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 49
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George Walters was of German descent. His grandfather, John Walters, was born in Germany, June 30, 1738, and died in East Pikeland, April 7, 1818. He was n
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
farmer and blacksmith, a member of the Lutheran church, and married Maria Cath- arine, who was born July 20, 1722, and died May 17, 1810. Their son, William Walters, (father), was born in East Pikeland, Chester county, May 6, 1764, and died in East Pike- land, March 26, 1818. He was a whig and a member of the Lutheran church. He fol- lowed farming and blacksmithing for a liv- ing, and married Catharine Emory, who was born January 3, 1769, and passed away on September 29, 1831. They reared a family of nine children.
As most men draw towards their three score and ten years their powers become enfeebled and they retire from active life, but George Walters, when past his seven- tieth year, still performed his usual labors with accuracy and efficiency. His final sun- mons came on November 20, 1885, and his spirit was freed from earth. His remains were entombed with appropriate ceremo- nies, and a marble shaft records his name and age, but the works of his life are writ- ten in the memories of those who witnessed his success in business and his disinterested labors in the cause of his church and Chris- tianity.
JOHN G. SMEDLEY, a prosperous far-
mer of Willistown township, is a son of Hunter and Ann (Johnson) Smedley, and a native of East Goshen township, Chester county, where he was born July 22, 1834. He was educated principally at the Union- ville boarding school, taught by Prof. Mil- ton Duruall, and after leaving school en- gaged in farming. This has been his occu- pation through life, and by industry and good management he has accumulated con- siderable property. He has always resided in Willistown township, and now owns a
valuable farm here, consisting of one hun- dred and fifty acres of choice land, seventy- five acres of which are improved and in a good state of cultivation. Upon it are all necessary farm buildings, including a sub- stantial dwelling, which was erected by his great-grandfather, George Smedley, in 1766. In his political affiliations he is a republican, and while never taking an active part in politics, is always ready to do what he can for the success of his party.
On December 22, 1875, Mr. Smedley was united in marriage to Mary C. Green, a daughter of Hiram and Julia A. Green, of Edgemont township, Delaware county, this State. Their uniou has been blessed by the birth of two children, both sons : J. Harvey, born January 20, 1878, and Restore B., whose natal day was July 7, 1881.
The Smedley family traces its American ancestry back to George Smedley, a Quaker, who emigrated from Derbyshire, England, about 1683, and settled at Darby, this State. It has become quite numerous in Pennsyl- vania, and has furnished the Commonwealth with some of her best and most enterprising citizens. Among these may be named Wil- liam F. Smedley, the artist, whose pencil has been employed in illustrating various periodicals and other publications; James Smedley, for years a leading hatter in Phila- delphia; William Smedley, long connected with the Provident Life and Trust Company ; and Samuel L. Smedley, who served as chief engineer of Philadelphia, and spent consid- erable time in collecting the family history.
George Smedley (paternal great-grand- father) was a farmer by occupation, and also owned and operated a fulling mill on Ridley creek. He lived most of his life and died on the farm now occupied by his grand- son, the subject of this sketch, in the south-
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
ern part of Willistown township, which farm is part of a large tract purchased by the earlier Smedleys from the original Penn sur- vey. He was a man of great energy and good business judgment, and became wealthy, owning three valuable farms, besides his fulling mill, at the time of his death. He was a member of the Friend's meeting, and married Patience Mercer, by whom he had three sons, Thomas, Jesse, and John; and three daughters, Priscilla, who became the wife of George Green; Sarah, who became the wife of George Matlaek; and Ann, who became the wife of Jonathan Matlaek. Jesse Smedley (grandfather) was born on the old homestead-as were his brothers- and after attaining manhood devoted his time almost exclusively to agricultural pur- suits, clearing up land and making himself a comfortable home. Ile was a member of the Society of Friends, and very strict in his observance of their rules. He died at his home in this township in 1862, aged eighty- six years. His wife was Mary Matlaek, and they were the parents of eleven children : George, Clinton, Mifflin, Francis, Salem, Hunter, Sydnie (married Garrett Edwards), Mary A. (wedded Abraham Coburn), Bar- tholomew, Sarah (became the wife of Bald- win Iloward), and Hannah, who married John Garrett. They are all now deceased. Ilunter Smedley (father) was born on the old homestead December 18, 1794, and died here October 2, 1871, aged nearly seventy- five years. In religion he was a Quaker, as all his ancestors had been, and he spent his long, active and useful life principally in the cultivation of the soil. Politically he was a whig and republican. On June 17, 1819, he married Ann Johnson, a daughter of John Johnson, and to them was born a family of six children, three sons and three
daughters : Thomas II. (deceased ), Barthol- omew, Hannah G., Mary (also dead ), John G. (whose name heads this sketch ), and Phæbe A., now deceased.
