USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > A history of the townships of Byberry and Moreland, in Philadelphia, Pa. : from their earliest settlements by the whites to the present time > Part 19
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(30.) WILLET, born 1790; died 8th mo. 23d, 1797.
(31.) FRANKLIN, born 7th mo. 18th, 1794, married first, Mary Austin, in 1825, and settled on the old Comly homestead in Moreland, where he resided during the re- mainder of his life. Children : Willet, Ellen, and Anna. Mary died 6th mo. 25th, 1834, and in 1836 Franklin married, second, Martha Downing, of Bristol. He was Prothonotary of the District Court in Philadelphia, and for many years a Justice of the Peace and President of the Independent Mutual Fire Insurance Company. Few men occupied a more prominent position in the civil and political affairs of the neighborhood, and none were more highly respected for uprightness and integrity than Frank- lin Comiy.
DESCENDANTS OF ROBERT, SON OF HENRY AND AGNES COMLY.
(I.) ROBERT COMLY was born in Byberry, in 1706. He married Jane Cadwalader, the preacher, at Horsham, 9th mo., 1727, and settled in Byberry, where he remained until 1730. He then moved to Warminster, and after-
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wards to Horsham, to a place since owned by Isaac Parry. He was for many years an Overseer in Horsham Meet- ing, and was a much respected member. He died 3d mo., 1770, aged 64 years. Children : Robert, Agnes, Jane, Grace, Martha, and Mary.
(I.) Robert and Jane Comly's Children.
(2.) ROBERT, born Ioth mo., 1729, married Sarah Jones. Children : Ezra, John, Robert, Nathan, Clement, Sarah, Agnes, Jane, Rebecca, Charlotte, Hannah, Susan, and Elizabeth.
(3.) AGNES, married Samuel Shoemaker, near the Bil- let, where they resided 62 years. They were exemplary members of society, and having abundant means, provid- ed for many destitute orphans and others in needy cir- cumstances. Robert died in his 97th year, and Agnes in her 90th year. They left no children.
(4.) JANE, married Nathan Lukens. Children : Lydia, Abraham, Agnes, and Nathan.
(5.) GRACE, married, first, Isaac Parry, of Horsham. Children : Amy, Isaac, Samuel, Robert, Joseph, and Martha. She married, second, Samuel Conard, of Hor- sham. She died of cancer at Jesse Wilson's, in Byberry, 7th mo. 22d, 1822, aged 75 years.
(6.) MARTHA, married, first, David Parry. They lived at Fair Hill, and had one child, David. She married, second, John Shoemaker, of Shoemakertown; no chil- dren. David married Elizabeth, daughter of Mordecai Thomas, of Horsham, leaving five children.
(7.) MARY, married Benjamin Shoemaker, of Chelten-
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ham. She died 3d mo. 17th, 1793. Children : Levi S., Robert, Nathan, Abraham, Benjamin, Amy, Mary, Sam- uel, Eli, Jane, Jacob, Rebecca, James, and Comly.
(2.) Robert and Sarah Comly's Children.
(8.) EZRA, married Hannah Iredell, in 1779, and had sixteen children : Charles, Sarah, Hannah, Robert, Abra- ham, Gaynor, Ezra, Thomas, Rachel, Rebecca, Tacy, Ann, Iredell, George, Seth, and Martha. Of the descendants of Ezra Comly we know but little. His son Charles was a merchant in Philadelphia, and afterwards moved to Milton, on the Susquehanna, where he died in 1840, leav- ing the following children : Lucy, Joshua, Charles, Seth, and Aaron. Ezra died at his son Charles's, in 1832, aged 78 years.
(9.) JOHN, married Martha Shallcross, and settled on the Bristol Road, near Frankford. Children: Samuel, John W., Robert, Thomas, and Joseph.
(IO.) ROBERT, went with the refugees to Nova Scotia, where he died in 1837. Children : Robert, John, and Elizabeth.
