USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Historical sketches : a collection of papers prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1921-1925, Volume VII > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26
A deed granted to the said Harry Rees, 27th of 11th mo., 1686, the said land, "by which he became possessed of 200 acres; being Resurveyed is 238 acres, and is 18 acres Over, for which he pays 6s. 8d. per acre as the Rest." We find, in the same deeds, his name would be Henry Rees, and again, Harry Rees. Among the subscribers to the Susque- hanna Land Company, preserved at the Historical Society
*Read before the Society, April 26, 1924.
1 Penn's custom in selling land was to convey a right to a definite acreage, "rough and unseparated" (i. e., uncleared and unlocated). This right might be sold over and over again, until it came into the hands of some person who really intended to settle, and who would then have his land located and surveyed. The purchase of Richard Davies, made 14/15 September, 1681, was for 5000 acres, unlocated, but he, in turn, disposed of parcels of this right to intending settlers, who then had their land located wherever it suited the Land Office to do so. (See Phila. Deed Books F 8, p. 23; H 16 p. 228.)
The Welsh Tract included not only a portion of Merion, but also all of Haverford, Radnor and other townships .- Ed.
201
15131
202
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about the year 1790, we find that Harry Rees, of Radnor, subscribed 2£ 10s.
An abstract of his will, dated Feb. 1, 1704/5; proved June 30, 1705: after leaving bequests to his daughters Gwenleain and Margaret, he leaves his plantation of 300 acres in Radnor, with all chattels, &c, &c, to his only son, David Harry. His wife Elizabeth is to be kept by his son according to the station in which she has heretofore lived. He appoints his son, David Harry, executor, and signs his name Harry Rees.
When a son was named for his father, in Wales, the name was reversed, but the son's children retained the family name.2 Rees Harry, gentleman, of Cumcawlid, of Carmarthenshire, Wales, was the father of Harry Rees, of Radnor, in the Welsh Tract.
David Harry, of Radnor, and Lydia, daughter of David Powell, of the township of Bristol, were married in the Friends' Meeting-house at Germantown, "ye second day of ye twelth month, Sixteen hundred and Ninety and nine." Among the numerous witnesses present, and signers of their wedding certificate, we find the names of his parents, Harry and Elizabeth Rees, and his sisters, Gwendlian and Margaret Harry; the bride's parents, David and Gwen Powell; her sister Mary, and her brothers, William, Samuel and Rowland.
Gwendlian Harry was married in the Radnor Meeting- house, 5th mo., 3d, 1701, to Joseph Evans, of Radnor. Mar- garet Harry married without the consent of the Meeting. She made her acknowledgment, which was accepted, 8th mo., 6th, 1746. Her husband's name is not given in the Meeting records.
2 Until the Welshman adopted a surname, he was known by a combi- nation name, which consisted of his own Christian name, followed by that of his father, with the word ap ("son of") between. The ap, however, was sometimes omitted, as in this case, where Rees Harry was evidently Rees ap Harry ("son of Harry"), and Harry Rees was Harry ap Rees ("son of Rees"). The supposed reversing of the name was quite uncon- scious, and resulted only when a boy was named for his grandfather. Ed.
.
203
THE HARRY FAMILY
David Harry owned other land in Radnor besides the 300 acres he inherited from his father, Harry Rees, accord- ing to the index of deeds in the Recorder-of-Deeds Office, Philadelphia. In various legal documents he is described as "gentleman," a rather unusual distinction in those days, when most of the settlers had some occupation. He was in the Pennsylvania Assembly as a representative, and was appointed Justice of the Peace and Courts. Few men were bred to the law in those days; the colonists chose, or ap- pointment was made of, the best and wisest among them, to hold the Courts.
David Harry purchased, June 17, 1700, from Thomas Farmer, 1250 acres of land in Whitemarsh township, Phila- delphia county (now Conshohocken) ; the land started about where Plymouth Creek empties into the canal; then down the river Schuylkill toward Spring Mill, and from the river up to the line of Plymouth township. This land was called by the Indians "Umbilicamenca" (meaning a high hill). What is now known as Matson's ford, was originally called the David Harry ford, and is so marked in the old road maps. David sold off parts of this plantation, but re- serving a large portion for himself; later on he divided 500 acres between two of his sons, John and Rees. David deeded his tract of land in Radnor, which comprised 300 acres, to his son Samuel. When a survey for the Lancaster road, ex- tending to Chester County Line, was taken, July 20, 1741, it passed the Radnor meeting-house, and the lane and house of Samuel Harry.