M ORDECAI DAVIS, a well known farmer residing in Chester Valley, a highly esteemed citizen of his community and a representative of one of the old fam- ilies of Pennsylvania, is the third child and only surviving son of Joseph and Eleanor (Stephens) Davis, and was born in Tredyf- frin township, Chester county, on the 13th of October, 1829. The Davis family is of Welsh descent, and this branch traces its ancestral line back to Joseph Davis (pater- nal great-grandfather), who came from Wales at an early day, and settled in Willistown township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life and died. He was an extensive farmer and owned three hundred acres of land, beside owning a grist mill and blacksmith shop. Among his sons was Mordecai Davis (grand- father), who lived in Easttown township, at Waterloo mills. In politics he was a whig, and married Gennis Davis, by whom he had a family of nine children : Joseph, Margaret, Sarah, Rebecca, Samuel, John, William, Lewis, and Susan, all now deceased. The eldest son, Joseph Davis ( father), was born in the city of Philadelphia in 1790, but passed his life in Chester county, dying in Tredyffrin township in 1879, at the ad- vanced age of eighty-nine years. By occu- pation he was a farmer and devoted most of his life to agricultural pursuits. In re- ligion he was a member of the Society of Friends, and for a number of years was a well known minister of that church, trav- eling and preaching in various parts of the
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BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
country. His was a stainless character, and his life was so uniformly in accord with his professions as to win the highest esteem of all who knew him. He was twice married. In the autumn of 1824 he wedded Eleanor Stephens, a daughter of Stephen Stephens, of Tredyffrin township, this county, and to them was born a family of four children, two sons and two daughters: Sarah, who married Moses Walker; Susan, wedded Lewis Walker, and is now deceased; Mor- decai, the subject of this sketch; and Stephen, deceased. After the death of his wife, in 1846, he married again, his second wife being Elizabeth Maule Peart. He had no children by his second marriage.
Mordecai Davis was reared on the old homestead and received his education in the public schools of his neighborhood, after- wards going to Gwynedd and London Grove Friends' schools. After leaving school he settled down to farming, and has passed his whole life on the farm where he was born, and which he now owns. It consists of one hundred and six acres of desirable land, ninety-six acres being well improved and the remaining ten covered by a fine growth of valuable timber. His life has been that of the average industrious, progressive and prosperous farmer, unmarked by any great changes or catastrophes, and unvexed by ambitious or unsatisfied longings for a dif- ferent sphere. In political sentiment he has always been a republican, and gives his party a loyal support on all leading ques- tions. In religion he has adhered to the faith wherein he was reared, and has been a life-long member of the Society of Friends. He takes an active and intelligent interest in all public questions, keeps well posted on passing events, and is an agreeable and affa- able gentleman.
On March 29, 1871, Mordecai Davis was married to Hannah M. Beidler, a daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Stephens) Beidler, of Montgomery county, this State. To Mr. and Mrs. Davis was born one child, a daugh- ter, named Ellen S., who is living at home with her parents. She was educated at the Friends' Central school in the city of Phila- delphia, from which institution she was graduated with honors in the class of 1889, and has since been engaged in teaching.