(II.) NATHAN, married, first, Sarah Kirk, 9th mo., 1782, and lived on the Welsh Road, near Horsham. Chil- dren : Elizabeth, Sarah, who married John Tyson, Lydia, Agnes, and Jerusha, who married Jesse Tomlinson. He married, second, Elizabeth Marple, 9th mo., 1795. Chil- dren: Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Cadwalader; Abner, who married Margaret Hallowell; Lydia, who married Ezekiel Tyson; Hannah; Nathan; John M., who married Mary Ann Tyson; Daniel, who married Catha-
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rine Fitzwater; and Joseph, who married Elizabeth Cad- walader.
(12.) CLEMENT, married Rebecca Jones. Children : Isaac, Henry, Ann, Keziah, Zebedee, Sarah, Clement, Amos, Joseph, and Alfred.
(13.) SARAH, married Isaac Wood.
(14.) AGNES, died single.
(15.) JANE, married Joseph Ratcliff. Children : John, Robert, Seth, Rodolph, William, Sarah, Rebecca, and Susan.
(16.) REBECCA, married Dennis Conard. Children : Martha and George.
(17.) CHARLOTTE, married Thomas Ashton. Chil- dren : Sarah, Mary, Joseph, and Elizabeth.
(18.) HANNAH, married, first, John Rush. Children : Elizabeth, Martha, Sarah, Hannah, Louisa, and Mary. She married, second, - Ashton.
(19.) SUSAN, married Dr. Van Court, but had no children.
(20.) ELIZABETH, married Benjamin Griffith. Chil- dren : Benjamin, Samuel, and Comly.
Nathan and (4) Jane Luken's Children.
(2I.) LYDIA, married Thomas Livezey, of Spring Mills, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
(22.) ABRAHAM, married, and lived in Philadelphia.
(23.) AGNES, married - Jackson, and lived in Phil- adelphia.
(24.) NATHAN, married Matilda Bracken, and lived in Horsham.
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Isaac and (5) Grace Parry's Children.
(25.) AMY, married Jesse Wilson. Children : Rachel, Elizabeth, Amos, Grace, and Jane.
(26.) ISAAC, married Ruth Conard, and lived in Phila- delphia.
(27.) SAMUEL, married Martha Thomas, and had one child, Samuel.
(28.) ROBERT, married, first, Sarah Page; second, Sarah Pope.
(29.) JOSEPH, married Sarah, daughter of Naylor Webster. He first settled in Horsham, but afterwards went out West.
Benjamin and (7) Mary Shoemaker's Children.
(30.) NATHAN, married Sarah, the daughter of Solo- mon Miller. He was a tanner by trade. They left seven children.
(31.) ROBERT, married Martha Leech, and lived in Philadelphia. He died in early life. Children : Richard M., and two others.
(32.) BENJAMIN, married Jane Allen, of Bucks County, and left four children.
(33.) AMY, married Benjamin Harper. She died young, leaving one child.
(34.) MARY, married Thomas Shoemaker. Children : Dr. N. Shoemaker, and two others.
(35.) ELI, married Rachel Comly, of Byberry. He died young, leaving one child.
(36.) REBECCA, married Atkinson Rose, and left three sons, of whom John S. Rose, of Frankford, was one.
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(37.) COMLY, married the daughter of Albrick Bird, and widow of George Shoemaker, Jr., but had no chil- dren. They lived near Shoemakertown.
(38.) JANE, married Anthony, son of William Hallo- well, of Abington. Children : Benjamin, Mary S. (Lip- pincott), Caleb, James, and Joseph, the latter two de- ceased.
(9.) John and Martha Comly's Children.
(39.) SAMUEL, established the Comlyville Printworks, near Frankford. He married Elizabeth Ann Folwell. Children : Nathan Folwell, Samuel, Rebecca, John, Rob- ert, Thomas, Joseph, William Folwell, Stephen Girard, Mary Pancoast, and Elizabeth Ann.
(40.) JOHN W., moved to the West.
(41.) ROBERT, married Esther Shallcross, and lived in Oxford Township, Philadelphia.
(42.) THOMAS and JOSEPH, deceased, without chil- dren.
