USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > Biographical and portrait cyclopedia of Chester County, Pennsylvania : comprising a historical sketch of the county, by Samuel T. Wiley, together with more than five hundred biographical sketches of the prominent men and leading citizens of the county > Part 27
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left their homes in 1720, one year after the enforcement of "The Test," and whose special grievance was not the raising of the rent of their homestead, but the absolute refusal of their landlord to renew their lease unless they would comply with the require- ments of that hated act.
Though the voyage was stormy and un- usually long, even for those days of dull sailors, tradition tells of no losses of life on the journey, while there was certainly one life gained, for Robert Smith was born at sea. Inimmediately after landing at Phila- delphia, the emigrants pushed westward thirty miles into Chester county, and passing by the fertile Great Valley, already partly peo- pled by Welsh settlers, heavily wooded, and probably at that time not free from the ma- laria which the early emigrants had so mueh reason to dread, took up lands to the north- ward, in the hilly country of Uwehlan township, in a locality long known as the Brandywine settlement.
With her brother Jolm came Mary Smith, who married Alexander Fulton, removed to Little Britain, Lancaster county, and to whom in due time was born a grandson, Robert Fulton, who has indissolubly linked his name with the history of steam naviga- tion.
His next appearance is in the commence- ment of the revolution, in August, 1775. Ile took an active part in supervising the erection of military defences, and afterward sat in the convention which, on the 28th of Septem- ber, 1776, adopted the first State constitu- tion of Pennsylvania. He was at this time a man of considerable wealth, great energy, and extensive influence. On the 12th of March, 1777, the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania selected him as colonel of the military forees of Chester county. He
took an active part in the struggles of colo- nial times and the eventful years which followed, was a member of the State assem- bly in 1785, and held various other offices of honor and trust, and died in 1803, at the age of eighty-three years.
Ilis son Joseph, father of the subject of this article, was an iron shipping merchant in Philadelphia. The maternal grandfather, Col. Persifor Frazer, was in the American army during the revolution, where he served with much gallantry and distinction. It will thus be seen that Mr. Smith is the direct lineal descendant of the early settlers of this country, who became famous in his- tory for their intelligence and patriotism.
HIe was educated in Philadelphia, princi- pally in the classical school of Dr. Samuel B. Wylie and Joseph P. Engles. He grad- nated at the university of Pennsylvania on the 31st of July, 1824, and in the same year removed with his father to East Whiteland. Chester county, Pennsylvania. In October. 1826, he commenced the study of law in the office of William II. Dillingham, esq., and was admitted to practice in the courts of Chester county at the November term, 1829. He was admitted to the supreme court in December, 1831, and in October of the following year to the circuit court of the United States for what was then known as the Third cireuit of Pennsylvania. He was married on the 24th of July, 1833, to Thomasine S. Fairlamb, daughter of Dr. George A. Fairlamb, of Downingtown, Ches- ter county. In May, 1835, he was ap- pointed clerk of the Orphans' court of Chester county by Governor George Wolf. and on February 25, 1839, was appointed proseenting attorney for Delaware county by Ovid F. Johnson, attorney-general under Governor David R. Porter. His progress
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was steadily marked, and his valuable ser- vices were in general demand. He was not allowed to remain long out of official posi- tions, and it is to his credit that in every instance he fulfilled the various duties as- signed him with integrity, punctuality, and signal ability. In February, 1849, he was admitted to practice before the supreme court of the United States. He studiously followed the practice of his profession, and became extensively known by lawyers and judges. He maintained a very high posi- tion at the bar, and was long recognized as one of its leaders, both in the county and State. His opinion on the perplexing ques- tions constantly arising in the practice of the law were largely sought for by his pro- fessional brethren. In 1861, during the stirring times which marked the beginning of the civil war, he was elected a member of the legislature, and the fact that he was returned by his constituents for the years of 1862-3-4, shows the high esteem in which he was held, having been chosen four years in succession at a time when the term of that office was for one year only. Dur- ing the civil war he was one of the most stanch supporters of the Union cause. In the year 1866 he was honored, as was also the county, by his appointment as state re- porter of the supreme court of Pennsyl- vania, which position he filled with recog- nized fidelity and ability, and relinquished it in May, 1876. There is not a law library in any court or lawyer's office in Pennsyl- vania which does not contain the thirty-two volumes of State reports compiled and ar- ranged during the ten years he filled that arduous and responsible office. Ile was also the author of the valuable legal text book entitled, "Forms of Procedure." While Mr. Smith never engaged in any
occupation which was not in the line of the profession of his choice, he took great in- terest in local and general politics, and in every project calculated to develop the country. By his varied reading and close observation he kept himself abreast with all that transpired in the literary and scien- tific world. ITis life was one of unwearied activity, and he was time and again called by his fellow citizens and those in authority to fill grave and responsible trusts. Mr. Smith was warmly identified with every good word and work calculated to enhance the interests and increase the usefulness of his town and county. His legal career ex- tended over more than half a century. He literally " died in the harness," for his death occurred in the court house at West Chester on the 25th day of May, 1882, while argu- ing a case before Judge Futhey.
