USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume II > Part 51
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copal church, as is also his wife, and his political allegiance is given to the Re- publican party.
Mr. Gardner married Emily Bridle, a native of Exeter, Devonshire, Eng- land, daughter of Richard Bridle; she came to this country two years later than her husband. Their children: 1. George, conducts an auto garage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; married Pearl Hoover; one daughter, Louise. 2. Ethel, married Oscar Murray, an electrician in Collingsdale, Pennsylvania ; two children : Oscar and Pauline Booth. 3. Richard Neal, engaged in busi- ness with his father : married Mildred Caum. 4. Frederick, engaged in busi- mess with his father; resides in Oakmont; married Laura Reese; one son, Frederick Aubrey. 5. Ernest, resides at home, unmarried. 6. Florence, edu- cated in Banks Business College, now serving as bookkeeper for her father ; resides at home.
BARNETT If those who claim that fortune has favored certain individ- uals above others will but investigate the cause of success and failure, it will be found that the former is largely due to the improvement of opportunity, the latter to the neglect of it. Fortunate en- vironments encompass nearly every man at some stage of his career, but the strong man and the successful man is he who realizes that the proper moment has come, that the present and not the future holds his opportunity. The man who makes use of the Now and not the To Be is the one who passes on the highway of life others who started out ahead of him, and reaches the goal of prosperity in advance of them. It is this quality in William Barnett that has made him a leader in the starch industry in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, where he has been interested since 1878, at which time he erected his present starch factory. Prior to that time he was engaged in the same business in Philadelphia and the long span of years tell the story of an eminently success- ful business career due to persistent endeavor and the ability to turn every opportunity to good advantage. Mr. Barnett maintains his home at Mount Alverno, also the site of his factory, and here he commands the unalloyed con- fidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, who honor him for his square busi- ness methods.
The genealogy of the Barnett family in America dates back to the year 1800 at which time Thomas Barnett immigrated to this country from county Tyrone, Ireland, and settled in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He married and had three children: Thomas, Jr., mentioned in the following paragraph ; Alexander, a ship carpenter by trade and a splendid mechanic, was for many years a resident of Philadelphia ; and Rebecca, who never married, likewise lived in Philadelphia. All of the above children were born in Ire- land.
Thomas Barnett Jr. was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, in the latter part of the eighteenth century and he came to America in 1805, joining his father in Philadelphia. He received but very meager educational training in his youth but through extensive reading and close observation of customs and people he developed a very keen intellect. As a boy he worked in a mill for a number of years and eventually secured a position in a starch factory owned by a Frenchman named Bartholomew. In the latter place he secured an excel- lent business training and became so familiar with the ins and outs of the starch manufacturing industry that he finally engaged in that business on his own account. Ilis first factory was located on Eighth street below Washing- ton avenue, in Philadelphia, and later he removed to Ninth and Reid streets, in which latter place he continued to be located until his demise, in 1865. He
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was a shrewd business man and built up a splendid industry, which has since been continued by his son, William, of this notice. He was three times mar- ried, (first) to Martha Gillespie, of New York: (second) to Sarah Walker, of Ireland, who died in 1834; and (third) to Eliza Jane Heazzlitt, of Ireland. By the first union there were three children : Margaret, Jennie and Maria. Five children were born of the second marriage : Elizabeth, a resident of New York City, she is unmarried; William, the immediate subject of this review; and Sarah, who married James Harper and lived in Philadelphia, and two sons died in infancy. To the third union were born eight children: Ella, is the widow of Frank Hart and lives in Philadelphia : Mary, is the wife of George McGee, of New York City; Alexander, lives in New York City; the other five are deceased. Thomas Barnett was a devout member of the Presbyterian church, and his second wife, Sarah Walker, mother of William, was a com- municant of the Protestant Episcopal church.
William Barnett was born March 24, 1827, in Philadelphia, in a house erected in 1812, below Eighth street on Washington avenue: this house is still standing, in 1913. He was educated in the subscription schools of his day and when ready to launch upon his business career began to learn the starch manufacturing industry under the able tutelage of his father. In due time he became his father's partner in the business and after the latter's death, in 1865, he continued to conduct the plant in Philadelphia until 1878. In that year he purchased a tract of fifty-seven acres of land from Charles Burnly, the same being located on the outskirts of Mount Alverno, in Delaware county. Later he purchased an additional fifteen acres and on the above property erected a starch factory which was ready for business in August, 1879. Here he has since conducted a most profitable enterprise, doing business with the big job- bers in Pennsylvania and neighboring states. He has a business office at 730-2 Broad street, Philadelphia, and his son, William Jr., looks after all mat- ters connected with the same, while his son, Edwin S., manages the mill and the farm. Mr. Barnett gives a general supervision to the business but his two sons are so well trained in this line of enterprise that he is able to live practi- cally retired. He has reached the venerable age of eighty-six years but is so wonderfully well preserved that he seems almost twenty years younger. He is well read and is exceedingly broad minded, and he has such an immense fund of knowledge stored up in his brain that he is a very interesting talker.
