History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 192

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

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worked two years as a jour- neyman. About the year 1834 he purchased of his father one hundred acres, upon which he has since resided. On this he has erected nearly all the build- ings, and has made many val- uable improvements to the place. In 1827 he was mar- ried to Catharine, daughter of Charles Jones, of Montgomery County, by whom he has had seven children,-Benjamin F., deceased, leaving a wife and two children ; Mary J , married to William Stephens; Edwin M. ; Hannah ; Adaline, married to Abraham Delp; Sarah J .; and Esther Ann, married to Gidcon Ruth. He has been school director, and served in other local positions. His family are regular attendants of the Baptist Church. He is a practical farmer, and has been for forty years very largely

in the dairy business. He is a Republican in politics. His farm is situated about two and a half miles from Phoenixville, in a region very early settled by some of his ancestors. He enjoys the respect and confi- dence of the community in which he resides.

RESIDENCE AND FARM OF C E. SUPLEE, SCHUYLKILL.

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

STRAWBRIDGE, THOMAS, the son of James Straw- bridge, who settled in Londonderry township, in that part now called Penn, prior to 1747, was a native thereof. He was a member of the Convention of July 15, 1776, that formed the first State constitution ; a captain in Col. Evan's battalion of Chester County militia in January, 1777; and appointed sub-lieutenant of the county Oct. 16, 1777. He seems to have been an ardent, active patriot of the Revo- lution, but we have no further record of him.

STRODE, GEORGE, of the parish of Milbrook, in the county of Southampton, England, grocer, was a purchaser of 500 acres from William Penn, July 25, 1682. He came over soon after, and his land was located in Concord township. He appears to have been in some way connected with the Green family of that township.

George Strode, of East Bradford, " being antient," died about 1757, and was probably a son of the first named. His children, so far as known, were George, John, and William. John was the father of Richard, b. March 7, 1742, d. 5, 22, 1814. Richard married Sarah Hickman, 12, 28, 1763, daughter of Francis Hickman, of Thornbury, and was the father of Mary, Joseph, Caleb, Francis, Ann, Richard, Joho, and Moses Strode, who all died young except Joseph and Richard. Joseph married Esther, danghter of Joseph and Edith Cheyney, born Dec. 8, 1768, died March 31, 1827. He was born Oct. 22, 1766, and died May 10, 1827, leaving children,-Caleb, Sarah, Joseph C., Edith, Ann (m. to Lewis Levis), Martha (now wife of Caleb Brinton), and Esther, all now deceased, and without issue, except Martha Brinton.

JOSEPH C. STRODE was born April 24, 1796, in East Bradford township, where his father, Joseph Strode, lived, near Strode's mill, and after absorbing such learning as was to be had at the public schools was sent to the boarding- school of John Gummere, the celebrated mathematician, at Burlington, N. J., where he pursued the study of Latin and French, and perfected himself in the higher branches of mathematics, in which latter science he was one of the most able proficients of the age. Returning home, he opened a boarding-school for boys, which soon became known and successful. Among his scholars were Hon. William Darlington, Hon. Washington Townsend, Jesse James, Esq., Dr. J. B. Brinton, James Jefferis, and others, and at a later period Hon. John Hickman, J. Edgar Thomson, Isaac Darlington, and a host of others, who have since made their mark in distinguished positions of trust and honor. After carrying on his school for about twenty years he was induced to accept a position as civil engineer on the then Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, which he held for a few years. He afterwards returned to his school, which he conducted until about the year 1846, when he finally retired from it, and it passed into other hands. He then found amusement and an outlet for his exuberant mathematical talent in making the necessary cal- culations, and in assisting his friends and neighbors in in- troducing hydraulic rams on their premises. He was always pleased to give to any one who wished the benefit of his knowledge, and thus rendered his leisure very useful. Some years before his death he removed, with three maiden sisters, to the borough of West Chester, where he died

Dec. 31, 1873. He was a thorough gentleman, of modest, kindly disposition, and he may safely be said to have passed away without ever having made an enemy. He was never married.

