USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Historical sketches : a collection of papers prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1921-1925, Volume VII > Part 7
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6 Howard M. Jenkins: "Historical Collections of Gwynedd," p. 101, Edition of 1897.
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MORRIS LLEWELLYN OF HAVERFORD
Conventicle Meeting or Assembly there shall be five per- sons or more assembled over and besides those of the same household, etc."
But it was not till the fiercest storm of persecution in- vaded that thoughts turned to the new world. These same men who had left England for Wales, setting up their altar on Mona, now believed the Sanctuary of God was the human heart and that in His Name they had a strong tower more impregnable than their father's citadel on Snowden. And so to America a remnant came, carrying with them, as their fathers had done, their names, their language and their honor. For many years they retained the use of the Welsh language. That these emigrants may not have been wholly successful in attaining all their objectives is shown by the fact that sometime before 1683 the wife of John Bevan, one of the earliest settlers in Haverford, expressed the thought that it would be good for children to be brought up in America "away from frivolities and temptation." The Bevan family preceded Penn.
Penn made his first grant on the 16th and 17th of Sep- tember, 1681, to John ap Thomas and Edward Jones for themselves and friends including 17 families. This grant purchased 5,000 acres in Lower Merion. It extended from the Schuylkill River near the Falls towards Merion meeting house, at the junction of Montgomery avenue and Meeting House road, and beyond it. The first company sailed from Liverpool in the ship, "Lyon," arriving in the Schuylkill River in August, 1682. Penn himself followed, the same year, in the ship "Welcome." The Proprietor, or Governor, or Founder, as Penn was variously called, had provided for the use of the emigrants the most detailed instruction as to what they would require in the new country, and as to how
7 Although this purchase was for 5000 acres, as stated, the purchasers had to be content with taking only half of it, or 2500 acres, on the Schuyl- kill, and the rest in Chester county. The tract laid out for them on the Schuylkill constituted the original township of Merion, or Merioneth, from which grew, by the subsequent inclusion of adjacent lands, the present township of Lower Merion .- Ed.
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
to get settled most comfortably and expeditiously. It is pos- sible that for this reason the settlers endured less hardship than in some of the other colonies.
Morris Llewellyn may have come in the Fall of 1682, but the probabilities are that he did not come before the spring or summer of 1683. His purchase of land in Haverford was recorded at Philadelphia 1-31-1684. (See Exemp. Rec. Book 5, p. 51). We find him arranging with Penn for land, two years earlier, while still in Wales. His deed from Penn was similar to those of the other First Purchasers or adven- turer for land, "to be set out as provided by the Conces- sions, etc."
"1681 Jan. 19 and 20 deeds of lease and release and receipt, Wil- liam Penn granted to Morris Lewhelin, of the Parish of Castle Booth, Co. Pembroke, Husbandman, 500 acres of land laid out in Pennsylvania; consideration £10.
Witnesses: Harbt Springett: Ben Griffiths, Thos. Coxe."8
Morris Llewellyn's purchase of 500 acres, which appar- ently included 250 for his brother John, was a part of a grant of 3,000 acres subscribed for by Lewis David of Pembrokeshire on behalf of Company No. 5, and conveyed to him March 2, 1681. Lewis David himself retained 750 acres. Two entries in the record of 1683 suggest that Morris Llewellyn may have arrived early in that year. On the twenty-fourth of March9 Penn himself signed the following order10 on Thomas Holme, Surveyor General. It was written by his secretary, Philip Theodore Lehnmann, and sealed with the "lesser seal" of the Province. The order reads:
"William Penn Proprietary-Governr of ye Province of Pennsilvania, & ye Territories thereunto belonging.
At ye Request of Mauris Lewellin, Purchaser yt I would grant him to take up Two hundred & fifty Acres of Land in ye County of Phila-
8 Pp. 125-129, Surveyr General Ms. Book of Lease and Release, B2, Land Office, Harrisburg.
9 According to "Old Style" reckoning, March was "first month."
10 William Penn Collection of Albert Cook Myers.
Jillian Porn Proprietary & Garten of Province of Bad Alvania, xy Farrisfre
Aquest of Manris Powolix, Purchase
Het and to will foramwant these
wersy or coup to Be inman.