DESCENDANTS OF JOHN, SON OF HENRY AND AGNES COMLY.
(I.) JOHN COMLY was born 3d mo. 20th, 1706. He married Hannah, daughter of Benjamin Mason, of Fair Hill, 4th mo. 20th, 1728. They first settled on the farm now owned by Benjamin Tomlinson, in Moreland.11 In 1738 he exchanged with his brother, James. for a farm on the County Line. In 1754 he obtained a certificate for himself and family to Falls Monthly Meeting. He after- wards lived on Walter Comly's farm, near Smithfield,
11 This property is now owned by Barnard Lawler.
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and subsequently between Frankford and Germantown, where he died, Ist mo. 15th, 1761, and was buried at Frankford. He was not successful in business, and left but little property behind him. Hannah, his wife, was born 3d mo. 31st, 1710, and died at the residence of her son Jacob, in Byberry, 12th mo. 8th, 1782. Children : Abigail, Henry, Abraham, Isaac, Agnes, Jacob, John, Hannah, Mary, Gaynor, and Susanna.
(I.) John and Hannah Comly's Children.
(2.) ABIGAIL, born 6th mo. 16th, 1730; died at her brother's residence in York County, 6th mo. 12th, 1812.
(3.) HENRY, born 12th mo., 1731; died in 1756.
(4.) ABRAHAM, born 12th mo., 1733, was married in 1763. He died of yellow fever, in 1793. Children : Ben- jamin and John. They were both noted as skillful water- men about Camden and Cooper's Point, and both left fam- ilies.
(5.) ISAAC, born Ist mo. 13th, 1735, married Sarah Huston, Ioth mo., 1761, and settled near Darby, where he died, in 1812. Children : Timothy, John, Isaac, Jos- eph, Isaiah, Israel, Charles, Mary, and Hannah.
(6.) AGNES, born 3d mo. 13th, 1738; died in 1760.
(7.) JACOB, born 3d mo. 17th, 1740, married Sarah Thornburg, of York County, Pennsylvania. They first lived in Philadelphia; then at a mill on the Pennypack, and next on a farm in Byberry. He subsequently re- moved to Huntingdon, in York County, where he died, 6th mo. 21st, 1821, aged 82 years. His wife died a few years previous. Children : Samuel, Jesse, and Susanna.
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BYBERRY AND MORELAND.
(8.) JOHN, born Ist mo. 13th, 1743, married Mary They first settled in Byberry, but afterwards mov- ed to Drinker's Alley, in Philadelphia, where he died, in 1792, aged 49 years. Mary died IIth mo. 21st, 1819. Children : David, Richard, Abigail, and Mary.
(9.) HANNAH, born 7th mo. IIth, 1746; died in 1760. (IO.) MARY, born 9th mo. 9th, 1747, married Robinson, and lived in Brewer's Alley, Philadelphia. She died 12th mo. I, 1828, aged 81 years, leaving one child, Mary.
(II.) GAYNOR, born 7th mo. 15th, 1751 ; died young.
(12.) SUSANNA, born 5th mo. 4th, 1753, married Christopher Smith, a schoolmaster, in 1780, and died the next year.
(5.) Isaac and Sarah Comly's Children.
(13.) JOHN, died of small-pox, aged 22 years, leaving one daughter.
(14.) ISAAC, died at Plymouth, in 1812, leaving sev- eral children.
(15.) MARY, married - Perot.
(16.) HANNAH, married Lawrence Lowry.
(7.) Jacob and Sarah Comly's Children.
(17.) SAMUEL, married Susanna Wireman. He re- moved to Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1837, and remained there until his death. His children were Sarah, Ezra, Hannah, Phebe, Lydia, William, and Isaac.
(18.) JESSE, married Naomi Howell. He removed to Juniata in 1833. Children: Jacob, Joseph, Benjamin, Samuel, Ellen, Jesse, and John.
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(19.) SUSANNA, married Wierman. Children : Thomas, Hannah, and Sarah.
DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH, SON OF HENRY AND AGNES COMLY.
