History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 113

Author: Ashmead, Henry Graham, 1838-1920
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1150

USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania > Part 113

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).

food, but told him that they were going to Apoquenimink to embark for Holland, and that, out of pity for his misfortunes, they would pro- cnre him a passage in the same vessel. His hopes were destined to be very short-lived. The trio remonuted, and Annesley had followed them for a short distance painfully on foot, when suddenly horsemen appeared behind them in chase. There was no time for deliberation. The lady jumped off and hid herself among the trees. The gentleman and his servant drew their ewords, and Antesley ranged himself beside them, armed with his hedge-hill, determined to help those who had generously assisted him. The contest was unequal, the fugitives were soon enr- rounded, and, with the lady, were bonad and carried to Chester gaol.

"It appeared that the young lady was the daughter of a rich mer- chant, and had been compelled to marry a man who was disagreeable to her; and that, after robbing her husband, she had eloped with a previons lover who held a social position inferior to her own. All the vindictive- ness of the husband had been aroused; and when the trial took place, the lady, her lover, and the servant were condemned to death for the robbery. James Annesley contrived to prove that he was not connected with the party, and escaped their fate ; but he was remanded to prison, with orders that he should be exposed to public view every day in the market-place; and that if it could be proved by any of the frequenters that he had ever been seen in Chester before, he should be deemed ac- cessory to the robbery and should suffer death.

" He remained in suspense for five weeks, until Drummond chanced to come to Chester ou business, and recognizing the runaway, claimed him as his property. The consequence was that the two years which remained of hie period of servitude were doubled; and when he arrived at New Castle, Drummond's severity and violence greatly increased. A complaint of his master's ill-usage was made to the justice, and that worthy was at last obliged to sell him to another; bnt Anuesley gained little by the change. For three years he continued with his new owner in quiet toleration of his lot ; but having fallen into conversation with some sailors bound for Europe, the old desire to see Ireland once more came upon him, and he ventured a second escape. He was recaptured before he gained the ship, and under the order of the court, the solitary year of his bondage which remained was increased into five. Under this new blow he sank into a settled state of melancholy, and seemed so likely to die that his new master had pity upon his condition, began to treat him with less austerity, and recommended him to the care of his wife, who often took him into the house and recommended her daugh- ter, Maria, to use him with all kindness. The damsel exceeded her mother's instructions, and straightway fell in love with the good-look- ing young slave, often showing her affection in a manner which conld not be mistaken. Nor was she the ouly one on whom his appearance made an impression. A young Iroquois Indian girl, who shared his servitude, made no secret of her attachment to him, exhibiting her love by assisting him in his work, while she assured him that if he would marry her when his time of bondage was past she would work so hard as to save him the expense of two slaves In vain Aunesley rejected her advances and tried to explain to her the hopelessness of her desires. She persistently dogged his footsteps, and was never happy but in his sight. Her rival, Maria, no less eager to secure his affections, used to stray to the remote fields in which she knew he worked, and on one occasion encountered the Indian girl, who was also bent upon visiting him. The hot-blooded Indian then lost her self-control, and having violently assaulted her young mistress, sprang into the river clo-e by and thne ended her love and life together.

" Maris, who had been seriously abnsed, was carried home and put to bed, and her father naturally demanded some explanation of the ex- traordinary quarrel which had cost him a slave and vory nearly a daughter. The other slaves had no hesitation in recounting what they had scen, or of saying what they thought, and the truth came out. Au- nesley's master was, however, resolved to be certain, and sent him into her room, while he and his wife listened to what passed at the inter- view. Their stratagem had the desired success. They heard their daughter express the most violent passion, which was in no way returned by their slave. As they could not but acknowledge his honorable feel- ing and action, they resolved to take uo notice of what passed, but for their daughter's sake to give him his liberty. Next day his master ac- companied him to Dover, but instead of releasing him, as he had prom- ised his wife, sold him to a planter near Chichester for the remalader of hie term.

