USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume III > Part 39
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Thomas K. Manley, son of Thomas and Ann (Keogh) Manley, was born in Tullamore, Ireland, May 21, 1805, died at Clifton Heights, Delaware coun- ty, Pennsylvania, September 1, 1892. When a boy his parents moved to Mount Mellick, Ireland, where he was educated and lived with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age. He then spent a short time in Dublin, Ireland, later locating in Manchester, England, where he married. He worked in the mills of Manchester as a weaver until November 28, 1841, when he embarked on a sailing ship for America with his wife, son John, five years of age, and Ann, aged ten months. He sailed on the ship "Belvidere" from Liverpool, but after a few days out she sprang so serious a leak that they were obliged to re- turn, putting in at Cork, Ireland, for repairs. After five weeks at Cork, they again started across the Atlantic, but heavy weather again brought them into distress, and on March 17, 1842, they sought refuge at the island of Santa Cruz. After repairing there, the voyage was continued and New York safely reached April 17, 1842. After a few months spent in New York, Thomas K. Manley moved to Philadelphia, which was his home until 1852, where he manu- factured cloth on hand looms. During the "Know Nothing" riots in Philadelphia in 1844, he stood guard at St. Philips Catholic Church, Second and Queen streets, until danger of its destruction passed. In 1852 he moved to Upper Darby township, worked at his trade in the mills along Darby creek, and in the fall of 1873 built the house at Clifton Heights in which he died nineteen years later. He was a member of the St. Charles Roman Catholic Church of Kelleyville, and a member of St. Mary's Beneficial Society and the president of the society for several years. He is buried with his wife in the cemetery of that parish.
He married in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Manchester, Eng- land, May 21. 1834, Ann Markey, born in Dundalk, Ireland, March 15, 1816, who died in Clifton Heights, February 27, 1895, in her seventy-ninth year. She was a daughter of Philip Markey, born in Ireland, died in Manchester, England, and his wife, Bridget McMahon, born in Ireland and died in Man- chester. Of the twelve children of Thomas K. Manley, six died in infancy. Those reaching years of maturity are: John, married Sarah A. Hoofstitler ; Ann T., married Michael McCready ; the two born in England and brought to this country by their parents in 1842; the following three born in Philadelphia : Elizabeth A., married James Jordan ; Thomas F., married Mary Ann Kelley ; Joseph P., of whom further ; Katherine M., was born at Upper Darby, Dela- ware county, Pennsylvania, and married John F. McMenamin.
Joseph P. Manley, son of Thomas K. and Ann ( Markey) Manley, was
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born at Thirteenth and Federal streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 13. 1850. He was educated in the public schools of West Philadelphia and Upper Darby township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and learned the trade of carpenter, which he still follows. He is a member of St. Charles Boromeo Roman Catholic Church, at Kelleyville, and of St. Mary's Beneficial Society of the same parish. He is unmarried and resides with his widowed sister, Mrs. Katherine M. McMenamin, who for eighteen years has conducted a dry goods and notion store in Clifton Heights. Their home at the corner of Sycamore and Baltimore aventies was erected by their father in 1873 and has ever since been in the possession of the family. His widowed sister, Mrs. Ann T. Mc- Cready, and his niece, Miss Mary F. McMenamin, also reside with him. Jo- seph P. Manley in his younger days was a baseball player and for five years played on the nine of the Glenwood of Clifton Heights, who won the champion- ship of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, in 1872.
The Levis family of Pennsylvania is one which has been closely
LEVIS identified with the milling and other industries of the state for many generations. The American progenitor of this family was Samuel Levis, a maltster of Leicester. England, who, before coming to this country, in association with William Garrett, purchased 1,000 acres of land from William Penn. He emigrated to America in 1684, landing at Chester. and, having settled on Darby creek, in Upper Darby, he there built a sub- stantial home, which remained in the possession of the family for some gen- erations. Many of the most important mills of the state were owned by him and his descendants.
