Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 43

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

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Sarah Elizabeth Grubb, b. Nov. 19, 1818, d. Nov. 27, 1884; m. Feb. 16, 1846, John George Ogilvie, from New Castle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England, younger son of the Earl of Airlie; they had issue:

. John Malcolm Ogilvie, d. young;

Elizabeth Gibson Ogilvie, m. Dr. Herbert Morris, of Phila.

ALFRED BATES GRUBB, b. at Mount Hope Furnace, Jan. 6, 1821, d. Feb. 2, 1885; he m. March 25, 1858, Ellen Farnum; of whom presently.

EDWARD BURD GRUBB, eldest son of Henry Bates Grubb, by his second wife, Harriet Amelia Buckley, born at Mount Hope Furnace, Lancaster county, Penn- sylvania, December 17, 1810, was educated at York, Pennsylvania, and at an early age assumed the leading management of the large iron interests left by his father. Soon after attaining his majority he obtained permission of the Orphans' Court to take charge of the several furnaces and ore banks belonging to his father's estate during the minority of his younger brother and sisters, and taking his next younger brother into partnership, operated the Mount Hope and other furnaces with marked business ability and enterprise. In 1845 his youngest brother became his partner in the Mount Hope Furnace, and he acquired the Mount Vernon Furnace on the west bank of the Conewago, with several thous- and acres of land, containing rich ore deposits, and erected there extensive forges, mills, etc. He also owned and successfully operated the Codorus and Manada furnaces, and in the division of his father's lands and valuable iron interests, was allotted a one-sixth interest in the Cornwall ore mine, Lebanon county, the scene of his great-grandfather's first successful operations in the manufacture of iron a century previously.

While on a visit to Europe, 1835-6, Edward Burd Grubb visited the iron pro- ducing districts of England and made a close study of the most improved pro- cesses of manufacturing iron, and on his return introduced the first successful use of heating blast for iron furnaces in America.

In 1840 Edward Burd Grubb purchased the country seat of Horace Binney, Esq., at Burlington, New Jersey, and removed there with his family. He soon after relinquished the active management of the iron interests in Pennsylvania, and for the remainder of his life, lived retired on his handsome estate. Mr. Grubb was a deep reader and thinker, well informed on literary and scientific subjects, but of a quiet dignified and retiring disposition. He was a member of the Prot- estant Episcopal church, and for many years warden of the church at Burlington,

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and was a trustee of Burlington College. He was closely identified with the affairs of Philadelphia and a member of the Philadelphia Club and Athenæum. As an early member of the Union League of Philadelphia, during the Civil War, he was active in his assistance in raising and equipping troops for the preserva- tion of the Union. He died at Burlington, New Jersey, December 27, 1867.

Edward Burd Grubb married, November 9, 1837, Euphemia Brown, daughter of Isaac Brown Parker, of Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, later a prominent lawyer and citizen of Burlington, New Jersey, by his wife, Maria Ross Veazey, whose descent from the prominent Veazey family of "Cherry Grove," Cecil county, Maryland, is as follows :

John Veazey, progenitor of Veazey family of Cecil county, Maryland, is said to have been a descendant of Nathaniel Veazey, who owned shares in three of the Bermuda Islands in 1663, and who had a patent for a tract of land in Somerset county, Maryland, called Bermudas Hundred, bearing date April 9, 1674.

Family tradition says that the Maryland family of Veazey belonged to an Eng- lish family of Norman descent, and the name is said to have been derived from a plant known in English as Vetch or tare, and in French as vesce. It somewhat re- sembled a pea vine and was extensively grown in Normandy as fodder for cattle, and certain lands where it was grown came to be known as Veacey lands; in like manner the proprietors of these lands came to be known by the name (prior to the adoption of surnames), to distinguish them from other branches of the same family. Thus the name in various anglicized forms, as Vesci, Vesy, Vasey, Veasey, Veasie, Veazy and Veazey, appeared later in different portions of the British Isles.

