USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Biographical and historical cyclopedia of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, comprising a historical sketch of the county > Part 20
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But few mills have ever been built in the township. The Talbot stone grist mill was built in 1767 by John Talbot, and burned in 1884. Dutton's saw mill was built about 1750, and was torn down in 1860.
The celebrated James Annesley. Earl of Anglesey, was sold as a redemptioner in Up- per Chichester township in 1727.
The Baltimore & Ohio railway passes through the township in the eastern part from north to south, and along its track three vil- lages are springing up, at Twin Oaks, Booth- win and Ogden stations. Each place has a postoffice. Boothwin is laid out into streets, and has a few houses and a Presbyterian church. Ogden, which joins Boothwin on the south, contains a few buildings and a Friends' meeting house.
Upper Chichester meeting was established in the fall of 1829 by the Orthodox Friends.
The schools of the township are three in number, in which one hundred and twenty- two pupils are enrolled.
UPPER PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP.
The township of Upper Providence is bounded by Edgmont, Newtown, Marple, Springfield, Ridley, Chester and Middletown townships.
Ferruginous conglomerate and serpentine are north of Bluehill, while mica schists and gneisses occupy the greater portion of the central and southern parts of the township.
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Upper Providence came into existence as a municipal division of the county in 1688. Its taxables were returned in 1715 as follows : John and Jacob Edge, Sarah Powell, Thomas Williamson, Joseph and Peter Taylor, William Sinkler, Zachary Butcher, Joseph Carter, Thomas Jones, Jacob Chandler, Jacob Malin, Joshua Calvert, Daniel Calvert, John Cam, Job Harvey, Randal Malin, and Randal Croxson.
The Upper Bank or Manchester cotton fac- tory was originally a paper mill, and built in 1766 by James Wilcox. The cotton factory in 1872 met the sad fate of so many other mills in the county, being destroyed by fire. Robinett's grist mill and Camm's stocking works were operated in the early part of the present century. The Sycamore or Bishop mills were originally the Providence mills. The rolling mill was built about 1811, and at it the first anthracite coal was used as a fuel for manufacturing purposes. Register's nail factory was started in 1812, while Collett's and Palmer's grist mills, now gone, were erected at an early day in the history of the township.
The schools of Upper Providence are four in number, with an enrollment of one hundred and fifty-one pupils.
UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP.
The township of Upper Darby is bounded by Philadelphia county and the townships of Haverford, Marple, Springfield, Ridley and Darby.
Gravel is found in the central and southern parts of the township, and a small area of ferruginous conglomerate lies west of Clifton. Trap is found in the northern part, and schists and gneisses are exposed at various places throughout the township.
Upper Darby was erected as a township on August 30, 1786. Among its early settlers were: John Hood, John Hood, jr., Edward Cartledge, Joseph Neel, Richard Bonsall, Anthony Mor- gan, John Marshall, Samuel Sellers, Michael Blunston, William Garrett, Joshua Fearne, John Roads and John Kirk.
In naming the mills of the township we shall pass from north to south on the two creeks, Darby and Cobb's. The first mills on Darby creek are the Upper Darby paper mills, which were erected as early as 1803 as a grist mill. The grist mill was changed into a paper mill in 1872 by Edward Garrett. The Morris Truman paper mills were erected in 1778, and in 1860 were changed into a cotton factory by Samuel Lewis, who built a second mill. Both were burned, rebuilt, and a second time destroyed by fire. The Kelleyville cot- ton mills, built about 1824 by Ashur Lobb, after considerable change in ownership, came into the possession of Sellers Hoffman in 1878. The Modoc cotton mills were built in 1873 by Daniel Sharkey and William Weid- bey. The Union cotton mills were built in 1822 by Garrett, and enlarged afterward by Thomas Kent, who purchased them in 1846. Rockbourne woolen mills were built by Samuel Garrett about 1835, and in 1845 became the property of Thomas Kent. The Clifton woolen mills were originally a paper mill, which was afterwards changed into a cot- ton factory. The cotton factory was changed into the present woolen mills in 1881. The Glenwood cotton and woolen mills were erected in 1862 on the site of an old paper mill that was built by Levis Garrett. The Tuscarora cotton mills, at the head of Darby creek, were built by George Burnley in 1844, and are near the site of an old paper mill that was erected in 1777 by Samuel Levis.
