History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III, Part 26

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1040

USA > Pennsylvania > Bucks County > History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III > Part 26

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The Brookfield Farm above mentioned as the home of the Rodmans for so many generations is still owned by their descend- ants, and the subject of this sketch inher- ited an interest in it through his mother. It is worthy of remark that from the early part of the seventeenth century until the present time, a period of two hundred years, this property has never been out of their hands, but has been owned and occupied by seven or eight successive generations of the family.

Charles W. Taylor, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Philadelphia in 1017. He was educated at the Westtown Friends' School, and at the Friends' Acad- emy, then on Fourth street, below Chestnut street, Philadelphia. Soon after coming of age he became associated with his great

Benjamina &o Paulo

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

uncle, George Williams, in the China and East India trade. In 1847 he gave up active business owing to ill health, and took up his residence at Trevose, where he resided until his death, May 30, 1893. He was a man of great force of character, of earnest piety, and much respected by those among whom he lived. In early life he was a member of the Society of Friends, as were all his fam- ily before him. In later years he became an Episcopalian. He was attendant Christ church, Eddington, and Grace Prot- estant Episcopal church, Hulmeville. For a number of years hie was vestryman and rector's warden of the latter church, and represented it at the Episcopal convocation of Germantown. While he was possessed of more than ordinary ability and took a. great interest in the public affairs of his time, yet he was of a retiring disposition, and, although he was often strongly urged, he never held public office. While living a retired life at Trevose he was active in every work for the advancement of the community. He was a fluent and graceful writer, and a frequent contributor to cur- rent newspapers and magazines on flori- cultural and historical subjects. He was especially interested in the latter subject, and was one of the charter members of the Bucks County Historical Society.

Charles Langhorne Taylor, the subject of this sketch, was prepared for college by a private tutor, and at the Abington Friends' School, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1893 and was graduated B. S. in 1897; attended Harvard College, but did not graduate; was graduated LL. B. from Har- vard Law School, 1900; also graduated LL. B. from the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, 1901; was admitted to practice law at the Philadelphia bar on mo- tion of George Wharton Pepper, Esq., in 1901; was admitted to the bar of the su- preme court of Pennsylvania in 1904, and has practiced his profession in Philadelphia since 1901. In the latter year he was one of the organizers of the Bucks County Coun- try Club at Langhorne, near Trevose ; later became one of its charter members, and a member of the board of governors; was elected secretary of the club in 1904. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of several clubs and societies, among which may be mentioned the Harvard Club of Philadelphia, the Bucks County Historical Society, and Historical Society of Penn- sylvania.

BENJAMIN J. TAYLOR, of Bristol, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, president of the Farmers' National Bank of Bucks county and prominently associated with the business interests of lower Bucks, was born in Burlington county, New Jersey, and is a representative of a distinguished family that has been prominently identified with the business, official and social life of · Bucks and Philadelphia counties, and of the

neighboring state of New Jersey for over two centuries.

Samuel Taylor, the emigrant ancestor of the family, was a native of the parish of Dore, Derbyshire, England, and sailed from Bristol, England, in the fly-boat, "Martha," in the year 1677, and landed at the point where Burlington, New Jersey, now stands. He was one of the proprietors of West Jersey, owning one thirty-second share in the lands of West Jersey, the papers for which were executed by his brother, William Taylor, of Dore, county of Derby, England, who had purchased the land of George Hutchinson, when in Eng- land and sold it to Samuel, but being lost before reaching America, the land was conveyed to Samuel by Hutchinson in 1681. He located in Chesterfield township, Bur- lington county, owning large tracts of land there and elsewhere. He died in December, 1723, leaving a family of eight children, four sons, John, George, William and Rob- ert, and four daughters who married into prominent families of New Jersey.

Robert Taylor, youngest son of Samuel, was the executor of his father's will and inherited a large portion of the homestead tract, which descended to his son Anthony, the great-grandfather of

the subject of this sketch, and remained in the tenure of his descendants until quite recently. The five hundred acre tract known as Brookdale farm was Robert's portion. His son, An- thony, who inherited Brookdale and lived thereon until his death in 1785, was an ar- dent patriot during the revolution and ren- dered material service to the cause of na- tional liberty.