(I.) JOSEPH COMLY, was born Sth mo. 8th, 1708. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Mason, and settled in Moreland, on a farm lately owned by Judge Sommer,12 about 1730. He was remarkably healthy, and was never sick except it was for a few days previous to his death. He was very fond of strong drink, and fre- quently drank a quart of rum at one time without becom- ing intoxicated. This he always called "small beer." He wore stockings without any feet, and went without a coat or upper jacket in winter time. He removed to Gun- powder, Md., and not asking for a certificate from By- berry Monthly Meeting, of which he was a member, they, in 1759, sent one after him. Previous to this time he had sold his farm, and in old age owned no property. In 1774, he went to Joshua Comly's house apparently in good health, but said he was come to die in his old lodg- ing-room over the kitchen. Shortly afterward he was taken sick, and died in about four weeks from the time of his arrival there, at the age of sixty-six years. During his illness his mind was composed, and he had no fear of death. He said he never swore an oath in his life, never wronged any man out of a penny, and never told a falsehood to the injury of any person. Some who were well acquainted with him said they had no reason to
12 This is now the residence of Enoch Taylor.
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doubt his assertions. How many who have made far greater pretensions towards possessing religion than he, could with truth adopt the language of Joseph Comly? He was very strong: could put a barrel of cider in a wagon with ease, and take one that was full on his knees and drink out of the bung. His vocal powers were aston- ishing. On one occasion some of his family started to go to market in the night, but after they had gone some time the old man recollected he had forgotten to send for a keg of nails by them; he, therefore, called to them and mentioned what he wanted. They heard him, al- though three miles off, and attended to his request. When going to visit his relations he would, when within about two miles, call to them, that they might know he was com- ing. He was a great walker, and always went to Gun- powder on foot, which he called an evening's walk. When making the journey he carried his bread, cheese, and a bottle of rum, and ate, drank, and slept by the roadside. His wife died about 1757, and he died 6th mo. 21, 1774, aged 66 years.
(I.) Joseph and Elizabeth Comly's Children.
(2.) AGNES, born 4th mo. 2d, 1732, married Evan Roberts.
(3.) ABIGAIL, born 8th mo. 15th, 1733, married David Hallowell.
(4.) JOSEPH, born Ist mo. 9th, 1735, married Rachel Edwards, and had one daughter, "Dumb Becky." He was a soldier in the French and Indian War in 1755, but escaped unhurt. He died in Byberry 2d mo. 19th, 181I. Rachel died 4th mo. 9th, 1815.
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(5.) RICHARD, born 4th mo. Ist, 1737, was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and during the famous retreat of Braddock was taken sick. He was left sitting on a log, and was never heard of afterwards.
(6.) SUSANNA, born 5th mo. 15th, 1740, married Sam- uel Shute. She died in 1802.
(7.) WALTER, born IIth mo. 13th, 1742; no further account.
(8.) BENJAMIN, born 2d mo. 17th, 1744; no further account.
(9.) ELIZABETH, born Ist mo. Sth, 1746, married Ben- jamin Tomlinson, and moved to Huntingdon, York County, Pa., where she died in 1817, aged 70 years.
(10.) SARAH, born 12th mo. 28th, 1748; died single, 4th mo. 9th, 1810, aged 60 years.
DESCENDANTS OF WALTER, SON OF HENRY AND AGNES COMLY.
(I.) WALTER COMLY married Susanna, daughter of Benjamin Mason, Ist mo., 1731. He settled on a farm in Moreland, now owned by John Lingerman, but after- wards purchased the farm back of Somerton, now be- longing to William T. Ervin, where he died 3d mo. 20th, 1759, aged 49 years. Susanna, his widow, married Wil- liam Walmsley, 6th mo., 1764. She died 5th mo. 30th, 1795, aged 81 years, having been an Elder in Byberry meeting forty-two years.
(1.) Walter and Susanna Comly's Children.
(2.) WALTER; no account.
(3.) SUSANNA; no account.