" After verions ups and downs, he was transferred to a planter in New- castle County, whose house was almost within sight of Drummond's plantation. While io this employ he discovered that he was tracked by the brothers of the Indian girl, who had sworn to avenge her untimely fate, and nearly fell a victim to their rage, having been wounded by one

455

LOWER CHICHESTER TOWNSHIP.

of them who lay in wait for him. By another accident while he was resting under a hedge which divided his master's ground from a neigh- bouring plantation he fell asleep, and did not awake until it was perfectly dark. He was aroused by the sound of voices, and, on listening, found that his mistress and Stephano, a slave on another farm, were plotting to rob his master and to flee to Europe. Repressing his desire to reveal the whole scheme to his master, he took the first opportunity of inform- ing his mistress that her infamy was diecovered, and that if she perse- vered in her design he would be compelled to reveal all that he had over- heard. The woman et first pretended the utmost repentance, and not only earnestly promised that she would never repent her conduct, but by many excessive acts of kindness led him to believe that her unlawful passion had changed its object. Finding, however, that she could not prevail upon him either tn wink at her misdeeds nor gratify her de- sires, she endeavored to get rid of him by poison ; and an attempt having been made upou his life, Annesley resolved once more to risk an escape, although the time of his servitude had almost expired.

"Ou this occasion he was successful ; and having made his way in a trading ship to Jamaica, got on board the 'Falmouth,' one of his majesty's ships, and declared himself an Irish Dobleman, His arrival, of course, created a great stir in the fleet, and the affair came to the ears of Admiral Vernon, who, having satisfied himself that his preten- sions were at least reasonable, ordered him to be well treated, wrote to the Duke of Newcastle about him, and sent him home to England. He arrived in October, 1741. His uncle Richard had in the mean time suc- ceeded, through default of issue, to the honors of Anglesea, as well as those of Altham, and became seriously alarmed at the presence of this pretender on English coil. At first he asserted that the claimant, although undoubtedly the son of his deceased brother, was the bastard child of a kitchen wench. He next tried to effect a compromise with him, and subsequently endeavored to procure bis conviction on a charge of murder. It ie alao said that assassins were hired to kill him. But it is certainly true that Aunesley having accidentally shot a man near Staines, the Earl of Anglesea spared neither pains nor money to have him convicted. He was tried at the Old Bailey, and being ac- quitted by the jury, proceeded to Irelaud to prosecute his claim to the Altliam estates. Ou his arrival at Duumain and New Ross, he was very warmly received by many of the peasuntry. His first attempt to secure redress was by au action at law. Au action for ejectment was brought in the Court of Exchequer in Ireland for a small estate in the county of Meath, and a bill was at the same time filed in the Court of Chancery of Great Britain for the recovery of the English estates.

"Io Trinity term, 1743, when everything was ready for a trial at the next ensuing Assizee, a trial at bar was appointed on the application of the agenta of the Earl of Anglesea. The case began on the 11th of November, 1743, at the bar of the Court of Exchequer in Dublin, being. as is noted in Howell's ' State Trials,' the longest trial ever konwn, lasting fifteen days, and the jury (most of them) gentlemen of the greatest property in Ireland, and almost all members of parliament. A verdict was found for the claimant, with 6d. damages and 6d. coste. A writ of error was at once lodged on the other side, but on appeal the judgment of the Court below was affirmed. Immediately after the trial and ver- dict, the claimant petitioned his Majesty for his seat in the Housee of Peers of both Kingdoms; but delay after delay took place, and he finally became so impoverished that he could no longer prosecute his cleinis.

"James AnDesley was twice married; but although he had a son by each marriage, neither of them grew to machood. He died on the 5th of January, 1760."

The Talbot Mill .- In 1767, John Talbot built a stone grist-mill on the east branch of Naaman's Creek, which for many years was noted in that sec- tion of the county commanding a large and remuner- ative trade. The mill, shortly after 1820, passed into possession of Nathan Pennell. In 1826 it was owned by his heirs and rented to Mordecai Larkin, and sub- sequently to others. It was finally purchased by Wil- liam McCay, and subsequently became the property of his son, John B. McCay. In 1884 the ancient mill was entirely consumed by fire.

Dutton's Saw-Mill .- On a .branch of Green Creek, and on the tract of land surveyed to John Kingsman

in 1682, a saw-mill was built shortly after the middle of the last century by Kingsman Dutton, the grand- son of the settler, Kingsman's daughter Elizabeth having married John Dutton. The date stone on the east gable of the two-story brick house standing near the east branch of Aston township, erected by Kings- man Dutton, bears that date, and it is supposed that he built the saw-mill about that time. He died leaving his estate much involved, and the premises were sold by the sheriff in 1768. Joseph Talbot be- came the owner of the mill and plantation, and the estate descended to his grandson, Benjamin Elliott, who removed the old saw-mill building in 1860; it having been long discarded, became dilapidated and an unsightly ruin.