On Cobb's creek have been built several in- dustrial establishments. The Wolfenden cot- ton mills on Cobb's creek were originally Sel- ler's locomotive works, and in 1881 were pur- chased by Wolfenden, Shore & Co. The old Levis blade mill was built on Naylor's run about 1807, and was in operation up to 1881. The Cardington cotton and the Whitely cotton and woolen mills are near to each other on Cobb's creek, and by 1881 had passed into the hands of Wolfenden, Shore & Co. These mills when running full require a force of two
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hundred and fifty operatives. The Cardington mills are near the site of the first cotton mill that was erected (1798) in Delaware county. The present Millbourne or Sellers flouring mills were built in 1814, and have a capacity of two hundred and fifty barrels of flour per day. The Keystone paper mills were erected in 1866 by C. S. Garrett, on the site of an old oil mill, that in 1807 had been built for a saw mill.
The Pennsylvania railroad passes through Upper Darby from east to west, and in the township are the following stations: Fern- wood, Lansdowne, Beaumont. Clifton, Primos and Secane. Fernwood owes its existence to the laying out of the Fernwood cemetery, so named from the fact of fourteen varieties of ferns being found on the grounds, which were originally owned by Joshua Fearne. There are over ten thousand graves in the cemetery. In 1872 the first two houses of Fernwood were erected. Fernwood Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1872, and Fernwood Masonic lodge was instituted in 1875. The Union shoddy mills were erected on the site of the village in 1867. Primos contains a station and postoffice and ten or twelve houses. Secane has a station and postoffice and some six or eight dwellings.
The First New Jerusalem church of Dela- ware county was formed about 1830, and by 1880 the society was nearly extinct. Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal church was insti- tuted in 1834.
Upper Darby has one charitable institution, Burd Orphan Asylum, and four public schools, in which two hundred and fifty-eight pupils are enrolled.
LANSDOWNE BOROUGH.
The postoffice was established in 1875, and the village was incorporated as a borongh in 1893. Its main streets are Baltimore and Lansdowne avennes. The postoffice was es- tablished in 1875, with Garrett H. Lewis as
postmaster. M. A. Bliss served as postmaster from 1883 to 1889, when John C. Hilbert was appointed. M. Hall & Co. have a shoddy mill, and the Columbia feather compressing and the Freedom card embossing companies are located there. The Lansdowne carriage and wagon works have lately gone into opera- tion, and the place contains several stores, a drug house, three real estate offices and four churches - First Presbyterian, Baptist, Epis- copal and Methodist Episcopal. The borough also contains a building and loan association, and one club, the Runnymede. Lansdowne is lighted by electricity and supplied with water by the Springfield Water Company, while all of its streets are well telforded. The popula- tion of the borough is estimated at one thou- sand, and it has a public school with one hun- dred and seventy-five pupils.
CLIFTON HEIGHTS BOROUGH.
The village of Clifton Heights has grown rapidly within the last ten years into a large and important place. It has a station, post- office, several churches, and a large number of business establishments. Clifton Heights has been incorporated as a borough since 1884, and its main streets are : Baltimore and Broad- way avenues, crossed by Sycamore and Spring- field avenues.
St. Stephen's Episcopal church was organ- ized in 1872, and Clifton Methodist Episcopal church was instituted in 1871.
The borough has six schools and two hun- dred and eighty-eight pupils.
The population of Clifton Heights is nearly two thousand. East Clifton Heights is a sub- urb of the borough, near which Burn Brae hospital was erected in 1859.
On page 18 average length should read greatest length ; and on page 99, 6385 should read 4225.
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The following general matters which may be of some interest to those residing in Dela- ware county, are given in this chapter.
EARTHQUAKES.
Slight earthquake shocks were felt in the county in 1727 and 1732, and on December 7. . 1738, November 18, 1755, March 22, 1763, October 13, 1763, April 25, 1772, January 8, 1817, June 17, 1871, and October 9, 1871. The Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake was felt in some parts of the county.
EARLIEST AND LATEST LICENSES.
In 1790 licenses were granted to the follow- ing persons in the county to seli spirituous liquors : John Ford, William Kerlin, Charles Sankey, William Beaumont, Mary Withy, Joseph Pearson, Mary Miller, Adam Titus, Joshua Vernon, Richard Fawkes, Henry Oden- heimer, Evan Jones, Robert Kennedy, Gideon Gilpin and John Hoof.
