History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 133

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 133

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His mother was an Urner, descended from that well- known family, which came originally from canton Uri, in Switzerland, and having from thence been driven by perse- cutions, settled in the province of Alsace, from which the three brothers, John, Jacob, and Martin Urner, came to America about 1708.

BROWN .- There are many different families bearing this name, of which the descendants of James and William Browne, of Nottingham, are perhaps the most numerous, According to the evidence discovered by the late Henry Armitt Brown, Esq., of Philadelphia, they were the sons of Richard and Mary Browne, of Puddington, near Welling- boro', Northamptonshire. The father died 9, 28, 1662, and of his eight children James was born 3, 27, 1656, and William, 1, 29, 1658. James was married at Burlington, N. J., 6, 8, 1679, to Honor, daughter of William Clay- ton, of Chichester, where he also settled at first. His children were James, b. at Marcus Hook, 1, 17, 1681; William, h. 1, 13, 1682; Clayton, b. 8, 1, 1685 ; Jere- miah, Margery, Daniel, and Mary.

William Browne was married in England to Dorothy -, and his eldest son, Joseph, was born there, 4, 12,

1682. In 1684 he married a second wife, Ann Mercer, in 1699 a third, Catharine Williams, and in 1711 a fourth wife, Mary Matthews. Tradition says that William Browne cut the first tree in the settlement of Nottingham, and it is known that the first Friends' meeting there was held at his house. His son, Mercer (or Messer) Brown, was a justice of Common Pleas and a useful citizen.

William Brown, son of James, married Esther Yardley, of Bucks County, and had children,-William, a noted' minister ; Margaret, married to John Churchman ; James, and Daniel. Of these, James married Miriam Churchman, was also a minister, and died in Wilmington, 3, 4, 1772. His son Elijah, born 3, 12, 1740, removed in 1757 to Phila- delphia, and was one of the Friends exiled to Virginia in 1777. He married in 1761 Mary Armitt, and died 8, 27, 1810. His great-grandson, Henry Armitt Brown, the gifted writer and orator, died Aug. 21, 1878, in the prime of life, and with the prospect of a brilliant future before him.

BROWNBACK, GARRET, or Gerhard Brumbach, as it may have been in German, was one of the earliest settlers of that nationality in Vincent ; was the founder of Brown- back's Reformed Church, and the first tavern-keeper in that part of the county. He took up 1000 acres of land, partly in Vincent and partly in Coventry, on part of which the church was built at a later date. He had two sons, Benja- min and Henry, and daughters who became the wives of Richard Custard, John Benner, Frederick Bingaman, John Munshower, and William Posey. Catharine was the wife of Munshower. When Garret settled here there was an Indian village ahout fifty or sixty perches from his dwell- ing, and the natives rendered him services in return for favors shown them. Garret Brownback died about 1758,

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and was succeeded at the tavern by his son Benjamin, who continued in the business nearly thirty years. The latter served during the Revolution. His widow was robbed and murdered, but the murderer never was discovered.

BUCHANAN, REV. JAMES, was a native of the Bran- dywine settlement, in Chester Co., Pa., where he was born in the year 1783. He received his collegiate education at Dickinson College, Carlisle, where he graduated Sept. 28, 1803. He studied theology under Rev. Nathan Grier, of Brandywine Manor, and was licensed by New Castle Pres- bytery, Sept. 30, 1806.

He was first settled, in April, 1809, over the Presby- terian congregation of Harrisburg, Pa. This charge he resigned in 1815. In 1816 he became pastor of the con- gregation at Greencastle, Franklin Co., Pa. Here he con- tinued for about twenty years, with great acceptance to the people, who were devotedly attached to him. He then took charge of the Presbyterian Church of Logansport, Ind., of which he continued pastor until his death, on the 16th of September, 1843, at the age of sixty years.

He was a man of warm heart, of kind and generous dis- position ; a judicious counselor, and as a preacher held a very respectable rank.

BUFFINGTON .- Rich. Bobbinghton was among the list of tydables at Upland in 1677. In 1679, Richard Buffington and John Grubb purchased a tract of land west of Chester Creck, above Chester, which they called " Hope- well of Kent."