Evening Star Lodge .- The only secret society in Upper Chichester, Evening Star Lodge, No. 13, of the Daughters and Sons of St. Luke, was chartered in June, 1879. The members of this lodge, an organiza- tion of colored men and women, reside mostly in Lower Chichester, although the meetings are held at Upper Chichester Cross-roads. The society was in- stituted with thirty charter members, but the number has largely increased since that time.

The quiet stillness which pervades the township of Upper Chichester, wherein license to keep public- house has not been granted for almost a century, was rudely shaken on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1869, when the body of a female was found in the middle branch of Naaman's Creek, on the farm of George Broomall, which is located in the southwestern end of the town- ship on the circular line. The utmost excitement prevailed. The dead girl was a stranger, and al- though the circumstances strongly suggested that she had committed suicide, inasmuch as her hat and veil were found on the bank near by, and her under-skirt had been removed and wrapped around her head in a way that indicated that she had placed it in that posi- tion, yet there was much anxiety to learn the cause prompting the act. It was subsequently ascertained that the deceased was Ellen Haggerty, and that her mind had become diseased, the result of religious ex- citement. The body had lain in the water four days before it was discovered.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

LOWER CHICHESTER TOWNSHIP.

A FEW years before the Dutch wrested the authority from the Swedes on the Delaware, Qucen Christiana, of Sweden, was graciously pleased to grant a large tract of land in the colony to Capt. John Ammund- son Besk, his wife, and heirs, in consideration of ser- vices he had rendered the State and was expected to render to the government in the affairs of New

456

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Sweden. The following translation of this royal gift is reputed to be the most accurate extant :1

" We Christiana, by the Grace of God, Queeo of Sweden, Gothen and Wenden, Grand Princess of Finland, Duchess of Eastland, &c .:

"Be it known that of our favor, and because of the true and trusty service which ie done unto us and the Crown, by our true and trusty servant, Captain Hans Ammundson Besk, for whichi service he hath dons, and further is obliged to do so long as he yet shall live; 60 have we granted and given unto him freely as the virtue of this open letter is and doth show and specify, that is, we have given and freely granted to him, his wife and heirs, that is heirs after heirs, One Certain piece and tract of land, beiog and lying in New Sweden, Marcus Hook by name, which does reach up to and Upwarde of Upland Creek, and that with all the privileges, appurtenances and conveniences thereunto be- longing, both wet and dry, whatsoever name or names excepted of them, that is which belonged to thie aforesaid tract of land, of age, and also by law and judgment may be claimed unto it and he and his heirs to have and to hold it unmolested forever for their lawful possession and inheritance. So that all which will unlawfully lay claim thereunto, they may regulate themselves hereafter. Now for the true coufirma- tion hereof have we this with our own hand underwritten, and also manifested with our seal, in Stockholm, the 20th of August, in the year of our Lord, 1653.

"NEILS TUNOELL, Secretary.

"CHRISTIANA [L. S.]."

Only that portion of Lower Chichester lying east of Marcus Hook Creek was included in this patent, as has been very conclusively shown by the late Edward Armstrong, and it is unnecessary for me to further allude to his argument.2 The land west of that creek, comprising all the remaining territory now known as Lower Chichester, was patented by Gover- nor Andros, March 28, 1679,3 to Charles Jansen, Olle Rawson, Olle Nielson, Hans Hopman, John Hen- drickson, and Hans Olleson, containing one thousand acres. Dr. Smith says, in the survey, it is mentioned that this land "was formerly granted unto the said persons in the time of the Dutch Government."+ The quit-rent reserved in the patent by the Duke of York was ten bushels of winter wheat. At Upland Court, March 13, 1678/9, Rodger Pedrick appeared and ac- knowledged that he had sold to William Hughes, in fee, half of his land at Marcus Hook, which land he, Pedrick, had purchased of John Hendrickson; and at the same court, Hans Ollsen (Olleson) acknowl- edged a deed to William Clayton for all his land, " right & interest of & to his houses and appurtances Lying and being att Marretties hooke." 5

The ancient name of Marcus Hook was sought to be changed by the residents of that locality early under Penn's administration, for at the court at Upland, June 13, 1682, the old records show that "the grant formerly made from Governor Markham to the in-

habitants of Marcus Hook, at their request for the the calling of said Chichester, which said Grant bears date the Twentieth day of April, Anno 1682, and was read and published in the Court held at Upland June the Sixteenth, Anno 1682, according to order as a record thereof."

