USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Chester > Historical sketch of Chester, on Delaware > Part 12
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David Porter was born in Boston, February 1, 1780, and was ap- pointed Midshipman April 3, 1703. He was a Lieutenant on board the " Constellation," when that frigate captured the French vessel of war, " L'Insurgent,". in February, 1799, and was promo- ted for his bravery on that occasion. In 1800, he was wounded in an engagement with pirates off Santo Domingo, and was promoted to the command of the "Enterprise." While commanding that vessel he captured a Tripolitan corsair. He had charge of the ex- pedition which destroyed several feluccas ladened with wheat, under the batteries at Tripoli, in which engagement he was again wound- ed. In 1803, he was captured in the frigate " Philadelphia," when that vessel grounded in the harbor of Tripoli, was taken prisoner and for eighteen months was held as a slave. In 1806, he com-
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manded the " Enterprise," and fought and severely handled twelve Spanish gunboats, near Gibraltar. In 1812, he was commissioned Captain and placed in command of the " Essex," which vessel he rendered famous in our country's annals, although he finally lost the ship in one of the most noted naval combats of history with two British vessels of war, off Valparaiso. In 1815 to 1816, he . was one of the Naval Commissioners, and in the latter year made a successful cruise against the pirates that then infested the Gulf of Mexico. In consequence of some infraction of naval law he was suspended for six months: in 1826 he resigned his commission and entered the Mexican Navy as its Commander-in-Chief, an office which he soon resigned. In 1829, he was appointed United States Consul at Algiers, and when that country was conquered by the French, he was made United States Charge d' Affairs at Constanti- nople, and while discharging the duties of that office he negotiated several important treaties with that government. He died at Pera, near Constantinople, March 3, 1843, and his remains were brought to this country and interred in Woodland cemetery, Philadelphia. Mrs. Evelina Porter survived her husband twenty-eight years, dy- ing October 1, 1871, in her 80th year.
David Porter left five sons and two daughters, the eldest, Evelina, married Captain Harris Heap, and the youngest, Imogene, married Mr. Harris.
William David Porter, the eldest son, born in New Orleans in 1810, entered the navy in his 18th year. During the early part of the Rebellion his loyalty was unjustly suspected, when he was in command of the sloop of war " St. Mary," on the Pacific station. He was, however, assigned to duty on the Mississippi river, where he fitted out the gunboat fleet and was placed in command of the " Essex," which took part in the attack on Forts Henry and Donald- son, in which latter engagement a ball from the fort plunged through the boiler of his vessel and the escaping steam so severely scalded Porter, that he ultimately died from its effects, May 1, 1864. Notwithstanding his feeble health, he ran the batteries be- tween Cairo and New Orleans, took part in the attack on Vicks- burg, destroyed the rebel ram " Arkansas," near Baton Rouge, and assisted in the attack on Fort Hudson. He had by this time be-
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come so ill that he was ordered to New York to recruit his shat- tered health and died there at the date stated.
David D. Porter, the present Admiral, is said to have been born in Philadelphia in 1813, although in his letter to the Hanley Hose Company, respecting the date stone of the Porter House, he speaks of Chester as his native place. When a mere lad at school in this city, one Saturday afternoon he and the late George W. Piper pro- vided themselves with several pounds of powder and made what the boys call a squib. The match seeming to have gone out, David Porter and his companion got down on their knees and blew the flame. The squib exploded and Porter and Piper were blown over the fence, near the old mansion. The hair on their heads was burned off, as well as their eye-brows, and the skin of their faces and hands was blistered badly. This was the future Admiral's " baptism of fire." He entered the Navy as Midshipman, in 1829, and from 1836 to 1840 was attached to the Coast Survey. He took part in the Mexican war, and in 1861 joined the Gulf Squadron in command of the " Powhatan." He was in command of the mor- tar boats in the attack on the Forts below New Orleans, in 1862, and did important duties on the Mississippi and Red Rivers in 1863-'64. He was conspicuous in the siege of Vicksburg, for which he was made Rear-Admiral. In 1864, he was in command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and rendered efficient services in the capture of Fort Fisher, in January, 1865. In 1866, he was made Vice-Admiral, and in 1876, Admiral of the United States. He is the present owner of the old Porter property in this city.