On April 1, 1687, John Veazey purchased a tract of land in Cecil county, Mary- land, called "Manchester," on the south side of Bohemia river ; and on January 5, 1694, purchased another tract called "True Game." These tracts are included in the property, since known as "Cherry Grove," the homestead of the family for many generations, and where their old family burying-ground is located.

John Veazey was of the Protestant faith and was elected church warden of the parish of North Sassafras, or St. Stephen's, Cecil county, January 14, 1698. He left a paper in the form of a will which was never probated and is still in the possession of Mr. James W. Veazey, of Cecil county, in which he mentions his wife, Martha, to whom he gives a life estate in his dwelling and plantation, and also mentions his five sons to whom he devises real estate and personal property. The five sons of John and Martha Veazey, of "Cherry Grove," were :

William Veazey, a freeholder and planter of Cecil co., Md .; m. Rosamond -; d. 1733, leaving an only child, b. 1696, Susanna Veazey, who m. March 25, 1717, John Ward, son of William and Elizabeth Ward, of Cecil co., and had five daughters and two sons, William and John; Joshua, a son of the latter, m. his cousin, Sarah Veazey; George Veazey, second son, a freeholder and planter of Cecil co .; church warden and vestryman of St. Stephen's; m. Nov. 19, 1708, Alice, dau. of William and Elizabeth Ward, before mentioned; m. (second) 1716, Katharine Beard; had two daughters by first marriage :

Elizabeth Veazey, m. Anthony Lynch ; Eleanor Veazey, m. Thomas Price.

EDWARD VEAZEY, of whom presently;

James Veazey, removed to St. Ann's Parish, Cecil co .; m. Nov. 22, 1716, Mary Mercer; both d. 1768; had two daughters and four sons :

Dr. Thomas Veazey; Edward Veazey ;

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James Veazey, served in Lee's Legion in Revolution; William Veazey, Captain in Revolutionary Army, 1776.

Robert Veazey, church warden and vestryman of St. Stephen's 1732-36; m. Jan. 1, 1718, Lucy Dermot; had four daughters and one son :

Col. John Veazey, Jr., member House of Burgesses, 1768-74; delegate to several Provincial Conventions at Annapolis, 1774-75; signer of Association of Free- men of Maryland, July 26, 1775; chairman of Committee of Observation for Cecil co., 1776; Colonel of Bohemian Battalion, 1776; member first General Assembly of Md., Feb. 5, 1777; Register of Wills, Cecil co., etc .; his son, Ed- ward Veazey, was Captain of Seventh Independent Company of Md. troops, and was killed at the battle of L. I., Aug. 27, 1776.

EDWARD VEAZEY, third son of John and Martha Veazey, was in possession of the two plantations seated by his father, "Manchester" and "True Game," includ- ed in "Cherry Grove," 1707; and in the same year was in possession of "Essex Lodge," which has been the homestead of his branch of the family to the present time, being the first of the family to hold that estate. He was church warden of St. Stephen's Parish, February 10, 1707; vestryman, April 21, 1712, and served until 1719. He married Susanna - , and had an only child :

COLONEL JOHN VEAZEY, born February 12, 1701, who inherited "Cherry Grove" and "Essex Lodge," and acquired other lands in Cecil county. Veazey's Neck, and the arm of the Bohemia river on its southern side, called Veazey's Cove, de- rived their names from him. He lived at "Essex Lodge" and died there May 4, 1777. He was church warden of St. Stephen's Parish, Cecil county, 1726-34-45, as Captain John Veazey, and in 1748-49 as Major John Veazey ; vestryman, 1726- 29-31-35-45-46-58-65; qualifying as vestryman in 1756, is styled Colonel John Veazey.

He was Associate Justice of the Cecil County Court, 1735-40; one of the Jus- tices of the Quorum, 1741-57; one of Judges of Assize for Cecil county, under commission to hold special court of Oyer and Terminer, and General Jail Delivery 1749-62, being several times recommissioned for the above positions between the years above stated.

