History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 131

Author: Futhey, John Smith, 1820-1888; Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1162

USA > Pennsylvania > Chester County > History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches > Part 131

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LIEUT .- COL. THOMAS S. BELL was born at West Chester, Pa., May 12, 1838. He was the third son of Hon. Thomas S. Bell; was also a lineal descendant of Col. Joseph Mcclellan, who was distinguished in the Revolu- tion as a brave, active, and vigilant officer, and who during a long life was held in highi estimation by his fellow-citizens.

Col. Bell's education was chiefly acquired at the West Chester Academy. In the juvenile exercises at that clas- sical seminary he gave brilliant indications of the genius that was then in process of development; and on all sub- scquent occasions manifested a graceful power of oratory, even surpassing the rich and rapid eloquence for which his father was distinguished. He studied the law under the direction of his father, and was admitted to the bar of Chester County at the April term, 1859.

March 11, 1858, he was commissioned aide-de-camp to the major-general of the Third Division of the uniformed militia of Chester and Delaware Counties, and Oct. 3, 1859, he was appointed paymaster of the same division, with the rank of major. May 20, 1859, he was appointed by Gov- ernor Packer a notary public for Chester County, and at the general election in October, 1860, he was one of the can- didates of the Democratic party for the State Legislature.

In the spring of 1861, while hopefully engaged in the business of his profession, a call was made by the President of the United States for volunteers. Mr. Bell was among the foremost to respond to the call, and was a lieutenant in the first company that marched from his native town. He was appointed adjutant of the Ninth Pennsylvania Regi- ment of three months' volunteers, and held that position during their term of service.

He was then commissioned by Governor Curtin lieutenant- colonel of the Fifty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol- unteers, commanded by Col. Hartranft. At Roanoke Island Col. Bell had command of part of the regiment, and his gallant conduct is said by those familiar with the details to have aided much in the success of our arms. At Newbern he had command of the entire regiment. He was ordered to charge the enemy's batteries, which he did, took the first battery, and was the first man to mount it. At Camden he had command of the brigade to which his regiment belonged, which on that occasion was foremost and led the charge. In all these and other engagements he distinguished himself by his skill and bravery.

When the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Pennsylva- nia Regiment-composed largely of Chester County volun- teers-was formed, Lieut .- Col. Bell was named for colonel, but the order of the War Department relative to officers changing their positions prevented his acceptance of the honor.

He was killed at the battle of Antietam, after the des- perate charge upon and capture of the stone bridge, being struck with a grape-shot in the back part of the head, and fell mortally wounded, Sept. 17, 1862. He was taken to a farm-house in the vicinity, and died about five o'clock of the same day. He had won the attachment of his superior officers and of the entire regiment, and his loss was deeply felt. His remains were brought to his home at West Chester, and interred by the side of his mother, in the Oaklands Cemetery, where it was his expressed wish to be laid.

Col. Bell possessed a fine form and features, and looked, as he was, every inch a soldier. His disposition was most amiable, and he was in the highest sense of the term a Christian. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

BENNETT .- The earliest record of this family is ob- tained from an old Bible which was brought over by the emigrant ancestors of the present generation. The entrics are as follows :

" Baptised was John sone of Edward and Alis Bennet the 14 day of May 1626.

" Was Baptised Margery the Daughter of Oliver and Mary ffello 14 August 1628.

" Married were John Bennet and Margery ffello the 10 of ffebruary 1650.

" Aan thare Daughter was Baptised the 8 day of April, 1654.

" Baptised was John the sonn of John and Margery Bennet the 20 January 1656.

" Baptised was Edward Benget the son of Jobe and Margery Ben- net the 14 October 1659.

"Baptised was Mary the Daughter of John and Margery Bennet 16 of October 1663.

" Margery Bennet the 16 day of January 1665 but was borne the 25 of December."

