History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 133

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

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First New Jerusalem Church of Delaware County .- Prior to 1830, James Robinson, a manufac- turer, then operating the factory now known as Clif- ton Mills, who had been a lay preacher of the Swe- denborgian Church in England before emigrating to Pennsylvania, began the dissemination of the tenets of that religious faith in Upper Darby, a Sunday-school being organized in the picker-room of the old factory building at the mills now operated by Thomas Kent. Occasional services were also held in the Academy building at Haddington. From this movement a church organization was effected, with the following persons as members : David Snyder, Charles Sellers, Samuel Sellers, Jesse Hayes, Edward Levis and wife, Morris W. Heston and wife, Benjamin Thomas and wife, George Trites and wife. On June 7, 1830, the corner-stone of the present church edifice, on the Marshall road, near Naylor's Run, was laid, a large number of persons being present from the neighbor- hood and Philadelphia. Mr. Robinson conducted the services, explaining the fundamental principles of the New Jerusalem faith, during which a heavy shower of rain interrupted the ceremonies for a short time. After the stone was in place, Rev. Mr. Carll, of Philadelphia, addressed the assembly, and in his remarks stated that "they had laid the corner-stone of that church in the name of Jehovah, one God, and that Jesus Christ was that God," and he hoped "that the church erected thereon might never be ap-

propriated to the worship of a Trinity, or more than one God, as distinct and separate beings." Mr. Carll was followed by the Rev. Mr. Roach, and the ser- vices were concluded with a prayer by Mr. Robinson. The church thus built was erected on the land of Frederick and Edward Levis long prior to the lot being donated, for it was not until July 31, 1833, that the owners of the real estate conveyed the half-acre of ground to Morris W. Heston and George G. Trites, trustees of the church. Rev. Manning B. Roach and Rev. Isaac C. Worrell were in charge of the church. On Sept. 2, 1861, the court incorporated the New Jerusalem Society of Edenfield, Delaware County. At the present time the church is without a pastor, and services are rarely held in the old building.

Pleasant Hill Methodist Episcopal Church .- In 1834 a society of Methodists effected an organization in Upper Darby, meetings for public worship being held at the private houses of the members until early in 1837, when it was resolved to erect a meeting- house. On Thursday, June 27th of that year, the corner-stone was laid at Pleasant Hill, about a quar- ter of a mile from Palmer & Marker's paper-mills, which were subsequently known as Tuscarora Mills. Rev. M. Coomes conducted the services on that occa- sion. The locality was selected because of its prox- imity to the paper-mills, for from the employés there its membership was largely drawn. The struggling church was under the care of the Philadelphia Con- ference, and, after the paper-mills had been converted into factories by George Burnley, the society grew rapidly. After the organization of the Clifton Meth- odist Church, in 1871, the elder church was placed under that charge. In May, 1884, Pleasant Hill Church celebrated the semi-centennial anniversary of its founding. The church membership is now about fifteen persons.

Clifton Methodist Episcopal Church .- This re- ligious society was organized in 1871, and immedi- ately began the erection of the present brick church, forty-five by sixty-five feet, the building fund being largely the contribution of Richard Young, of Spring- field. The church was at first under the charge of the Rev. M. H. Sisty, who was untiring in his efforts to establish the organization on a firm basis. The corner-stone of the church building was laid Thurs- day, Aug. 10, 1871, the pastor, Rev. M. H. Sisty, Rev. F. A. Fernley, and other clergymen taking part in the ceremony. The edifice was erected at a cost of eight thousand dollars. Rev. Mr. Sisty has been suc- ceeded in the pastorate by the Revs. J. Y. Ashton, J. P. Miller, William Magee, M. Barnhill, and N. Turner, who at the present time is in charge of the church, including that at Pleasant Hill. The mem- bership now consists of seventy persons, and there is also a Sunday-school with one hundred and thirty pupils, of which Isaac Lord is superintendent. The foundation for a parsonage is now (July, 1884) laid on a lot adjoining the church.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

St. Charles Borromeo Church .- Soon after Charles Kelly purchased the mills at Kellyville a Catholic mission was established there. In 1849 it was de- termined to build a church, ground being donated for that purpose by Charles Kelly, as also for a burial-place. On Sunday, Oct. 13, 1850, the stone church, forty by eighty feet, which had been erected, was dedicated ; the Very Rev. F. X. Gartland, V. G., conducted the ceremonies, and the Rev. Dr. Moriarty preached the dedicatory sermon. On Dec. 30, 1854, the church was found to be on fire, caused by a de- fective flue. The flames were extinguished before much damage was done. The membership of this church has fluctuated, at some times very large, at others much less, owing to employment being brisk or slack at the mills. The pastors of the parish of St. Charles Borromeo have been the Revs. McGinnis, John Shields, I. P. Dunn, Hugh Lane, John Brana- gan, Dr. Balch, Richard O'Connor, John Kelly, John McGovern, and M. C. McEnroe, who at present is in charge of the parish.