STUBBS, JOSEPH I .- Daniel Stubbs was an early settler of Lancaster County, and was the father of Isaac, who married Hannah Brown, To them were born eight children, of whom the sixth was Joseph I. Stubbs, born 1st mo. 2, 1818, in Harford Co., Md., in sight of the rocks of Deer Creek. His grandfather on the maternal side was Jeremiah Brown, one of the pioneers in Lancaster County. Joseph I. spent his boyhood on the farm, and was after- wards many years in mercantile business in East Notting- ham township. He has been a resident of this county thirty years. His farm of one hundred and forty acres is situated two and a half miles from Oxford, and is called " Maple- wood." It is located in a fine region of country, and was a part of the original Pngh tract.

He was married in 1852 to Martha, daughter of Joseph and Ruth (Wilson) Pierson, from which union six children were born, viz. : Lauren P., Howard L., Josephine, Isaac Wilson, Adaline (deceased), and Walter Daniel. Mr. Stubbs is of English and Quaker ancestry on both sides.

SWAYNE .- Among the earliest Quaker families that settled Chester County was that of Francis Swayne (who by an old deed is styled practitioner of medicine). He was the son of William Swayne, of Ockingham, Liberty of Wilts, Berkshire, England, who died in 1693, leaving two sons and a danghter,-Francis, the emigrant, Judith, and William. To the latter he left by will his honse and lands in Ockingham : to his daughter, house and ground called the Harpe-bien, Bienfield, and to his son Francis, " All that house & Land, and the Store in the common field of Bien- field, by the wayside going to Bienfield church," and making him whole executor of " All my goods, cattle, corn," etc.

Francis Swayne married Elizabeth Milton, and had re- moved from Bienfield to East Hampstead Park some years previous to coming to America, and his son William records that " about the year 1704 my father and mother and my- self were convinced and received the truth."

William Swayne, eldest son of Francis and Elizabeth, was born the 30th of 1st mo., 1689, in the parish of Bienfield, and when about eighteen sailed from Bristol " on board a ship called the 'Saulsbury,'" and in about five weeks landed at Philadelphia on the 15th of 9th mo., 1708, and in about a year and a half thereafter Francis and Elizabeth, with their remaining children,-Francis, Edward, Eliza- beth, Jane, and Sarah,-landed at New Castle, on the Dela- ware, where they were met and welcomed by their son Wil- liam, who had preceded them. They went to what is now East Marlborough township, Chester Co., and purchased and settled on one of the lots of land joining the south side of Marlborough Street, containing 425 acres, it being then an uncultivated wilderness. The deed of conveyance to Francis Swayne bears date 12th day of September, A.D. 1711. Francis and his son William were both prominent and active members of the Society of Friends.

In the year 1713, Francis went on an extended religious visit to Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Starting from

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HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Philadelphia, holding meetings by the way, to Flushing, New- port, Dartmouth, thence to Nantucket, Rochester, Falmouth, Barnstable, Sandwich, Yarmouth, Plymouth, Scituate, Boston, Salem, Lynn, Marblehead, Hampton, Amesbury, Newburyport, Portsmouth, etc. Several of these places were visited twice. During the journey, which occupied three months, from 7th mo. 24th to 10th mo. 21st, about seventy meetings were held. When we take into account the difficulties of traveling in those early days, we are led to conclude that the emigrant ancestor of the Swaynes was possessed of a fair share of the zeal which characterized the early Friends.

While in Nantucket he met with a family of the same name as his own, who had settled there in 1662, from some town east of Boston. They proved to have been of the same family in England.

There is a family tradition that Francis, while resting for lunch, in the harvest-time, under the shade of some par- ticular tree, remarked that he would like to be buried there ; his wish was remembered, and when, in 1721, 9th mo. 30th, he died, he was interred on the spot selected by himself, the place was inelosed with a wall, and for upwards of eighty years was used as the family burying-ground.