Richard Buffington had a wife, Ann, living in 1695; a wife, Frances (widow of John Grubb), living in 1712 ; and his widow, Alice (Palmer), survived him. He purchased land in East Bradford (in conjunction with William Ves- tall) in 1696, and removed to that neighborhood within a few years after. Feb. 25, 1720-1, he conveyed his lands to two of his sons, Thomas and William, reserving a life interest therein, and this was probably on the eve of his last marriage. He appears to have settled at a later period on 200 acres immediately in the forks of Brandywine, but

never owned the land, which, however, his son Joseph afterwards purchased from the heirs of Isaac Norris, of Philadelphia. Richard died in January or February, 1747-8, probably about ninety-four years of age. By his will he gave a legacy of £20 to the Baptist society which met at John Bentley's, in Newlin township. (See Heph- zibah Baptist Church.)

Children .- Ann, m. Benjamin Hickman ; Ruth, m. Ezekiel Harlan; Richard, d. 1741, m. Phebe Grubb ; Thomas, d. December, 1739, m. Ruth Cope and Ann -; William, d. unmarried ; John, m. Sarah Arnold ; Hannah, m. Jeremiah Dean; Mary, m. Charles Turner ; Elizabeth, d. 1748-9, m. Peter Collins and Jolin Free- man; Lydia, m. George Martin ; Abigail, b. September, 1721, d. April, 1813, m. Edward Seed and David Fling; Joseph, d. Nov. 17, 1785, unmarried; Alice, d. July 19, 1775, m. - McArthur and James Hance.

The Pennsylvania Gazette for June 28 to July 5, 1739, contains the following :

" Philadelphia .- On the 30th of May past the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Richard Buffing- ton, Senior, to the number of one hundred and fifteen, met

together at his house in Chester County, as also his nine sons- and daughters-in-law, and twelve great-grandchildren- in-law. The old man is from Great Marle, upon the Thamcs, in Buckinghamshire, in Old England, aged about 85, and is still hearty, active, and of perfect memory. His eldest son, now in the sixtieth year of his age, was the first-born of English descent in this province."

Richard Buffington, Jr., married Phebe, daughter of John and Frances Grubb, and settled in West Bradford. His wife was a minister among Friends, and after his death married Simon Hadly, living in the edge of New Castle County. She died 3, 4, 1769, and was buried at Bradford Meeting on the 6th, at the same time that the mother of Humphry Marshall was interred. The children of Rich- ard and Phebe were John, Frances (m. to Samuel Os- borne), Phebe, Richard, Samuel, Henry, Catharine, Peter, Nathaniel, Jeremiah, Isaac, and Joseph.

Richard (3), born 11, 23, 1715-6, dicd 2, 28, 1781, married Mary Bate and Ann (Pyle) Woodward. By the first he had Curtis, Mary, and Phebe, and by the second, Richard, Jesse, Ann, and Esther. Richard (4), born 12, 18, 1750-1, died 11, 19, 1803, married Rachel Baker, daughter of Richard and Rachel, and their son, the fifth Richard in direct descent, is living in West Marlborough, in his seventy-ninth year.

John Buffington, son of Richard (2), married Elizabeth Way and Jane Thatcher, and died 10, 23, 1774, leaving several children, of whom Robert, the eldest, was the grandfather of Wilson Buffington, of Unionville, a builder of numerous bridges. Richard, the second son, was a mason, and with his cousin Curtis built the easterly tav- ern in Marshallton. He left the neighborhood for a time during the Revolution, and his property was confiscated. His brother Jacob was arrested as a Tory, but escaped from the guards and fled to Prince Edward Island, afterwards to England, but returned to Chester County before his death. Another brother, Joshua, was tried and acquitted.

Joseph Buffington, born 11, 27, 1803, at West Chester, died 2, 3, 1872, was for several years president judge of the district composed of Westmoreland, Armstrong, and Indiana Counties, in this State. He was the son of Eph- raim and Rebecca, and Ephraim was the son of Jonathan, the son of William, supposed son of Thomas, the son of the first Richard.

BULL, LIEUT .- COL. THOMAS, son of William Bull, born June 9, 1744, died July 13, 1837, aged 93 years, 1 month, and 4 days.

He, as most young men in colonial times were forced to do, followed for a while a mechanical pursuit, becoming a stone-mason. He was considered an excellent workman; having assisted in constructing a number of buildings of so durable a character that they were still in use a few years ago, and may be yet. Prior to the Revolutionary war, and also subsequently to it, he was a manager for Potts & Rut- ter, at Warwick Furnace. Whilst in this capacity he was called into the service of his country, being commissioned lieutenant-colonel of his regiment subsequently to Gen. Wayne's transfer to the regular army. He took the above position upon the promotion of Richard Thomas to the colonelcy. He was attached to the Flying Camp, and was