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Clifton .- The first services of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Upper Darby were held in the public school-house in the village, May 5, 1872, the Rev. James S. Brooke, the rector of. St. George's Church, West End, offici- ating. On October 27th of the same year communion was administered, fourteen persons uniting in the sacred ceremony, and on Thursday evening, Novem- ber 1st, the bishop of the diocese made his first offi- cial visit to Clifton Heights, on which occasion eleven persons were confirmed. In May of the following year a Sunday-school was organized in connection with the mission. From the establishment of the mission to the beginning of the year 1877 the congre- gation were under the pastoral care, successively, of the Rev. Mr. Brooke, the Rev. Gideon J. Burton (warden of the Burd Orphan Asylum), the Rev. W. C. Cooley (of West End), and the Rev. Charles A. Maison (of St. James', Kingsessing), the latter hav- ing the oversight for about three years. During this period the congregation was composed almost exclu- sively of the people working in the mills near the village. They were poor and few in number, but they struggled on in the face of many discourage- ments, giving far more than they could well afford from their slender income to maintain the services of the church, to which they were warmly attached. Among the most zealous in the work of the little mission was John Shaw, who subsequently was elected one of the original vestry. In 1876 services began to be held regularly every Sunday morning by Mr. Thomas A. Bent, a lay-reader. At his death, in October, 1876, he was succeeded by Mr. William W. Taylor. In the fall of 1878, Frederick Chase and wife became earnest, advocates of the cause of the mission, and their efforts heing seconded by many others in the neighborhood, its prospects began to brighten. Oborn Levis donated several lots fronting

on the Baltimore turnpike, and enough subscriptions were soon secured to warrant the erection of a church, notwithstanding by the failure of the Frank- lin Savings-Fund, in Philadelphia, a sum of money which had been accumulating towards a church erec- tion-fund was lost. Accordingly, the corner-stone was laid Oct. 12, 1878, and on Sunday morning, March 16, 1879, the sanctuary was dedicated by Bishop Stevens, at which time the church was entirely out of debt, subscriptions having been obtained sufficient to discharge every obligation for its erection. The building, which is in the Gothic style of architec- ture, is laid in pressed brick, with stone trimmings, and ornamented with colored brick, while internally it is finished in oiled hard woods, with an open roof and exposed rafters. In the recess chancel is a hand- some stained-glass window, the contribution of the Sunday-school scholars.

A parish was now organized under the name of St. Stephen's Church, Clifton Heights, a charter was obtained, and a vestry elected. The first vestrymen were Frederick Chase, Dr. J. W. Phillips, Dr. R. A. Given, John Shaw, Edward Walden, Richard Bar- low, and William Kane. At this time, the Rev. Charles A. Maison having resigned, the Rev. G. J. Burton was elected rector in charge, and the lay- reader was chosen assistant minister. He was or- dained to the deaconate in the new church Nov. 1, 1879. On Oct. 9, 1880, the corner-stone of a Sunday- school and parish building was laid with impressive services.

This beautiful structure, one of the finest in the county, was the gift of Thomas A. Scott, then presi- dent of the Pennsylvania Railroad, who was much interested in the little church. A memorial brass tablet on its walls bears this inscription : " Erected in memory of Thomas A. Scott, Jr., who died Ascen- sion Day, 1879. Of such is the Kingdom of God." On Easter Monday, 1881, Rev. Mr. Burton resigned, and his assistant, Rev. W. W. Taylor, was elected rector. In the fall of 1882 ground adjoining the church property (which had already been enlarged by gifts of lots from Dr. R. A. Given and Thomas A. Scott) was received and a rectory hegun. It was finished and occupied the following spring. The present value of the church property, real and per- sonal, is twenty thousand dollars. The actual com- municants number seventy. There are in the Sun- day-school eight teachers and one hundred scholars. In the parish day-school, one teacher and twenty- eight pupils, and in the night-school, three teachers and forty scholars. Connected with the church there are also sewing and altar societies. Services are held twice on Sundays, on all the holy days, and com- munion is celebrated twice in the month.