Francis Swayne during his lifetime conveyed to his eldest son William, the pioneer, by deed dated 9th mo. 8, 1717, 195 acres of his original purchase, bordering on the Marlborough Street.

William, on 7th mo. 29, 1720, at the age of thirty-two, married Elizabeth Dell, daughter of Thomas and Mary, of Ridley, now Delaware County. He died in 1735, at the age of forty-seven. Elizabeth died in 1743. Their children were,-1. William (2), b. 4, 11, 1721 ; m. 10, 1, 1743, Ann Pusey, daughter of Caleb and Prudence, of East Marl- borough ; died 9, 8, 1785. Ann, born 4, 2, 1723; died 8, 27, 1802. 2. Francis, b. 12, 18, 1722; m. 3, 18, 1748, Betty Baily, daughter of Joel, of West Marlborough. Betty, born 1, 8, 1728; died -. 3. John, b. 8, 27, 1724; d. 2, 28, 1755, unmarried. 4. Thomas, b. 9, 19, 1726 ; m. 3, 18, 1749, Mary Sharpless, daughter of John, of Ridley ; d. 12, 23, 1792. 5. Mary, b. 3, 29, 1728 ; m. 4, 15, 1748, Thomas Pusey, son of Caleb and Prudence, of East Marlborough. She died 4, 18, 1802. 6. Elizabeth, b. 8, 22, 1729 ; m. 2, 11, 1751, Israel Howell, son of Evan, of Edgmont. She died 4, 29, 1757. 7. Samuel, b. 12, 13, 1730 ; m. 6, 16, 1756, Hannah Hayes, daughter of William and Jane, of East Marlborough; d. 7, 25, 1808. Hannah, b. 1, 1, 1736; d. 9, 13, 1799. 8. Joseph, b. 6, 22, 1732 ; died in infancy. 9. Ann, b. 3, -, 1735; m. 4, 10, 1754, George Webb, of Kennet, son of Daniel. She died 4, 24, 1764.

The descendants of William and Elizabeth Swayne are numerous, and mostly have lived in Chester and Delaware Counties, and are to be found among many of the old fam- ilies of the two counties, having intermarried with (besides those before mentioned) the Woodwards, Copes, Marshalls, Jacksons, Pennocks, Phillipses, Thomases, Wickershams, Seals, Bailys, Woods, Barnards, Houses, Bancrofts, Noblets, Hornes, Yarnalls, Waltons, Hadleys, Taggarts, Grays, etc.

Joel Swayne, late of East Marlborough, a grandson of William (2), and son of Benjamin and Susanna, was born

5th mo. 22, 1804, married, 10th mo. 11, 1827, Lydia Ann Jackson, daughter of Israel and Sarah, of West Grove, and died 5th mo. 9, 1840. He was a public-spirited man and active in the cause of education and reforms, and, together with the late William Jackson, an uncle by marriage, strongly advocated a thorough public-school system.

In 1839 he was elected one of the members from this county to the State Legislature, and died while a member of that body. He was an indefatigable student, and pos- sessed a large fund of scientific and literary learning, and the papers and periodicals of the day frequently contained productions in prose and poetry from his pen. He pos- sessed poetic talents of a very high order, his home feelings and attachments were of the strongest, and his admiration of the beauties of nature, particularly in his native county, were intense, and beautifully expressed in his poem entitled " Home":

"Where beauteous streams rich valleys part, 'Mid Pennsylvania's cultured hills, What marvel that a minstrel's heart- Where feeling's pulse with fervor thrills, Spontaneous to life's joys or ills- Should feel the tide of rapture start When gazing on such scenes as these, Adorned hy Home's sweet witcheries ?"

