USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Gwynedd > Historical collections relating to Gwynedd, a township of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, settled, 1696, by immigrants from Wales, with some data referring to the adjoining township, of Montgomery, also settled by Welsh > Part 6
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The allusion to the material of which Thomas Evans's house was built,- barked logs,- and the statement that this was superior to the houses of the other settlers, give us suffi- cient light on the subject of their general character, fixing them as log cabins, with the bark unremoved. Such, no doubt, the first dwellings of the township were.
Besides the four Evans dwellings, we can fix with certainty the home of Edward Foulke. The house at Penllyn station, for many years Jesse Spencer's, lately the property of D. C. Wharton, and now occupied by members of his family, is on the site of Edward's house. Thomas Foulke, his eldest son, settled, when he married, in 1706, on a part of his father's lands, and the house which was long occupied by William Foulke, his great-great-grandson, afterwards sold to D. C. Whar- ton, and lately part of his estate, was Thomas's residence. Joseph Foulke's book says : "A stone milk-house F is yet standing (1846), in good repair, dated T G 1728 (i.e. Thomas and Gwen Foulke, 1728).
John Humphrey's house, one of the two places at which the
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Friends held their meetings, was near the Spring-House, at the place known in recent time as Reuben Yocum's, up the Bethlehem turnpike, north of the hotel,- such, at least, is the well-preserved tradition. John was a somewhat notable person. A brief memorial of him, by Gwynedd monthly meeting, is pre- served in the John Smith manuscript collection, as follows :
"John Humphrey arrived here from Wales in the year 1698, was one of the first settlers of Gwynedd, and an elder several years. He departed this life 13th of 9th month, 1738, and was buried at Gwynedd, aged 70 years."
His will is on record in Philadelphia. It is dated 7th mo. 3, 1736, and was proved December (10th mo.) 2d, 1738. He appoints as " overseers" of the will "my cousin John Jones, and my friends John Jones, carpenter, and John Evans." The witnesses are Rowland Roberts, who signs his name with his mark, "R. R."; Thomas Evans (Owen's son, no doubt), who signs with a mark T. E., joined in a monogram; and Isaac Cook, who makes his initials only "i. c." John Humphrey himself signs with his mark, " I. H." in rude letters. The con- tents of the will are of some interest. He leaves 30 pounds to his sister Elizabeth Thomas, 5 pounds to the children of Evan Griffith, 5 to his son-in-law Cadwallader Jones, 5 to his son-in- law Hugh Jones, 5 to his " daughter-in-law " Elizabeth Davies, 5 to his niece Gainor Jones, and 5 to his niece Catharine Lloyd. To Gwynedd preparative meeting he leaves 50 pounds, the in- terest to be applied to the relief of its poor and indigent mem- - bers, but he expresses the hope that if any of his relations, members of the Society, though not of this meeting, should be in want, their claims will be considered. To his grandson John Jones he leaves 30 pounds, and his riding horse,-to receive them when he is 15 years old. To his grandson Humphrey Jones he leaves 30 pounds, and to his granddaughter Jane
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Jones 25 pounds and a case of drawers, which she is to receive at the age of 18. To his granddaughter Sibill Jones he leaves 27 pounds, with a brass kettle, which she is to have at 15, and to his granddaughters Elizabeth and Gainor Jones 30 pounds apiece. But as to these legacies to his grandchildren, he par- ticularly says that they are to receive nothing unless "by their good conduct they recommend themselves worthy and deserv- ing." He gives a legacy to his daughter-in-law Katharine Jones, and to his son Humphrey Jones all his remaining estate, real and personal, appointing him executor.
The number of these legacies and their amounts indicate that John Humphrey was comparatively rich. Upon this point, however, we get more light from the inventory filed with his will. This exhibits him as an extensive money lender. He must have been the banker of the neighboring country. The total of the inventory (personal estate only) is 1,027 pounds 9 shillings, of which but 80 pounds 18 shillings is for household or other goods, the remainder being made up by a mortgage of Robert Hugh, 60 pounds, and by "obligations,"- which we may assume to mean bonds and notes,-numbering no less than eighty-two, altogether. The list of debtors who had given these obligations is a long one, and includes many of the second gen- eration of the Gwynedd people, with others in Montgomery and elsewhere. Five of the notes are by Rowland Roberts, four by William Mellchor, three by John Clayton, two by William Williams, two by Hugh Foulke, two by Barnard Young, the others generally one each by different persons.
