History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 151

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 151

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).

The certificate was presented at a meeting held at the " Governor's house," in Philadelphia, 9, 4, 1684.

The children of William and Ann Garratt (as the name is written in the family Bible) were these : Ann, b. at Hosse, 12, 4, 1668, buried 9, 10, 1672; Mary, b. at Hose, 9th mo., 1670, m. Abel Noble, 1692; Samuel, b. at Harby, 5, 8, 1672, d. 1, 4, 1743-4; Hannah, b. at Harby, 4, 23, 1674, m. George Emlen, 1694; Sarah, b. 4, 23, 1676, m. Randal Croxson, 2, 8, 1702 ; Alice, b. 4, 24, 1678, m. Joseph Pennell, 2, 8, 1702; William, b. 2, 4, 1679, d. 1, 5, 1726-7 ; Thomas, b. 2d mo., 1681, died 12th mo., 1716-7 ; John, b. 1, 22, 1685-6, d. 8, 21, 1713.

Before leaving England, William Garrett and Samuel Levis had jointly purchased 1000 acres of land in Peon- sylvania by deeds of Aug. 9 and 10, 1684. The land was afterwards located in Willistown township. William Garrett was styled a " webster" in the old writings. He appears to have removed to Philadelphia before his death. His wife died there in 1722, and he in 1724.

Samuel Garrett married, in 1698, Jane, daughter of Robert and Hannah Pennell, of Middletown, born 5, 13, 1678, died 6, 27, 1736, and they had the following chil- dren : Mary, b. 4, 7, 1699, m. Thomas Oldman in 1721, and (second) Obadiah Eldridge ; Joseph, b. 2, 25, 1701, m. 2, 25, 1722, Mary Sharpless ; Hannah, b. 7, 18, 1704, m. William Lewis in 1728; Samuel, b. 10, 20, 1706, d. 1, 19, 1707 ; Samuel (2), b. 8, 22, 1708, d. 1, 29, 1747, m. 9th mo., 1731, Sarah Hibberd ; Nathan, b. 12, 13, 1711; James, b. 4, 17, 1714; Thomas, b. 10, 26, 1717 ; Jane, b. 4, 20, 1719.

William Garrett, Jr., married Mary Smith in 1709, and bad children,-John, Elizabeth, Isaac, Martha, Joshua, Mary, Hannah, William. Of these, Isaac settled in Wil- listown.

Thomas Garrett married, in 1704, Rebecca Vernon and settled in Willistown. He left four children,-William, Samuel, Susanna, and Hannah. His widow married Richard Jones, of Goshen.

Samuel Garrett, Jr., upon his marriage settled in Wil- listown, where he died, leaving four children, and his widow married Amos Yarnall. His children were Josiah, b. 1, 21, 1733, d. about 1794, m. Mary Yarnall; Jesse, b. 6, 18, 1735, d. 7, 7, 1811, m. Abigail Yarnall ; Samuel, b. 12, 2, 1742-3, m. Susanna Lewis; Aaron, b. 12, 27, 1746, d. 3, 18, 1815, m. Rachel Cox, 11, 30, 1769, daughter of Lawrence and Sarah Cox, of Willistown. She died 2, 4, 1815.

The children of Aaron and Rachel were Levi, Amos, Aaron, Sarah, Robert, and Mary. Aaron, Jr., married

Jane Hoopes, daughter of Jesse and Rachel, and had children, -- David, b. 11, 28, 1803, d. 10, 17, 1868, Rachel Y., Betsy, Jesse H., Aaron, and Jane. Of these, only David and Aaron married, and the former lived for several years of the last of his life immediately west of Birming- bam Meeting.

Robert Garrett, son of Aaron and Jane, married Albina Hoopes, daughter of Jesse and Rachel. His only repre- sentative is his grandson, Albin Garrett.