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(4.) THOMAS, who died young
(5.) MARTHA, born Ist mo. 20th, 1746, married Silas Walmsley, 6th mo., 1765. Children : William, Jesse, and Silas
Silas and (5) Martha Walmsley's Children.
(6.) WILLIAM, born 7th mo. 18th, 1766, married, first. Phebe, daughter of Giles Knight. She died 8th mo. 18th, 1808. Children : Silas, Ann, and Martha. William mar- ried, second, Margery, daughter of Evan Townsend. Children : Robert and Jesse.
(7.) JESSE, married Mary, daughter of James Paul. Children : Martha, James, Susanna, Elizabeth, Ezra, Han- nah, and Mary.
DESCENDANTS OF AGNES, DAUGHTER OF HENRY AND AGNES COMLY.
(I.) AGNES COMLY, married Nicholas Randall, in 1738. They lived on Duffield's farm in Moreland for sev- eral years. She died, cth mo. 22d, 1779, and he died in 1783. Children : Comly, Thomas, Jonathan, Nathan, Rachel, Thomas, Mary, and Nicholas.
Nicholas and ( 1) Agnes Randall's Children.
(2.) COMLY, born 12th mo. 9th, 1738; married Mary Phinny, in 1753. Children, Agnes, Martha, and Jonathan.
(3.) THOMAS, born 8th mo. 10th, 1740, died in 1743. (4.) JONATHAN, born 3d mo. 17th, 1742, died in 1748.
(5.) NATHAN, born 8th mo. 12th, 1743, died in 1748.
.(6.) RACHEL, born IIth mo. 21st, 1745, died in 1748.
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(7.) THOMAS, born 5th mo. 13th, 1748, died in 1783.
(8.) MARY, born 12th mo. 22d, 1751, married Joshua Gilbert in 1771. They settled on a farm in Byberry, now owned by Thomas James. Mary died 3d mo. 13th, 1812, aged 60 years, and Joshua died 6th mo. 18th, 1833, aged 86 years. Children : Phehe, Benjamin, Tacy, Thomas, Joshua, David, Beulah, Agnes, and Ezra.
(9.) NICHOLAS, married Hannah, daughter of Thomas Townsend. Children: Thomas, Jesse, Agnes, who mar- ried Jacob Myers, and Mary, who married David Clay- ton.
DESCENDANTS OF JAMES, SON OF HENRY AND AGNES COMLY.
(I.) JAMES COMLY, married Mary, daughter of John Paul, in 1738. Mary was born Ist mo. 28th, 1718. She was an approved minister in the Society of Friends. They first settled in Warminster, but in 1758 removed to Gun- powder, Maryland. After the death of James, Mary re- turned to Byberry, where she frequently preached. Chil- dren : Jacob, James, David, Jonathan, John, Rachel, and Mary.
(I.) James and Mary Comly's Children.
(2.) JACOB, born IIth mo. 8th, returned from Mary- land in 1770, and married Rachel, widow of his cousin, Henry Comly. For many years he kept a hotel on the turnpike below Somerton, late the Leedom estate. 13 He afterwards moved to Philadelphia, and, with the consent of such heirs as could be found, obtained the city lot
23 This property is now owned by Harry Roberts.
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granted to Henry Comly by William Penn. He died near Abington, 9th mo. 21st, 1825, aged 87 years, leaving no children.
(3.) JAMES, married Charity Hooker of Maryland. Children : John; Mary, who married Nicholas Merryman, of Jefferson County, Ohio; Joshua, who moved to Madi- son, Indiana; Charity, who married Mordecai Price, near Baltimore, Maryland; David, who died near Baltimore; Nancy, who married - Pettyford, of Baltimore; Eliza- beth and Dobino, both deceased; Sabret and James, who married daughters of David Comly, near Lancaster, Ken- tucky ; Sally, married - Doughty ; Rachel, married to Johnson ; and Eleanor, who married her cousin Absalom, of Madison, Indiana.
(4.) DAVID, moved to Madison, Indiana. Children : John, Absalom, James, and three daughters.