Theodoric Porter, the third son, entered the regular army in 1838, as Lieutenant in the 7th U. S. Infantry, and was killed in a skirmish with the Mexicans, April 18, 1846, during Gen. Taylor's advance previous to the battle of Palo Alto. It is stated by army officers that he strayed out of camp the night before the battle, and his body was found the next morning with several dead Mexi- cans laying around his corpse.
Fifty years ago, when David D. Porter and his younger brother, Theodoric, were living at the old mansion, the winter was very se- vere and the river Delaware was frozen over. The two venturesome men announced their determination to sleigh to Philadelphia.
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Many of the residents of Chester tried to dissuade them from the attempt, but at nine o'clock in the morning they started from the foot of Welsh street, David driving. The mouths of the creeks were piled with ice several feet in height, and they were compelled to take the inside channel. A goodly part of their journey was performed on enormous cakes of ice which were entirely loose from the shore. At noon they reached the Navy Yard, and returning, left that place at three o'clock. The cold had become so in- tense that the two men were compelled to stop and build a fire on the ice to warm themselves. Resuming their journey they reached Chester at nine o'clock at night They had traveled thirty miles on the frozen surface of the river, a feat never attempted before, or, if it had been, no record has been made thereof.
Henry Ogden Porter-or " Budd," as he was familiarly called- the fourth son, named for his uncle, Capt. Henry Ogden, was in the Navy, and afterwards in the Revenue service. During the Rebel- lion he was an acting Lieutenant in the Navy, and fought his vessel -the gunboat " Hatteras"-off Mobile, in an engagement with the " Alabama " until she sunk, her flag still flying proudly as she disappeared beneath the water He died about fifteen years ago near Washington.
Hamilton Porter, the next brother, was a Lieutenant in the Navy, and died of yellow fever while in service, on August 10, 1844.
The old house, after Commodore Porter's family ceased to use it as a residence, was leased to a number of tenants until at last the location of the gas works in that neighborhood rendered it no long- er a desirable dwelling, and it was leased in 1862 to Professor Jackson, of Philadelphia, for a pyrotechnic manufactory. On Fri- day morning, February 17, 1882, shortly after seven o'clock, fire was discovered in the kitchen of the old structure and the alarm was responded to promptly by the fire department, although the en- tire force had been out late the preceding night battling with the flames which had laid the Pennsylvania Military Academy in ruins. The crowd which had gathered about the Porter House kept back because of the report which had been spread among them that gun- powder was stored in the establishment, but when they saw the Chief of the Fire Department and the members of the various fire companies approaching near to the structure, they drew closer to
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the scene. Flames at this time were observed coming out of the windows on the west side, and in half an hour after the firemen had arrived and had gone into service, a slight explosion occurred, which occasioned no injury. The men who had fled in alarm when this explosion took place, being assured that all danger was past, returned to the work of saving the building from absolute destruc- tion. Hardly had the firemen again mounted the ladders and re- sumed their labors, when a second explosion took place, which leveled the walls of the old kitchen to the ground, and tore huge gaps in the northern and southern walls of the main building. The air was filled with stones, which were hurled to great distances, killing in all eighteen persons and wounding fifty-seven, many of the latter still bearing upon their persons the disfiguring marks of their narrow escape from death. The houses in the neighborhood were in many instances damaged, and window glasses were shat- tered at considerable distances from the scene of the explosion. Never before in our city's history was there such wide-spread hor- ror and dismay as on that fatal morning.
Business was entirely suspended and each person sought to learn if any of their family, friends or acquaintances were among those who had been killed or injured. Every effort was immediately made to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded and for the relief of those families wherein death from the explosion had occurred. To that end a fund amounting to about ten thousand dollars was subscribed within a few weeks and distributed by a committee ap- pointed for that purpose. The occurrence of this frightful calamity is too recent to require more than this brief mention now, but it will pass into our history as one of the most appalling events which has ever happened in Chester, and for many years to come will be narrated by those who witnessed it, to succeeding generations, in all the vivid details that memory always lends to such an incident.
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The Barber House.
David Lloyd, under date of June 14, 1699, conveyed a lot on the . north-east corner of Second street and Edgmont avenue to Robert Barber, and he it was who erected the dwelling adjoining the pre- sent " Edgmont House " to the east The house was an imposing one in its day ; the pent roof over the second story window still remains, although the porch, which formerly projected out some distance on the sidewalk, has been removed. It has two doors. The eastern one leading into the parlor, and the western door into the hallway, a room of the same size as the one on the opposite side, and in this apartment the staircase ascended to the rooms above. Back of this was the sitting room, while in the rear of the parlor was a dining room. The fireplaces and hearths in the hall-room and the parlor were laid in blue tiles, presenting scenes from Scrip- tural history, and in the chambers above, on each side of the fire- places, were large closets, similar to those mentioned in the ac- count of the Hoskins and Logan Houses.
