USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Historical sketches : a collection of papers prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 1921-1925, Volume VII > Part 8
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
Morris Llewellyn died about November 19, 1730, and was buried in the burial-ground at Haverford Meeting-
INTERIOR OF HAVERFORD MEETING Except for the Stove about as it was in 1702.
83
MORRIS LLEWELLYN OF HAVERFORD
house. His wife who had died nearly 30 years before was also buried there. The early graves here are unmarked, and in most instances cannot be definitely located.
The will, drafted on June 14, 1714, in addition to the land on Darby Creek heretofore mentioned, gave five shill- ings to "my son Morris Lewellin," ten pounds to "my daugh- ter Mary," and to "my son Griffith Llewellyn all the land he now lives on ... containing by estimation 300 acres ... and all the residue of my estate." The small bequest to Morris, Jr., was probably made in the light of gifts of considerable size made previously. Mary had married a prosperous hus- band, and therefore was already well taken care of. Griffith Llewellyn was made executor, and the will was witnessed by Joan Lewellin, Thomas Owen and Joseph Ambler, the first two making their marks.
Another Morris Llewellyn-probably a great-grandson of Morris Llewellyn, of Haverford-rose to local fame. "At the close of the administration of the elder Adams a liberty pole19 was raised at a small village about ten miles north of Philadelphia then known as Merion Square and recently re- named Gladwyn. A flag was suspended from the pole bear- ing the inscription "Down with all tyrants. No gag laws. Liberty or death." Among the protestants were Captain John Young, Samuel Young and Morris Llewellyn, all des- cendants of the original Morris Llewellyn. Upon word reach- ing the city that the citizens of Lower Merion had planted on their soil the emblem of Liberty and Equality, a squad of troops was sent out to enforce the Sedition Act. Morris Llewellyn was arrested and taken to the city, and put in prison. A great crowd attended his trial, and promised to attempt his rescue, should he be convicted. But the jury declared him not guilty. He was carried from the court house upon the shoulders of cheering friends. The other parties implicated in the affair are reported to have fled "to
19 I have been told that it was out of disturbances of this character, quite general about this time, that the design showing the Liberty Cap surmounting a pole, to which was attached the United States flag, came into use.
84
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
" the woods and caves of the Schuylkill hills," and thus avoided arrest.20
Stanley Shields Cooke, of Denver, Colorado, the only child of the author's eldest brother, and therefore great- great-great-great-great grandchild of Morris Llewellyn, of Haverford, served his country in the Great War. To our dis- may he was lost, September 26, 1918, while serving on U. S. S. "Tampa," a Coast Guard vessel, sunk all but "with- out trace," in the vicinity of Milford Haven, on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales,21 less than 50 miles from the Castle Beith from which his ancestor emigrated two hun- dred and thirty-five years before. They both gave eloquent testimony on behalf of Liberty.
20 This account is based on a letter, dated April 23, 1886, written by Thomas L. Young to Perry Anderson, Esq., of Lower Merion .- Ed.
21 See letter dated May 16, 1921, from Hydrographic Office, and signed "L. H. Chandler, Rear Admiral U. S. Navy, Hydrographer."
THE BURIAL GROUND AT OLD HAVERFORD MEETING
..
William Summers* Late Librarian of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Penna.
By WALTER ROSS MCSHEA
In affectionate love and memory, we pay tribute to one with whom, in this Society, we were long associated in labor and friendship, and one who reflected those enviable virtues that are America's greatest blessing and hope : energy, recti- tude and idealism. A life of modest endeavor has closed, but we know that he has left to his posterity, and to us, one worthy of emulation.
William Summers was the eldest son of Samuel (4) and Eliza (Whitby) Summers. (Samuel 4, Martin 3, Philip 2, Hans Georg 1 Summer or Sommer, the Emigrant, who, on September 22, 1752, with wife Elizabeth and five children, arrived in Philadelphia on the ship, "Brothers," Captain William Muir. Philip (2) Summers arrived in the same city on September 22, 1754, on the ship "Edinburg," James Rus- sell, Master. A brief digest of the Summers Family, pre- pared by William Summers, may be found in Roberts' Bio- graphical Annals of Montgomery County, 1904, Vol. 1, page 534, together with an excellent likeness of the compiler). He was born in Norristown, the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on the 30th day of May, 1833, and he passed quietly away within one month of his eighty-eighth birthday, on the 29th day of April, 1921. In this borough, then of upwards of three thousand inhabitants, he attended the public school and spent his youthful years, but for the major portion of his life he resided about four miles east- ward toward Philadelphia, in Conshohocken.