February 27, 1854. Mr. Barnett married Miss Catherine Hanley, a native of Philadelphia. She was a daughter of John and Margaret (Stephen) Han- ley, the former of whom was born in the north of Ireland and the latter in Philadelphia. John Hanley was a prominent dry-goods merchant in Philadel- phia for many years prior to his demise. He and his wife had nine children. as follows: Rev. Joseph, was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church in Philadelphia at the time of his demise; Margaret, died in infancy ; Susan, is deceased : Catherine, married Mr. Barnett, and is deceased; Anna Eliza, is single and makes her home with the Barnett family in Mount Alverno: Mary, is the wife of William Dunbar, of Philadelphia; Sarah, married (first) Dr. Samuel Sharp, and (second) William H. Park, of Philadelphia; Harriet, is the widow of J. C. Dunsmore and maintains her home in West Philadelphia ; Susan, is deceased. Mrs. Barnett was born February 25, 1833, and she passed to eternal rest June 8, 1912, aged seventy-nine years. She was a woman of remarkable character and was possessed of that innate spirit of kindliness which fosters friendship and which greatly endeared her to all with whom she came in contact. She was a devoted wife and mother and was the shining light of the Barnett home. Her demise was mourned throughout Mount Alverno and her memory will long remain green in the hearts of her adoring relatives
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and friends. She and her husband were very happy during the entire period of their married life, never having a single quarrel or disagreement of any description, and needless to say he is grief-stricken at her loss, as are also their children. There were nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Barnett, con- cerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated: I. Thomas, clied in infancy. 2. Margaret, is the widow of Dr. George S. Hull, a promi- nent throat specialist, who died at Pasadena, California, August 28, 1902, hav- ing gone to that city to improve his health ; they had four children : Howard L., a physician and surgeon at Fort Carey, New York, married Sarah Buck; Ida Barnett, Marion Walter and Margaret Hanley. 3. William Barnett Jr .. mar- ried Grace Hoffman ; they have three children. William (3), Sellers Hoffman and Benjamin Hoffman. 4., 5. and 6. Marion, Catherine and Howard, all died in infancy. 7. Edwin Stephen, lives at home and is in business with his father, as previously noted. 8. Sarah, is likewise at home. 9. Ella, is the wife of Joseph C. Fergusson Jr., an optician of note who has his professional headquarters on Fifteenth and Market streets in Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Barnett reared their children in the faith of the Presbyterian church, his son, William Jr., being elder and treasurer of the Middletown Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Barnett is a man of great philanthropy but there is a modesty and lack of all ostentation in his work as a benefactor. In community affairs he is active and influential and his support is readily and generously given to many projects forwarded for the betterment of the general welfare. His genial disposition and the radiant cheerfulness which is ever emanating from his personality have helped brighten the rugged path of those who surround him. Ile is a grand old man and his exemplary life serves as a good example to the younger generation of Delaware county.
MCCULLOUGH
The MeCulloughs, originally from Scotland, settled in Ireland, during the lifetime of Allen, grandfather of Allen Mccullough of Broomall, Delaware county, Penn-
sylvania.
Allen (1) Mccullough, born in Scotland, emigrated to Ireland, where he owned a farm which passed to his son, James McCullough, who there re- sided all his life. James McCullough married Elizabeth Glenney and reared a family.
