USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Chester > Historical sketch of Chester, on Delaware > Part 8
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An incident connected with this old house has descended to us through more than a century and a half of years. The winter of 1740-1 was memorable for its extremely cold weather. It is rela-
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
ted by Mrs. Deborah Logan, whose ancestors at that time resided in the ancient mansion house, that one night an old man-servant, a constant smoker, rose from his bed and went to the kitchen to light his pipe. Angry growlings by the watch-dog caused him to look out of the window. The moon was-up, but partly obscured by clouds, and by that light the old man saw an animal which he took for " a big black calf" in the yard. He thereupon drove the crea- ture out of the enclosure, when it turned and looked at him, and he then learned that it was a black bear. The beast, it is sup- posed, had been in some way aroused from its winter torpor, and had sought shelter from the cold, which may account for its appa- rent docility. The next morning it was killed in a wood about half a mile distant from the Logan House.
Jasper Yeates, of Philadelphia, a native of Yorkshire, England, married Catharine, daughter of James Sandilands, the elder, and in 1697, purchased mills and a tract of ground at the mouth of Naaman's creek. The next year he built a goodly sized structure between Chester creek and Edgmont avenue, for a granary or store- house for grain on the second floor, and established a bakery in the lower room. It should be recollected that two hundred years ago, Chester creek, at that point, was considerably to the westward of the present stream. He was a prominent man of his day. He was appointed by Penn, when the Proprietary created the Borough of Chester, October 13, 1701, one of its four Burgesses. In 1703, he was chosen Chief Burgess of the Borough, and is believed to have been the first person holding that office. He was one of the Justices of Chester county, afterwards one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the Province ; a member of the Provincial Coun- cil, and a member of the General Assembly. He and his brother- in-law, James Sandilands, the younger, were the principal promo- ters of the building of St. Paul's church. He died previously to May 2, 1720, for his will was probated at New Castle, Del., at the date last given. He left six children surviving him, four sons and two daughters.
John Yeates, the third son of Jasper and Catharine Yeates, was born at Chester, March 1, 1705. He inherited from his father the " dwelling house " at Chester, with the " boulting" wharf, gar- dens and lots near the same town, " bought of Jonas Sandilands
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Historic Buildings in Chester.
and Edward Henneston." He was a shipping merchant, and resid- ed for a time in the islands of Barbadoes, and afterwards in Phila- delphia, where he acquired considerable real estate. Later in life he sustained large pecuniary losses in business ventures, and through the influence of friends, in 1764 was appointed Comptroller of Cus- toms, at Pocomoke, Maryland. He died there the following year. Under date of September 4, 1733, John Yeates and Elizabeth (Sid- botham,) his wife, conveyed the mansion house and lot, of which I am speaking, to Joseph Parker, as well as other lands in Chester.
Joseph Parker was a nephew of the noted and eccentric Quaker preacher, John Salkeld. He was a native of Cumberland, England, and in 1714, at the age of twenty-five, came to the Province and settled at Chester, to be near his uncle. He entered the office of David Lloyd, and after Lloyd's death, he succeeded him as Regis- ter and Recorder of Chester county. In 1724 he was Prothonotary of the Courts, and in 1738 he was commissioned a Justice of the Peace, a position of much dignity in Colonial days. In 1730, he married Mary, daughter of James Ladd, of Gloucester county, New Jersey. His wife died the following year, leaving one child, a daughter, Mary. Joseph Parker died May 21, 1766.
Mary Parker, born April 21, 1731, at Chester, to whom the Lo- gan House descended, was married to Charles Norris, of Philadel- phia, in the old Quaker Meeting House, on Market street, 6th mo., 21, 1759. Her husband died January 15, 1766, and she returned to Chester and resided in the parental mansion until her death, December 4, 1799. She was the mother of three sons and one daughter, Deborah, to whom by will, she devised the Logan House.