He was Captain in the Provincial forces and later Major as previously shown; as Major was commanding officer of the military forces of the county, in 1748-49, and is designated as Colonel in the parish records of St. Stephen's and in patents for land acquired after 1756. A letter addressed to him by Governor Horatio Sharpe, under date of March 9, 1758, addresses him as Colonel and gives him directions as commanding officer of Cecil county, as to forwarding troops for the defence of Fort Frederick, during the French and Indian War.

Colonel John Veazey married Rebecca, daughter of Colonel John and Mary Ward, of Cecil county, born November 2, 1705, died April 24, 1761.

Issue of Colonel John and Rebecca (Ward) Vcazey:

Edward Veazey, of "Cherry Grove," d. there, April 24, 1784; High Sheriff, Cecil co., 1751-53; m. Elizabeth DeCourcy, June 19, 1755, and had seven children, the youngest of whom, Thomas Ward Veazey, inherited "Cherry Grove," was a member of the House of Delegates from Cecil co., 1811-12; Lieutenant Colonel of Forty-ninth Regi- ment in War of 1812; Governor of Md., 1836-8;

John Ward Veazey, planter of Cecil co., Justice of Peace, 1776-85, who has left numerous descendants;

William Veazey, of "Good Luck" plantation, Cecil co .; m. Mary Loutitt, and had one daughter, Mary Veazey, who m. her cousin, Gov. Thomas Ward Veazey;

DR. THOMAS BROCKUS VEAZEY, of whom presently;

Rebecca Veazey.

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THOMAS BROCKUS VEAZEY, M. D., born March 29, 1750, youngest son of Colo- nel John and Rebecca (Ward) Veazey, planter and physician of Cecil county, Maryland, at the death of his father succeeded to the family estate and homestead of "Essex Lodge," and lived there until his death in 1806, when it descended to his youngest son, Thomas B. Veazey, and at the latter's death in 1844, to his only child, Arabella Veazey, who married William Knight.

Thomas Brockus Veazey was church warden of St. Stephen's Parish, May 15, 1786, and vestryman, June 7, 1779, to his death in 1806. On May 13, 1792, he was elected Lay Delegate to the Church Convention at Annapolis, held May 30, 1792, the first convention of the Episcopal church in Maryland. He married, March 29, 1781, Mary, born May 21, 1766, daughter of Rev. William Thompson, rector of St. Stephen's Parish, by his wife, Susanna, daughter of Rev. George Ross, of New Castle, Delaware.

Rev. William Thompson was born May 22, 1735, and was a son of Rev. Samuel Thompson, of Pennsylvania, and a nephew of General William Thompson, of the Pennsylvania Line in the Revolution. He was ordained deacon and priest of the Episcopal church in the palace of the Bishop of London, at Fulham, December, 1759, and was appointed rector of St. Mary Ann's Parish, in Cecil county, Maryland, by Governor Eden, June 23, 1773, on behalf of the Rt. Hon. Henry Harford, Lord Proprietary of Maryland. On July 6, 1779, he was selected by the vestry of St. Stephen's Church as their rector and so continued until his death. He was in entire sympathy with the Patriot cause in 1776.

Rev. William Thompson married, October 29, 1762, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Susanna, daughter of Rev. George Ross, whose descent from the Earls of Ross is given later in this narrative.

Issue of Dr. Thomas B. and Mary (Thompson) Veasey:

Dr. John Thompson Veazey, b. July 22, 1783, d. March 30, 1839; m. Sarah, dau. of Will- iam and Ann (Veazey) Ward, and lived for a time at "Mount Harmon," on the Sassafras river, and in 1825 settled at "Mount Pleasant," near Earleville, where he d .; he was the father of Rev. George Ross Veazey, of Baltimore;

Juliana Ross Veazey, m. Thomas Savin;

Maria Ross Veazey, b. at "Essex Lodge," July 29, 1787; m. April 27, 1811, Isaac Brown Parker, and was the mother of Euphemia Brown Parker, who m. Edward Burd Grubb, of Burlington, N. J .;

Thomas Brockus Veazey, Jr., inherited "Essex Lodge," where he was b., Jan. 30, 1792, and where he and his wife, Ann, dau. of William and Ann (Veazey) Ward, both d. in 1844.