Allen (2), son of James and Elizabeth (Glenney) Mccullough, was born on the old homestead in county Armagh, Ireland, May 8, 1834, and there the first twenty-one years of his life were passed. In 1857 he came to the United States, arriving on the ship "Columbia," after an ocean passage of five weeks. Ile at first made his home with his mother's brother, Robert Glenney, in Phila- delphia, and through him obtained employment with Eli Lewis, of Newtown, for whom he worked nearly two years, receiving as wages eleven dollars monthly with board. He next employed with Milton Lewis, brother of Eli, for whom he worked seven years. . He was thrifty, industrious and saving, and at the end of his nine years with the Lewis brothers had accumulated suf- ficient capital to equip and establish a milk route and business. He succeeded in this enterprise, building up a route that consumed three hundred quarts daily. He was then attacked by a severe illness that caused him the loss of his milk business, but nothing daunted, he entered into the business of manu- facturing sausage and scrapple, but did not long continue. He had -spent his early life on a farm, and now decided that his forte lay in agricultural work. Hle rented a farm in Radnor township one year, then leased the old Crosby farm near Media cemetery for one year, then moved to the "old George Lobb
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estate," which he managed so well that at the death of Mr. Lobb, he was able to purchase, the one hundred and sixty acres he was renting. This farm lo- . cated on the Springfield road near Broomall, was purchased by Mr. McCul- lough in 1871. When he first rented the farm, it was comparatively unim- proved and greatly impoverished, and barely could be made to produce suffi- cient grain to keep the farm stock. By judicious fertilization and rotation of crops, he has built up the soil and made his one of the most productive farms in that section. He makes a specialty of dairy farming, keeping forty cows, conducting his business along best modern lines. In his own life, Mr. Mc- Cullough has proved a success and can look back with satisfaction over the years that have intervened since he came to Delaware county, a farm hand. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and has long served the Broomall church as trustee. In political faith he is a Republican.
He married, in 1864, Elizabeth Gordon, born in county Tyrone, Ireland. coming to the United States at the age of sixteen years. Children: I. James, born in May, 1865, died in infancy. 2. Elizabeth, born May 9. 1866, died 1868. 3. Sarah, born December 9, 1867, married James Boyd. 4. Allen, born August 9, 1869. 5. Anna Mary, born May 10, 1871, a teacher. 6. Hannah, born March 31, 1873. 7. Emma, born February 17, 1875. 8. George L., born November 19, 1877, married Elizabeth Savage. 9. Emma (2), born October 5. 1879. 10. Lydia, born December 5. 1880. II. Melton, November 8, 1882. 12. Margie, November 19. 1884. 13. John Thomas. 14. Edith, January 15, 1889. 15. Louisa, March 25, 1892.
HAAS
The grandfather of A. Henry Haas, of Chester, Pennsylvania, was
Heronius Haas, a soldier of Germany during the Napoleonic wars. He was horn in Wurtemburg, Germany, 1773, and died in his na- tive land about 1858, a cabinetmaker and a member of the Roman Catholic church. He married Magdalene Aid, also born in Wurtemburg, as were all their children: Josephina, Andrew, Applena, Marion, George, Teresa, Sebas -. tian and Conrad. all deceased, except Sebastian, Teresa living until 1912.
Sebastian Haas, the first of this family to settle in Pennsylvania, was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, January 20, 1834. now living retired at No. 200 West Fourth street, Chester. He came to the United States in 1854, and settled in Philadelphia where he worked at his trade of cabinet maker. The following year he came to Chester, where for three years hie worked for James Hamson, later for John M. Broomall. While in the employ of Mr. Broomall, he cut down the famous Penn tree that was associated with the first arrival of William Penn at Chester. The present Judge Broomall had a cane made from the old tree that is still preserved as a souvenir.
Sebastian Haas in 1876 established in the hotel business in Chester and so continued until 1897, when he sold out. This hotel is now operated by his son, A. Henry Haas. Formerly a Democrat, Mr. Haas has for several years been a supporter of the Republican party : is a member of the Roman Catho- lic church and the German Beneficial Society. He married Gertrude Ott, born in Baden, Germany, March 16, 1832. died in Chester. October 3, 1876. daughter of Maurice Ott of Baden, who died in the United States. Children all born in Chester : Emil, now foreman for the Mitchell Seed Company in Philadelphia, married Laura Derickson ; Caroline, resides in Chester. unmar- ried ; Gertrude, a teacher in Chester ; Louis, a confectioner of Chester, mar- ried Sarah Schwartz: A. Henry (see forward).