Number of Flores in a place not ales any
a U Berstury's Oficer Given a PRI Cer2
TOT Thomas Holmes
WILLIAM PENN'S WARRANT TO MORRIS LLEWELLYN FOR 250 ACRES IN HAVERFORD
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MORRIS LLEWELLYN OF HAVERFORD
delphia. These are to will & require thee forth wth to Survey or cause to be survey'd unto him beyond Skulkill on ye North Side of Darby Creek ye sd Number of Acres in a place not already taken up according to ye method of Townships appointed by me, & make returns thereof into my Secretary's Office. Given at Philadelphia ye 24th 1st mo. 1683.
WM PENN (L.S.)
For Thomas Holme Survey'r General."
This purchase of 500 acres carried with it a "city lot"- to be chosen by lot. By November 11, 1683, Morris Llewel- lyn appears to have found time "to go to town" and inspect his lot. Possibly he did not like the lay, and may have com- plained to the Proprietor. Hence the following :
"William Penn Proprietary & Governr of ye Province of Pennsilvania & ye Territories thereunto belonging
At ye Request of Morris Lewellin, Purchaser of five hundred Acres yt I would grant him to take up a Lott in ye City of Philadelphia. These are to will & require thee forthwth to survey or cause to be surveyed unto him a Lott in ye City where it fitt & make return thereof into my Secretarys Office. Given at Philadelphia ye 22d 9 br 1683.
WM PENN
R.N. Set this out at Skcolkill where it fell. it proved wet & ye Govnr orderd it to be in a dry place.
T. H."
The above document is signed by Penn himself, the text being in the hand of his secretary, Lehnmann. The foot-note is in the hand of William Penn's first surveyor-general, Cap- tain Thomas Holme-he who really laid out the city of Phil- adelphia.
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
The original Morris Llewellyn homestead, named "Castle Bith," after the old home town in Wales, still stands at the southwest corner of Ardmore avenue and Haverford road. It was until her death occupied by the late Hannah Llewel- lyn, daughter of David and Ann Llewellyn. The property passed by will to the present occupant, Rowland J. Pugh. In the west gable, until recently, could be seen a stone, read- ing, "M A L 1693," which being interpreted means "Morris and Ann Llewellyn 1693." The stone is still in the gable, but covered.
John, brother of Morris Llewellyn, owned land in Haver- ford, but it must have passed to Morris Llewellyn, as we find the latter bequeathing it in his will to his son David. There is a record of Edward Llewellyn having been buried at Haverford, December 12, 1694, but I have been unable to establish his relationship.
The first entry in the Radnor Monthly Meeting11 records, referring to the Llewellyn family is in 1686 (April 3), where Morris' wife Ann signed the marriage certificate of Richard Ormes and Mary Tyder. The earliest written record made by Morris Llewellyn himself is his witness to the mar- riage of Humphrey Ellis and Jane David, at the house of William Howell, 11-19-1686.12
Morris Llewellyn and Ann Young had at least four chil- dren. David was born in 1673, Mary in 1676, Morris in 1682 and Griffith in 1689.
David, in 1706, married Margaret Lawrence, of Haver- ford, daughter of David and Ellinor Lawrence. In 1709, he married Margaret Ellis, of Gwynedd, daughter of William John and widow of Robert Ellis. A daughter, Ann, was born in 1713 or 1714. There must have been another daughter Margaret, for we find in the will of Daniel Thomas, of Merion, who died about January 1, 1723, a bequest of £5 to
11 Radnor Monthly Meeting included the Preparative Meetings at Merion, Haverford and Radnor.
12 Radnor Monthly Meeting records.
1
THE ORIGINAL LLEWELLYN HOMESTEAD In Haverford, Built 1693. Still Occupied 1935. Morris Llewellyn Cooke and wife in foreground.
