USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial and revolutionary families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and personal memoirs, Vol. III > Part 32
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ter of George Robert Twelves Hewes (1742-1840), one of the "Boston Tea Party" and who served through the Revolutionary War on American privateers at sea and in the Massachusetts militia.
Dr. Coleman Sellers died at Philadelphia, December 28, 1907, and Cornelia (Wells) Sellers his widow died April 21, 1908. Their children were as follows :-
Coleman Sellers Jr., b. in Cincinnati, O., Sept. 5, 1852; grad. from Univ. of Penn., class of 1873; received degree of M. S. at same institution in 1876. After leaving college he entered the employ of William Sellers & Co., where he was advanced to the position of asst. manager in 1886, and in 1905, on the death of William Sellers, he succeeded him to the office of president and engineer of the incorporated company. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Philosophical Society, Society of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects, Franklin Institute, and other scientific bodies. He is also president of the Philadelphia Chamber of Com- merce and one of the Commissioners of Navigation for the Delaware River. On June 3, 1880, Coleman Sellers Jr., m. at Brooklyn, N. Y., Helen Graham Jackson, b. at Troy, N. Y., Nov. 22, 1852, dau. of Joseph and Mary (Beach) Jackson, and great-grand- daughter of Captain Stephen Jackson, and great-great-granddaughter of Private Enoch Beach, both of the New Jersey Militia, War of the Revolution. Their children are as follows :
Marjorie Sellers, b. April 18, 1882;
Alice Jackson Sellers, b. Dec. 22, 1883, d. April 12, 1884;
Cornelia Beach Sellers, b. Dec. 31, 1885;
Helen Jackson Sellers, b. Sept. 10, 1887;
Coleman Sellers (3), b. Feb. 13, 1893.
Jessie Sellers, b. in Cincinnati, May 25, 1855; m. in Phila., May 13, 1880, Sabin Wool- worth Colton Jr., b. March 18, 1847, son of Sabin Woolworth and Susanna (Beau- mont) Colton, and great-grandson of Private Luther Colton (1756-1803) of Col. Daniel Simon's regiment, Springfield, Mass., "minute-men". They have issue :
Harold S. Colton, b. Aug. 29, 1881 ;
Mildred Colton, b. July 20, 1883;
Sabin W. J. Colton, b. May 26, 1888, d. Aug. 1, 1890;
Ralph Lester Colton, b. Sept. 19, 1891;
Susanna Beaumont Colton, b. May 10, 1895.
Horace Wells Sellers, b. in Phila., July 21, 1857; grad. from Univ. of Penn., class of 1877, with degree of B. S .; entered employ of Joseph M. Wilson, engineer of bridges and buildings, Penna. R. R., 1878, and of Wilson Bros. & Co., engineers and architects. Was subsequently employed by various engineering concerns, and in 1892 became associated with his father, Dr. Coleman Sellers, in his engineering work, at the same time established an independent architectural practice in which he is now engaged, retaining his interest in the firm of Sellers & Rippey, consulting engineers. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, Franklin Institute, Pennsylvania Historical Society, Academy of Fine Arts, Phila. Sketch Club, University Club, Univ. of Penn. Chapter of Society of Sigma Xi; Penn. Society, Sons of the Revolution, Companion of Pennsylvania Commandery Order of Foreign Wars, Society Sons of American Revolution, etc. He m. at Rosemont, Delaware co., Penn., Nov. 22, 1899, Cora Wells, b. Jan. 10, 1869, dau. of Charles and Emily Seymour (Johnson) Wells, of Cincinnati, O. Her paternal ancestry is the same as that of Cornelia Wells, wife of Coleman Sellers, including descent from George Robert Twelves Hewes, of the Massachusetts Militia in the Revolutionary War, and one of the "Boston Tea Party" 1773. She is descended also from Governor William Bradford, John Howland, John and Elizabeth Tilly and Ruth Howland, all passengers on the "Mayflower," 1620. The children of Horace Wells and Cora (Wells) Sellers are as follows :- Horace Wells Sellers Jr., b. Aug. 21, 1900, d. April 28, 1902;
Lester Hoadley Sellers, b. Sept. 1I, 1901;
Charles Coleman Sellers, b. March 16, 1903;
Jessie Sellers, b. June 25, 1906.
