Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 95

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

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"Leicester, as I before mentioned to thee, is the place where my dear mother was born. After attending to the business of the place, I went to Henry Palmer's house to deliver, from his brother Terringham, who lives near Philadelphia, a letter which was handed to me by my uncle, Samuel Elliott. H. Palmer, was an old acquaintance of the family and my object was, to enquire after any of the branches of the family of my grandfather that might be living ; he told me there were none of them living that he knew of, near that place, but that there were some of the distant branches near Nottinham, had lived there but had moved away. I was shown the ancient mansion where my grandfather lived. It was rough-cast and now inhabited by a person by the name of Saxton, much in this form, having two gable ends to the street, connected by a long building between

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them. Uncle Samuel may perhaps remember the old mansion from this sketch. In the afternoon I rode 26 miles to Nottingham, celebrated for its manufactures of Cotton, Hosiery, and Silk. Here business kept me the next day, in the course of which I called upon Edward Baker, a distant relative of my grandfather, to whom Daniel Elliott gave me a letter ; he seemed much pleased to see me as one of the junior branches of a family he had been well acquainted with in his younger years. He gave me the same account of the family that Henry Palmer did."

(Signed ) "Caleb Cresson."

On April 11, 1753, Johu and Annabella Elliott, with their five living children, sailed from Liverpool for Philadelphia, and arrived there in the evening of May 27, 1753. In 1754 John Elliott opened a store at what is now 116 South Front street, Philadelphia, for the sale of window glass and bell hangings. He later started the manufacture of mirrors, being a pioneer in that business in America. The business established by John Ellioott at this location was succeeded to by his son, John, and he by his son, Daniel, whose apprentice, and subsequent partner, John Carter, later acquired the business, and John Carter, son of this John, is the present head of the firm of Carter & Scattergood, though in the one hundred and fifty odd years that have elapsed since John Elliott founded the business, window glass and mirrors have given way to drugs and chemicals.

The house in which John Elliott resided was located on Chestnut street between Third and Fourth streets, and his name appears on the list of taxables in 1754, as a resident of the old South Ward, then extending from Mulberry, now Arch, street, to Walnut and from Second to Seventh. He is also enrolled among the members of Friends Monthly Meeting of Philadelphia, taken between the years 1757 and 1760. In 1768 he paid a visit to England, returning the following year ; while in London he made his home with a relative, also named John Elliott, whose son of the same name was in after years a friend of the descendants of the Amer- ican Jolin Elliott, in the Cresson line. In 1787 John Elliott was a contributor to the Pennsylvania Hospital to the amount of eight pounds, and forty-six years later his grandson, Isaac Elliott, was a contributor to the same institution.

John Elliott died in Philadelphia, August 1, 1791, and his widow Annabella, April 17, 1797. His will was dated 5m0. 31, 1790, was proved December 29, 1791. It bequeaths to his son, John, one hundred pounds and his silvering tools and implements, "in lieu of his right in a certain piece of land in England to which he was heir, after the death of his mother, in the sale whereof he joined us and for which he has not received adequate compensation." To his son-in-law, Richard Humphreys, £25; to Elizabeth Barker, £7; to Alexander Emslie, £5; to Diana Letchworth, £5; to his brother-in-law, Joseph Johnson, of Leicester, England, £5; to his sister, Hannah Dickman, widow of William Dickman, of Leicester, £5; to his cousin, Ann Claypoole, of Bolton, England, £5; to Elizabeth Dickman, daugh- ter of his sister, Hannah Dickman, £15; to Hannah Palmer, wife of Joseph Palmer, £15; to her daughter, Hannah Palmer, £15. The English legacies to be paid in Sterling moneys of Great Britain, out of the proceeds of a mortgage held by him against John Wilson, of Northumberland county, which loan his execu- tors are directed to call in, "without however distressing said John Wilson in his life time." To his son Samuel he devises the plantation upon which he lives in Ann Arundel county, Maryland, "being the same I purchased of Mareen Howard Duvall" subject to his (Sammel's) payment to the residuary legatees of £200

