USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Historical sketches : a collection of papers prepared for the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 33
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Tradition says fortunes were made and lost at this stand by the innkeepers. Undoubtedly the early landlords were well rewarded for their labors. By the inventories some of these innkeepers left behind at their death tradition is correct.
A number of years ago, when the law was enacted pro- hibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors on the Sabbath, the " Jeffersonville Inn " suffered as a consequence, and for a time thereafter legitimate hotel keeping here diminished and be- came less profitable.
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OLD "HARRITON," NEAR BRYN MAWR.
By Samuel Gordon Smyth.
On the northern edge of Bryn Mawr there stands a broad tract of fine timber many acres in extent. Through this growth, from a point on the old Gulf road, near Taylor College, a path leads diagonally across to a road on the opposite side, which bears off in the direction of the highlands of the Schuylkill. One day last autumn, having occasion to take a short cut in my journey to Conshohocken, I rode along this path and chanced upon a curious burial place in the very midst of the forest. It seemed very ancient, and so mysterious looking that I deter- mined to linger long enough to make a brief examination.
As I approached the enclosure I noticed a large date- stone built in the wall; it bore the following inscription :
HARRITON FAMILY CEMETERY, ANNO 1719.
On the reverse of the stone facing inside the enclosure another inscription conveyed this information, to wit :
THIS STONE IS OPPOSITE THE DIVISION BETWEEN TWO ROWS OF FAMILY GRAVES WHEREIN WERE INTERRED RICHARD HARRISON (Died March 2, 1747) AND A NUMBER OF HIS DESCENDANTS. ALSO CHARLES THOMSON, SECRETARY OF CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, Died Aug. 16, 1824. AND. HANNAH THOMSON, WIFE OF CHAS. THOMSON, DAUGHTER OF RICHARD HARRISON, GRAND-DAUGHTER OF ISAAC NORRIS AND GREAT-GRAND-DAUGHTER OF GOVERNOR THOMAS LLOYD, Died Sept. 6, 1807.
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OLD HARRITON.
This little cemetery, secluded and remote though it is, and immersed in the gloomy half-light of the forest, has a tidy, well-kept appearance. Several moss-grown mounds are to be seen, but by reason of old-established custom still prevalent among the Quakers in the earlier interments here, common, flat, unhewn stones had been used to mark the graves. I saw nothing in either of the two rows described as family graves to indicate which one might contain the bones of Richard Harrison, or his distinguished son-in-law, Charles Thomson.
The graves of recent years, however, have marble head and foot pieces more modern in pattern. Two of them desig- nate the graves of Levi Morris and his wife, Naomi; others mark where their children lie. One other testifies to the rest- ing place of Charles McClenachan (who was Charles Thom- son's heir), who, dying in 1811, left as his heiress a child then but six weeks of age. This child became Mrs. Levi Morris, and it may be said of her that she had been the mistress of " Harriton" almost the whole of her natural life of nearly .eighty-two years.
Some time in the year 1717 Richard Harrison, Jr., came into the Province of Pennsylvania from the western shore of Maryland, where his people had settled two generations before, in what was then Calvert county. The elder Harrison was said to have been a friend of the great Quaker, George Fox. The son was of the same religious belief and strong in its con- victions.
During Harrison's stay in Pennsylvania he met and wooed Mary Norris, whose father, Isaac Norris, was one of Penn's Councillors. She was a grand-daughter of the Colonial Governor, Thomas Lloyd. This lady became Richard Har- rison's second wife. It had been previously arranged that Mrs. Harrison was to go into Maryland, where her husband- as a large tobacco grower and slave-holder-had an extensive plantation, and there reside for a year or two, and then, if she found it undesirable, Harrison was to dispose of his interests there and move into Pennsylvania. Be that as it may, we find the fact chronicled that he did return to his wife's native land,
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
where he purchased a large plantation of about seven hundred acres, mostly in woodland, from Rowland Ellis, who came to America about 1650, from Bryn Mawr, in Merionethshire, Wales, antedating Penn's arrival several years.