Just when David and his family removed from Radnor to his plantation in Whitemarsh is not known; they were members of Radnor Meeting. He was identified with the founding of the Plymouth Meeting, coming frequently from Radnor to attend its meetings. He was one of its early trus- tees, and on many important committees. David Harry presented a certificate to the Plymouth Meeting for himself and family, from Haverford Monthly meeting, dated 3d mo., 25th, 1725. He was appointed an overseer in Plymouth Meeting, 1st mo., 29th, 1726; his wife, also, was appointed an overseer in that meeting, 2d mo., 22d, 1726. David died
204
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
in 1760; his will is recorded in the Register-of-Wills Office, Philadelphia. Children of David and Lydia (Powell) Harry were born in Radnor :
Elizabeth, born 3d mo., 19th, 1701, married in Radnor Meeting-house, in 1722, William, the son of Rees and Martha (Aubrey) Thomas, of Radnor.
Samuel, born 6th mo., 29th, 1702, married, in Radnor Meeting-house, 3d mo., 7th, 1724, Elizabeth, daughter of Rees and Martha (Aubrey) Thomas, of Radnor.
Rees, born 4th mo., 3d, 1704. We will speak of his marriage later on.
Mary, born 5th mo., 12th, 1706, married, in Plymouth Meeting-house, 8th mo., 20th, 1731, Abraham Daws, Jr., of Plymouth township. He built a beautiful colonial house, which they called Dawsfield. This house is still standing, near Ambler.
David, born 10th mo., 9th, 1708, was married in Christ Church, Philadelphia, July 7, 1730, to Hannah Humphreys; their children were baptized and married in that church.
John married, in Gwynedd Meeting-house, 10th mo., 25th, 1744, Barbara Evans, of Gwynedd. A few years after their marriage he died. His widow requested a certificate of removal from that meeting to Haverford Meeting, 10th mo., 28th, 1755, for herself and children.
On 7th mo., 26th, 1727, Rees, son of David and Lydia (Powell) Harry, requested a certificate for marriage, with Mary, daughter of Rees and Sarah (Meredith) Price, of Merion. On 10th mo., 12th, 1727, they were married in the Haverford Meeting-house. It was a large wedding.
Rees Harry purchased 540 acres of land in Gwynedd; this plantation was situated on the westerly side of Gwyn- edd; it was over a mile in length, and a half-mile in breadth. Near the eastern bank of the Wissahickon, which flowed through his plantation, Rees built a fine mansion; there he took his bride; in that home they reared four sons: Benja- min, John, David, and Rees, Jr., and four daughters: Lydia, Sarah, Jane, and Ann. The sons were in the Revolutionary War. Benjamin, David, Ann and Jane did not marry. Lydia married, in Gwynedd Meeting-house, 12th mo., 2d, 1753,
.
M
205
THE HARRY FAMILY
Musgrave Evans, of Philadelphia, son of Evan Evans, of Gwynedd.
Sarah married George Roberts, 2 mo., 7th, 1753. Rees, Jr., married Ellin Roberts (widow). We will speak of John Harry's marriage later on.
Rees Harry died 12th mo., 22d, 1787. He and his wife, with most of their children, are buried at Gwynedd.
Mary (Price) Harry, wife of Rees, was the granddaugh- ter of Edward and Mably Price, who were among the first settlers in Merion, coming to Pennsylvania in 1682, two months before William Penn. They were ministers in the Society of Friends, and gave the ground on which was built the Merion Meeting-house. The first meeting-house was built of logs, in 1683, the present meeting-house of stone, in 1695. It is the oldest original house of worship in Pennsyl- vania.3 Old Swedes Church, Philadelphia, antedates the meeting-house, but their present church was not built until 1700. Across the field from the meeting-house stood the old Price homestead, used by Lord Cornwallis as his head- quarters during the Revolutionary War. What is now Brook- hurst avenue, was originally the lane which led from the road to the house.
The Friends who settled in the Welsh Tract (which com- prised 40,000 acres) were of the best and oldest families of Wales. They were well educated, speaking Latin and English as well as their native tongue. Edward and Mably Price both traced their descent from the first Saxon chief, or king, mentioned in Welsh history, Cedric, in the year 442.
3 Authorities differ as to the date of the building of Merion Meeting- house. In Bean's "History of Montgomery County," William J. Buck says (p. 928) : "The early Welsh were nearly all Friends, and are known to have held worship in this vicinity, at the house of Hugh Roberts, as early at least as the Fourth Month, 1684. According to the researches of the late Dr. George Smith, they built at first a temporary structure of wood in 1695, which stood until 1713, when its place was supplied by the present substantial stone edifice, which was completed in the fall of that year."-Ed.