That his interest in his money-lending had been regarded as somewhat absorbing may be inferred by the very guarded memorial of the monthly meeting ; but Joseph Foulke, in his Journal, records a statement as coming from his mother, Ann Foulke (born Roberts), which is still more distinct. She de-
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scribes him as having been, at one time, a very exemplary Friend, meek and humble, enduring suffering and persecution, etc., and then she adds : " But when he became settled in Gwy- nedd, and was well rewarded for his industry and economy, he became rich, his bonds and mortgages increased, and as they did so the fine gold became dim, and his usefulness in the church declined apace." A Friend from Richland1 attended the monthly meeting at Gwynedd, and in the afternoon rode to his home, twenty miles distant, under great exercise of mind con- cerning John Humphrey. He passed a restless night at home, and rode back to John Evans' (the son of Cadwallader), in the morning. Arriving there, he would not eat or drink until he had delivered his message, so, taking John Evans with him, they went to John Humphrey and told him "he had better burn all his bonds and mortgages than preserve them; that it would be much better for himself and his posterity, and this was the word of the Lord to him." The Friend then returned with John Evans, ate and drank, and rode home to Richland with a peaceful mind !
It will be observed that John Humphrey's son is called Humphrey Jones. This was following the ordinary Welsh usage of the time, keeping no family name, but changing it with each generation, by adopting as the surname the first name of the parent.2 This custom existed among the Welsh immi- grants, at the time of their arrival, and it was followed by them after coming, in a number of cases, though generally the English usage of preserving a family name was adopted. The five brothers Roberts (whose genealogy is elsewhere given in
1 Adds J. F., in his Journal.
' Paxton Hood, in his Life of Cromwell, says Henry VIII., who, as a Tudor, might claim the right to advise, urged the Welsh strongly to abandon their custom, and adopt the family surname system of the English. But the Welsh were slow to give up national customs.
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this volume), were the sons of Robert Cadwallader. John Griffith, of Merion (who married Edward Foulke's daughter Jane), and his brother, Evan Griffith, were the sons of Griffith John. The children of Evan Pugh of Gwynedd appear to have generally taken the name of Evan, and not Pugh; at any rate, the meeting records show the marriages of Jane Evan, daughter of Evan Pugh, in 1709; Hugh Evan, son of Evan Pugh (to Mary Robert, daughter of Robert John), in 1716; Catherine Evan, daughter of Evan Pugh, in 1717; and Cadwallader The marriage lists show Evan, son of Evan Pugh, in 1722. several other instances : Edward Jones and Evan Jones, who both married daughters of Thomas Evans, of Gwynedd, were sons of John Evan, of Radnor; Robert Hugh, son of Hugh Griffith, is recorded as marrying, in 1717; Griffith Hugh, son of Hugh Griffith, in 1718; and John Roger, son of Roger Roberts (of Merion), in 1717.
A curious instance of the effect of this change of surname is seen in the case of the four brothers Evans, of Gwynedd, and the Owens, of Merion,- descendants of Robert and Jane. The father of the Evans brothers, and the father of Robert Owen, were brothers,- being the sons of Evan Robert Lewis, of Fron Goch, in Wales. They were named respectively Owen ap Evan, and Evan ap Evan, and the children of the former, having come to Pennsylvania, were known thereafter as Owens, while those of the latter were known as Evanses.
Humphrey Jones, John Humphrey's son, married, in 1719, Catharine, the daughter of William John. Her father was then deceased, having died in 1712. It seems likely that he was a man advanced in years, and older than his wife, Jane, for she survived until about 1740. The place of his residence is not certain, but Mr. Mathews thinks, and this is likely, that he lived at the place owned for many years by George W. Dane-
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hower, and occupied in recent times by Frank Myers, on the West Point road, just south-west of the toll-gate by Kneedler's. The house is old, and there are plain date marks upon it of the year 1712. It stands within the southern limit,-though very close to the line,- of William John's tract, and the prob- ability is strong that it is William John's house; and though it will be noted that the year of its erection was the same year in which he died, yet as his will is dated in August, and proved in November, he may have been the man who built this house.1
Dwelling for a moment on William John and his family,- as they will not come into any of the genealogies hereafter to be given,- he was the richest man in the township, if we may judge by the size of his tract, which was nearly three times as large as any other. I cannot trace what relation he was, if any, to Robert John, or to Griffith John, of Merion,2 but that they were related is indicated by the fact that in several instances they signed marriage certificates in a group,- a slight evi- dence of relationship, as it was the usage for relatives of the marrying parties to sign by families, in the order of their near- ness of connection.