There was a George Garrett settled in Whiteland as early as 1722, who, with Ann, his wife, had children,-Ann, b. 8, 21, 1710, Ellen, Elizabeth, Alice, Thomas, George, William, Mary, and John. They were Friends, but are not known to have been related to the Garretts of Darby, Willistowa, etc.

GATCHELL, ELISHA, of East Nottingham, was a prominent and active citizen in his day, and had settled in that township prior to 1716. He died at an advanced age in the winter of 1753-54, and his widow, Rachel, about 1760. They became Friends after their arrival in this country. Their children were Sarah, m. to Andrew Job, 9, 24, 1726; Elizabeth, m. 9, 24, 1726, to Thomas Hughes, and again, to Edward Mitchell ; Abigail, m. 10, 24, 1747, to Enoch Job, and again, to John Price; Elisha, m. 8, 3, 1733, to Mary, daughter of Henry Worley ; Hannah, m. to Joshua Brown ; Esther, m. to Jeremiah Browo; and Anne, m. to Timothy Kirk.

The children of Elisha and Mary Gatchell were Jere- miah, b. 9, 2, 1734, m. 7, 3, 1753, to Hannah Brown ; Nathan, b. 4, 29, 1737, died young ; Lydia, b. 7, 26, 1741, d. 12, 6, 1765 ; Joseph, b. 11, 7, 1743, m. 1, 10, 1765, Hannah Churchman ; Elisha, b. 12, 22, 1746, d. 3, 25, 1758; Samuel, b. 3, 18, 1749 ; David, b. 6, 25, 1751.

Samuel, son of Jeremiah and Hannah, of Lancaster County, m. 3, 29, 1787, Phebe Allen, of East Marlborough. Their son Elisha, born 10, 20, 1789, married Martha, daughter of George Martin, 11, 28, 1816, and resided in Newlin township.

Dr. Elisha Gatchiell was born in Newlin township, Chester Co., April 18, 1828. His parents were Elisha and Martha Gatchell. They were members of the Society of Friends, of which society the doctor was also a member. He was educated at Phillips' Academy, Andover, Mass .; at Kim- ball Union Academy, New Hampshire; and at Brown Uni- versity, Rhode Island. He graduated M.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in 1855. In that year he located at Kennet Square, Chester Co., and entered upon the practice of his profession. He soon found himself engaged in a large and lucrative practice, which he was obliged partly to decline on account of his feeble health, when he became principal of the Eaton Academy in that place. In the summer of 1857 he left home with the purpose of seeking a residence in Kansas, hoping to be benefited by the change of locality. He became indisposed, however, on his way, in Philadelphia, and died Oct. 5, 1857.

Dr. Gatchell was distinguished for a diligent and thorough investigation of every subject to which his attention was directed. He was a good classical scholar, and had a slight acquaintance with some of the modern European languages, and considerable familiarity, for one of his age, with Eng-

562

HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

lish literature. He gave high promise of future success, not only as a physician, but as a general scholar. He was ardent in the pursuit of his'undertakings, and a man of probity and integrity, and was highly esteemed in the com- munity in which his lot was cast.

GAUSE, CHARLES, of East Nottingham, married Jane, daughter of Evan Powell, of New Garden, and died in 1732, leaving two sons,-Evan, b. 1, 23, 1724-5, and Charles, b. 3, 11, 1731. The name is generally written Goss in the old records, and it is believed to have been so spelled by the family. Charles Gause married Grace Dixon, of Mill Creek, in 1753, and had several children. They went to what was then called the Redstone settlement, in the western part of the State. Evan Gause married " by a

feet in height. His father, a brave soldier of the Revolu- tionary war, was of that hardy race, the Scotch-Irish, while his mother was of English origin, both of whom lived to the good old age of fourscore. Jonathan Gause's early education was obtained at a common country school, and he was intended by his father for a mechanic ; therefore, when it was thought he had enough book-learning for such a business, he was apprenticed to a master-mason, and worked at that trade two summers. But now an accident occurred which not only changed his vocation, but shaped and colored his whole future. One day he was helping his father in the harvest-field, when a sudden storm arose. He hurried to the barn, threw himself, wet and tired, upon the new-mown hay, where he soon fell asleep, and did not wake

priest," for which he made an acknowledgment to New Garden Monthly Meeting, 3, 30, 1754, but the maiden name of his wife, Hannah, does not appear. They lived in East Marlborough, and their son William married, about 1781, Mary Beverly, of that township, by whom he had a large family of children.

