USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial and revolutionary families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and personal memoirs, Volume II > Part 29
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ALEXANDER CARSTAIRS, "of the Damsyde of Straithearlie," parish of Largo, County Fife, Scotland, who was married to Christiane Gutcher, daughter of Thomas Gutcher, April 8, 1687, was probably a grandson of James Carstairs, the elder of St. Andrews in 1652, and son of David Carstairs, who appears as a witness to marriages, etc., 1673-80; the marriage and baptismal records of the parish of Largo being blank for the two generations preceding the date of Alexander Carstairs' marriage. The baptisms of five sons of Alexander and Christiane (Gutcher) Carstairs appear of record between 1693 and 1703, viz .: Andrew, who died in infancy; James, Thomas, whose marriage to Christine Wilson appears of record February 23, 1724; John and Andrew.
JAMES CARSTAIRS, son of Alexander and Christiane (Gutcher) Carstairs, was baptised August 12, 1694, and his marriage contract with Christian Adamson, of the same parish (probably a daughter of Alexander Adamson of Dykendock, who later appears as a sponsor at the baptism of her children) who proclaimed in the Parish Church of Largo, April 30, 1720, and their parents consenting, were "orderly proclaimed and married by Mr. Moncrieff, our Minister, the First day of June, 1720." In the baptismal record of his first child, Margaret, December 3, 1716, by a former marriage, he is described as of "Aitherney Cotton," but in the baptism of his children by Christian Adamson beginning with David, April 2, 1721, and ending with Robert, August 5, 1737, he is described as of "the Kirktown of Largo." These children were: David, of whom presently; Chris- tine, married John Wood, December 18, 1746; Anne, married Robert Lesle, in 1753; Sophia, married Nathaniel Webster, in 1748; Flora; James; Margaret ; and Robert.
DAVID CARSTAIRS, eldest child of James and Christian (Adamson) Carstairs, of the Kirktown of Largo, was born there, and baptised April 2, 1721, and was residing there November 16, 1751, when was proclaimed his marriage contract with Margaret Fair, of the parish of Kilconguhar, a few miles east of Largo, on the shores of the Firth of Forth, near the termination of Largo Bay, and they were married at Kilconguhar, December 2, 1751, by Mr. Clidesdale, the minister
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there. The children of David and Margaret (Fair) Carstairs, as shown by the baptismal record of the parish of Largo, were: James, baptised December 3, 1752, died in infancy ; David, baptised April 20, 1755; James, baptised May 25, 1756; John, baptised December 20, 1757, later a merchant in London, referred to hereafter; Thomas, baptised August 23, 1759; and Cecile, baptised July 23, 1761.
THOMAS CARSTAIRS, youngest son of David and Margaret (Fair) Carstairs, born at the parish town of Largo, County Fife, Scotland, in 1756, and baptised at the parish church there, August 23, 1759, came to Philadelphia in the year 1780, and engaged in business there as an architect and builder, which business he fol- lowed during the active years of his life. He became a member of St. Andrew's Society in 1786, and was one of its most prominent and active members. He served as one of the committee on revision of the laws of the Society, and signed the revised charter. During the terrible scourge of yellow fever in Philadelphia, he was one of the Board of Health, with Stephen Girard, appointed to take measures for the suppression of the plague. He died July 28, 1830. He mar- ried, in Philadelphia, September 16, 1785, Sarah (Hood) Bradford, widow of Joseph Bradford, whom she had married in 1774.
David Carstairs, the eldest son, born in 1787, went to London, England, and lived for some years with his uncle John Carstairs, a prominent London mer- chant ; became a major in the English army, and died in India in 1820.
JAMES CARSTAIRS, second son of Thomas and Sarah (Hood) Carstairs, was born in Philadelphia, December 9, 1789, and died February 3, 1875. He was for many years cashier of the Mechanics' Bank of Philadelphia, and was noted for the courtesy and business tact which he exercised in his intercourse with the patrons of the bank. About the year 1834 he engaged in business as a wholesale grocer and ship chandler on Delaware Avenue, above South Street, and did a large and profitable business. At that time American merchantmen were doing a large shipping business from this port, and the wharves were almost always crowded with American shipping, and business was exceedingly brisk on the river front. Twelve ships, comprising three lines of packets, were then running to Liverpool from Philadelphia, two lines were running to London, and two to Amsterdam, and a large fleet of ships and brigs were trading with the West Indies and South American ports. In addition to these a great number of vessels, mostly owned by Philadelphians, were carrying on a large trade with the Orient. During the time James Carstairs was carrying on business as a ship chandler, John McCrea alone owned ten square rigged vessels which were en- gaged in the China trade, and there were at least twenty more vessels owned by Philadelphia merchants, engaged in the same trade, so that the business of sup- plying these vessels with equipment and provisions was a very extensive one, and James Carstairs had the bulk of it. He was an upright business man of wide ac- quaintance and good repute, and a consistent Christian and useful citizen. He gave much of his time and means to benevolent objects, and was for many years president of the Southwark Benevolent Society. He served during the greater part of his adult life as a member of the board of directors of the public schools, and filled many other positions of public trust. He was one of the early mem- bers of St. Andrew's Society, joining in 1813. He died in February, 1875, in his eighty-sixth year.