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Maryland currency, ** "nevertheless my will in this respect is in this manner, if he and his wife will join in the effectual manumission of all the poor negro slaves held in bondage by them, then I release the payment of the same two hundred pounds and confirm the said plantation to him in full right, free and clear of all incumbrances whatever, and it is my desire to my said dear son that he would do all in his power to prevail on his wife by gentle and prudent means to comply with this Christian duty, to which I trust they will find satisfaction and peace to their hands, and the Lord's blessing which is above all things to be valued." The residue of his estate, household goods, cash, plate, books, apparel, etc., and all produce and profits of his estate to his wife Anabella Elliott, during her natural life, and after her decease, his plantation in Chester county; a right in a tract of land in Berks county, which Ellis Hughes laid out for him ; his bonds, mortgages and all other property to John Elliott, Annabella Cresson, and Mary Gray, in equal shares. Mary Gray's share to be under the care and direction of John Elliott, or in case of his death under her own care and discretion, inde- pendent of her husband.

Issue of John and Annabella (Bonnyman) Elliott:

Anna, b. April 19, 1738; d. Nov. 2, 1738;

John, b. at Leicester, England, Sept. 20, 1739; d. Oct. 12, 1810, at "Glenfield," his estate near Wilmington, Del .; m., April 4, 1771, Margaret Harvey, of Wilmington ;

Daniel, b. at Leicester, England, Jan. 28, 1741-42; d. Jan. 7, 1742-43;

Annabella, b. at Leicester, Oct. 3, 1743; d. at Radnor, Pa., Oct. 12, 1793; m., April 16, 1772, Caleb Cresson (see Cresson Family) ;

Mary, b. at Leicester, June 3, 1746; d. May 4, 1797; m., June 12, 1771, Isaac Gray, of Phila .;

SAMUEL, b. at Leicester, Dec. 26, 1748; of whom presently ;

Hannah, b. at Leicester, Dec. 3. 1750; d. at Phila., Feb. 17, 1773; m., Feb. 28, 1771, Rich- ard Humphries;

Jane, b. at Phila., Sept. 7, 1753; d. there, June 8, 1761.

SAMUEL ELLIOTT, youngest son of John and Annabella (Bonnyman ) Elliott, born at Leicester, England, December 26, 1748, came to Philadelphia with his parents at the age of five years, and removed to Maryland prior to his marriage ; living at South River, Ann Arundel county, several years, but returned to Phila- delphia, May 5, 1793, where he died December 1, 1831, and was buried on Decem- ber 4. at the Friends' Burying Ground in that city. He married at West River, Maryland, November, 1780, Mary Richardson, of a noted Maryland family of the name, born there April 20, 1760, died in Philadelphia, February 14, 1795.

Robert and Susanna Richardson were early settlers in Maryland, where the former died in 1682. Their son, William Richardson, married Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Major Richard Ewen, and died January 9, 1697-8, his wife dying in the same year. William Richardson, son of William and Elizabeth (Ewen) Rich- ardson, born 1668, died 1744; married, 1689, Margaret, daughter of Thomas and Alice Smith, and their son, William Richardson, born 1690, died 1731-32, mar- ried, 1708, Margaret, daughter of William Harris. Richard Richardson, son of William and Margaret (Harris) Richardson, and grandfather of Mary (Rich- ardson) Elliott, married Margaret, born 1711, daughter of William Coale by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Sparrow, by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Hugh Kenson; and granddaughter of William and Hannah Coale.