This tract was located in Merioneth township, not far from Philadelphia. Here Richard Harrison settled, but not before he had experienced the loss of his household goods that had been shipped by vessel from Maryland. This event happened on the voyage up the Delaware river, at some point a few miles below Philadelphia. An attack was made by pirates, who seized all the furniture and valuables, but consid- erately landed the slaves at some point on the river.
The house where Harrison took up his abode is still standing on the old farm. It had been built by Ellis in 1704. It is said that all of the material used in its construction was drawn to the site in the panniers of pack-horses. Harrison finished the clearing of his estate, to which he gave the name of " Harriton," and began the cultivation of tobacco. This became his principal pursuit until finally, by continuous crop- ping the soil became so impoverished as to make tobacco planting an unprofitable business.
It was not long after the family had gotten comfortably settled in their new home before a new experience presented itself. The negro slaves that had been brought from Mary- land had shown signs of discontent and wanted to return to the South. The family traditions say that the scheme was to destroy their master and mistress by poison, and only the timely discovery of the design, by what might be termed a miraculous interposition of Providence, was the means of saving the family.
The circumstances were about as follows : One morning while the family were seated at breakfast, and during the brief interval of silence which usually precedes a meal in the Society of Friends, a knocking was heard at the front door, which opens directly into the room used as the principal living apart- ment. Mr. Harrison called out to his would-be visitor to enter, but there was no response, and the knocking continued. Mr.
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OLD HARRITON.
Harrison then rose hastily from the table, and in so doing pre- cipitated its contents upon the floor.
No one was found at the door, but in the meantime the family cat had been regaling itself with the spilled chocolate, when it was suddenly seized with convulsions and died in a short time. These incidents seemed to have a mysterious effect upon the negroes. Their superstitious natures foresaw in these strange happenings some awful retribution, and they presently confessed to their master how they had planned to murder and plunder the family and then flee back to Mary- land.
Richard Harrison was noted for his religious devotion, and in 1730 he caused to be erected on his property adjoining the little cemetery, a small meeting house, which " was of stone, one story high, and about fifteen by thirty feet." Here the family, with friends and neighbors, worshipped for many years. The meeting-house was destroyed in 1819. Richard Harrison died in 1747, leaving to survive him a widow and four children.
In his will the following clause was found regarding the meeting-house and cemetery :
"And, whereas, I have erected a certain meeting-house or place of worship on part of my said tract of land in Merion township aforesaid: Now, therefore, it is my will, and I do hereby declare that the said meeting-house, together with a square piece of ground containing, by estimation, two acres at least, adjoining to said house, where several of my children lie interred, shall not be sold by my said trustees, but that the same house and ground shall forever hereafter be exempted and reserved out of my said tract of land in Merion aforesaid, and shall remain and continue to be for use and service of a meeting-house and place of interment."
By the death of Mrs. Harrison-the widow-and parti- tion proceedings among the then living heirs, the title to the plantation was settled upon Hannah Harrison, who afterward married Charles Thomson, a prominent scholar and teacher. This event took place in 1774.
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
Charles Thomson was one of that remarkable group of men which the conditions of those times produced. He had been born in the North of Ireland, in 1729, and was but ten years of age when his brothers and he landed at New Castle, Delaware. He found friends at once among the people there. Quick to recognize the lad's native qualities, a chance was procured for him of entering Dr. Allison's Seminary, at New London, Pennsylvania. Here his abilities were rapidly devel- oped; becoming particularly proficient as a classical scholar, and afterward returning to New Castle to become a teacher in the Friends' School there.
It was while thus employed that he came under the notice of leading men, not the least of whom was Dr. Franklin, who eventually sought Thomson's services as an assistant in the first academy established in Philadelphia.
Taking an early interest in the public affairs of his day, Thomson also became earnestly interested in the welfare of the Indians. His influence among them was extensive, and they recognized in him a faithful, zealous friend, whose word they implicitly trusted. In view of these facts, one is not surprised to find it recorded that, in the year 1756, he was adopted into the Delaware Tribe at Easton. They gave him the name " Wegh-wa-law-mo-end "-signifying " a man of truth." Fre- quently Thomson referred to this circumstance, and his general . connection with them by saying that he was half Indian himself.