Robert Barber died seized of the estate, and by will, July 3, 1708, devised it to his wife Haunah, for life, with remainder to his nephew, Robert Barber. The widow having married and her sec- ond husband having also died, she, on November 19, 1743, as Han- nah Hudson, conveyed her life estate to Robert Barber, thus vest- ing in him the title absolutely. The latter and Hannah, his wife, then residing in Hempfield, Lancaster county, in consideration of ten shillings, and " the love and natural affection they bear unto their son," on August 11, 1747, conveyed the premises and a tract of six acres and other lots in Chester, to John Barber. He, Au- gust 25, of the same year, sold the estate mentioned to Peter Dick, a well-known citizen, who had represented the county in General Assembly. He. it was who owned and operated with John Crosly, the forge at Crum Creek, which Acrelius mentions, and of which Peter Kalm, the Swedish naturalist, in 1748, writes :
" About two English miles behind Chester .I passed an iron forge, which was to the right hand of the roadside. It belonged to two brothers, (?) as I was told. The ore is not, however, dug here, but thirty or forty miles hence, where it is first melted in an oven and
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then carried to this place. The bellows were made of leather, and both they and the hammers, and even the hearth, but small in pro- portion to ours. All the machines were worked by water."
Peter Dick dying seized of the estate, by will, November 4, 1756, devised this house to his son, John Dick, who thereafter be- coming embarrassed, the dwelling was taken in execution and sold by Jonathan Fairlamb, Sheriff, November 26, 1763, (subject to the payment of a mortgage for £150 held by H. H. Graham,) to Elisha Price.
Elisha Price, a nephew of Elisha Gatchell, who became so noted in the controversy between Penn and Lord Baltimore, was a law- yer of prominence in the last century, having been a student in the office of Joseph Parker. He frequently represented Chester county in the Colonial Legislature, and in the troublous times preceding the active outbreak of hostilities in the war for Independence, he was an unflinching Whig. When the merchants of Philadelphia and New York adopted their noted non-importation agreement and asked the support therein of the people in the outlying districts, he was one of three to whom was addressed the circular sent to Chester county, and was one of the committee selected by the Con- vention, July 15, 1774, held in this Borough to consider the mat- ter. The following day he, with his associates, met similar com- mittees from the other counties. in Philadelphia In 1775, he was appointed one of the seven committeemen of correspondence from Chester county. He was an earnest Episcopalian, and from 1767 to 1798 his name appears among the vestrymen and wardens of St Paul's Church. His wife was descended from James Barton, a minister of Friends, and " an early settler ." says Deborah Logan, " a gentleman and a person of excellent character." Elisha Price died in 1798.
John C. Beatty, of this city, states that in this house, in the north-west room on the first floor, the wound of General Lafayette, after the battle of Bran lywine, was dressed by Mrs. Mary (Gorman) Lyons .* In support of this statement, he narrates the
#In the account of the Columbia House. I referred to a letter written by Joseph Weaver, Jr., in 1343, respecting the house where Lafayette's wound was dressed. The letter at large is as follows .
"CHESTER, DELAWARE COUNTY, April 3. 1843.
HON. CALVIN BLYTHE.
Dear Sir :- I take the freedom of recommending to your attention Mr. Crossman
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following incident which he recalls as having occurred when Lafay- ette was in Chester, in 1824. Mr. Beatty's grandfather, John Caldwell, who did good service for the Continental cause at the battle of Brandywine, took him (Beatty) to see the " National Guest," and when his grandfather had shaken hands with Lafayette, "he said : "You don't remember me, General." " Yes, I do," re- plied the Frenchman ; " You're John Caldwell, I remember you very well; you stood by me when my wounded foot was dressed." That day Caldwell walked with his grandson to this house, and the former showed him (Beatty) where the table stood in the room on which Lafayette laid while his injuries were cared for. During the Revolution, Elisha Price owned and lived in this house.