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MORRIS LLEWELLYN OF HAVERFORD
"Margaret, youngest daughter of David Llewellyn" - his executor-and the balance of this estate "to found a school in Haverford." Mary Llewellyn, in 1694, married Benjamin Humphrey. They had seven children, five sons and two daughters, as follows: John b. 8th 7 mo. 1695, Joseph b. 11th 11th mo. 1697, David b. 8th 5th mo. 1700, Daniel b. 6th 2 mo. 1703 and Owen b. 27th 11th mo. 1713; Ann, who, on 10-23-1742, married Gerrard Jones, son of Robert Jones, a first settler; and Elizabeth, who married John Scarlett. Owen, through whom the author of this paper traces his direct descent from Morris Llewellyn, married Sarah Embree, daughter of Moses Embree, and widow of John Hughes, of Merion, on 29th 7th mo. 1738. The second Morris, "of ye Indian Fields in ye Township of Merion13 in 1706 married Elizabeth Thomas. Anne, the only child of this union (b. June 20, 1707) was married, 10-3-1724, to David Price, son of David Price, of Merion. Morris, Jr., in 1733 married Catharine Bynon, widow of Henry Lewis, who bore him five children-all daughters-Cisly (m. Alexander Cruikshank), Mary (m. James Trueman), Elizabeth (m. George Webster), Catharine (m. Isaac Taylor) and Mar- garet (m. Evan Evans).
Morris, Jr., died in 1749. His will carries a seal, pictur- ing a man on horseback - possibly having some armorial significance. Among the interesting items on the inventory of his estate are "Negro man £50, negro woman £35, negro child £15." Among the expenses of the executors for the funeral were "Sugar, raisins and spice S 10 d 6, barrel of syder S 10, winding sheet £1 S 2 d 11, and coffin £1 S 10." These expenditures antedated the passage of the Volstead Act by about 175 years.
Griffith, Morris Llewellyn's last child, known as "the American," probably because he was the only one of the chil- dren to be born in this country, married Elizabeth, daughter
13 For further details of this "Plantation on the Skoolkill" and its owners, see "The Land of the Llewellyns and Camp Discharge," by S. Gordon Smyth, Historical Sketches of the Historical Society of Mont- gomery County, Vol. III, page 206.
1
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
of Rees and Martha (Aubrey) Thomas, of Merion.14 He had one son John, who married Martha, the daughter of Wil- liam and Elizabeth Thomas; and three daughters, Mari- anna, Ariadne and Elizabeth, who married Captain John Young. Griffith Llewellyn evidently married a second time, as in his will he refers to "my beloved wife Mary." Griffith was commissioned as a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia on May 27, 1745. He died in 1752. His home had been in Merion, nearby the Indian Field plantation.
The oldest line-stone in Haverford Township (discov- ered by Samuel M. Garrigues, Surveyor, of Bryn Mawr, in 1889) and "the first evidence we have of a settlement" in the township, formerly stood on the line of the Hannah Llewellyn property, and the meadow of the Haverford Col- lege corporation, on the northeast bank of Cobb's Creek, about 200 yards northwest of Ardmore Avenue station, on the Philadelphia and Western Railway "near the spring- house of Edwin Johnson." The stone marked the corner of the land of Thomas Ellis, on the South, Morris Llewellyn on the East, and David Llewellyn on the West. On the east face of the stone is cut: "C - D M L"; and on the west face: "C-MDLL-A TE-1683."
According to Surveyor Garrigues,15 this survey was made March 2, 1683. I have been unable to locate any authority for this date. The statement apparently carries with it the assumption that this stone was set about this time. As we have no reason to believe that Morris Llewellyn had a brother named David, the initials on the stone doubtless
14 Elizabeth, daughter of Rees and Martha (Aubrey) Thomas, married, 3-7-1724, at Radnor Meeting, Samuel Harry. Her father, in his will, made in 1742, calls her "my daughter Elizth. Harry, wife of Saml. Harry." No marriage of Griffith Llewellyn appears of record on the reg- isters of Radnor Monthly Meeting. In 1719, however, the will of Margaret Thomas, of Merion, is witnessed by Griffith Llewellin and Mary Llewellin -the latter very probably the wife of Griffith .- Ed.
