USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume III > Part 37
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William J. McChire was born in Chichester township, Delaware county, in June, 1854, died in Chester, Pennsylvania, May 2, 1907. He was educated in the public schools of Chester, and at Chester Academy, being a graduate of the latter institution. He also took a full course in a business college and be- gan business life as a clerk in a grocery store. Soon, however, he left the store and for one year was an employee of John B. Roach in his shipyard at Ches- ter. On January 1, 1872. he opened a small cigar store in Chester, which he later enlarged and developed until it was the largest retail tobacco store in the city. He also became interested officially and otherwise with several important Ches- ter business enterprises. He was president of the Consumers Ice Company ; secretary and treasurer of the Chester Brewing Company: director of the Delaware County Trust Company, and director of the Chester Shipping Com- pany, continuing in active business until his death. He was an ardent Repub- lican and was one of the leaders of his party. When the office of comptroller was created, Mr. McClure was the first elected incumbent of that office and the only candidate for office that ever carried every voting precinct in the city. He was a member of the Republican State Committee and was one of the trusted advisers of the state leaders in matters affecting Delaware county. He was the head of the city organization for several years and had a large personal follow- ing. Among the well known semi-political organizations of his day was the McClure Club, named in his honor. He was a member of the Masonic fra- ternity : the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks: the Knights of the Eagle, and of various political clubs and organizations. He married, June 21. 1877, Sabina, daughter of James McClav. Children : Fannie M. and William J. (2), both deceased, and John J., see forward.
John J. McClure was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, September 24. 1886. He was educated in the public schools of Chester, Swarthmore Preparatory School, whence he was graduated, class of 1905, and spent two years in Swarthmore College. His college career was interrupted by the death of his father, John J., being the only living son, he became head of the family and at once assumed charge of the large business interests of the estate. Although with little practical business experience he rapidly developed a strong business capacity, and was quickly advanced to positions of great responsibility and trust. He is secretary and treasurer of the Chester Brewing Company, elected m September, 1907, and in charge of their business : is largely interested in the W. J. McClure Company ; director of the Consumers Ice Company : director of the Delaware County Subway Company, until its sale to the Bell Telephone Company : director of the First National Bank of Chester, elected in February ..
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILOEN FOUNDATIONS.
النشاط التالى
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.
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1908; elected director of the Cambridge Trust Company in June, 1913; and has other business interests of lesser note.
Mr. McClure is a Republican and has taken active part in the political life of Chester. He is very popular and particularly strong with the voters, his endorsement of a candidate having in the past proved almost a guarantee of election. In the last mayoralty contest in Chester, one of the bitterest and hard- est fought political contests of recent years, he supported the candidacy of William Ward Jr., the regular Republican candidate, who was elected. In 1907 a division in the ranks of the Republican party found Mr. McClure sup- porting the reform candidate, the result being the defeat of the regular Repub- lican organization ticket. Mr. McClure has asked no political office for him- self, but has proved a tower of strength to his friends, and has earned promi- nent position among the leaders of his party. He is exceedingly fond of travel and in his recreation periods seeks some of the interesting parts of the United States for exploration. He has visited about every point of unusual interest in the United States, and in 1906 made an extended tour of Continental Europe and the British Isles.
He stands high in the Masonic order, holding life membership in the An- cient Accepted Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree, and Lulu Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia. He is also a life member of the Benev- olent and Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The family home in Chester is on Twentieth street and Providence avenue.
STACKHOUSE One of the representative men of Gradyville, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, is Dilworth Stackhouse, a descend- ant of one of the old colonial families. In England this family is easily traceable back to 1086, and in this country to 1682, in which year Thomas Stackhouse and Thomas Stackhouse, uncle and nephew, were fellow passengers with William Penn on the ship "Welcome," and came from their native village of Stackhouse, near Settle, Yorkshire, England. Thomas Stackhouse (uncle) was born about 1635. His wife, Margery (Heahurst) Stackhouse, came with him from England, and they arrived at New Castle, Delaware, 10 mo. 27, 1682. They settled on a tract of land on the Neshaminy creek, in the section now known as Langhorne, Middletown township, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. One of the first burials at Middletown was that of Mrs. Stackhouse, who died shortly after her arrival in this country, 11 mo. 15, 1682. Thomas Stackhouse married (second) at Middletown Meeting, I mo., 1702, Margaret, widow of Christopher Atkinson, and settled at Bensalem township, where he died in 1706, his will being proved 9 mo. 2, 1706, and no children mentioned; for this reason it is to be presumed that he left none He was a grandson of Benjamin Stackhouse, who wrote the Stackhouse Bible in 1617.
