History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 140

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 140

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Eleanor Davis inherited the homestead of 100 acres, and with her lived John Thomas, whose wife, Elizabeth, was her nicce, and Rachel James, the daughter of her sister Jane. Eleanor Davis and John Thomas were murdered and Rachel James dangerously wounded, Aug. 1, 1752, by three men, two of whom were subsequently caught and hung.

LLEWELLYN DAVID, of Haverford, " sawyer,"' pur- chased Oct. 16, 1708, from Lewis Walker, of Valleyton (Tredyffrin), 300 acres of land in the latter township. He had purchased in 1705 205 acres in Easttown, but did not settle there. He was married, Nov. 14, 1709, to Bridget Jones, by whom he had four children,-Elizabeth, Isaac, Sarah, and Llewellyn. His widow married April 7, 1722, James David, or Davies, of Tredyffrin. Isaac Davies, or Davis, son of Llewellyn and Bridget, married, May 30, 1738, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Mary Bartholomew, and, buying the interests of the other heirs, settled on the homestead in Tredyffrin. He was a justice of the peace and an active citizen; died in 1778, leaving a wife and children,-Benjamin, Mary (married to John Morgan), Thomas, John, Sarah (married to Daniel Wilson), Eliza- beth (married to Maj. Ezekiel Howell), and Joseph, a phy- sician. His widow survived him about one year, dying in July, 1779.

The property was divided between the sons,-Benjamin, John, and Thomas. John Davis married Ann Morton, daughter of John Morton, the signer, and had children, -- Isaac, John Morton, Mary, Charles Justis, Ann, Benjamin, and Albert. His services in the Revolution are set forth in a petition to Congress, from which we make the following extract :

"The Petition of Charles J. Davis, Administrator, &c., of John Da- vis, late of Tredyfferin township, in the county of Chester, and State of Pennsylvania, deceased, respectfully represents the said John Davis, who entered the Army of the Revolution in the year 1776, raised a

* An illustrated description of this tornado is given on page 459 of this work.

t For a further account of the Ercildoun Seminary and the Dar- lington Seminary, of West Chester, see the department "Educational

· and Literary," in this work.

516

HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

company and served as Captain of the same, and on the 21st day ef October, A.D., 1780, was regularly commissioned a Captain in the Pennsylvania Line, and centinned in the service to the end of the war.

" His commission, signed by John Jay, his oath of allegiance, taken before General Lord Sterling, his certificate of membership of the So- ciety of Cincinnati, a copy in his hand writing of the military orders issned while the army was encamped at Valley Forge, and his diary of the military eventa with which he was personally connected down to January, 1782, about the time when active military operations were suspended, are still extant, and have been exhibited to committees ef Congress. Capt. Davis was present at and participated in the bat- tles of Brandywine, Paoli, Germantown, Monmonth, Stony Point, and Yorktown; and he was also with Gen. Wayne in South Carolina and Georgia during his operations in those States.

"By an Act of Congress, of the 21st day ef October, 1780, it was provided that all officers continuing in the service until the close of the war, should be entitled to half pay for life. This half pay thus promised Capt. Davis never received."

In April, 1800, John Davis was appointed brigadier- general of the First Brigade of the militia of Chester and Delaware Counties, and on March 31, 1803, was commis- sioned an associate judge of Chester County, a position he continued to fill until disabled by the infirmities of age. He died in 1827.

His son, John Morton Davis, born 1788, died 1848, married 1818, Elizabeth Knight, of Philadelphia, by whom he had two children, Mary and Albert K., who reside at the homestead. John M. Davis married in 1830 a second wife, Anna Maria Walley, by whom he had children, -- Wil- liam W., Henrietta, John M., Elizabeth, Isaac Henry, and Anna Maria.

DR. ISAAC DAVIS* was the eldest son of Gen. John Davis, of the Great Valley, Chester Co. His mother was Nancy, the daughter of John Morton, a name familiar to every one who has read of our struggles for independ- ence.