Richard Richardson, Jr., second son of Richard and Margaret (Coale) Rich-

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ardson, married, August 13, 1754, Elizabeth Thomas, born 1732, and they were the parents of Mrs. Mary (Richardson) Elliott. Mrs. Elliott's mother belonged to the well known Thomas family of Maryland. Her father, John Thomas, (born 1697, died 1749-50) married, 1727, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Snowden, of Snowden Hall, by his wife, Elizabeth, sister to Margaret Coale, who married Richard Richardson, above mentioned. Richard Snowden's father, grandfather. and great-grandfather all bore the name of Richard, and his great-grandfather is reputed to have held a commission as Major in Oliver Cromwell's army in the English civil war. Samuel Thomas, (born 1655, died 1743,) father of John, was the eldest surviving son of Philip Thomas, of Ann Arundel county, Maryland. who came to America, 1651, by his wife, Sarah Harrison, and he (Samuel) mar- ried, 1688, Mary, daughter of Francis Hutchins, of Calvert county, Maryland.

Issue of Samuel and Mary (Richardson) Elliott:

John, b. "Friday, November 2, 1781, at 5 o'clock P. M.," probably at West River, Md., the home of his mother's ancestors;

Richard, b. May 17, 1783, at South River, Md .;

Elizabeth, b. March 12, 1785; d. in Phila., Dec. 15, 1855; unm .; bur. in Friends' burial- ground there;

Annabella, b. March 17, 1787; m. William Harlan, and left one son, Samuel Elliott Harlan;

Margaretta, b. March 14, 1789;

Mary, b. Aug. 21, 1791;

ISAAC, b. "Friday, February 13, 1795, at 6 A. M."; of whom presently ;

Samuel, b. "Friday, February 13, 1795, at 7.45, A. M."; d. in Carlisle, Cumberland co., Pa.

ISAAC ELLIOTT, son of Samuel and Mary ( Richardson ) Elliott, born in Phila- delphia, February 13, 1795, spent his whole life in that city, dying at his resi- dence on West Penn square, November 15, 1859. He was married in Philadel- phia, November 18, 1819, by the Rev. Richard D. Hall, to Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob and Ann (Johnson) Thomas, of Philadelphia, and a descendant of John Thomas, of Pembrokeshire, Wales.

JOHN THOMAS, born October, 1673, married in Pembrokeshire, June 20, 1706, Jennet -, born June, 1683, and with her and their two eldest children came to Pennsylvania, September, 1713, and settled in Cheltenham township, Philadel- phia, now Montgomery county, on a plantation of one hundred and ten acres, purchased of John Ashman. John Thomas died in Cheltenham, December 25, 1747, and his widow, January 22, 1755. Issue:

Ann, b. in Wales, Dec. 12, 1708; m., May 13, 1729, Benjamin Morris:

Elizabeth, b. in Wales, Nov. 6, 1711;

Mary, b. Nov. 13, 1713; m., May 21, 1731, William Brittin;

John, b. Jan. 19, 1716; m., March 5, 1752, Lucretia, dau. of John and Eleanor (Crispin) Hart, of Warminster, Bucks co., Pa., and a descendant of Capt. Thomas Holme, Capt. William Crispin, Capt. John Rush, and John Hart, from Witney, Oxfordshire; they were the ancestors of many prominent families of Harford co., Md .;

Sarah, b. June 24, 1717; m. John White;

Isaac, b. Feb. 7, 1719; d., unm., 1760;

NATHAN, b. Jan. 26, 1721; of whom presently;

Margaret, b. Feb. 20, 1723; m., Nov. 23, 1752, Matthias Keen, a descendant of Joran Kyn, one of the leading Swedish settlers on the Delaware, who accompanied Gov. John Printz from Stockholm to the Delaware, in 1643;

Hannah, b. March 30, 1725; m., Dec. 24, 1747, Elias Keen, brother to Matthias, who m. her sister, Margaret;

Jacob, b. Sept. II, 1727. 6

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NATHAN THOMAS, seventh child of John and Jennet Thomas, born in Chelten- ham, Philadelphia county, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1721, married, April II, 1756, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard and Sarah (Penrose) Mather, granddaugh- ter of Bartholomew and Esther (Leech) Penrose, and great-granddaughter of Toby and Esther (Ashmead) Leech, who came from Cheltenham, England,, and settled in Cheltenham township, Philadelphia county. Nathan Thomas died De- cember, 1776.