John Bennet, son of John Bennet, of Overly, in the county of Worcester, England, and Ann Brinton, daughter of William Brinton, of Nether Gowrnal, in the parish of Sedgley and county of Stafford, were married 4, 18, 1684, at a meeting at Stourbridge, in Staffordshire. John and his brother Edward doubtless came to Pennsylvania soon after this date, and John was appointed constable of Birmingham township 10th month, 1686. He settled at first on land of

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

his father-in-law, William Brinton, but in 1696 purchased 500 acres adjoining on the north, the deeds for which are now in possession of his great-great-grandson of the same name. John Bennett died in 1709, leaving four children, -William, Olive (married to William Pyle), John, and Ann (married to Joseph England).

Of these, John married, 7, 17, 1719, Sarah Maris, daugh- ter of John Maris, of Springfield, by whom he had the following children : 1. John, m. Hannah Seal, who died with all her children, and he next m. Ruth Way, 12, 18, 1754, daughter of Jacob and Sarah Way, and among their children were Jacob, the father of John, now on the origi- nal tract, and Titus Bennett, the bookseller, and author of " Bennett's Arithmetic," b. 8, 10, 1768; d. 6, 27, 1841. 2. William, m. Martha Jefferis and went to Anne Arundel Co., Md., where they died, leaving several children. Three of their sons came to live with their relatives in Chester County, viz. : William, who m. Alice Hoopes and lived on the western edge of West Chester; James, who m. her sis- ter, Hannah Hoopes ; and Silas, who m. Abigail Woodward. 3. Titus, b. 8, 12, 1732 ; d. 12, 2, 1825. 4. James, b. 9, 10, 1734; d. 3, 24, 1825; m. 12, 23, 1761, Hannah Gilpin, and settled in Pennsbury. They were the parents of Isaac Bennett, father of Gilpin Bennett; also of Mary, who m. Cheyney Jefferis, of East Bradford.

EDWARD BENNETT, son of John and Margery, was mar- ried early in 1687 to Margery Willis, and settled in Thorn- bury. She left three children,-John, b. March 10, 1688- 9 ; Jacob, b. May 10, 1691 ; and Hesther (Esther), b. Sep- tember, 1694 (m. to Moses Waite). Edward married, in 1697, Sarah Clues, widow, daughter of Francis Stanfield, by whom he had Edward, b. May 22, 1699 ; Sarah, b. April 1, 1701 ; (m. Thomas Yeatman), Joseph, b. Sept. 29, 1704; William, b. Dec. 23, 1705; and Elizabeth.

Joseph Bennett married, 3, 20, 1724, Rebecca Fincher, born 9, 6, 1708, in Uwchlan, daughter of John and Martha Fincher. They removed to York County, where they both died in 1757, leaving several children, of whom a daughter, Hannah, married William Kersey, and was the mother of Jesse Kersey.

Edward Bennett, in his will, 1, 25, 1714, gave to his son John " a great bible that did belong to my father, John Bennet." This Bible passed from this legatee to his son Edward, whose daughter Amy became the wife of Henry Jefferis. Richard Worth married the daughter of Bennett Jefferis, son of Henry, and the Bible is now in possession of his daughter.

JAMES BENNETT, of Middletown and Aston, born about 1709, died May 26, 1760, and was buried at St. John's Episcopal church in Concord. His first wife was Elizabeth Albin, sister of James, of West Marlborough. She died May 23, 1748, and he married (second) Mary Hill, widow of William, and daughter of John Hunter, of New- town. His daughter Mary married Isaac Yarnall, of Edg- mont, and from this source have come the Christian names of Bennett and Albin in the Yarnall and Smedley families.

BENNER, PHILIP, son of Henry, was born on the northern or German side of Chester County in the year 1762, and was one of the most efficient business men the county has produced. His father was an active Whig of

the Revolution, was captured by the enemy, and personally Icarned the interior economy of a British prison. Philip, then a youth, took up arms under Gen. Wayne, his relative and neighbor. When he went forth to the field his patri- otic mother quilted in the back of his vest several guineas, as a provision in case he should be taken prisoner. After the war he became a successful manufacturer of iron at Coventry Forge, in Chester County. He afterwards re- moved to Centre County, where he was one of the early settlers, and became distinguished for the manufacture of Juniata iron. He held the rank of major-general in the militia of Pennsylvania, and was twice an elector of Presi- dent of the United States. The borough of Bellefonte bears testimony to his enterprise and liberality. He was remarkable for his industry, enterprise, generosity, and open-hearted hospitality ; his home was the abode of a happy family. He died July 27, 1832, aged seventy years.