It will be seen by the foregoing sketch that the parish has grown rapidly, and that now, in its sixth year of organization, it is fully equipped for aggres- sive work in the midst of an increasing population.

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UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP.

The Burd Orphan Asylum .- This charitable es- tablishment, although having its origin in Philadel- phia, and being in a certain sense one of that city's institutions, is located in Upper Darby. Its full title is "The Burd Orphan Asylum of St. Stephen's Church," and its location is described as "Market Street, west of Sixty-third Street." The institution was founded by the munificence of Mrs. Eliza Howard Burd, deceased, formerly of Philadelphia, who was the widow of Edward Shippen Burd, and daughter of Woodrop Sims. She was a lady of culture and refinement, and upon being left a widow, and losing her two daughters, she determined to use her large fortune in philanthropy. The inception of the enter- prise which culminated in the orphan asylum was a " home" established by Mrs. Burd in 1856, in the rear of her dwelling, on the southwest corner of Ninth and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, to which she ad- mitted twelve fatherless girls. During ber life she superintended the management of it herself. Seek- ing a method for her wealth to do good when she should be no more, sbe was advised by her pastor, the late Rev. Henry W. Ducachet, of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, to found a similar school upon a larger scale. At her death, in 1860, she bequeathed to the rector, church wardens, and vestrymen of St. Stephen's Church, in trust, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars to build and endow the present institution.

In 1861 a lot of ground, consisting of forty-five acres, partly in the city limits and party in Delaware County, was purchased, and the erection of the pres- ent buildings begun. The property was formerly known as "Sellers Hall." It had passed in the di- vision of the estate of John Sellers to Margaret Sel- lers Powell, wife of Joseph Powell, by whom it was sold to the trustees of the asylum.

The orphans admitted by Mrs. Burd were removed to the new building, and others were received in Sep- tember, 1863. The chapel was completed and con- secrated Nov. 3, 1866. A writer in Progress, of Sept. 13, 1879, presumably the late John W. Forney, says, "The asylum ... is different from any other I have ever seen. It resembles more in its appearance, artistic surroundings and appointments, some old de- serted English manor than a house for poor little or- phans." The asylum consists of a group of detached buildings connected with corridors, with an outbuild- ing containing the kitchen, laundry, bake-room, and bedrooms for the domestics, connected with the main buildings by means of a covered railway. The style is the early English Gothic. It is built of a light- gray stone, quarried on the grounds, laid in rubble, pointed with facings of dressed Leiperville stone. The buildings are two stories high, with basements twelve feet clear above the surface of the ground, and a sub-cellar containing the steam furnaces for heat- ing. In the basement is a large dining-room, which will seat one hundred and fifty children, play-room,

bowling-alley, bath-rooms, reception-room, and nur- sery. In the main building, on the first floor, are a parlor and library, containing the antique furniture and the books (about four thousand volumes) be- queathed to the asylum by Mrs. Burd, a large school- room, four class-rooms, and housekeeper's room. On the second floor, approached by two broad iron stair- ways, is the beautiful chapel, which will accom- modate three hundred and fifty persons. It has two memorial windows to the foundress, and one to her rector, the first chaplain of the asylum, the Rev. Henry W. Ducachet, D.D. In the rear is a large dormitory, teachers' rooms, etc. All the stairs are iron, the railings outside and in are also iron, and the building is as far as practicable fire-proof. The north wing contains the warden's residence, a large sewing- room, and two dormitories. The south wing, which is not yet erected, will add a hundred feet to the length, and double the accommodations. In the hall is. a portrait of Edward Shippen Burd, painted when the subject was a young man, by Rembrandt Peale, and elsewhere are the portraits of Mrs. Burd's daugh- ters.

The grounds are very attractively laid out. They contain hills and dales, running water, smoothly- sloping lawns, and shady groves, forming appropriate surroundings for the beautiful buildings. The asy- lum and grounds cost about one hundred and seventy- five thousand dollars.