*Read before the Society, November 19, 1921.
Note: A portrait of Mr. Summers appeared in Volume VI of these Historical Sketches, accompanying his own article, "Early Public Schools of Norristown."-Ed.
85
86
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
In a general store in this recently incorporated borough bearing the Indian name meaning Edge Hill, William Sum- mers became a clerk at the age of eighteen years, and there- after was distinctively identified with its growth and pros- perity. His diligence, thrift and ambition did not long permit him to occupy a subordinate position; hence, on April 15, 1858, prior to his marriage, we find him master of his own establishment.
He was married on October 10, 1858, to Henrietta Yost, a daughter of Abraham and Maria (Christman) Yost, of a long established Pennsylvania family. Mrs. Summers was born on March 26, 1833, and died May 18, 1887. Of their three children, William E. is deceased; Clara E., widow of the late John B. Murray, and Lilian E. Summers, survive.
As a dealer in general merchandise, he attained notable success, retiring from active business after disposing of his stock, good-will and fixtures, in the year 1900. Thereafter he continued to conduct his private interests and remained ever active in that pursuit in which we find him of promi- nence and distinction.
William Summers was a man below medium height, of quiet, unobtrusive personality, and the possessor of those enviable traits of character that brought to him, at the behest of his fellow-citizens, unsought-for honors. He was elected to membership in town council for the terms of 1869- 1872, inclusive, and in the years 1883 and 1884; in 1875 and 1876 he was called upon to fill the office of Burgess of Con- shohocken. For upwards of eighteen years he was a director of public schools, and frequently, when the treasury was without funds, advanced moneys to pay the salaries of teachers. His public spirit was further demonstrated as a charter member of the Washington Fire Company, No. 1, the first formed for the protection of this borough on the hill; and, as an original subscriber of the Conshohocken Gas and Water Company, rendered service upon its Board of Directors. His civic spirit, sagacious judgment and implicit honesty were ever at the command of his fellow citizens who held him in the highest esteem and confidence.
87
WILLIAM SUMMERS
History and biography were, for many centuries, re- written from old books, thus errors and omissions, so to speak, were perpetuated. From the modern scientific and systematic examination of documentary and now otherwise accessible but detached matter, including genealogy, these subjects are now being re-written or rendered with greater accuracy. History comprehends the lesser though intricate study of genealogy, and the intellectual bent of William Summers lay in this specialty. From his accomplishments in this pursuit, we may feel certain that he was in complete sympathy and understanding with the views of Daniel Web- ster, as expressed by him in his Plymouth (Mass.) discourse of December 22, 1820:
"There may be, and there often is, indeed, a regard for ancestry, which nourishes only a weak pride; as there is also a care for posterity, which only disguises our habitual avarice, or hides the workings of a low and grovelling vanity. But there is also a moral and philosophical respect for our ancestors which elevates the character and improves the heart. Next to the sense of religious duty and moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear with stronger obligation on a liberal and enlightened mind than a consciousness of alliance with excellence which is departed; and a consciousness, too, that in its acts and conduct, and even in its sentiments, it may be actively operating on the happiness of those who come after it."
When William Summers was a little boy, he looked for- ward to, and loved, accompanying his grandfather, Martin Summers, to old St. John's Episcopal Church, the first erected (dedicated 1815) in Norristown. Descended from patriotic stock of earnest religious teachings and obser- vances, throughout his life he fulfilled these principles in thought and deed. His great-grandfather, Philip Summers, was one of six sons, of whom five had rendered service in the War for Independence; therefore inborn was his love for his country and its principles.
This great-grandfather, Philip Summers, a private in Captain David Marpole's (Marple) Company, Pennsylvania Militia, 1777-1780, fought at Germantown and in other battles, and is believed to have held a lieutenant's commis- sion. His sword was a highly prized possession, and one of his two pistols, inscribed with the initials "P. S.," was owned
88
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
by William Summers. The latter loved to tell a story that illustrated some of the terrors of the Revolutionary days, when all available males were in service. He said that a number of soldiers found that the men-folk were absent from Philip Summers' farm in Horsham township, and promptly made the barn a loafing-place, much to the annoyance and fear of his young wife and children. One day these soldiers were seen making a hasty departure in all directions, and the relief and delight of the family were great when they found that the exodus was due to an officer riding up the lane and that this officer was the husband and father.
