Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 3

Author: Jordan, John Woolf, 1840-1921, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 978

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Issue of Dr. Hiram and Ann Jones (Foulke) Corson :-

Dr. Edward Foulke Corson, b. Oct. 14, 1834, d. June 22, 1864; grad. from Med. Dept. of Univ. of Pa., 1855; practiced for short time with his father and at Con- shohocken; was appointed Assistant Surgeon of U. S. Navy and spent three years on board the flagship "Hartford" in the far east, returning in 1861; was made Surgeon of Naval Hospital at Phila., but seeking active duty, was assigned to the "Mohican," on which he served in that vessel's chase after Confederate ship "Alabama" for eighteen months. He d. a few weeks after his return home of typhoid fever.

Dr. Joseph K. Corson, b. Nov. 2, 1836; entered drug-store of William and John Savery, Phila., at close of school days and grad. in pharmacy at age of 22; volun- teered in Fourth Pa. Regiment, Apr. 20, 1861, as Corporal, honorably discharged as Sergeant, at expiration of his three months' service. July 26, 1861; became Medical Cadet on duty in Army Hospital, Broad and Cherry Sts., Phila., June, 1861, and served to March, 1863, when he graduated from Med. Dept. of Univ. of Pa., and was made Assistant Surgeon of 6th Regiment Penna. Reserve Corps; received brevet as Maj. for faithful and meritorious service during the Wilder- ness campaign in Va., March 13, 1865; returned home at close of war and prac- ticed medicine with father until Nov., 1867, when he entered the U. S. Army as Assistant Surgeon with rank of First Lieut., rose to rank of Maj., and served in various parts of the Union, until his retirement after over thirty years of service, Nov. 30, 1897; m. Nov. 2, 1874, Mary Ada, dau. of Judge William Alexander Carter of Fort Bridger, Wy .;

Caroline Corson, b. Apr. 2, 1839, d. July 25, 1865;

Tacy Foulke Corson, b. Jan. 26, 1841; m. William L. Cresson, son of James and Mary L. Cresson, and had issue :

Charles Follen Corson, b. Nov. 22, 1842, grad. at Univ. of Pa., Coll. Dept .; studied law in office of William Henry Rawle, Esq., Phila., was admitted to Phila. Bar, and practiced his profession until death, May 30, 1889; served in Emergency Regi- ment 1862-3; m. (first) Mary, dau. of Lewis A. Lukens, who d. Dec. 14, 1876; m. (second) 1889, Margaret Slemmer, of Norristown, who survived him;

Susan Foulke Corson, b. Aug. 9, 1845, m. Nov. 26, 1868, Jawood Lukens, prominent

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iron manufacturer, youngest son of Leis A. Lukens, original partner in Alan Wood Iron & Steel Co. Jawood Lukens, named for his maternal grandfather J. A. Wood, the earliest iron manufacturer in the Schuylkill Valley, was b. in 1843, grad. at Polytechnic college of Phila. in 1865 as Civil Engineer, took interest in firm of Alan Wood Co. in 1873, but withdrew in 1881, and started the Long- mead Iron Co., with which later was incorporated Conshohocken Tube Works of which he was founder. He was Pres. of Longmead Iron Co. at his death, March 10, 1908. He served in Town Council of Conshohocken; was long director of First National Bank and Tradesman's Bank of Conshohocken, and Quaker City National Bank of Phila .; many years Treas. and manager of Conshohocken Water Works, and filled many other positions of trust and honor; was member of American Institute of Mining Engineers; Engineer's Club, of Phila .; Franklin Institute; Union League, Art Club, and Manufacturers' Club. He had no chil- dren.

Bertha Corson, b. Dec. 17, 1847; m. June 17, 1868, James, son of James Yocum, of Phila., where they still reside; they had seven children;

Frances Stockton Corson, b. Oct. 25, 1849, m. Nov. 12, 1874, Richard Hopper, son of Charles and Anna (Miles) Day, of Phila .; they live in Germantown, and have three children;

Mary Corson, b. Nov. 26, 1852, d. unm.