Although in legal documents for many years there- after the settlement at Chichester is thus designated, the popular name was so fixed in the public mind that it would not accept the more modern title, and to this day, despite legislation and executive power, the village still retains its time-honored nomencla- ture.

In September, 1682, as before mentioned, Marcus Hook was visited by Lord Baltimore when the latter was on his way to New Castle, after his unsatisfactory interview with Markham at Upland, and by his asser- tion of title to that place and all the territory north of the degree of forty, occasioned the utmost conster- nation among the settlers there. The first appearance in our records of Chichester township was at the court held 27th of Fourth month (June), 1683, when Willard Hughes was appointed constable for " Chi- chester liberty." What territory was included in that term liberty is now purely conjectural, but Dr. Smith is doubtless correct in declaring that it was probably the township of Chichester, as it had been laid out by Charles Aslıcome. That there was some dispute re- specting the bounds of that municipal district is evi- dent from the decree of court made the 6th day of Eighth month, 1685, whereby it was "Ordered that the township of Chichester extends its bounds as formerly laid out by Charles Ashcome until further ordered."

After the coming of Penn, in 1682, Marcus Hook grew apace, and for a time it was a formidable rival to Chester. In 1708 the two places were of almost equal size, for a writer at that time, describing them, states that both of these settlements " consist of almost 100 houses." 6

In the early judicial records of Chester County, Chichester, being an important locality, furnished perhaps more than its due proportion of business for the courts of those days, which, no doubt, was largely owing to the fact that during the Swedish administra- tion the Fins, who were mostly of the convict class of the mother-country, had collected to the east of that hamlet. The cases were generally of that char- acter of misdemeanors prevalent among the lower order of society,-particularly where ignorance is the rule. I do not propose to draw largely from the records or to present extended extracts from the pro- ceedings in those cases, but I caunot refrain from call- iug attention to two trials, the particulars of which, even in the lapse of two centuries, will be of interest to the modern reader. The first case was tried at

1 Martin's " History of Chester," p. 7.

2 Record of Upland Court, p. 135. See note 2.

3 Benjamin H. Smith's historical introduction to atlas of early grants and patente of Delaware County, page xii. "This tract was called 'common,' and comprised all the land between Naaman's Creek and Chichester Creek, extending from the river to the present line dividiog Upper aod Lower Chichester. There appears to have been a partition of the tract among the owners, but owing to the vagueness of the descrip- tions as recorded, it is now a matter of great difficulty to locate the orig- inal property. Many deeds from the patentees remain on record."

4 History of Delaware County, p. 521.

6 Record of Upland Court, p. 135.

6 " Pennsylvania io 1708," hy J. Oldmixon ; Hazard's Register, vol. v. p. 180.

457

LOWER CHICHESTER TOWNSHIP.