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HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

ordered to New York, where, arriving in time for an en- gagement, he was forced with his men into action, fought bravely, and when he found bis superior in command had surrendered he became so incensed that he broke his sword in two. He of course was captured and taken to the " Jer- sey" prison-ships, where the prisoners, one of whom was the celebrated Col. Ethan Allen, were furnished an allowance of a few grains of corn a day. Remaining here for a short time, they were placed on Long Island, with the privilege of patroling the same. Here they were kept for about twenty-one months and then exchanged. During the en- gagement above alluded to, while Col. Bull was carrying an order to a subordinate officer, a wounded soldier piteously plead that he would take him up behind him on his horse and save him if possible. Seeing a stump of a tree near by, he told him to get upon it and he would see what he could do for him. When he returned the maimed man had strength enough to obey this friendly command, and, urging his strength to the utmost, he succeeded in the effort, and was borne swiftly in safety to the fort. In time he recovered, and in after-years, when Col. Bull was a member of the Legislature, the door-keeper was asked to call him out as a man wished to speak to him. It proved to be his old acquaintance of the battle-field, whose safety had been secured amid the storm of bullets discharged as they neared the fort, and who now came to express his heartfelt grati- tnde to his preserver.

Another incident occurred during his sojourn on the island. Poorly fed and being hungry, he stopped at the house of one of the Low Dutch residents and asked for something to eat. The old lady in broken English replied, " Oh, we've got poor bread." " What will you give me if I build you an oven?" he said, and, as she hesitated in reply, added, "Send your men for brick and sand, and we will see what we can do for you." The materials being brought he went to work, and in a short time the oven was built. She was pleased, and gave him three silver dollars for the work, whereupon he also was pleased. In telling this story he laughingly said that when the thing became known all the little Low Dutch women on the island came in quest of Col. Bull to build them ovens.

Another circumstance he used to mention was that be- fore his capture he found one of his men famishing from want of food and exposure to the weather. Having no great supply of medicine at hand, he procured some ginger- bread, softened it with water, forced it down his throat, and thus saved his life. This man, Micajah Posey, returned to his home in the neighborhood of Warwick Furnace, and lived there until he became an old man, many of whose descendants reside in the northern part of this and in the neighboring countics.

After his returu from the service of his country in the field Col. Bull continued in the iron business, managing the Warwick Furnace, as before, and turning out forty-two tons of pig-metal per week with a small charcoal furnace, the ore being then of fine quality and the wood first growth. This was a great run of metal, considering that a furnace of equal capacity latterly will yield but little more than one- half this quantity.

Shortly after the battle of Brandywine a portion of the

government troops retreated to the neighborhood of the Furnace, where they remained for some days, the officers of highest grade in the mean time visiting the mansion-house, where they were hospitably entertained by the gallant col- onel's noble and patriotic wife.

Prior to leaving the employ of the Warwick Company, Col. Bull bought from them a large tract of land on the head-waters of the south branch of French Creek, where be built a grist- and saw-mill, blacksmith-shop, etc., and upon which he erected a fine mansiou, to which he retired, and there resided many years. The property passed into possession of his son, Rev. Levi Bull, and is now the resi- dence of Col. Thomas K. Bull, a son of the latter.

While improving his private property Col. Bull was yet largely engaged in business plans. He acquired, and held until within a few years of his death, nine-sixteenths of an interest in Joanna Furnace, on Hay Creek, Robeson town- ship, Berks County, which interest he disposed of to Judge Darling, of Reading, about 1831, who associated with him Levi Bull Smith, his brother-in-law. The present owner is Col. L. Heber Smith, a great-grandson of Col. Bull, who follows the same remunerating pursuit, and has given assu- rance that he imbibes the patriotic fervor of his brave an- cestor in volunteering to march at the head of his regiment in defense of his country in the war of the Rebellion, and, like his ancestor, was captured and detained in the vile prisons of the South, in this respect suffering more cruel treatment than was accorded prisoners of the Revolutionary war.

Col. Bull was a member of the convention which framed the constitution of 1790, and also a member of the conven- tion which ratified said instrument. He was a representa- tive of Chester County in the Assembly for many years. Of course he was a man of mark in those early days of our history. Fitted by nature with a strong, vigorous frame, a tall, majestic mien, and a stentorian voice, he seemed formed to command. Resolute and determined in war, he was an excellent manager and a successful business man. Active and enterprising, he gave many a young man employment, and failed not to help the poor and the friendless. His counsel was often asked, bis advice taken, and many profited by it. An instance is given : A few miles from him lived a man of moody spirit, morose and ill-grained, who called to see the colonel, and complained of want of success. He was advised to quit the neighborhood and remove to the central part of the State, where it was thought an opening presented for business. Taking the advice kindly he re- moved, and became an iron-master, prospered, and grew rich. Probably about 1830 he paid his last visit to Chester County, met his old friend and adviser, and after a pleasant interchange of social feeling they parted to meet here no more.