Deborah. Norris was born in Philadelphia, October 19, 1761, and was a small child when her widowed mother returned to Chester. She was married to Dr. George Logan, a grandson of James Logan, Penn's Secretary and intimate personal friend, September 6, 1781, and went to reside at the Logan family seat, Stenton, until her death, February 2, 1839. Deborah Logan was a woman of much literary ability, and a historian of great attainments. Indeed her remarkable store of antiquarian information justly entitled her to the appellation of " The Female Historian of the Colonial Times." She had mingled freely with the leading spirits of the Revolution- ary period, and her cousin, Charles Thomson, the first and long con-
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
fidential Secretary of the Continental Congress, was through life an intimate visitor at her house, and from him she learned much of the inner history of those times. In 1814, Mrs Logan came to the conclusion that the correspondence of William Penn and James Logan contained much valuable information respecting the early history of the Commonwealth, and she began the task of collating, deciphering and copying the manuscripts in her possession, many of the documents being much decayed and difficult to read: but she industrlously set herself to work, rising in the winter time before sunrise and at daylight in the summer, for a period of several years. Her manuscripts made eleven large quarto volumes, and formed two clever sized octavo volumes, when published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. John F. Watson, the annalist, obtained many of the interesting items in his popular work, from Mrs Lo- gan. During her ownership of the Logan House, she rented it to Miss Eliza Finch, who kept a school there for several years, which was well attended. Deborah Logan left four sons, to the eldest of whom, Dr. Albanus C. Logan, she devised by will, the old mansion on Second street. March 25, 1842, he conveyed it to Samuel Ul- rich, the property having been in the ownership of his family one hundred and nine years. Samuel Ulrich in turn conveyed the pro- perty to Hon. John M. Broomall. Mr. Broomall never resided in the old Logan House, but sold the property to Mrs. Rebecca Ross -wife of Captain Richard Ross, deceased-who still owns it.
An important incident somewhat connected with this ancient dwelling, is the fact that the original records of the Upland Court, which have since been published by the Historical Society of Penn- sylvania, and are of such importance to the student of our early annals, were found by Deborah Logan, in an old bookcase, which had formerly belonged to her grandfather, Joseph Parker, and which had stood for many years in the Logan House, until it was removed to Stenton. The existence of the document was unknown almost for a century, until accidentally discovered in a secret drawer in this old bookcase.
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Historic Buildings in Chester.
The City Hotel.
On the 10th of December, 1700, James Sandilands, the younger, conveyed the land on the northwest corner of Third street and Edg- mont avenue, on which this building was afterwards erected, to David Roberts, and on May 26, 1714, Jonas Sandilands, the brother of James, and Mary, his wife, confirmed the tract of ground to Ro- berts reserving, however, a yearly ground rent of three shillings to his heirs. I believe the building was erected by David Roberts shortly after his purchase from James Sandilands. However that may be, it was certainly built before 1723, for in a deed from David Roberts and Susanna, his wife, to Ruth Hoskins, widow of Sheriff John Hoskins, dated the 19th and 20th days of August of that year, the structure is mentioned and described in the indenture. The hotel at that time was kept by Aubrey Bevan, and designated as the " Pennsylvania Arms," for in the will of Ruth Hoskins, da- ted July 3, 1739, she devised the premises to her granddaughter, Ruth Mather, daughter of John and Mary (Hoskins) Mather, as "the house and lot where Aubrey Bevan now lives and commonly known by the name of Pennsylvania Arms." There appears to be some contradiction in the record, for by lease and release dated March 5 and 6, 1738, Ruth Hoskins conveyed the property to her son-in-law, John Mather. He was a prominent citizen, a Justice of the Peace-an important dignitary in those days-and at the expiration of Bevan's term became the landlord of the house. Bevan thereupon purchased the ground on Market street, and built the Washington House.
Mary Hoskins, who had married John Mather, was a most admi- rable wife and mother. Her careful training of her daughters is evidenced by the fact that both of them became the wives of dis- tinguished men, and are alluded to by writers of acknowledged po- sition on several occasions, for their personal excellence and woman- ly worth.
Ruth Mather, to whom the property was devised by her grand- mother, married Charles Thomson, one of the most noted men in our national annals. He was a native of Ireland, and during all the difficulties with the mother country was an ardent Whig. He
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
was the first Secretary of the Continental Congress of 1774, and continued in that office during the long struggle of the Revolution. It was he who first read the Declaration of Independence to the people from the steps of the old hall wherein that document was signed. In recognition of the faithful discharge of his duties, he was chosen to bear to Washington the intelligence of the latter's nomination to the Presidency of the United States. Of him, John Adams, in his diary writes : " Charles Thomson is the Sam. Adams of Philadelphia, the life of the cause of liberty." He retired from public office and during his latter days translated the Septuagint, which was published in four volumes, in 1808. He died in Lower Merion, Montgomery county, in 1824, in his ninety-fifth year.