W ILMER E. PENNYPACKER, an
active republican, a man of consider- able business experience, and the present efficient treasurer of Chester county, is a son of Nathan and Esther A. Pennypacker, and was born in West Pikeland township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, February 20, 1846. The Pennypacker family had its ori- gin in North Bravant, Holland, from which some of its members went to Germany, where Heinrich Pennypacker, the founder of the Chester county Pennypacker family, was born at Crefeldt, on the Rhine, from which place he came between 1712 and 1716, to Schwenksville, Montgomery county. He was said to have been the first German sur- veyor in Pennsylvania. He was a large land- holder, did quite an amount of conveyanc- ing, and was a strict and consistent member of the Mennonite church. Several members of his family removed to Virginia and other southern States, where their descendants are known as Pennybakers and Pennybackers, and during the late civil war one hundred and twenty-nine of the family served as sol- diers and officers in the Confederate army, while one hundred and twenty-six of the northern Pennypacker families were in the Union army. Of the grandsons of Heinrich
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
Pennypacker who remained in Pennsyl- vania, one was Matthias Pennypacker, who settled near Phoenixville, about the con- mencement of the revolutionary war. He was born October 14, 1742, and died Feb- ruary 13, 1808. He was a wealthy farmer and miller, spoke both German and English fluently, and served for many years before his death as a bishop in the Mennonite church. His mill was badly damaged by the British in 1777, and in 1793, when Phila- delphia was ravaged by the yellow fever, he gave two hundred and forty dollars. One of his sons was Harmon Pennypacker (grandfather), who was born near Phoenix- ville, and died at Pikeland station. He was a farmer, owned three hundred acres of good land, and operated a flouring mill. He was a member of the Mennonite church, and married Ann Showalter, by whom he had twelve children. His son, Nathan Pen- nypacker (father), was born in West Pike- land, and was killed October 4, 1874, in a wreck on the Pickering Valley railroad, at Schwenksville, while attending a reunion of the Pennypaeker family. He was an abolitionist and a republican in politics, and married Esther A. King, who was born March 20, 1820, in Delaware county, and is now a resident of Chester. They had four children : Phobe, wife of Lewis II. Evans, of Chester county; Wilmer A., Maggie, wife of Isaac A. Hartman, who is engaged in farming in West Pikeland township; and Nathan, a druggist, of Philadelphia.
Wilmer A. Pennypacker was reared on the farm, received his education in the pub- lie schools and Wye's Military academy, of West Chester, and then engaged in farming and milling, which he followed until 1887. when he sold his property to remove to Chester Springs station. He embarked in
the coal and lumber business at that place, where he built up and held a good trade until 1890, when he came to West Chester.
On October 4, 1873, Mr. Pennypacker was united in marriage with Hannah M. Ober- holtzer, and to their union have been born two children : one which died in infancy, and Alice.
Wilmer E. Pennypacker is a staneh re- publican, and has always given his party au earnest and whole-hearted support, and has ever been active and successful as a worker in his community in the interest of the Re- publican party. In the autumn of 1890 he was elected on the republican ticket as treasurer of Chester county, and in Janu- ary, 1891, entered upon the duties of his office, which he has discharged in a satis- factory manner ever since. He is a member of the Evangelieal Lutheran church of West Chester, and Mount Pickering Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. In the man- agement of the county treasury Mr. Penny- packer has discharged every duty of his office faithfully, and with eredit to himself. His record as a public ofheial is satisfactory. His business qualifications and practical ex- perience well fit him for the discharge of publie duties.
W ILLIAM BURLING, a prosperous and successful business man of Oxford, and an inventor of considerable note, is the eldest living son of George W. and Matilda (Carr) Burling, and was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1852. Ilis paternal grandfather was an English sen captain, whose son, George W. Burling (father), was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, from which he removed to Trenton. and later to Philadelphia, in which city he
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died April 1, 1864, aged sixty-one years. For many years after attaining manhood he followed a seafaring life, serving for three years in the United States navy. In 1861 he enlisted in Co. B, 1st New Jersey in- fantry, as a private, and rose to the rank of first lieutenant. He served for nearly three years, participating in the battles of second Bull Run, Fairfax Courthouse, Antietam, the seven day's fight before Richmond, Wil- derness, Fredericksburg, and all the engage- ments of the army of the Potomac. He was seriously wounded at the battle of An- tietam, from which he lost the first finger of his right hand, and was soon afterward dis- charged on account of his disability. After the war he went to Philadelphia and en- gaged in the hardware, tin and stove busi- ness, in which he spent altogether about eighteen years. He was a republican in political faith and a strict adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church. In 1851 he married Matilda Carr, by whom he had a family of seven children, five of whom still survive : William, the subject of this sketch ; John W., died October 15, 1892 ; George W., residing at Pallaumi, California ; Edward, a resident of Bryn Mawr, Montgomery county, and Harry, who also lives at Bryn Mawr.