About the year 1810 or 1812, Col. Bull became inter- ested in a project which enlisted the feelings of many of his fellow-citizens in the northern part of the county, viz., the construction of a turnpike-road through the same. This road was designed to run from the Lancaster turnpike, near the Warren tavern, to the base of the Welsh Mountain, near Morgantown ; thence by another company to the Blue Ball, and thence by still another to Lancaster, viu New

Keepthe Burger

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

Holland. Associated with Col. Bull in projecting and carrying on this work were Michael Gunkle, John Malin, Mr. Bowen, of the Ship, Isaiah Kirk, Ephraim Allen, and others. The State aided the road by a subscription of stock, but of course, in the end, fared as did other stockholders. Not proving a paying concern the organization was kept up for a time, but after the lapse of twenty-five or thirty years, the tolls taken being insufficient to maintain it, the road was abandoned as a turnpike and declared a public high- way. Unfortunate as a speculation, the road is nevertheless regarded by those who live along its line as a great advan- tage to the neighborhood through which it passes, and the public spirit and enterprise of the projectors are fully ap- preciated.

Under an act of Congress, passed a few years before his death, Col. Bull received a pension of $575 per annum, awarded him for his services in the Revolutionary war.

He was a sincere believer in the Christian religion, and a vestryman of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, in the Great Valley, worshiping therein when convenient, as he lived many miles therefrom. Upon the ordination of his son, Rev. Dr. Bull, to the ministry he assisted in building and supporting St. Mary's Church, in East Nantmeal (now War- wick ) township, and became and continued a member there- of till his death. He also joined in the temperance refor- mation a few years before his death, even foregoing, for the sake of others, the moderate use of wine, to which, as a beverage, he had been accustomed. His declining years were peaceful, and gently he descended to the tomb in a good old age " as a shock of corn fully ripe in its season."

Thomas Bull was married Feb. 28, 1771, to Ann Hun- ter, daughter of John and Ann Hunter, of Whiteland, who dying in 1817, be married again in 1819, at the age of 75 years, a widow, Lydia Crowell, of Cape May, N. J., who survived him several years. His children were as follows :

1. Elizabeth, b. Dec. 19, 1771; m. John Smith. 2. Mary, b. July 10, 1774; d. Nov. 7, 1798; m. Alexander Cobean, late of Gettysburg. 3. Ann, b. Feb. 11, 1776; d. 1850; m. Waters Dewees. 4. Martha, b. Feb. 20, 1779; d. March 12, 1850; m. James McClintock and Samuel Shafer. 5: Sarah, twin sister of Martha, d. 1817, unmarried. 6. Levi, b. Nov. 14, 1780 ; d. Aug. 2, 1859 ; m. 1808, Ann Jacobs, daughter of Cyrus. Jacobs, and Margaretta, daughter of James Old, a sister to Mrs. Robert Coleman, b. 1789; d. July 10, 1858. 7. James Hunter, b. Dec. 31, 1782 ; d. Oct. 17, 1797. 8. Margaret, b. Feb. 7, 1787; m. James Jacobs, son of Cyrus, and d. about 1819, leaving three sons and a daughter, Ann Hunter, mother of Rev. James J. Creigh.

LEVI BULL, D.D., was born Nov. 14, 1780, at Warwick Furnace, in what is now Warwick township. His mother prayed for a man-child, and, in token of having dedicated him, as far as in her lay, to the priesthood, named him Levi. Her wishes and prayers seemed for a long time frustrated, as his youth, up to manhood, gave no signs of interest in religion. At an early age he entered Dickin- son College, where he graduated in his seventeenth year. He made choice of the law for a profession, and entered the office of James Hopkins, Esq., a lawyer of distinction at