The hotels outside of Chester licensed on January 2, 1893, were those of J. Lewis Gar- rett, Joshua S. Wood, John H. Twaddell, James Neeld, Andrew McClure, James Galla- ger, Edward McFadden, P. McGlinchy, Thos. Calvert, R. R. Johnson, E. C. Lyons, William Carson, William T. Davis, Benjamin Rogers, Charles B. Quigley, Henry Coawrd, Nicholas C. Knight, William Miller. The hotels in Chester and South Chester licensed on the abovenamed day, were those of John T. Evans, W. H. Read, Henry Abbott, Thomas Lytle, George Goeltz, Samuel Powell, William F. May, John Grundy, JamesGardner, jr., Thomas Carr, John Genther, T. S. Williamson, Mary Stewart, Anton Uhlenbrock, Henry Fisher, McClay & McKane, W. H. Williams, William Higham, Thomas Hargreaves, C. W. Hiorth. H. G. Mason, Robert Schofield, Sebastian 104
Haas, Michael Cronin, Henry Goff, William Vogel, Hugh McCaffery, D. B. McClure, W. H. Brooks, J. T. Burke, John P. Rolph, John Leary, Thomas Dalton, George W. Mullen, John McGolrick, J. W. Rawcliff, H. J. Riley, Z. T. Bartleson, F. E. Lawrence, and George J. Hunter.
FREE MASONRY.
The following Masonic lodges are in the county : Chester, No. 236, at Chester ; George W. Bartram, No. 298, Media ; Lucius, H. Scott, No. 352, Chester ; Prospect, No. 578, Moore's ; and Wayne, No. 581, Wayne. The Royal Arch Chapters are : Media, No. 234; Fernwood, No. 256; and Chester, No. 258. Chester Commandery, No. 66, and Delaware County Lodge, No. 13, Knights of Birming- ham, meets at Chester city.
KNIGHTS OF THE GOLDEN EAGLE.
The following castles of the Knights of the Golden Eagle are in Delaware county : Ches- ter, No. 29, at Chester ; Relief, No. 71, Darby ; Castle Rock, No. 158, Newtown Square ; Thur- low, No. 159, South Chester ; Charter, No. 171, Media ; Upland, No. 180, Upland ; Up- per Darby, No. 199, Garrettford ; Fernwood, No. 227, Fernwood; Covenant, No. 294, Moore's ; Deshong, No. 346, Chester; and Wayne, No. 472, Wayne.
PAPER AND COTTON INDUSTRIES IN 1872.
From an article on "Through William Penn's Low Counties," in Lippincott's Maga- zine for September, 1872, we find the follow- ing concerning the paper and cotton industries and Leiper's railroad : " An antiquarian might strike a line of investigation by taking hold of the times before the application of steam to manufacturing, and tracing up the industries fed by the water powers which concentrate at Chester. Four streams (called in southern dialect 'creeks') enter the Delaware within two miles of each other in the neighborhood of the town-Chester creek, Ridley creek,
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Crum creek, Darby creek. Not only do the harvests they traverse,
'Send down the air a greeting to the mills On the dull thunder of alternate flails,'
but the cotton and fibres from half the States in the Union are woven into tissues by mills upon their banks. Some are very ancient, and yield curious histories. Up on Chester creek the 'Ivy Mills' paper mill, which was the pioneer of this species of manufactures on the American continent, still stands; it was already ancient when Benjamin Franklin's printing paper and the sheets for the Conti- nental currency were made there. The ‘ Ivy Mills' was the very last hand mill in the Uni- ted States to succumb to machinery. A mile off is 'Glen Mills,' where the peculiar paper now used by the treasury department for the Uni- ted States currency is made -an agent of the department residing near the mill, with a force to guard it from violation. In one of the buildings the Messrs. Willcox . manufacture most of the music paper used in the United States, and a grade, celebrated in the trade of collar paper. Near Glen Riddle; on Chester
creek, at Crozerville, John P. Crozer estab- lished his colossal fortune by the alteration of old historic paper and grist mills into woolen and cotton factories, and died full of honors. On Crum creek the Wallingford cotton mills have been owned in the family of the present proprietor, Mr. Lewis, for more than a hun- dred years. In this locality again was the first railroad ever built in the United States. It was a gravity road, like the celebrated switch- back at Mauch Chunk, and was made in 1809 by Thomas Leiper, to connect his granite quarries with his landing on Crum creek."
CONCLUSION.
In closing this brief historical sketch of the important and time honored county of Dela- ware, we would turn a moment from the past to the future, and wish for it and its people, in the oncoming centuries of time, that the march of capital and enterprise in Delaware county " may go hand in hand with the march of intellect and morals, and result in the in- creased prosperity and virtue of her people."