James Carstairs married, March 25, 1819, Sarah Britton Summers, daugh-
James Carstairs Fr.
Mary Off Barstand
From painting by Rembrandt Peale.
Daniel Haddock Jr.
-
James Carstairs Jr.
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ter of Andrew Summers, a wealthy banker of Philadelphia, and an intimate friend of Robert Morris, the "Financier of the Revolution," by his wife Helen Stewart, sister of Admiral Charles Stewart. An interesting fact connected with this marriage is that Jerome Bonaparte was one of the ushers at the wedding, and presented the bride with an elegant gold chain, of unusual length, which has been treasured by succeeding generations of this family.
They had issue : six sons and two daughters, viz. : David Carstairs, born Sep- tember 3, 1821; Charles Stewart Carstairs, born September 8, 1824, who mar- ried a daughter of Hon. Morton McMichael, and was for many years a promi- nent merchant of Philadelphia, a member of the firm of Jauretch & Carstairs ; Major Thomas Carstairs, born October 31, 1826; Sarah B. Carstairs, born De- cember 26, 1829, married Algernon Sidney Roberts, of Philadelphia; James Car- stairs Jr., of whom presently; Helen Carstairs, who married Rev. Gideon I. Burton, of Philadelphia; and Robert Carstairs, born 1841, who was killed at the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, May 31, 1862.
JAMES CARSTAIRS JR., fifth son and sixth child of James and Sarah Britton (Summers) Carstairs, was born in Philadelphia, March 13, 1834. He, like his elder brother, Charles S., engaged in the mercantile business on arriving at ma- ture years, and was one of the prominent wholesale merchants of Philadelphia, being senior member of the firm of Carstairs, McCall & Co. for many years prior to his death, which occurred May 28, 1893. He was prominently asso- ciated with a number of the financial, industrial, and benevolent institutions of his native city.
James Carstairs Jr., married, March 22, 1860, Mary White Haddock, born in Philadelphia, who still survives him. She is a daughter of Daniel Haddock Jr., who was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, November 12, 1806, and died in Philadelphia, January 21, 1890, and his wife, Catharine Lucy Stevenson Shinn, daughter of John Shinn, Jr., of Philadelphia, of the prominent New Jersey fam- ily of that name, and his wife Mary White, daughter of Dr. John White, the eminent Revolutionary surgeon.
On the paternal side, Mrs. Carstairs is of early New England ancestry. Her grandfather, Daniel Haddock, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, died at Lynn, Massachusetts, October 18, 1846, and his wife, Abigail Haseltine, was born at Haverhill, March 27, 1780, and died at Lynn, April 27, 1875. The latter was a great-great-great-granddaughter of Robert Haseltine, who came from Eng- land and settled in Rowley, Massachusetts, in 1638, married there December 23, 1639, Anne -
- -, and located in Bradford, Massachusetts, where he died Au- gust 27, 1674, and his wife on July 26, 1684.
Abraham Haseltine, son of Robert and Anne, was born in Bradford, Mas- sachusetts, May 23, 1648, and died there, April 28, 1711. He married Elizabeth Longhorne, who was born at Rowley, Massachusetts, September, 1649, and died at Bradford, March 27, 1704.
Richard Haseltine, son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Longhorne) Haseltine, was born at Bradford, Massachusetts, November 13, 1679, and died there March 8, 1755. He was deacon of the church at Bradford and a lieutenant of the Pro- vincial forces of Essex county. He married Abigail Chadwick, who was born in 1683, presumably in Malden, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, and died in Bradford, July 24, 1743.
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John Haseltine, grandfather of Abigail (Haseltine) Haddock, was born in Bradford, Massachusetts, November 22, 1708, and was a son of Lieutenant Rich- ard Haseltine and his wife, Abigail Chadwick. He married Mary Ingalls, of Chester, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, and removed there, where he died October 16, 1757. His widow, who was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, November 29, 1714, returned to Bradford, Massachusetts, after her husband's death, and died there October 13, 1779.