the bar of Lancaster, with a view of qualifying himself for admission to the bar. While pursuing his law studies, he came to the conclusion that " necessity was laid upon him to preach the gospel," and, abandoning the law, he began a course of study in preparation for the ministry under the direction of Rev. Nathan Grier, of Brandywine Manor. He entered the ministry of the Episcopal Church, and was by Bishop White ordained deacon in 1805, and priest in 1806. His first and last field of labor was the region in which he was born. The social position and public repu- tation of his father, the extraordinary personal qualities of the son, the interesting facts and notoriety of his conversion, his zeal and boldness, drew all minds in these parts to the young preacher. He preached in churches, in court-houses, in school-rooms, and in private houses. He addressed masses of people in public, and also families and indi- viduals in private. All wondered at the life and power which appeared in his ministry, and no preacher of that day had ever in those parts made such an impression. In the immediate neighborhood of his father's residence there was then no church, but a proposal was soon made for the organization of a parish and the building of a house of worship. This resulted in the founding of St. Mary's Church (in what is now Warwick township) in 1805, about a mile from his home. There, with one intermission, he continued to labor till age and other infirmities withdrew him from active duty. The intermission was that of a year at Wilmington, Del., where he was rector of Trinity Church. Deaths of relatives and the difficulty of filling his post in St. Mary's Church induced him to return and resume his first charge. In connection with St. Mary's he had the care of St. Thomas', Morgantown, Berks Co., nine miles from his residence ; Bangor Church, Churchtown, Lancas- ter Co., nine miles from his home; St. Gabriel's, Morlattan, Berks Co., nine miles distant; and he preached once a month in Pottstown, Montgomery Co., twelve miles away, and very often in Reading and Birdsboro'. Out of his labors grew, besides St. Mary's Church, St. Andrew's, in West Vincent, and St. Mark's, Honeybrook, the one six and the other five miles distant, the last two being off- shoots of St. Mary's Church. The labors which he per- formed were abundant and blessed. He married Ann, daughter of Cyrus Jacobs, Esq., of White Hall, Church- town, Lancaster Co., of which marriage there were fifteen children, all of whom but one lived to adult age, and seven only of whom survived him. Possessed of a competent estate, his house was the seat of a generous hospitality, and he was held by all who knew him in the highest estimation. He was noted for his disinterestedness, and was ever ready to use his ample income for charitable purposes. The title of " Father," given to him in his later years, indicated the respect and confidence of his clerical brethren. He died Aug. 2, 1859, at his residence in Warwick township, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, and was buried in St. Mary's churchyard, in a tomb beside his wife and children, near the walls of the church which more than half a cen- tury before had been founded by his ministry.

BURGESS, HUGH .- At the town of Reading, England (in which country he was born), Hugh Burgess began ex- perimenting as to the possibility of making use of the pure

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fibre of wood for paper-making in the year 1850, in con- junction with Mr. Charles Watt, an old friend of the cele- brated Dr. Abernethy. In 1851 they succeeded in making. a good, pure pulp from wood by their chemical process, and this paper-pulp was converted into good white paper at a paper-mill at Boxmoor, in Hertfordshire. The London Journal printed some numbers of its weekly issue on this paper, and this was the first paper ever made from wood of such a quality as could be used for printing purposes. In 1852, Mr. Burgess was invited to come over to America to introduce the wood-pulp process. He landed in New York City early in 1853, and in the same year was introduced to Mr. M. L. Keen, and with him began to make wood-pulp in the old engine-house of the Wilmington and Philadelphia Railroad, at Gray's Ferry. The paper-pulp made from wood here was manufactured into paper at the paper-mills at Maylandville, close by, and this was the first wood-paper fit for printing ever made in America. In 1854 the paper- mill at Royer's Ford was started, and at this mill the pro- cess was brought into its present state of completion and perfection. Wood of various kinds, straw, corn-stalks, bamboo, cane, etc., were at this mill used for the manufac- ture of white paper-pulp, but no material has been found so suitable for paper-making purposes as wood. The Roy- er's Ford mill has therefore an unusual historic interest in the paper-making world, and should have to the world in general, since it was at this mill that the paper-making industry was entirely revolutionized and the chemical pro- cess perfected which has rendered the paper-making in- dustry to a great extent independent of the supply of rags, which were yearly getting more and more difficult to obtain, as the increasing demand for paper grew faster than the rag supply could keep pace with it. It is doubtful whether ordinary newspaper could be obtained to-day for thirty-five cents a pound if the invention of the manufacture of paper- pulp from wood, etc., had not been made. In 1863 "The American Wood-Paper Company" (of which Mr. Burgess is manager) was incorporated with two million dollars cap- ital, and works on a large scale were put up at Manayunk. These works have the capacity for making about twenty tons of wood-pulp a day, and the Royer's Ford mill turns out about nine tons daily. The wood-pulp made by the " American Wood. Paper Company" is sent to all parts of the country, and is converted into five grades of paper by the paper-mills in various localities.

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History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 133

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