REBECCA JONES FOULKE, born at Penllyn, May 18, 1829, married, ir 1857, Robert Rodgers Corson, then a business man of Philadelphia. He was born in New Hope, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, May 3, 1831, and was a son of Dr. Rich- ard D. Corson, by his wife, Helen Stockton, daughter of Thomas Potts Johnson, one of the most eminent lawyers of New Jersey ; and granddaughter of William Johnson, a native of Ireland, who came to America about 1750, and married some years later, Ruth Potts, of the distinguished family of that name at Trenton, New Jersey. He was a man of high scholastic attainments, and a great student of scientific subjects. After residing some years in Philadelphia, he removed to Charleston, South Carolina, where he died in 1767. Anothor son, Samuel John- son, born in Philadelphia in 1765, resided many years in Buckingham, Bucks county, and was the grandfather of the late Hon. Edward M. Paxson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

RICHARD CORSON, second son of Benjamin (second) and Maria (Suydam) Corson, was baptized at Southampton Church, as "Ryck," the Dutch form of the name Richard, on April 2, 1745. He was probably three times married, as the record in a Bible in possession of his descendants names Hannah (Davis) Mauls- by, the mother of his children, as his "second wife," and gives the date of her birth as January 1, 1743, and that of her death as June 4, 1807; whereas at the death of Richard in 1812, his widow "Johannah Courson" renounced letters of administration on his estate. Hannah Maulsby, maiden name Davis, was a widow with one son, Samuel Maulsby, on her marriage to Richard Corson. They lived for some years on the York road at Bridge Valley, Warwick township, Bucks county, where he was proprietor of a hotel, and in 1787, removed to Solebury township, near New Hope, where he purchased in that year a large tract of land. Richard Corson died in Solebury, November 14, 1812, and was buried at North- ampton. He left two children, Richard Davis Corson, of whom presently, and Hannah, who married John Bye, of Buckingham.

RICHARD DAVIS CORSON, M. D., only son of Richard and Hannah, was born. probably in Warwick township, Bucks county, January 1, 1785, and was reared in Solebury township, Bucks county. He studied medicine with Dr. John Wilson,

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of Buckingham, but prior to settling down to the practice of his profession, took a trip to India, and practiced medicine and surgery for a year in Calcutta. He returned by way of Charleston, South Carolina, and was taken sick there and kindly cared for by Dr. David Ramsey, the historian, thus forming an acquaint- ance and friendship which lasted through life. Dr. James Ramsay, son of the historian, was later a student under Dr. Corson at New Hope, and afterwards became Professor of Surgery in South Carolina Medical College. On his return to Solebury, Dr. Corson married, as above stated, Helen Stockton Johnson. He began the practice of his profession on his plantation near Aquetong, Solebury township, conveyed to him by his father in 1809, but about 1814, located in New Hope, where he was a very successful and popular physician, until his death in 1842. Dr. Corson had as medical students many men who later became eminent in the profession, among them, Dr. James Ramsay, before referred to; Dr. Thomas Miner, of Wilkes-barre; Dr. Theodore Dunn, of Rhode Island; Drs. James McNair, and William L. Van Horn, of Bucks county, the latter afterwards a surgeon in the United States Army ; Dr. Hiram Corson, the eminent physician of Plymouth, Montgomery county, before referred to; Dr. George Maulsby, of Plymouth Meeting, later Surgeon in the United States Navy, and a number of others.

Issue of Dr. Richard Davis and Helen Stockton (Johnson) Corson:

Caroline Corson, b. 1815, d. May 4, 1838, unm .;

David Ramsay Corson, M. D., b. 1817, graduated in Medicine, but d. soon after, Jan. 29, 1841;

Harriet Mathews Corson, m. Charles Foulke, M. D., in 1842, as previously nar- rated;

Eliza Paxson Corson, unm., of Trenton, N. J .;

Richard Corson, d. in his eighteenth year;

Helen N. Corson, d. July 20, 1849, in her twenty-fourth year;

Thomas Johnson Corson, M. D., b. 1828, studied medicine with his father, and grad. at the Med. Dept. of Univ. of Pa .; located first in Schuylkill Co., Pa., where he practiced two or three years; returned to Bucks Co., finally locating in Tren- ton, N. J., where he practiced until his death in 1879. He m. Mary K., dau. of Geo. Steever of Phila., and had four children, all of whom d. unm.