Dr. Davis was born in Tredyffrin township, Chester Co., Pa., July 27, 1787. He commenced the study of the Latin and Greek languages with the Rev. Wm. Latta, af- terwards went to Norristown, and pursued his education with diligence and success under the direction of the Rev. John Jones, a Presbyterian clergyman. In the year 1806 he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Joseph Shallcross, of Darby, Delaware Co., and after remaining some time he placed himself under the tuition of Dr. Elijah Griffith, of Philadelphia, and completed his medical education by attending three courses of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania. He received his diploma from that institution in 1810. He entered upon the practice of his profession in Edgmont township, Delaware Co., and was cared for in the family of Everet Passmore, near the " William Penn." He had, however, been there but a short time, says Dr. Thomas Harris, U.S.N. (and his intimate . friend), before he received an appointment from President Madison as surgeon of the Sixth Regiment of the United Infantry, under the command of Col. Simonds, who was then stationed at Albany, N. Y.

After being at Albany about six months the regiment was ordered to Carlisle, Pa. From there he, with his regiment, was sent to Pittsburgh, Mobile, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and finally to Fort Jackson, Miss., where

he closed his life by the rupture of a blood-vessel in the lungs, July 21, 1814, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. Dr. Davis was a talented and accomplished gentle- man and skillful physician. He was never married.

JOHN DAVIS, or DAVID, of Uwchlan, purchased 100 acres there in 1715, and is said to have come from Rad- norshire. He died in 1736, leaving a widow, Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel and Sibyll Harris, and children, -- 1. Daniel, who died in Uwchlan ahout 1784, probably un- married. 2. Hannah, m. 9, 10, 1743, to David Cadwala- der. 3. Mary, m. 9, 28, 1740, to David John. 4. Rachel, b. 2, 10, 1720; m. 3, 10, 1745, to Joshua John. 5. Elizabeth, m. to Jonathan Worrall. 6. Sibbilla, b. 1, 1, 1726; m. 4, 13, 1746, to Edward Williams, and 3, 27, 1754, to William Kirk, of Nantmeal. 7. Amos, b. 3, 1, 1728; d. 2, 23, 1782 ; m. 5, 5, 1757, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Grace Meredith, of Vincent; second mar- riage, 6, 7, 1771, to Agnes, widow of William Brown, daughter of Evan and Susanna Jones. 8. Abigail, prob- ably died unmarried. 9. John, m. Hannah, daughter of Griffith and Ann John. 10. Ruth, b. 3, 27, 1733; m. to Jacob Williams. 11. Benjamin, b. 7, 27, 1736 ; d. 10, 9, 1809; m. 10, 31, 1771, to Hannah, daughter of John Davies, of Radnor, by whom he had children,-John, Mary, Elizabeth, Hannah, Benjamin, Amos, Tacy (m. to Thomas Woodward, of Thornbury), Samuel, Sibbilla, Sarah, and Ruth (m. to Samuel Smedley).

JOHN DAVIS, of Thornbury, died in March, 1719-20, leaving a wife, Mary, and children,-Abraham, John, Daniel, Isaac, Mary, Hannah, Susanna, and Charity. This family continued to own land in Thornbury and the lower end of East Bradford, now Birmingham, until after the Revolution.

ASA DAVIS, born 8, 8, 1743, son of William and grandson of Lewis and Florence David; married Elizabeth Humphreys in 1769, and came, perhaps, from Haverford to East Bradford in 1784. He had children,-Elizabeth, Wil- liam, Jane, and James, of whom the first married Jesse Reece, and was the mother of Davis Reece, who occupied the position of governor in Westtown Boarding-School from 1831 to 1859. William Davis married, 10, 14, 1802, Mary Hibberd, and had children,-Emmor, Elizabeth, John, Sarah, Deborah, Samuel H., and Martha.