Samuel Edgar Levis, a lineal descendant of the Samuel Levis mentioned above, was born May 12, 1850, and now ( 1913) resides at Clifton Heights, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. His early education was acquired in the Friends' Central School and at the public school, and this was supplemented by a course in a business college in Philadelphia. Upon the completion of his education he engaged in business with his father, who was a manufacturer of woolen and cotton goods, and when the business failed Mr. Levis found employ- ment on a farm. Subsequently he went to Los Angeles, California, where he learned the art of surveying, with which he was successfully connected for a number of years. Returning to Clifton Heights in 1891, he retired from active business life, and since that time has resided in his beautiful home there. He attends the meetings of the Society of Friends, and is a member of the Royal Arcanum.
Mr. Levis married, November 26, 1879, Mary M. Lownes. She is a daughter of George Bolton Lownes, born in Springfield township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, January, 1825, now living at the age of eighty-eight years, who married Rebecca B. Webb, deceased. They had children: Wil- liam, married Florence Thayer ; George Boton, deceased, married Mary Dates- man, now residing in Red Lands, California ; Hannah D., still living, unmar- ried ; Joseph, married Jane Powell; Edward, deceased, married Viola Healy, who now lives in Los Angeles, California: Francis, married Lydia Rodgers : Minerva W., unmarried; Jane E., married John H. Webster ; and Mary. mentioned above. Mr. and Mrs. Levis have had children: Florence, who was graduated from the Friends' Central School, married S. Bancroft Trainer, of Trainer, Pennsylvania, and is now living in Toronto, Canada; Oborn, a graduate of the Westtown Boarding School, lives in Toronto with his sister ; George Bolton, a graduate of the Drexel Institute, resides with his parents ; Hannah Darlington, is a pupil at the Westtown Boarding School.
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The paternal grandparents of Patrick James Keefe, who is en- KEEFE gaged in the produce business in Haverford township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, were Michael and - - (Nunan) Keefe, who lived and died in Ireland, the former a farmer, and they had children : Cornelius, see forward : Patrick, who emigrated to America and made his home in New York City. Upon the outbreak of the civil war he enlisted in the Sixty- ninth Regiment, New York Volunteers, and fell in the battle of the Wilder - ness ; he was unmarried.
Cornelius, son of Michael and (Nunan) Keefe, was born in coun- ty Limerick, Ireland, 1833, and died about 1873. He was a cooper by trade, having learned this trade from his father, and took his family to Australia about 1861. In 1867 he returned to Ireland, from whence he went to Eng- land for a time, then emigrated to America in 1870 and died in the state of Minnesota. He and his wife were members of the Catholic church. He mar- ried Margaret Dudey, the only one of her family to emigrate to America. She was the daughter of Patrick and Johanna Dudey, the former a carpenter, and she had one sister, Mary. She was born in county Limerick, Ireland, in 1834. and died in the United States, in February, 1874. They had children: Cor- nelius, died at the age of four years ; Johanna, married James Ryan and now lives in Ireland : Patrick James, see forward ; Mary and John, both died young.
Patrick James Keefe was born near Sidney, Australia, June 15, 1864. He was about three years of age when his parents returned with their family to Ireland, and there he attended the national schools until he had attained the age of ten years. After the death of his parents he worked on farms until he was twenty-two years old, then came to Ardmore, Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1886. For the period of one year he worked for a Mr. Shay, and then had various other positions until 1889, when he established himself as a pro- duce dealer. By his excellent methods of conducting his business it has in- creased to such an extent that he now finds it necessary to have two wagons in constant use. In 1894 he built a house for himself on Loraine street, in Ard- more Park, Haverford township, Delaware county, Pennsylvania. This he still occupies, and in the course of time many improvements have been made to the original structure. Mr. Keefe gives his strong support to the principles of the Democratic party, and his religious affiliations are with the Catholic church. He possesses great energy, strong determination, and above all, that most es- sential factor, good common sense, and from small beginnings he has developed a business which is of very satisfactory extent.
Mr. Keefe married, November 24, 1895, Hannalı L., born in Tipperary county, Ireland, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Alligan. Children: Mar- garet, Johanna, Thomas, Cornelius, Mary.
The Watkin family has been established for a number of gen-
WATKIN erations in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and its various members have been well known and are highly respected citi- zens. They came from Wales originally.