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C HARLES B. HOUSTON, head of the iron, coal and coke firm of C. B. Houston & Co., of Philadelphia, and the present burgess of South Chester, this county, where he resides, is one of the conspicuously successful busi- ness men of Delaware county. Mr. Houston was born near Belfast, Ireland, December 16, 1832, and was brought to this country by his par- ents, John and Elizabeth ( Boone) Houston, while yet a small child. He grew to manhood on his father's farm in Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, and received his preliminary training in the public schools there, completing his education at the State Nornal school in Mil- lersville. Inheriting fine executive ability and a strong propensity for business, he abandoned the farm, and soon after leaving school formed a partnership with his cousin, Samuel J. Boone, and engaged in general merchandising at Gap, Lancaster county. This firm continued in business until the beginning of the civil war, when Mr. Boone enlisted in the Federal army, becoming captain of Co. B, 79th Pennsylvania infantry, which he commanded until killed in action at the battle of Chaplin Hills, Ken- tucky, in 1863. Mr. Houston at once closed out the business in Lancaster county, and in the fall of 1859 entered the employ of the Pennsyl- vania Railroad Company as freight and pas- senger agent at Christiana, that county. This position he held acceptably for a period of ten years, and then resigned it to join his brother,
Thomas J. Houston ( see his sketch ), in the erection of extensive iron works at Greens- boro, North Carolina, for a company of Phila- delphia capitalists. While his brother re- turned north the same year, Charles B. Hous- ton remained at the works in North Carolina for a year and a half, and then returning to Pennsylvania entered the employ of McCor- mick & Co., at Harrisburg. This firm was composed of James and Henry McCormick and Senator J. Donald Cameron, and operated large iron works at Harrisburg. Mr. Houston remained with them until 1874, at which time he formed a copartnership with John Roach, the famous ship-builder, now deceased, and they built and operated the Chester Rolling mills of this city. After running the works about one year the firm was merged into a joint stock company, which was incorporated under the name of the Chester Rolling Mills. This company operated the works for a period of sixteen years, during which the business rapidly grew into its present immense proportions, and at the end of that time sold the mills to the Wellman Steel & Iron Com- pany, by which name they are now known. After disposing of his interest in the Chester Rolling mills, in which his brothers were also partners, Mr. Houston spent the next eighteen months in looking after his large iron and coal interests in Virginia and West Virginia. In' 1892, in connection with his son, Howard H.
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Houston, and J. Max Bernard, he engaged in the iron, coal and coke business in the city of Phil- adelphia, under the firm name of C. B. Hous- ton & Co. Their office is at 229-231 Bullitt building, South Fourth street, and they do an immense business in iron, steel, coal and coke.
In addition to his large business operations in Philadelphia, Mr. Houston is closely iden- tified with many important industrial enter- prises in other parts of the country. He is a director in the Chester National bank, and of the "Delaware River Iron Ship-building & Engine works," of this city, and has a like connection with the Crozer Steel & Iron Com- pany, of Roanoke, Virginia ; the Edith Iron & Mining Company, of that State ; the Twelve Pole Coal & Lumber Company, of West Vir- ginia ; the Roanoke Coal & Lumber Company, of the same State; and the Mate Creek Coal & Lumber Company, also of that State. He, with members of his family, is also half owner of the Houston Coal & Coke Company's prop- erty and business at Elkhorn, West Virginia.
On January 26, 1860, Mr. Houston was mar- ried to Margaret A. Hathaway, a daughter of Philip Hathaway, of Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania. To them were born two sons : How- ard H., now in business with his father in Philadelphia; and T. Edgar, treasurer and general manager of the Houston Coal & Coke Company at Elkhorn, West Virginia. Beside these two sons, a daughter, named Minnie L., was born to Mr. and Mrs. Houston, but she died at the age of two and a half years, and her remains sleep in the cemetery at Atglen, Chester county, this State. Mrs. Houston is now in the fifty-fifth year of her age.
In his political affiliations Charles B. Hous- ton has always been a republican, is now serv- ing his third term as burgess of South Ches- ter, and was for some time a member of the borough council. He is a leading member of the Third Presbyterian church of Chester, and also prominetly connected with Masonry, being a member of Lancaster Lodge, No. +3, Free and Accepted Masons, of Lancaster ;
Chester Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Chester : and Chester Commandery, No. 66, Knights Templar. He is pleasant and genial in manner, ranks with the best and most successful business men of eastern Penn- sylvania, and is held in high esteem for his exemplification of the virtues of good citizen- ship and intelligent, Christian manhood. Mr. Houston resides in a pleasant and finely ap- pointed home at the corner of Ninth street and Highland avenue, South Chester.