ROGER DAVIS, M.D., the son of Isaao Davis, was born in Charlestown township, Chester Co., Oct. 2, 1762. His mother's name previous to marriage was Sophia North. She was a resident of Montgomery County. He received a good English education, and under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Simonton, pastor of the Valley Presbyterian Church, obtained an excellent knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. He pursued his medical studies under the direction of Dr. Duffield, of Philadelphia, and attended three full courses of lectures at the University of Penn- sylvania, though he took no degree. About the year 1785 he commenced the practice of medicine in his native town- ship, where he continued to reside until his death. He was married to Sarah Jones, of the township of Heidelberg, Berks Co., on May 10, 1785. By this marriage he became the father of thirteen children, of whom (in 1852) four were living,-two sons, Jones and Thomas Davis, physi- .

# By C. J. Morton, M.D., in Medical Reporter, vol. i. p. 126.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

517

cians, in Montgomery County ; Isaac Morris Davis, residing upon the homestead farm ; and a daughter, Maria Ander- son, a widow, in the same township. In the year 1809 he was chosen a representative to the State Legislature, and served two years in that body. In 1811 he took his seat as a member of the Lower House of Congress, in which he served four years. He died of congestive fever, Nov. 20, 1815, aged fifty-three years.

Dr. R. Davis, as a man, was highly estcemed ; as a phy- sician, he was greatly beloved ; as a husband and father, he was kind and affectionate.

The facts for this notice were furnished by his son, Dr. T. Davis .*

NATHANIEL DAVIS and Hannah Martin were mar- ried March 4, 1746, at the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, and resided in Charlestown, Chester Co. Their son Hezekiah served in the Revolutionary war, and was taken prisoner at Fort Washington. He was exchanged Dec. 8, 1780, at Elizabethtown, and returned home. He was a member of Assembly in 1803 and 1804.

J. M. Toner, of Philadelphia, communicates the follow- ing to the Pennsylvania Magazine, iv. 120, as copied from a document on file in the pension office in that city :

"Lieut. Hezekiah Davis, born on Nov. 22, 1747, in Charlestown, Chester Co., Pa., and residing there in 1832, enlisted early in 1776 in Fifth Pennsylvania, Col. Magraw, which was afterwards captured at Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776. Davis was appointed lieutenant in Capt. Culbertson's company, belonging to the Flying Camp, Sept. 7, 1776, which commission was signed by Benjamin Franklin, Presi- dent of Council of Pennsylvania, and joined his regiment, Col. Wm. Montgomery, but as he did not take the command, it was organized, etc, by Lieut .- Col. Thomas Bull. The regiment was raised in Chester County and went to Fort Lee, which was being or was built by the corps of the Flying Camp, the troops laying around in huts and tents. From there they were ordered to Fort Washington, where the Flying Camp were taken prisoners, the engagement continuing from early morn till late in the P.M. The prisoners were taken to New York City, and Davis confined with others on board the prison-ship, but in a few weeks went to Long Island, and exchanged Dec. 7, 1780.

" During his captivity he made a list of officers who were prisoners of war and detained in New York City and on Long Island from offi- cial documents, showing the rank, dates of commission, the corps to which they belonged, the time when captured, and place where taken, as well as those who had died prisoners of war, which document he exhibited to court in 1832 when making his affidavit for his pension. The Legislature of Pennsylvania, by act of April 2, 1822, granted him a pension. He names Dr. Wm. Darlington as one to whom he is well known. He always resided in Charlestown."

CALEB DAVIS was one of the active Chester County men of the Revolutionary period, who figured considerably in our Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives. His duties were chiefly civil, but seem occasionally to have been partly military. In April, 1776, he obtained £1500 for pay- ment for firelocks, etc., in Chester County ; also £100 and an order for two quarter-casks of gunpowder. In April, 1777, the Board of War made a requisition upon Col. Caleb Davis, Chester County, for wagons. But in July, 1777, he was appointed prothonotary and clerk of the courts of Ches- ter County, with Thomas Cheyney, Esq., as his surety ; in which offices he was continued until 1791. May 5, 1778, an order was drawn on the treasurer, in favor of Caleb Davis, for the sum of £15, for six days' riding to Gen. Potter's camp and through the neighborhood of Darby and