William John had several children, including at least five daughters and one son, as follows :
I. Gwen, m., 1704, William Lewis, of Newtown, Chester County ; d. before 1717-1718, when her husband re-married.
1 The date is cut in a stone near the peak of the western gable, and also in a stone close to the south door-way. The building is a two-story stone house with a wing kitchen. It has wide deep chimney-places, and one upper window, in which the ancient sash have been allowed to remain, is filled with little panes of glass, six inches by two. There is some appearance that the wing kitchen was built earlier than the main dwelling, and tradition says that a log cabin, still earlier in date, stood a little distance to the southward, by a spring. A depression in the ground at this place is supposed to be the site of the cabin, which was, no doubt, the original home of William John and his family.
2 John Humphrey's will indicates that he and William John were brothers-in-law.
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2. Margaret, m., Ist, 1705, Robert Ellis, of Merion ; and 2d, 1709, David Llewellyn, of Haverford, widower.
3. Gainor, m., 1714, Abraham Musgrave, "son of Thomas, late of Halifax, Yorkshire, Great Britain, yeoman, deceased."
4. Catharine, m., 1719, Humphrey Jones.
5. Ellin.
6. John, m., Margaret
All these children were living at the time of William John's death, and they or their husbands are all named in his will. The son John being appointed executor with the widow, Jane, may have been older than some of his sisters,-for instance, Gainor and Catharine, who were single then, and for some years after. To John was left 1400 acres of land, with the dwelling, plantation, etc., which the testator had made, life-right of one- half being reserved to the widow. To Gainor, Ellin, and Catha- rine was left the detached tract of 322 acres in the lower end of the township, adjoining Edward Foulke's, at Penllyn.
Next below William John's tract was that of Evan ap Hugh. His life in Gwynedd was brief. In May, 1703, he received the confirmatory patent for his land from Penn's commissioners, and on nearly the same date made his will.1 His death occurred soon after. Of the 1068 acres which his tract proved to contain he had sold 454 (200 acres of it to Meredith David, and 150 to John Roberts), and by his will he divided the remaining 614 acres equally between his two sons, Hugh, the elder and " heir at law," and David, the younger. The will provided, however, that Hugh should have the end of the tract containing "the house and settlement" which the father had made. This house must have been just above North Wales, and on the eastern side of the turnpike, but the tract of Hugh, on which it stood, lay chiefly on the other side of the present road, extending for some distance, while the 307 acres
1 The will is dated May 21, the patent May 22.
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that' David got adjoined, and reached over to the line of Wor- cester townships. Both the brothers, in a few years, sold their tracts : Hugh his, in 1718, to Cadwallader Foulke (Edward's son), for 180 pounds; and David his to Humphrey Bate, who had married their mother, Ann, the widow of Evan ap Hugh.
The Bates, Humphrey and his wife, left the township, probably about 1720, and we find them recorded as of Philadel- phia county ; and in 1723 they, with David and Hugh Pugh, joined in a deed for David's tract to William Lewis, of Newtown, Chester county. This William was, no doubt, the one who married William John's daughter, Grace, as recorded above. She had, however, died before this purchase of 1723, and he had married, at Gwynedd meeting, in March, 1717-18, " Lowry Jones, widow," whom I take to be Lowry, daughter of Thomas Evans, who in 171 I had married Evan Jones, son of John Evan, of Radnor.
Of Robert John, who owned the tract next below Evan ap Hugh, we know considerable, from the records. He was one of the richest of the first settlers, as is indicated by the char- acter and extent of the inventory of his personal property at the time of his death, in 1732. My impression is that he had been in Merion, before 1698, and that he came from there to Gwynedd.1 He was, it appears by his will, a nephew of Thomas Evans, and of Cadwallader Evans, for he appoints "my loving uncle, Cadwallader Evans, [and] my cousins Evan Evans, Owen Evans [the sons of Thomas], John Jones, carpenter, and John Evans " [son of Cadwallader], to be overseers of his will. The relationships disclosed in this lead to the conjecture that Robert
1 A Robert John (but that it was the same I do not pretend to say) brought a cer- tificate to Haverford meeting, 12th mo. 10, 1696, from Hendre Mawr meeting, in Merionethshire, Wales. At the same time Hugh Griffith, and children (who may have been, after all, the same that settled in Gwynedd in 1698), brought their certificate from the same place.