Charles Willson Peale, father of Sophonisba Peale, wife of the first Coleman Sellers, was born in Queen Anne county, Maryland, April 15, 1741, the eldest son of Charles and Margaret (Triggs) Peale. Charles Peale, the father, came to Maryland from Rutlandshire, England, where his father and grandfather had
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been clergymen of the Established Church, and in turn rectors of St. Mary's at Edith Weston.
Charles Peale matriculated at St. John's College, Cambridge, as his father and grandfather had done, with view, it appears, to succeeding them in the church. Instead of remaining to take his degree, however, he came to Maryland, and at the time of his death was head master of the Kent County Free School at Ches- tertown.
Charles Willson Peale, the son, was eight years old at the time of his father's death, and in his thirteenth year was apprenticed to a saddler at Annapolis. Upon completing the term of his indenture at the age of twenty, he undertook the business on his own account with the financial assistance of one of his fath- er's friends, James Tilghman Esq., of the Eastern Shore, Maryland. His youth and inexperience, however, was taken advantage of by those with whom he had business dealings, and he was thus soon involved in financial difficulties, not- withstanding his industry and willingness to turn his hand to any craft that would enable him to meet his obligations. Writing of these early trials, he takes consolation in the fact that had he not been thus perplexed with debts he would not perhaps "have made those exertions to acquire knowledge in more advantage- ous professions but might have been contented to have drudged on in an unnoticed manner through life."
It was at this period that his natural taste for drawing which had developed during his school days aroused in him the desire to be a painter. After attempt- ing several portraits, he found an opportunity to receive some instructions from John Hesselius, a portrait painter, then living near Annapolis, and shortly after- wards visited Boston, where he had the benefit of further advice and instruction from Copley, and undertook several commissions for portraits in New England, and afterwards in Virginia, before finally returning to Annapolis. One of his paintings having attracted the attention of John Beale Bordley, Esq., an old friend of his family, Mr. Bordley was so impressed with Peale's talent that he determined to send him to England to study, and to provide the necessary means a purse was made up by the following gentlemen :- Governor Sharpe, Charles Car- roll, Barrister, Daniel Delaney, Robert Lloyd, Benjamin Tasker, Thomas Rin- gold, Benjamin Calvert, Thomas Sprigg, Daniel of St. Thomas Genefer, Charles Carroll of Carrolton, John Beale Bordley-all members of the Governor's Council.
Among the letters of introduction that Peale took to England was one from the Hon. William Allen, of Philadelphia, to Benjamin West, which resulted in his remaining under that artist's influence and instruction for two years, during which time he worked with great industry, studying also the paintings of other artists and acquired the art of miniature painting and of engraving in mezzotint. On his return to Annapolis his first object was the practice of his art, to discharge the debts remaining from his early business venture and his obligation to those gentlemen whose assistance had made his studies in England possible. He very shortly gained for himself a wide reputation as a portrait painter, and for the next twenty years devoted himself industriously to his art, becoming without ques- tion the most famous portrait painter in America during that period.
From the beginning of the troubles with England, Peale was an enthusiastic advocate of the cause of the Colonies, and at the time of his visit to New Eng- land in 1757, when the agitation over the passage of the Stamp Act was at its
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height, he assisted in making emblematic designs which were displayed at New- berryport on July 7th of that year to express the people's abhorrence of Parlia- ment's course. Afterwards, while residing in England, he records in his bio- graphical notes that he would never remove his hat as the King passed by.
Having moved to Philadelphia at the outbreak of hostilities, he promptly joined the militia and was appointed lieutenant of a company in 1776. He was in the battle of Trenton, December 26, 1776, and was shortly advanced to the rank of captain of Fourth Battalion of Philadelphia Militia, under Col. John Bayard, in the early part of 1777, and was in action with his company at the battle of Prince- ton, January 3, 1777. He was later captain of a company of foot in the Fourth Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Will, commissioned June 17, 1777, and was at the battle of Germantown, October 3-4, 1777, and at Whitemarsh and Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78.
In 1778 he served as one of the Commissioners of Forfeited Estates after the British had evacuated Philadelphia, and was moderator and chairman of various town meetings during this disturbed period in the city. In 1779 he represented the city of Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Assembly.
During the Revolutionary War he took advantage of such opportunities as offered to practice his art, and was commissioned by Congress to paint Washing- ton's portrait, besides being employed personally by Washington, Lafayette and others during this period. Aside from these commissions he labored indus- triously on his own account to secure portraits of his fellow officers and others prominently identified with the founding of the Republic, having in view a col- lection that would form the nucleus of a National Portrait Gallery.