Chester, in order to gain intelligence. Caleb was a promi- nent target for the shafts of the county wits during the protracted struggle for the removal of the scat of justice from the ancient Upland to West Chester, viz., from 1780 to 1786, when the removal was effected. But he was also a good officer and a zealous patriot in the times which put men's real worth to the test. The old gentleman was dis- tinctly remembered, towards the close of the last century, in his retirement on a valuable farm near Chester, but the exact date of his decease has not been ascertained.

JOSEPH C. DAVIS .- Caleb Davis, of Welsh descent, and of a family early settled in this county, married Jane Walker, of English extraction. Of their twelve children, Joseph Cope Davis, so named for a friend of his father, was born June 3, 1820, in Honeybrook township. He

Joseph 6 days .

passed his youth on a farm, was educated in the common schools, and one of his early teachers was the distinguished Professor McClune, now of Philadelphia. He learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed for seventeen years. He then engaged in the hardware business, in which he continued some twenty-nine years. He began this busi- ness in the basement of a tailor's shop, and increased it until during the war his annual sales aggregated forty thousand dollars a year. He erected the fine building in Honeybrook where he successfully conducted this business, from which some three years ago he retired. Since then he has been engaged in selling sewing-machines, which be- fore he had united in his hardware trade. He is also largely interested in the insurance business, life and fire,- in the former representing the " Penn Mutual," of Phila- delphia,-and has been for eighteen years a director in the Chester County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He was a director in the Bank of Chester Valley, at Coates- ville, and for some years after its change into a national

* Medical Reporter, vol. i. p. 96.

518

HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

bank. He has been a director in the National Bank of Honeybrook since its charter in the spring of 1868. He was a member of the board of East Brandywine . and Waynesburg Railroad for fourteen years, and until its ex- tension to New Holland. He was married, Feb. 22, 1843, to Rebecca A., daughter of William Buchanan, by whom he has had nine children, of whom seven are living. Of these, Franklin B., of the U. S. army, and three daughters are married, viz. : Elizabeth, to Charles Hornberger ; Mary, to J. D. Landis, of Coatesville ; and Ida Almena to Mor- decai Markward, of Coatesville. The other three living are Norrie Evelin, Charles Walker, and Joseph Simpson. The names of the two deceased were Asenath Ann and William Summerfield. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has filled all positions therein save that of the ministry. He has added much to the material growth of Honeybrook in building and in varied business matters.

DEAN, WILLIAM, brought a certificate to Newark Monthly Meeting, 1, 3, 1714-5, from Tetbury, Gloucester- shire, England, and married, 9, 15, 1722, Lydia, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Gilpin, of Birmingham. She was a minister among Friends. They at one time owned a farm in what is now the southern part of West Chester, which they sold to Nathan Sharples in 1747, and removed to Wilmington. They had children,-Isaac, Caleb, and Hannah, born in Birmingham.

JEREMIAH DEAN, a brother of William, married in 1720 Hannah, daughter of Richard Buffington, of Bradford, by whom he had children,-James, Nehemiah, John, and Mary (m. to Joseph Cook).