A. Henry Haas, youngest child of Sebastian Haas, was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. July.27, 1870. He was educated in the public school, which he
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attended until he was sixteen years of age. His first occupation was as a boot- black. His next business venture was as a boy of sixteen in the junk business, driving a pair of goats which he had trained, hitched to a small wagon in which . he gathered his purchases. He then sold newspapers for two years until 1889, then became a driver for Philip Conlin, a coal dealer of Chester. He was then in similar employment with Emil Haas until 1891, then worked in Roach's Ship Yard until the latter part of 1892; then with the Newport News Ship- building Company until 1893 : then went to West Superior. Wisconsin, where he worked in a ship yard, constructing "Whale backs" for the lake trade until 1894; then with the Beaver Fibre Company of Germantown. Pennsylvania. then in various places for short periods; then in 1895 returning to Chester where he worked for his father, then proprietor of the Franklin Hotel. He again left home and until 1898 was employed on a farm, and on an oyster boat. In 1898 he again returned to Chester and purchased the Franklin Hotel from Conrad C. Houth, who but nine months previously had purchased the hotel from Sebastian Haas. The Franklin is now located at No. 127 and 129 West Third street : is a three story building of twenty-five rooms. well patron- ized. being the leading hotel beyond the west side.
Mr. Haas is a Republican in politics : has served as county committeeman, but refused offers of county offices tendered him by his party. He belongs to the Foresters of America : the Loval Order of Moose; the Owls ; the Fra- ternal Order of Eagles and the Improved Order of Red Men. He is unmar- ried.
EVANS Four brothers from Wales settled in Gwynedd township in the Welsh tract in 1698. There are many branches of the family and from one of them sprang Jonathan Evans, son of an eminent rep- resentative of the Welsh emigrants and member of the Pennsylvania provin- cial assembly. Jonathan Evans was a farmer on land originally deeded by William Penn in Gwynedd township, Chester county. He and wife, Ann, left issue including a son, Jonathan.
Jonathan (2) Evans, son of Jonathan (1) and Ann Evans, lived for a time in Gwynedd township, later moving to Springfield township, Delaware county ; he died in 1817, leaving a widow and children.
Joel Evans, son of Jonathan (2) Evans, was a farmer on the old Spring- field township homestead. He married, in November, 1820, in Friends Meet- ing, Springfield, Hannah Rhodes, and left issne including a son, Samuel.
Samuel Evans, son of Joel and Hannah (Rhodes) Evans, was born in Springfield township, Delaware county, in 1840, died February 28. 1912. He owned the old homestead, which he cultivated all his life. He was a man of high character and one of the substantial men of the town. In religious faith he was a member of the Friends' Society. and in politics a Republican.
He married, October 31, 1867, Annie T., daughter of Elisha and Mary Ann (Clark) Taylor, of Scotch descent. She was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1838, and survives her husband, residing on the old home- stead with her son, Albert, who manages the farm, her unmarried daughter, Ella, residing with them. Children of Samuel and Annie T. (Taylor) Evans : Mary, married Charles Dickinson ; Ella, resides at home : Caroline, married Dr. John W. Merryman; Albert, married Mabel Chaney. and cultivates the home farm; Bertha, married John Kirk.
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A resident of Marple township, Delaware county, since 1873. MOORE Thomas L. Moore entered into the life of that community with a spirit and energy that has won him the esteem of all who know him, and few men are better known.
He is the son of Eli S. Moore, born in Brandywine. Chester county. Pennsylvania, where he died in 1905. aged eighty years, and his wife, Anna Maria Latch, born in Marple township, Delaware county, where she died in 1872: children : Thomas L. : John, married Bertha Miller ; Benjamin, married Emma Miller : Henry, died in 1906; Howard, died 1904.
Thomas L. Moore was born in Chester county. Pennsylvania, October 10, 1855. He was educated in the public schools and remained with his parents until seventeen years of age. In 1873 he came to Marple township. securing employment at the farm of Nathan W. Latch, which has ever since been his home. He continued in Mr. Latch's employ until after the death of the latter in 1907, when he purchased the property. The farm consisting of seventy- four and a half acres was purchased by Mr. Latch from John Grim, and at that time the farm house was a one-story log structure. This Mr. Latch re- placed with a modern dwelling. with barn and other improvements in har- mony with the farm house. This property lies along the Rockhouse road in Marple township, two and a quarter miles from Media and within easy ac- cess of three trolley lines. Here Mr. Moore conducts general farming opera- tions along modern lines, cansing the ground to yield liberal returns from his skillful management. Fruit of all kinds abounds and prosperity shows in every feature of the farm.
Not only is he a successful farmer, but in public affairs Mr. Moore shows his interest and ability. He has served Marple township most efficiently in various offices and given to each the same careful attention he gives to his private affairs. He was a collector of taxes three years, supervisor four years, assessor three years, constable one year and is usually a member of the election board. He is a Republican in politics and in religious faith a Baptist.