Edward Swayne, son of Benjamin and Sarah P., who was the son of Caleb, who was the son of William (2), was born 1st mo. 15, 1826, and died 11th mo. 18, 1846, before he had reached his twenty-first year. He possessed a poetic temperament of the highest order, and had he lived would no doubt have taken a prominent place in the literary world. His feelings were intense, and his expression of poetic images vivid and true to nature, and his flow of lan- guage required a swift pen to keep pace with it when the poetic mood was on him. His poems are mostly short, and addressed to friends or contained in letters. It is to be hoped that they may yet be collected and published in book form.

Lieut. Joel J. Swayne, the youngest son of William and Mary Ann (Marshall), who was the son of Benjamin, the son of William (2), was born -, 1837, in Pennsbury township. When the war of the Rebellion began he was engaged in business in East Marlborough. Being im- pressed that the war was to be a protracted and desperate one, he urged the importance of promptly organizing mili- tary companies, and with Col. Fred Taylor and one or two others raised and organized the Kennet Rifle Company, which was afterwards incorporated with the 1st Pennsyl- vania Rifles, or " Bucktail" Regiment.

Joel, who with characteristic modesty did not aspire to the position of a commissioned officer, though deserving it, was made sergeant, but was afterwards elected second lieu- tenant of the company. He remained continuously with the men from the time the company was organized, laboring assiduously, by drill-exercise, to perfect them in that dis- cipline which he considered of most importance in the effective soldier.

The Kennet Rifles were present at the battle of Dranes- ville, the opening engagement of the war, and proved their training by their coolness under fire. Subsequently, Lieut. Swayne was appointed adjutant of a battalion of the

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" Bucktails," detailed for service in the Shenandoah Val- ley. He was fatally wounded at Harrisonburg, June 6, 1862, and died at the hospital in Harrisburg about three weeks thereafter. Of his character we will let his comrades- in-arms speak for him :

" He has fallen in the holy cause of Liberty and Union, and yet he lives in the cherished record of a bright and heroic example. He has indeed left among us a name all bright,- without stain or blemish in great things or small. He had entire command of his own spirit. He was gentle yet firm, amiable yet decisive, respectful to all, yet commanding obedience from his men at will. He had that admirable finish to his character which enabled him to act with discretion and self-possession on all occasions. Hence he obtained the entiro confi- dence of men in all he attempted to do.

"Swayne's proficiency was far from being aocidental : he was a most diligent military student. He not only aspired to excel, hut he toiled with mind and body to become an accomplished soldier and officer, and he succeeded well.

"The steady balance of his mind, his patient industry, his consci- entious performance of duty, may doubtless he largely attributed to the sound principles of morality and justice instilled into his mind in early life. The foundations of his character were laid sure. A strong love of free institutions and firm regard for the rights of man formed the motive-power which moved his soul to action and made him capable of the nohlest deeds."

Francis Swayne (2), son of Francis and Elizabeth, was born in East Hampstead, Berkshire, England, came to America in 1710, married, 4th mo. 10, 1724, Hester Dicks, daughter of Peter, of Providence, (now) Delaware Co .; date of death unknown. They resided in West Caln. Their children were John, who died unmarried, Joshua, Caleb, Sarah, Deborah, and Ann. Of these, Joshua (1) married, about the year 1748, Phebe St. Clair, daughter of William and Phebe. They resided in West Caln, where they both died in 1760. Their children-Samuel, Susan- nah, John, Joshua (2), and Esther-were born between the years 1749 and 1758, in West Caln.

Joshua (2), born 6th mo. 19, 1755, when of a suitable age, was apprenticed to an ironsmith, who removed to Vir- ginia, taking young Joshua with him. After serving his time out he settled in Jefferson County, near Harper's Ferry, where he became possessed of one of the finest farms in that region.