REV. GEORGE Ross, first rector of Emanuel Protestant Episcopal Church at New Castle, several of whose descendants have been prominently identified with the history of Pennsylvania, was a lineal descendant of the second Earl of Ross, and his father, David Ross, was the second Laird of Balblair, Parish of Fern, near the town of Tain, shire of Ross, North of Scotland. There seems to have been no blood connection between the first Earl of Ross, who had a mandate from Malcolm, King of Scotland, to protect the Monks of Dumferline, in 1153, and the subsequent Earls of Ross.

Ferquahard, second Earl of Ross, founded the Abbey of Fern, Parish of Fern, before referred to, and was knighted and created Earl of Ross, June 15, 1215, by Alexander II., of Scotland.

His son, William was the third Earl of Ross, 1232, and married Jean, daughter

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of William Comyn, Earl of Buchan ; died in 1274, and was succeeded by his son, Hugh, the fifth Earl, who married (second) Margaret, daughter of Sir David Graham, of Old Montrose, prior to 1329, by whom he had several children, among them his third son, Hugh Ross, who became Laird of Rariches, and first Laird of Balnagown, one of the great landed estates of Scotland. He married Margaret de Barclay, and died in June, 1371 ; was succeeded by his son, William Ross, second Laird of Balnagown, who married Christian, daughter of Lord Livingston, and their son and heir was Walter Ross, third Laird of Balnagown, and Lord Rariches in 1398. Walter married Catharine, daughter of Paul McTyre, and had a son, Hugh, the fourth Laird of Balnagown.

William, second son of fourth Laird of Balnagown, became Laird of Little Allan, and married Grizel MacDonald, and had two sons, the younger of whom, Walter Ross, became first Laird of Shandwick. He died in 1531, and was buried at Ferne Abbey, founded by his ancestor Ferquahard, Earl of Ross, nearly two centuries before. Walter is said to have been married several times. By his wife, Janet Tullock, he had four sons, the third of whom, Hugh Ross, became the first Laird of Balnachy, or Ballymuckie, whose eldest son, Donald, was second Laird of Balnachy, and died 1603.

Walter Ross, son of Donald, became third Laird of Balnachy; married Jean Douglass, and dying in 1625, was succeeded by his son, Hugh, as the fourth Laird of Balnachy. He died about 1649, and his son, George Ross, became fifth Laird of Balnachy, and married Margaret Mccullough in 1649.

Andrew Ross, a younger son of George, fifth Laird of Balnachy, became the first Laird of Balblair. He was succeeded by his son, David Ross, second Laird of Balblair, and the father of Rev. George Ross, of New Castle, Delaware.

David Ross, second Laird of Balblair, Parish of Fern, Rossshire, Scotland, succeeded to the estate of Balblair at the death of his father, April 15, 1678, and died on or before April 13, 1710, the date of the Sasine record by which his chil- dren inherited. He married Margaret Stronach, who survived him, the marriage taking place on or before July 8, 1681, on which date she is mentioned on the Sasine record as his "spouse."

David and Margaret (Stronach) Ross had issue:

Andrew Ross, who became the third Laird of Balblair 1710, prior to which date he m. Margaret Gallic; he was a Scrivener and lawyer in Edinburg, and d. prior to 1730, and left an only son :

