History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 129

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

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Oakford Fulling-Mill .- The early history of this mill is given in the sketch of the mills of the Gris- wold Worsted Company. It was a part of the Darby Mills from 1695, the date of its erection, until its destruction, in 1859. It is not mentioned in the deed from Joseph Bonsall to Richard Lloyd in 1747, but in 1764 it was owned and operated by Isaac and

In 1747 the Darby Mills were owned by Joseph Bonsall, of Darby, who, on November 3d of that year, conveyed to Richard Lloyd three full parts of five and a half acres of land, and of the "water-, corn-, or grist-mills, commonly called Darby Mills," with the bolting-house, bolting-mills, and other ap- . Hugh Lloyd, sous of Richard. In 1766 it was oper-

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DARBY BOROUGH.

ated by Hugh Davis, the half-brother of Isaac and Hugh Lloyd. In 1770 it was in possession of Aaron Oakford, who continued there until 1785, when Isaac Oakford was operating it. In 1790 Isaac Oakford had in connection with his fulling- a print-mill. On August 23d of that year, George Huffstetter and Isaac Huffstetter, sons of Lydia Yoamer, were bound before Esquire Pearson, to Conrad Psaphauser, to learn calico-stamping, being indentured for six years and eleven months, while the same day Jesse Huff- stetter was bound to serve Psaphauser, at the trade of calico-stamping and "to learn mixing," for a term of ten years and three months. The assessment of 1798 returned Isaac Oakford as owning the fulling-mill and stamping-works for printing calico, and John Orna was employed there as a calico-stamper, and Samuel Wetherington as a calico-printer. In 1826, Isaac Oakford was still the owner of the mill, but at that time it was operated by Aaron Oakford, who continued there many years. It subsequently passed to Thomas Steel, and in 1854 was leased to John Verlenden, who changed it to a cotton-mill, and oper- ated it until it was destroyed by fire, on March 5, 1859. The water for this mill was from its erection, in 1695, taken from the race which supplied the grist- mills above, and when they came into possession of Thomas Steel, the fulling-mill was limited to a supply of water that flowed through a four-inch pipe. This mill also passed to Thomas Steel, and was sold in 1861 with the grist-mill to Simeon Lord.

In 1788, Benjamin Oakford was operating a tan- yard, which he continued till 1810, when John Oak- ford succeeded him, and continued it until after 1848.

Imperial Mills .- In the year 1846, John Verlenden and Morton Farraday established a small business of spinning carpet yarn on Whiskey Run, in Spring- field township. In 1854, Verlenden removed to Darby borough, and commenced business in the old fulling- mill of Thomas Steel, formerly Isaac Oakford, which he operated until it was burned, March 5, 1859. In that year Verlenden erected on the site of the present mill a factory building sixty by forty feet, which he operated until his death, in December, 1865. The business was continued by the family, and in 1867, Smith & Verlenden leased the mills, which they operated for three years. In 1870, W. Lane Ver- lenden and Enos Verlenden formed a partnership, and as Verlenden Brothers, began manufacturing in these mills. The main mill building was destroyed by fire in 1880, and the present mill, eighty by forty feet, erected on its site. The Imperial now contains sev- enty-two looms, two self-acting mules, each of five hundred and eight spindles, and two sets of sixty cards, driven by a Corliss engine, sixteen by forty-two, with two sets of boilers. Fourteen thousand yards of cotton and woolen goods are manufactured weekly from three thousand six hundred pounds of raw material. Fifty-five operatives are employed.

W. Arrott & Co. Mills .- These mills were erected

by Judge James Andrews subsequent to 1848, aud were located nearly opposite the old Thomas Steel grist-mill at the head of tide-water ou Darby Creek. They were operated by Judge Andrews till his death, when they descended to his son, J. Charles Andrews, who, with Isaac Hibberd, operated them as Cedar Hill Mills until about 1873, when they were leased for a few years. In April, 1878, the property was sold by the assignees of J. Charles Andrews to Wil- liam Arrott, of Philadelphia, who immediately began spinning yarn in these mills. The main building is two stories high, two hundred hy fifty feet, contains five hundred spindles and eight sets of woolen cards. Ninety operatives are employed, and one thousand one hundred pounds of yarn are spun weekly.

In 1875, John L. Knowlton purchased a lot of land of the Sharon Land Association along the line of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. He erected a two-story brick building and commenced the manufacture of specialties in machinery. This he continued till his death, after which the building was occupied for a year or two by William P. Jenks in the manufacture of boiler coverings. In March, 1884, the property was purchased by Scully & Smith, Phil- adelphia, who are at present fitting the factory for the manufacture of wood-turning machinery.

