USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume III > Part 19
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His father, also James Meaney, was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, in 1790, and died in this country in 1862. He was one of four children, his brother, Patrick, dying in Philadelphia, and his sister, Catherine, married John McKenna, and also lived in Philadelphia; there was another brother,
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whose name is not on record. James Meaney grew to manhood in his native land, where he was a farmer and learned the trade of weaving gingham on a hand loom. After his marriage to Mary Meaney, who was born in Ireland in 1791, died in America in 1853, he emigrated to America, and for a time lived in New Brunswick, New Jersey, from whence he removed to Philadel- phia, where he followed his trade of weaving. He and his entire family were members of the Catholic church. Children: John, deceased, who was also a weaver in Philadelphia ; Mary, who died while the civil war was in progress, married John Neill, of Philadelphia: Margaret, married John Myers, and is now living at New Lisbon, New Jersey; Catherine, married Thomas Thatcher ; James, see forward.
James Meaney was born July 11, 1844, in Northern Liberties, Philadel- phia, at a time when that city was laid out in districts. His schooling, which was a very meager one, consisted of three months' attendance at St. Paul's Parochial School, Philadelphia, but he has bravely and creditably overcome this handicap by earnest study in later life when he had more time at his dis- posal, and the finest education ever received could not have improved the character of the service he rendered as a soldier during the civil war. He was but nine years of age at the time of the death of his mother, and he was at once obliged to begin to work for his own support. Naturally he was obliged to choose an occupation in which scholarship was not a requisite, and he found a position as a driver of a wagon for a woman who was a huckster. Later he obtained employment with a family by the name of Erickson, Mr. Erickson being a truck farmer and fisherman. Early during the progress of the civil war he enlisted in the regular army, and was in active service until he was honorably discharged for disability, March 23, 1863. He became a private in Troop H, Sixth United States Cavalry, July 12, 1861; was with McClellan in the Peninsular campaign ; was the last picket to leave Harrison's Landing when that place was evacuated; was the first man to enter Gaines- ville, upon the capture of that city. For meritorious service he was advanced to the rank of sergeant, but declined this rank as he considered his lack of education too great a detriment. After leaving the army Mr. Meaney rested for a time in Philadelphia in order to restore his strength, and when he again engaged in business he was at first a huckster in West Philadelphia, and lived at the corner of Fifth and Christian streets. In 1877 he removed to Mont- gomery county, Pennsylvania, locating in Lower Merion township, and estab- lished himself in the dairy business in which he was engaged from 1879 to 1890. In 1885 he purchased upward of seven acres of land on Wynnewood road, in Haverford township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and on this erected a good house. From 1890 until 1900 he was engaged in farming on Clevenger's farm, and the next six years were spent on the Hermitage farm. His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, and he is a member and liberal supporter of St. Denis' Catholic Church.
Mr. Meaney married, in St. Philip's Church, Philadelphia, January 3, 1866, Anna Isabella, born in Philadelphia, daughter of James and Eliza Morrison. Children : Anna, deceased; James Jr., is in the dairy business at the corner of Lippincott and Spring avenues, Ardmore; John, is an Augustinian priest, at Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, New York; Joseph, deceased; Mary Alice ; Francis ; David, married Anna McCuen, and lives at Atlantic City, New Jersey; Charles, deceased. Mr. Meaney is of a bright, optimistic disposition, and this habit of making the best of everything in most adverse circumstances has helped him over the difficulties of life, and given him opportunities, which he has not been slow to embrace, of assisting others along the road. He is well read on the general topics of the day, having acquired this absolutely
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through his own efforts, and his naturally acute mind enables him to form excellent opinions on all matters of current interest.
COVERDILL The Coverdill family, of Darby, Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania, has not been in this country many generations, but it has, nevertheless, left its impress upon the business and other interests of the communities in which it has dwelt. They came originally from England, where the grandfather of William Coverdill, of Darby, Penn- sylvania, was a brewer in the city of York, where his entire life was spent.
(II) John Coverdill, his son, was born in York, England, and died in Dar- by, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the national schools in his native city, and later in life engaged in the manufacture of shoes. He married Sarah, daughter of John Crabtree, of Lancashire, England, where he died, and sister of Edward, who died in Darby ; George, who died in Massachusetts, and John, who died in England. Mr. and Mrs. Coverdill had a number of children, of whom several died young; those who attained maturity were: William, see forward; Mary Ann, now deceased, married James Wilde: Leah, now de- ceased, married John Wolfenden ; Edward, unmarried ; Hannah, married Wil- liam Compton. The mother of these children died in Darby. They were Presbyterians.