In later years he became interested in Natural History, and acting on the advice of others, he was induced to augment the public interest in his painting room by exhibiting the objects of Natural History that he had collected. This ultimately resulted in the formation of the Museum of Natural History, so long associated with his name and which in value and importance ranked with many of the older museums in Europe at the same period. He was actuated by the hope that this Museum would become a national institution rather than a private enter- prise, and for twenty years he labored to this end with tireless energy and char- acteristic enthusiasm and at great personal and financial sacrifice. On the final incorporation of the Museum, Thomas Jefferson became its president or chair- man, and other leading citizens constituted the governing board, the management being entrusted largely to Mr. Peale's sons.
While his latter years were largely devoted to the improvement of his country place, "Belfield," Germantown, Mr. Peale found opportunity to resume his por- trait painting, which he had neglected during his labors for the Museum, and his renewed interest in this was stimulated by the improvement in color and tech- nique noticeable in the work of painters of the later school, including Stuart and Peale's son Rembrandt, who were then in vogue.
Although past his seventieth year, he took up his pencil with all the enthu- siasm of youth, and in the many portraits executed at this time there is a charm of color and freedom of touch in pleasing contrast to some of his earlier work.
Charles Willson Peale was thrice married : (first) to Rachel, daughter of John and Rachel (Mackubin) Brewer, of Annapolis, Maryland, by whom he had among other children, Rembrandt, Rubins, Angelica (wife of Alexander Rob-
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inson, of Baltimore), and Sophonisba, wife of Coleman Sellers. His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of William Depuyster, of New York City, by whom he had several children, and after her decease he married Hannah Moore, of Phil- adelphia, who died without issue. Charles Willson Peale's death occurred in Philadelphia, in February, 1827.
DIEHL FAMILY.
The German family of Diehl, of which the Diehl family of Philadelphia and vicinity is a branch, is of record on the heraldic tables at Vienna among the nobility of Augsburg, in which locality they had their residence for many genera- tions. The rank of the family as nobility is very ancient ; the first known ancestor being one Julius (probably not Julius Diel, as sometimes stated-family names not being then in use), who about A. D., 500, offered his services to Hlodwig or Clovis, King of the Franks, and attained much distinction in that monarch's wars against the remnant of the Roman power, as well as against the other Teutonic nations which at that time divided Gaul; receiving for his valor and success several badges of honor, one being a blue wing on the helmet. King Clovis made him Governor of Augsburg and granted him large domains near that city, the principal one being that called Diel. His descendants two hundred years later were known as the Nobles von Diehl, from this domain over which they were feudal lords. They continued to bear the badges of their ancestor Julius, the blue wing on the helmet and three roses on the shield. At a later period some of them served under Charle- magne, afterwards Emperor, when he subdued Bavaria, and he granted them further honors and emoluments. As the science of heraldry now gradually evolved out of the personal and family badges and marks of honor, used by the former semi-barbaric chieftains, those of Julius of Diel and his descendants the Nobles von Diehl, became the family coat-of-arms and crest. In A. D. 934, Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony, being then Holy Roman Emperor, secured these by patent to the Noble Wolfgang von Diehl, who distinguished himself at many war- like tournaments as well as in many of the wars of his time with the wild Hun- garians. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the family had a number of branches in that part of the Holy Roman Empire, now known as Germany. Some who came to Prussia with the Teutonic Knights are said to have fought at the battle of Tanneberg. Döring, district of Oesterode, and Zandersdorf, district of Labian, were holdings of the Diehls in 1500. The Döring branch, who were one of the most illustrious and most mighty families in the district of Oesterode and reckoned as one belonging to the oldest native nobility, abode at the present manor of Döhringen. George Albrecht von Diehl was Seigneur of Popelkin, Driessig- huben, etc., about 1625; he was of the Zandersdorf branch. At the death of George Gotthards von der Diehl, of Zandersdorf, in the last quarter of the seven- teenth century this branch terminated in the male line, though he had a sister Maria von der Diehl, who lived until 1719.
Although the continuity of this family is established, it is rather curious that a total change of the armorial has taken place. Günther von der Diehl, a principal member of Prussian League, 1440, as well as his near relations, bore three cut down stems of trees with two branches diagonal lying toward the left, helmet crowned, upon a peacock's tail two of the tree-stems crossed; pavilion red and white.
