boy to attend school, and began to earn his own living when twelve years of age, working on the farm of Thomas Dennison. After four years at farm labor he became a coachman in Spaulding. After his marriage he was proprietor of the hotel in Spaulding for four years, also managing the "White Horse" hotel in Boston, England, until 1885, when he immigrated to America. Ile settled in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and for one year tried farming, giving this up in favor of the livery business, which he conducted in Media, Pennsylvania. After two years he moved to Upland, where he was employed by John P. Crozer for eight years. In March, 1893, he came to Chester, where for eight years he conducted a restaurant and for twelve years was proprietor of a hotel. He has since sold the business but still retains possession of the property. In 1913 he sold a valuable piece of farm land in Middletown town- ship. Delaware county. Since leaving the hotel business he has acquired con- siderable real estate, including his own home on West Fifth street, Chester. In 1900, Mr. Brighton sent for his nephew. Edward Brighton, and secured for him a position. Benefitted by this opportunity, Edward has risen steadily in
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business life and is now a merchant of Norwood, Pennsylvania. In 1900 an- other of the family, Samuel, came to the United States and is employed by his. brother, Edward. In politics, Mr. Brighton is a strong sympathizer with the Republican party. He holds membership in Lodge No. 488, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Chester ; Knights of Pythias, of Media ; and the Foresters. of Chester. Both he and his wife are members of St. Paul's Church, of Chester. For his steady and rapid rise in life, Mr. Brighton can- not be given too high praise or too hearty congratulation. Coming to a strange land he had every obstacle before him, with the further handicaps of a lack of funds and ignorance of the customs of the country. It is greatly to his credit that at the present time he is a retired business man of competent for- tune, liked and respected for the qualities that have raised him from obscurity to prominence. Perhaps the greatest factor in his success has been the gentle encouragement and never-failing faith of his wife, Jane Laughton, whom he married September 3. 1879, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Drayton) Laughton, of Hibelstow, Lincolnshire, England ; he was a farmer and died in 1893, both were members of the Church of England. Children of George and Elizabeth Drayton: Jane, of previous mention, married Abram Brighton ; Ja- cob William, deceased, married and had issue : Polly, deceased ; James, lives in Newcastle, England: Charles, lives in Soxelby, England: Sarah, lives in England ; Harry, lives in Media, Pennsylvania ; Samuel, lives in England. Children of Abram and Jane ( Laughton) Brighton: 1. Mary Ann Laura. married Joseph Johnson, a commission merchant, of Chester ; son, Abram. 2. Minnie Marie, married Clarence Cooper. a commission merchant. of Chester, son, James Branghton. 3. Roslyn, married George Scholerterer, superinten- dent of the Fayette Brick Works of Chester ; daughter, Jane Laughton.
ALEXANDER William C. Alexander, a prominent member of the bar of Delaware county, and active in political and community affairs, is a native of that county, born in Thornbury, No- vember 12. 1870, son of Thomas B. and Maggie C. Alexander. His youth was clouded with sorrow and misfortune. He was only five years old when his father met his death in an accident on the Philadelphia & Reading railroad. Of her two children-William C. and Bertha-the widowed mother had lost the latter at the age of seven months, only a month prior to the death of the father. In order to support herself and her only remaining child. she became a nurse, and heroically struggled along, keeping her son in school until he was eleven years old, when, overborne by her labors and being in ill health, she was obliged to relinquish her profession and take up her home with her father. William Cloud, her son going to live with an uncle. G. Pearson Cloud, on his farm in East Goshen township, Chester county. Here her young son earned his board and clothes and schooling in the country school. He enjoyed the favorable advantage of having for teacher during a portion of this time, W. Roger Fronefield, now a leading member of the Media bar, to whom he is in- debted for much of the best formative influences of his early years, and who subsequently became his warm personal friend and law preceptor.
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