-L
206
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
In Fairbairn's Book of "Crests of the Leading Families of Great Britain and Ireland," we find the names of Harry, Price, Powell, Meredith and Davis, of Wales.
The Friends in Merion in the Welsh Tract, wrote a letter to William Penn, complaining that the English were en- croaching on their land. Penn wrote at once to Thomas Holme, his Surveyor-General, that faith must be kept with the Welsh Friends. David Powell, a Welshman, and a Deputy Surveyor-General, was appointed to re-survey this tract of land, which he did, in 1684. He was the father of Lydia, wife of David Harry. He purchased 1,100 acres of this land while in Wales, in 1681, and after coming to the province of Pennsylvania, obtained 1000 acres more. (In 1706 he was the surveyor, with Deputies under him.)
This tract of land was called Merionith, named for Merionithshire, which is one of the most ancient shires in Wales. In Cymric language, it signifies "the earth, land or possession of Merion."
A letter written by one of the settlers in Merion to a relative in Wales, states, "We have most rare timber here, I have not seen the like in all these parts, the end of each lot will be on the river as large or larger than the Dye (Dee) in Bala (Wales) it is called the Skool Kill, where we are to settle, and water enough for mills. There are stones enough for building and all purposes to be had at the falls of the Skool Kill. Indians bring venison to our door for six pence ye quarter."
Mary (Price) Harry was also the grand-daughter of David Meredith, a Quaker preacher, who settled in Radnor, in the Welsh Tract, in 1683, and owned considerable land in that tract. In 1701, he purchased 980 acres of land in Plymouth township; this land started from what is now the . borough line of Norristown, on the old Arch street road, extending down each side of the Great road (Germantown pike) toward Plymouth Meeting.
David built his house facing the Arch street road; a room in this house was fitted up and kept for Divine wor- ship only. A partition extended across the room, dividing it
0
1
207
THE HARRY FAMILY
into equal portions, and could be raised and fastened by hooks to the ceiling, as was deemed necessary. This room would hold seventy-five persons. When there was a small meeting of the Friends, or when the men and the women Friends held their business meetings at the same time, then the room was divided by this partition.
Friends met here frequently for worship, previous to the building of the Friends Meeting-house at Plymouth. After that meeting-house was built, the Monthly Meeting decided that a mid-week meeting should be held once a week at David Meredith's.
We will now take up the line of John, son of Rees and Mary (Price) Harry, who was born 10th mo., 14th, 1736; died 1st mo., 13th, 1800; he was married, in 1768, to Alice, daughter of Moses and Mary (Pennell) Meredith; they were married without the consent of their Meetings, by a priest of the Episcopal Church. John made his acknowledg- ment at Plymouth Meeting, and Alice made her acknowl- edgment to the Chester Meeting-both were accepted. John Harry and his wife were each a great grand-child of David Meredith. Alice was born 7th mo., 14th, 1736; died 1st mo., 8th, 1775. They are buried in the old part of the Plymouth Meetings grounds. Rees Harry deeded the land in White- marsh he had received from his father, David, to his son John; also one hundred acres in Whitpain township. John built a house on the Whitemarsh tract, and there he took his bride; three children were born to them: Mary, David and Sarah. Their mother dying, leaving these three little children, Mary, the eldest child, went to live with her grand- parents, Moses and Mary (Pennell) Meredith, at Edgemont, Chester county. She married, in Middletown Meeting-house, 6th mo., 9th, 1791, Robert, son of Frederick and Mary (Pen- nell) Fairlamb.
I am indebted to Mrs. Eleanor Fairlamb Gibson, of Shelden, Iowa, a great-great-granddaughter of Mary (Harry) Fairlamb, for the following: Mary Harry was liv- ing with her grandparents, near where the battle of the Brandywine was fought, and saw the English pursue the defeated Americans toward Chester. Mary was nine years
208
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
of age; she was in the garden one day, digging chamomile, when an English officer, who had stopped at the well for water, saw the little girl, and inquired what she was doing. "Digging chamomile," was the reply. "And what is chamo- mile?" She turned to him, and said, "It is a rebel plant; like our cause, it can not be killed no matter how many times it is cut down."
Sarah Harry married, without the consent of her Meet- ing, Jacob Lukens. She did not make an acknowledgment to the Meeting; they were married 12th mo., 30th, 1794. She died at the residence of her granddaughter, Annie, wife of Solomon Gilbert, of Norristown, 3d mo., 11th, 1864, aged ninety-one years; buried at Plymouth Friends' burying- ground.
John Harry married, 2d, Letitia Jones (widow) ; their son Rees was the grandfather of Mary, Howard, Edward, A. Markley and Anna Harry, of Norristown.