This intercourse with the Indians, his familiarity with their mode of life, afforded him an opportunity of study, which resulted in the publication in London, in 1759, of "An Inquiry into the Causes of the Alienation of the Delaware and Shaw- nese Indians, with Notes on Indian Customs, by the Editor."
The disturbance throughout the Colonies regarding British persecutions, the enforcement of obnoxious laws, and in other ways goading the people, produced the incident of the closing of the port of Boston by the English King. During the se- quent agitation which followed, Thomson must have taken a conspicuous part, for he became the secretary of a gathering
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OLD HARRITON.
of Colonial delegates whose deliberations ultimately resulted in the combination of the delegates into a general congress, which passed into history as the First Continental Congress. They met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, September, 1774. Peyton Randolph was chosen president, and Charles Thomson, secretary. Although unaware at the time of the honor be- stowed upon him he subsequently met the messenger, while driving into the town from " Harriton," with his wife, Hannah Harrison, whom he had lately married.
Mr. Thomson took the office conferred upon him, tem- porarily for a year. At the end of that time he declined the salary due for his services, so Congress thereupon voted to Mrs. Thomson a handsome silver urn in recompense, they said, of having deprived her of her husband's society.
Thomson was persuaded to continue in the office to which he had been appointed for fifteen years, serving continuously until the first meeting of Congress under the new or present Constitution. In his official capacity, as secretary, it became his duty in 1776 to read the Declaration of Independence to the assembled Congress, after the instrument had been drafted by Jefferson and had been approved by the committee.
When at last the new Constitution had been ratified by the majority of States and the House of Representatives had convened at New York for the purpose of counting the elec- toral vote in accordance with its provisions, it was found that George Washington had been unanimously elected President of the United States. Charles Thomson was delegated by Congress to carry the notice of election to General Washing- ton, then at Mount Vernon.
Leaving New York, April 7, 1789, Thomson reached Mount Vernon a week later, a journey now of but a few hours. Presenting the certificate to the President-elect, Washington replied in part as follows :
" Upon considering how long time some of the gentlemen of both houses of Congress have been at New York, how anxiously desirous they must be to proceed to business, and how deeply the public mind appears to be impressed with the
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necessity of doing it speedily, I cannot find myself at liberty to delay my journey. I shall therefore be in readiness to set out the day after tomorrow, and shall be happy in the pleasure of your company, for you will permit me to say that it is a pe- culiar gratification to have received this communication from you."
Washington began on April 16, 1789, that memorable inaugural journey, in the company of Charles Thomson and Colonel Humphries, arriving in New York on April 23, amid a din of rejoicing, which had continued with unabated enthusi- asm from Mount Vernon to Federal Hall, where he took the oath of office as the first President of these United States of America.
After these excitements Charles Thomson retired to the pri- vacy of " Harriton," giving himself up to those literary pursuits of which he was so fond. Being eminently fitted for the task, and because, also, of the peculiar advantages which his former position had given him, he prepared a history of the Revolu- tion, but fearing, however, that the publication of this work might give pain to the descendants of some of the principal characters therein described, he destroyed the manuscript, and thus posterity has probably lost something that would have been useful and authentic.
About 1798 Charles Thomson and his wife, having no children, joined in a deed conveying the plantation of " Har- riton" unto Charles McClenachan, a nephew of Thomson's, reserving unto themselves simply a life interest in the estate, and still continuing to reside thereon. Mrs. Thomson died in 1807, and was buried in the family cemetery.
In the following year Thomson brought out a translation of the Scriptures, a work upon which he had been engaged for several years. The Old Testament he translated from the Septuagint, the production being the first English translation of the Holy Bible accomplished in this country.
Between the years 1795 and ISIo, the little cemetery in the woods began to cause contentions. Outsiders wanted to bury their dead there, which was finally permitted ; hence, one
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OLD HARRITON.
may see over on the left of the lot a series of strangers' graves, bearing the names of Cochrane, Elliott, Roberts and others, having no family connection with the Harrisons. On the right hand side of the grounds, as the old household domestics dropped off, there they were laid away, until in time, two well filled rows of graves, each with its rough headstone, took up one end of the cemetery. The center of the ground was re- served for the family burials.