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John was the son of Evan John, of Merion, who was brother to Reese John, and that Evan John's wife was the sister of the four Evans brothers. In this way Robert would be first cousin to John Jones, carpenter (son of Reese John), and to the sons of Thomas and Cadwallader Evans.
We know, further, that Robert John, of Gwynedd, married, in 1706, Gainor Lloyd, of Merion, widow, and that, at his death, in 1732, he left two children, John and Ellin. The records of Gwynedd meeting show :
I. John, b. 5th mo. 8th, 1707.
2. Ellin, b. 4th mo. 19th, 1709.
In his will, Robert John (now calling himself Jones) ap- points his widow and his son John executors. He gives John " the plantation I now live on," containing 300 acres, and also " all that part of the tract of land lately bought of Cadwallader Foulke, which lyeth the east side of the great road, containing by estimation about 185 acres," with its buildings and appurtenances.1 To Ellin he leaves the remainder of the Cad- wallader Foulke tract, "being divided from the other part by the great road, containing 150 acres." He also gives Ellin " one case and drawers, and the table belonging to the same, both standing in the new house 2 chamber."
Robert John, in the deed to him, by Cadwallader Foulke, is called " gentleman." He was a justice of the peace for many years, and was a member of the Provincial Assembly,- altogether a useful and excellent citizen.
Thomas Evan, whose house we have definitely located as on
1 This shows where it was that Evan ap Hugh, the first settler, had built his house, -i. e., north-east of the line on which the "great road," now the turnpike, was sub- sequently laid out.
2 Robert John's " new house" was no doubt where the borough of North Wales now is,- probably the Jacob Shearer (now Swartley) place, on the west side of the turnpike.
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the site of the old Heist hotel (now Cardell's), had, besides daughters, who will be fully mentioned in the Evans Genealogy, four sons :
1. Robert, "of Merion," " eldest son and heir," d. 1754.
2. Hugh, " of Merion," d. 1771, aged 92.
3. Evan, of Gwynedd, preacher, b. 1684, d. 1747.
4. Owen, of Gwynedd, d. 1757.
Among these four sons, Thomas Evan seems to have divided up the whole of his tract, during his lifetime, and not many years after the first settlement. They had something like equal shares, and their lands lay in this order : Evan on the Whitpain line, then Robert, then Owen, then Hugh, reaching to the Montgomery line. (But Robert and Hugh and their father were concerned at different times in conveyances of the lands they held, and I have not thoroughly sifted out these trans- actions.) The sale of 236 acres by the father to Evan took place in 1713 ; and in December, 1715, he made a deed for 306 acres to Owen. The latter's plot lay near the middle of the original great tract, the deed showing that it must have been on both sides of where the turnpike now is, and have included the Meredith farm (now Jonathan Lukens' estate), and part or all of that of the late Algernon S. Jenkins. On the south-western side was property of Robert Evan, and on the north-eastern that of Hugh Evan,- corresponding to the statement made above.
Of these four brothers, Evan and Owen lived and died in Gwynedd. The former, a preacher, will be referred to more fully in a subsequent chapter. Owen lived on the Meredith place, and I think the old house there, still standing, was built by him. It was very old, Margaret Meredith says, when her father, Dr. Joseph Meredith, bought it in 1814. Owen Evans was an active Friend, and has a short memorial in the John Smith manuscript collection. He was a store-keeper by occu-
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pation, was a justice of the peace, and for many years a member of the Provincial Assembly; was twice married, and died in 1757.
The other two sons, Robert and Hugh, appear to have lived mostly in Merion, where they both died. Both were men of considerable property. In deeds, 1705 and 1709, Robert is located " of Merion." Further details will be given concerning him and his brother Hugh in the chapter on the Evans Gene- alogy. Concerning their father, however, it may be here stated that in 1722 he married, for his second wife, Hannah Davies, of Goshen, Chester county. She was then a widow for the second time. Her first husband was Reese John, of Merion (the Reese John William repeatedly mentioned in this volume; by him she was the mother of John Jones, carpenter, of Montgomery, and other children) ; her second husband, whom she married about 1702, and who died about 1720, was Ellis David, of Goshen ; and for her third she took, in 1722, our Gwynedd chief of the clan Evans. He was then 71 years old, and she 66.1 After his marriage he removed to Goshen, and the Friends' records show the certificate of Gwynedd meeting, given for his removal, in which he is called "our antient friend Thomas Evans ;" and while it speaks of him very highly, it adds that "many of us were more willing if he could find his way clear to have finished the remainder of his days where he was more conversant."