Andrew Ross, surgeon at Kingston, Jamaica, who in 1730 sold the estate of Bal- blair to John Cruikshank, merchant, of London; Andrew d. s. p., and the title of fifth Laird of Balblair, vested in John Ross, Esq., of Phila., eldest son of Rev. George Ross, of New Castle, as eldest male heir of the House of Balblair; the estate of Balblair was conveyed by John Cruikshank, 1732, to William Ross, son of Andrew Ross, seventh Laird of Shandwick, also a writer of Edinburg, b. 1694, d. unm., April, 1739. Hugh Ross, brother of the above William, b. 1695, d. April 13, 1775; was a merchant of London; m. Aug. 4, 1749, Elizabeth, only dan. of Alexander Ross, of Little Dann; at death of his brother, William, Hugh Ross inherited the estates of Balblair and Shandwick; a letter written by him in 1764 to John Ross, Esq., of Phila., is still in existence, which says: "You stand Cadet of the decayed house of Ballamuchy. Balblair of your title was purchased by my brother, as it was part of his house originally. It remains yet. My eldest brother dying a bachelor, you shall find me his heir, as the history- grapher of Scotland's deductions show."

REV. GEORGE Ross, "second son," b. 1679, d. 1754; of whom presently;

Hugh Ross, "third son," is supposed to have been the father of David Ross, of Balblair, who as "son of Hugh," according to the Sasine record, came into his inheritance Aug. 19, 1701;

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Elizabeth Ross, m. David Munro, eighth Laird of Allan, a writer of Edinburgh, who appears also to have lived at Dann House, parish of Edderton; he d. 1765, evidently without issue, as he left his estate to his nephew, Charles McKensie, son of Margaret Munro, who then assumed the name of Munro; the arms of Elizabeth (Ross) Munro are described as "Gules, three lions rampant, argent," and motto, "Nobilis est irs Leonis;" this is supposed to represent the arms of the Ross family of Balblair, as it corresponds with a painting of the coat-of-arms said to have belonged to Rev. George Ross, now in the possession of his descendant, Mrs. John H. Rodney, of New Castle.

REV. GEORGE Ross, second son of David Ross, of Balblair, as stated by himself in a brief autobiography written for his son, John Ross, Esq., of Philadelphia, was "born in the North of Scotland in the Shire of Ross in the Parish of Fern, about four or five miles from the Shire (town) between two Friths, one the Frith of Murray, the other the Frith of Dornoch. The land lying between the two Friths terminates in the noted point called Tarbat Ness." "He was put to school very early and made some progress in the Latin tongue under the care of the schoolmaster, and being a promising genius his father asked him, as they were going to a farm a little distance from home, 'What would he be?' to which he answered, 'A Scholar.' Young as he was crede inspirationc. 'A scholar you shall be,' replied the father." Of this father, David Ross, of Balblair, the son writes, "he was a gentleman of moderate fortune, but of great integrity." And to his son in the note that accompanied the autobiography he writes:

"If my posterity contract any blemish, it must be from themselves: No original guilt can be imputed to them. It is well the rise of many families in these parts, like the head of the Nile, is unknown, and their glory consists in their obscurity. It is your satisfaction that it is otherwise with you: Your escutcheon is without blot or stain. Contend, therefore for the honor of your family by a kind and generous behavior towards the several branches of it, relieve them from contempt by your beneficence, and put them above the world by exer- cising that ability towards them which God has blessed you with, which, if you do, God will gather you, in his good time, to your honest and worthy progenitors. I have a quick sense of your filial favors, and you may be assured, dear son, that I am your most obliged and affectionate father.

"To John Ross, Esquire.

"George Ross."

The autobiography continues :

"When he was about fourteen years of age, his eldest brother Andrew, requested his father to send him to him at Edinburg. Accordingly he was sent, but for the first twelve months little to his advantage, for instead of advancing him in his learning, he made him attend his office, and write from morning till night,-often without his dinner,-to his great disappointment; not through want of affection to his brother, but hurry of business and much company. His father, being informed of this low or no education ordered him to be put to school and fitted for the University. Andrew lost his slave, and George was once more put in the way of being a scholar.

"He took his degree of Master of Arts, in Edinburg, in 1700, and with this feather in his cap returned home, and became the tutor to the son of Lord of May, for which he was allowed ten pound Sterling per annum,-great wages in that part of the world, and at that time of day.