At the beginning of the present century, the Baptists having come into the neighborhood, Charles McClenachan gave to them a plot of ground at the corner of the Gulf and Roberts Roads for church and burial purposes. In the church that was subsequently built there Thomson worshipped in the latter years of his life; and the first pastor of it was Rev. Horatio Gates Jones, famous in his day. This church now, by the way, has been reft of its primitive style of symplicity, and the visitor sees in its stead a battlemented nondescript. Mr. George W. Childs contributed to this church a handsome memorial window, dedicated to Charles Thomson.
Thomson continued to wield the quill, and in 1815 ap- peared "A Synopsis of the Four Evangelists, etc.," published in Philadelphia. Other writings followed. He still resided at Harriton, and died there in August, 1824, in the ninety-fifth year of his age. Among his literary remains was a valuable paper entitled, " Critical Annotations on Gilbert Wakefield's Works," which was presented some time later to the Massa- chusetts Historical Society. The old secretary wished to be buried beside his wife, and there he was laid.
Through life Thomson had always been popular. He had a dignified manner, and was an affable and courteous speaker. While in Congress he was said to have been " the very life of that body." When age grew upon him he did not require any artificial aid to the faculties; never used spectacles ; his teeth remained sound. He was regular in habits and vigorous in body, but his mind unfortunately fell into decay, his brilliant intellect became clouded, and he soon became a mental wreck.
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
The ashes of Thomson were not destined to rest undis- turbed beneath the old " Harriton " oaks. Trouble arose from certain citizens of Lower Merion wanting to get possession of the cemetery for public use. The Legislature was petitioned to that end, but the plan was frustrated by the heirs appearing before the Legislative committee and proving title.
Again, in 1833, another attempt was made by interested parties to wrest possession of the cemetery from the owners, and the crisis was reached when some persons notified the owners that they would present themselves at the cemetery at a stated time to take possession of the burial place. This produced a notice from the owners that anyone found tres- passing on the "Harriton " estate would be summarily dealt with, and so ended that scheme; but it was reserved for the year 1838 to witness the consummation of a bold and outrageous plan. The promoters of the Laurel Hill Cemetery, wishing to have the benefit to be derived from the possession of a few distinguished bodies buried within their grounds, made over- tures to the " Harriton " heirs for permission to remove the bodies of Charles Thomson and his wife to their beautiful' necropolis on the banks of the Schuylkill. After considerable correspondence between the parties concerned the application was refused.
John Thomson, a nephew of the deceased secretary, then claimed authority to remove his uncle's remains. This claim was denied. The matter dropped for a time until one morning at break of day a number of resurrectionists were surprised in their work of despoiling the lonely cemetery of its dead. While the alarm was being given, the ghouls had hurriedly thrust their burthens into a wagon standing near, then rapidly drove away, leaving the gaping pits yawning and three bodies gone.
In the sensation which followed it was not denied that this work was done in the interest of the Laurel Hill faction, but it yet remains a matter of doubt that whether among the bodies thus secured was that one of Charles Thomson.
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OLD HARRITON.
At the time of the despoliation the burying ground was said to have been in a sadly neglected condition, grown up with. briars and matted vines, and very difficult of access. No one was supposed to have known the exact spot of burial of the trio who figure so prominently in this sketch.
Nothing of importance was done after this mysterious affair had subsided, and with this act a period of peace had settled down upon the scene, which is as yet unbroken these fifty years past, and Laurel Hill may possibly claim to possess the ashes of the distinguished patriot and writer, Hon. Charles Thomson.
Charles Thomson was yet living and well on to his eighty- second year when Charles McClenachan died suddenly in 1811. It was then discovered that by reason of some defect in the conveyance of " Harriton " from Thomson, the ques- tion of title was disputed among the heirs, and caused years of litigation, until finally settled in favor of the little child then but six weeks old, Mrs. Naomi Morris, of recent memory.
In the year 1844 the little cemetery was cleaned and re- stored through a small legacy left for the purpose by a mem- ber of the family, and it has been kept clean and attractive ever since.