The objects of the asylum, as set forth in the will of Mrs. Burd, are "to maintain, educate, and at a suita- ble age and time (to be judged of and determined by those to whose management I have intrusted the asy- lum) to place out to be instructed in proper employ- ments, first, the white female orphan children of le- gitimate birth, of the age of not less than four years and not more than eight, who shall have been bap- tized in the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the city of Philadelphia ; secondly, the same class of children, baptized in the said church, in Pennsylvania; and, thirdly, all other white female orphan children of le- gitimate birth, not less than four years of age and not more than eight years, without respect to any other description or qualification whatever, except that at all times, and in every case, the orphan children of clergy- men of the Protestant Episcopal Church shall have the preference. If the establishment or the means pro- vided shall not be sufficient to accommodate all the several classes of children herein described, each class shall be preferred in the order in which they are herein mentioned, to the exclusion in whole or in part of the other classes. By the term 'orphan,' for the purpose of this codicil, I mean a child whose father is deceased and whose mother remains a widow, or who may have lost by death both father and mother."

It is also directed and enjoined by the will that " all the children received into the asylum shall be faith- fully instructed, as a part of their education, in the principles of the precious Gospel of Christ as they are

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

held and taught by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States ; and that no other system of re- ligion shall be taught there; and, moreover, that all the worship held therein shall be according to the ritual of the said church, and no other."

For several years the number of children was lim- ited to forty, but now sixty are maintained and edu- cated. They are instructed in all the elements of a good English education according to the course of study followed in the public schools of Philadelphia. They are also taught sewing, housework, and cook- ing. If a girl shows a special talent for music, draw- ing, or any other useful art by which she may be able to support herself in after-life, it is cultivated. All are instructed in vocal music by a professor, and the singing in the chapel on Sundays attracts large num- bers of visitors. The girls are under the control of the trustees until they are eighteen, although, when deemed expedient, they are placed out in positions at an earlier age. When dismissed, each girl receives an outfit of clothing and fifty dollars in money.

As has been heretofore remarked, the Rev. Henry W. Ducachet, D.D., was the first chaplain. He died in 1865. The Revs. P. C. Moore and John A. Childs were acting chaplains until 1869, when the Rev. Francis J. Clerc, D.D., was elected warden and chaplain. He remained in charge for three and one- half years, when the Rev. Gideon J. Burton was chosen by the trustees to succeed him, and entered upon his duties in June, 1872. He has been in office over twelve years. Since he took charge the number of pupils has been increased from forty to sixty, the buildings and grounds have been improved, a regu- lar course of study has been adopted, and the institu- tion is now successfully carrying out the designs of its generous founder.

Burn Brae .- In the summer of 1859, Dr. R. A. Given erected buildings near the village of Clifton, and established a private hospital for patients afflicted with nervous and mental diseases. It was designed to accommodate forty patients, twenty of each sex. The main building was originally four stories high, including the basement ; subsequently a mansard was added, in which the amusement hall (a large and handsome room) is located. Many improvements have been made from time to time in the different halls, rendering the accommodations more perfect and attractive. On the ladies' side an entirely new build- ing has been erected, rendered necessary by the en- largement of the rooms in the main structure. The grounds, twenty-five acres in extent, are handsomely laid out and planted with a variety of ornamental trees, evergreen and deciduous. A farm of thirty-two acres, part heavily wooded, capable of being converted into drives and walks of great attractiveness, has been added ; thus, besides securing to the inmates perfect privacy, affording them in their walks the pleasing variety of hill and valley, meadow, brook, and wood- land. No efforts have been spared to render the build-

ing fire-proof. Fire-escapes are attached to both wings, and in addition arrangements exist on each floor to enable the occupants to pass readily from side to side without resort to the stairs. The building throughout is thoroughly heated by steam and well lighted by gas. Hot and cold water is abundantly distributed throughout the entire establishment.