William Burling received a good practical education in the public and private schools of Trenton, New Jersey, and after leaving school learned the trades of tinner and plumber, and was for eleven years engaged in that business with Mr. Patterson at Ox- ford. In 1872 he went in business for him- self in Oxford. He was energetic and in- dustrious, and being possessed of an ingenuity akin to mechanical genius, soon had the nucleus of what has grown into a large and prosperous business. He is now starting a foundry and machine shop, in which, among
other things, he will manufacture the steam heating apparatus which he has invented and patented.
On October 19, 1875, Mr. Burling united in marriage with Ella Bunting, a native of Colerain township, Lancaster county, this State. To them has been born a family of four children, three sons and a daughter: Walter B., Frank, Paul, and Olive. In politics Mr. Burling is a republican, and in religion a strict member of the Presbyterian church. He is also a member of Oxford Lodge, No. 353, Free and Accepted Masons. He is an enterprising, successful business man, and a very useful citizen, who has won and holds high standing in his community.
G EO. WASHINGTON GUNKLE, a
prosperous farmer residing near De- vault, in Charlestown township, is the eldest son of Daniel and Sarah (Kugler) Gunkle, and a native of Chester county, being born in East Whiteland township, August 22, 1822. The family is of German and French extraction, and among the oldest iu Penn- sylvania. Michael Gunkle (grandfather) was a buhr-maker, of 8th Filbert street, Philadelphia, who removed to Chester county in 1797, and settled in East White- land township, where he passed the remain- der of his active and useful life, dying about 1820, at an advanced age. His remains re- pose in the cemetery connected with the Presbyterian church at Frazer. On coming to this county he purchased one thousand acres of land from the original Penn grant, cleared off the timber and put up many buildings, including two grist mills and a saw mill, beside making other valuable im- provements. He was a stanch whig in politics, and had two brothers who settled
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
in Ohio, from one of whom descended Hon. L. B. Gunkle, in 1875 congressman from Dayton, that State. Michael Gunkle was a man of wonderful energy, indomitable will and great public spirit, and was highly es- teemed by his contemporaries. He married Catharine Miller, born at Millbaugh, Leba- non county, where her father, Jonathan Miller, owned one of the oldest mills in Pennsylvania, which was once used as a fort for protecting the early settlers from Indian attacks. By his marriage with Catharine Miller, Michael Gunkle had four sons : John, Michael, Dr. William, and Daniel, all now deceased. Some time before his death he divided his large real estate into three equal parts between his three sons, John, William, M. D., and Daniel ; Michael Gunkle getting his equal proportion in other prop- erty.
Daniel Gunkle (father ) was born Decem- ber 8, 1798, in East Whiteland township, where he resided all his life, dying there December 3, 1879. He was well educated, having attended, beside the common schools, the famous school taught by Rev. Mr. Grier, at Brandywine Manor. After completing his studies he became a farmer from choice, having also learned the trade of miller, and spent nearly all his days in agricultural pur- suits. In religious faith he was a Presby- terian, and for many years a strict mem- ber of the Frazer church of that denomi- nation, while in polities he was a whig and republican. He was a prominent Mason, being a member of Downingtown Lodge, was interested in all publie questions, did much for the improvement of his neighbor- hood, and was universally respected in his community. On October 29, 1822, he mar- ried Sarah Kugler, who was born July 15, 1803, and was a daughter of John and Ilar-
riet Kugler, of Lower Merion, Montgomery county, and granddaughter of Miss Pechin, who, at the age of twelve years, fled from her native land (France ) in company .with her father, Peter Pechin, a Huguenot, per- secuted for his religious belief; Miss Pechin married Martin Miller, a German immigrant. To Daniel and Sarah Gunkle was born a family of nine children: George W., the subject of this sketch ; Dr. William H., now deceased, who married Mary R. Ellmaker, graduated from the Pennsylvania universi- versity, and practiced medicine at Glenloch for a number of years; Harriet C., who died in infancy; Eliza C., married John Dunwoody, of Philadelphia; Harrict A., who became the wife of Dr. Frank Rieser, of Reading, Berks county; Michael M., and Sarah S., now living at the old home- stead, in East Whiteland township; Vic- toria J., who wedded Dr. John G. Thomas, of Newton Square, Delaware county ; John F., married Lizzie Davis, and is living at Chester county academy, in East Whiteland township.