ROBERT RODGERS CORSON, born May 3, 1831; married Rebecca Jones Foulke. Robert R. Corson, at the age of sixteen, left New Hope, and went to live with his cousin, George Corson, at Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery county, and entered Tremont Seminary, conducted by the eminent edu- cator, Rev. Samuel Aaron, A. M. George Corson was an active and earnest abolitionist and during the time Robert R. Corson lived with him, his house was a prominent station on the "Underground Railroad," through which many fugitive slaves found their way to freedom, and it was here that the ardent sympathies of the young man were enlisted in behalf of the suffering slaves, as well as in behalf of suffering humanity in general, and the habit formed of ever striving to uplift and improve the condition of his fellow man, that indelibly marked the whole life of the great humanitarian. The poor hunted fugitives would arrive late at night, often in charge of friends from a station nearer the border line of the slave states, and after receiving food and shelter, sometimes for a week or more, were con- veyed in the night to a Friend's house in Upper Bucks county, a distance of about twenty miles, where they would be cared for in a like manner, and then trans- ferred to another station, until they finally reached Canada and freedom.

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On the conclusion of his term at the Treemont Seminary, his health being deli- cate, he went to live with his brother Dr. Thomas Johnson Corson, near Potts- ville, in Schuylkill county, and remained there until 1856, when he removed to Philadelphia and engaged in shipping coal to the eastern markets, in which busi- ness he continued until the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, at one time occupying three wharves on the Schuylkill, where he received the shipments of coal from a mine leased at Pottsville. Soon after locating in Philadelphia (in 1857) he married Rebecca Jones Foulke, in whom he found a fitting helpmeet, in sympathy with his large hearted schemes for the amelioration of suffering humanity.

Mr. Corson took an active interest in the political campaign of 1860, that resulted in the election of Lincoln to the presidency, being one of the active mem- bers of the Union League; later he devoted much time to active political work in support of the party of freedom.

When Philadelphia became congested with the hordes of soldiers pouring in to be drilled and equipped for the defense of the national government, and trans- portation and supplies were inadequate for the demand, and soldiers could be seen loitering on the streets without proper food or clothing, Mr. Corson, was promi- nent among those who began feeding them on the streets and sidewalks.

He assisted in opening the old boathouse at the foot of Washington Avenue, on May 27, 1861, as "The Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon," and a few days later, in the cooper shop of William M. Cooper, of the "Cooper Shop Refresh- ment Saloon," and was soon elected secretary of the Union Volunteer Relief Committee, of which Arad Barrows was chairman. This committee not only cared for and fed free of charge soldiers going to the front, but later cared for the sick and wounded returning to their homes from the scenes of carnage at the south, and during the war disbursed approximately six hundred thousand dollars in this commendable work of feeding the hungry and caring for the sick.

Bestowing much of his time, both night and day, to the details of this work, Mr. Corson soon learned that there were hundreds of soldiers, worn out by travel and sickness who were unable to reach the hospitals, or reaching them were unable to communicate with their friends and families. He at once set about the work of securing lists of stranded soldiers, which he would send to the governor of the state from which they came, who published them in the newspapers, so that their friends and relatives were enabled to communicate with them. This was the initiative to the organized work in behalf of the soldiers of the war, in which Mr. Corson was so long and meritoriously engaged.