The children of Joshua (2) and Rebecca (Smith) were Samuel, John, Thomas, Joshua, and Noah H. The family removed from Virginia to Ohio, where they were prosper- ous farmers. Noah H., the youngest, studied law, and during Jackson's administration was appointed a United States attorney for Ohio. He practiced law there success- fully for a number of years, and on Jan. 25, 1862, was appointed by President Lincoln a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, a position which he honorably and acceptably filled till January, 1881, a period of nine- teen years, when advancing age and a desire to complete some literary undertakings induced him to resign the po- sition.

Judge Swayne was born Dec. 7, 1804. He married Sarah Ann Wager, of Virginia; they have four sons and a daughter. The eldest son, Gen. J. Wager Swayne, distin- guished himself in the late war, and was appointed at its close an assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau.

Deborah, daughter of Francis (2), married Enoch Butler, son of Noble, of Uwchlan. Caleb Swayne, son of Francis

(2), was born about the year 1727, married, 12th mo. 1, 1749, Lydia Bruce, daughter of James, of East Caln. Their children were Francis, and James, born about 1751-2, who married, 11th mo. 17, 1773, Hannah Swayne, daughter of Francis and Betty. Their children were Francis, b. 12, 8, 1774 ; Caleb, b. 10, 4, 1776; Eli, Betty, Lydia, Orpha, Hannah, and Susanna.

Francis Swayne, son of Caleb and Lydia, is presumed to be the Gen. Francis Swayne, the friend of Gen. Muhlen- berg, to whom the latter willed his silver cigar-case. He was said to have been a drummer-boy in the Revolu- tionary war, and a general in the war of 1812. He died at Reading, Pa., June 17, 1820. Francis and Sarah left a daughter, Jane.

Eli Swayne, son of James and Hannah, married, 10, 14, 1807, Deborah Woodward, daughter of Thomas and Mary, of East Marlborough ; their descendants removed to Phila- delphia.

Edward Swayne, third son of Francis (1) and Elizabeth, was born in East Hampstead, Berkshire, England, in the year 1703, came to America with the family in 1710, married, 2d mo. 25, 1728, Sarah Fincher, daughter of John, of Londongrove. They lived on part of the original purchase made by his father, which they inherited from him. Edward died 4, 24, 1776, aged about seventy-three years ; Sarah died 11th mo., 1804, in her ninety-sixth year. She was the last one buried in the family burying-ground. The children of Edward and Sarah were Edward, Jonathan, Isaac, Jesse, Robert, Jane, Hannah, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Martha. The only male descendants of the name in this branch are from Jesse, who left three sons,-Jesse, Edward, and Ishmael.

Some of the living descendants of Edward and Sarah are in the vicinity of Doe Run, Chester Co. Some have intermarried with the Masons, Whites, Haydons, Harlans, Marises, Yarnalls, Englands, etc.

Elizabeth Swayne, daughter of Francis (1) and Elizabeth, was born in East Hampstead, Berkshire, England, came to America in 1710 with the family, married Thomas Barnard, son of Richard (1), died without issue.

Jane Swayne, daughter of Francis (1) and Elizabeth, came to America with the family, 1710, married, 3, 4, 1719, John Jackson, son of Ephraim and Rachel, of Edg- mont. They had one daughter, Elizabeth, who married John Wilson, of East Marlborough, in the year 1741, 10th mo. 24th. Their descendants are numerons, and have in- termarried with the Thompsons, Phillipses, Barnards, Hilleses, Puseys, etc.

Sarah Swayne, daughter of Francis (1) and Elizabeth, born in England, came to America in 1710 with the family, married, 8, 5, 1722, Robert Lamborn, son-of Josiah and Ann, of Berkshire, England. They settled about half a mile west of where Londongrove meeting-house now stands. It is related of Robert that he and young Francis Swayne were devotedly attached to each other in England, and that when the Swaynes came to America, Robert, not being able to content himself without his friend, determined to follow him. His father endeavored to dissuade him at first, but, seeing he was determined, paid his passage to America. He landed at Philadelphia, not knowing where the Swaynes