15 Thomas Allen Glenn: "Merion in the Welsh Tract" (Norristown, Penna., 1896) ; p. 39.
LL
THE OLDEST LINE-STONE IN HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP
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MORRIS LLEWELLYN OF HAVERFORD
refer to Morris Llewellyn's eldest son David, born in Wales in 1673. This is the son who later became a surveyor.
This stone, about twenty years ago, was removed to the Haveford College grounds, and in 1928 was presented to the author by the Trustees of the College. It is now a treas- ured possession at my home on St. George's Road, in Chest- nut Hill. Before the stone came into my possession, a piece had been broken off the top, so that a small cross, on what had been the east face, is missing.
The 500 acres of land which Morris Llewellyn pur- chased from Penn on January 19-20, 1681,16 was eventually laid out entirely in Haverford Township. One piece of 60 acres began about the line of Cobbs Creek, and extended on either side of the present Ardmore avenue northeast to the Merion township line. This is the plot on which the home- stead was erected. The other piece laid out as 400 acres (re- surveyed to 434 acres) lies immediately south of the Radnor township line, and extended from Darby Creek to the Merion township line. The northern half of this plot is credited to Morris' brother John, on the early plans. But when, on his death, Morris willed to his son David "one hundred and sixty acres of land near Darby Creek that was formerly my brother John Llewellins," it was taken from the southern half of the strip.
In 1683-the date on the stone- David was only ten years old. On 1-27-1692 we find him witnessing the will of Ellin Ellis, of Haverford. On 2-22-1693, in company with his parents, he was a witness at the marriage of Lewis Walker and Mary Morris, at Haverford. On 10-4-1694 he was pres- ent at the wedding of his sister Mary to Benjamin Hum- phrey. This was the year in which he came of age. It is pos- sible that about this time Morris Llewellyn presented to his eldest son David a part of the original home site, and that when surveyor David Llewellyn took possession, he carved and set up the stone to delimit his new possessions. It is also possible that the markings on the west face were originally "C-MDLL." The markings "A T. E .- 1683" may have
16 See Exemp. Rec. Book 5, p. 544.
.
£
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
been added at a later date. Certainly the location of the "A"-probably standing for "and"-suggests that it may have been an after-thought. The top lettering appears to be of a somewhat different grade from that below.
On the 1st mo. 1697-8, Morris Llewellyn purchased 500 acres in Merion township. It bordered the Schuylkill river for a distance of about half a mile, and below the bend in the river below Conshohocken. On the west it adjoined Laetitia Penn Awbrey's Manor, of Mount Joy. Roughly it comprised the area bounded at present by Lafayette road, Stony road, Spring Mill road and the Schuylkill river. This tract had been part of the original grant of 5,000 acres to Joshua Holland, and reached Llewellyn through John Hol- land, George Collett and Nathaniel Pennock, former owners. On June 5, 1703, this property was given to Morris Llewellyn, Jr., probably because about that time he attained his majority. Morris Llewellyn, Jr., added from time to time to his land holdings in this neighborhood. Descendants of Morris Llewellyn are still living on the old Taylor farm on Lafayette road, a part of the original "Indian Fields."
The present generation may be especially interested in a tract of upwards of 200 acres in Merion, purchased in parts by Morris Llewellyn, and lying on both sides of the present Lancaster road-referred to on the plan as "The Road from Radnor to Merion and thence to Philadelphia"-and run- ning from about Ardmore station, of the Pennsylvania Railroad, to within a few hundred feet of the Haverford station. This property all but adjoined the Morris Llewellyn homestead in Haverford. A survey17 of this property made by Surveyor David Llewellyn for his brother Morris, dated 9 11th mo. 1712-13, is shown on the accompanying illus- tration.
A further reference to David's activities as a surveyor is found in the following holograph note of James Logan, dated 12 8mo. 1723 :
17 The original of this survey, and one made by David Llewellyn, 2nd 26 1718, for Thomas Seymour, can be found in Peters Papers, Vol. 1, p. 11, in MSS Div., Hist. Soc. of Pa.