Issue of Nathan and Elizabeth (Mather) Thomas:

Rachel, b. July 21, 1757; d. unm .;

Sarah, b. Feb. 5, 1759; d. unm .;

Isaac, b. May 29, 1762; m., Oct. 19, 1786, Ann, dau. of John and Ann (Nanna) Roberts;

Joseph, b. June 20, 1765; m., May 20, 1790, Rebecca, dau. of Benjamin Cottman;

JACOB, b. Jan. 20, 1768; of whom presently;

Nathan, b. Oct. 30, 1770; went to sea and was never after heard from;

John, b. March 22, 1774; m., March 29, 1810, Elizabeth, dau. of Joseph Hart, of the same family as Lucretia Hart, wife of his uncle, John Thomas;

Elizabeth, b. May 20, 1778; d. Jan. 21, 1863; m., Dec. 12, 1799, Samuel Ruth.

JACOB THOMAS, third son of Nathan and Elizabeth (Mather) Thomas, and father of Elizabeth ( Thomas ) Elliott, wife of Isaac Elliott, was born January 20, 1768; married, April 23. 1793, Ann,, daughter of Jonathan Johnson ; issue :

Margaretta, b. Aug. 17, 1794; d. April 16, 1795;

James Connelly, b. Feb. 9, 1796; d., unm., April 24, 1830;

Elizabeth, b. Feb. 13, 1798; d. Sept. 12, 1881; m., Nov. 18, 1819, Isaac Elliott;

Mary Ann, b. Jan. 19, 1800; d. Aug. 22, 1881 ; m., May 4, 1826, John B. Jewell;

Johnson, b. May 3, 1802; d. 1803;

Charles Johnson, b. Aug. 13, 1803; d. Aug. 20, 1871; m., Nov. 12, 1829, Mary, dau. of James Molony ;

Joseph Mather, b. Aug. 14, 1805; d. Dec. 16, 1861; m., Feb. 20, 1834, Lydia, dau. of An- thony and Mary (Ogden) Cuthbert;

John Burtis, b. April 21, 1808; d. at sea; unm .;

Lucretia Eleanor, b. Oct. 9, 1811; m. (first), July 1, 1829, William J. Kirk, (second), Oct. 20, 1836, William Hart Carr.

Issue of Isaac and Elizabeth (Thamas ) Elliott:

Anna Thomas Elliott, b. Sept. 7, 1820; m., May 20, 1844, John West Nevins, member of Company I, First Regiment, Pennsylvania Artillery, 1844; issue :

Isaac Elliott Nevins, d. in Yokohama, Japan; unm .;

Samuel Nevins, b. Aug. 4, 1847; living in Phila .; merchant, dealer in clays and chemicals; issue :

Anna Barclay Nevins; Frances Bernadou Nevins: Esther Bowman Nevins.

J. West Nevins, Jr., d. young ; Russell Hubbard Nevins, d. unm.

Samuel Bonnyman Elliott, of the U. S. N., b. March 30, 1822; d. April 28, 1876; m. in Washington, D. C., Nov. 23, 1847, Julianna Marshall, dau. of Henry Knapp Randall, b. Sept. 28, 1793, d. Feb. 2, 1877, by his wife, Emily Munroe, b. Nov. 12, 1805, d. Ang. 14, 1876; issue :

Henry Randall Elliott, b. Nov. 26, 1848, at Washington, D. C .; m. at St. John's Church, Washington, D. C., Oct. 8, 1873, Helen Charlotte Tompkins, b. in Bing- hamton, N. Y., Jan. 5, 1851 ; issue :

Henry Randall Elliott, Jr., b. July 18, 1874, in Washington, D. C .; m., June 24, 1896, at Hamilton, Va., Elizabeth Davisson, dan. of Dr. James William and Sophia A. Taylor, of Va .; issue: Randall Davisson Taylor Elliott, b.