In a letter to him from Governor Buckingham, of Connecticut, dated June 5, 1862, the governor says, "May I ask it as a favor that you will act as Military Agent of Connecticut for the care of her sick and wounded. * * * The service would be highly valued by our citizens, and greatly aid and cheer the men." This was followed on June 28, 1862, by a like appointment from Governor Mor- ton, of Indiana; on July 7, from Governor Andrew, of Massachusetts; July 8. from Governor Washburne, of Maine, renewed by Governor Corry, February 26, 1864; on July 16, 1862, by Governor Solomon, of Wisconsin; July 22, 1862, by Governor Holbrook, of Vermont ; on July 31, by Governor Olden, of New Jersey ; on October 1, by Governor Berry, of New Hampshire, renewed on No- vember 22, 1864, by Governor Gilmore, accompanied by a commission with rank

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of Colonel; in November 5, 1862, by Governor Sprague, of Rhode Island, re- newed, with rank of Lieutenant Colonel, by Governor Smith, November 1, 1864; on December 23, 1863, by Governor Cannon, of Delaware; on July 10, 1864, by Governor Bradford, of Maryland, and also from the Governor of Michigan. Thus Mr. Corson found himself officially employed to look after soldiers by ap- pointment and authority of thirteen states, and it became an important and laborious work, requiring his whole time and the help of four or five assistants, who daily visited hospitals, conferred with the men, looked after their arrearages in pay, and placed them in communication with their friends and the authorities of their own states. He also visited the battle fields of Virginia, immediately after engagements, frequently accompanied by his wife. On hearing of an en- gagement they would hurry to the field with supplies, establishing themselves in a convenient house, secure an ambulance and begin their noble work of caring for the fallen. To cheer and comfort these poor fellows, or take down in writing the last messages of the dying to their loved ones at home were the daily an hourly duties of Mr. Corson, his estimable wife and their able assistants. Again when, late in the struggle, the poor starved and emaciated soldiers from the prison dens, at Belle Isle, Andersonville and Richmond, arrived at Annapolis, many of them in the last agonies of death, hundreds dying while being transported, it was his pain- ful duty to take down a record of these martyrs to liberty and union, to be for- warded to the states from whence they came.

During these trying times, Mr. Corson was in constant communication with and enjoyed the confidence of the authorities of the different states which he represented, as well as with the various military departments of the government, and was thus enabled to be of the utmost assistance to the unfortunate victims of the war. That his noble work in behalf of humanity was to some extent ap- preciated will be shown by the many letters and resolutions transmitted to him from the different state authorities. On February 17, 1863, he received through Governor Sprague the thanks of the state, "for courtesy and kindness to our Rhode Island troops." And on May 26, Governor Smith of the same state writes, "Such generous devotion as you have always shown our suffering soldiers merits both the thanks of our Country and our State." In January, 1866, the State Assembly of Rhode Island adopted resolutions thanking him "for his untiring energy and self sacrificing devotion to the interests of our soldier." On Decem- ber 9, 1865, he was appointed Assistant Quartermaster General of Massachusetts, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, "in recognition of the faithful, energetic and discreet services rendered the state."

The above are but specimens of the letters of thanks and resolutions received from the authorities of the different states which he represented, New Hamp- shire, Maryland, Vermont, Indiana, and other states transmitting to him like testimonials of their appreciation of his noble work in behalf of their citizen soldiers.

Col. Corson also acted for the diffrent states in raising and equipping colored regiments for the war, and was Secretary of the Pennsylvania Freedsman's Relief Association, which supported one hundred teachers in the South, from 1866 to 1872, establishing schools in Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Ala- bama, Mississippi and Tennessee. He was also secretary of the committee which collected colored soldiers' and sailors' orphans throughout the states and raised

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funds and purchased buildings for the establishment of Colored Soldiers' Orphan School, in Pennsylvania; the state making no provision for them as it did for the white orphans.

On Mr. Corson's resignation, as the representative of the state of Pennsyl- vania, in relation to disabled soldiers, he received from Lieutenant Colonel John Campbell, Chief Surgeon, District of Pennsylvania, the following:

"The agreeable relations, official and personal that have existed during your whole term of service, between yourself and the Medical Director's Office, made it a pleasure to act in concert with you in all efforts for the good of the soldier.

* * For your judicious co-operation with me on all occasions, I tender my sincere thanks. The soldiers of your own and other states in whose behalf you labored, cannot have other than the most grateful recollections of your services. My Dear Colonel."