JONATHAN GAUSE was a veteran teacher, who for more than half a century impressed a lasting influence upon hun- dreds of the best young men and women of Chester County. He was born Oct. 23, 1786, in East Marlborough town- ship, ou a farm adjoining that of the late Bayard Taylor, and now owned by his nephews, F. and W. H. Hannum, one mile north of Kennet Square. He was the third son of William and Mary Gause, and one of a family of eleven children, six boys and five girls, the former averaging six

until some time in the night, when he was aroused by a severe pain in one limb. He suffered greatly for some weeks, and when he arose from a sick-bed it was found that his leg had shrunk, and he would probably be lame for lifc. He did not, like Byron, turn misanthrope, but his natural intuitions asserted themselves, and he became a teacher. He now entered as a pupil the boarding-school of Enoch Lewis, in New Garden, where he obtained an ex- cellent knowledge of English grammar, and made consider- able acquaintance with the common branches of mathemat- ical science, embracing the elements of geometry, algebra, surveying, mensuration, plane and spherical trigonometry, and the principles of practical astronomy. His first essay in teaching was in 1807, in a little school-house which now stands in the Friends' meeting-house yard at Marshallton.

563

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

He was married, 9th mo. 13, 1810 (while teaching at Mar- shallton), to Ann, daughter of Robert and Mary Ingram, of West Bradford. In 1813 the West Chester Academy was completed, and Jonathan Gause solicited to take charge of it. He accepted this important post, and opened the academy October 18th of that year. While here he bought from his father-in-law a farm on the Brandywine, about one mile from Marshallton, afterwards known as Green wood Dell Boarding-School. The West Chester Academy flour- ished so well under Mr. Gause's charge that the trustees thought he was making too much ; they wished to revoke their bargain and make another and a oloser one; but to this Mr. Gause would not submit, and he went to Green- wood Dell. He was, perhaps, about a year on the farm at this time, but his successor not succeeding, the trustees found they had made a mistake in permitting Mr. Gause to leave. They accordingly came to him and offered him his price. He again took charge of the academy ; again it flourished and became the most celebrated in Eastern Pennsylvania. In April, 1829, he left the academy and opened a select school in West Chester, which he taught until 1832, when he returned to Greenwood Dell and opened a school therc. This school became very popular, and he continued it until 1839. He was now offered the principalship of the Unionville Academy, at Unionville, which he accepted, and entered upon his duties in that year (1839). Here he had a splendid school, employing one or two assistants. In 1847 he again returned to his Brandy- wine home at Greenwood Dell, and took with him a thriving school. There he continued until 1865, having taught school fifty-eight years. He now retired forever from a profession which he had loved, adorned, and elevated, and which had yielded him a good living and a handsome for- tune. After his removal from West Chester to West Brad- ford he lost his first wife, and after a few years of widower- hood he married a daughter-Eliza A .- of Dr. Abraham and Rachel Baily, of West Bradford. His only daughter by his first marriage was married in September, 1827, to Matthias Pennypacker, a highly-respected member of the Chester County bar. By his second wife he had a son,- Emmor Eugene,-born in 1838, and who died 2d mo. 8, 1862, aged twenty-four years.