"Having some cash of his own, and somewhat anxious to see Edinburgh again, and taking leave of his father, not without some coolness on the son's side, for that his father did not add weight enough to his blessing as the son expected,-even at that time he was not without the thought of foreign countries,-I say, taking leave of his father, he proceeded on his journey to Edinburgh, and there entered his name among the students of divinity; worthy Mr. Meldrum being the professor.

"There was great hope of seeing worthy Mr. George mount the Presbyterian pulpit, but Alas! the closer he applied himself to reading the stronger his aversion grew to the party then uppermost in Scotland, he observed the leading men of that side to be sour, censorious and hypocritical.

"The young student decided to attach himself to the Church of England and after a diligent study of its principles, wrote to Aeneas McKensie, Chaplain of the Earl of Cro- marty, Secretary of State for Scotland, then at London, inquiring as to his prospects for advancement in England, and receiving an encouraging reply, with the assistance of his brother and the leading men of the Episcopal party in Scotland was enable to make his way

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to London with a recommendation from the Bishop of Edinburgh. On his arrival he pre- sented himself to the Bishop of London, who received him kindly and ordered him to attend the next ordination, at which time he, his friend McKensie and several others were put in Deacon's orders, nine days after his arrival in London. He was soon promoted to a chap- laincy on board a man of war, at a salary of eighty pounds sterling per annum; but not liking the captain he returned to London, and found his friend McKensie making applica- tion to the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign parts, then newly incorporated, for a mission abroad. Mr. Ross was easily persuaded to join him in the application, and their applications resulted in both being appointed missionaries, McKensie to Slatan, in Ireland, and Ross to New Castle on the Delaware, in America."

Mr. Ross arrived at New Castle in 1703, and continued as rector of Immanuel Church, to use his own words, "save for a few years whem he removed for his father's health, till this time, being in his seventy-third year." Mr. Ross was an exceedingly active and zealous clergyman and his ability was unquestioned; the memory of his service of nearly fifty years in Immanuel Church deserves to be treasured by his descendants and by his successors in that church, the early his- tory of which is the record of his services. One of his descendants, Miss Mary Ross, of Lancaster, caused to be erected in that church a suitable memorial tablet to his memory. He served as rector from 1705 to 1708, and again took charge in 1714, and served until his death in 1754, in his seventy-fifth year. His father died in 1710, and from his allusion to the state of his father's health being the occasion of his resigning his charge for "a few years," it is to be presumed that he returned to his native land to visit his dying parent.

Rev. George Ross married (first) Joanna Williams, of Rhode Island, probably shortly after his arrival on the Delaware, as August 28, 1708, in a letter to the secretary of the Society for Propagation of the Gospel, he writes, "and now I have a family which I must take care to provide for." Joanna (Williams) Ross died September 29, 1726, and a few years later he married (second) Catharine Van Gezel.

Issue of Rev. George and Joanna (Williams) Ross:

David Ross, of whom we have no record;

Margaret Ross, bapt. as an infant at St. Paul's Church, Chester, Oct. 12, 1712; d. 1771; m. (first) Rev. Walter Hackett, rector of church at Appoquinink for about five years; m. (second) Rev. William Currie, many years rector of St. David's Church, Radnor, by whom she had issue :

Ross Currie, b. 1750, who was commissioned Second Lieutenant, Jan. 5, 1776, in Capt. Huling's company, Second Battalion, Col. Arthur St. Clair; was pro- moted to First Lieutenant of Capt. John Rees' company, in the same battalion, and served under his uncle, Gen. William Thompson, in the campaign in Canada, and was taken prisoner at Three Rivers, Jan. 8, 1776; later settled in Nova Scotia;

Richard Currie, of Capt. Samuel Evans' company, Chester co. Militia, served in the Jersey campaign of 1776, was taken sick at Amboy, and returned home to die; bur. at St. David's, Sept. 16, 1776; m. Hannah Potts, and had issue :

William Currie, M. D., m. a dan. of John Morton, signer of Declaration of Inde- pendence; no issue;

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Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 43

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