His son, George Fairlamb Smith, who served with distinction in the civil war, and was afterward elected district at- torney for Chester county, and still later served as a member of the legislature of Pennsylvania, was for several years asso- ciated with his father in the practice of the law. He died October 18, 1877. Mr. Smith's youngest and only surviving son and namesake, Persifor Frazer Smith, who now resides in Allegheny City, Pennsyl- vania, is president of the Wellsville Plate & Iron Company, whose plant is located at Wellsville, Ohio. The only surviving daughter is the wife of Robert Emmet Monoghan, of West Chester.
D R. JAMES B. RAYNER, a graduate of the Veterinary college of Philadel- phia, and one of the founders of the United States Veterinary Medical association, and
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who has successfully practiced his profession in West Chester since 1864, is a son of Dr. William and Mary ( Buckley ) Rayner, and was born in Lancashire, England, March 18, 1826. His paternal grandparents were natives and life-long residents of England. Ilis father was born and reared in Lanca- shire, where he received his education. At an early age he turned his attention to the study of the veterinary science, and soon became proficient therein. He married Mary Buckley, of his native country, who died in 1868, aged seventy-six years. In 1842, with his wife and their ten children, he came to Pennsylvania, where he settled at Manayunk, above the city of Philadel- phia, of which place he was a resident until his death, in 1866, when he was in the seventy-second year of his age. He was a very successful veterinary surgeon, and one of his six sons, Dr. George Rayner, served as a veterinary surgeon in the Federal army during the last great civil war. Dr. William Rayner was a useful citizen, well qualified for his veterinary work, and after coming to this county, be- came an active republican in politics.
James B. Rayner was reared in Lanca- shire, received his education in the schools of his neighborhood, and pursued his veter- inary studies under his father, both in En- gland and the United States. He accon- panied his father, in 1842, from Lancashire to Manayunk, and in 1853 commeneed the practice of his profession, which he followed until 1863, when, to fully perfeet himself as a veterinary surgeon, he entered the Veter- inary college of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1864. After graduation he came to West Chester, where he has built up his present extensive practice.
On March 29th, 1846, Doctor Rayner
married Sarah Jackson, of Lower Merion. Montgomery county, who died in 1881, aged fifty-five years. After her death he wedded, on June 19, 1889, Mrs. Lizzie T. Hurford, a daughter of Joseph D. Taylor, of Kennett township, Chester county, Pennsylvania.
Dr. James B. Rayner is a republican in polities. Ile is a member of West Chester Lodge, No. 322, Free and Accepted Masons ; Lodge No. 130, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Tamened Tribe, No. 192, Im- proved Order of Red Men; Goshen Castle, No. 78, Knights of the Golden Eagle; and Estella Lodge, No. 131, Knights of Pythias. He is one of the oldest Odd Fellows in the county, having become a member of that order in 1847. Doctor Rayner is one of the founders and a member of the Veter- inary association of Pennsylvania, and is one of the founders and active members of the United States Veterinary Medical asso- ciation. He is skillful and successful in his line of work, and ranks among those who, by energy and labor, have won merited success.