Anthony Taylor, Jr., third son of An- thony, and great-grandson of Samuel, the founder, was born at Brookdale farm in 1772, and when quite young was placed with John Thompson, a prominent merchant of Philadelphia, to be trained for a mercan- tile and business career. On attaining his majority he formed a partnership with Thomas Newbold, whose sister Mary he later married, and engaged extensively in' the East India trade, the firm name being Taylor & Newbold. In 1810 Mr. Taylor retired from active business pursuits and settled at Sunbury," his fine country seat in Bristol township, Bucks county, which had been his summer home for some years previously, He later purchased several other large tracts of land in lower Bucks county, and at his death in 1837 was the largest landowner in the county. Anthony Taylor married, in 1802, Mary Newbold, tenth child of Caleb Newbold, of Spring- field township. Burlington county, New Jersey, and a descendant of Michael New- bold, of Sheffield Park, Yorkshire, Eng- land, who in 1678 purchased one eighth of three nintieth parts of the province of West Jersey, and settled in Springfield township, Burlington county, where he died in 1693, leaving a large number of children and grandchildren, some of whom were still in

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

England. Many of his descendants even- tually became residents of Bucks county. Anthony and Mary (Newbold) Taylor were the parents of eleven children, Robert, Anthony, Sarah, William, Edward, Law- rence, Michael, Caleb Newbold, Mary Ann, Thomas, Emma L. and Franklin. The seventh of these children, Hon. Caleb Newbold Taylor, born at "Sunbury," July 27, 1814, was for over fifty years one of the most prominent men in Bucks county, being an acknowledged leader first of the Whig and later of the Republican party in Bucks county, representing his county in state and national conventions almost con- tinuously after attaining his majority, and four times was the candidate of his district for congress, being twice elected, in 1866 and 1868, respectively. He was also one of the most prominent business men in the county and amassed a large estate, owning at one time about 3,000 acres of land in Bucks county. He was president of the Farmers' National Bank of Bucks county, of which his father, Anthony Taylor, had been president for many years at his death in 1837. He died unmarried.

Dr. Robert Taylor, eldest son of An- thony and Mary (Newbold) Taylor, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He was born in Philadelphia in 1803, and was reared in Bucks county. On attaining manhood settled in Philadelphia, removing later to Burlington county, New Jersey, and late in life to Bristol, Bucks county, resid- ing at Sunbury Farm, where he died in August, 1872, at the age of sixty-nine years and was buried in the graveyard of the Protestant Episcopal church of St. James, the less, at the Falls of Schuylkill. He mar- ried Elizabeth Jones, daughter of Benjamin Jones, of Philadelphia, and a great-grand- daughter of John Jones, a large landowner in Bucks and Philadelphia counties in colonial times. Dr. Robert and Eliza- beth Ash (Jones) Taylor were the pa- rents of five children: Benjamin J., Cap- tain Anthony, Robert, Frances, and Alice J. Elizabeth Taylor, the mother of these children, died at Bristol, January 29, 1893, aged eighty years.

Captain Anthony Taylor, the second son of Dr. Robert Taylor, born in Bur- lington county, New Jersey, October II. 1837, rendered distinguished services to his country during the civil war. He enlisted August 8, 1862, in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry as a private, was made sergeant, October 30, 1862; first sergeant, March 1. 1863; first lieutenant of Company A. May 8, 1863: and Cap- tain, June 1, 1865; having had command of the company as lieutenant. command- ing almost from the date of his commis- sion as first lieutenant. Prior to 1865 lie was under Brigadier General Rosen- crans, in the Army of the Cumberland, and participated in the battles of An- tietam, Stone River, Chickamauga and many other engagements. From June I, 1865 until the close of the war he

served on the staff of General William J. Palmer, as aide-de-camp, and was honorably mustered out June 21, 1865. In 1893 he was awarded a medal of honor by the United States congress for signal acts of bravery and meritorious service. He married, February 21, 1871. Caroline Fletcher Johnson, daughter of Lawrence and Mary (Winder) Jolinson, and died in Philadelphia, May 21, 1894, leaving two daughters, Mary Lawrence, now wife of Bromley Wharton, private secretary to Governor Pennypacker; and Elizabeth Elmslie, wife of Houston- Dunn.