David, son of John and Alice (Meredith) Harry, was born in Whitemarsh (now Conshohocken) 11th mo., 17th, 1771. He married, without the consent of his Meeting, Ann, daughter of Thomas and Lydia (White) Davis, 1st mo., 28th, 1806. He made his acknowledgment to Plymouth Meeting, which was accepted. Ann became a member of this Meeting, taking a very active part in it and became an elder. She died 11th mo., 21st, 1831. David died 1st mo., 19th, 1849. Both are buried in the Plymouth Friends' bury- ing-ground.
David Harry became the owner of the three hundred acres which had been his father's part of the original tract. This land was on the east side of Fayette street, Consho- hocken, from the river to the line of Plymouth township. David built a grist mill on the banks of the Schuylkill in 1820. Before the canal was built, David laid pipes to Plymouth creek to run his mill. He sold to the Schuylkill Navigation Company, in 1831, enough land to cut a canal through his property. On August 4, 1848, an agreement was drawn up between this company and David, in which the said Company was to pay him ten dollars per day for every day that no water was allowed to run through the race.
-
-
209
THE HARRY FAMILY
Children of David and Ann (Davis) Harry were: Samuel Davis, born 11th mo., 30th, 1806; died 10th mo., 20th, 1831. Benjamin, born 5th mo., 14th, 1809. Rees, born 2d mo., 27th, 1812; died 10th mo., 14th, 1843. Mary, born 3d mo., 22d, 1815. David, born 5th mo., 10th, 1817; died 9-17-1825.
Benjamin Harry married Lydia, daughter of James and Ann (Warner) Wood. (James was the founder of the iron mills, Conshohocken.) They were married at her parents' residence, before Judge Evans, of Philadelphia, December 6, 1835. Benjamin was a member of the Plymouth Friends' Meeting, and retained his membership in that Meeting. He purchased the farm and grist-mill from his father's estate, and ran the mill for some time ; finally discontinued the mill, and turned the farm into nurseries. Some years before his death, he retired from business. When Conshohocken was incorporated as a borough, May 15, 1850 (it had been laid out as a town some years previous, and the lower part of the town was quite built up), Benjamin began selling off the property into lots, and when the avenues and the other streets were opened through his land, he had trees planted to beautify the town. He was interested in all enterprises calculated to benefit his home town. During the time of slavery, he helped in operating the "Underground Rail- road." He built a school-house on his property for the use of his children and the children of his wife's relatives.
Benjamin and Lydia (Wood) Harry's children were: David Wood, Anna, James Wood, Mary, Winfield S. and John Wood. Benjamin died at his residence, Harry street and Second avenue, Conshohocken, 2d mo., 23d, 1888; his wife died two years later; both are buried at the Plymouth Friends' burying-ground.
David Wood Harry, M.D., married Mary, daughter of David E. and Mary (Freedley) Wood, of Virginia. They have two sons: David Wood, Jr., and B. Rees Harry.
Anna and Mary were not married.
James Wood Harry, Ph.D., married Elizabeth, daughter of Hamilton and Elizabeth Maxwell, of Conshohocken; they
210
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
had two sons: Howard Stephenson and Hamilton Maxwell Harry.
Winfield S. Harry married Mary, daughter of John and Isabel (Moffat) Johnson, of Philadelphia; they had three sons: William Cleaver, Ernest Johnson, and Benjamin Harry. All resided on Harry street, Conshohocken.
John Wood Harry married Laura, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Hinkle) Slingluff ; they have two daughters: Ida Wood and Bertha Slingluff Harry.
Mary, daughter of David and Ann (Davis) Harry, born 3d mo., 22d, 1815; married Joseph Yerkes, of Plymouth Meeting; she died 1st mo., 19th, 1842, leaving three small children : David H., Annie H. and Mary H. Yerkes. David Harry Yerkes was killed in the battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864. Annie Harry Yerkes married William Wilson; they had two daughters: Laura and Mary. Laura married George W. Wood, of Conshohocken. Mary Wilson married Dr. George N. Highley; they reside in Conshohocken. Mary Harry Yerkes married Alan Wood, Jr. Mary H. Wood sur- vived her husband several years, and at her death be- queathed her home to Conshohocken, to be used as a park.
The story of Mary Harry's heroic service at the time of the cholera epidemic, when the Schuylkill Navigation Com- pany's canal was cut through her father's property, seems a fitting closing tribute. Many of the laborers being stricken with the dread disease, a barn on David Harry's farm was turned into an emergency hospital, Dr. Hiram Corson and the Harry family doing everything possible to alleviate their sufferings. Mary Harry, though a very young and beautiful girl, never thought of herself, but went fearlessly among the stricken men, caring for the living and comfort- ing the dying. Dr. Corson, in speaking of her goodness, said : "You can talk of god's nobleman: I say, if there ever was God's noble woman, it was Mary Harry."