Thomas Stackhouse (nephew) was presumably twenty-one years of age when he arrived in this country in 1682. He represented Bucks county in the Colonial Assembly of the Province in 1711, 1713 and 1715; was re-elected the following year but refused to serve. He married (first) at Middletown Meeting, 7 mo. 27, 1688, Grace, a daugther of Robert and Alice Heaton. They had children: Samuel, John, Robert, Henry, Grace, Alice, Thomas, Joseph and Benjamin. He married ( second ) at Falls Meeting, 1 mo. 1, 1711, Ann, widow of Edward Mayos, and had children: Isaac, Jacob, Ann. Sarah and Isaac. He married (third) at Wrightstown Meeting, 8 mo., 1725, Dorothy. widow of Zebulon Heston. He died 4 mo. 26, 1744.
Robert Stackhouse, son of Thomas and Grace (Heaton) Stackhouse, was
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born 9 mo. 8, 1692; he removed his family to Berwick, on the Susquehanna river, Pennsylvania, where he resided until his death in 1788. He married Margaret Stone, and had children: Thomas, Joseph, James, Grace, Benja- min. Alice, and Robert. the last named being killed by a fall from his horse in 1788.
James Stackhouse, son of Robert and Margaret (Stone) Stackhouse, was born TI mo. II, 1725 or 1726, and died 5 mo. 16, 1759, his remains being inter- red in the Arch Street Cemetery. He married, 10 mo. 13, 1750, Martha, daughter of Samuel and Mary Hastings, and had children: Margaret, Hast- ings, Mary, Amos, Amos ( second ), Martha, James and William.
The Hastings family trace their ancestry back to 843, when "Hastings the First," a sea king or pirate Norman chieftain, invaded France and after plundering the provinces of the Louvre returned to Denmark or Norway. The following year he entered the Seine, approached as far as Paris, and returned to his own country laden with the spoils. In 893 he appeared off the coast of the county of Kent. England, and entered the Thames, but was defeated by Alfred the Great who made prisoners of his wife and two sons and only restored them to him upon condition that he depart the kingdom. It is claimed by the author of "Pictures of Hastings," that the town of Hastings, near the sea coast, where the battle of Hastings occurred, was named in honor of this Danish pirate. In the year 1200, Henry. Lord Hastings, married Adama, daughter of David, Earl of Huntington, and brother of William, King of Scotland, who dying without issue, John Hastings, son of Henry Hastings. became a competitor for that crown with John Battoir and Robert Bruce. In the early records of Chester county, Pennsylvania, the name of Henry Hast- ings as a juror is found as early as September 13, 1681, and as the ship "John and Saralı," from London, and "Factor" from Bristol, did not arrive until the twelfth of the fourth month following, it is supposed that the Hastings family. who owned a large tract of land on the Delaware river between Chester and Marcus Hook, were a part of the New Haven colony that settled on the Dela- ware about 1640. Joshua Hastings, supposed to be a son of Henry Hastings, resided in the neighborhood of Chester, represented the county in the Colonial Assembly, and removed to Philadelphia about 1700. Two sons-John and Samuel-survived him. John Hastings married Grace, a daughter of Robert Stackhouse, and their son. Samuel Hastings, married Mary Hill, and had a daughter Martha, who married James Stackhouse, as mentioned above.
Amos Stackhouse. son of James and Martha (Hastings) Stackhouse, was born 5 mo. 4. 1757, and died 4 mo. 5. 1825. He married, I mo. 14, 1779, Mary, daughter of John and Susanna Powell, and had children: Susanna, Hast- ings, Martha, Powell, Esther, Martha, James, Samuel, Amos, Robert, Robert ( second ). Mary and John.