Benjamin J. Taylor was born in Bur- lington county, New Jersey, and re- ceived his education at the Friends' Select School and at the Protestant Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia. He received a thorough business training, and followed mercantile pursuits in Philadelphia for eight years. In 1863 he served for three months in the Grey Re- serves, and was at the shelling of Car- lisle by General Fitz Hugh Lee. He also saw military service in Tennessee and Mississippi as volunteer aide on the staff of different commanders. After retiring from active mercantile pursuits he made his residence at the old fam- ily homestead at Sunbury Farm, in Bristol township, and devoted much of his time to the transaction of business, acting as agent for others and assisting in the care and management of the large estate belonging to the family. He has been a director of the Farmers' National Bank of Bristol for many years, and on the death of Pierson Mitchell, in 1894, was elected its president, representing the third generation of his family in suc- cession to serve in that capacity. Mr. Taylor has inherited many of the ster- ling business qualities of his ancestors, and is interested in most of the local business enterprises. He and his sister Alice are the owners of Sunbury Farm, comprising 400 acres, which has been the home of his ancestors and their fam- ilies for four generations, covering a period of over a century. He is a mem- ber of H. Clay Beatty Post, G. A. R., and other social, fraternal, and patriotic associations.

THE HICKS FAMILY of Bucks

county descend from Pilgrim stock, their first American progenitor being Robert Hicks, who landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. November 11, 1621, hav- ing sailed from London in the ship "Fortune," which followed the "May- flower," and brought over those left be- hind the previous year by that famous vessel. The family of Robert Hicks were natives of Gloucestershire, Eng- land, and traced their ancestry in an unbroken line back to Sir Ellis Hicks, who was knighted by Edward, the Black

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

Prince, on the battle field of Poitiers, September 9, 1356, for conspicuous brav- ery in capturing a stand of colors from the French.

Robert Hicks settled at Duxbury, Massachusetts, and died there at an ad- vanced age. His sons John and Stephen in 1642 joined an English company which acquired by patent an extensive tract of land about Hempstead and Flushing, Long Island. Stephen Hicks purchased several thousand acres at Little Neck, Long Island, and erected a large mansion where he lived to an ad- vanced age and died without leaving male descendants.

John Hicks settled at Hempstead, and from him are descended the extensive family of the name on Long Island, in New York, Philadelphia and Bucks county, as well as in many other parts of the Union. He was educated at Ox- ford, and was a man of intelligence and natural force of character, and there- fore soon became a leader in the youth- ful colony, and took an active part in public affairs, his name appearing in1 nearly all the important transactions of the time.

Thomas Hicks, only son of John, in- herited his father's intellectual ability and force of character, and occupied a prominent position in public and social life, filling many positions of trust and honor. He was the first judge of Queens county, New York, and filled that office for many years. In 1666 he obtained from Governor Nicolls a pat- ent for four thousand acres of land in- cluding Great Neck, Long Island, and lands adjacent, and lived there in Eng- lish manorial style. He was a remark- able man in many respects, and retained his mental and physical powers unim- paired to an extreme old age. He was twice married, his first wife being Mary Washburne, by whom he had two sons, Thomas and Jacob, the latter being the father of the famous Quaker preacher. Elias Hicks, the founder of that branch of the Society of Friends known to this day as Hicksites. Judge Hicks married (second) Mary Doughty, by whom he had ten children-six sons; Isaac, Will- iam, Stephen, John, Charles, Benjamin; anl four daughters; Phebe. Charity, Mary and Elizabeth. A paragraph in the "New York Post Boy" of January 26, 1749, in referring to the death of Judge Hicks, says: "he left behind him of his own offspring above three hun- dred children, grandchildren, great- grandchildren and great-great-grand- children." He died in his one hundredthi year.

Isaac Hicks, eldest son of the Judge by his second marriage with Mary Doughty, was, like his father, a prom- inent man in public affairs. He was judge of Queens county, Long Island; for the years 1730-1738, and a member

of the colonial assembly of New York from that county, 1716 to 1739. He mar- ried Elizabeth Moore, and they were the parents of evelen children-nine sons: Charles, Benjamin, Isaac, Gilbert, James, Thomas, Henry, John, Edward; and two daughters, Margaret and Mary.

Gilbert Hicks, fourth son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Moore) Hicks, was born in Queens county, New York, Sep- tember 19, 1720, and married April 24, 1746, Mary Rodman, born February 17, 1717, a daughter of Joseph Rodman. They were the ancestors of all the Hickses of Bucks county. Both were born at Flushing, Long Island. As a wedding present to the youthful couple,

Joseph Rodman conveyed to them six hundred acres of land in Bensalem township, on the Neshaminy creek, twenty miles northeast of Philadel- phia, which he had recently purchased. Hither they came in 1747 and made their home in a comfortable log house until they erected a more commodious dwell- ing, to defray the expense of which he sold off two hundred acres of the land to Lawrence Growdon. They subse- quently sold the remaining four hun- dred acres and purchased one hundred acres, coming to a point at Four-Lanes- End, (now Langhorne) on which he erected in 1763 a commodious brick house which is still standing.

