USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume III > Part 31
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Mr. Gettz married (first) February 1, 1852, Maria Field, and they had children: George Charles, is a farmer living near Lancaster, Pennsylvania ; David, see forward; Herbert Winfield, see forward; Luther, married Phoebe Free, died in 1885. Mr. Gettz married (second) December 10, 1866, Sarah R. Simon, born in South Philadelphia, and had children: Samuel, has a truck and dairy farm near Manoa, Delaware county, Pennsylvania; Lillie, married Thomas Hughes, has five children, and lives in Haverford; Franklin, is a clerk at Bonsall's store, is married and has two children; Sarah Eva, married William R. Hagy, has six children, and lives on the Eagle road in Haverford township; Howard, is a truck farmer and lives near his childhood's home.
(IV) David, son of Charles Washington and Maria (Field) Gettz, was born in South Philadelphia, January 30, 1854. He was educated in the pub- lic schools of Point Breeze and then assisted in the cultivation of the home farm until his marriage. For a period of sixteen years he then rented his father's place and, in 1893, removed to Haverford township to a farm which he had purchased some ten years previously. This consisted of eighteen acres on the Westchester Pike, and cost about five hundred dollars per acre. He erected a good brick house on this land, and solid, well built barns, and made many other improvements, and has resided on this property since that time, cul- tivating the land as a truck farm. While he is a stanch supporter of the Re- publican party, he has never aspired to political office. He and his entire family are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. Gettz married, 1877, Han- nah E. Simon, born in Southern Philadelphia. She is a daughter of William and Margaret Simon, and they have had children as follows: Margaret, who married Fraser Horton, a dairyman, and lives in Haverford township; Mary G .; Bertha H .; David L., who is a partner of his father, married Emma Stan- 63
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ley and has children, Margaret, Lydia and Viola ; Martha, married Rees Hagy and has two children, Ruth and Mary, and lives in Llanerch, Pennsylvania ; Editli ; Mabel ; Russell.
(IV) Herbert Winfield, son of Charles Washington and Maria (Field) Gettz, was born in South Philadelphia, March 25, 1862. He received his ed- ucation in the public schools of his section of the country, and from his ear- liest years has been identified with the tillage of the soil in some form. He had a natural inclination and aptitude for gardening, and this he developed still further by taking up the florists' trade, which he followed for a period of twen- ty years. He owned his own greenhouses on the West Chester road, but after the death of his wife he abandoned this calling and became manager of a farm of seven acres owned by a man in Philadelphia. In 1893 he purchased a half- acre lot from his brother, David, and upon this erected two houses. two green- houses, other outbuildings, and set out seventy fruit trees, thirteen shade trees, ornamental bushes and flowering plants, and has lived there since that time. He affiliates with the Republican party in politics, and has served as registry as- sessor for eighteen years continuously. He is interested in a number of build- ing associations ; is a member of the Grange, at Newtown Square; the Pomona, of Chester and Delaware counties : and the state and national grange. having passed with his wife through all the degrees. Mr. Gettz married, April 15, 1885, Mary Emma, born in Delaware county, died February 24, 1912, a daugh- ter of Alfred and Rebecca Hansell. They had no children. Mr. Gettz is a member of the Lutheran church.
The Beals came to the United States from England, where Abram
BEAL Beal, grandfather of Samuel A. Beal, of Media, was born. He came to this country in middle life, settled in New York City, and after several years became chief prison inspector for the state of New York.
Dr. William H. Beal, son of Abram Beal, was born in England, came to New York City with his parents and there grew to manhood. He studied for the medical profession, obtained his degree of M. D. and practiced until the outbreak of the war between the states, when he was commissioned surgeon. serving in a New York regiment until that war closed. He then resumed practice in New York City, continuing until his death. He married Frances Lovett, who survived him.
Dr. Samuel A. Beal, son of Dr. William H. and Frances (Lovett) Beal, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1872, but until the death of his father lived in New York City. His mother, after being left a widow, moved to Philadelphia, which was their home until 1878, when she moved to Bucks county, Pennsylvania. There Samuel A. was educated in the public schools and in Millersville Normal School. He remained in Bucks county until a young man, then deciding upon the medical profession entered Hahne- mann Medical College at Philadelphia, whence he was graduated M. D., class of 1891. He began practice at Quakertown, Bucks county, remaining one year. In 1893 he located in Media, where he is now well established in gen- eral practice. He is regarded as a skillful, reliable and honorable physician, and numbers a large clientele among Media and Delaware county's best peo- ple. He is a member of the Tri-State and County Medical societies, and has been for three years coroner's physician of Delaware county. He is a Repub- lican, and both he and his wife are members of the Episcopal church.