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Aug. 30, 1897. Henry Randall Elliott, Jr., graduated at Univ. of Va., in medicine, June, 1895, degree M. D .; in charge of out-patient department, nervous diseases, and at George Washington University Hospital; in- structor in physiology at George Washington University, all in Washing- ton, D. C .;

Ross Tompkins Elliott, b. in Washington, D. C., Nov. 16, 1876; m., April 13, 1904, in Alexandria, Va., Helen Josephine, dau. of M. B. Harlow, of Alexandria, Va., real estate, loan and insurance, in Alexandria, Va .;

Emily Louise Elliott, b. in Washington, D. C., Sept. 8, 1879;

Charles Bernadon Elliott, b. June 27. 1882; Second Lieutenant U. S. A., now with Thirtieth Infantry;

Randall Webb Elliott, b. 1885; d. 1906.

Thomas Monroe Elliott, b. in Washington, D. C., March 31, 1851; d. in Washing- ton, D. C., March 5, 1896; m., Oct. 16, 1877, at Washington, D. C., Marian Vir- ginia, dau. of Thomas Jefferson and Mary Ann Galt, of Washington, D. C .; issue :

Julianna Randall Elliott, b. July 8, 1879;

Mary Hunter Elliott, b. Dec. 29, 1880; m. at Washington, April 28, 1906, Frederick Lemuel Buckelew, of Jamesburg, N. J .;

Ellen Galt Elliott, b. Nov. 15, 1882; m. at Washington, D. C., William Madi- son Mason, of Washington, D. C .;

Helen Munroe Elliott, b. Feb. 19, 1884, at Washington, D. C .; m., April 18, 1906, at Washington, D. C., Harry S. Whiting, of Washington, D. C .; Alexander Munroe Elliott, b. July 26, 1886;

Marian Virginia Elliott, b. in Washington, D. C., Nov. 30, 1888.

Annabella Harlan Elliott, b. July 8, 1824; d. March II, 1906; m., Dec. 23, 1858, Dr. Ed- ward S. Finlay, of Santa Cruz, West Indies; five children, all of whom d. young, ex- cept one, viz .: Edward Elliott Finlay;

Elizabeth Ruth Elliott, b. Feb. 19, 1827; m., Oct. 1, 1857, Francis Fabars Bernadou, merchant of Phila .; she resides at Mount Airy, Phila .; no surviving issue;

Mary Josephine Elliott, b. Sept. 14, 1828; d. June 22, 1892; m., Oct. 11, 1853, Whitton Evens, of Phila .; four children, two of whom survive, viz. :

Elizabeth Elliott Evens, wife of Edward Osgood Richards, of New York; no issue;

Whitton Evens, Jr., b. Aug. 12, 1860; merchant in Phila., dealer in dyestuffs and chemicals; member of Union League, Philadelphia County Club and Markham Club; unm.

Caleb Cresson Elliott, b. Sept. 9. 1830; d. Feb. 17, 1832;

Jacob Thomas Elliott, b. July 9, 1832; d. Nov. 13, 1872; m., Feb. 19, 1856, Victoria Ro- sina, dau. of Thomas B. Bartzell, of Baltimore, Md., and had issue :

Eliza T. Elliott, b. March 10, 1857, wife of Henry Morris, M. D., of Phila., de- scendant of Robert Morris, "Financier of the Revolution";

Victoria B. Elliott, b. Feb. 19, 1859; m., Oct. 26, 1881, John Calvert, b. March 9, 1855, son of John Calvert, b. Jan. 8, 1809, d. March 9, 1869, by his wife, Julia Stockton Rush; grandson of Edward Henry Calvert, b. Nov. 7, 1766, d. July 12, 1846, in the old Calvert mansion, Mount Airy, Md., by his wife, Elizabeth Bis- coe; great-granddaughter of Benedict Calvert, b. in England, son of Charles, fifth Lord Baltimore, and great-great-grandson of Cecil Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, to whom the charter for the Province of Maryland was granted, June, 1632. Benedict Calvert was sent to Md. when a youth, in charge of a private tutor, and was appointed Collector of His Majesty's Customs, at Pa- tuxet, 1745, and in 1748 m. Elizabeth, dau. of Hon. Charles Calvert, Governor of Md .; d. in Md., Jan., 1788. John and Victoria B. (Elliott) Calvert have one child, viz. :

Cecilius Baltimore Calvert, b. Sept. 11, 1882.

