History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 153

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

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1 Colonial Racorde, vol. i. p. 208.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Thomas Cobourn, after which it was "to be nailed up at the mill he is building":

" To Thos. Cobourne, of Chester County :

" Whereas we, the Proprietary Deputies, upon complaint made to u8 hy Caleb Pusey, that thou wast about to set up a mill in Chester Co., to the great damage of the mill then under the charge of the sd Caleb pusey, which hath been of vast charge to the owners thereof, & but of little profit towards defrays any parts thereof, did ou the 22d Iost. obligingly send to thee to give thee notice thereof, and to deeire thou wouldst ye 29th following anewer the ed complaint before us in the Council-Room at Phil., but instead thereof thou sent a letter of the 26th iost. by whch we perceive thou dost not only contenin the proprietary's authority & endeavor fo subvert hie dominion over all the water and eoile withio this, his province of Penusa, as he is chief propy thereof, but likewise intended to persist in the builds the mill aforesd, to the damage of the other mill aod cootempt of the proprietaryship.

"We therefore, in the propys neme, will and require thee to desist from buildiog the sd mill (witht positive orders from the propy for the same) or any way hinder the true course of the water of the ad Cr. or any part thereof by draws it out of its own proper channel, or stop or any other way molest the same upou thy peril. Givn &c., 30th, 5th mo., 1687."1

The mill thus built by Thomas Cobourn was at the site of the present Forest Dale or Dutton's mills, and from the date of its erection was within the limits of Chester township until after 1829, when by a change of the township line the mill property was embraced within Middletown, where it is now located. On Nov. 28, 1682, three hundred acres of land abutting on Chester Creek was surveyed to Thomas Cobourn. The latter was erecting his grist- mill there in the summer of 1687, and after Council had set aside the injunction granted by the commis- sioners of property, he doubtless speedily completed the building. In 1695, when the assessment for a county levy was made by the grand jury and justices, the grist-mill of Joseph Cobourn was appraised at fifty pounds. The mill was doubtless a log structure, and old Thomas Cobourn, who was a carpenter, assisted by his sons, Joseph aud William, did the greater part of the work in its erection. About 1750 a new stone grist-mill was built, taking the place of the log structure. At a subsequent date the title to the mill and land passed to - Lewis, whose heirs, Mary Cox and John Lewis, on Feb. 14, 1775, con- veyed the premises to Nicholas Fairlamb. The deed designated that there was then on the tract " a water corn-mill or grist-mill, boulting-mill, and saw-mill." Fairlamb retained ownership of the mills until Nov. 12, 1792, when he sold them to Jonathan Dutton. The mills were placed in the control of his son, John, when the latter became of age, who retained posses- sion of the estate, it having become his property at the decease of his father, in 1820. Jonathan Dutton succeeded his father, John Dutton, in the ownership of these mills. During the great flood of 1843, and while endeavoring to place some of his property out of the reach of the flood, so rapid was the rise of the water that Jonathan Dutton was com- pelled to retreat from one story of the building to another until he reached the upper one, shortly after

which the building began to yield to the force of the torrent. Knowing that the situation had become perilous, he leaped from a window and succeeded in reaching the shore, about one hundred yards below. A few moments after he left the mill it was swept away. The mills were rebuilt in 1844. Jonathan Dutton died Sept. 18, 1880, aged seventy years. The property is now owned by George G. Dutton, repre- senting the four generations of Duttons in whose ownership these mills have been for nearly a century. At the present time there is a stone grist-mill, a saw- mill, and a turning-mill on the estate.

Knowlton Mills .- On the 16th of January, 1789, Nicholas Fairlamb (who at that time also owned the Cobourn or Dutton Mill) conveyed to John Sharp- less the tract of land on which the Knowlton Mills are situated. No mention is made in this deed of a mill or mill-seat. Indeed, in 1800, "the site of Knowl- ton was a perfect wilderness." 2

On Sept. 30, 1802, John Sharpless conveyed the same tract to Jonathan Tyson, with the right of a certain dam thereon. On November 15th of the same year, Tyson purchased of Elizabeth Grissell (Griswold) fourteen acres in Aston township, located on Chester Creek, opposite to the tract he had bought of Sharpless ; the deed specifically mentions the dam rights, etc.