AMUEL IVISON, jr., one of Oxford's successful merchants, and a man of good business qualifications, is a son of Samuel and Rebecca (Henderson ) Ivison, and was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, November 10, 1851. His paternal grandfather, John Ivison, was born in En- gland, where he was reared and received his education. Hle learned the trade of printer, which he followed in his native country until 1830, when he came to Phila- delphia, where he died in 1870. at the advanced age of eighty-four years. He was a republican in polities, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and mar- ried Anna Sargason. They were the parents
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of eleven children, one son and ten daugh- ters. The son, Samuel Ivison (father), was born, in 1821, in England, and came with his parents, in 1830, to Philadelphia, where he received his education. After attaining his majority he engaged in business, and is now a cotton goods manufacturer of the " Quaker City." He is a supporter of the principles of the Republican party, and in religious belief and church membership is a Meth- odist. He married Rebecca Henderson, and their union was blessed with five children, three sons and two daughters: Dr. John, of Coatesville; Isaac, proprietor of the Chester house, of Media; Mary McDowell; Samuel, jr .; and Anna E. Johnson.
Samuel Ivison, jr., was reared in Phila- delphia, and received his education in the public schools and Lincoln grammar school of that city. He was graduated from the last named school, and then engaged in the wholesale notion business with O. J. Baily & Co. At the end of one year he left this firm and went to Delaware county, in which he was engaged in agricultural pursuits up to 1876. In that year he came to New Garden, this county, where he embarked in the general mercantile business, which he followed there until the succeeding year, when he removed to Lincoln. At that place he conducted a general mercantile store for five years, and then was engaged in the sale of fertilizers until 1887. In that year he came to Oxford and became a member of the present firm of Josiah Cope & Co. They deal in grain, hay and fertil- izers, and have a large and Incrative trade. They handle first-class grades of goods, make a specialty of securing whatever their pa- trons desire, and have a constant and in- creasing demand for everything which they carry in stock.
On November 20, 1875, Mr. Ivison married Marguerite Sharpless, who was a daughter of Joel Sharpless, of Delaware county, and (lied October 27, 1880, leaving two children : John M. and Marion S. Five years later, on November 25, 1885, he wedded Mary Gibson, and to this second union have been born two children, a son and a daughter: Josiah H. and Josephine C.
In politics Mr. Ivison is a stanch republi- can, who is ever active in the interests of his party. He has served for three years as a member of the town council, and his name has been favorably mentioned by many of his own party in connection with the office of register of wills, on account of his busi- ness ability and special qualifications for that important position. Ile is a past master of Oxford Lodge, No. 353, Free and Accepted Masons, and a past high priest of Oxford Chapter, No. 223, Royal Arch Masons.
CHARLES S. HORNING, M. D., is a
graduate from the Hahnemann Medi- cal college, of Philadelphia, who has been in active and successful practice since 1881. Ile was born at Shannonville, in Montgom- ery county, this State, on the 12th of March, 1858, and reared principally at Norristown, that county. Ilis general education was obtained in the public schools of his native county, and after leaving school he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Thomas L. Pratt, now deceased, at Norris- town. Later he entered the Hahnemann Medical college, at Philadelphia, and was graduated from that institution in the spring of 1881. He began practice at Phoenix- ville, this county, and remained here until 1886, when he removed for a time to Shan- nonville, Montgomery county, though he
OF CHESTER COUNTY.
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still attended to his praetice at Phoenixville. After a residence of three years in Mont- gomery county he returned to his old loca- tion here, and has ever since resided in Phoenixville. He possesses many charac- teristies of the successful physician, and already enjoys a good practice, which is increasing every year. He takes rank with the rising young physicians of Chester county, and bids fair to write his name prominently in the medical history of this section.
Dr. Ilorning is a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and of the order of l'ente. and in political sentiment is a stanch democrat. He is unmarried.