All about him, throughout the span of his long and use- ful life, his eyes fell upon the landmarks and scenes of the critical period of the Revolutionary War. He lived and died in the centre of that section of the Colonies wherein its plentitude of religious bodies and edifices contributed, with- out parallel elsewhere, so distinctly to that cause: this sec- tion was that of the three original counties-Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks-of Pennsylvania, the Keystone. With these inspirations, from the lips of his kinsmen, friends and acquaintances; from the highways, by-ways and streams; from the meeting-houses, grave-yards and stones; and from the most sacred spot in all America, within sight of which he was born-the hills of Valley Forge-did William Sum- mers unobtrusively yet so valuably labor that he might im- perishably add to our knowledge of our country's history and of its people.
He was a boyhood and life-long friend of one of Mont- gomery County's literary contributors, William McDermott, an active church worker, banker and contributing journalist of Norristown and Conshohocken. Through this friendship, the Historical Society of Montgomery County acquired an active member on Washington's Birthday, February 22, 1897 (became a Life Member, May 26. 1897). and one of its notable supporters. In this society, in which he was elected Librarian on February 22. 1902, to which hon- orable post he was annually re-elected until his death, was centered his declining years and activities. His do- nations were many and notable; his contributions in
89
WILLIAM SUMMERS
historical and genealogical research, of the greatest impor- tance. Of the latter, not the least in value, particularly in view of the absence of enforced vital statistics, is that com- pilation of Marriages and Deaths extracted from the news- paper files of the "Norristown Register," 1803-1845; "Nor- ristown Free Press," 1829-1837; and the "Lafayette Aurora" (Pottstown), 1825-7; a painstaking and laborious exaction upon patience and eyesight. He also accumulated a list of Marriages performed by Justices of the Peace, in Mont- gomery County.
A most interesting re-print appeared in the "Consho- hocken Recorder" of July 11, 1913, the result of his examin- ation of the "Norristown Register" of July 7, 1813. It set forth that "The officers of the 51st Regiment of Pennsyl- vania Militia and a respectable number of 'Democratic-Re- publicans' " sat down to dinner at the house of Col. Thomas Humphrey, Centre Square, and, after the Declaration of Independence was read, amidst the firing of cannon and with music, responses were made to not less than eighteen toasts (titles carefully recited) of the most patriotic char- acter. And, that on July 5, 1813, a like celebration, likewise with toasts, was held on Barbadoes Island, where also, May 17, 1804, had been held the celebration, according to Mr. Summers, of the Acquisition of Territory of Louisiana. These and many other articles of patriotic value and ex- ample, he enthusiastically revived lest the public forget "the blood of our fathers and the tears of our mothers."
A notable compilation of the utmost importance to de- scendants of officers and privates who served in the Conti- nental Line and Militia of Pennsylvania during the Revolu- tion, was his contribution of obituary notices collected from Montgomery County newspapers, published in "The Penn- sylvania Magazine of History and Biography." vol. 38, page 443.
In addition to the aforementioned bodies and societies, Mr. Summers was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Pennsylvania-German Society, the Penn- sylvania Library Club, and the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution.
90
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
So great was his modesty that, proud as he was of his eligibility to this latter society, it was only after repeated urging that he became a member therein on November 11, 1920. He was the founder of and the historian of The Sum- mers Historical Association.
Few men who have lived a period of almost eighty-eight years, with unimpaired eyesight for at least eighty of them, have been blessed with William Summers' wonderful health and vitality. A fractured ankle due to a runaway horse, and a broken wrist sustained by a workman leaving a pipe on a stairway, were occasions wherein he was involuntarily out of service, save his last but short illness. Perhaps from his mother, he inherited his fine constitution and great activity, for she enjoyed fine health until a week before her demise, aged ninety years.
His travels led him from Maine to Florida, to the Co- lumbian Exposition in Chicago, the Panama Exposition in Buffalo, but none gave him quite the satisfaction that a jour- ney to Illinois produced.