(I) Enoch Watkin was a farmer in and near Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania. He married Hannah, daughter of Lewis Knoll, who was of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. Watkin were both natives of the United States. They had children : Mary ; Sarah, married Benjamin Bonsall, a stone mason, and they lived on the Providence and Springfield road, Pennsylvania; Lewis, see forward ; Isaac, a drover, and later a merchant, lived in Philadelphia ; Cather- ine, married Simon Goodman and lived near Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
(II) Lewis, son of Enoch and Hannah (Knoll) Watkin, was born in
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Haverford, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, September 9, 1802, and died March 9, 1870. He was apprenticed to learn the miller's trade with Jacob Wise, whose mill was located on the Wissahickon creek, near Philadelphia. About 1826 he came to Upper Darby township, where he rented, and in 1850 purchased, the Milbank mill, Nathan Sellers' property, and there successfully carried on the milling business for many years. In 1854 he gave it into the hands of his son, William, and in his later years purchased a farm of ninety- nine acres near the mill. In political matters he was at first a Whig, and af- filiated with the Republican party upon its organization. He was a regular at- tendant at the Swedenborgian church. He married Rachel, born in Upper Darby township, November 24, 1793, died in 1872, daughter of William and Mary Moore, the former a teamster in the army during the Revolutionary war, and who had children: Jehu, born December 27, 1776; Elizabeth, born January 12, 1779, died unmarried ; Anne, born May 21, 1781 ; George, born March II, 1783, was a farmer ; James, born August 11, 1785, a farmer : Wil- liam, born September 22, 1788, a farmer : Rachel, who married Mr. Watkin ; Sarah, born January 11, 1796, died unmarried ; Mary, born December 16, 1798, married (first) Jospeh Esrey, (second) Edward Thawley. Mr. and Mrs. Watkin had children : Mary, who died at the age of thirteen years ; William, see forward.
(III) William, son of Lewis and Rachel (Moore) Watkin, was born in L'pper Darby township, Delaware county. Pennsylvania, March 21, 1833. He attended the "Eastern School" in his native township, being obliged to walk a distance of two and one-half miles to the school every morning; the Eas- tern was where the High School is now located. Later he was a pupil in the private school of Dr. Guernsey, in what is now Lansdowne, and in the Parmer public school in what is now Yeadon borough. At the age of fifteen years he had completed his education, and learned the milling business under the per- sonal supervision of his father. When he attained his majority in 1854, his father gave him full charge of the mill and all connected with it, and after his marriage his father erected for him the fine house in which he still lives. In its day this was considered one of the finest in the county. Robert Allen was the architect and builder. Upon the death of his father the mill passed entirely into the possession of William Watkin. About 1880 he was obliged to rent the mill for two years, acting by the advice of his physician. About 1888 he again rented it, this time retiring permanently from his active life. Politically he af- filiates with the Republican party, and for almost half a century he has served as school director of the township. He was brought up in the Swedenborgian denomination and has never wavered in his allegiance. He is a member of Fernwood Lodge, American Mechanics, and Union Star Council.
Mr. Watkin married (first) May 4, 1858, in Upper Darby township, Mary Shoester, of that township: (second) Phoebe S. Shoester; both were daugh- ters of Jacob and Phoebe Shoester. Children by first marriage : Mary Emma, married Frank P. Johnston, and had Sally and Mary ; Sarah P., married Harry Dubbs, lives in Media, and had Clara, Bertha and Fannie; Lewis K., who lives in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, married Alverda Lister, and has William, Harry and Ella : Clara A., married Lewis W. Zell, has children, Anna E. and Maud, and lives in Cardington. Child of the second marriage: Frank Garfield, mar- ried Eve E. Stahlnecker, and lives with his father. Mr. Watkin is one of the few surviving charter members of the Senior Order of the United American Mechanics, No. 204.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDA -N8.
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H. H. Aikens, prominent street railway official, is a native of
AIKENS the city of Philadelphia, where he was born November 7, 1876, son of James and Margaret ( MacDowell) Aikens, residents of the same city.