The Hornings are descended from an ancient Holland family, and trace their American ancestry back through eight or ten generations to one Louis Horning, who came over from Holland among the earliest settlers of this country. They have a good degree of that activity, thrift, and enter- prise for which their sturdy race is noted. and have been useful and honorable citizens. James Horning, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, and taught school in that county when a young man. " He was afterward engaged in the manufacture of linseed oil in Dauphin county, and furnished the oil used in paint- ing the State hospital at Harrisburg. Polit- ically he was a Jacksonian democrat, and died suddenly in 1864, while on a visit to the old homestead in Montgomery county, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. His son, Benjamin Franklin Horning ( father), was born in Mifflin county, this State. in 1830. but moved with his father's family to Montgomery county while yet a boy, and lived there until 1855, when he came to
Phoenixville, Chester county, where he now resides. In early life he learned the trade of wheelwright, and followed that occupa- tion for many years. but is now engaged in the insurance business. Like his father, he is a democrat in polities. In 1853 he mar- ried Jane E. Armstrong, a native of Millers- burg, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, who is still living, being now in the sixty-third year of her age. To them was born a family of three children, all sons, of whom Dr. Charles S. Horning is the second. The oldest son, J. Oscar Horning, married Julia Friedly, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He was formerly employed as photog- rapher at the State Insane asylum at Nor- ristown. The younger son, Lewis Horn- ing, married Carrie Davis, of Phoenixville. Hle is now carrying on the photograph business in his native town, that of Phoenix- ville. J. Oscar Horning now has charge of the House of Refuge at Glen Mills, Dela- ware county, Pennsylvania.
A DDISON L. JONES, superintendent of the public schools of the city of West Chester, was born near Norristown, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on JJan- nary 20, 1856, and is the eldest of the two sons born to Sammel and Mary ( Landes) Jones. This branch of the Jones family is of German lineage, being planted in this country by Peter Jones ( great-grandfather ). who was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- many, but leaving the Fatherland in middle life emigrated to America and established himself in Montgomery county. Pennsyl- vania. He was a Mennonite preacher, mar- ried and reared a family. one of his sons being Samuel Jones ( grandfather ), who was born in Montgomery county. this State.
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where he grew to manhood and became a farmer, passing his life principally in the cultivation of the soil. He married Anna Kolb, by whom he had a family of six chil- dren, five sons and a daughter: John, de- ceased; Henry, also dead; Nathan, now living in Norristown; Samuel (father ), who resides on a farm near Norristown ; Joseph, also a resident of Norristown; and Maria, who married Abraham Poole, of Schwenks- ville, Montgomery county, this State. Sam- uel Jones (father ) was born March 23, 1828, and while a boy learned the trade of cabinet maker, at which he worked for a time, but later began farming, and devoted most of his life to that occupation. He retired from active business some years ago, and now resides quietly in Norristown. He is a member of the Mennonite church, and a republican in political conviction. He mar- ried Mary Landes, who was born March 20, 1830, in the northern part of Montgomery county. To them was born a family of two sons, the elder being Addison L., the sub- ject of this sketch, and the younger Samuel L., who married Emma J. Ganmer, and now resides in the city of Trenton, New Jersey.
Addison L. Jones was reared on a farm in Montgomery county, and received his education in the public schools of his neigh- borhood. Possessing an active mind. and inclined to earnest study, he made rapid progress, and when fifteen years of age began teaching in his native county, having charge of the school in his own district for a period of seven years. During this time he diligently pursued his studies, and later came to West Chester and entered the State Normal school, from which he was graduated in the class of 1881. He was then tendered. and accepted, the position of
principal of the Unionville High school, in this county, and remained in charge of that institution for a period of five years, doing excellent work and acquiring considerable reputation as an educator. For a few months he was principal teacher in the Sol- diers' Orphans' school at Chester Springs, but, liking public school work better, he re- signed. In the autumn of 1886 he came to the West Chester State Normal school as assistant teacher in the English brauches. and served in that capacity for a term of two years, after which he assumed charge of the Conshohocken public schools for one year, and was then elected superintendent of the public schools of West Chester, which position he has ever since filled in an able and acceptable manner.
Superintendent Jones was united in mar- riage on December 22, 1886, to Clara Pyle Loller, a daughter of C. Wilson Loller, of Unionville, and to them has been born one child, a daughter, named Marguerite Landes.
In politics Superintendent Jones is a re- publican, but too deeply concerned in his educational work to give much attention to political matters. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and has for several years served as president of the Chester County Teachers' association, and also of the Second District association of Chester county. He has also been president of the University Extension association of West Chester, and is a member of the Philo- sophieal society of the county. As may be seen from this condensed statement of what he has accomplished, Superintendent Jones has been an active and progressive teacher, taking a prominent part in all matters per- taining to his work, and gaining an honor- able standing in his profession.