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HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

lived, but while walking along the streets, unresolved yet what to do to find them, he espied old Franeis Swayne ; following him at a distance, he at last saw him enter a house, and, not daring to follow him in, remained at the door till the old man came out again, who, on seeing him, exclaimed, good-humoredly, "Why, Bob! what brought thee here ?" Francis knowing that he would have to take care of him, brought him home behind him on horseback, and when within a short distance of his house he left Robert under a tree and proceeded home. He then di- rected his son Francis to go to the place where he had left Robert, not telling him what for, but to go there. He went, and to his surprise there met his friend, whom he had sup- posed was yet in England. That their mutual surprise and

Erasmus Vanmeter, Mary J. and Ruth A. (both unmar- ried), and Alfred, who died at Harper's Ferry, in the ser- vice of the United States in the Rebellion, of the 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. Of these, Dr. E. V. Swing was born Feb. 26, 1840, in Upper Pittsgrove town- ship, Salem Co., N. J. He was educated in the common schools of his native county, and afterwards studied the classies and higher mathematics with Rev. R. Hamill Davis, now principal of Lawrenceville (N. J.) Female Seminary.

He taught school four years in Cumberland County of his native State, and during this time was reading medicine with Drs. S. G. Cattell and C. C. Philips, of that county. He attended lectures in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and at the same time was a pri-

E. V Swing M. D.

loy was great we cannot doubt. They repaired to the house, and young Lamborn afterwards married his friend's sister.

For this sketeh of the Swayne family we are indebted to William Marshall Swayne, of New Garden, who, in addition o his genealogical taste, is an artist of no mean rank. His ousts of Gen. Wayne and Dr. William Darlington are noticed elsewhere.

SWING, DR. E. V .- The Swing family came from Lorraine, one of the two provinees captured from France y Germany in the Franco-German war. Samuel Swing vas one of two brothers who emigrated just before the Revolutionary war, and settled in Salem and Cumberland Jounties, N. J. Samuel had a son, Abraham, whose on, Samuel, married Elizabeth Vanmeter, daughter of John . Vanmeter, a Revolutionary soldier in Washington's rmy. From this union were born four children, viz. :

vate student of Dr. H. Lenox Hodge, of Philadelphia. He graduated at this university in the class of 1867.

He was married July 25, 1861, by Rev. Dr. Samuel Beach Jones, to Rachel V. Burroughs, born in his native township, and by whom he has had eight children,-two deceased, Osear V. and Adelia Davis, and six living,-Clara Stratton, R. Hamill Davis, Albert H. Smith, Harry Ral- ston, Samuel Walter, and William Alexander.

After graduating he located at Compassville, West Caln township (Cain's Post-Office, Lancaster Co.), in 1867, where he has since remained in the active and suc- cessful practice of his profession. Educational matters have ever greatly engrossed his attention, and he has re- peatedly been a sehool director. He is, with his wife, a member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he was educated by his parents, and has often been superintend- ent of Sunday-schools. He is a Republican in politics, and

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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.

comes of a family originally Federalist and then Whig. He belongs to the Chester County Medical Society, and was its president for the year 1880. He comes of a sterling stock, some of whose branches were among the earliest settlers in Clermont Co., Ohio, of whom Judge Philip B. Swing is judge of the United States District Court at Cineinnati, Ohio.

TALBOT, JOHN, purchased land in Middletown town- ship in 1718, where he died in 1721, leaving a widow and ehildren,-Joseph, Mary, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Sarah, John, and Hannah. Joseph took the farm when he became of age, and built a mill thereon, now owned by Humphrey Yearsley. His first wife was Hannah Baker, of Thornbury, who left children,-Margaret, Mary, Joseph, Martha, John, Rachel, Jacob, Elizabeth, Hannah, and Susanna. Of these, Martha married Daniel Broomall, and was the grandmother of John M. Broomall, of Media. Rachel married Francis Townsend, of East Bradford.

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History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches, Part 192

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