On June 9, 1752, Gilbert Hicks was commissioned by the governor and council one of the justices of the peace for Bucks county, and on May II, 1761, he was commissioned chief justice of the court of common pleas. On March 29, he and Hugh Hartshorne were com- missioned by John Penn, then gover- nor, to hold court for the trial of ne- groes, whether slave or free. Gilbert Hicks was a man of superior mental abilities, and stood very high in the com- munity, commanding the respect of all. On July 9, 1774, he was chairman of a public meeting held at Newtown, then the county seat of Bucks, in pursuance of previous notice, and in a short ad- dress explained the objects of the meet- ing as being to consider the injury and distress occasioned by the numerous acts of oppression inflicted on the col- onies by the English parliament, in which the colonies were not represented, and entirely concurred in the resolu- tions then adopted, looking toward a congress composed of delegates from the different colonies, "to use every lawful endeavor to obtain relief and to form and promote a plan of union be- tween the parent country and colonies." See Penna. Archives, Second Series, Vol. XV, page 343.

When, however, General Howe issued his proclamation calling on the loyal subjects of George III to lay down their arms and seek peaceful means of re- dress, Judge Hicks, being greatly im-

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HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

pressed with the power of England and the futility of armed resistance, while he condemned the injustices of the mother country toward the colonies, and being conscientious in regard to the oath he had taken as a justice, read the proclamation from the court house steps at Newtown, and counselled his friends and neighbors to pause before it was too late, and to postpone any over action or resistance until the colonies grew stronger. Excitement ran high at the time, and he was branded as a traitor and forced to flee the country and spend the remainder of his days in Nova Scotia, where he was supported by a pension from the British government, and where he was waylaid and mur- dered by highwaymen on March 8, 1786, for the quarterly pension he had just drawn. , From the nature of the advice he gave to his eldest son Isaac, who visited him while in New York imme- diately after his flight, there is every reason to believe that if reasoned with calmly he would have realized that mat- ters had progressed too far for peaceful measures to prevail, and would have lived to render to the patriot cause the same eminent service that he gave to his county under royal authority. His extensive property was confiscated, and his family reduced to almost penury. His son Isaac, who at the time was clerk of the several courts of Bucks county, was cast under suspicion and removed from office. Mary Rodman Hicks, the wife of Gilbert, died August 17, 1769, years before his flight and disgrace. They were the parents of five children: I. Isaac, born April 21, 1748, married his first cousin, Catharine Hicks, daughter of Colonel Edward Hicks and Violetta Ricketts, of New Jersey. 2. Sarah, born November 3, 1749, died unmarried. 3. Elizabeth, born April 7, 1751, married June 4, 1768, General Augustine Willet, of Bensalem township. 4. Mary, born January 15, 1753, married May 8, 1772, Samuel Kirkbride. 5. Joseph Rodman, born November 12, 1756, married July 29, 1777, his cousin, Margaret Thomas.

Joseph Rodman Hicks purchased in 1780 a farm of one hundred acres near Dolington, in Upper Makefield town- ship, and spent the remainder of his life there. He died May 28, 1816. His wife

was approved minister among Friends at Makefield Meeting, adjoin- ing the farm, the land upon which the meeting house was built being orig- inally part of the farm. She continued in the ministry from 1790 to the date of her death, May 2, 1842. In 1822 Mrs. Hicks and her children sold the farm, and she took up her residence with her son Charles in Philadelphia.

Joseph Rodman and Margaret (Thomas) Hicks were the parents of eight children. viz: Charles, married Elizabeth Cooper; Joseph, married Jane

Bond; Elizabeth, married Jacob Woll- ery; Margaret, married Amos Carlile; Gilbert, married Phoebe Mathews; Mary, married Elias Slack; William, died unmarried; and Isaiah married Mary Flannagan.

Joseph Hicks, second son of Joseph Rodman and Margaret (Thomas) Hicks, born June 12, 1780, died October 4, 1827, married . January 2, 1804, Jane Bond, of Newtown, Bucks county, and had nine children, the seventh of whom was Thomas Hicks, the eminent artist.