This venerable teacher spent the last eight years of his life with his widowed daughter, Mary I. Peunypacker, and his grandson, Thomas Pennypacker, on a beautiful farm on the Brandywine, where he died April 9, 1873, nearly eighty-seven years of age, but in the full possession of his faculties, and with a Christian trust in the blessed promise of a loving Saviour. Among those of his pupils in Chester County we may mention the names of Bayard Taylor, Judge J. Smith Futhey, Hon. Washington Townsend, Hon. John Hickman, Dr. Franklin Taylor, U. V. Pennypacker, Esq., John Rutter, Esq., R. E. Monaghan, Esq., Joseph Hemp- hill, Esq., Dr. Wilmer Worthington, W. W. Jefferis, Henry Sharples, Torbert Ingram, Hon. James B. Everhart, Henry Fleming, Alfred Sharples, William P. Townsend, J. Lacey Darlington, and others, who received from him the step- ping-stone to their subsequent learned and professional stations in public and private life. Jonathan Gause was a born teacher, and had that happy combination of intellectual

faculties which enabled him to teach clearly and impres- sively whatever he undertook. He was a good talker, and for many years of his life was an acceptable minister among Friends. His judgment was good, and his memory excel- lent. He had ever been a great reader, and had treasured up a fund of knowledge, which he delighted to impart to young or old, and he seemed to enjoy nothing more than to teach others.

His methods in school were ingenious and often strik- ingly original. He frequently held what he called a "gram- mar congress," in which the pupils were called upon to give their opinions in regard to forming a new language, and to point out what words are the most important in our inter- course with each other. Under him the dull boy became, by the inspiration of his influence, alert and often bright in some particular departments of study; the timid, shrinking, sensitive pupil grew hopeful, reliant, and often aggressive; the boisterous, careless, and indifferent became inspired with high resolves to attain a worthy manhood. As a dis- ciplinarian he was peculiarly felicitous; there were no arbi- trary rules promulgated ; every pupil became a member of his family, an object of his parental care. Many poor young men were by him trusted for board and tuition until they could acquire an education or go into business and pay him. He was one of the first educators in our country who advo- cated the equal education of the sexes, and admitted both boys and girls into his school, and even men and women. His great love of man was intensified when applied to his pupils, and this county never had a teacher whose love and sympathy for his scholars was so great and perfect. Other teachers have rivaled him in intellectual attainments and qualifications, although his were excellent, but few or none have combined with them a body so strong, a temper so even, and a love so divine.

GAWTHROP, THOMAS, born 1709, died 9, 29, 1780, married Isabel Crosfield, and lived in the county of West- moreland, England. Whether they ever came to this country we are not informed, but their sons James and George made Chester County their home. George mar- ried, 12, 31, 1772, Jane, daughter of James and Jane Allen, of East Marlborough, and settled in Londongrove. Their daughter Hannah married Swithin Shortledge in 1799. Thomas, their son, married, 11, 13, 1800, Eliza- beth Thompson, and bad children,-Sarah, Ann, Daniel, Jane, Allen (now of Wilmington), Lydia, Elizabeth, and James.

Jane married Daniel Thompson, and Elizabeth married Nicholas W. Taylor, both daughters of George and Jane.

George, Jr., married, 1, 20, 1813, Amy Chambers, and his brother James married, 2, 18, 1808, Hannah Marshall, of West Bradford.

GHEEN, JOSEPH, married Dec. 7, 1768, at Christ Church, Philadelphia, Elizabeth Ingram, and lived perhaps in Goshen. His children were Thomas, John, William, Joseph, Jonathan, and Levi. Thomas was three times married, his first wife being Alice, his second a Brinton, and the third Ann West, a widow. He had children, -- William A., Levi A., Elizabeth (married David West), Martha, Sarah, and Mary Ann.

John Gheen married two sisters, Sarah and Hannah

564

HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Hicks, and had children,-Hannah, Elizabeth, Thomas, Edward, John, Enos, and Mary. Of these, Edward mar- ried Hannah Hickman, by whom he had one daughter, and by a second wife, Phebe Hickman, was the father of Fran- cis H. Ghcen, of West Chester, Lieut. Edward H. Gheen, U. S. navy, and of John J. Gheen, Esq., of the Chester County bar.