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ISAAC SPACKMAN, a well qualified business man, and who has served for twelve years as secretary of the old and reliable Chester County Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company, is a son of Thomas and Hannah ( Maxton) Spackman, and was born in what is now Caln township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, December 9, 1829. His paternal great-grandparents, Isaac and Esther ( Beale) Spackman, were residents of Hankerton, near Mahnsbury, in Wilt- shire, England, where the husband. who was a worsted comber, died abont 1746, and left his widow and seven children in straight- ened circumstances, Their son, Isaac Spack- man (grandfather), was born November 21, 1739, and in 1750 was brought by his unele, William Beale, to Pennsylvania, where he was bound ont to service for a sufficient length of time to pay for his passage. He grew to manhood in Chester county, and in 1785 purchased the farm in Caln township which his grandson, the subject of this sketch, now owns. He died April 15, 1823, aged eighty-four years. He married. April 21. 1768, Susanna Clayton. of West Brad- ford, and their children were : George, Ann, James, Isaac, Mary, Susanna, Thomas, and Edith. Thomas Spackman ( father ), the vonngest son, was born in 1782, and died February 20, 1846, at sixty-four years of age. He was a prosperons farmer, and always resided on the home farm. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and an old-line whig in politics, and served as one of the early school directors of his town- ship. He married Hannah Maxton, a na- tive of Bradford township, who died Sep- tember 17, 1884, when in the eighty-second year of her age. They had six children, one son and five daughters.
Isaac Spackman grew to manhood on the
home farm, received his education in the common and boarding schools, and was en- gaged in farming for fifty years, excepting two winters, during which he taught school. In 1880 he was elected as secretary of the Chester County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and removed to Coatesville. where he has resided ever since.
On January 5. 1854, Mr. Spackman mar- ried Ann Eliza Branson, daughter of James G. and Elizabeth Branson, of West Brandy- wine township. Mr. and Mrs. Spackman have six children : Thomas. Horace B .. George H., William W., John E., and Owen F.
Isaac Spackman is a republican in poli- ties, and a member of the Presbyterian church. While residing in Caln township he served one term as assessor, three years as supervisor, sixteen years as school direc- tor, and eight years as county auditor. He does some land surveying, still owns the old homestead farm, and is a good business man. In September, 1862, he served as a soldier in one of the emergency militia regiments that were called out by Pennsyl- vania to repel Lee's threatened invasion of the State.
The Chester County Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company was organized in 1840, has had its office at Coatesville since 1861, and has twenty-five million dollars insur- ance, with over eight hundred thousand dollars of storm insurance. The aim of the company has been to furnish insurance at the lowest possible cost, which it has done successfully. It has paid over one million dollars of losses to its members, and has a membership of over nine thousand. Its operations are mainly confined to Chester county. and it is considered as one of the best managed and most solid and successful
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
fire insurance companies in the United States. Its popularity and prosperity are on the increase, and much of its able man- agement and success is due to the efforts of its present secretary, who has labored most faithfully in its interests. Isaac Spackman is a man of thorough experience, as well as energy and excellent business ability, and has always served creditably in any busi- ness enterprise in which he has ever been engaged. He is pleasant and courteous, easily approached, and is known throughout the county as an honest citizen and an upright man.
R OBERT COWAN, deceased, was a representative in the generation now passed away, of that sturdy, independent, industrious element, to which the common- wealth of Pennsylvania owes much of her progress and development. He was the son of Adam and Elizabeth ( Withrow ) Cowan, and was born in what was then Sadsbury township, Chester county, Penn- sylvania, on October 14, 1792. He was reared on the farm and attended the public school in winter until his sixteenth year, when he went to what is now Coatesville, this county, and set in to learn the black- smith's trade. His education was limited and he spent his leisure time while learning his trade in efforts to improve his mind by reading and study. Having a remarkable memory he easily retained what he ac- quired, and came to be a man of wide intelligence and much general information. He passed five years as an apprentice, thor- oughly mastering his trade in all its branches, and then worked as a journey- man until 1823, when he married Mary Cowan, of Sadsbury township, and return-
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