(III) William, son of John and Sarah (Crabtree) Coverdill, was born in Lancashire, England, June 27, 1833. At the age of seven years he came to this country with his parents, and while he obtained a fairly good education, he ac- quired it for the greater part at the evening schools, as he was early obliged to assist in the support of the family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to learn the machinist's trade in Worcester, Massachusetts, and then traveled about considerably. He finally settled at Chester, Delaware county. Pennsyl- vania, where he established himself in the machine jobbing business under the firm name of Jagers & Coverdill, and continued there for almost four years. He then removed to Darby where he engaged in the grocery business, aband- oning this in order to go to Philadelphia, where he conducted a hardware and pump business for a time, meeting with more or less success. He finally re- turned to Darby, where he is now living in retirement, in magnificent health for a man of his years. He takes a lively interest in whatever concerns the wel- fare of his country, especially the political situation, and calls himself a "Red Hot Republican." For the past sixty years he has been a member of Chester Lodge, No. 263, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Coverdill married (first) Ruth Ann Scott, born in Rockdale, Penn- sylvania. She was a daughter of - Scott, who was a carder, and whose entire life was spent in England ; his children were: John; James; Ruth Ann, mentioned above : William. Mr. Coverdill married (second) August 27, 1890, Mary Ridsdale, born in Yorkshire, England, February 22, 1843. She is a daughter of Thomas Ridsdale, born in Rochdale, England, where he died: he was a blanket manufacturer, and married Anna Stapleton, born in York- shire, England, died in England, and they had children : James, Benjamin, Ann, Mary, mentioned above ; and a child which died in infancy. Mr. Coverdill had no children by either marriage. He and his wife are devout members of the Presbyterian church. 58
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Everit S. Boice, M. D., of Moores, Delaware county, Pennsylvania,
BOICE son of Andrew and Mary J. (Montgomery) Boice, born in Wash- ington county, New York, July 25, 1872, is one of the highly es- teemed and honorable citizens of Moores.
(I) Andrew Boice was born in Scotland. When he was four years old his family moved to Ireland, remaining there until he was thirteen. He re- ceived a portion of his education in the Irish National School and in the Brooks Academy. He married Mary J. Montgomery in Scotland, who was a native of the land of heather. After their marriage they came to the United States, spent one year in Omaha, Nebraska, and then came to Philadelphia, where he now lives a retired life. He was the parent of ten children.
(II) Dr. Everit S. Boice received his education in the public schools wherever his parents chanced to be living. He early determined to enter the ministry of the Presbyterian church, and to accomplish this end he learned paperhanging and artistic painting, and continued in it for six years, in busi- ness for himself the greater part of the time. During this time he was receiv- ing private instruction from professors, doing full college work. In 1894 he en- tered college and graduated in 1898. Between 1896 and 1897 he took a spec- ial course in Hebrew, fitting himself to read the Bible in that language In 1898 he received the degree of B. O. at the Neff's College of Oratory. In Oc- tober, 1898, he received an invitation and accepted it to become pastor of a Presbyterian church in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and remained its pas- tor four years and six months. In 1902 he moved to Moores and after that time was pastor of the Olivet Presbyterian Church. He had previous to that time entered the medical department of the Pennsylvania University, in 1902, and graduated therefrom in June, 1906. The following year he took a special course in the ear, nose and throat department, and practiced for a time in Philadelphia, and then later in Moores. He is regarded as one of the best specialists in his line in the medical profession in his section, and commands a large patronage, which grows with each succeeding year. He is a popular citi- zen of Moores, and his opinion on any subject carries weight. He is a mem- ber of Prospect Park Lodge No. 573, Free and Accepted Masons ; Prospect Park Assembly: Orators Order ; the Delaware County, State and National Medical associations ; Medical Alumnus Society of the Universty of Penn- sylvania. He is a Republican, actively working for the party ; has served on town council for the past eight years, chief of fire company, was chief of po- lice, and now is assistant fire marshal of his district; chairman of high ways committee and council. In fact he is one of the most valuable men in the town of Moores, and is always in the forefront of progress and all that pertains to the well being of the town, county, state or country.