(5.) JONATHAN, died unmarried.
(6.) JOHN, moved to Ohio. Children: Rachel, Mary, Hannah, Sarah, Eleanor, Rebecca, James, John, Joshua, and David.
DESCENDANTS OF ISAAC, SON OF HENRY AND AGNES COMLY.
(I.) ISAAC COMLY, was born in Moreland, in 1717. He married Abigail, daughter of Thomas Walmsley, 2d mo., 1738, and settled in the village of Smithfield. He lived in a hip-roofed house, which had, on a stone in the wall near the door, the inscription, "I. C., 1744." This house was removed only a few years since, having stood nearly one hundred years. They afterward moved to a
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place near the present residence of Silas Vanarsdalen,14 where Isaac died, in 1748, aged thirty-three years.
He was a blacksmith by trade, and followed that busi- ness through life. His children were Agnes; Isaac, born in 1741, died in 1743; Isaac, and William. Abigail, his widow, married Richard Walton, in 1753. Children : Joseph, born in 1754, and Esther, born in 1755.
(I.) Isaac and Abigail Comly's Children.
(2.) AGNES, born IIth mo. 2d, 1738, married John Duncan, in 1759. He died 10th mo. 6th, 1772, aged 51 years. Children: Abigail, Rachel, Esther, and Phebe. In 1793, Agnes married Andrew Singley, of White Sheet Bay, on the Delaware. He died in 1814, aged 72 years; and Agnes died in 1821, aged 83 years.
(3.) ISAAC, was born at Smithfield, 9th mo. 25th, 1743 .. When about five years old he lost his father. After this event he and his mother went to live with her father on the farm lately owned by Charles Walmsley. In 1753, his mother married Richard Walton, and he resided in that family until 1771, when he married Asenath, daughter of John and Ann Hampton, of Wrightstown. They took a farm in the western part of Byberry, where they resided two years, after which they purchased of Thomas Knight a farm of about one hundred and forty acres, near the centre of Byberry, where they permanently settled. By a regular course of industry and economy, Isaac and Asenath Comly accumulated considerable property and brought up a large family of children, most of whom have
14 This property is now owned by Albert Buckman.
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since figured conspicuously in the affairs of the township of Byberry. Isaac Comly was not ambitious of fame, and never sought after popularity, his object being to attend to his own business, leaving to others the cares and re- sponsibilities of public life. He was a member of the religious Society of Friends, and always bore an unex- ceptionable character among them. His wife was an Elder in the Meeting, and was much respected. Their children were Martha, John, Joseph, Isaac, Ezra, Ethan, and Jason. He died 8th mo. 3d, 1822, aged seventy-nine ; and his wife 3 mo. 3d, 1826, aged seventy-seven years.
(3.) Isaac and Asenath Comly's Children.
(4. ) MARTHA, born 12th mo. 29th, 1771, married Evan T. Knight. They lived in Bensalem, where he died 2d mo. 6th, 1841 ; and she died 7th mo. 29th, 1851. Children : Isaac and Phebe.