Dr. Beal married, October 1, 1902, Anna May, daughter of Harry J. and May Lion, of the state of Delaware. Children: Robert and Dorothy. The family home and Dr. Beal's office is at No. 33 West Washington avenue, Media.
Samuel ABral
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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Alexander Creelman, of Essington, Delaware county, Penn- CREELMAN sylvania, descends from ancient and honest Irish forbears. His hardy ancestors were valiant soldiers in many of the wars, internecine and foreign, and they were sturdy workers at whatever occupation their hands found to do. They loved their country, their church and their ruler, and strove with all their might to uphold the three.
(I) William Creelman, father of Alexander Creelman, was born in Cold- rain, Ireland, or thereabout. He was educated in the public school, and in early life learned the trade of a dyer, at that time one of the most important in Ireland, which supplied other countries with fabrics. In 1843, being dis- staisfied with his material progress and having only recently married Nancy Gamble, the daughter of a neighbor, he decided to try his fortunes in the United States. The two young people crossed the Atlantic, sailing from Liverpool and landed in Philadelphia. He at once sought and found employment as a dyer in a large house, and he remained in this place until his death. He received merited promotions and an increase in salary, and was one of the most trusted, as well as reliable, employees the company had. He was the parent of five children, three of whom are living, among them being Alex- ander, of whom further.
(II) Alexander Creelman, son of William and Nancy (Gamble) Creel- man, was born April 14, 1854, in Philadelphia, ten years after his father emi- grated to the United States. He received his education in the public schools of his native city, and when yet a lad learned the bricklayer's trade. He worked at this for years, becoming one of the most skilled men in Philadelphia in that line. He was offered and accepted a place on the Philadelphia police force, and remained on it for five or six years. During this time he not only won the confidence of his superiors but also the public, especially the women and children, who relied on his protection of them. He gave up his position on the force and returned to brick laying, and in 1899 moved to Essington, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and again engaged in building houses. Many of the handsomest residences and public buildings in the city are of his construc- tion. Like his forbears he is a staunch Presbyterian, supporting the church generously. In politics he favors the Republican party, and assists it with his vote. Mr. Creelman has the respect of all those who know or come in con- tact with him. He is a fine example of the man dignifying the position, and not the position the man. He holds that there is dignity in labor, let that labor be what it may, if the laborer is self respecting, honorable and upright. He married (first) in 1879, in Philadelphia, Harriet Hoover; married (sec- ond) July 2, 1901, Marian Turvey, of Liverpool, England ; child of last mar- riage, Elsie.
STALEY This review concerns a family fairly numerous in the State of Pennsylvania, a fine representative of which is Milton L. Staley, of Collingdale, Delaware county. The race has always been an energetic one, and its members inclined rather to active than to seden- tary employments. They are self-reliant and ambitious, and most of the mem- bers of this family accumulate more than the average amount of substance. A few, however, are to be found in professional life. For some generations they were resident in Montgomery county. The family is a very old one, dating back to the beginning of the year 1700, and some claim even earlier than that, they having their origin in Germany.
The first of the line here under consideration of whom we have knowledge were William and Elizabeth Staley, great-grandparents of Milton L. Staley,
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who resided at Barren Hill, the former named a prosperous agriculturist, a man of influence in the community, honored and respected by all who knew him. They were the parents of seven sons and two daughters, namely : Peter, Jacob, William, John, Charles, Samuel, Daniel, Elizabeth, Hettie. The seven brothers ages total to 600 years. These brothers all married and had homes within a mile of the old homestead, residing there throughout their entire lives, and all had large families, William being the father of fourteen sons and two daugh- ters.
John Staley, fourth son of William and Elizabeth Staley, and grandfather of Milton L. Staley, married Sarah, daughter of Frederick and Mary Wam- pole, the former named a successful farmer, residing at Lafayette, near the Schuylkill river. Their family consisted of five sons and five daughters, name- ly : Albert, Caleb, Frederick, Levi, Daniel, Elizabeth, Annie, Isabel, Susie, Sallie ; all are living except Caleb and are all past sixty-two years old.