The earliest ancestor of the Powell family of whom there is authentic record was William Powell, who signed with John Woolston and two hundred and ten other Friends the Yearly Meetings "Epistle" of the 7 mo .. 1692, against George Keith. Robert Powell, presumably a brother of William Powell, came in the ship "Kent." 6 mo. 16. 1677, O. S., and settled near Burlington, West Jersey. He married Prudence -, and their son, John Powell, married Elizabeth Woolston. Isaac Powell, the youngest of their six children, mar- ried Elizabeth Purdey. John, son of Isaac and Elizabeth ( Purdey) Powell. married Susanna Bryan. Mary, eldest child of John and Susanna ( Bryan) Powell, married Amos Stackhouse, as above mentioned.
Powell Stackhouse, son of Amos and Mary (Powell) Stackhouse, was born at Mount Holly, New Jersey. 3 mo. 21. 1785, and died 12 mo. 27, 1863. He was a cabinet maker by trade and owned valuable property at Front and
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Vine streets, Philadelphia. He married, I mo. 31, 1809, Edith, daughter of Charles and Mary Dilworth. Their children were: Charles D., see forward ; Emlen, born January 7, 1812; Joseph D., October 3, 1814; Sarah D., Decem- ber 3, 1816; Amos, March 31, 1819; Susanna, January 3, 1821; Anna D., January 22, 1823; Powell, died in infancy; Powell, born July 14, 1827; Dil- worth and Llewellyn, died in infancy.
James Dilworth, the pioneer ancestor of the Dilworth family was a min- ister and, accompanied by his wife, Ann (Waln) Dilworth, their son, William, and a servant man by the name of Stephen Sands, came from Thornley, Lan- castershire, England, in the ship "Lamle," of Liverpool, Captain John Teach, and arrived in the Delaware river, 8 mo., 1682. He settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and his death occurred I mo. 3, 1698. William, son of James and Ann (Waln) Dilworth, married Sarah, daughter of Richard and Eliza- beth Webb, and their eldest son, James Dilworth, married Lydia, daughter of George and Lydia Martin. Charles, son of James and Lydia (Martin) Dil- worth, married Mary, daughter of John and Sarah Taylor, and his daugh- ter Edith became the wife of Powell Stackhouse, as above mentioned.
Charles D. Stackhouse, son of Powell and Edith (Dilworth) Stackhouse, was born November II, 1809, and was a farmer in Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania. He was the owner of one hundred acres, which he utilized partly for dairy farming and partly for general production. He was a Republican in political matters, and a member of the Friends' Society. He married, Novem- ber 27, 1834, Alice Meredith, born February 14, 1814. They had children : Joseph M., born November 28, 1835, died January 18, 1901; Dilworth, see forward; Pennell, born December 17, 1839, married Emma, daughter of John and Mary (Vanderslice) Winner, and widow of Joseph Pennell Smedley ; Catherine M., born April 5, 1846, died April 16, 1882; Charles D., born May 6, 1850, died December 8, 1876.
Dilworth Stackhouse, son of Charles D. and Alice ( Meredith) Stackhouse, was born in Philadelphia, November 12, 1837. A part of his education was acquired in Philadelphia, and it was completed in Edgemont township, Del- aware county, Pennsylvania. He was of an ambitious and energetic nature, and at the age of twenty-one years he established himself independently. He is now living on the old family homestead, which he has cultivated as his father did before him. He takes no active part in the public affairs of the township, as he has been an invalid and unable to walk for some time, but he never fails to cast his vote for the good of the Republican party. In religious affairs he is a supporter of the Society of Friends. Mr. Stackhouse married, December 30, 1891, Rebecca S., born May 30, 1848, a daughter of Joseph D. and Sarah. (Shaw) Stackhouse. They have no children.
Strong of purpose, persevering in effort, honorable in all busi-
CUTLER ness transactions, Peter D. Cutler, of Concordville, now re- tired from active pursuits, won and maintained a position of prestige in commercial circles in the city of Philadelphia, where he was en- gaged in business for many years.
William Cutler, father of Peter D. Cutler, was a native of England, from whence he came to this country, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was employed in that city by the Ditson Saw Company, his occupation being that of saw maker. He died in 1902, and his demise was regretted by all with whom he had been brought in contact. He married Caroline Green, who bore him five children : Hannah, Mary, Peter D., William, Sophie.
Peter D. Cutler was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 30, 1874.