This property descended to his daughter Abigail, in the distri- bution of his estate which was large, and June 24, 1799, Aaron Musgrave and Abigail, his wife, sold it to Davis Bevan, who in turn, by his will devised it to his son, Matthew L. Bevan. The latter, July 18, 1833, sold it to Isaac Higgins, who lived in the house for many years and died therein. After his death the property was sold by Jobn Larkin, Jr., Sheriff, March 1, 1842, to Thomas Rob- inson, who made extensive repairs to the house, and unfortunately deeming the fire-places with their colored tiles an old fashion to be done away with, tore them out, the tiles being thrown in the street and carried away by the children. Robinson afterward making de- fault in the payment of the mortgage, the premises were sold by Samuel Hibberd, Sheriff, May 27, 1844, to Frederick J. Hinkson, Sr., who March 25, 1851, conveyed the house to William Booth. He owned it until March 26, 1859, when he sold it to Jonathan Pusey. The latter died seized of the estate, and his heirs, Octo- ber 20, 1866, conveyed it to Isaiah H. Mirkil-the man to whom more than all other men, Chester is indebted for the erection of Second street bridge-who still owns it.
Lyons, of this place, as a suitable person for the situation of Collector of Customs at Marcus Hook. From a long acquaintance with Mr. Lyons I feel warranted in rep- resenting him as a man that will well and efficiently execute his duties.
It may not be improper to add that Mr. Lyons is the son of a Revolutionary char- acter who served his country during the whole of that War, in sustaining our Inde. pendence, and his mother was the lady who waited upon and dressed the wounds of Lafayette, at Mrs. Withey's Tavern (now the Columbia House) in Chester, after the battle of Brandywine.
I am very respectfully yours truly,
JOSEPH WEAVER, JR."
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The Sandelands' House.
The ancient dwelling standing on the west side of Edgmont ave- nue, interposing itself directly in the way of the extension of Fourth street to Chester creek, now owned by Jonathan Pennell, was built by Jonas Sandelands, the second son of James Sandelands, the el- der, previous to August 21, 1732, for at that date Arthur Shields and Mary his wife, as the administrators of Sandelands' estate, (his widow Mary having married Shields) conveyed the premises as a messuage and lot to Jacob Howell, a tanner by occupation, subject to a quit rent of one shilling yearly to the heirs of Jonas Sande- lands, forever. It is probable that Howell lived in this house, al- though not then a married man, but having built the dwelling on the east side of Edemont avenue, directly in the rear, and abutting against the City Hotel-the property of Stephen Cloud, and now occupied as a Chinese laundry-he wished to sell the dwelling and a part of the ground he had purchased from Shields. Hence, on May 1, 1733, he conveyedl the messuage and a portion of the land to .John Wharton, a saddler, of Chester, who subsequently removed to Philadelphia having first sold, July 20, 1749, the premises to William Pennell. The latter resided in the dwelling until his death, and, by will, 12th month 20, 1756, devised the property to his three sons, James, Robert and William. Robert and William Pennell, December 20, 1762, transferred their interests to their brother James. The latter by will, December 22, 1763, devised it to his son Thomas, who died unmarried and without issue, and his title vested in his four brothers-William, James, Nathan and Jonathan. The three first named, April 9, 1782, conveyed their in- terest to Jonathan Pennell, the grandfather of the present owner.
Jonathan Pennell was a blacksmith and at the time he purchas- ed his brothers' interest did not reside in the house which had been used as a hospital and barracks by the American troops during the Revolutionary war, and was then in a dilapidated condition.
It is related that when he first proposed to locate here and pur- chase from the other heirs the entire interest in the property, he called on Henry Hale Graham and desired his opinion as to his prospects of success in his avocation at Chester. The latter, in
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response, stated that he could not answer with any degree of cer- tainty ; he simply knew that all blacksmiths in the town, theretofore, had grown so desperately poor by crooking their little fingers that in a short time they could not keep iron cold. In other words, that intemperance had so reduced them that they could keep no stock in their shops, but were compelled to part with it to satisfy the craving of their appetite. However, Pennell must have im- pressed Graham favorably, for he loaned him £250, and stipulated that he would receive the principal at any time in sums of £10. So industriously and energetically did Pennell labor that he suc- ceeded far beyond his expectations. He soon began making pay- ment as designated, and so often did he present himself with the stipulated amount of £10 in liquidation of the gross sum, that one day when he came on that errand, Graham, after he receipted for the money, said : " Good gracious, man, where do you get all this money ?" " I hammer it out of cold iron," was the reply of Pen- nell, who had not forgotten his first interview with the Judge. He ultimately acquired considerable means and became the owner of much real estate. In his will, August 13, 1829, he devised " the house and lot thereunto adjoining, where I now dwell, with the ap- purtenances, to my son, Edmund Pennell."