Jonathan Gheen, born Aug. 13, 1777, died June 17, 1861, married Hannah Chamberlin, and left three children, -Amy, Susan, and John W.

Levi Gheen, born March 3, 1783, died Dec. 12, 1839, married Mary Chamberlin, and resided in East Goshen, and had children,-Titus W., Jonathan, Palmer, Lydia (mar- ried John McCauley), Elizabeth, and Taylor.

Our older citizens say that the name was formerly pro- nounced Gahagan, and in confirmation of this we find an advertisement which mentions Thomas Gahagan, in New Providence (now Montgomery County), in 1760. In 1768 the same person doubtless is named Thomas Gheen.

GIBBONS, JOHN, the founder of one of the largest families of Chester County, was one of the earliest settlers under the proprietary. His name is found in Proud's "History of Pennsylvania," among the eminent persons of the Society of Friends who settled near Chester in 1681 .* He migrated from Warminster, in Wiltshire, England, where his family resided, as appears by the church records, as early as the middle of the sixteenth century. He and his wife Margery were among the best-educated members of the society, and appear to have been in very comfortable circumstances. His name is found on the Holmes map as an original purchaser of two tracts from the proprietary, one in Thornbury and one in Bethel. He occupied the latter as soon as his improvements were completed, and became one of the largest land-owners of the county. He was one of the jurors impaneled for the trial of Margaret Mattson, on an indictment for witchcraft, which took place before William Penn and his Council, at Philadelphia, in February, 1683-4. There is a tradition in the family that he framed the com- promise verdict which prevented a disagreement of the jury. They were hanging witches in old England and New England about that time, and the president of Harvard College was an active participant in that savage remedy for an imaginary crime.

John and Margery both lost their membership in the Society of Friends. The latter became involved in the Keith controversy. She was a fearless and resolute woman, and in her public communications maintained the views of Keith, that the doctrines and discipline of the society were not sufficiently guarded against infidelity. For this she was disowned with many others. John survived his wife, and died on his Bethel plantation about the year 1721.

They had two sons, John and James, the former of whom

married Sarah Howard, of Philadelphia, and died in 1706, leaving three children.

He was disowned in 1702 for taking side with his mother, for standing up at the close of a meeting and charging John Lea to be no gospel minister, and for keeping on his hat at the time of prayer.

In 1708, James married Ann, daughter of George Pearce, of Thornbury, an elder of the society. They removed to Westtown, and occupied the Westtown plantation of 600 acres, which the father of .James conveyed to him by deed of gift on his marriage. He was one of the representatives of Chester County in the General Assembly for three years, in 1717, '18, '19. His wife was recommended as a minister, 3, 3, 1731. They had three children,-Mary, b. 1709, married John Hannum ; James, b. in the winter of 1710- 11 ; Joseph, b. 8, 24, 1712.

James, the father, died in 1732, and in his will devised to his wife 100 acres of the homestead, and the remainder to his son James, together with 1200 acres in Nantmeal, 250 acres in another tract, and half his share in the Goshen mill. To his son Joseph he gave 400 acres adjoining the homestead, 1000 acres on a branch of Conestoga, 250 acres of the land bought from James Harlan, and the other half share in the mill. Ann Gibbons, widow of James, married William Pim, of East Caln, 1, 13, 1733-4, and died in 1753.