Licensed Houses .- The record of the licensed public-houses in Upper Darby is brief. In the early times no application for the privilege of keeping a tavern in the township has been found. The first person who was authorized to keep a house of public entertainment was Benjamin Brannon, whose inu was located on the Cherry Grove Farm, a short distance south of the New Jerusalem Church, but the house facing on the Darby and Haverford road. Col. and Judge Brannon, for he held both offices, was one of the most influential Whigs during the Revolution, was one of the sub-lieutenants of the county during that war, and after the county of Delaware was erected was appointed, in 1794, one of the associate judges. He does not appear to have been a publican after the close of that struggle. In 1796, Abner Evans received license for a public-house on the north side of the West Chester road, located about four and a half miles west of Market Street bridge, where for years the house continued to meet the court's approval until 1815. Amos Ellis, in his pe- tition in 1806, states that his application is for license to the Red Lion. There had gathered in the neighborhood of the tavern a few small frame houses, and the people in the township, in derision, termed the place Cat Town. In 1815 the house seems to have been licensed for the last time. James Pyott, in 1779, received license for an inn located on the brow of a hill on the West Chester road, five miles from Market Street bridge, which ascent, because of his house being there, was then and is still known as Pyott's Hill. The tavern, in 1806, was called the Seven Stars, and Pyott had license for the house under that name, and yearly received the court's bounty until 1816, when Robert Dunny was the land- lord of the Black Horse, the Stars having fallen to be replaced by a new title. In 1820, Reece Calvert bad license for the Black Horse, in 1823, Mifflin Moore succeeded him, and in 1833 William Lungren be- came the landlord, continuing as such until 1840, when the Black Horse was a temperance house. In 1841, Evan S. Russell had a license for the Black Horse, but after that date the application was met with sturdy opposition from the residents of the township, and the court refused to grant the prayer of the pe- titioner. There were two remonstrances, as follows : The first being that of male citizens of Upper Darby, bearing eighty-four signatures, and the latter that of females, and signed by ninety-four persons :

"The undersigned, citizens of Upper Darby Township and the sur- rounding neighborhood, respectfully yet earnestly remonstrate against the granting of Tavern license to sell spiritnous liquors to applicants

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UPPER DARBY TOWNSHIP.

within the said Township ; because they believe them uncalled for by the public convenience and demoralizing in their influence, tending to the spread of intemperance with its train of evils. The only licensed house heretofore called for by the wants of the township ie to be con- tinued as one for public entertainment conducted on temperance prin- ciples, while we are surrounded on every side by licensed Taverne in numbers clearly beyond the wants of the community, as ie sufficiently shown by the many demoralizing shifts to which they are driven for a living business. The undersigned, therefore, pray the Court to aid them in their efforts to stay this crying evil so far as in their power by refusing all appplications as aforesaid."

When temperance principles became the dominant sentiment in Upper Darby, Mr. Sellers, the owner of the lands and building, consented that the old inn- sign should be taken down. The day when this was done a large number of people assembled, and when the old, weather-beaten black horse was lowered to the ground amid the cheers of those present, one cit- izen, in the excitement of the moment, exclaimed, " I'm going to give the old animal four quarts of oats; he must be mighty hungry standing up there so long." John Hawkins became the landlord of the Black Horse Inn, which he kept as a temperance house until the Howard House was built, a short dis- tance farther west on the same highway, when he took charge of the new building.

No license was granted in Upper Darby thereafter until 1875, when the local-option law was repealed, and in that year William McFadden received license at Clifton, and James Gallagher, at Kellyville, which houses have continued from that time to receive the court's approval.

The Bonsall Murder .- Perhaps no judicial inves- tigation was ever held in Delaware County which concentrated public interest to its detail to the same extent as did the trial of Michael Monroe, alias James Wellington, and his accessories, for the murder of William Bonsall, of Upper Darby. The killing was so deliberate on the part of the murderer, and so un- provoked by the victim, that popular indignation was aroused beyond any previous incident of the like character in our history, and the sixty years which have elapsed since have failed to present its parallel.

On the highway leading from the village of Darby to the West Chester road, and about two miles and a half northward of the village, in 1824, resided Mrs. Mary Warner (a widow), who kept a store in part of the house, and William Bonsall, his wife, and infant son, these four persons comprising the inmates of the dwelling. About half-past nine o'clock on Saturday evening, May 22d of that year, four suspicious-look- ing men came to the house and informed Mrs. Warner that they desired to talk with "the young man," ___ Bonsall,-with whom they professed to be acquainted. The latter, who was slightly ill at the time and had retired, dressed himself, came down-stairs, and was greeted most cordially by the visitors. Bonsall, not- withstanding he stated there must be a mistake and that he did not remember ever to have met any of the men before, hospitably invited them to be seated and at- tempted to draw them into conversation. After a few

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 133

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