Caleb Staley, son of John and Sarah (Wampole) Staley, and father of Milton L. Staley, was a soldier in the civil war, as was also his brother, Fred- erick, enlisting in the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry, known as the Lancers, Caleb serving three years, during which time he was wounded once, and tak- en prisoner twice, serving in the well known Libby Prison and at Belle Island, Virginia. He re-enlisted in Hancock's Veteran Corps, serving one year, and was honorably discharged from the United States service at the expiration of this period of time. During the war he married Sarah J. Marple, born November 22, 1843, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, daughter of Enoch and Sarah J. Marple. They were the parents of seven children, namely : Charles, Wilford, Albert, Alice, Camelia, Harvey, Milton L. Caleb Staley, accompanied by his family, moved to Collingdale, Pennsylvania, 1898, where he spent the remainder of his days, and there his death occurred March 7, 1901 ; he was in his sixtieth year.
Milton L. Staley was born in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, April 5, 1884. When three years old he was taken to Philadelphia and from there to Collingdale in 1898. He resided in Collingdale until he attained his manhood, acquiring a practical education in the public schools, and with his brothers learned the trade of brick laying. After serving a few years as journeyman, Milton L. Staley established himself in business in Collingdale as a builder, and is now one of the prominent builders of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, hav- mg erected squares of houses in Collingdale and has gained a reputation for honest and reliable work. He is a Republican in politics, a prominent church- man, and an aggressive citizen. He has back of him a splendid ancestry, and deserves a prominent place in the history of the successful young men of Delaware county, as an example of pluck, industry and progressive business qualifications.
Mr. Staley married, November 22, 1905, Hattie F. Rowles, born in How- ard county, Maryland, July 5, 1884, daughter of Charles and Florence (Weav- er) Rowles, who were the parents of seven other children namely : Clifford, Selby, Harry, Melvin, Elmer, Howard, Malcolm. Mr. Rowles was born in Maryland, died in Darby, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, at the age of fifty- three years. He was a carpenter by occupation. His wife was born near Baltimore, Maryland. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Staley: Russell, born Au- gust 23, 1906; Florence B., born August 21, 1910.
Mr. Staley is a man of diversified interests, and in connection with this is a member of the following named organizations : Orphans Rest Lodge, No. 132, Pilgrim Encampment, and Canton Reliance, all of the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows; Darby Lodge, No. 968, Independent Americans ; Darby Lodge, No. 106, Daughters of Liberty, and the Three Link Club of Darby.
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Mr. and Mrs. Staley are members of the Methodist church, he being treasurer of the Sunday School and a member of the official board. They are popular in connection with the best social activities of their home community, where they are honored and esteemed by all who know them.
Alfred Connor Balch, only child of William Henry and Caro-
BALCH line Ann (Buswell) Balch, was born in the town of Bath, New Hampshire. He there acquired his early education in the pub- lic schools, and later he was a student at the McGraw Normal Institute, at Mer- rimac, New Hampshire. Upon the completion of his education he commenced his business career in the drug business at Springfield, Massachusetts. Sub- sequently he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he entered the printing and pub- lishing house of Rand, McNally & Company, this connection remaining unin- terrupted until 1897, when Mr. Balch went to Philadelphia, and there formed a business association with the well known publishing house of J. B. Lippincott Company, of which he is now a director. He resides at Lansdowne, Penn- sylvania. He has taken a more than ordinary active part in the political affairs of the community in which he lives, and as an active supporter of Republican principles has served as a member of the common council, and was honored with election to the presidency of that body, and he has also served as chief burgess. His religious affiliations are with the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, and his fraternal membership is with Franklin Lodge, No. 134, Free and Accepted Masons, which he has served as master, and of which he is now a trustee. He is also a member of the Union League Club, of Philadel- phia ; one of the governors of the Country Club, of Lansdowne; is also a member of the National Press Club, of Washington, D. C., and several others.
Mr. Balch married, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 10, 1893, Sophie Bloomfield, born in Vienna, Austria, in 1875. They have children: Walter Buswell, born October r. 1895; Frederic Samuel, born June, 1898; Bertram Shoemaker, born January, 1902. Mr. Balch is a man of much public spirit, and is ever ready to lend his active support to any project which has for its object the general betterment of existing conditions.