The Houstons are of Scotch-Irish origin, and their history runs back through several centuries to the founder of the family, Sir Hugh Padvinon, a wealthy Scotch nobleman, who built a village on his estate, in the north of Ireland, which was called Hughstown. By degrees the name of the town was transferred to the family, and finally, in the course of years, it assumed its present spelling, Hous- ton. John Houston, father of the subject of this sketch, was born and reared in the north of Ireland, where he received a good practical education, being the only son of well-to-do parents. While yet a young man the love for adventure led him to cross the Atlantic and visit America, where he remained several years, and then returned to his native land. Soon after his return to Ireland he married Eliza- beth Boone, an educated Scotch-Irish girl. who for more than the third of a century was his devoted wife and comrade on the rugged pathway of life. She was a native of northern Ireland, and a member of the United Presby- terian church. A few years later, in 1834, Mr. Houston returned to the United States with his wife and four children and settled in Lancas- ter county, Pennsylvania, where he continued to reside until within a short time of his death, which occurred in 1877, at the residence of his son, Dr. John Houston, in the city of Phila- delphia. During his long residence in Lan- caster county he was extensively engaged in farming and dealing in live stock, and became quite prosperous. Politically he was a demo- crat until about 1856, when, on account of his
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opposition to slavery, he identified himself with the growing Republican party, and gave it his influence and support from that time to the day of his death. In religion he was a member of the United Presbyterian church and died in that faith.
C APT. THOMAS J. HOUSTON, of
the city of Chester, who saw service dur- ing our civil war, and has been one of the most active and successful iron, coal and coke op- erators of this State, is a son of Jolin and Elizabeth (Boone) Houston, and a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he was born January 25, 1836. (See sketch of Charles B. Houston for family ancestry. ) Mrs. Elizabeth Houston died in 1868, at her home in Lancaster county.
Thomas J. Houston was reared on his fath- er's farm in Lancaster county, this State, and obtained a superior English education in the public schools and at what is now the State Normal school at Millersville. Leaving school at the age of fifteen, he learned the trade of molder, but within a year after completing his apprenticeship was compelled to abandon the business on account of his health. He then secured a position as clerk in a blast furnace at Robesonia, which he resigned in the early part of 1863 to enlist in the army. Upon be- ing mustered into service he was made captain of Co. B, 47th Pennsylvania emergency men, and commanded that company during its term of service, which was something less than a year. After returning from the army Mr. Houston became a passenger brakeman on the Pennsylvania railroad, but was soon promoted to the position of conductor. He began his career as a railroad man at the same time as Charles E. Pugh, who is now third vice presi- dent of the Pennsylvania Company. After running on the road for several months be- tween Philadelphia and Pittsburg, Mr. Hous- toon resigned his position to take charge of a blast furnace at Columbia, Pennsylvania,
where he remained until 1865. From that year until 1869 he had charge of a furnace and ore mines in Dutchess county, New York. In the latter year he obtained leave of absence and went to Greensboro, North Carolina, to put up a steam bloomery furnace for a com- pany of Philadelphia capitalists who were ar- ranging to develop the mineral resources of that section. Upon the completion of this enterprise he returned to New York and again assumed the management of the ore mines and furnace in Dutchess county, where he re- mained until the early part of 1873. In that year he was appointed general manager of the Iron Cliffs Company, in the Lake Superior region. with headquarters at Negaunee, Mich- igan. This company owned fifty-five thousand acres of land, ran three blast furnaces, and had extensive ore mines on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Mr. Houston remained in charge of these works until 1880, when he re- moved to the city of Chester, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, where he was interested with his brother, Charles B. Houston, in the Chester rolling mills. Soon after coming to this city Captain Houston became general manager of these mills, and held that position until they sold the works to the Wellman Iron & Steel Company in 1891. In May, 1889, he was called to Roanoke, Virginia, to assume charge of the Crozer Iron & Steel Company's affairs, in which company he was and is a stockholder and director. There he remained actively em- ployed in the management of a large and com- plicated business until December Ist of that ycar, when illness compelled him to relinquish his work and return home. Since that time he has been practically retired from active business, and is living quietly at his elegant home, corner of Eighth and Kerlin streets, this city. In addition to the works already mentioned, Captain Houston is financially in- terested with his brother, Charles B. Houston, (see his sketch ) in a number of other mining, iron, coal and coke enterprises in this State and elsewhere.
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