Eleanor S. Elliott, b. April 24, 1862, wife of Morris Booth Miller, M. D., of Phila., b. in Chester, 1868, son of Isaac Lewis and Clara ( Booth) Miller; matriculate of Swarthmore College; graduate of medical department of Univ. of Pa., with degree of M. D., 1889; surgeon to Douglass Hospital; assistant surgeon, Phila- delphia General Hospital; professor of surgery, Polyclinic Hospital; member numerous medical and scientific societies, and the Univ. of Pa .; one child, Eliza- beth Elliott Miller, b. Oct. 14, 1898.

Joseph Thomas Elliott, b. Jan. 11, 1834: d. July 11, 1834;

LUCRETIA KIRK ELLIOTT, b. June 26. 1835: d. June 3, 1895: m. Henry Bower, of Phila .: of whom presently;

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Charles Thomas Elliott, b. Sept. 26, 1837; d. July 13, 1838;

Isaac Elliott, b. Feb. 23, 1839; d. July 6, 1839;

Laura Howard Elliott, b. Ang. 4, 1840; unm .; living in Phila., with her nephews, Will- iam H. and Frank B. Bower, at 2420 Spruce st.

LUCRETIA KIRK ELLIOTT, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth ( Thomas ) Elliott, of Philadelphia, born June 26, 1835, married, June 5, 1862, Henry Bower, of Phil- adelphia, born in that city in 1833,, died there March 26, 1896. He graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy in 1854, and engaged for a time in the business of broker in chemicals, and in 1856 began the manufacture of chem- icals at Twenty-ninth street and Gray's Ferry road, where the works which he established are at present located.

Lucretia Kirk (Elliott ) Bower died June 3, 1895.

Issue of Henry and Lucretia Kirk ( Elliott ) Bower:

William Henry Bower, b. at 1904 Pine st., Phila., June 13, 1864; entered class of '85, de- partment of arts, Univ. of Pa., 1880, and transferred to the Towne Scientific School, at close of freshman year; member of Philomathean Society, and $. K. Y. Fraternity; president of class of '85. in senior year: received degree of Bachelor of Science (B. S.), and Practical Chemist (P. C.), 1886, after a post-senior year; he is member of Franklin Institute of state of Pa., Society of Chemical Industry (Great Britain), American Chemical Society, National Geographic Society, American Leather Chem- ists' Association, and now (1906) president of Manufacturing Chemists' Association of the United States; in 1893 he enlisted in Company D, First Regiment Infantry, N. G. P., in which his brother, Frank, was then a Sergeant, and afterwards First Lieutenant; he is also a member of the University and Markham clubs of Phila .; he is unm., and living at 2420 Spruce st., Phila .;

George Rosengarten Bower, b. at Germantown, Ang. 1, 1866; entered the Department of Arts, Univ. of Pa., 1881; member of Philomathean Society, and $. K. v. Fraternity ; received degree of Bachelor of Arts (A. B.), 1885; member of Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Union League, Rittenhouse and Markham clubs of Phila., and Mary- land Club, Baltimore; m. Agnes Lee, dan. of William A. M. and Elizabeth (Wilmer) Fuller, of Phila., and lives at Torresdale, Phila .; Issue :

George Bower, b. in Phila., Dec. 20, 1893;

Henry Bower, b. in Rosemont, Pa., June 11, 1896.