BEVERLY, SAMUEL, from the north of Ireland, brought a certificate from Friends of Ballynacree and pre- sented it to New Garden Monthly Meeting, 12, 9, 1722-3. He was accompanied by his wife Jane and children Wil- liam and Mary. They settled in East Marlborough, north of Kennet Square. William Beverly married Mary Mil- ler in 1730, and dying before his father, left a son, Samuel, who in 1753 married Ruth Jackson, daughter of Samuel Jackson, of East Marlborough. Mary Beverly, daughter of this last marriage, became the wife of William Gause and the mother of Jonathan Gause.

BISHOP, JOAQUIM, of Sugartown, Willistown township, is a refiner and melter of platinum, and manufacturer of crucibles, evaporating dishes, ignition tubes, etc. He was born in Portugal in 1806, where his father, an English- man, was temporarily living, and was director of the Royal Fabrics. He left Portugal on account of the French war, and came to Baltimore in 1810 ; the next year he removed to Philadelphia. In 1826 he served an apprenticeship to the jewelry business, and that failing he went to a brass- foundry and worked as a finisher. In 1832 he hired at the University of Pennsylvania as assistant to Dr. Robert Hare, Professor of Chemistry, and worked as instrument-maker. In 1839 he left there and commenced business as a philo- sophical instrument-maker in Philadelphia. Being there nrged by some of his friends to try the platinum-work, he carried it on with his other business. In 1845 he drew the first premium at the exhibition of the Franklin Institute for platinum-work done in this country. In 1858, his health failing, he removed his business to Radnor, Delaware Co. His property being near Bryn Mawr and becoming more valuable, he sold it, and in 1865 came to his present place. Here he bought forty-three acres, remodeled the dwelling, and built his manufactory. In 1876 he was the only exhibitor of platinum-work in this country at the Cen- tennial Exposition, for which he received a medal and di- plomas, since which time his business has largely increased. His place of business is six miles from West Chester, and three from Berwyn Station, on the Pennsylvania Railroad. He finds a market for his work all over the United States, Canadas, and often ships to Europe. He is the only actual refiner of and dealer in platinum in America. His only

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HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

L-T

JOAQUIM BISHOP.

education was acquired during his working hours from reading and studying by himself. He married, July 5, 1832, Margaret Cruse, of Philadelphia, by whom he had four children,-Mary, married to John Zimmerling ; Sam- uel C., Thomas, and James. Thomas died at Chattanooga, in the service of the United States, during the Rebellion, and in the same war James was wounded at Fredericksburg and died in Libby Prison. Mr. Bishop was the second time married, July 1, 1847, to Susanna O'Neill, of this county, by whom he had four daughters,-Angelica, mar- ried to Wilson M. Matlack ; Sally H., to George Entriken; Laura J., to John Entriken; and Clara F., to Baker Wier. Mr. Bishop is extensively known throughout the Union and Canadas, especially by scientific people, with whom, as with the leading colleges, he is by his business largely brought into association.

BIZALLION, PIERRE, or PETER, was a French Indian trader, and one of the most noted in the province. He es- tablished himself at various points, and penetrated the dis- tant wilderness to barter with the natives for their furs. About the year 1724 he settled down on a farm in the val- ley, a short distance east of Coatesville, where he died in 1742. He names eight slaves in his will, and his personal property was appraised at £573. His widow, Martha, gave the land, 158 acres (which had been patented to them in 1740), to her nephew, John Hart, by deed of Dec. 22, 1762.