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He obtained a practical education by attendance at the public schools of his native city, and upon the completion of his studies he served an apprenticeship at the structural and ornamental iron business and continued working at the same as a journeyman until 1900, in which year he engaged in business on his own account in the same line in Philadelphia, continuing with a large degree of success up to 1911, when he retired with a competence, gained by strictly attending to every detail, however minute, by giving his personal supervision to the work performed, seeing to it that it was of the best quality, and for the prompt manner in which orders were executed. Being a man of high moral character, the strictest integrity, and possessing executive ability of a high order, his influence has been felt in the community, although his residence there has been of short duration, he owning an attractive and modern house at Con- cordville upon his retirement from business. He is a member of the Episcopal church located at Ninth street and Lehigh avenue, Philadelphia ; member of William C. Hamilton Lodge, No. 500, Free and Accepted Masons, and his po- litical allegiance is given to the Republican party, the principles of which he firmly believes in.
Mr. Cutler married, June 2, 1905, Alice J. Mooney, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daughter of Thomas and Jane (Irvine) Mooney, the former named having for a number of years been engaged in the wholesale liquor busi- ness in Philadelphia, and whose family consisted of ten children, six of whom are living at the present time (1914) namely : Thomes, Elizabeth, Belle S., John, James, Alice J.
HALL Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual, or whether they are quickened by a process of circum- stantial development, it is impossible to clearly determine, yet the study of a successful life is none the less interesting and profitable by reason of the existence of the same uncertainty. A man who measured up to modern requirements was the late Edward Hicks Hall, in whose death the community lost not only a singularly successful man, but a most worthy and honored citi- zen. He was not only successful himself, but was largely influential in the success of others, and he has left to posterity that priceless heritage, an hon- ored name. Throughout the forty years of his professional career he was trusted and esteemed by all with whom he was associated.
The Hall family are of direct English descent, and the progenitor of the line herein followed was the great-grandfather of Edward H. Hall, who was a Friend in religion, a member of the Hicksite Branch of that order. Robert Hall, son of the emigrant, was for many years a prosperous farmer of Dela- ware county, Pennsylvania, the owner of an extensive farm, and served in the capacity of justice of the peace. His wife, Elizabeth Hall, bore him a number of children among whom was John M. Hall, born on the old Hall homestead at Mount Hope, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in 1806, died at Media, in January, 1891. He engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1855, when he was elected sheriff of Delaware county, which office he filled for two years, and then devoted his attention to mercantile business at Media, and was also the keeper of the county prison for a number of years. He was a member of the Society of Friends. He married Hannah Johnson, born near Village Green, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, died in 1873, aged fifty-eight years, a descend- ant of old Quaker stock. Their children were: Joseph J., deceased; Amy A., who became the wife of Stephen Reynolds ; Edward Hicks, of whom further.
Edward Hicks Hall was born in Aston township, Delaware county, Penn- sylvania, April 15, 1848, died in Media, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1913. His
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preparatory education was obtained in a small private school near his father's home, and in 1855, when his parents removed to Media, he became a pupil in the public school there, and later attended the Thomas Griffiths Academy at Wilmington, Delaware, and the Friends' Central School at Fifteenth and Race streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a diligent and conscientious stu- dent and thus acquired an excellent education, being especially proficient in mathematics, this proving of especial value to him in his subsequent active career. His first occupation was that of clerk in his father's store located at the corner of State street and South avenue, Media, in which capacity he served until 1870, when he entered the office of George R. Darlington, one of the oldest established law offices in Delaware county, and under his competent preceptorship was prepared for the profession of law, in the meantime pursu- ing a course in surveying, which line of work he followed successfully in con- nection with his law practice, performing the surveying of lands and laying out of roads in Delaware county, and in the performance of these duties he gained many friends, who proved their worth in advancing his interests in his later enterprise, aiding materially in the building up of his extensive law prac- tice. He was admitted to the bar of his native state in November, 1873, and continued in general practice up to the time of his decease, giving especial at- tention to civil cases, and in due course of time attained a prominent position among his fellow practitioners. He threw himself with all the zeal of his na- ture and with all his thorough knowledge of the law into the cause of his client, therefore his services were eagerly sought by those who realized and ap- preciated this excellent characteristic. He possessed all the attributes of a successful lawyer, integrity of character, the judicial instinct and a rare appre- ciation of the two sides of every question. He became one of the counsel for the American Pipe & Construction Company in 1900, and the extensive area of this business considerably increased his practice in the Eastern and Middle counties of the state. He was solicitor for the First National Bank of Media from October, 1905, until his death, and was also attorney for the Bryn Mawr Trust Company and for a number of the most extensive manufacturing con- cerns in Delaware county, these connections testifying eloquently to his prom- inence as a lawyer. He kept abreast of the times by constant research and study, was a logical thinker and an indefatigable worker, spending considera- ble time at his office work, remaining many times far into the night in order to thoroughly prepare himself for the duties of the following day.