On May 25, 1807, Elijah Tyson, a son of Jonathan, bought of his father two hundred and fifty acres of land in Middletown, embracing the mill-site, dams, and water rights, and, July 25th of the same year, the fourteen acres in Aston, with right to abut dam against the shore of the creek. In this year (1807), for the first time, the name of Tyson appeared on the assessment-roll in connection with mills, and at that time Elijah Tyson was assessed on a saw-mill. He continued to control the business until July 27, 1813, when he sold eight acres in Middletown, in- cluding the mill, mill-dam rights, etc., and fourteen and a half acres in Aston township, opposite, with water rights, to Judah Dobson, of Philadelphia, who changed the saw-mill to a rolling-mill. Little infor- mation has been gained concerning this mill, but tradition asserts that it was a copper-mill, and the road leading from the place to Village Green is still known as the Copper-Mill road. The venerable Hon. Edward Darlington, of Media, now in his eighty- ninth year, states the mill was known as Dobson's copper-mill, and was used for rolling copper into sheets. The mill does not appear on the assessment- rolls for 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, nor in that of 1821.

On Nov. 6, 1822, John Vaughan and John Hart, assignees of Thomas and Judah Dobson, conveyed to Samuel Love "all that rolling-mill and four tracts of land," one of which is described as in Middletown, on Chester Creek, containing eight acres, adjoining lands of Elijah Tyson, Abram Trimble, and others.

1 Smith's "History of Deleware County," note, p. 162.

: Ib., p. 399.

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MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP.

Another tract was in Aston, and was partly covered by the mill-pond, and was adjoining and below the land of Jesse Grissell (Griswold). Samuel Love re- tained title to the estate until Feb. 9, 1825, when he conveyed it to John D. Carter, who had been oper- ating the Trimble cotton-mill in Concord since 1813. In the deed to Carter it is stated that the rolling-mill had been changed into a cotton-factory, and that the "cotton-factory, mill-dams, ponds, races, etc., and four pieces of land" were the properties embraced in the conveyance. In the "Report of the Manufac- tories of Delaware County," made in 1826, the place is described as being above the Dutton Mill, “on Chester Creek, in Middletown township, a cotton- factory, forty by ninety feet, head and fall thirteen feet, owned and occupied by John D. Carter ; has seven carding-engines of twenty-eight and two of thirty-one inches, workers and strippers, two drawing- frames of four double heads each, two double speed- ers of ten bobbins each, one stretcher of forty-two spindles, eight hundred and eight throstle spin- dles, six hundred and sixteen mule spindles ; spins twelve hundred and seventy-eight pounds of cotton yarn per week. No. 20, with power to drive four thousand spindles, with all the necessary preparation. Employs about forty-six hands; tenements for thir- teen families." This property was owned by Carter until April, 1829, when it was sold to Edward Dar- lington and Thomas Clyde, and Carter removed to the South. The mills were rented by Darlington and Clyde to Kershaw, Dean & Hill, who operated them until they were sold, March 4, 1832, to Robert Beatty and John O'Neill. At the time of the purchase there was a cotton-factory and tilt-mill on the estate. Beatty & O'Neill began at this place the manufacture of edge tools; but O'Neill soon withdrew from the firm, and rented from Beatty, who had bought the cotton-mill at Knowlton. On Jan. 7, 1834, the fac- tory was, with contents, entirely consumed by fire. On Oct. 26, 1835, John P. Crozer bought the prop- erty, containing the four tracts of land conveyed in 1822 to Samuel Love, a tilt-mill, saw-mill, new build- ing for factory, twenty-five by thirty-five feet, one brick and seven stone houses. After the sale Mr. Beatty continued the business at the place for a year or two, when Mr. Crozer erected a stone cotton-mill, thirty-two by seventy-six feet, three stories in height. This mill building was washed away in 1843,1 and the next year a stone building, thirty-three by eighty-five feet, three stories in height, was erected.