Mr. Aikens began his education in the public schools of his native city, and entered the Protestant Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia. In 1893 he took up the study of law in Philadelphia, but was early diverted from the profession for which he had expected to prepare himself. In 1897 he became assistant to the president of the Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Company. On January 17, 1905, he became secretary of the Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Company. This marked the beginning of a successful career, and one which has brought substantial results to the transportation interests of the city of Philadelphia and many important suburban cities and residential districts. From the first he manifested a peculiar aptitude for all things relating to the improvement and development of street railways, and his rise has been rapid. Since January 10, 1910, he has been vice-president of the Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Company, and he is a member of the directorates and vice- president of various other street railway corporations-the Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Company; the Ardmore & Llanerch Street Railway Company ; the Philadelphia, Castle Rock & West Chester Street Railway Com- pany ; the Philadelphia & West Chester Turnpike Road Company.
Mr. Aikens is also prominently identified with various other important interests, among them the Eastern Securities Company of Philadelphia; and is a member of the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia. He is prominent and active in athletic and outdoor sports, and holds membership in the Athletic Club of Philadelphia, the Malta Boat Club, the Aronimink Country Club, The Willows, and The Church Club of Philadelphia.'
With offices in the Commercial Trust Building, Philadelphia, Mr. Aikens has his residence at 25 Park road, Llanerch. He takes an interest in the social life of that delightful residential place, and golfing is one of his special delights. He and his family are communicants of the Protestant Episcopal church. Mr. Aikens married Edna M. Freund, daughter of Dr. H. H. Freund, of Philadel- phia, and they have two children-Katherine Freund Aikens and H. H. Aikens Jr.
William H. Hershey, an influential citizen of Oakmont, Dela-
HERSHEY ware county, Pennsylvania, enterprising and public-spirited, giving his support to all measures calculated to advance the moral and material welfare of the community, is a representative of not only one of the most prominent, but one of the oldest families in Pennsylvania, being founded in Lancaster county in 1719, its members in the various generations being noted for their intelligence and morality, integrity of character and trust- worthiness, characteristics which they transmitted to their descendants in large degree.
Joseph Hershey, father of William H. Hershey, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, there reared, educated, learned his trade of oak cooper, and married. After leaving the old homestead he first settled in Reading, Penn- sylvania, and later removed to Philadelphia, where he died in the year 1860, and he followed his trade in both cities, making a comfortable living for his family, to whom he was devotedly attached. He married Elizabeth Schraeder, who was born in the vicinity of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, died in the year 1903. Both were members of the Presbyterian church, contributing of their time and money to its support. Their children were: William H., of
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whom further; Jennie, resides with her brother; Sally, twin of Jennie, died unmarried ; Emma, died in infancy ; Julia, died at the age of twenty years.
William H. Hershey was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 1, 1851. He was educated in the public schools of his native city, and after com- pleting his studies served an apprenticeship at the trade of painter, working as journeyman at the same for some time, gaining additional knowledge and experience, and subsequently became a general contractor in the painting busi- ness, employing on an average from three to five men. He takes a keen interest in his work, giving to every detail his personal supervision, and thus retains the extensive patronage which has come to him as the result of conscientious and faithful effort to meet the requirements and wishes of his many patrons. Prior to his removal to Eagle Road, Oakmont, Delaware county, he resided in Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, where he was highly esteemed. He holds membership in Grace Chapel, a union church; in Potter Lodge, No. 441, Free and Accepted Masons ; Improved Order of Red Men ; the Order of Artisans, of Philadelphia, and Tabor Benefit Society. He is a staunch adherent of the principles of the Republican party, to whom he gave his allegiance upon attaining his majority.
Mr. Hershey married ( first) Lydia Cassidy, a native of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania, daughter of Alexander and Mary Cassidy. She died in 1880, in child- birth. He married (second) September 17. 1888, Mary McElroy, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daughter of Philip and Mary McElroy. They have no children, but their great kindness of heart prompted them to give a home to a niece, Ethel H. Seeberger, now the wife of Melvin Detwiler, who well repaid them for the love and care bestowed upon her. Mr. and Mrs. Hershey are highly thought of in the community, they leading quiet, retired lives, exerting an influence for good upon all with whom they come in contact.