Mr. Hall was on terms of intimacy and close friendship with the judges of the county, as well as his clients, and took a keen interest and active part in public affairs. For seventeen years he was an active member of the Media Borough Council, of which he was the president for a number of years. He was a Republican in politics, but cast his vote for the candidate best qualified for office, irrespective of party affiliation. He was reared a Friend, the faith of his forefathers, but attended the Episcopal church with his family. He kept in touch with his professional brethren by membership in the Delaware County Bar Association, of which he was a member for many years, and in the Pennsylvania State Bar Association, serving on many important committees. He was a member and served as treasurer of the Delaware County Historical Society, and a member of George W. Bartram Lodge, No. 298, Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of Media; Media Chapter, No. 84, Royal Arch Masons ; St. Albans Commandery, No. 47, Knights Templar; Temple, Ancient Arabic Or- der Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Philadelphia; Media Club, and Spring Haven Country Club. He was an enthusiastic golfer, deriving his greatest pleasure from that sport, and he also enjoyed hunting, often spending his leis- ure time in that pursuit.
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Mr. Hall married, March 9, 1871, Susan A. Barton, daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth ( Woodward) Barton, a Philadelphia family. Children: I. Lil- lian, born November 20, 1873, died May 29, 1877. 2. Elizabeth, born May 20, 1885 ; graduated from the Friends' Select School of Philadelphia in 1901, from Swarthmore College in 1905, and pursued a post-graduate course at Columbia College in 1906. Mrs. Hall and daughter reside in the family home in Media.
EVANS The Evans family, of which a representative in the present gen- eration is D. Ridgway Evans, of Beechwood, Haverford town- ship, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, is descended from Evan Evans, a native of the Parish of Treeglws. in Montgomeryshire, Wales. He came to America in 1722, and on November 17 of that year, purchased a large tract of land adjoining Uwchlan Friends Meetinghouse.
Robert Evans, a descendant in a direct line from Evan Evans, was born in Philadelphia, where he also died. He was a lumber merchant, and he and his family were members of the Society of Friends.
Thomas C. Evans, son of Robert Evans, was born in Philadelphia, July 5, 1818, and died in Wilmington, Delaware. His business occupation was that of tanning, and he was a foreman for Jonathan E. Rhoads in Marple township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, for many years. When this tannery was removed to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1868, Mr. Evans, whose connection with the concern remained unaffected, took up his residence in that city also. He was a Republican in politics, and a member of the Society of Friends. Mr. Evans married in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, Phoebe Ann Thompson, born in Marple township, Delaware county, November 27, 1827, died in Wilmington, Delaware, in October, 1911. Her father was a farmer. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Evans: Sally P., died unmarried in 1912; D. Ridgway, the special sub- ject of this sketch; Hettie R., never married, and now resides in Wilmington, Delaware; William S., died aged twenty-four.
D. Ridgway Evans was born in Marple township, Delaware county, Penn- sylvania, June 13, 1860. He acquired a very good education in the public schools of Wilmington, Delaware, and was then apprenticed to learn the car- penter's trade. With this he was identified in various capacities until he had attained his majority, when he went west and remained there for a period of two years. Upon his return from the West he made his home in Philadel- phia and engaged in general building and contracting, a line of industry with which he is still actively identified. His main contracts are executed in Phila- delphia and its suburbs. In 1909 he erected a fine residence on Homestead avenue, Beechwood, which he has since used for his own home. He has never had a desire to hold public office, preferring to do his duty in a quiet manner as a law abiding citizen, but he casts his vote regularly for the Republican party. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church.
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