JOSEPH DEAN was the son of Rev. William Dean, a Presbyterian clergyman, and was born at Ballymenagh, county of Antrim, Ireland, Aug. 10, 1738. His father was licensed by the New Brunswick Presbytery, Oct. 12, 1742, and was sent to Neshaminy and the Forks of the Delaware. In 1745 he went into Virginia, but the year following he was ordained pastor of the congregation at the Forks of Brandywine. He died July 9, 1748, at the early age of twenty-nine, and his remains lie in the graveyard at Brandywine Manor. He was an active, zealous, and faith- ful minister. He had four sons,-Joseph, Benjamin, John, and William,-and one daughter, who married a Mr. Flem- ing, residing on the Susquehanna. Joseph Dcan became a large importing merchant in Philadelphia previous to the Revolution. He was a signer of the celebrated non-impor- tation resolutions. At the outset of the war he loaned the general government some sixty thousand dollars, which he lost. In December, 1776, he was appointed by the Assem- bly on the Committee of Safety, and on the organization of the Board of War a member of that body. In January, 1781, the Supreme Executive Council appointed him one of the auditors " to settle and adjust the accounts of the troops of this State in the service of the United States," and in October following a warden of the port of Philadel- phia. In 1790 he was chosen auctioneer of that city. Joseph Dean purchased large quantities of real estate at the close of the Revolution, the property of attainted persons. He died Sept. 9, 1793. Mr. Dean was twice married, first to Frances McCracken, who died March 1, 1776; second

-----

to Hannah Boyd, who departed this life June 28, 1823. Their remains lie interred in the Moravian burying-ground at the corner of Franklin and Vine Streets. A portrait of Joseph Dean, by Peale, is in the possession of William F. Dean, Esq., of Philadelphia. John Dean, a brother, was a major in the army of the Revolution; and William, another brother, a colonel in the same service, who did valiant duty at Princeton, Trenton, and Germantown .*

DELL, THOMAS, of Upton, in the county of Bucks, England, son of Thomas and Elizabeth, of that place, was married, 5, 22, 1691, at Reading, to Mary Eldershaw, of Reading, daughter of Edward and Mary, of South wark, Surrey. They had the following children : Mary, b. 5, 31, 1695; Sarah, b. 6, 11, 1699; Elizabeth, b. 6, 1, 1697 ; Thomas, b. 9, 29, 1701 ; Edward, b. 2, 24, 1704, d. 5, 20, 1704.

Thomas Dell, late of Reading, in Berkshire, brought a certificate to Chester Monthly Meeting, 10, 27, 1708, and settled in Ridley township. He took an active part in meeting affairs, and his wife was clerk for a considerable time. He died 6, 15, 1750, aged 84, and she 9, 11, 1751, aged 81. Their daughter Sarah died 7, 27, 1714 (or 1715). Elizabeth married, 7, 29, 1720, William Swayne, of Marl- borough.

Thomas Dell, Jr., married, 8, 7, 1728, Rachel Sharples, daughter of James and Mary, of Providence, and left chil- dren, two of whom married, viz. : Sarah to Isaac Weaver, 7, 20, 1750, and Mary to William Pennell, 2, 25, 1751. From these the name of Dell, as a given name, has de- scended in both Weaver and Pennell families.

DENNY, WILLIAM, probably of Scotch-Irish stock, settled in Uwchlan as early as 1735, and in 1750 obtained a patent for 293 acres next to land of Robert Smith and others. In 1775 he and his wife, Margaret, conveyed this to David Denny, one of their sons. William died Oct. 8, 1784, in his 77th year, and his widow May 7, 1794, aged 76.

David Denny was an active patriot in the Revolution and a useful citizen after its close ; was a justice of the peace, and one of the first directors of the poor. He died Nov. 4, 1820, in his 78th year. His first wife, Elizabeth, died Sept. 21, 1809, aged 59 years, 6 months, 10 days, and Martha, his second wife, died June 14, 1867, in her 78th year. All were buried at Brandywine Manor church.

We find a William Denny, unmarried, in Birmingham, 1721-22; as a married man in West Nottingham, 1734 to 1740, and perhaps later. Walter Denny was also unmar- ried in Birmingham, 1721-22, a married man in West Nottingham, 1724-26, and of Kennet, 1729-32.

WILLIAM and WALTER DENNY, brothers, removed from Chester to Cumberland County in 1745. William's wife was Agnes, daughter of John Parker, and their son, Maj. Ebenezer Denny, was a prominent officer in the Revolu- tionary and Indian wars, born March 11, 1761. A journal which he kept during some of the campaigns was published by the Historical Society some years since. David Denny, for many years pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Cham- bersburg, was a son of Walter.