He was the possessor of the original Land Warrant granted "unto (his grandfather) Martin Summers, Brother, and the other heirs at law of Anthony Summers, deceased, late Private in Hooks Company, fourth regiment of Infan- try," dated 14 January, 1819, and signed by James Monroe when Commissioner of the General Land Office, and by its President, Josiah Meigs. His visit to the 160 acres here in- volved, located in the S. W. quarter of section 25, of Town- ship N in Range four W., in the tract appropriated (by the Acts of Congress, May 6, 1812, etc.) for Military Bounties in the Territory of Illinois (Recorded Col. 32, p. 231 E), was a never-forgotten memory.
It was with great reverence that he caused interest to be taken in memorials, and to personally erect a new marker to take the place of the weather-beaten one in St. John's Luth- eran Churchyard, Fifth and Race streets, Philadelphia, under which lay his Revolutionary forebear, Philip Sum- mers, and his wife, Salome Reibel.
His long, industrious and widespread career, brought him acquaintances of several generations. From the indiffer-
91
WILLIAM SUMMERS
ent and interested alike, his engagingly gentle manner brought forth genealogical treasures. His amazing memory for exacting details in connections and locations, enabled him to respond to inquiries from all sections of the country, particularly from aspirants to patriotic societies. With gen- erosity, he gave his knowledge and his time, ever patient in his unselfish endeavor of assistance. His whimsical humor and great kindliness brought him a host of friends who feel his loss. Many writers and genealogists of note appealed to him and exchanged information. He was a contributor to the Yost and other family histories, and attended their annual re-unions. He was a deep student of the archives of Mont- gomery County, and of its parent, Philadelphia County.
William Summers was rarely absent from the popular "outings" to historical sites and places, of the Historical Society of Montgomery County. Upon these occasions, the writer looked forward to his companionship, not only be- cause he had inducted him into that society, but by reason of their close friendship. It was also our habit to foregather on each Memorial Day, in Montgomery Cemetery, Norris- town, where amidst the illustrious dead of the vicinity, appropriate ceremonies are held. And here, where many of my people lie, and with his family, William Summers found his last resting place. His last request that he be quietly and unostentatiously laid away, was reverently complied with on May 3, save that he was borne there by the loving hands of his friends-members of the Historical Society of Mont- gomery County, and of the Sons of the Revolution.
No greater tribute could the friends of William Sum- mers pay his memory, than that he gave unto them in full, those noble qualities summed up by Jeremy Taylor-"By friendship, I suppose you mean the greatest love, the great- est usefulness, and the most open communications, and the most exemplary faithfulness, and the severest truth, and the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of minds, of which brave men and women are capable."
A modest and beloved citizen of a sister republic, Gen- eral Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied Armies, is in our midst. His discovery of America is disclosed in a tribute
92
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
to the warmth of our sentiments and the character of our citizenry. He said, "Since coming to Philadelphia, many things are clearer to me than they were before. Victory has been attributed to the unity of command, but I attribute it to ideas and ideals."
We have reason to be proud of men and women who, like William Summers, have left their impress upon the community. Their ideas and ideals are the result of their inheritances and of the lessons derived from the little church on the hill and the school-house by the roadside. In them and in their memory, lives the true spirit of America.
Norristown, Pa., November 19, 1921
pp. 93, 99, 100. For Kersey's road, read Keesey's rod
٦
--------
Old Roads of Norristown *
By S. CAMERON CORSON
In selecting this subject, "Old Roads of Norristown," I was governed, to a large extent, by a desire to give you what information I have been able to obtain from local records and from my personal observations and surveys. I was also desirous of presenting certain information concerning some roads now nearly forgotten, which, in several instances, are "dead." Inadvertently I may have omitted some old roads; if so, they may be added. This "Old Roads" subject is similar to that of the old buildings of Norristown, which, to the present generation, are absolutely unknown.
I here show a sketch map indicating the location of the old roads to be described :
A. Old Swedes Ford road, State road, Swede street and Markley street.
B. Old Paper Mill road, from Beach and Swede streets over the site of the present Beach street to Stony Creek, etc.
C. Scheetz's Mill road, from the old Paper Mill road to the mill.
D. Kersey's road, now Basin street, from old Green Alley road.
E. Old Green Alley road, from a point, between Airy and Penn, on Green, to Arch and the Borough line. Vaca- tions, and parts still used.