Ruth Thomson died without children surviving her, and by the will of John Mather, May 28, 1768, he devised the premises to his daughter, Ruth, and his son-in-law, Charles Jackson: and in the event of the death of. Ruth, without children, then to his grand- daughter, Mary Jackson. He mentions the tenancy of Valentine Weaver, and named his daughters, Jane Jackson and Ruth Thom- son, as his executors. Jane alone took out letters testamentary. Charles Thomson, after the death of Ruth, his wife, without child- ren, March 5, 1785, released to Mary Jackson all his right and title in the premises, and Mary Jackson, March 5, 1785, conveyed the estate to John Harper, who was then in occupancy of the hotel.
Tradition tells us that so extreme was his opposition to the pro- posed removal of the county seat to West Chester, that he collected and commanded the armed force which marched from Chester to demolish the partly-built Court House and Jail at the Turk's Head, during the summer of 1785. The author of " Lament over Ches- ter's Mother," refers to Major John Harper thus :
Cries little Jack, the youngest son, Who just began to crawl- " If mamma lives, I soon shall run ; If not, I soon shall fall.
"Oh ! may Jack Hannum quickly die- And die in grievous pain- Be sent into eternity That mamma may remain.
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" May all his projects fall, likewise- That we may live again !" Then every one rolled up his eyes, And cried aloud, " Amen !"
After the county seat was removed to West Chester, Major Har- per, believing that the sun of Chester's prosperity had set, never to rise again, emigrated to the new local capitol, and became the landlord of the Turk's Head Hotel there. That old tavern, which displayed the head of the Grand Turk on its sign, from which it took its name, continued to be a public house until 1854, when it was enlarged and used as a seminary for young ladies. At the present time it is used as a hotel as of yore
Harper having made default in the payment of the mortgage on the property, suit was brought by the executor of Mary Jackson, deceased, and on August 1, 1788, Ezekiel Leonard, Sheriff, deeded the property to hier executor, Dr. David Jackson, of Philadelphia. Who was the landlord of the old house at this time I have not learned, but Dr. Jackson and Susanna, his wife, conveyed the pro- perty by deed, dated January 14, 1793, to Matthias Kerlin, Jr., of Trenton, New Jersey.
Matthias Kerlin, Jr., was the brother of William Kerlin, the owner and host of the Washington House, and subsequently re- turned to Delaware county to reside. He seems to have retired from business at the date of Jackson's deed to him, for he is desig- nated as " gentleman," meaning one living on the income from in- vestments. March 30, 1793, Matthias Kerlin, Jr., and Sarah, his wife, conveyed the property to William Pierce, of Lower Chiches- ter, gentleman. Pierce had married Mary, the then widow of John Dennis, by whom she had a daughter, Hannah Dennis, and in order to provide for hier and to contribute to the education and maintain- ance of Hannah Dennis, etc., Pierce and his wife made a deed, August 13, 1793, in trust to Eliphaz Daizey and Matthias Kerlin, Jr., for the purpose therein stated, but, by deed of revocation, da- ted December 16, 1797, the trusts were declared null and void. William Pierce died previously to March 1799, for his widow Mary executed a mortgage on the property at that time, and recites that in his will, dated August 9, 1798, he had devised the estate to her. Mary Pierce a third time entered into the marriage relation, for on
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
the 27th day of February, 1802, David Coats, of Philadelphia, and Mary, his wife-late Mary Pierce, she being the late widow and the sole devisee and executrix named in the last will of William Pierce -conveyed the premises to Abraham See, of Saint George's Hun- dred, Delaware, and he in turn, March 22, 1803, sold the property to Edward Engle, who kept the hotel until he died-about 1810- and his widow, Mary Engle, continued the business until the years 1832 or 1833, when she retired and leased the premises to John J. Thurlow. The ancient hostelry under Mrs. Engle's supervision was the fashionable and popular hotel of the Borough. In 1824, when Gen. Lafayette was the guest of Chester, the First City Troop, of Philadelphia, was quartered at her house, then known as the Eagle Tavern; for in a description of a journey from old Ireland to Chester, written in verse by Philip Sexton, who lived at Squire Eyre's, on Edgmont avenue, during the early part of this century, he refered to this hotel thus :
" If you stand on the bridge And look to the east, You'll there see an eagle, As big as a beast.
Call at this tavern, Without any dread ; You'll there get chicken, Good mutton and bread."