Tannery .- In 1766, John Pearson, who subse- quently became an officer in the Revolutionary army, and, after the erection of Delaware County, one of the associate judges, was operating a tan-yard at Darby, which business he appears to have continued until 1810, when he was succeeded by Charles Pear- son. The tan-yard was subsequently abandoned, un- less the bark-mill which James Bunting was operating in 1842 was on the site of the yard, and connected with the tannery.

Schools .- The first record of a school within the limits of what is now Darby borough, is found in the minutes of Darby Monthly Meeting of date 7th day Seventh month (September), 1692, where it is stated " that Benj. Clift is to teach school Beginge ye 12th of ye 7thmo, and to continue one whole year except 2 weeks." Arrangements were also made with him the next year " to teach schoole one yeare Beginge ye 20th of ye 7thmo," for which he was to receive twelve pounds. Doubtless this school was kept in Friends' meeting-house. Prior to 1735, David Thomas, of Darby, by an instrument in writing, granted to Joseph Reed a lot of ground on which to build a school-house. The building was erected on the site designated, and subsequently Reed assigned the property to John Davis and Richard Parker. On April 2, 1735, doubt- less to cure a defect in title, David Thomas conveyed the same land, which contained a quarter of an acre, to John Davis and Richard Jackson. Miss Sarah L. Miller, of Media, states that her grandfather, George Miller, who resided in Springfield, attended school in the year 1730, at a small one-story brick house which stood a short distance west of Darby Creek, and that he

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

boarded near by, so that he might be constant in his attendance. This location of that early school desig- nated that the pupil spoken of was taught in the old one-story brick house which stood on part of the site of the Mount Zion burial-ground, and which building was taken down after 1843. In this old school-house on June 6, 1818, a meeting of the inhabitants of Darby and adjoining townships was held, whereat it was

" Resolved, That we will discourage the nee of ardent epirits, as an article of drink; we will not procure, use, or give it to others as such in the time of gathering our hay and harvest, at the raising of buildings, or on other public or social occasions;

" And resolved, That we unite to suppress the unlawful sale of spirit- vous liquors, and to counteract the contamenating effect of those nur- series of vice, commonly called tippling houses, by giving information to the proper officers, and by such other means as are reasonably within our power."

It is stated in an account of the "Guardian So- ciety for Preventing Drunkenness" of Chester County,1 that it " was certainly the first temperance organiza- tion ever formed in Pennsylvania, and probably in the United States," and that shortly after a kindred and co-operative society was formed at Darby, in which Halliday Jackson and Edward Garrigues were conspicuous members. The Guardian Society was organized in 1820. The action at this meeting in 1818, clearly shows that a temperance organization had been held in Delaware County prior to that in Chester County, and that a temperance pledge liad been adopted nearly two years before the formation of the Guardian Society.

In this old stone school-house, prior to the adoption of the school law of 1834, David Little taught, as did also Benjamin Oakford. This school house, after the act of 1834 was accepted hy Darby township, was transferred to the school directors, who, on Dec. 6, 1843, sold the lot to Michael Lincoln, and he, on the 14th of the same month, conveyed it to the trustees of the Mount Zion Methodist Church. The latter removed the school building, and the lot became a part of the burial-place.

The society of Friends continued to support the school at Darby throughout all the last century. Michael Blunston, who died there in 1736, bequeathed " fifty pounds in trust to school the children of Poor Friends of Darby Monthly Meeting." Mention is also made of Friends' Meeting schools in 1788, and in 1793 the society of Friends in Delaware County had seven schools under their care, one being located in Darby. A dwelling had also been erected in that village for the "accommodation of the master." Schools were kept by Friends regularly from that time, and since 1820 women have been members of the school com- mittee. The adoption of the law providing for free public education, and the improvements made in the system by subsequent enactments, gradually super- seded Friends' schools. However, as late as 1854, John H. Bunting, of Darby, gave the sum of ten

thousand dollars, the interest of which was to be applied to the support of schools maintained by the society.

In March, 1825, an election was held throughout the county for school trustees under the law of 1804, and three were elected in each township. In the re- port of this election, Darby, Lower Chichester, Hav- erford, and Tinicum are not returned.

After the passage of the school law, in 1834, the court appointed Thomas Smith and Thomas Steel in- spectors of public schools until directors were elected. In 1835-36 the township, then including the borough, received from the State and county appropriations $270.60.