G. Washington Gunkle was reared on his father's farm, in East Whiteland township, and received a superior common school ed- ucation. After attaining manhood he en- gaged in farming, and continued to be a resident of that township until about 1862, when he removed to Charlestown township, where he has ever since resided. He owns a fine farm here, consisting of one hundred and thirteen acres of choice land, all in- proved except thirteen acres of woodland. Politically Mr. Gunkle follows the traditions of his ancestors and is a stanch republican, though he has never taken any prominent part in politics. He has served as school director eight years, and also as supervisor of his township, beside holding other local
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offices. He is well known in Masonic cir- cles, having been a member of Thompson Lodge, No. 340, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, at Duffryn Mawr, for several years, of which lodge he is now a past master. His brothers are all past masters of that lodge, also, and all have frequently sat together with their father therein. Mr. Gunkle is also a member of Columbia Chapter, No. 91, Royal Arch Masons, of Philadelphia.
On New Year day, 1851, Mr. Gunkle was married to Louisa Watson, a daughter of John and Margaret Watson, of East White- land township. To this union was born a family of three children, all sons: William W., who was born January 4, 1852, and is now engaged in cultivating the home farm ; George H., born October 19, 1853, married Mary K. Kennedy, was a clerk for a num- ber of years, and died February 17, 1886, at Port Kennedy, where his widow now lives; and Daniel R., who was born Octo- ber 30, 1856, married May Hibberd, and resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he is engaged in milling. Mrs. Louisa Gunkle was born June 22, 1819, and died at her home in Charlestown township, this county, May 26, 1885, aged sixty-six years. She was a woman of many excellent traits of character, and was greatly respected by a wide circle of friends.
H ON. WILLIAM T. FULTON, an ex- member of the house of representa- tives of Pennsylvania, and a prominent lawyer of Chester county, who served in the late war as major of the Purnell Legion, of Maryland, is a son of James J. and Nancy A. (Ramsey) Fulton, and was born in West Nottingham township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1835.
Immigrant John Fulton was of Scotch-Irish descent, and in 1750 came from the historic north of Ireland to settle at Rugh's fulling mills, near Oxford. In 1800 he deeded his farm to his son, Capt. James Fulton (grand- father), who was born in 1752, and died in West Nottingham township in 1832, aged eighty years. He was a member of the old Seceder church, served as captain under Washington in the revolutionary struggle, and married Jane Miller, by whom he had six children : James J., John, Miller, Jo- seph, Rachel, and a daughter, who married a Mr. Hutchinson. James J. Fulton (father), the eldest son, was born in 1800, and learned the trade of papermaker, which he followed for many years. He then removed from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, to what is now known as McCleary's mill, in West Nottingham township, where he purchased a paper mill which he operated until some years before his death, which occurred April 28, 1864, when aged sixty-four years. He was a whig and republican, and a member and elder of the Presbyterian church in West Nottingham township. He was an influential and leading citizen, and married Nancy A. Ramsey, who was a daughter of Hugh Ramsey, and died January, 1870, when in the sixty-ninth year of her age. They had six children : Dr. James, who was grad- uated from Jefferson Medical college, served with distinction at Gettysburg, and is now a prominent physician of Chester county ; William T .; Joseph M., now deceased, who was a pharmacist; Hugh R., a graduate of Ann Arbor Law school, and who was county solicitor of Lancaster county, and has since been engaged in the practice, of his pro- fession ; and Rachel and Jane, who both died in infancy.
William T. Fulton received his education
Hon. William J. Fulton.
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OF CHESTER COUNTY.
in the common schools, and the old Jordan Bank academy, then under the charge of Dr. Evan Rugh. He read law with Thad- deus Stevens, "the Great Commoner" of Lancaster, and Judge J. Smith Futhey, of West Chester, was admitted to the bar, May 13, 1861, and commenced the practice of his profession at Oxford, where he re- mained until August, when he helped to recruit Co. E, Purnell Legion, Maryland infantry, which was composed of the bor- dermen of Pennsylvania and Maryland. He was commissioned captain of Co. E, and led his command in the engagements at Harper's Ferry and Catlett Station, and the battle of Antietam. He was promoted to major in August, 1862, suffered considerably with fever and jaundice during the fall of 1862 and the spring of 1863, and was dis- charged on account of physical disability, January, 1863. Major Fulton then returned to Oxford and resumed the practice of his profession, which he has followed success- fully ever since, except when serving, in 1863, as a volunteer in repelling Lee's in- vasion of Pennsylvania.
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