James Haseltine, son of John and Mary (Ingalls) Haseltine, and father of Abigail (Haseltine) Haddock, was born in Chester, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, March 27, 1750, and returned with his mother to Essex county, Mas- sachusetts, after the death of his father. He married Abigail Mooers, and located in Haverhill, where he died May 17, 1833. His wife Abigail, who was born in Haverhill, Essex county, Massachusetts, January 6, 1754, died at Haverhill, September 20, 1820.
Dr. John White, the maternal great-grandfather of Mary White (Haddock) Carstairs, was born in the City of New York, June 24, 1759. He was a student at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, and early in 1775 came to Philadelphia to study medicine, but joined the Philadelphia Battalion of Associators, under Colonel Thomas Mc- Kean, in July, 1776, and marched with that battalion to the support of Wash- ington's army immediately after the passage by Congress of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, and was stationed at Amboy for about three months, when the battalion was disbanded and he returned to Philadelphia, and resumed his medical studies. In January, 1777, he was appointed surgeon's mate in the General Hospital, at the "Bettering House", Philadelphia, where he was en- gaged in tending the sick and wounded soldiers until the approach of Howe's army, when the sick were transferred to hospitals in New Jersey, and he served successively in the hospitals at Burlington, Princeton and New Brunswick, New Jersey, and at Valley Forge, Yellow Springs and Lightfoot's Barn, in Pennsyl- vania, until the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, in June, 1778, when he was again ordered to the hospital at the "Bettering House," where he was stationed until August, 1779, when he was appointed surgeon on board the privateer, "Morning Star", and later filled the same position on board the twenty-gun ship, "Rising Sun", which was captured by the British frigate "Medea", July 1, 1780, and Dr. White was a prisoner of war in the notorious pri- sonship "Jersey" and in New York City for about fifteen months, suffering great hardships. The details of his service in various capacities is so well given in the manuscripts of Dr. J. M. Toner in the Library of Congress that we give Dr. Toner's sketch in full:
"John White, surgeon's mate, and subsequently surgeon in the Revolutionary War, was born in the city of New York in June, 1759. At the commencement of hostilities he was a student at Princeton College, N. J., but the excitement which followed the fight at Lex- ington, Mass., April 19, 1775, rendered it impossible for him to apply his mind to study, and as most of the students shortly after dispersed, he moved to Philadelphia, to enter upon the study of medicine. Shortly after the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress, July 4, 1776, John White joined a regiment of militia com- manded by Colonel Thomas Mckean, afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania, and which was stationed for about three months at Amboy. Upon his return he was appointed surgeon's mate in the General Hospital at the 'Bettering House,' in January, 1777, con-
From painting by Rembrandt Peale.
Dr. John White
From painting by Rembrandt Pealc.
Catharene Lucy Haddock
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tinuing there during the ravages of jail or hospital fever introduced by the prisoners lib- erated from confinement in New York City. A grave form of dysentery also prevailed at this time among the men connected with the Flying Camp,' and which proved fatal to numerous physicians and nurses. Dr. White was twice brought to death's door by hospital fever.
"On the approach of the enemy to Philadelphia, which they captured Sept. 26th, 1777, he was successively transferred to duty in the hospitals at Burlington, Princeton, New Brunswick, in New Jersey, and at Valley Forge, Yellow Springs, and Lightfoot's Barn, in Pennsylvania. After the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, June 18, 1778, he was again ordered to the 'Bettering House.'
"During the period of his service there he had suffered much in his health from hard duty and disease, and his monthly pay, owing to the depreciation of the paper cur- rency, was insufficient to clothe him. He left the hospital with the approbation of the commanding officer in August, 1779, to accept the appointment of surgeon to the privateer, 'Morning Star,' commanded by Captain Gardner, in which he made two cruises in com- pany with the elder Captain Decatur.
"Among the prizes taken by this privateer was a transport with Hessians, which had been cut off from the British fleet going into New York City. The vessel was sent to Egg Harbor. Shortly after this John White was appointed surgeon to the 'Rising Sun,' a twenty-gun ship built at Egg Harbor, and which was captured by the British frigate 'Medea,' July Ist, 1780. The Doctor was carried to South Carolina, where he was con- fined in the prison ship four months, and then transferred with other survivors to the Jersey prison-Ship, at New York City.
"In addition to the many cruelties inflicted on the prisoners in that infamous prison ship, about 150 prisoners were mustered and selected under the pretence of being sent on board of a cartel for exchange, who were taken out at midnight to be distributed among a fleet of war vessels anchored near Sandy Hook, ready to sail. Dr. White, with twenty-seven others was put on board the flag-ship 'London,' ninety guns, and as soon as it was light they were ordered to assist at the windlass in weighing the anchor, which if refused, punishment was threatened. In this emergency he addressed himself to the lieutenant in command, representing his unfitness for such service, and the position he oc- cupied when captured, when after one night's detention he was returned to the old prison ship.