On the 13th of March, 1841, the directors of the public schools of the township purchased eighty square perches of land of Hugh Lloyd in the village of Darby, and erected thereon a stone school-house, which was used until 1855, when it was abandoned upon the completion of what is known as the yellow school-house. Pearson Serrill conveyed to Robert K. Smith one acre of ground adjoining lands of Darby Monthly Meeting, and on Aug. 30, 1854, Smith transferred the lot to the school directors of Darby borough, who in the same year erected the present stone school-house, two stories in height, the corner- stone being laid with much ceremony Oct. 28, 1854, Hon. Joseph R. Chandler, of Philadelphia, delivering the address on the occasion. A two-story brick addition was subsequently erected, and the building at present accommodates six schools which are kept there. The borough of Darby was incorporated in 1853, since which it has been an independent school district. The directors of Darby borough, on the 2d of April, 1855, sold the old school-house and lot on New Street to the borough for twelve hundred and fifty dollars. The building is now used as a lock-up. In the year 1878 the directors erected a one-story brick school-house, thirty-six by forty feet, at Sharon Hill, in which one school is kept.

The following names are those of the school direc- tors of Darby borough, as obtained from the election records of Media :

1854, Morris W. Lewis, Marmaduke Morehead, Robert K. Smith, Paxon Price, Jobn R. Robh, Paxon Paxon; 1865, C. A. Litzenburg, John Verlenden; 1856, Jacob S. Serrill, William Russell, Jr .; 1857, Wil- liam Jones, D. S. White; 1858, Daniel S. White, John Verlenden, C. S. Lloyd ; 1859, William Russell, Jr., William C. Witter ; 1860, John Verlenden, William Jones: 1861, David S. White, George S. Trueman ; 1862, Charles A. Litzenberg, Jacob S. Serrill ; 1863, John Verlenden, Thomas Palmer; 1864, Daniel S. White, Joseph Bunting ; 1865, Isaac T. Jones, Jacob S. Serrill ; 1866, John Verlenden, Thomas Palmer ; 1867, W. D. H. Serrill, D. S. White; 1868, Stacey Jones, M.D., George S. Patchell; 1869, W. D. H. Serrill, David Maule; 1870, Daniel S. White, Thomas Palmer; 1871, Stacey Jones, M.D., William D. H. Smith ; 1872, Oswald Paschall, Henry L. Paschall; 1873, Daniel S. White, Milton Mendenhall; 1874, Stacey Jones, M.D., Mrs. Emily Cochran ; 1875, David Msule, W. W. James; 1876, Danisì S. While, Henry McAllister; 1877, Jacob Serrill, A. E. Crozer; 1878, Washington W. James, W. D. H. Serrill ; 1879, Park- hurst Mclaughlin, Isaac T. Jones ; 1880, Stacy Jones, M.D., Daniel S. White; 1881, W. W. James, Theodore Knight; 1882, Daniel S. White, W. D. H. Serrill; 1883, Jacob Elpeth, Robert Green ; 1884, James E. Coombs, Gill Hazelstt.

1 Futhey and Cope's " History of Chester County," p. 403.

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DARBY BOROUGH.

Sharon Hill Academy .- John Jackson, a noted public Friend of Darby, a son of Halliday Jackson, after his marriage with Rachel T. Tyson, a highly educated and accomplished woman, in 1834, deter- mined to establish a female boarding-school, and about 1835, after the death of his father, located at Sharon Hill, on the family estate. The school soon acquired an extensive reputation, and was at the time one of the most noted female educational insti- tutions in the Middle States. John Jackson died in 1855, and his widow continued the school until 1858, when it was conducted by Israel J. Graham and Jane P. Graham. The property about 1870 was purchased by Rev. C. J. H. Carter, a Catholic clergyman, and a school for females was conducted there under the auspices of the Sisters of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus. In 1871 the building was enlarged by the addition of a wing, which made the total length of the main building one hundred and fourteen feet, while the interior was remodeled, so that the sleep- ing-rooms of the pupils were unusually large, well ventilated, and a dressing-room was attached to each apartment. The land and building having passed into the ownership of this society, in 1877 the present Gothic chapel was erected. The build- ing is eighty-nine feet in length, the wood-work of black walnut, and the principal altars of Italian mar- ble. The numerous windows which furnish light to the sanctuary are stained glass, presenting represen- tations of St. Ignatius Loyola, St. Charles Borromeo, and sacred emblems appropriate to the Catholic faith. In November, 1877, the chapel was dedicated by the Right Rev. Archbishop Wood with appropriate aod imposing ceremonies.