The Balch family has been identified with the interests of the country since the early years of the seventeenth century. Their original settlement was in New England from which section the descendants have scattered all over the United States. They bore their share bravely in all the troubles which have come to the country at large, and have numbered in the family many men of distinction in the various walks of life.
John Balch, the immigrant ancestor, came to this country from Somerset county, England, in 1623, and settled in Massachusetts at Cape Ann, Beverly and Weymouth. John, son of John Balch, was born in Naumkeag, in 1628. Benjamin, son of John (2) Balch, was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1654. John (3), son of Benjamin Balch, was born in Beverly, in 1679. An- drew, son of John (3) Balch, was born in Beverly, in 1706. Benjamin (2), son of Andrew Balch, was born in Beverly in 1747. Abner, son of Benjamin (2) Balch, was born in Keene, New Hampshire, March 5, 1774; he married Lydia P. Alden and they had nine children. Abner (2), son of Abner (1) Balch, was born in Keene, New Hampshire, January 1, 1804, where he fol- lowed the occupation of farming. He was also occupied as a dyer and fuller. He married, at St. Johnsbury, Vermont, September 2, 1830, Lydia Woodbury, and they had seven children: Eliza H., Almira, William Henry, Alfred. Ellen, Levi C., Byron B. William Henry, son of Abner (2) Balch, was born in Bath, New Hampshire, where he was engaged in business as a contractor,
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in which line of business he was eminently successful. He gave his political support to the Republican party, and his religious affiliations were with the Congregational church. He married Caroline Ann Buswell, of Lebanon, New Hampshire, and they had one son, Alfred Connor, the subject of this sketch, who now lives in Lansdowne, Delaware county, Pennsylvania.
John France, who was a resident of Clifton, Delaware county, FRANCE Pennsylvania, was one of the old veterans of the civil war at the time of his death, and could look back upon a record of which any soldier might be justly proud. He had earned distinction by his bravery, by the wounds he had received, and by the meritorious manner in which he had comported himself in the numerous battles in which he had taken part. Always genial and good humored, it was one of his greatest delights to relate the many stirring scenes through which he had passed in the years be- tween 1861 and 1865.
John France was born in Rockdale, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, Au- gust 15, 1835, and died at his home in Clifton Heights, the same county, in 1907. With the exception of the time during which he was in his country's service, his life was spent in his native county. Upon the outbreak of the civil war, Mr. France left his wife and young children in order to fight for the defence of the Union. He enlisted three times. The first time for a period of three months in Company C, First Regiment, Delaware Volunteers, under Captain Lutton, Colonel Lockwood being in command. This was in May, 1861. He then re-enlisted in Company E, Eighty-first Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, for three years, under Captain J. Alexander and Colonel James Miller. In December, 1863, he re-enlisted as a sergeant in Company E, of the same regiment, was advanced to the rank of second lieutenant, March 29, 1865, and later advanced to the captaincy of the company. June 29, 1865, he was honorably discharged as a non-commissioned officer. Few veterans are now living who were engaged in as many battles as Mr. France, and, strange to say, he was wounded but three times. These wounds were received at the follow- ing battles : Fredericksburg, December 13. 1862; Deep Bottom, August 16, 1864; Farmville, April 7, 1865. A list of all the battles in which he was en- gaged is: Fair Oak, Charles City, Cross Roads, Malvern Hill, Chantilly, An- tietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsyl- vania Court House, Deep Bottom, Petersburg, Sailor's Creek, Farmville, and a number of smaller skirmishes.
Mr. France must have had a premonition that his end was approaching, for six months prior to his decease, he and two other old veterans-Thomas Pratt and George Carr-were engaged in social chat, when Mr. France re- marked that he would no longer be among the living in six months' time, and that the death of Thomas Pratt would precede his own. This prophecy came true.
Mr. France married, August 15, 1855. Ann Blair, and they had children : William ; Charles : Emma : Mrs. Thomas Walker, of Aston Mills; Mrs. John Riddle, of West Chester : Mrs. Charles Knight, of Lenni : Mrs. Edward Ogden, of Chester.
From David Ogden, who came from England in the "Welcome"
OGDEN with William Penn in 1682, then an unmarried man, springs John Herbert Ogden, of Philadelphia and Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, an honored man and citizen. David Ogden, a Friend, after passing the ordeal of Friends Meeting in Chester county, Pennsylvania, married Martha Houls-
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ston and settled on a farm of two hundred acres in Middletown, where he died in 1705.