(5.) JOHN, was born in Byberry, IIth mo. 19th, 1773. He was carefully brought up according to the rules of the Society of Friends, and at an early age, while yet a school-boy, manifested a great interest in the Society, and exhibited those traits of humility and tenderness which so eminently characterized him through life. In 1792 he was placed under Samuel Jones, the Baptist minister at Pennypack, to study the Latin and Greek languages, where he remained until the spring of 1794. He then engaged as a teacher in Byberry School, where he con- tinued until I801, when he resigned, and from a sense of duty engaged as a teacher in Westtown Boarding School. In 1802 he resigned that situation and returned to his
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native place, and in the following spring again took charge of Byberry School. In 6th mo. 1803, he married Rebecca, daughter of Dr. Stacy Budd, of Mount Holly, N. J., and settled on a farm lately purchased in Byberry. In 1804 he opened a boarding-school for girls at his residence, which was successfully continued until 1810, and was then changed into a school for boys and young men, and con- tinted till 1815. His literary works are as follows : "Eng- lish Grammar," published in 1803; "Spelling Book," in 1806; "Primer," in 1807; and "Reader and book of Use- ful Knowledge," in 1840. Some of these have passed through several editions, and still have an extensive sale throughout the whole country. He was also the author of several essays upon moral subjects, which were published in the journals of that day. He was subsequently en- gaged, along with his brother Isaac, in publishing a periodical called "Friends' Miscellany," which was con- tinued through a series of years, and has been the means of preserving many valuable records, biographical sketches, historical notes, and other matters of peculiar interest. John Comly appeared as a minister in the So- ciety of Friends in 1810; and his labors being approved by the Monthly Meeting, he was recommended in 1813. Besides his services at home, he frequently made religious visits, which extended to New England, New York, Ohio, Maryland, and other places, and which tended greatly to inculcate the peaceable principles of Friends. Several of his sermons were stenographically reported by Marcus T. Gould, and afterward published. He was also eminently useful as a surveyor, and was often able to satisfactorily settle conflicting claims and disputes among his neighbors.
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He died at his residence in Byberry, 8th mo. 17th, 1850, after an illness of only a few hours, aged nearly 77 years. His wife died 8th mo. 9th, 1832.15
Their children were Stacy, Ann, Charles, Sarah, and Emmor.
(6.) JOSEPH, was born in Byberry, 12th mo. 16th, 1775. He learned the trade of a carpenter, which business he followed for several years, and afterward settled on a part of his father's farm. In 1800 he built a commod- ious house, the one now occupied by his son, Watson Comly; and in the latter part of the same year was mar- ried to Abigail, daughter of Jonathan Parry. She died in 1805. Children : Asenath, Phebe, and James. In 1807 he married Rachel, daughter of Dr. John Watson, of Buckingham. He had a taste for mechanical pursuits, and was the first to introduce several important improve- ments, in those matters, into the townships. He became quite noted for moving buildings, such as houses, barns, etc .; and, from a record kept by him, he moved one hun- dred and sixty-five buildings in the course of twenty years. He published several essays in the Evening Fireside and other periodicals, wrote several journals of his travels, and collected considerable historical matter of local inter- est. He was a very useful man, and highly respected by all who knew him. He died in Byberry, 2d mo. 5th, 1854, aged 78 years. His wife. Rachel, died 2d mo. 3d, 1839.
(7.) ISAAC, born in Byberry, 3d mo. 2Ist, 1779. He
15 John Comly kept a journal or diary of his travels which was published after his death. It contains many interesting facts relat- ing to Byberry.
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was apt at learning while a youth ; and, without any other advantages than those afforded by the neighboring school, fitted himself for the duties of a teacher. In 1794 he com- menced as an usher under his brother John, at Byberry, and in 1797 engaged as an assistant with Samuel Com- fort, of Middletown. He remained here until 3d mo., 1798, when he took charge of the school at Buckingham for one year. He removed to Horsham in 1799, and in the latter part of the same year to Ancocas, New Jersey, where he continued teaching school for two years. Dur- ing part of 1801 he taught at Mansfield's Neck; and in 1802 took a school at Newton, New Jersey, where he remained until 1809, when he relinquished the business. He then spent some time in traveling; and in 181I was married to Meribah, daughter of John and Rebecca Bar- ton, of Newton, New Jersey. Soon after his marriage he opened a store in Byberry, which was continued until about 1822, when he moved to the old homestead, where he spent the remainder of his life in tilling the soil. He was a clerk at Byberry Monthly Meeting for many years, and afterward an Elder. As a writer, he ranks second to none who has ever resided in the townships, his informa- tion extending to nearly every branch of literature; and his numerous essays, prose and poetical, which were pub- lished in several of the best periodicals of the day, and which were extensively copied, exhibit a talent of no ordinary merit. Among those articles we notice many sketches of these townships, and it is to Isaac Comly that we are indebted for much of the present history. Besides these fugitive pieces, he published a reading book for schools, entitled "Easy Lessons for Juvenile Readers," in
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