Darby Friends' Meeting-House. - The early Friends who, fleeing from persecution in England, settled in and about Darby, seem to have turned their attention speedily to arranging for religious services, and in the very year of Penn's coming, 1682, tradition states a meeting was held at the present vil- lage, in the house of John Blunston, whose hastily- constructed residence stood near the mill-race, which was subsequently dug, and nearly opposite the present meeting-house. The minutes of Darby Meeting do not substantiate the tradition, for they begin on the 2d of Fifth month (July), 1684; but Dr. Smith states that "there is some evidence that the business of a monthly meeting had been transacted at Darby a short time prior to the date of the first regular min- ute."1 The inconvenience arising from the meeting being held in private houses, and the constant growth of the society in membership,-for emigration was re- markable in those early days,-far exceeding that of more modern times, induced an effort to be made to

build a meeting-house. In 1687, John Blunston, in open court, acknowledged a deed "for one acre of land, in the township of Darby, to build a meeting- house thereon, to the use of the said township for ever, to exercise the true worship of God therein." A building, doubtless of logs, was erected on this tract, and it is said to have been located on the hillside, within the present graveyard. It was determined by meeting, so the ancient minutes state, to have it "lined within," to render it warmer in the severe winter seasons of the olden times. The first marriage which occurred therein was in February, 1689, be- tween John Marshall and Sarah Smith. This state- ment, of course, refers to the first marriage in the meeting-house, for it is well known that the first mar- riage recorded at Darby Meeting was in 1684,-that of Samuel Sellers and Anna Gibbons. The fair bride rode to her new home on a pillion behind her hus- band.2 Dr. Smith relates that in 1699 Darby Meeting dealt with a father who had unreasonably refused his consent to the marriage of his daughter, and the young couple, after legally publishing their intention, were married by John Blunston, a justice of the peace, the donor of the lot on which the meeting-house stood. The husband and wife were also dealt with by meet- ing, but the justice, who was in discharge of his offi- cial office, was not called on to explain his action. After the stone meeting-house at Chester was built, Friends of Darby, who were generally wealthy, per- haps desired a more comfortable place in which to assemble. Be that as it may, in 1699 it was "agreed that a meeting-house sixty foot one way and twenty foot added to the side, twenty-one foot wide in the clear, be built," and "John Bethell, John Hood, Michael Blunston, John Wood, and Thomas Worth ordered to manage the concern about said house till furder orders." The building was begun, but dragged slowly along, and to complete it repeated collections were authorized by the meeting. In 1701 it was still unfinished, and it was "ordered that a collection be every monthly meeting till further orders;" and we are informed by Dr. Smith "that a loan was author- ized to complete this meeting-house, "an expedient rarely resorted to by the Society of Friends." This meeting-house was also located in the graveyard, and in 1862 a portion of the building was still standing.3 It was certainly completed in the early summer of 1701, for at the meeting held in Fifth month of that year it was ordered " that Benjamin Cliff take care that the doors and windows be opened and shut as occasion may serve for one whole year, for which he is to have two pounds out of the collection." This house of worship stood for more than one hundred years, when it began to show the decrepitude of age, which con- stant repair could not prevent, hence its "decayed and shattered condition" was such that reluctantly

1 History of Delaware County, p. 148, note. "A committee was ap- poioted in 1683 by Chester Mouthly Meeting to invite the Friende of Darby to unite with them in their monthly meeting. This they appear to have done so far as to contribute to the funde of that meetiog on one occasion."

2 " A Walk to Darby," by Townsend Ward, Penna. Mag. of Hist., vol. lii. p. 265.

a Smith's " History of Delaware County," p. 198.

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the members were compelled to take steps for the erection of the third and present meeting-house at Darby.

At the Monthly Meeting in Twelfth month, 1803, the subject was referred to a committee, which, at the next meeting, First month, 1804, reported that having " several times met, and were in good measure united in building on what is called the lower lot, and were of opinion that a house built forty-five feet by sixty will cost three thousand three hundred dollars." The new structure was ordered to be erected, most of the stone used being obtained on the side of road opposite the Imperial Mills of Verlenden Brothers, except- ing a few dressed stone which were brought from Leiper's quarries, in Ridley. Towards the latter part of the year 1805, the building being nearly completed, Josiah Bunting was directed to give notice to mem- bers that the meeting would be held in the new structure on the 8th of Twelfth month, 1805. The first marriage in the new meeting-house was Hugh McIlvain, of Philadelphia, to Hannah, daughter of John Hunt, of Darby. . In 1870, the roof, which had done good service for sixty-five years, was replaced by a new one.

Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church .- In 1807, twenty persons residing in the neighborhood of Darby, desirous of organizing a Methodist Church in that vicinity, assembled together and formed a class. Among those who were prominent in this movement were William Palmer, David Dunbar, Charles Levis, Samuel Levis, Charles Grant, Enos R. Williams, Henry Rudolph, Hannah Shaw (Mrs. Oswold Patch- ell), and Phebe Hoofstechler (Mrs. George Lincoln). Some time subsequent to that date Dr. Phineas Price purchased a quarter of an acre on the Springfield road from Joseph Wood, and on the lot built a stone church forty-five feet square. Dr. Price retained title during his lifetime, and after his death his representatives, Mary, Ann M., and Henry Price, on April 17, 1819, conveyed the house and lot to Samuel Levis, Charles Levis, Samuel Lungren, David Dunbar, and Jonas Morton, trustees of the church. Dec. 14, 1843, the old school-house, which stood on the lot adjoining the church land, was bought by the congregation, the building removed, and the lot inclosed in the grave- yard. In 1854 a quarter of an acre of adjoining land was purchased from Ann Eliza Moore, and the burial- place again enlarged. In 1882, it having been decided to remove the church to Darby, a lot in the borough was purchased of George S. Patchell, and a brick church, thirty-six by sixty feet, at a cost of nine thou- sand four hundred dollars, was erected. The old sanc- tuary by the road-side, which had served the congre- gation for threescore years and ten, ceased to be used after Dec. 3, 1882, when the new edifice was dedicated. The . dedicatory sermon was preached by the late Bishop Matthew Simpson. William Palmer and Enos R. Williams, members of the first class, were local ministers and frequently preached in Mount Zion.

Among the clergymen who from time to time have been in charge of the church were the Revs. Thomas Miller, Ezekiel Connor, William Townsend Larney, William McCormick, James Neale, Brooks Eyres, William King, William Cooper, and Bishop Scott was at one time the presiding elder. Subsequent to these came the Revs. Abel Howard, William Dalrymple, William McMichael, A. G. Mauger, Roble Smith, Vandersloot, William McMichael, and A. G. Keymett, the present pastor. The church has at present a membership of one hundred and ninety per- sons.

The Presbyterian Church of Darby Borough. -While Rev. J. Addison Whitaker was pastor of the Darby, or Knowle's Presbyterian Church, in 1851 mission services were begun in Darby borough. The public school-house was used for the meeting, and in- terest gradually was awakened in the movement until, in January, 1854, a fund was subscribed to build a church edifice. In April, 1854, at a meeting of Pres- bytery in Mantua (Philadelphia), a committee was appointed to consider the propriety of building a church at Darby, who reported in favor of establish- ing a mission chapel there. The sum subscribed being sufficient to warrant the erection of a house of wor- ship, the minutes of the board of trustees set forth,-

"On the 24th of January, 1854, John H. Robb, Paschall J. Hoppes, M.D., Charlee A. Litzenburg, Juhu Verlenden, Israel Helme, and the Rev. J. Addison Whitaker met at the residence uf the pastor in Darby, and at his request united in forming a voluntary board of trustees for the purpose of erecting a church edifice, and tu hold the same in truet for the Presbyterian Church hereafter to be organized and called the Darby aud Paschallville Presbyterian Church, or by any other name by which they wish to designate it as a Presbyterian Church."

A design for a church building was made by John Nahman, of Philadelphia, which was accepted by the board, and on Feb. 11, 1854, a lot was purchased of Dr. Paschall J. Hoopes, five hundred and fifty dollars being paid for the ground, located at the intersection of Maine and Moore Streets. Early in the spring Charles Bonsall, who had contracted to erect the church for seven thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars, began building. The contract stipulated that the lecture-room should be completed by August Ist, aud the entire building should be finished by Jan. 1, 1855. The lecture-room, however, was not ready at the time stipulated. The church was organized on Sunday, Oct. 1, 1854, with fourteen members (most of whom were members of Darby Presbyterian Church), with Dr. Stephen Parsons as ruling elder, and the Rev. J. Addison Whitaker minister in charge. The work on the auditorium was not completed until the spring of 1858. The lot adjoining the church lot was pur- chased in 1862, and a parsonage erected, at a cost of five thousand five hundred and eight dollars. In 1870, repairs were made upon the church at an expense of three thousand and ninety-seven dollars and fifty-two cents. The church from its organization had been laboring under a heavy debt, which, in 1873, was en- tirely removed, and on the 28th of November in that

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 129

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