Elise Elliott Bower, m. Sydney Thayer, son of John Borland (class of '57, Univ. of Pa.) and Mary Randolph (Chapman) Thayer; Sydney Thayer was b. at Wayne, Delaware co., Pa., July 7, 1867; entered Towne Scientific School, Univ. of Pa., 1882, class of '86, and left during the sophomore year; they live at Merion, Montgomery co., Pa .; issue : Emily Markoe and Sydney, Jr .;

Frank Bernadou Bower, b. in Phila., Feb. 4, 1871; entered Towne Scientific School, Univ. of Pa., 1888, class of '92, and left at the close of the senior year; member of +. K. Z. Fraternity; he was First Lieutenant of Company D, First Regiment, N. G. P., and afterwards a member of First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, N. G. P., going with the latter organization to the Spanish-American War, 1898; member of Markham Club of Phila .; unm. (1906), and lives at 2420 Spruce st., Phila .; appointed Captain and Inspector of Rifle Practice, Third Regiment Infantry, N. G. P., Sept. 28, 1906.

Johann Friedrich Schmidt Prediger der Deutschen Lutherischen Gemeine ut Philadelphia geb.den gur Januar 1746 in Deutschland; starb den 16Mar 1812.

IV. HINCKLE SMITH FAMILY.

JOHANN FREDERICK SCHMIDT, pioneer ancestor of the Smith family with which this narrative is concerned, was born at Frohse, near Aschersleben, Principality of Halberstadt, (Halle) Germany, January 9, 1746. His father, a highly respect- able farmer, gave special attention to the education of his children, and Johann Frederick was sent to the Orphan House, University of Halle, then under the care of the celebrated educator and scholar, George A. Francke, who had suc- ceeded Augustus Herman Francke, the celebrated German philanthropist and theologian, first Professor of Greek and Oriental Languages in the University of Halle, and founder of the Orphan House, and School connected therewith,, 1695.

Johann Frederick Schmidt made rapid progress in the classics and sciences in this excellent educational institution, and in 1765 was admitted to the University of Halle. Here he retained his high reputation for scholarship, and choosing the Church as his life work, engaged in the study of theology with great zeal, as well as that of the Hebrew, Syriac and Arabic languages. He also distinguished him- self in mathematics, astronomy and history; in ecclesiastic history he had few superiors. While at the University of Halle, he was appointed teacher in the Orphan House School for two years, giving instruction there in mathematics. and the Latin and Greek languages.

When his fellow student at the Orphan House School and University, John Henry Christian Helmuth, D. D., University of Pennsylvania, 1785, and pastor of German Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, received a call as missionary to Penn- sylvania, 1768, he sought and secured the company of his lifelong friend and col- league, John Frederick Schmidt, and the two young divines started on their jour- ney. After an affecting farewell at the home of his parents, both the young men were ordained at Wenigerode, and proceeded to Hamburg to secure passage to Philadelphia. Through some unforeseen difficulties they were delayed there and finally proceeded to London, England, whence they sailed for Philadelphia, January, 1769, and arrived in that city in April following.

On his arrival in Philadelphia young Schmidt was warmly welcomed by Dr. Henry Melchior Muhlenburg, and was for some time entertained at the home of that eminent man. After a few months he was appointed pastor of the German Lutheran Church of Germantown, Philadelphia, and served that congregation with fidelity and zeal for seventeen years.

His pastorate of the Germantown Church covered the period of the Revolution- ary War, and being a zealous supporter of the patriot cause, he was compelled to flee the city during the time it was occupied by the British army. In 1785 he was elected assistant to his friend, Dr. Helmuth, at the German Lutheran Church, of Philadelphia, was made its second minister the following year, and served in that capacity until his death, May 16, 1812, in his sixty-seventh year, and was buried in the graveyard of Zion Church, which he had so long served. During the ravages of the yellow fever in the city, 1793, he buried his wife and seven children in rapid succession, and though he was himself twice afflicted with the dread disease he continued his labours unremittingly among the sick and dying.

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Colonial families of Philadelphia, Volume II, Part 95

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