Surgeon Kenderdine, Medical Director, having charge of the sick and wound- ed arriving in the hospitals from the battle fields, on hearing of Col. Corson's resignation, on August 23, 1865, sent him a still stronger testimonial of his ap- preciation of the noble services rendered which concludes as follows: "Your disinterestedness in relieving suffering early won my regard, and every soldier I have sent you for special aid (and they have not been few) has returned con- vinced that all that was possible would be done for him. *

* * With such a record you may be proud and safely retire to private life."

Not less courageous in times of peace than in the time of war, when the citi- zens of Philadelphia decided to take action to correct political abuses existing in the state and city government, Col. Corson was one of the committee appointed at a meeting of citizens held at the Academy of Music, in June, 1871, to make independent nominations for municipal and legislative offices, and was one of the organizers of the Municipal Reform Association, of Philadelphia, October 26, 1871. Again in 1880, he became a member of the Committee of One Hun- dred, and was one of its first secretaries, filling that position from 1881 until the dissolution of the Committee in 1885. He was a member of the Board of Di- rectors of Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, one of the incor- porators of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania; member of the board of Inspectors of the Philadelphia County Prison; of the Board of Directors of Philadelphia Society for Organizing Charity; member of the Executive Com- mittee of the Philadelphia Fountain Society; member of the Board of Directors and first treasurer of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; member of the Board of Directors of Hay's Mechanics' Home, and identified with almost all the leading charitable enterprises of the city. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Art Club, member of its House Committee and Chairman of its Reception Committee; and a member of the executive committee of both the Municipal League and the Pennsylvania Civil Service Reform Association.

Few citizens of Philadelphia or any other city have maintained so long and honorable a record in the cause of humanity, and the elevation of the human race; and in all his undertakings he has been ably seconded by his estimable wife, Rebecca (Foulke) Corson. They have no children, and Col. Corson was the last of the descendants of Dr. Richard Davis Corson to bear the name of Corson. Col. Corson died February 19, 1904.

CRESSON FAMILY.

PIERRE CRESSON, born about the year 1610, is believed to have been a native of Picardy. With others of the Reformed religion he took refuge in Holland, where at an early date he married, and lived at various times in Sluis, Ryswyck and Delft. In 1657, with his wife, Rachel Claes, or Cloos, and their children, he emi- grated to the settlement of New Amstel, on the Delaware river.

While in Holland Pierre Cresson had held the position of gardener to the Prince of Orange. His reputation as a farmer of ability doubtless gained for him the notice of Governor Stuyvesant, who, being on a visit to New Amstel, engaged Cresson for service at his bowery, at New Amsterdam, on Manhattan Island, to which place he appears to have removed. It was probably shortly after his arrival at New Amsterdam that Pierre Cresson returned to Holland, leaving his family here. He was no doubt sent by Stuyvesant to procure a supply of competent farmers for the governor's lands, whom he brought back with him on the "Gilded Beaver," sailing from Amsterdam, on April 25, 1659.

Pierre Cresson and his son, Jacques, were among the early settlers of Harlem, both of them taking up plots and becoming active in the affairs of the new town. When the Director General and Council issued a commission, on Att- gust 16, 1660, for the establishment of the first court of justice at Harlem, Pierre Cresson was one of the three Schepens or magistrates appointed. In June, 1663. at the time of an Indian alarm, military companies were formed for the protection of the settlement, with Pierre Cresson as chief in command, under the title of corporal. In 1680 he removed to Staten Island, where he probably died. Our last record of him is dated August 3, 1681. His widow was living on Staten Island in 1690, but appears to have died shortly after. We find it on record that in 1679 Pierre Cresson had a large family of children and grandchildren. The following list no doubt falls far short of the full number of his children.

Children of Pierre Cresson and Rachel Claes:

Susanna Cresson, b. Ryswyck; m. Nicholas Delaplaine;

JACQUES CRESSON, d. Aug. 1, 1684; m. Marie Reynard;

Christina Cresson, b. Sluis; m. (1) Jean Letelier; (2) Jacob Gerretzs Haas;

Rachel Cresson, b. Delft; m. (1) David Demarest, Jr .; (2) Jean Durie; (3) Roelof Vanderlinde;

Joshua Cresson, bapt. June 8, 1658;

Elias Cresson, bapt. Dec. 17, 1662.