Chester on the 7th day of Second month, 1685, and at that time aroused intense public feeling, due, largely, to the prominent social position of the parties litigant, as also the serious matter involved. As the case terminated, it would have been better for the plaintiff if he had never instituted the action. Henry Renolds, of Marcus Hook, who became a resident there early in 1680, was a publican, keeping a tavern in the village (at which he sold liquor with license when he could get the court's approval, but whether he obtained that permission or not he persisted in vending ardent spirits), seems to have been a man of quick temper, which would often cause him to do that which was of the utmost disadvantage to him. At the court held at the date stated, Renolds sned Justa Anderson for scandalous and defamatory words, in that he had reported that Renolds had beaten his servant-girl and the next day she died. The plaintiff showed by James Sandelands, James Brown, William Hawkes that Justa Anderson had asserted that he saw Henry Renolds " beat and kicke his maide and that he saw her alive no more." The defendant was able to show by Thomas Pearson that when he was at Renolds' house he saw the latter lift " up the tongs" and threaten to strike his maid-servant "for not eat- ing such things as was provided for her," while Wooly Rosen, who lived just below Naaman's Creek, in New Castle County, testified that while he was at Renold's the girl asked him for some milk, which angered her master, -she was an indentured servant, -and he struck her " one Blow with a broome Staffe, asking her whether there was not vituals enough in the house?" William Cornell declared that he saw Renolds " Beate his maide with a Broome staffe and afterwards kicked her as she was by ye fire." While Robert Moulder related a marvelous story that the night the girl died " he see the maide sleeping by ye fireside, and sometimes afterward shee went to bed, after which a 'revelation' came to him that the maide would dye that night." Prudence Clayton, Renolds' mother-in-law, who, after the girl died, had been sent for " to lay her out, did not remember that shee did see any manner of hurt about her." The jury found, however, for the defendant, and the case had aroused such public attention that James Ken- neily, the first coroner of whom we have record in Chester County, intervened in the matter. This we learn from the order of the court, held 1st 3d day of Seventh month, 1685, that "Execution be granted against Henry Renolds for ye Crowner's fees, charges of Inquest & taking up ye said Renolds' maide, with all other charges whatsoever thereunto belonging." The sheriff in this execution levied on an ox, and Renolds at the next court had to pay £4 108., when " the court ordered him his Oxe againe."

The other case was heard at a court held at Chester on the 1st day of 3d week, Fourth month, 1690, when John Martin, a weaver, was tried for having stolen from the house of Thomas Brown fourteen dressed

deer-skins, of the value of thirty shillings. Thomas Brown, the plaintiff, testified that the accused had acknowledged the theft, but the interesting feature of the case was presented in the manner in which the crime was traced to the prisoner. It appeared from the evidence of Francis Chads, who, before his re- moval to Birmingham, was a shoemaker in Chichester, that he had mended the shoes worn by Martin, and that he had done so " with 2 nails & 2 plates towards ye towes of his shoes." William Clayton stated that he and Thomas Brown, Jr., while the prisoner and Thomas Brown, Sr., were talking, had gone to the house of Thomas Brown, Sr., where Martin lived, " and there we saw the print of a shoe, and we fol- lowed it, and we perceived it to be print with nails & a pleat with nails, & we followed it to the swamp & there in a hollow tree we found the skins, and after- wards we took the measure & went to James Brownes & compared the measure with the prisoners. It seemed to be the very same." George Foreman, a justice, testified that on the morning of the theft Brown told him of his loss, that his house had been broken open, and asked for a search-warrant, which he issued. He also states, after the search had been made, that he told Brown to " go to his house & see if there were no tracks of anybody. He went & re- turned shortly after, saying there was a print of a foot. Then I went to his house myself & saw the window open, & upon the ground the print of a shoe with nails & clamps of iron. We followed the tracts down to the side of the fence, & then along the swamp until we came upon Wm. Clayton's new cleared field, and there in a swamp, in a hollow tree, we found fourteen drest skins. Then we went to James Brown's house & took along with us the measure of the print of the shoe & measured John Martin's, and it seemed to us to be the very same. Martin seemed to be startled at my taking his shoes off." The jury con- victed the prisoner, and he was sentenced to be sold for eight years to another province, to make good all damages to the party aggrieved, and his master's charges,-he was an indentured servant,-amounting in all to £17 78. 92d., and to " receive 39 lashes well Laid on his Bare Back at ye Cart's Tayl."

If tradition be accepted as authority, at the conclu- sion of the seventeenth and the first and second de- cades of the eighteenth century the pirates which then infested the Atlantic coast from New England to Georgia would frequently stop at Marcus Hook, where they would revel, and when deep in their cups would indulge in noisy disputation and broils, until one of the streets in that ancient borough from that fact was known as Discord Lane, which name the same thoroughfare has retained for nearly two cen- turies. Blackbeard, who for many years kept the coast in alarm, with his crew it is said often visited Marcus Hook, where at the house of a Swedish woman there, to whom he gave the title of Marcus, although her name was really Margaret, he was ac-

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 Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 113

Author: Ashmead, Henry Graham, 1838-1920 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1150

Author: Ashmead, Henry Graham, 1838-1920
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1150