LEWIS Henry R. Lewis, whose descendants are now residents of Dela- ware county, Pennsylvania, was born in England, and at the age of thirteen years was brought to this country and made his home in the city of Philadelphia. He was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade, and subsequently also followed that of a cabinetmaker. Finally he engaged in the retail furniture business at No. 1204 Market street, with which he was identified until 1893, when he retired from active business life, and died in 1894. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church, and he was also a member of the Union League Club. He married Emily Lacey and they had children : Henry R. Jr., a resident of Philadelphia : Wilson, see forward : George W., who died in 1872; Emily, married Van Zant, now deceased; Mary, deceased ; Laura, married A. P. Benner, and lives in Philadelphia.
Wilson Lewis, son of Henry R. and Emily (Lacey) Lewis, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in April, 1839. He was associated with his father in the business established by the latter, and died in 1894. During the civil war he was in service as an emergency man for a period of three months, and was later a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church and active in church and charitable works of all kinds. He took a great interest in the cause of education, and at the time of his death was in office as a school director of the twentieth ward. He married Mary Williams, who was born in 1844. daughter of John and Hannah (Holmes) Williams, both natives of New Jersey, where they were also married. Mrs. Lewis is the great-granddaughter of Nathaniel Holmes, who was a soldier during the war of the revolution. Hannah ( Holmes) Williams, after the death of her first husband, married his brother, and for some years they conducted the
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Ridgway House (hotel), and later the Delaware Hotel. They removed to Dennisville, New Jersey, and conducted a hotel there until they died. By hier first marriage she had two daughters and two sons as follows: Frank, who was a sea captain, and was lost at sea ; a daughter, who died in infancy ; Mary, men- tioned above; John H., lives in Dennisville, New Jersey, where he is engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have had children: Henry R., lives in the state of New York, where he is engaged in business as a merchant; Edwin B., see forward; Eva, died at the age of six years ; Laura, married E. C. Metlack, and resides in Philadelphia; Mary H., married Robert M. Graham, and lives in Philadelphia.
Edwin B. Lewis, son of Wilson and Mary (Williams) Lewis, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1864. He attended the public schools of Philadelphia until he had attained the age of sixteen years, then having shown a natural inclination for drawing he accepted a position with A. Penrose Benner, an architect, with whom he remained as a draftsman for a period of thirteen years. In 1896 he established himself independently in business as an architect and real estate dealer in Lansdowne, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, and was successfully engaged in this line of business for a number of years. In 1905 he commenced building operations in Lansdowne and its vicinity, and is now engaged in the general contracting and building business. He has erected many beautiful private residences and other buildings, his structures being not only practical, but also a pleasure for the eye to rest upon. Probably the most important building he has erected up to the present time is the public school building at East Lansdowne. Mr. Lewis is a Republican in political matters, and has served his community in a number of public offices, among them being as school director for three years, as highway commissioner for a time, and since 1896 as tax collector. He was secretary of the Lansdowne Fire Company, a member of the local Republican Club, and has frequently served as a delegate to the county conventions. His fraternal affiliation is as follows : The Order of Spartans ; Free and Accepted Masons, being a member of Fernwood Lodge, No. 543; University Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Corinthian Commandery, Knights Templar. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal church. In July, 1890, he erected a very beautiful home for his own nise in Lansdowne, and has occupied it since that time.
Mr. Lewis married, December, 1887, M. Belle, born in Dennisville, New Jersey, a daughter of John L. and Mary C. James, and they have had children : Fannie C., was graduated from the Lansdowne high school; Laura B., also a graduate of the Landsdowne high school; Mary W., a student at the above mentioned institution.
HEYBURN Heyburn, a name distinguished in English history for many centuries, has been worthily borne in the new world by a prominent Pennsylvania family. A branch early settled in Delaware county, while the forebears of Weldon Brinton Heyburn, late United States senator from the state of Idaho, whose career is herein traced, settled in the adjoining state of Delaware, the ancestral acres now being a part of the city of Wilmington. They too, however, soon came to Delaware county, Pennsyl- vania, settling in the township of Birmingham, where at Chadds Ford, Senator Heyburn first saw the light.
His ancestors were a succession of George Heyburns, beginning with the father of the American ancestor.
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