JACQUES CRESSON2 ( Pierre1) was doubtless born in Holland, although no record of the date and place of his birth has been found. He must have been young at the time of his arrival in this country, and when the settlement of Harlem was made. He died in New York, August 1, 1684. On September 1, 1663, Jacques Cresson and Maria (or Marie) Reynard were married, as shown by the records of the Dutch Reformed Church of New York.

In 1660 Jacques Cresson was made lancepesade (i. e. assistant corporal) of the first military company of Harlem. In 1663 he was a private in one of the companies under his father's command. In 1669 he was made constable of the

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town, but shortly afterwards concluded to remove to New York. The Harlem property was disposed of and one on Broadway purchased, which was sold by his widow after his death.

Maria Reynard, widow of Jacques Cresson, according to the church records, left New York for Curacoa shortly after her husband's death. She next appears on November 3, 1696, as the purchaser of a house and land at the northeast corner of Fourth and Chestnut streets, Philadelphia. This measured seventy-four and a quarter feet on Chestnut street, and one hundred and seventy-eight feet on Fourth street. Her sons, James and Solomon, were in membership with Friends in Philadelphia, and her own death on 8mo. 10, 1710, is shown in the records of that Society.

Children of Jacques and Marie (Reynard) Cresson:

James (Jacobus) Cresson, bapt. Sept. 13, 1665; m. Mary -;

Maria Cresson, bapt. Apr. 13, 1670;

Susanna Cresson, bapt. Dec. 13, 1671;

SOLOMON CRESSON, bapt. June 30, 1674; d. 9, 10, 1746; m. Anna Watson;

Abraham Cresson, bapt. May 31, 1676;

Isaac Cresson, bapt. May 31, 1676;

Sara Cresson, bapt. Dec. 18, 1678;

Anna Cresson, bapt. Nov. 1, 1679;

Rachel Cresson, bapt. July 22, 1682; m. (1) Henry Sluyter; (2) - Lawson.

SOLOMON CRESSON' (Jacques', Pierre'), baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church, New York City, on June 30, 1674; died in Philadelphia, 9mo. 10, 1746; married in Philadelphia Friends' Meeting, 11mo. 14, 1702, Anna Watson.

Solomon Cresson probably removed with his mother and brother, James, to Curaçoa in 1685. While in the West Indies he no doubt acquired that proficiency in the Spanish language which later proved of such benefit to himself and others. Whether he returned with the rest of the family when they settled in Philadel- phia we have no means of learning, but our next definite knowledge of him is at Port Royal, Jamaica, in 1696. According to family tradition he had been sent to the West Indies on business for his brother, James, which proving unsuccessful and his expenses having been considerable in his endeavor to recover a vessel seized by the admiralty, he was so reduced in means as to be compelled, as a sailor, to work his passage back. Of his shipwreck, subsequent viscissitudes and adventures, we are told in the journal written by Jonathan Dickinson, one of the shipwrecked passengers, and first printed in 1699. The barkentine "Reforma- tion" sailed from Port Royal on August 23, 1696, bound for Philadelphia. She had a stormy passage almost from the first, and on September 22d was wrecked off the coast of Florida. Both passengers and crew were saved, making a landing on a desolate coast. The castaways were soon discovered by Indians, and as it was known that the English were in great disfavor with the tribes inhabiting these parts, a suggestion was made that they should pass themselves off as Span- iards. This they were enabled to do through the ability of Solomon Cresson to converse in the Spanish tongue. The Indians from the first were somewhat suspicious, but under their escort the party finally reached St. Augustine, after much suffering and great hardships. Some little time was taken for rest and recuperation before the journey was continued to Charleston, where they took passage for Philadelphia.

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Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 3

Author: Jordan, John Woolf, 1840-1921, ed Publication date: 1911 Publisher: New York : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 978

Author: Jordan, John Woolf, 1840-1921, ed
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 978