The Harriton estate of to-day is a beautiful commingling of nature's most potent attributes. There are six hundred or more acres of pleasant hills and meadows, rich in fertility, and yielding annual tribute to the prosperity of its owners.
Across the meadows from the Roberts road, on the rising bank above the creek, stands the old stone house in all its primitive simplicity. Beneath its sturdy oaken beams and in the glow of its ancient fire-place a brawny farmer's family sit, making the old hall ring with the mirth of Christmas-tide. Little ornamentation relieves the exterior of its bare surround- ings. These charms that may have been in the way of flowers and shrubbery have no doubt passed with the retirement of the family to their more luxurious home near by. The present family mansion is very charmingly situated beside the Gult road in a sunny nook on the hillside, a grove of towering pop-
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
lars and a placid lake add a comforting presence to the other- wise beautiful home.
·Over in the dark woods where but little of the noise of the outside world penetrates to the silent tombs, an occasional visitor comes to idle away his fleeting hours in curious medi- tation there; or at long intervals a funeral cortege; to pause awhile, as the myrtle-clad sod is turned, and " dust unto dust " returns as soulless clay is
Restored to old mother-earth Awhile, to slumber
Dormant in the silent dust .- Woodward.
It has been my pleasure to meet the late Mrs. Morris in her declining years, and to have from her some portion of the family history. I therefore make my acknowledgment to her memory, and to others of the family, for certain details herein recorded.
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Andrew Crawford.
---- Robert MEDowels
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STONES
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N. 40,5 € 10%.
CLEARED FIELDS
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SCHUYLKILL RIVER
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BARBADOES ISLAND 880
A DRAFT
Of 543%% acres of land called the Norriton Piantation and Mill Tract, eighteen miles from the city of Philadelphia, and of that part of Barbadoes island in the river Schuylkill containing 88 acres, which is right opposite the said mill tract wherein the mills, mill dams. mill races, mill ponds, messuages, houses, barns and other buildings of the farm are laid down in their proper places.
The whole premises, fast land and isiand, will be sold together by public vendue on Wednesday, the 27th of February, 1771, at Archibald Thompson's tavern in Norriton township.
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WOOD
HOUSE
John Chain's
CLEARED
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CLEARED FIELD
SHOT WEST.
WOOD LAND
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SAW MILL
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3.49% E 297.
Run.
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AN OLD MAP OF NORRISTOWN. 465
At the celebration of the Montgomery County Centennial, in 1884, Jacob B. Metz exhibited an old map on paper yellow with age, the ink much faded. It was about eight times the size of the reproduction of it on the opposite page. It was a map made in 1771, of part of the land on which Norristown now stands. The land shown by it extends from the Schuyl- kill river to near where now is Fornance street, and from about where Astor street is to just below Ford street. It comprises much of what now is the business center of the present town of Norristown, and also shows part of Barbadoes island.
This old map being an interesting relic of the past, open- ing to us a long retrospective vista, the publication committee of the Historical Society decided to include a copy of it in this book.
In 1704 William Penn patented 7480 acres of land on the East bank of the river Schuylkill, including this tract shown on the map, to his son, William Penn, Jr., who immediately sold it to William Trent and Isaac Norris. Trent soon sold his interest to Norris, who then held it all till he died, in 1735. In the division of his estate in 1741 his son, Charles Norris, took this with other tracts of land. Charles Norris died in- - testate in 1770, and his widow, Mary Norris, administered to and settled his estate.
Under order of Orphans' Court, Mary Norris, the admin- istratrix, offered this property at public sale, at the tavern of Archibald Thompson, now known as the Jeffersonville tavern, on February 27, 1771, as stated on the map. The purchaser at that sale was Lewis Weiss, scrivener, to whom she deeded the property the following March, for the consideration of £4,270 lawful money of Pennsylvania ($11,386.67). He con-
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HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
veyed it back to her on the next day for the same considera- tion. Weiss was evidently her conveyancer, and no doubt drew this map. John Bull, who lived near by, was probably present at the public sale. At all events he bought the prop- erty afterwards from Mary Norris, in September, 1771, for £4,600 lawful money of Pennsylvania ($12,266.67).
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