In 1846, Phineas Lownes and Abraham Blakeley commenced manufacturing at that place and con- tinued until 1853, when it was operated by Mr. Crozer until about 1869. At the latter date the mill was leased by John B. Rhodes, who now operates it. " Near the head-gates of the mill there was formerly the marks of a grave, the occupant of which tradition

named Moggey, and from that circumstance the cross- ing of the creek was named Moggey's Ford. As Mog- gey had the reputation of making her appearance oc- sionally, it required no little courage in the traveler in early times to cross the ford at night."? The in- cident on which the tradition was based was that about sixty years ago an English girl disappeared from that locality, and although suspicion pointed its finger at a wealthy resident in the neighborhood as being interested in her disappearance, no action was taken. The marks of a grave at the head-gates when in sub- sequent years human bones were discovered near the spot, and long after the suspected man had removed to a distant country, were spoken of in confirmation of the truth of the tradition of Moggey's ghostly appear- ances.

The Bottomley Woolen-Mill .- On a little run known in early days as Clark's Run, later as Chrome Run, a feeder of Chester Creek, which empties into the latter a short distance above Presbyterian Ford, about 1810, a small stone woolen-factory, fifteen by thirty feet, was erected by Jesse Grissell for James and John Bottomley. The latter were Englishmen, and accompanied to America by their mother, a brother, Samuel, and a sister, Elizabeth, who subse- quently was married to - Groves. The males of the family worked in the factory, and John died at that place. Samuel, after the war of 1812, went to Baltimore, where he died. The Bottomleys continued the woolen-mill until 1832, the land being owned by Jesse Grissel (Griswold), who had purchased it in 1806 of Morris Trueman, when James Miller and Robert Boyd rented the property. Miller made edge tools; the latter turned axe-handles, bobbins, and manufactured paper there in a small way. The mill was burned in 1848.

The Morris Trueman Saw-Mill .- Above the Bot- tomley Mill on Chrome Run an old race is still to he seen on the land of John Scofield. The breast of the dam has been plowed down with recent years, and is on land of Bernard McArron. This was the site of Morris Trueman's saw-mill, erected there prior to 1777. In that year he removed to Darby Creek and built a paper-mill, which was afterwards generally known as the Matthews paper-mill, and is now owned by Samel Lewis. The mill was used until about 1812.

The Old Sable Nail-Works .- The story of the old iron-works which, prior to 1785, were established on the opposite side of Chester Creek from the nail- works, has been related in the history of Aston town- ship. In 1809, Capt. Henry Moore, who was then in charge of the forge and rolling-mills on the other side of the creek, owned by his brother-in-law, Thomas Odiorne, erected on the island in the creek at Rock- dale a nail-factory, and placed therein nine nail-ma- chines. In 1810 one hundred tons of iron were man- ufactured into nails at this factory, which were sold

1 See ante, p. 104.

3 Smith's " History of Delaware County."

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

on an average for ten cents per pound, the capacity being increased gradually until in 1826 one hundred and fifty tons of nails were manufactured, and in 1832 the annual production had reached four hundred tons. In the latter year Richard Smith, a wholesale hardware dealer in Philadelphia, was compelled to take the works to cover advances made to Capt. Moore, and he leased the establishment to Howard & Massey for several years, they nsing the building for a machine-shop. It later passed to Bernard McCready, was used as a cotton-factory by James Roe, and still later by Robert Boyd, under whose occupancy it was partly destroyed by fire. The property was purchased by Alex. Balfour, who erected the present building and rented it to Joseph Richardson, Nicholas Walter, and H. P. Griffiths, who manufactured cotton and woolen goods for about two years. It later passed to Samuel Riddle, who operated it a few years and re- moved the machinery to his other mills.