Charles Hicks, eldest son of Joseph Rodman and Margaret (Thomas) Hicks, was born June 12, 1778. At the age of sixteen years he removed to Philadel- phia, and learned the carpenter trade, which he followed in that city during the ative years of his life. He died April 20, 1855. He was married August 10, 1804, to Elizabeth Cooper, born June 19, 1780, died April 17, 1858, and they were the parents of nine children, viz,: William C., Isaac, Ann C., Joseph, Wil- let, Charles C., Cooper, Rodman, and Elizabeth.

Willet Hicks, fifth son of Charles ånd Elizabeth (Cooper) Hicks, born Feb- ruary 21, 1814, died December 12, 1853, married April 16, 1836, Margaret Mint- zer, born June 26, 1816, died January 5, 1899, and had six children, viz .: George A .; Edwin M .; S. Elizabeth; Albert M .; William U .; and Harry H.

George A. Hicks, to whom we are in- debted for a history of the earlier gener- ations of the Hicks family, is the eld- est son of Willet and Margaret Mintzer Hicks, and was born in Philadelphia. Early in life he learned the trade of a plumber, and has followed that business to the present time in his native city. He takes deep interest in Bucks county, the home of his ancestors. He is one of the active members of the Bucks County Historical Society, and is a regular at- tendant at its meetings, and contribut- ing largely to its success. Previous to manhood he united himself with the United States Hose Company, No. 14, (late Volunteer Fire Department of Philadelphia) and served as its secre- tary for many years. He is a member of the Veteran Firemen's Association, the Firemen's Association, State of Penn- sylvania, and a life member of the As- sociation for the Relief of Disabled Fire- men. He is an honorary life member of Columbia Lodge No. 91, F. and A. M., and an honorary life member of Harmony Chapter, No. 52, R. A. M .; a member of the Master Plumbers' As- sociation, and a stockholder in the Mer- cantile Library, all of Philadelphia. Mr. Hicks was never married.

EDWARD P. HICKS. Isaac Hicks, the eldest son of Gilbert and Mary (Rodman) Hicks, an account of whose

HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY.

II3

ancestry from the Pilgrim ancestor Robert Hicks down to his father Gilbert Hicks, is given in the preceding sketch, was born in Bensalem township, April 21, 1748, and died in Newtown, Bucks county, October 5, 1836. He received a good education, and was a man of fine intellectual ability and excellent busi- ness capacity. On June 6, 1772, he was commissioned prothonotary and clerk of the several courts of Bucks county, and filled those positions with eminent abil- ity until 1777, when he was directed to turn in all papers and books relating to these offices to be deposited in the fire- proof at Newtown, the political views of his father (Gilbert Hicks) having cast a suspicion upon him. He was also commissioned a justice of the peace an April 9, 1774, and held that office for three years .. The continued good and loyal deportment of the son had its proper effect to convince the public that the suspicion was groundless. After the close of the Revolution he was again commissioned a justice of the peace, and held the office many years while re- siding at Newtown. His office for many years was in the western end of what is now the White Hall Hotel. Here by close attention to his duties and an hon- orable course of life he built up a large business. It is said that in dress he ad- hered to the old style of breeches and knee-buckles.

He was married at Newtown, on No- vember 17, 1771, to his cousin, Catharine Hicks, daughter of Col. Edward and Violetta (Ricketts) Hicks, who was born in New York, November 4, 1745, and died at Burlington, New Jersey, Oc- tober 19, 1781. Her brother William was prothonotary of Bucks county, 1770- 1772. The children of Isaac and Cath- arine Hicks, were:

I. Gilbert Edward, born March II, 1773, who became a prominent physician at Catawissa, Pennsylvania, where he married Catharine Hibbs, daughter of James Hibbs. His grandchildren now living are: Dr. J. J. John, historian and prominent business man of Shamokin, who spent some little time in Bucks county in early life; Emma Walters, of Catawissa; and Anna M. Ormsby, widow of Henry George Ormsby, of Philadel- phia.

William Richard, born November 17, 1774, died February 5, 1777.

Edward Henry, born June 29, 1776, died August 20, 1776.

4. Eliza Violetta, born March 17, 1778, married October 4, 1807, Thomas G. Kennedy, sheriff of Bucks county for the term 1815-1817. She was drowned in Newtown creek, near her home in Newtown, July 28, 1817, in an effort to save her child, who had fallen in the creek.

5. Edward, born April 2, 1780, died August 23, 1849.

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History of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Vol. III, Part 26

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921 Publication date: 1905 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1040

Author: Davis, W. W. H. (William Watts Hart), 1820-1910; Ely, Warren S. (Warren Smedley), b. 1855; Jordan, John W. (John Woolf), 1840-1921
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1040