JAMES GIBBONS (2) married, 8, 10, 1734, Jane Sheward, a recommended minister in the Society of Friends. He was a valuable and highly-honored citizen, and was a representative in the General Assembly from Chester County for eight consecutive years, -- from 1737 to 1744, inclusive. He died in 1745. His widow, a woman of rare mental endowments, survived him for more than half a century. She superintended the education of her children, a task for which she was fully competent, and which she most faith- fully performed. Dr. William Darlington, who remembered her very well, used to speak of her as the queen of the county. Her style of dress, while in strict conformity with the sim- plicity of Friends, was peculiarly becoming to her tall and graceful person and native dignity of manner. After the battle of Brandywine all the live-stock of her farm was driven off for the use of the British army. She deter- mined to recover, if possible, a favorite cow, to which she was much attached, and for that purpose made a personal application to Gen. Howe. He received her courteously, and she stated her case. "Madam," said the general, " may I ask your name ?" "My name," she said, "is Jane Gib- bons." " Have you not a son in the rebel army ?" he in- quired. "I have a son in George Washington's army," she answered. " I am afraid, madam," he replied, " that you love your cow better than your king !" Without re- plying to the impeachment, she only said, " I bid thee fare- well," and immediately retired. Her suit failed with Gen. Howe, but the cow escaped from the enemy, and found her way back to her kind mistress.

This good lady died Jan. 12, 1798, at the age of ninety- six years. They left four children,-James (3), William, Jane, and Thomas.

The children of John Gibbons (2) were John, Re- becca (who married John Garton, 2, 2, 1725), and another,

* William Coole, of Devizes, in Wiltshire, writing to his sister Sarah, widow of William Bezer, 12, 24, 1683, says, " I sent several letters by they (when John Gibhens & Rob. Pile & Edward Beazer went) & A Box with hutens & knives & other things. I hope they are Rec'd, because I saw yesterday 2 leters from Roh. Pile." Wil- liam Bezer was still in Wiltshire, Oct. 7, 1682, so that it is likely John Gibbons and his companions did not arrive in Pennsylvania till the next year.

565

BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

who probably died young. John (3) married, 9, 18, 1724, Sarah Pennell, daughter of John, of Aston, and died leaving one child, Mary, who married - Wentworth. The widow married, 11, 10, 1732, Joseph Pyle.

The children of James and Jane (Sheward) Gibbons were James, b. 5, 18, 1736, d. 10, 17, 1823; William, b. 11, 4, 1737, d. 10, 30, 1803; Jane, b. 11, 14, 1740, m. John Peters ; Thomas, b. 11, 23, 1742, d. 8, 27, 1823.

Joseph Gibbons, son of James and Ann, married, 3, 23, 1734, Hannah Marshall, sister of Humphry Marshall, the botanist, born 9, 7, 1715. They resided on the 400 acres in Westtown given him by his father, where he died about the close of the Revolution. He was a very active man, both in church and state, and a member of Assembly for fifteen consecutive years, 1748-63. His children were,-

1. James, m. 5, 6, 1756, Deborah Hoopes, daughter of Daniel and Alice, of (now) West Chester, and settled on part of his father's land in Lancaster County. His son Daniel, who married Hannah Wierman, was the father of Dr. Joseph Gibbons, of Enterprise. The latter m. Phebe, daughter of Thomas Earle, a prominent anti-slavery leader, and their daughter, Marianna Gibbons, edits The Journal, in which she is assisted by her father. Phebe (Earle) Gibbons is the author of " Pennsylvania Dutch," and other essays, etc.

2. John, m. Martha Griffith, and resided in Philadel- phia.

3. Joseph, m. 5, 9, 1759, Margery Hannum, of Con- cord, by whom he had thirteen children. They resided and for many years kept tavern in Springfield township, and he represented Delaware County in the Assembly for two years, 1792-93.