الصـ
-
Jurvoid for Morues Invain Prior apier Land of 4th Ensuing La montings remaining at 2 Citronssend Chement! sa att dienst formed
Janet Land nom ing Tone of William me JS9: echip to a Canal
tran Dividing it tren y'hand of Robert ?: Lacton de poulet to a great Hacked port
2.
to yo place of Bot
>
130 Bazes
SURVEY BY DAVID LLEWELLYN
-
79
MORRIS LLEWELLYN OF HAVERFORD
"ffriend Rees Thomas
I thought Davd Llewellin had been long since satisfied for what he did in ye Resurvey of Laetitie's Manor on Skuylkill but he tells me he never recvd any thing further that the £4:18:8 that I paid him in ye year 171 34. I request thee therefore to settle it with him and pay him out of the Money in thy hands so much more as thou shalt find Just & rea- sonable placing the same to thy Brother Aubrey & his Trustees acct wch on these terms shall be approved by
Thy assured ffriend,
JAMES LOGAN."
On date of January 31, 1739/40 Logan writes to James Steel:
"ffrd J. Steel
Davd Llewellin by his Lettr now informs me that the above men- tioned £4:18:8 instead of being paid to himself was discounted off his Brother Morris's bond to the Proprietr by an indorsemt in my hand but that thou refuses to allow it. Please when thou come hither to bring the bond with thee and explain it to thy friend.
Stenton 31 Janry 39/40
J. LOGAN."
And we have endorsed on the same document (text in hand of the Proprietary agent, James Steel, but signed by Morris Llewellyn, Jr., himself) the following receipt dated 17 11th mo. 1740 clearing the matter:
Philada 17th 11 mo. 1740
Recd. of James Steel (by discount on my bond) the within Sum of four Pounds Eighteen Shillings & eight pence on behalf of my Brother David Llewellyn.
MORRIS LLEWELLYN."
Morris Llewellyn of Haverford was frequently assigned responsible tasks by Haverford meeting and Radnor meet- ing. The Meeting was obliged occasionally to take up col- lections of corn, etc., for relief of unfortunates, usually new comers, or those whose crops had failed. Sometimes it was a loan by Monthly Meeting, as "30 shillings ordered out of the collection for to help him out his p'sent necessity." Again, "it was ordered by this meeting that Cadder Morgan and James Thomas do receive the voluntary gift of Merion
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:
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
meeting to assist in his present distress, he having sustained loss by fires, that Richard Ormes and Stephen Bevan, for Radnor, and Maurice Llewellyn and David Humphrey, of Haverford, do receive the voluntary subscription of each of the sd Townships, to the sd use."
The Chester County records show that he was called on for duties of a public character. In 1689 it was "Ordered that Morris Llewellin be supervisor of ye High Wayes for ye Township of Harfort and Richard Armes for ye Township of Radnor for ye next ensuing years."
And again, "Names of The Grand Inquest for this yeare 1694" - 15 names, including Morrice Lewellin, Richard Armes, et al.
And again, "Att a Court off Quarter ssons; held att Chester ffor the County off Chester the 12th Day off March 1694-5, After Proclamation made The Constables were called over ffor to bring in theyr Returns and they Returnd All was well and there were new ones Chosen for to serve for this next year," Morris Lewellin among the others. He also, on occasion, acted as overseer of wills, and as executor.
Morris Llewellyn's name frequently appears on the tax lists. One of these-a "tax levied of one shilling per hun- dred towards the taking of wolves," indicates that living conditions were far from being on a "Pink tea" basis.