Thomas, however, lived out his span of life at Goshen. They made him an overseer of the meeting there, from 1735 to 1737 ; in 1738, the 12th of Ioth month, he died, aged 87 years. His widow survived him until 9th month 29th, 1741, when she died, aged 85. Her will is on record in Philadelphia, and she leaves bequests to her several children, and to various other persons.2
1 His son Hugh had married her daughter Lowry.
2 See further details in the Jones Genealogy, post.
IX. Establishment of the Friends' Meeting.
I N any narrative of the early life of Gwynedd, the Friends' meeting occupies a conspicuous place. It and the first settlement are associated in all the old accounts. The meeting is substantially as old as the township; the erection of the meet- ing-house was almost the first object of the people's common efforts ; and for three-quarters of a century it was the only place of public worship within the township. Located at the geographical centre, for the common convenience, it was the centre, likewise, of the most important and serious interests of the community. These fervently religious people held sacred their house of worship, but, besides, it was dear to them as the place where they celebrated their simple but solemn ceremonials of marriage, and where, with repressed but not the less strong sorrow, they committed the remains of their dead to the final rest. Closely attached to each other, not only as countrymen whose race feeling is proverbial, but by ties of kindred which made them almost a single family, they formed in the beginning a singularly compact and united body, and when they gathered at the meeting-house, it was a re-union of members whose interests, feelings, and ideas were all in common. The First- day morning gathering, the exhortation by Robert Evans, or his brother Cadwallader; the greetings when meeting broke, the chat outside, under the white-oaks and buttonwoods, made a most important feature in the quiet life of the little community ; while the visit of Friends from Merion or Plymouth, with a
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sermon by Hugh Roberts, Ellis Pugh, or Rowland Ellis, was an experience awakening its special interest; and such extraor- dinary occasions as an appointed meeting by a famous preacher, - Thomas Chalkley, or John Fothergill, perhaps,- were events that stirred it to its depths.
The minute-book of Gwynedd monthly meeting begins in 1714, with several minutes, reciting the authority (from Haver- ford monthly and Philadelphia quarterly meetings) for organiz- ing the new monthly meeting, and it also gives the following historical account :
"This place hath been originally settled by the present inhabitants, most of them yet living, and called by the name of Gwynedd township, in the latter end of the year 1698, and beginning of the year 1699. The Principal Settlers and Purchasers among others were William Jones, Thomas Evans, Robert Evans, Owen Evans, Cadwallader Evans, Hugh Griffith, John Hugh, Edward Foulke, John Humphrey, and Robert Jones. Amongst all those concern'd in this settlem't, there were but few particu- lars that publickly appeared for Truth before they came from their Native Country, though several among them were convinced and had a Secret Love to Truth and Its followers, and soon after gave Obedience & Gradu- ally Joined in a new Society. These few mentioned, with the first Con- veniency often met together to wait upon the Lord, at the houses of John Hugh and John Humphrey, until more were added to their numbers.
"In the year 1700, two years after our arrival in this land, a Meet- ing House was Built, and meetings kept therein by the Consent and approbation of Haverford Monthly Meeting, unto which we at first Joyn'd ourselves, and under whose care we were for a time.
"And finding our number to Increase, and Truth prevail, it was thought necessary to Build a new Meeting House, which was erected in 1712, and on the 19th of the Ninth Month in the same year the first meet- ing of worship was held therein.
"Our numbers still Increasing by many adjacent Settlers Coming in, and a young Generation arising, and not having the opportunity of a Monthly Meeting of worship amongst ourselves, for the benefit of the People in General, more especially the young and rising Generation, yt
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are not so well acquainted with the Discipline of Truth, a Consideration arose in the minds of Fr'ds to Gwynedd and Plymouth Meetings, and a religious concern to have the same settled among us, and in order thereto profess'd their Inclination to Haverford Monthly Meeting for their appro- bation. The which was obtained, Together with the Concurrence of the Quarterly Meeting att Philadelphia, and immediately was put In practice."
This minute contains the substance of the history of the meeting, from the arrival of the settlers until 1714, but some further details may conveniently be added. The following is from the records of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting :-
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