4: Abraham, b. 7, 15, 1741, m. 4, 13, 1763, Lydia Garrett, daughter of William and Lydia, of Willistown; second marriage, 5, 27, 1790, to Mary Canby, daugliter of Oliver and Elizabeth, of Wilmington. He settled in Lan- caster County, on part of his father's 1000 acres. His son Abraham, born 7, 8, 1791, died 10, 12, 1858, at or near West Chester. William Gibbons, the eldest son, born in 1764, married first Jane Massey, 1, 18, 1787, by whom he had a daughter, Massey, who married John J. Carpenter, and left a daughter, Salome J., afterwards wife of Thomas H. Burrowes, the champion of public education. Abra- ham Gibbons, of Coatesville, is a son of William by his second wife, Hannah (Pusey), a much-esteemed minister among Friends, who died 4, 2, 1868, in West Chester.

5. Mary, b. 2, 15, 1743, d. 4, 4, 1827, m. 7, 22, 1760, John Hill, son of William and Mary Hill, of Middle- town. They had several children, of whom Sidney became the wife of Edward B. Temple, of Pennsbury.

6. Ann, m. 10, 23, 1765, Isaac Lloyd, of Darby.

7. Jacob, m. Jane Gibbons, daughter of James and Eleanor (Peters) Gibbons.

8. Hannah, m. 9, 24, 1778, Norris Jones, and finally removed to Philadelphia.

9. Rachel, m. 10, 29, 1777, John Hunt, of Darby. She died 2, 15, 1845; was the author of a book mentioned elsewhere. Her grandson, Dr. J. Gibbons Hunt, is a well- known microscopist of Philadelphia.

JAMES GIBBONS (3), son of James and Jane, was edn- cated chiefly in his father's house, by his parents; was a diligent student, and became. an accomplished scholar, lin- guist, and mathematician. He married Eleanor, daughter of William Peters, Dec. 1, 1756. He inherited the West- town property from his father, and became by profession a farmer. He was for some time treasurer of Chester County, and was a representative of the county in the General Assembly for the three years immediately preceding the Declaration of Independence. A member of the Society of Friends, and a non-combatant, he retired from all public service at the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, but in private pursuits he was a valuable and honored citizen. At his residence, on his plantation, he opened a private school for instruction in the French, Latin, and Greek languages, and several of the young men of the county, who afterwards became honorably distinguished, were among his pupils. When disputes arose among neighbors, they were generally referred to him for settlement, and in open quarrels he was the peacemaker of his township. His judgment and advice were rarely appealed from, even when they involved rights of property. His services as a surveyor were in frequent requisition, and many of the deeds and wills executed in Chester County were prepared by him. About the year 1780 he removed to Philadelphia, where he opened a clas- sical school on Pine Street, below Second, which was largely attended. But he soon grew weary of city life, and returned to his ancestral home. He retained this property until 1795, when he sold it to the Yearly Meeting of Friends for the site of a boarding-school for the education and religious instruction of children of Friends. The cause of education was one in which he took a lively interest, and when the committee of the Yearly Meeting appointed to purchase a proper site for the school signified a preference for his property, he fixed in his own mind a price for it, which was much less than its actual value. His intention was to en- courage the scheme by a donation, and he preferred to do it in that way. He imagined that the members of the com- mittee would understand and appreciate his motives, in fixing the price of a parallelogram containing six hundred acres of land at the low rate of ten pounds per acre, Penn- sylvania currency. But in this he was disappointed. The chairman of the committee was an Englishman, living in Philadelphia, a sharp, loquacious, and successful " man of business," who never lost an opportunity for a display of his business acumen. When James named to the commit- tee the price which he proposed to accept for his plantation, the chairman, after a brief silence, remarked that the com- mittee had been viewing another property in the county which he thought would suit them quite as well, and per- haps a little better on some accounts, which could be ob- tained on more reasonable terms; " but," he added, "if thou wilt sell at nine pounds per acre, I would be willing to advise the committee to take thy land at that price." James was indignant. He quickly replied, " Why, friends, you deal like jockeys! If you are not content with my offer, our business is ended !" " Quite content ! quite con- tent !" the other members of the committee at once re- sponded. They were as much mortified by the suggestion of their chairman as James was incensed by it. The deed

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 151

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