Morris Llewellyn and his family were identified with the earliest days of the old Haverford Meeting located on Wynnewood Road (formerly Haverford-and-Merion Road), near Oakmont, now Wynnewood Road station on the trolley line from 69th Street to Ardmore. The first meeting was held in the home of John Bevan, 5th mo. 10th 1684. By 13th 9 mo. 1684, it was reported to the Monthly Meeting that "There is a burying place got out for Haverford." At this time there were fifteen families in "Harford Town,"18 and
18 In the earliest days, the township appears to have been frequently called "Harfod," a corruption of Hereford-a county in England, abutting Wales. Before very long, however, the use of Haverford-after Haver- ford West, in Pembrokeshire-became quite general.
1
OLD HAVERFORD MEETING HOUSE
P
...
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9
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MORRIS LLEWELLYN OF HAVERFORD
"eight others expected soon." The first record of a marriage at Haverford was 20 1 mo. 1689-90. At the monthly meeting held 11th 12 mo. 1696, a committee of ten members was appointed "to endeavor to end the differences between Maurice Llewellyn and three members of Meeting." Two months later it was reported that judgment had been ren- dered, and all "parties seem to be satisfied therewith."
The first meeting-house at Haverford was a wooden structure. A stable was ordered to be built adjoining, 10, 11th mo. 1694. A committee was appointed 11 mo. 1695 to plan for a new building. On 14 January 1696-7, David Lewis "accounted to the monthly meeting-he had received £5 from Maurice Llewellyn in part of a legacy from Margaret Howell towards Repairing or Rebuilding of ye meeting house at Haverford." This was presumably the same Mar- garet Howell who signed his marriage certificate in Wales, and who had since joined the Haverford colony. Morris Llewellyn, with James Thomas, Jr., was executor of Mar- garet Howell's will. From 1 mo. 1697-8 until 11 mo. 1701, funds were constantly being raised in Merion, Radnor and other meetings to help build at Haverford. An entry in the meeting records, 11th 4 mo. 1702, shows the new building was nearing completion.
The interior view of the meeting-house shows it as it was shortly after completion-except for the stove. In recent years it has been "modernized." The side panels are so arranged that they can be raised and lowered in order to make it possible to have two simultaneous meetings, one for the men and the other for the women-a frequent occur- rence with Friends.
Below and to the right of the right hand window in the exterior view can be seen all that remains of the original arrangements for heating the meeting-house. Apparently a log fire was built outside the building, and by means of a hood and pipe the heated air was carried to the interior through the aperture shown just beyond the shutter on the extreme right.
The inhabitants of the great Welsh Tract, or Barony, as the district comprising the three townships of Merion,
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Haverford and Radnor was designated, as late as the begin- ning of the last century, had constant differences with Penn and those he put in charge of the Province of Pennsylvania. In 3rd mo. 1688, we have an autograph petition "beautifully written and quaint in expression," protesting against the curtailment of gifts, etc., and signed by Morris Llewellyn, among others. The reverse of the petition is endorsed, "The petitioners are worthy and very earnest about it." On July 18, 1693, we have another petition, against the ferryman on the Schuylkill, signed by "some of the most respectable peo- ple of the Welsh Tract," Morris Llewellyn among the num- ber. Another petition requested that Quakers be exempt from any duties in connection with the Courts, as conflict- ing with their religious principles, but insisting that they should have part in legislation in order to control taxation. But the most important struggle had to do with the exclusion of non-Quakers from the Barony. On the 13th 10 mo. 1690, their position was thus defined :
"We the Inhabitants of the Welsh Tract in the Province of Pennsylvania in America, being descended from the Ancient Pritains, who always in the Land of our Nativity, under the Crown of England, have enjoyed that Liberty and privilege as to have our bounds and limits by ourselves within which all causes, quarrels, crimes, and titles were tryed and wholly determined by officers, magistrates, jurors of our own language which were our equals. Having our faces towards these Counties, made motion to our Governor that we might enjoy the same here-to the intent we might live together here, and enjoy our Liberty and Devotion, which thing was soon granted us before we came to these parts." Penn agreed that if the Welsh would pay rent for the entire area of the three townships, 40,000 acres in all, and further date the rent back to 1684, outsiders would be excluded. This latter proposal was refused-at least that part of it dating payments back. Thus outsiders were ad- mitted to residence in perhaps the choicest territory then open to settlers.
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