*2d Archives, i. 9.

JAMES M. DORLAN.

The United States government, on June 11, 1872, granted by let- ters a patent, No. 127,858, for an improvement in "Sizing Paper, eto.," to James M. Dorlan, which most valuable invention has he- come of great benefit to the world. It consists of a new and useful in- gredient (in compounds or compo- sitions of other ingredients) called chloride of lime, bleaching-powder, or bleaching-salts, or its equivalent, to be made use of in any suitable quantities, as and for an improve- ment in creating or forming a pore- less or water-proof gum size in paper stock and paper pulp for gum pulp-sizing paper of any or all kinds, but more particularly for gum-sizing paper stock and paper pulp for making pulp-sized hang- ing or house-wall and other wall papers nf all qualities. Mr. Dor- lan was horn March 19, 1807, in this county, near Manor meeting- house. He early learned the paper- making trade, beginning in his fourteenth year, and during this time only attended school one month in a year. He served his ap- prenticeship with Davis & Cooper, and afterwards carried on the mill for Joseph M. Downing, now Guie's mill.

About the year 1832 he purchased the paper-mill on the east branch of the Brandywine, four miles from Downingtown, and now known as Dorlan's mills. When he bought it thirty-seven acres of land were

James M Dorlan

attached, and to this he added nearly two hundred more. This mill, operated successfully hy him for about fifty years, found a market for its paper in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. During this time he never was engaged in litigation with his patrons. About fifteen hands were employed to run the mill, which is now operated by his son, Sam- uel B. He was married in 1828 to Elizabeth Dowlin, to whom were born eleven children; the following are living : Samuel B .; Thomas; John D .; James; Esther Helena, married to Henry L. Mc- Connell, of Philadelphia; and Mary Elizabeth, married to Dr. C. G. Traichler. Mr. Dorlan is of English descent, and was the son of Samuel and Mary (Scott) Dor- lan. He started with no capital but his will and industry, and has been eminently successful in the race of life. He was elected jus- tice of the peace, but owing to his extensive business declined to serve.

In 1851 he was elected from Chester County a representative in the Legislature, and served a full term. Is a member of the Preshy- terian Church, and is highly re- spected in the community. His invention and patent to make paper impervious to water, to which he devoted much time and means, has given him celebrity, and made his name widely known.

RESIDENCE OF JAMES M. DORLAN, EAST BRANDYWINE.

519

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

DE BEELEN .- In the list of taxables in West Nant- meal, soon after the close of the Revolution, we find the name of " Baron Debillion." His full name is said to have been Jacob Francis Frederick Nugent, Baron de Beelen, but he signed himself simply Baron de Beelen Bertholf, and his place of residence " Head of little Brandywine." He was interested in botany, and obtained seeds and plants for cultivation from Humphry Marshall. Tradition says that he fled from his native land, and that his silverware, China, and French-plate looking-glasses were the wonder and admiration of the residents for miles around his home near Cambridge. His remittances ultimately failed, and his property passed into other hands.

DICKEY, REV. EBENEZER, D.D., was born near Ox- ford, Chester Co., Pa., March 12, 1772. His ancestors mi- grated from the north of Ireland, and were members of the Associate Presbyterian Church. His mother, whose maiden name was Jackson, descended from English Puritans.

He graduated with great credit at the University of Pennsylvania, of which Dr. John Ewing was then the pro- vost, in the year 1792. He was licensed in 1794 as a minister of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and in 1796 became pastor of the Associate Reformed con- gregations of Oxford and Octorara. His connection with Octorara was continued until 1800, and with Oxford until his death. His father and grandfather had both served as elders in the latter church.

In 1822 a union took place between a part of the Asso- ciate Reformed Synod and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and the Oxford congregation, with their pastor, came under the care of the General Assembly. Mr. Dickey had taken an active part in bringing about this union. In 1819 and 1820 he traveled extensively in Europe for the benefit of his health.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 140

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