Glen Riddle Mills .- On Nov. 9, 1683, three hun- dred and seventy acres of land were surveyed to Richard Crosby, it being part of the five thousand acres bought by John Ap (Bevan), John and Thomas Wynne, in England, of William Penn, to be located as the purchasers might desire on any unseated lands. Crosby sold one hundred acres of that land to Robert Pennell on April 6, 1685, and the latter conveyed it, Dec. 12, 1717, to his son, William Pennell. The latter had prior to the last date purchased sixty acres from John Taylor, and some years after erected at the place now Glen Riddle a saw-mill. In 1766, William Pen- nell is assessed on a saw-mill and a grist-mill, which he retained ownership of until his death, in 1783, although he did not have the charge of the mills, for during the Revolution they were operated by Abra- ham Pennell. At the time of William Pennell's death he was the owner of seven hundred and thirty- five acres of land in Middletown, two hundred and fifty-eight acres being located in the upper part of the township known as Grubb's, a tract of four hundred and seventeen acres, and sixty acres on which was the grist-mill and saw-mill. A tract of one hundred acres was across the creek in Aston township, on which the " Old Sable Forge" was located, and two hundred acres belonging to the estate was in Fallowfield town- ship, Chester County. The residence of the Pennell family is still standing, now the property of William Webster. The children of William Pennell were Abraham, Robert, Dell, Rachel (Mrs. Nathan Sharp- less), Esther (who afterwards became Mrs. David Garrett), William, Aaron, Jesse, Mary, and Samuel. The last had been absent for several years when his father died, and was believed to have died " beyond the sea." On June 29, 1785, the real estate was ap- praised at £6754 25s. 9d., and the Orphans' Court made a decree that Abraham, the eldest son, should be awarded the real estate, on condition that he paid to each of the other heirs their share in the property.

Under this adjudication, on Nov. 15, 1785, the heirs

united in a deed to Abraham Pennell for the estate, and the following day (November 16th) he conveyed to Dell Pennell two hundred and six acres of the Middletown tract, and the one hundred acres in Aston, on which the forge was located. The same day he also conveyed to Nathan Sharpless and Rachel (Pen- nell), his wife, and Esther Pennell the sixty acres of land on which the grist-mill and saw-mill had been built many years before. Nathan Sharpless operated the mills, and in 1790 the owners of the mill-tract erected a stone house, which still stands, the date- stone being marked "S. G. 1790." These letters in- dicate that the dwelling was built by the husbands of the two daughters of William Pennell. The letter "S" standing for the initial of Sharpless, Nathan having married Rachel, and "G" for Garrett, Esther Pennell having married David Garrett. In this house both families lived for a time, but in 1794, Nathan Sharpless erected a small stone house, which still stands, and in its walls is inserted a date-stone marked "NSR 1794." To this dwelling Sharpless removed, the Garrett family remaining in the 1790 house. On Nov. 7, 1798, David Garrett and Esther, his wife, con- veyed to Nathan Sharpless the "water corn or Grist mill" and part of the sixty acres of land. On May 21, 1802, Dell Pennell sold to Nathan Sharpless the right of the water of Chester Creek, for use of the "Sharpless Grist Mill Dam where it now stands and has long stood across the creek above our Forge Dam, . . . and water sufficient to turn two overshot water wheels of fifteen feet diameter driving each one pair of mill stones of four feet six inches diameter."

In 1815, Nathan Sharpless erected a woolen-factory and fulling-mill, which he operated until February, 1817, when he assigned the property to Abraham Sharpless, Francis Wisely, and John Peirce. The real estate on which the mills were erected, com- prising fifteen acres, was offered at public sale May 3, 1818, and was purchased by Isaac Sharpless and Gid- eon Hatton, who changed the woolen-mill to a cotton- factory. After the building was completed it was leased to John Hastings, who fitted it with the most approved machinery of that period, and continued to operate it until Oct. 23, 1823, when, becoming finan- cially embarrassed, he was compelled to sell the ma- chinery and the leasehold. The capacity of the fac- tory is shown by the following enumeration of "all the machinery requisite for carrying on a large and extensive cotton manufactory, consisting of four Throstles of 492 spindles, two mules of 408 spindles, ten Carding Engines, 12 Roving Heads, 12 Drawing Heads, one Stretcher of 96 spindles, four Reels, one Grinding Machine, one willowing Machine, one Picker and Blower, three winding Blocks, one Band- ing Machine, and one Yarn Press, together with all the rest of the Machinery."