"The British surgeons, to relieve themselves from a dangerous and disagreeable duty, procured the attendance of American surgeons to wait on the sick, which appointment was duly accepted by them, as it included the privilege of a boat to go on board the hos- pital ships and occasionally on shore to obtain medicines and provisions for the sick. Dr. Nathan Dorsey, a surgeon on board one of our captured frigates, who had been assigned by his captors to this duty, was exchanged, and the subject of this sketch, Dr. John White, succeeded him after about four months detention on the 'Jersey,' in attendance on the sick American prisoners. After continuing a prisoner for seven months in New York City, Dr. White was exchanged through the kind efforts of friends."
Returning to Philadelphia, he took up the practice of medicine which con- tinued to the date of his death in Philadelphia, July 7, 1838, in his eightieth year. He took an active interest in municipal affairs, and was a prominent can- didate for sheriff of Philadelphia county in 1820.
Mary White (Haddock) Carstairs, still resides in Philadelphia, she is first vice-president of the Presbyterian Orphanage, in Philadelphia, established by her mother, Catharine Lucy (Shinn) Haddock, and also vice-president of the Bible Readers Society ; manager of the Sea-Side Home, Cape May Point, New Jersey; and president of the Haddock Memorial Home for Infants, endowed by her mother Catharine Lucy Haddock. She is a member of the Society of New England Women for Philadelphia, and other patriotic and social organi- zations. She and her husband, James Carstairs, Jr., had nine children, viz :-
Lucy Haddock Carstairs, b. Jan. 16, 1861, unm .;
Daniel Haddock Carstairs, b. Feb. 7, 1862; m. Louise Orne, of whom presently ;
John Haseltine Carstairs, b. Aug. 7, 1863; m. Belle Wolf Wilson, of whom presently; Charles Stewart Carstairs, b. Aug. 2, 1865; m. Esther Holmes Haseltine; of whom pres- ently ;
Helen Burton Carstairs, b. Aug. 28, 1867, d. Jan. 18, 1904; m. (first) Chas. S. Phillips, of N. Y. (second) Cornelius Van Buren Burrel;
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Emily Frances Carstairs, b. Dec. 11, 1869; m. April 22, 1895, Walton Ferguson, Jr., of Stamford, Conn., and has issue:
Emily Frances Ferguson, b. Feb. 12, 1900;
Mary White Carstairs, b. Aug. 19, 1871; m. Feb. 18, 1895, Stephan de Kosenko, and had issue :
Mary Carstairs de Kosenko, b. March 23, 1897;
Emily Frances de Kosenko, b. Jan. 2, 1899;
Lucille de Kosenko, b. Oct. 18, 1901 ;
Lena Farr Carstairs, b. March 24, 1878, m. (first) Nov. 9, 1898, Francis A. Janney, and had issue :
Emily Hall Janney, b. Sept. 5, 1899;
Mary White Janney, b. March 17, 1901 ; Helen Moore Janney, b. Jan. 18, 1903;
She m. (second) March 21, 1908, Mario Montu, of Turin, Italy, where they reside.
James Carstairs Jr., b. Jan. 2, 1880, m. March 31, 1906, Priscilla Moore Taylor, dau. of Matthew H. Taylor, of Erie, Pa., President of Pittsburg Coal Co. They had issue :
Priscilla Moore Carstairs, b. March 18, 1907.
DANIEL HADDOCK CARSTAIRS, eldest son and second child of James Jr. and Mary White (Haddock) Carstairs, born in Philadelphia, February 7, 1862, was educated at the Few-Smith Academy, Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1879. He engaged with his father in the distilling business in Philadelphia, as a member of the firm of Carstairs, McCall & Co., distillers of and wholesale dealers in liquors, 254 South 3rd street, and succeeded his father as senior mem- ber of the firm at the latter's death, and with his brother, John Haseltine Car- stairs, still continues the business established by his father. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution, in right of descent from Sur- geon John White, his maternal great-great-grandfather; a member of the New England Society, and of the following social organizations, viz : the Union League, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Germantown Cricket Club, Philadelphia Country Club, and Racquet Club, of Philadelphia, and the Maryland Club, of Baltimore.