Mrs. Engle was the mother of the late Rear Admiral Frederick Engle, who died in 1866, and of Capt Isaac E. Engle, of the Mer- chant Service, who died in 1844. Her daughter Mary married the late Hon. Samuel Edwards, a member of the bar and representa- tive in Congress from this district, from 1819-21, and again from 1825-27, who died, leaving surviving him, his son, Henry B. Ed- wards, Esq., a member of the bar, and at this writing a leading citizen of Chester, and a daughter, Mary Engle Edwards, who in- termarried with Edward Fitzgerald Beale, at that time Lieutenant in the Navy, and noted for his celebrated ride across Mexico with dispatches from Commodore Stockton, during our war with that country, and subsequently prominent before the nation as Superin- tendent of Indian Affairs, and in exploring expeditions, construct- ing public highways, and in surveys for projected railroads. In
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1860, he was appointed Surveyor General of California, and under General Grant's second administration he was United States Min- ister to Austria. Gen. Beale is one of the largest land owners in the world, liis estate in California comprising two hundred thousand acres of land.
Mary Engle's other daughter, Abby, married John Kerlin, Esq., a member of the Delaware county bar, and for many years Presi- dent of the Bank of Delaware County. Mrs. Kerlin now resides with her nephew, H. B. Edwards, Esq., in this city. Her son, Frederick E. Kerlin, died in California over twenty odd years ago, and Capt. Charles Kerlin, a well-known merchant captain, now re- tired from service, lives in New Jersey.
Mrs. Engle was succeeded in business by John J. Thurlow, about 1833, and I quote from Martin's History of Chester, the following graphic description of the old hotel in its palmiest days as a stop- ping place for one of the lines of stages that then passed through Chester for Baltimore, Washington and the South. He says :
" How well I remember ' Thurlow's,' in the days of its busy greatness ; well I remember how, when I was a boy, I lingered near its hospitable doors to see the handsome horses of the Reeside, Stockton & Stokes, Murdeck & Sharp, and Janvier's rival lines of stage coaches changed ; the smoking steeds detached by active host- lers, and the new relay of well-groomed horses substituted, and saw the ' Stage driver,' an important man in those days, with his great coat of many capes and long whip; the well dressed travelers sauntering about talking and smoking after their meal, waiting for the stage. Oft I have peeped into the small, clean bar-room, in the centre of which stood a large coal stove (in winter) in a large sand box, that served as a huge spittoon. In one corner of the room stood a semi-circular bar, with its red railings reaching to the ceiling, into whose diminutive precincts the jolly landlady could scarcely get lier buxom person, while her husband with his velvet- een shooting coat, with its large buttons and its many pockets, ex- cited my intense admiration. At his heels there were always two or three handsome setter dogs, of the finest breed and well trained. Sometimes I got a glimpse of the south-west room. This was the parlor ; back of it was a room where travelers wrote their letters ; and back of the bar was a cozy little room, mine hostess' sanctum, into which only special friends were admitted. All these are now one large American bar-room.
" In reading accounts of the old English inns of coaching days, my mind involuntarily reverts to ' Thurlow's,' for there on the walls were hanging the quaint old coaching and hunting prints imported
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
from England, and around the house was ' Boots,' and the ' Host- ler,' and the 'pretty waiting maid with rosy cheeks,' all from Old England. The horses are all hitched, the passengers are 'all aboard,' the driver has taken his seat, (the guard is blowing his horn, having taken one inside,) is gathering up his many reins ; now he feels for his whip, flourishes it over his four-in-hand, making a graceful curve with its lash, taking care not to touch his horses ; but does it with a report like a rifle shot, the hostlers jump aside, and with a bound and a rush, the coach is off for Washington, or Philadelphia, carrying perchance within it Clay, Webster or Cal- houn. And of a winter's evening when I have stolen out from home, I have passed the ' Tavern,' and seen seated around its cheerful fire the magnates of the town, telling stories of other days (as I now could tell their names.) And sometimes peeping through the green blinds, I have seen a quiet game of whist going on ; per- haps it was 'all fours,' or else a game of checkers or dominoes."