He married, April 3, 1897, Mary E. Story. Children : Mary, Everit, Samuel Story, deceased; Esther Marjorie, Robert Andrew.
GRAY Archibald Gray, a resident of Morton, Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania, is of Irish descent, and has a record for bravery in the civil war, which is one of which any man might well feel proud.
(I) Archibald Gray, grandfather of his namesake mentioned above, came to America from Ireland at an early age. He settled in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, with the affairs of which the family has been identified since that time. He was a farmer by occupation, and was actively engaged in this calling until his death. He married Jane -, and had sons: John and Archibald.
(II) Archibald (2) Gray, son of Archibald (I) and Jane Gray, was
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reared in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and received his education in the public schools of that section. He died in Haverford township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in 1847, at the age of forty-six years. He married Julia Ann, daughter of Henry Epright, a farmer, and sister of Samuel, Cath- erine, Rudolph, Charles and two others. Mr. and Mrs. Gray had children : I. James, born October 3, 1824; married Jessie Smedley, deceased. 2. Fanny, born June 7, 1826, died young. 3. Catherine, born December 1, 1827; mar- ried Joshua Thompson. 4. Henry, born December 1, 1829. 5. Elizabeth, born November 4, 1831; married Abraham Powell. 6. James, born Decem- ber 24, 1833, died young. 7. John L., born May 25, 1836. 8. Archibald, of whom further. 9. Julia Ann, born December, 1840; married Edward Has- kins. All of these deceased with the exception of Archibald. They were Presbyterians.
(III) Archibald (3) Gray, son of Archibald (2) and Julia Ann (Epright) Gray, was born in Marple township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, June IO, 1838. His early years were spent under the parental roof, and he was edu- cated in the public schools of his native county. Upon the completion of his education he went to Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he spent four years in an apprenticeship to learn the blacksmith's trade, after which he removed to the state of Maryland and located near Washington, District of Columbia. At the end of three years, during which he had been engaged doing blacksmith work for the water works company, he returned to Pennsylvania, making his home in Springfield township, now Morton borough, and has been successfully identified with his calling there since that time. He is a staunch Republican in political opinion, and has served his community as a member of the borougli council, as school director and as assessor of Springfield township.
Mr. Gray married, February 22, 1868, Margaret Anna Reese, born in Nether Providence township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1847. She is the daughter of Eli Reese, a farmer, born in Delaware county, Penn- sylvania, January 1, 1800, died in Marple township in 1864. He married Eliz- abeth Tucker, born in Marple township, in 1814, and they had children: I. John, born November 3, 1838, died December 21, 1905; he married (first) Susanna Worrell, deceased; (second) Clara Breckney. 2. William Henry, born November 4, 1840, died in October, 1911; he married Emma Craig, who died in 1912. 3. Rebecca, born in 1842, died in 1885; married Thomas Sut- ton, deceased. 4. Jonathan, born June 28, 1845; resides in Concord township, Delaware county; married Hannah Trainer. 5. Margaret Anna, married Archibald Gray, as mentioned above. 6. Elizabeth, born in 1850; married Robert Orr. 7. Eli, twin of Elizabeth, married Mary Epwright. Archibald and Margaret Anna (Reese) Gray had children: I. Ruth Anna, died in infancy. 2. Catherine, married William H. Dovett, and has had children: William, Ruth Anna, Mabel E. and Catherine G. 3. Margaret, married James Pilson, and has one child, Marguerite. Mr. Gray and his wife attend the Methodist church at Morton, and he is a member of the following fraternal orders : Past commander of Bradbury Post, No. 149, Grand Army of the Re- public, of Media, Pennsylvania ; Knights of Pythias, No. 280, of Morton, Penn- sylvania; Washington Camp, No. 634, Patriotic Order Sons of America; Arrasapha Tribe, No. 161, Improved Order of Red Men.