He married (first) November 27, 1883, Louise Orne, born August 4, 1862, daughter of Edward B. and Elizabeth (Boldin) Orne, of Philadelphia; and (second) April 21, 1906, Viola Howard, daughter of Francis Howard, of Bos- ton, Massachusetts. By his first wife, Louise Orne, Mr. Carstairs had issue : Eliz- abeth Boldin Carstairs, born December 2, 1884, who married, January 9, 1907, William Moore Stewart (3d), of Philadelphia; and Mary Haddock Carstairs, born May 24, 1889.
JOHN HASELTINE CARSTAIRS, second son of James and Mary White (Had- dock) Carstairs, born in Philadelphia, August 7, 1863, is also a member of the firm of Carstairs, McCall & Co., and prominently identified with the business in- terests of his native city.
He is a member of the Pennsylvania Society Sons of the Revolution, in right of descent from Surgeon John White; a member of the Union League, Phila- delphia Country, Philadelphia Racquet, Art, and Corinthian Yacht Clubs, of Philadelphia ; and of the New England Society; Maryland Club, of Baltimore, and the Union League Club, of New York.
He married, April 30, 1884, Belle Wolf Wilson, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Wolf) Wilson, of Philadelphia, and they have one daughter, Lor- raine Wilson Carstairs, born June 2, 1889.
CHARLES STEWART CARSTAIRS, third son of James and Mary White (Had- dock) Carstairs, was born in Philadelphia, August 2, 1865, and resided in New
O
Mluvil Haddock Baretous
John Haseltine Earsfairo
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York. Charles Stewart Carstairs went to New York City in 1898, and entered the firm of Knoedler & Co., art dealers, with whom he has continued to the pres- ent time. He has charge of the London branch of this house and is considered one of the best art critics in this country, and in London and Paris. He is a member of the Union League Club of Philadelphia, the Racquet Club of New York, and of several clubs in England. At this date he has his home in Eng- land. He married, January 14, 1886, Esther Holmes Haseltine, daughter of Charles F. and Elizabeth Haseltine, and they have four children, viz :- Charles Haseltine Carstairs, born October 5, 1886; Carroll Carstairs, born March 20, 1888; James Stewart Carstairs, born June 2, 1890; and Elizabeth Haseltine Car- stairs, born November 2, 1891.
DENNY FAMILY
The present generation are lineal descendants of Major Ebenezer Denny, the famous Revolutionary soldier who fought the foreign enemies of his country on sea and land during the Revolution, as well as their savage allies of the for- est, and in the war of 1812 was of great service to the American army, although then over fifty years of age. He was on a "privateer", was at the surrender at Yorktown, was with General Arthur St. Clair, November 4, 1791, and bore the news of his disastrous defeat to President Washington at Philadelphia. Thus he served all through the struggle for Independence, at sea, on land, and in the forest, in victory or defeat, bearing well his part. In peace also was he great as will be shown. Major Denny was of the third generation of the Denny fam- ily in America.
The family is of English descent, the American ancestor being William Denny, who came to this country prior to 1735, and settled in Uwchlan township, Chester county, Pennsylvania. The records show and the histories of Chester and Cum- berland counties confirm that he took up and patented two hundred and ninety three acres of land in that township. His ownership is further confirmed by the fact that in 1777, he and his wife, Margaret conveyed a tract to their eldest son, David Denny, a Revolutionary soldier of record. William Denny died in 1784, aged seventy-seven years. His wife Margaret died in May, 1794, aged seventy-six years. They had three sons: David, William and Walter. David had the homestead farm; William and Walter removed to Cumberland county in 1745.
WILLIAM DENNY, son of William and Margaret Denny, was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, and died at his home in Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, about the year 1800. He was by trade a carpenter and cabinet maker. He contracted for and built the court house at Carlisle in 1765, which was destroyed by fire in 1845. He is on the tax lists of Carlisle (1762-63) as the owner of lot No. 29, on West Main street, where he resided in a well-built log house. This house stood as one of Carlisle's ancient land marks until 1894, when it was torn down to make way for a more modern building. In the old turnpike and "mule train" days, it was a prominent public house and a depot of supplies for the Pittsburgh trade. William Denny was the first coroner of Cum- berland county, and during the Revolutionary War, commissioner of issues. He was a gentleman of the old school, high-minded and courteous to the extreme. All of William Denny's nine children were born in this house. It is a matter of regret that the familiar landmark had to go, but the old log house still lives in "Denny Memorial Hall", one of the Dickinson College buildings, as Miss Matil- da W. Denny presented the lot and building to the college and the proceeds from the sale of the property were used to erect "Denny Memorial Hall" at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. William Denny married Agnes Parker, who was born in 1741, a daughter of John and Margaret (McClure) Parker. John was a son of Richard and Janet Parker, Ulster county, Ireland, folks, who emigrated in 1725
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