The latter, who is a well-known resident of this city, after his father's death, purchased that part of the Withey farm which ex- tended from about Ulrich street on the east, to Lamokin run on the west, and from the Post road to the river, from Charles Justice. The latter had built the large brick building in 1828, on Second street, east of Pennell street, now known as the old Pennell house, the brick for which were made on the farm and burned in a clamp kiln, a short distance from the site of the dwelling. Mr. Pennell sold the farm in 1862 to Broomall and Ward. For several terms he was a member of Borough Council, and President of the Dela- ware County Bank for five years, succeeding Samuel A. Crozer in office. Mr. Pennell, although a septuagenarian, is still active. His recollection of the old times in Chester is vivid, and he has a fund of information respecting the men who moved and the events which happened in this locality more than sixty years ago. February 3, 1877, Edmund Pennell and wife conveyed the property to their son Jonathan Pennell, who now owns it.
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The Huertine House.
The brick building on the south side of Third street, more than midway in the block toward Edgmont avenue, which is nowv oc- cupied by Browning & Co , as a clothing house, was built by Wil- liam Huertine, subsequent to 1712; for August 12, of that year, John Musgrove and Mary, his wife, sold to William Huertine the ground on which the house was afterwards erected, subject to a yearly quit rent of two shillings to the heirs of James Sande- lands, the younger, and the same day Jonas Sandelands and Mary, his wife, confirmed the grant, reserving to the heirs of the grantor a yearly quit rent of two silver shillings. William Huertine, who was a silversmith, erected the house, but subsequently removed to New York, where he died. His widow, Elizabeth, and his children and heirs, March 2, 1724, conveyed the house and grounds-a larg- er tract of land - to Ruth Hoskins, who in her will, dated July 3, 1739, devised the house and lots to her son-in-law, John Mather, he paying £50 to John, Ruth and Mary Hoskins, the grandchildren of the testators, and children of her son, Stephen Hoskins.
John Mather, by his will, June 28, 1768, devised the estate to his grandson, John Mather Jackson, who, March 26, 1783, sold the premises to Edward Vernon, and the latter, December 16, 1784, conveyed it to Frederick Engle, who in turn by will devised it to his daughter Sarah, wife of Thomas Killie. The latter, June 2, 1804, sold the house to Preston Eyre, and he purchased other lands from John Odenheimer, April 20, 1805, to straighten his line. The estate devised by Ruth Hoskins to Mather, had been sold in seve- ral parts, during the course of over half a century which had elapsed between these two dates.
Preston Eyre kept store in Chester, and wlien the Delaware County Bank was chartered, by Act of Assembly, March 21, 1814, he was appointed its first cashier. This institution, which was in- corporated under the general omnibus bank Act, passed by the Legislature over the veto of Gov. Simon Snyder, has been the most successful bank created by that legislation, for although a large number of similar corporations started up under the provisions of
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the statute, the great majority of them failed within a few years. John Newbold was the first President, and, as stated before, Pres- ton Eyre was cashier. While the banking house-just torn down to erect on its site a more imposing and convenient structure-was being built, the business of the institution was carried on in the house of the cashier, the one of which I am now writing. It is re- lated that at that period it was the style among the fashionable ladies of the larger cities to wear short dresses and pantalets which de- scended to their ankles, and thus attired to make their appearance in public. A damsel of Chester was desirous of introducing this new-fangled mode to the denizens of this locality, and, therefore, dressing herself in the costume mentioned, with all the concomi- tant articles necessary to complete the approved toilet, she ven- tured into the street for an afternoon stroll. The uncouth lads of Chester at that day, many of whom had no more knowledge of Philadelphia than of Peking, looked on at the strange sight with astonishment, and the boys near by called to their companions at a distance, for school was just dismissing, until the lady found her- self surrounded by ragged urchins of all sizes, who capered, shouted and made all manner of game of her. She tried to drive them away, but every time she routed them in one direction, they charged at her in another, until completely exhausted she fled into the dwel- ling of Preston Eyre for refuge, where she remained until night- fall, when she hastened home under cover of the darkness, resolv- ing never again to attempt setting the fashion.
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