The military record of Mr. Gray is as follows:
The first enlistment of Mr. Gray was at Finlaytown, District of Colum- bia, January, 1861, in the Union District Rifles. The above company was an independent one, organized for the defense of the city of Washington, and it was the body guard of President Lincoln at his inauguration, March 4, 1861. It then disbanded, and Mr. Gray returned to his home in Marple township,
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remaining there until September 4, 1862, when he enlisted in Company A, Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, for three years or until the conclusion of the war. His company going into camp at Torresdale, Pennsylvania, later moving to Pittsburgh, where they joined the Fourteenth Regiment. There Mr. Gray, who had enlisted as a private, was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and the regiment moved to the south where it commenced its active service. Follow- ing is a list of the engagements of all kinds in which Mr. Gray was actively engaged : Beverly, West Virginia, July 3, 1863; Huttonville, West Vir- ginia, July 4, 1863; Hedgesville, July 19, 1863; Warm Springs, July 24, 1863; Rocky Gap, August 26, 1863; Droop Mountain, November 6, 1863; Averill's Salem raid, from December 8 to December 31, 1863; Newmarket, Virginia. May 5, 1864: Wythesville, Virginia, May 10, 1864; Piedmont, June 5, 1864; Bunkers Hill, Virginia, June 26, 1864; Darksville, July 2, 1864; Martinsburg, Virginia, July 24, and August 31, 1864; Luloloman's Gap, July 6, 1864; Brownsville, Virginia, July 7, 1864; Crampton Gap, Maryland, July 8, 1864; Monocacy Junction, July 10, 1864: Urbana, Maryland, July 11, 1864; Point of Rocks, Maryland, July 16, 1864; Snickers Gap, Virginia, July 18, 1864; Bunkers Hill, Virginia, July 19, 1864, and September 5, 1864; Newtown, Vir- ginia, July 22, 1864; Kernstown, Virginia, July 24, 1864; Clearspring, Mary- land, July 29, 1864; Hancock, Maryland, July 31, 1864; Shepherdstown, Vir- ginia, August 3, 1864; Antietam, Maryland, August 4, 1864; Moorsfield, Virginia, August 7, 1864; Winchester, Virginia, August 1I, 1864; White Post, Virginia, August 12, 1864; Darksville, September 3, and September 10, 1864: Stone Bridge, Virginia, September 18. 1864; Opequon, Virginia, Sep- tember 19, 1864: Fishers Hill, Virginia, September 21 and 22, 1864; Forest- ville, Virginia, September 24, 1864; Mount Crawford, Virginia, September 25, 1864: Weirs Cave, Virginia, September 26 and 27, 1864; Middletown, Maryland, October 19, 1864; Milford, Luray Valley, Virginia, October 25, 1864; Millwood, Virginia, December 17, 1864. On December 27, 1864, Mr. Gray was captured by the enemy, and was a prisoner for two months at Libby prison and Pemberton castle, Richmond, Virginia. He was discharged from service with his company, May 27, 1865, at Washington, District of Columbia. The following incident ( extract from the history of Company A, Fourteenth Pennsylvania Volunteers) is worthy of a place in this work: On July 3, 1863, while the battle of Gettysburg was going on, a detachment of the Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, under Major Foley, was sent out from Frederick City, Maryland, to destroy the pontoon bridge at Falling Waters. Sergeant Arch- ibald Gray was in charge of the advance guard, and seeing a large wagon train moving towards Boonesborough, Maryland, Sergeant Gray and twenty-five men were ordered to find out what it was. It proved to be General Meade's provision and ammunition train being decoyed into the rebel lines by a rebel spy, who represented himself to be a lieutenant on General Meade's staff. Sergeant Gray, holding a different opinion, put him under arrest and turned the train back, sending it to Frederick City, taking the spy to General French's headquarters, and from there to General Buford's headquarters, where he was. executed as a spy.
The late Jamcs Wellington Baker and his wife, Dr. Frances N.
BAKER Baker, M. D., who survives him, hold an honored and exalted place in the affections and esteem of the residents of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, for the good they have accomplished in their respective professions, he as an educator, a vocation which requires ability of a peculiar order, which he possessed in large degree, whose active career was devoted to.
James W. Baker
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TI D N FOUNDAT ONS.
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the cause of education in Delaware county, and she as a physician, one of the noblest of all professions, who during her many years of active practice has proven her ability to successfully cope with disease and master its intricate problems, and whose skill has gained for her a position of due relative prece- dence among the medical fraternity in this section of the state.