F. Schuylkill River road, formerly an Indian trail, prior to the Dam.
G. Red Rock, or Hancock's Lane.
*Read before the Society, November 19, 1921.
93
94
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY
The Egypt road, commonly called Main street, was origi- nally an Indian trail, and was laid out by William Moore Smith in 1784. From an early history of this locality, I find that there was a large log-cabin located on the eastern bank of the Stony creek, on the south side of Egypt street, known as "Norrington Inn." On a map made by Scull prior to 1760, he shows the site of the old inn, which, from the above description, would have been near Water street and Egypt street, but at least ten feet below the present grade of these streets. That description refers to Egypt street, and I mention it here as being the earliest authentic record of Egypt street.
Egypt road, the Turnpike, or Main street, is certainly the site of an Indian trail, or cow-path. It is crooked from end to end. One does not appreciate how crooked it is, when traversing it in an automobile or trolley car, but from the eastern borough line to the stone steps in the retaining wall at Hallman's farm, it was formerly very crooked, but today it is straight; then it bears to the north several degrees to the Reading Screw Works; here it bears again to the north to Walnut street; still to the north at Mill street; again, at a point nearly opposite Strawberry alley, it continues on this line to the old Hartranft Hotel, and there there is quite an angle, but still more to the north, until it reaches a point just east of George street; then it turns to the south, until it reaches a point one hundred feet west of Stanbridge, where the old mile-post stood. Then it makes its final turn to the north, in a straight line to the borough line, or Forest avenue.
Egypt road is two-and-a-quarter miles long; eighty feet wide; with sidewalks each fifteen feet wide. It is supposed to have been given its name, "Egypt road," from the fol- lowing source, as published in Crittenden's History of Nor- ristown, 1860. "Egypt road constitutes part of a road that originally led to the valley of the Perkiomen, which, in early times, was well-known for its fertility and productiveness, and was, in consequence, called 'Egypt.'" The saying of "going down to Egypt to procure meal and other household
1
HOGE TURNNIKE
PLATE " THIS OLD ROAD WAS CALLED THE RED ROCK OR HANCOCKS! LANE ITWASWED F WHEN MAIN ST. WAS GRADED BETWEEN GEORGE ST. AND STONY CREEK 1830
JA
1
.
1
SCHUYLKILL
NORRISTOWN PA
WEST NORRITON TOWNSHIPS
ANILJW ANYWOLL NOW
BARBADOES ISLAND
-----
95
OLD ROADS OF NORRISTOWN
necessities," was quite common, and from this, it is sup- posed, the road was called Egypt road.
Prior to the construction of the dam at the foot of Swede street, in 1826, there was an old road along the north shore line, extending from a point at the present boundary line between Montgomery and Riverside Cemeteries, down to Stony creek; northeast along the creek to a point about mid- way between Main street and Marshall street, near the pres- ent site of the West Airy street bridge, where it crossed Stony creek, and came down the eastern side of the creek to the river, and then followed the north shore line down toward Conshohocken. So much for legend. I have been unable to verify the location of this road below the Stony creek, except that part of it just described. I have a story, told me by my father, which verifies this statement; that when he was a boy, he drove a double yoke of oxen from his father's farm on the Perkiomen to Norristown, over the old Egypt road, then down the present Ridge pike to a point near the old homestead of the Hartranfts, just west of the car-barn on Main street, where there was a road which went in a southerly direction, and in a diagonal course to the present road, or pike, passing the old house where General Hancock lived when a boy, then on down that valley parallel to Buttonwood sreet, then on down to "Red Rock," where it joined what was called the River road. Father stated that this was necessary because there was no bridge that could be used at Egypt street over the Stony creek; that a bridge was either being built, or being repaired-he did not remem- ber which, but that over the Stony creek, below Lafayette street, there was a temporary bridge which they used from the River road. From this same point, on the river; viz .: between the two cemeteries, there was an old road and ford prior to the building of the dam; then, in a northerly direc- tion, it is our present Forest avenue, and has never been vacated south of Jackson street. The river road beyond this point certainly followed the north shore for many miles. There are today several roads leading down to the river, with no connection with any other road-for instance, the road just mentioned; the White Hall road; the
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.