BINGAMAN, FREDERICK, from Germany, settled in Chester County, and married a daughter of Garret Brown- back, by whom he had children,-1. John, who went to Virginia; 2. Frederick, who served in the army of the Revolution in a rifle company whose trimmings were col- ored with maple-bark; 3. Garret, who was drafted, but

his brother Frederick went in his stead, having been out before ; 4. Mary.

Frederick, Jr., married Elizabeth, daughter of Cassimir Missimer, of Montgomery County, and resided there for some time. He died in 1832, and she about a year afterwards ; both were buried at Brownback's church. They had two children,-John, born Sept. 23, 1783, and Mary, who mar- ried Jacob Aman.

John married, Feb. 21, 1809, Mary, daughter of Judge John Ralston, born May 4, 1787, and resided in Coventry. He died Dec. 4, 1825, aged forty-two years, and his widow married Henry Rimby, whom she survives, at the age of ninety-four years. The children of John Bingaman were Joshua, Eliza, John Ralston, Frederick, Robert, William, and Levi.

LEVI BINGAMAN was born Oct. 21, 1824, in Coventry township, opposite the house in which he now resides. His father kept the " Rising Sun Inn," an ancient hostelry of Coventry, dating back to or beyond the Revolution. Fred- erick (John's father) also kept the same inn, and the buildings are now occupied by Levi, their son and grand- son. John kept the inu until Sept. 11, 1817, when, being converted at meeting, he cut down his sign and quit keep- ing public-house. Levi was raised on the farm until his fifteenth year, and attended the summer schools. He then clerked in Robert Ralston's store in West Vincent for eight years, after which he was in the mercantile trade for twelve years where he now lives. He was married, Jan. 24, 1850, to Mary Ann, daughter of Henry and Margaret (Sheneman) Mosteller, of West Vincent. She was of a family of eight sons and three daughters, all living and all married but two. Levi and his wife have had ten children, of whom three are living,-Howard, Samuel, and Levi Arthur.

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

After selling out his store at home, Levi was in the iron business in Jersey City for two years, until the breaking out of the war. He then returned home and operated for two years the Coventry Forge, and since then has been

M-S

Levi Bingaman

working his farm of one hundred and ninety acres. He was a school director a long time, and has been for eleven years an agent, surveyor, and recciver of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Chester County. He is a Republi- can in politics, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a trustee, and has been superin- tendent of the Sunday-school. He is the inventor of an improvement in apparatus for transmitting motion (No. 154,008, issued July 6, 1874), which is of great value, and is now in successful use in the oil regions of New York and Pennsylvania.

BLAIR, REV. SAMUEL, was born in Ulster, Ireland, June 14, 1712. He came to America while quite young, and received his education at the celebrated Log College, at Neshaminy, Bucks Co., Pa., under the Rev. William Ten- nent. Nov. 9, 1733, he was licensed as a Presbyterian minister by the Presbytery of Philadelphia. In 1739 he became pastor of the Presbyterian congregation at Fagg's Manor, in Londonderry township, Chester Co.

Soon after his settlement there he established a classical school, which had particular reference to the study of the- ology as a science. From this school there came forth many distinguished pupils, who did honor to their instruc- tor, both as scholars and Christian ministers.

Samuel Blair was above the middle stature, comely and well set, with a clear understanding, quick apprehension, prompt elocution, solid judgment, and tenacious memory. He was esteemed one of the most able, learned, and excel- lent men of his day ; a profound divine and scholar, and an eloquent and impressive preacher.

He was a man of weight in judicatories, and a promi- nent actor in those scenes which in his day agitated, and for a time divided, the Presbyterian Church. He co-oper- ated with and ranked high in what was called the "New Side" party.

He died July 5, 1751, at the age of thirty-nine years, and was interred in the Fagg's Manor burial-ground. He left a son, Samuel, and several daughters, who respectively mar- ried Rev. George Duffield, David Rice, of Kentucky, John Carmichael, of Brandywine Manor, and William Foster, of Upper Octorara. Among their descendants are many men of eminence.