James Wellington Baker, scholar and educator, was born in Edgmont, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1831, died there, September 6, 1902. His father and his father's people were farmers, and his mother was a daughter of James Hall, an Orthodox Friend, member of Fourth Street Meet- ing, Philadelphia. Both the paternal and maternal lines were of English stock, and the race characteristics, directed and refined by the Quaker insight and spir- ituality of his grandfather, were no doubt the source of his unusual moral en- dowment. His early education was acquired in the common schools of the neighborhood, and from the first he exhibited a taste for study and a distaste for the harsher duties of farm work. Books and thought were his delight, and so marked was his bent for learning that in 1848 he was sent to the Academy at Unionville, then under the care of Milton Durnall, a man of fine scholarship, high morality, and marked earnestness in the cause of education. Here his superior intellectual ability was recognized, he found himself in a congenial at- mosphere and passed a few happy fruitful months when he was offered a posi- tion as teacher in a public school in Unionville ; thus he entered without effort the profession of which he held himself a member during the remainder of his life. He began teaching before he was seventeen, and for thirty years was un- interruptedly engaged in educational work. His first examination was under James Agnew Futhey, first superintendent of schools of Chester county. Lit- tle did the earnest, timid lad realize the terror and the joy which he would in- spire in many hearts when he should hold the same office in his native county.
The story of the following ten years is that of the earnest student who must gain an education through his own efforts; alternately teaching a term of five months and then attending his well beloved academy for a like term. Here he was always assured of sympathy and encouragement, and found as teachers men of superior ability and scholarship. One of these, Thomas Baker, of Lancaster county, was remembered as a man of especial mental vigor, and was probably one of the obscure great men "who exist to produce greater men." It is pleasant that his name is remembered and can be set down in the record of this pupil who, no doubt, filled a more conspicuous place in the world through the influence of his stimulating personality. In the academy at Unionville he received most of his scholastic education, although he never ceased to be a student.
In 1849 he went to Bethel township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, to teach, and remained about two years; then to Upper Providence for one year. Later he went to Birmingham, Chester county, where he taught five years in what was then called Shady Grove School. From this school, in the spring of 1858, he was called to the position of associate principal of Unionville Acad- emy. During this associate principalship, which continued four years, he pur- sued an extended course in mathematics, and began the study of Latin. In this language he afterwards attained a rare degree of proficiency, reading it as fluently as he read English. He read not only the most familiar, but many of the less known Latin authors. He read Virgil fifteen times, and Horace quite as often. He loved Latin as did some of the old Scotch divines, and al- though there is no discoverable Scotch ancestry he possessed traits ascribed to such rugged men as Dr. Chalmers and Thomas Carlyle. Later he accepted the Chair of Mathematics at the Unionville Academy, where he had been a pupil, this being one of the principal institutions of that section, and there taught all
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the higher branches in the regular collegiate course. In the spring of 1862 Mr. Baker went to the State Normal School at Millersville, Pennsylvania, for training in pedagogy, and remained there until the school was broken up by the rebel raid into the state. He returned to Delaware county, taught for a time in Thornbury, and in 1866 took charge of a grammar school in Upper Provi- dence.
In 1868 James W. McCracken, superintendent of schools of Delaware county, resigned and recommended James W. Baker as his successor. He was appointed by State Superintendent James P. Wickersham to finish the unex- pired term. After this he was elected superintendent of schools for three terms in succession, his last term ending in 1878. He then entered business with his brother in-law, Philip Wunderle, in Philadelphia, with whom he was associated until his death. Of his work as superintendent, a contemporary writes as follows :
When Mr. Baker accepted the appointment of superintendent of Delaware county educational matters were in a comfortable state of inactivity. No one was caring over- much about free schools. He gave his first thought to raising the standards of the teachers; the method he adopted was to make the examinations more searching, thus eliminating the dead wood. He took no pleasure in displacing the inefficient; indeed, it often caused him deep distress; but go they must, unless there were energy and enough scholastic attainment to insure better equipment in the near future. After a few years of laborious work he had better school houses, more and better appliances for teaching. and a fine body of teachers of whom he was justly prond. Meantime he had arrived at the conclusion that the only way to further progress was to establish high schools at con- venient places in the county, and thus give impetus to the lower schools. At no time did he have the desire or thought to force the establishment of such schools upon an unwill- ing people. While the high school, as he planned it, has not yet come, many fine high schools exist in the county. Teachers' Institute, as a dignified, scholarly body was un- known in Delaware county before his time. He employed the best talent to be had, and frequently there was no hall in Media large enough to accommodate comfortably the an- diences that came from far and near to hear the evening lectures. The surplus funds thus earned enabled him to secure for the day sessions the best instructors that the country afforded. Directors' Day was also inaugurated under his superintendency.
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