Mr. Moore married (first) Elizabeth Latch. (second) Jennie Latch. both daughters of Nathan W. Latch. Children of first wife: Mabel, born in 1876; Nathan Eli, born 1877, married Annie Worrall and resides at Rose Tree, Delaware county.
Nathan W. Latch was born in Delaware county, and there died in 1907, aged eighty-six years, a farmer all his life. He married (first) Sarah Ann Farra, (second) Rebecca Braden, who died aged fifty-nine years. Children : Elizabeth : Susan, married Marshall Worrall; Rachel, married Jolin Farra, and Jennie.
PLATT The Platts of this record descend from Richard Platt, who came from England to New Haven, Connecticut, in 1638, perhaps a descendant of Sir Hugh Platt, a noted agriculturalist of England in the days of Shakespeare and Bacon.
Richard Platt was of New Haven and Milford, where he was chosen a deacon in 1669. He died in 1684, leaving something to each of his sons in ad- dition to what they had already received. He left one of his heirs a legacy "towards bringing up his son to be a scholar." To each of his nineteen grand- children, he left a bible, showing how earnest were his christian principles and that he regarded the bible as a precious legacy to his descendants. In August, 1889. at the commemoration of the settlement of Milford nearly three cen- turies ago, his name was mentioned with honor, and among the coping stones
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of the bridge over the Wap-a-Waug, to perpetuate the memory of the early settlers, one bears this inscription :
Deacon Richard Platt Obit 1684 Mary his wife.
From Connecticut the family spread to various sections, Epenetus ( I) Platt. son of Richard, appearing in Huntington, Long Island, in 1666.
Epenetus (2) Platt, son of Epenetus ( 1) Platt, was a member of the Colonial Assembly and a man of prominence. His son, Dr. Zophar Platt, born 1705, died 1792, was a physician of Huntington, Long Island.
Epenetits (3) Platt, son of Dr. Zophar Platt, was born in 1754. He was a member of the New York legislature; the first judge of Suffolk county, Long Island, and connected for many years with the New York custom house.
Dr. Epenetus (4) Platt, son of Epenetus (3) Platt, was a practicing phy- sician in New York, where he died in middle age about 1825. He married a Miss Warner and had issue : William Epenetus, died unmarried : Martha, mar- Rodman Appleby : Frederick .A., see forward, and Caroline S., all members of the Episcopal church.
Frederick A. Platt, son of Dr. Epenctus (4) Platt, grew to manhood in Brooklyn, New York, where he was educated in the public schools. He be- gan business life as a bank employee, continuing a banker all his life until his retirement in 1870. He was for many years president of the Corn Exchange National Bank of New York and wielded a strong influence in the banking world. He died in Lakewood, New Jersey, in 1896. He married Mary Au- gusta Hull, of Derby, Connecticut, daughter of Levi Hull, a brother of Com- modore Hull of the United States Navy. Levi Hull followed the sea when a young man but later became a farmer, dying in Derby in 1850. He married Mary Wheeler, born in Connecticut and had issue: Mary Augusta, married Frederick A. Platt ; Sarah L., married Philip Gilpin, of New Haven, Con- necticut ; William, died aged twelve years. Children of Frederick A. Platt : Frederick, died in infancy : Isaac Hull, of further mention: Mary A., died young. Mrs. Mary A. Platt died in Brooklyn, New York. in 1890, aged sev- enty years. The family were members of the Episcopal church.
Isaac Hull Platt, son of Frederick A. and Mary Augusta ( Hull) Platt, was born in Brooklyn, New York, May 18, 1853. He was educated at the Adelphi and Polytechnic Institutes of Brooklyn, and Columbia College, pre- pared for the law and in 1875 was admitted to the bar of the state of Alabama. In 1877 he was admitted to the New York bar, later taking up the study of medicine at Long Island College Hospital, whence he was graduated M. D. in 1883. He also spent some time at St. Mary's Hospital and took a course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City. He practiced medicine in Brooklyn until the autumn of 1886, then located at Lakewood, New Jersey, practicing there for ten years as a throat and lung specialist. In 1807 he retired from practice and devoted himself to literary work and travel. He made five trips to Europe, remaining abroad on one of these visits for two years, alternating the seasons between Italy. France and England. He was a devoted student of Shakespeare and the author of "Bacon Cryptograms in Shakespeare and Other Studies," published in 1905, and of the "Walt Whit- man." in Beacon Biographical Series. He was a member of the American Climatological Association : New York Academy of Medicine: the New York Genealogical and Historical Society: the Historical Society of Pennsyl-
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