REV. JOHN BLAIR was a younger brother of Rev. Samuel Blair, and was born in Ulster, Ireland, in the year 1720. He was also an alumnus of the " Log College," at Neshaminy, and a pupil of the elder William Tennent. He was ordained Dec. 27, 1742, pastor of three churches in Cumberland Co., Pa. He resigned this charge Dec. 28, 1748, and was without a settlement until 1757, when he succeeded his brother Samuel at Fagg's Manor, both as pastor of the church and head of the school. In this latter capacity he assisted in the preparation of many young men for the ministry.

In 1767 he was chosen Professor of Divinity and Moral Philosophy in the College of New Jersey, and removed to Princeton. He was also vice-president of the college, and officiated as president until the arrival from Scotland of Dr. Witherspoon, who had been elected to the presidency. He resigned his professorship in 1769, and was pastor of a congregation in Orange Co., N. Y., until his death, Dec. 8, 1771.

His disposition was placid, benevolent, and cheerful, and as a theologian he was equal to any man in the Presbyterian Church in his day.

REV. SAMUEL BLAIR, D.D., was born in Fagg's Manor, Chester Co., in 1741. He was the son of Rev. Samuel Blair, then pastor of the Presbyterian Church, and principal of the school at that place. He was graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1760, and afterwards served as tutor there from 1761 to 1764. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Castle in 1764. He was popular as a preacher from his first appearance in the pulpit, was considered a young man of fine talents, and one of the most accomplished and promising young ministers in the Presbyterian Church.

The estimation in which he was held may be learned from the fact that at the age of twenty-six he was elected president of the College of New Jersey with entire unani- mity. He declined the honor upon learning that Dr. Witherspoon, who had been previously elected and had de- clined, would, if the call were repeated, accept the office.

In November, 1766, he became pastor of the Old South Church, in Boston, as colleague of Dr. Sewell, which charge he resigned in 1769, and took up his residence in Germantown, Pa. He afterwards served two years as chap- lain in Congress. The latter years of his life he spent in retirement and devotion to his books.

His wife was a daughter of the elder William Shippen, M.D., an eminent physician of Philadelphia.

He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the

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HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

University of Pennsylvania in 1790, and died in Septem- ber, 1818, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.

REV. JOHN BLAIR was the son of Rev. John Blair, and was born at Fagg's Manor, Chester Co., Oct. 15, 1759. He was graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1775. After his graduation at the college he took charge of an academy in Hanover, Va. He was licensed as a Presby- terian minister in 1785, and took charge of a congregation in the same place. He subsequently removed to Richmond, built up a church there, and became intimate with her most intelligent citizens, among whom were Judges Mar- shall and Washington, who were very partial to his com- pany. He was a gentleman of polished manners and fond of intelligent and refined society, and always formed a welcome member of such circles. He had a musical voice, a polished style and manner of delivery, and was very popular as a preacher. He was esteemed a man of rare accomplishments and many virtues. He died in January, 1823.

BOLMAR, ANTHONY (or, as the name in full was written, Jean Claude Antoine Brunin de Bolmar) was born in 1797, at Bourbon Lancy, a small town of France, de- partment of Saône-et-loire, in Lower Burgundy. He en- tered in 1810 the Imperial Lyceum of Clermont-Ferrand, where he remained until after the downfall of Napoleon I. In 1816 he went to the city of Lyons to learn the silk business, and commenced an apprenticeship under the Messrs. Cordier & Co. But in 1818, when Anthony Bol- mar was approaching the age of twenty-one, and would have to draw his lot in the class of conscripts for 1819, he enlisted in the army, in order to secure to himself the privilege of choosing the regiment in which he preferred to serve. He selected the Sixth Regiment of Hussars, then commanded by a Lyonnais, the Comte de Pernollet. When war broke out between France and Spain in 1822, the Sixth Hussars made the campaign under the leadership of the Duc d'Angoulême. Mr. Bolmar was at this time the brigade-fourrier (quartermaster) of the First Squadron, but had little military duty to perform, because he was more particularly attached to the office of accounts of his regi- ment.