A seal of this time also shows three swords instead of the stems of trees. The
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DIEHL
Zandersdorf branch bore: In a blue field a white deer with a gold necklace, issu- ing from a gold crown ; helmet crowned with deer issuant ; pavilion blue and white.
At the time of the Thirty Years War, descendants of Noble Wolfgang von Diehl were among the nobility of Bavaria, the Rhine States and Northern Germany. The Philadelphia branch sprang from one of these, a family settled in the city of Frankfort-on-the-Main. In the first half of the nineteenth century (the American branch being then well established) this family was still represented in Frankfort by Philip Karl Diehl, Doctor of German Law, and member of the Senate about 1817, and Carl Diehl, a Senator in 1837 and after. Illustrating the above remarks on a change of the armorial bearings of the family, it may be mentioned that the Government Almanac of 1817 gives the arms of Philip Karl Diehl as: On a blue escutcheon a silver cross-beam, with one gold star above and two below; helmet crowned, with two wings and a star between. The Philadelphia family have always used the arms and crest nearly as granted to the Noble Wolfgang von Diehl, which it is claimed Capt. Nicholas Diehl, the founder, brought with him, with proper authority, as his authentic arms : Azure, on a bend argent three arti- ficial (conventional) roses; crest, a blue wing, surcharged with the silver bend and roses.
NICHOLAS DIEHL was born in Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, in or about 1741, and came to Pennsylvania when about twenty years of age. He arrived in Philadelphia, 1761, in the "Snow Squirrel," from Rotterdam, via Portsmouth, England. He took the oath of allegiance to King George III, October 21, 1761, which was probably the day of the arrival of the vessel, because foreigners were required to take the oath as soon as possible, being generally marched direct from the wharf to the Courthouse for that purpose. His full name was Johan Nicolaus Diehl, but he dropped the first name, "Johan," after coming to Pennsylvania, and anglicized "Nicolaus" to "Nicholas." It was a German custom to prefix "Johan" to the names of male children as an extra baptismal name, seldom used in after life, unless it was intended as the principal name; this was done with several of Nicholas Diehl's sons.
It has been mentioned above that he probably brought with him some proof of his noble descent and right to bear coat-armor ; a silver plate with the Diehl arms engraved upon it, still in the family, was his or his children's, who had knowl- edge of their authenticity. That his family had considerable wealth, and had well supplied him, is evident, for after about seven years' residence in the city of Philadelphia he was able to purchase a good-sized tract of land on Tinicum Island, then in Ridley township, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he then took up his residence. On the tax list of 1768 for that township, his name appears as "Nicolas Deal" for 105 acres and 20 cattle. On the tax lists of succeed- ing years his name appears with various spellings as follows: In Ridley township :
1769 Nicolas Dale
126 acres, 2 horses, 3 cattle, I servant
1771 Nicolas Deel
126
2
2
2
1774 Nicolas Dee
435
8
80
I
1779 Nicolas Dheale
159
:
6
18
2
1780 Nicolas Dheale
159
"
6
"
18
¥
1781 Nicholas . Diehl
160
:
12
20
Nich's Diehl
198
¥
Diehl & Grsff
27
Graff & Diehl
200
2
45
2 3
At that time Nicholas Diehl was the largest landowner in the township, owned
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by far the largest number of horses and was the only person in the township having more than one servant.
The Graff who appears as joint owner with him was Christopher Graff (rated individually in addition to the above as owner of 66 acres, 2 horses, and three cattle), with whom he was concerned in some ventures of horse and cattle breed- ing. After this date the assessments rated by money values; in 1785 Nicholas Diehl was taxed £16 9s 5d, the largest amount levied in the township. When Delaware county was erected September 26, 1789, from part of Chester county, Tinicum (as well as Ridley) township, became part of the new county.
In Nicholas Diehl's time, what is now Tinicum Island was a number of islands (a good portion of all of them partially submerged) separated by small channels have since been filled in and the flats reclaimed by banks being built. The island on which Nicholas Diehl's land was situated, or Tinicum Island, proper, was the lower or most southwesterly one, and was surrounded by Long Hook Creek, Darby Creek and the Delaware river. It was originally patented to the Swedish Governor, John Printz, November 6, 1643; and on it stood the celebrated Printz Hall, and the seat of the Swedish government on the Delaware, the site of which is now covered by the encroaching river.