Pow-Wow, and Other Superstitions*
By SYLVESTER H. ORR
Since the first settlers came to this country, there always have been gullible people who were led to believe all sorts of psychic phenomena, claimed as reliefs or cures for the affliction of man and beasts; especially was this the case fifty or more years ago. Witchcraft (hexerei, in Pennsyl- vania German) broke out at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, where a number of good people lost their lives, before the wild frenzy was suppressed.
Various mysteries, charms, legerdemains, ghosts, witch- eries, phantoms, hypnotisms, thirteen-link chains, pow-wow and all other imaginable beliefs, have been practiced by charlatans, fakirs, jugglers, mountebanks, legerdemains, fortune-tellers, voo-doo doctors and other sorcerers, among people who are easily misled. It appears these mysteries were more practiced among the inhabitants of Pennsyl- vania, east of the Susquehanna river, than elsewhere. Var- ious superstitions have always been followed; prominent among these are the signs of the zodiac, as given in the almanac, which were consulted before potatoes, garden vegetables and field crops were planted, or timber was felled. Post fences had to be built in the down-cast of the moon, or the posts would freeze out of ground, and the fence would fall over. Young people consulted the almanac, and married when moon was increasing, and as near full moon as possible, as this was considered necessary to start them on the road to prosperity.
The periodical return of a comet was generally con- sidered an unfavorable omen-indicating war, pestilence
*Read before the Society, April 26, 1924.
211
212
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
or other disaster. Shortly before the late Civil War, a comet appeared which greatly alarmed the people, and was con- sidered an omen of that war.
Certain days of the month were listed as unlucky. If a new work was begun on Wednesday, Friday or on the 13th of the month, it would take a long time to complete it.
On Candlemas Day, the ground-hog is supposed to arouse from his hibernation, and if the animal sees his shadow, he will return again into winter quarters for another six weeks. The annual return of this day affords the daily newspapers an opportunity for an interesting "write-up." No one of the present day is much exercised as to whether the day is clear or cloudy.
Pow-wowing is based on ancient superstitions recorded in three old publications, of which copies can still be ob- tained from dealers in curious books. I have been able to secure copies of two of the publications bearing the follow- ing titles :
1. The Long Lost Friend, containing mysterious and in- valuable arts and remedies for man, as well as animals, with many proofs of their virtue and efficacy in healing diseases &c.
2. Albertus Magnus being the approved, verified, sym- pathetic and natural Egyptian Secrets, or White and Black Art-for man and Beast. The book of Nature and the hid- den secrets and mysteries of life unveiled, being the for- bidden knowledge of Ancient Philosophers &c.&c.
Translated from the German; Book is in three parts.
3. Biblia Arcana Magica Alexander, according to the Traditions of the sixth and seventh Books of Moses besides Magical Laws.
(I did not see a copy of the last named book.)
According to preface of the first book, it was published, in July, 1819, by the author, John George Hohman, who lived at Rosenthal, near Reading, Pennsylvania. It contains
213
POW-WOW, AND OTHER SUPERSTITIONS
a number of testimonials from persons who were helped, or cured of various afflictions ; it was never copyrighted, and has gone through at least three editions. In 1856, an edition was printed by the Shafers, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published in 1912, at Lancaster, Penn- sylvania.
Evidently the publisher of the last-named book had nothing to add, as it is an exact counterpart of the 1856 edition, which shows that there have been no improvements or discoveries since that book was first published.
I am sorry I did not have access to the third book, or any other publications on the subject. Title of the third book, and much other valuable information, was obtained from newspaper clippings loaned by Mr. Edward W. Hocker, editor of "The Independent-Gazette," published at German- town, Pennsylvania. One person who acknowledged owning two books on pow-wowing, invented an excuse for not loan- ing them to me, stating that they were packed away.
The pow-wow practitioner claims to cure diseases by making a series of movements with his hand, blowing on, or over, the afflicted parts, and repeating certain magic words.
Cures have often followed pow-wowing, especially so where the patient had sufficient faith in the operator; the mere announcement of the latter that a cure will be ef- fected, may be sufficient to cure certain nervous or muscular affections. The influence and disposition of one mind over another is wonderful; some physicians can accomplish more than others, simply because by their cheerful disposition they make the patient believe he will recover. This grain of truth is the basis, likewise, of the wonders accomplished by faith cure, Christian Science, mind cure and similar cults.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.