Mr. Thurlow retired from business about 1840, and was succeed- ed by Maurice W. Deshong, who kept the house for a few years and was followed by Major Samuel A. Price, who continued the business until about 1853, when the late George Wilson became its host. After a few years Mr. Wilson retired, and was in turn suc- ceeded by Lewis A. Sweetwood. . The death of Mrs. Mary Engle, in 1870, at the advanced age of 94 years, compelled a sale of the hotel and other property, by order of Orphans' Court, to settle her estate, and in that year William Ward, as trustee to make the sale, conveyed the hotel property to Jonathan Pennell, who in turn, the same year, sold the premises to Paul Klotz, the present owner, who has made important additions and improvements to the eastern end of the ancient building.
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The Washington House.
The title to the ancient hostelry on Market street, known for al- most a century to the denizens of Chester as the Washington Hotel, extends back to the Proprietary, for by patent dated May
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Historic Buildings in Chester.
31, 1686, the commissioners of William Penn conveyed to James Sandelands, in fee, twenty acres of land in Chester, and on a part of this tract the hotel buildings were subsequently erected. This property descended to Jonas Sandelands, in the distribution of his father's estate, and was by him sold to John Wright, in 1720, on ground rent, for four shillings lawful money of America, payable on the twenty-fifth day of March of each and every year thereafter, forever. Wright, after holding the premises for seven years, con- veyed the land to William Pennell, who in turn sold it to James Trego The latter died seized of the property, and in 1746 his son James-to whom it had been allotted in proceedings in partition, his mother Elizabeth joining in the deed-conveyed the property to Aubury Bevan. The plot of ground up to this date is believed to have been used as a pasture lot. In the following year Aubury Bevan erected the present hotel building and gave it the title " Pennsylvania Arms," as will be seen by an inspection of his will. He was an active and leading citizen of Chester, and the structure, considering the time when it was built, evidences fully the progres- sive spirit which controlled his efforts. Aubury Bevan died in 1761, and by will devised this property to his daughter Mary ; she, together with her husband, William Forbes, by deed dated April 1, 1772, conveyed the estate to William Kerlin, a wealthy man, as wealth was then regarded, and a fervent Whig during the Revolu- tionary struggle
After the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British army, Ker- lin named his hostelry " The Washington House," a name it has been continually known by to this day. General Washington often in passing through Chester on his way to and from Mount Vernon to the seat of government in New York and Philadelphia, stopped at this hotel, and on those occasions a certain room, the best in the house, was assigned to his use. The ancient mahogany chairs which stood in the room occupied by the first President, during these visits, are still preserved among the descendants of William Kerlin. He took an active part in the discussion from 1780 to 1786, as to the removal of the county scat to West Chester, and in a doggerel rhyme of that time, entitled " Lament over Chester's Mother," written by Joseph Hickman, an earnest removalist, Ker- lin is thus referred to :
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Historical Sketch of Chester.
" And then poor helpless Billy cries- ' Oh, how shall I be fed ? What shall I do if mamma dies ? I cannot work for bread.
These little hands have never wrought. Oh, how I am oppressed ! For I have never vet done aught. But hang on mamma's breast.'"
After the county seat had been finally removed from Chester, he labored energetically to bring about the formation of the. present county of Delaware. Kerlin, having purchased the old Court House, Jail and public buildings in this city in 1786, for £415, after the division was made he sold them to Delaware county at a slight advance. He did not remain, however, mine host of the Washington House until his death, for by his will, proved April 29, 1805, he alluded-in his devise to his daughter, Sarah Piper-to " the tavern house " being at that time " in the tenure of Isaac Tucker."
Major Joseph Piper, who held a position in the Philadelphia Custom House, under General Steele, the then collector, after the death of his father-in-law, resigned his office, removed to Chester and kept the Washington House, owned by his wife, until his death in 1827. By tradition, Piper is said to have been a Revolutionary soldier, but as he was only 50 years of age when he died, it is not a supposable case that he could have taken any part in that memo- rable war. It is related that Major Piper, being in Chester, saw Sarah Odenheimer-formerly Sarah Kerlin-a well-formed, bloom- ing widow, on horseback, and was so impressed with her appear- ance that he wooed, won and wed her for his wife. After his death his widow continued the business at the hotel for several years, but ultimately becoming weary of it she leased the premises to Evan S. Way, who had formerly kept a tavern in Nether Providence. He was a conspicuous man in the military affairs of the county a half century ago; an officer in the Delaware county troop, and kept the hotel until he was elected Sheriff, in 1837. The house was then rented to Major Samuel A. Price, who was an influential citizen of Chester, having formerly been in the hat business in the ancient Borough. He was a genial gentleman, who is yet remembered by many of our old residents: an earnest politician, and in 1834 was
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