After having several owners under the Swedish, Dutch and English govern- ments, Tinicum Island became, 1683-84, the property of Christopher Taylor, one of the principal statesmen under Penn's government, and from him went down in the Taylor and Elliott families, his descendants. In 1748 Christopher Elliott, whose son, Israel, married Nicholas Diehl's daughter, Sarah, had 256 acres of the island. It appears from the will of Christopher Elliott, dated February 2, 1784, that his plantation on Tinicum Island was then occupied by Nicholas Diehl. John Hill Martin, in his "History of Chester," says, "Nicholas Diehl lived in the fine old country mansion, adjacent to the Lazaretto Station, on the west side of the old line of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad," now the Ches- ter branch of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway.
Nicholas Diehl was an early and active participant in the War of the Revolu- tion. At the meeting of a number of the inhabitants of Chester county, held at the Courthouse in Chester, December 20, 1774, he was chosen a member of the Committee of Observation for that county, "to carry into execution the resolves of the late Continental Congress," and to take into consideration measures for the defense of their liberties, etc. This Committee of Observation had charge, later on, of the military affairs of the county. Nicholas Diehl was also a member of the sub-committee to drive off cattle to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy, in 1777, in case the seat of war approached the vicinity.
When the Associators of Chester county were organized, 1775, he joined the company formed in Ridley township, and in 1776 was captain of Third Company, in Col. Hugh Lloyd's Third Battalion of Chester County Militia, with which he participated in the New Jersey and Long Island campaigns, and took part in the (to the Americans) disastrous battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, having thirty-eight men under his command. When the militia was organized into battalions, without reference to township limits, 1777, he was commissioned cap- tain of the Fifth Company, Third Battalion, Chester County Militia, commanded by Col. Caleb Davis. His commission, which as well as his sword, is now in possession of his great-great-grandson, Joseph Lybrand Stichter, of Reading, Pennsylvania, reads as follows :
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DIEHL
"In the name and by the authority of the Freeman of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl- vania.
"The Supreme Executive Council of the said Commonwealth, to Nicholas Diehl, Esquire, We, reposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Patriotism, Valour, Conduct and Fidel- ity, Do by these Presents, constitute and appoint you to be Captain of a Company of Foot, in the 3rd Battalion of Militia in the County of Chester. You are therefor, carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of Captain by doing and so performing all manner of things thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your command to be obedient to your orders as Captain. And you are to observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from the Supreme Execu- tive Council of the Commonwealth, or from your superior officers according to the Rules and Discipline of War and in pursuance of the Acts of Assembly of this State. This Com- mission to continue in force until per term, by the Laws of the State, shall, of course expire. "Given under the Lesser Seal of the Commonwealth at Philadelphia, the 14th day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven.
Attest, T. Matlack, Sec'y." Tho. Wharton, Junr.
Prest.
The battalion of Col. Caleb Davis was eventually reorganized into one of light horse. Nicholas Diehl was captain of the First Company or Troop in this, then called the Sixth Battalion (Volunteers), in 1780-81, and probably remained in the service until the end of the war. His sword was exhibited among the Revolu- tionary relics at the Atlanta (Georgia) Exposition, in 1895. ,
Shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia Nicholas Diehl joined in membership with St. Michael's and Zion Church, the earliest Lutheran congregation in the city. Most of the German arrivals at that time were Lutherans, and nearly all of the upper class of them, some of whom founded families of high position in Philadelphia, belonged to this church. After removing to Tinicum Island he con- tinued his membership at St. Michael's and Zion until 1806, when he joined with those members who wished to have the services in English, and they formed St. John's Evangelical Church, located on the north side of Race street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, Philadelphia.
Nicholas Diehl married, February 21, 1763, in St. Michael's and Zion Church, Philadelphia, Anna Maria Meyerlin, born 1743, died June, 1827. In the record his name is spelled "Nicolaus Thiel." In all the early records of the German churches here the feminine termination "in" is usually added to the surnames of females, but in this case the name was undoubtedly Meyerlin, as the names of two male witnesses to this marriage are spelled in the same way, viz., Conrad Meyerlin, and G. C. Meyerlin; although the name is sometimes found spelled "Meyerle," and "Meyerly."
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