Stephen, the youngest of David Ogden's nine children, was married "by a priest" about 1743 to Hannah, daughter of William and Mary ( Barnes) Surnam, and resided in Springfield township.
John, second of the nine children of Stephen Ogden, married at Spring- field Meeting, Sarah, daughter of James and Mary (Gleave) Crozier, and resided in Springfield township near the present borough of Swarthmore.
John (2), youngest of the seven children of John ( 1) Ogden, was born 7 mo. 27, 1788, died 9 mo. 30, 1877. He obtained a good education and for a time taught school in Home School House. He was married in 1813, and in 1814 came into possession of a farm in Springfield, containing one hundred and twenty acres with a stone dwelling thereon, purchased by his father in 1806 from Captain Gardiner. He was a successful farmer and added to his landed possessions by purchases of adjoining property until his acres aggregated five hundred, well tilled and valuable. He and his wife lived together on this farm sixty-one years, he being eighty-nine at the time of his death. He married IO mo. 8, 1813, at Providence Meeting, Hannah Worrall, born 5 mo. 14. 1794, died 4 mo. 7, 1874. daughter of John and Hannah ( Thatcher) Worrall, of Middletown.
John Worrall, third of the ten children of John (2) Ogden, was born at the Springfield township homestead, 9 mo. 9. 1818. He conducted a cotton and woolen manufacturing business for years, retiring from active business life about the year 1883. He died in April, 1906, buried in the Friends bury- ing ground at Darby. Pennsylvania. He married Susanna Hannah Rhoads. Children : Samuel Rhoads, born in Philadelphia, September 20, 1855; John Herbert, of whom further; James Clarence, born September 21, 1867.
John Herbert, son of John Worrall and Susanna Hannah (Rhoads) Ogden, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. January 28, 1858. His early education was obtained in the city public schools, after which he attended Friends School in Providence, Rhode Island, then presided over by Professor Albert Smiley, a noted educator. He finished studies in a business college in Philadelphia, whence he was graduated with honors. In 1876, Mr. Ogden entered the employ of the Sharpless Dyewood & Extract Company of Phila- delphia, as entry clerk, winning his way upward to his present official posi- tion, and is also a director of the company. He is a wise, conservative busi- ness man and holds integrity and business honor above sordid considerations. In politics Mr. Ogden is a Republican, was one of the delegates from Penn- sylvania to the national convention held in Philadelphia, which nominated William McKinley for the presidency. He has ever been active and prom- inent in party councils, and a worker for party success. In religious faith he is a Friend.
Mr. Ogden married. Octoher 20, 1886, Louise Passmore, born 12 mo. 1.4. 1860, of Paschallville, Chester county, Pennsylvania, daughter of John and Mary Passmore. Children: 1. Harold P., born 9 mo. 27, 1887; graduated from William Penn Charter School of Philadelphia, in 1907. and then entered University of Pennsylvania; now secretary of the J. Milton Hagy Waist Works of Philadelphia; married, November 16, 1912, Katherine C. Hagy ; present residence Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. 2. Susanna R., born II mo. 24, 1890; married. October 22, 1913, Herbert Clifton Hays; resides in Lans- downe, Pennsylvania. 3. Mary L., born I mo. 3. 1894: graduated June, 1912, from Lansdowne High School. 4. H. Raymond, born 8 mo. 28. 1895, now attending school at Chestnut Hill Academy, graduate of class of 1914. The family home of the Ogdens is at Lansdowne. Pennsylvania.
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The Woodwards were early settlers of Chester county, WOODWARD Pennsylvania, the emigrant ancestor being Richard Wood- ward, an Englishman, who in 1687 purchased a tract of two hundred and thirty acres in Thornburg township. According to the rec- ords of Chester Monthly Meeting of Friends he died on the "7th day of the Ioth month, 1706, aged about seventy years." In his will, probated January 8, 1706, he mentions wife, Jane ; son, Joseph; daughter, Martha Baker ; daugh- ter, Jane: daughter, Mary; daughter, Sarah; "eldest son;" Richard; son, Thomas, son, Edward, and appoints as executors "my well beloved wife, Jane Woodward, and my son, Joseph Woodward." A branch of the family set- tled in Kennett Square and were members of the Kennett Monthly Meeting. The family has been and is prominent in both Chester and Delaware counties.
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