After six years of military service Mr. Bolmar re-en- tered civil life. In the year 1826 or 1827 he went to Switzerland, and traveled northward as far as Ostend, from whence he proceeded to England and Scotland, and early in 1828 came to the United States, taking up his residence in Philadelphia.

On his arrival he turned his attention to the business of education, especially to the instruction of young gentlemen in the language of France. He also revised and edited several school-books adapted to tuition in that language. When the Asiatic cholera made its appearance in Philadel- phia, in 1832, Mr. Bolmar retired to the borough of West Chester to prosecute his labors on the school-books, and was so much pleased with the rural village that he inclined to remain after the fearful epidemic had left the city. About this time he married an accomplished American lady, and in 1834 was prevailed upon to take charge of the West Chester Academy. While in the full tide of this academic career he was induced to purchase a noble estab-

lishment in West Chester, which had been erected expressly for a boarding-school, and of which he took possession in 1840. He continued to conduct the establishment with signal ability until 1859, when some business concerns re- quired his presence in France. The seminary was closed during his visit to his native land; and although he at- tempted to reopen the school after his return, his shattered health, which had been sensibly declining for a consider- able time, prevented its accomplishment. He departed this life on Feb. 27, 1861, aged sixty-four years, leaving a widow and six children.

Anthony Bolmar was a public-spirited man, and did much for the cause of education and for the material pros- perity of the borough of West Chester.

BOND, SAMUEL, son of Joseph Bond, of Bristol, Bucks Co., married, 4, 29, 1749, Thomazin Downing, daughter of Thomas, of East Caln, and settled in West Whiteland, he and his wife being members of Uwchlan Meeting. Their children were as follows : 1. Ann, m. 5, 27, 1773, to Robert Valentine. 2. Jane, m. 1, 13, 1785, to Thomas Stalker, Jr. 3. Thomazine, born 1755 ; died 7, 29, 1782 ; m. 5, 11, 1775, to George Spackman. 4. Hannah, m. 5, 16, 1776, to her second cousin, John McPherson, of Vir- ginia. 5. Joseph, m. to Ellen George; and 6. Sarah, m. 5, 16, 1793, at Hopewell, Va., to Asa Moore.

BONZANO, ADOLPHUS, was born Dec. 5, 1830, in the city of Ehingen, kingdom of Würtemberg, Germany. He early received a classical as well as polytechnical educa- tion. He arrived at New York City in September, 1850, and went to Philadelphia, where from October until May, 1851, he studied the English language. From May, 1851, to 1855 he was at the American Machine-Works, at Spring- field, Mass., where and at which time he learned the ma- chinist business in all its important branches. During the year 1855 he erected machinery in the Southern States. From that date to 1868 he resided at Detroit, Mich., where he was married, July 2, 1857, to Laura J. Goodell, from which union have been born two sons, Maximilian F., May 13, 1858, and Hubert A., Jan. 9, 1867. He was engaged until 1860 as superintendent of machine-shops, etc., then as desiguer and superintendent of bridge construction. He removed in 1868 to Phoenixville, Pa., for the purpose of carrying ou iron bridge-building as a member of the firm of Clarke, Reeves & Co. He has charge of the estimates, general plans, and details of construction. This company and firm have constructed an immense number of iron bridges, iron viaducts, and roofs, amounting, up to Decem- ber, 1880, to four hundred million pounds. Among the principal works executed by this firm are the Girard Avenue bridge, at Philadelphia ; the Hudson River bridge, at Albany ; the bridges for the Intercolonial Railway, Canada; for the North Shore Railway, Canada ; the Ele- vated Railway in Second, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth Avenues, New York City ; and the Susquehanna bridge at Havre de Grace, Md.

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History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 131

Author: Futhey, John Smith, 1820-1888; Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts Number of Pages: 1162

Author: Futhey, John Smith, 1820-1888; Cope, Gilbert, 1840-1928
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia, L. H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1162