During the time that Hastings had the cotton-fac- tory, Joseph Mancill was lessee of the grist-mill. In 1825 the woolen-factory and fulling-mill were leased

John Burnley

623

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP.

by Dennis Kelly, who placed Charles Kelly, his son- in-law, in charge of the business there. The unex- pired lease Hastings sold to John Turner & Co., who operated the cotton-mill until Oct. 27, 1827, when the land and all the mills thereon was purchased by Peter and George W. Hill. The new owners rented the cotton- and woolen-factory to James Houghton. In 1831, John Garsed located at Pennsgrove, and, in partnership with - Wooley, rented the old fulling- mill as a machine-shop, where they built looms and other machinery for cotton- and woolen-factories. In 1834, Garsed rented the grist-mill, which he changed to a cotton-factory, and, in partnership with William France and James Roe, carried on the business there for a short time, when Garsed withdrew from the firm and France & Roe continued the business, but finally failed. After James Houghton removed from Penns- grove, John Garsed leased the mill, and in 1840 John D. Peirce, a son of the then owner, entered into part- nership with John Garsed. The firm continued there until April, 1843, when Samuel Riddle came into pos- session. On Aug. 25, 1840, Peter and George W. Hill conveyed the estate to Eli D. Peirce, and on April 1, 1843, the latter sold it to Samuel Riddle, the present owner. At the time Riddle purchased, the improve- ments on the land consisted of one cotton-factory, ninety-six by forty-two feet and three stories in height; machine-shop, which had formerly been the woolen-factory, sixty by thirty feet ; a stone drying- house, twenty-eight by eighteen feet; and a stone cotton-factory, fifty by forty-five feet, two stories in height ; a block of six stone tenement houses, and a large mansion-house, which had been built by George W. Hill in 1829. Samuel Riddle took possession of the premises in 1843, and, fortunately, the flood of that year inflicted but little damage to his property. In 1845 he made extensive additions to the mill, and in 1872 erected a stone woolen-mill one hundred and twelve by sixty-five feet, three stories and a basement in height. In 1881 he built the brick mill, one hun- dred and thirty-five by sixty-two feet. The Glen Riddle mills at the present time contain fourteen thousand cotton spindles, twenty-four hundred woolen spindles, and three hundred and sixty looms. Three hundred and eighty operatives are employed. The goods made at these mills are tickings, cheviots, and doeskins.

Parkmount Mills .- Samuel Riddle, a cotton man- ufacturer, in 1829, moved from Riddle to Chester Creek, Peter Hill having agreed to erect for him a cotton-mill above the forks of Chester Creek. This factory, known as the Parkmount Mills, was oper- ated by Samuel Riddle until 1841, after which it was leased by John Dixon and others, finally by the Callaghan Brothers, during whose occupancy it was burned in 1863. In the year 1866, Burnley, Gledhill & Co. erected on the site the present mill, fifty by one hundred and fifty feet. They manu- factured both cotton and woolen goods. In 1870 the

Parkmount Mills Cotton and Woolen Company was organized, with George Mollison, president, John Burnley, secretary and treasurer, and Francis Butter- worth, superintendent. The mill contains at present time ninety-six looms, five sets of cards, and eighteen hundred spindles.

John Burnley, the son of John and Mary Burnley, was born in Littletown, Yorkshire, England, May 14, 1820. After receiving a fair English education he learned the trade of a spinner, and soon after deter- mined to seek a wider field of labor in America. On the 12th of September, 1838, he sailed from Liver- pool, and on his arrival removed at once to Cobb's Creek, Montgomery Co., Pa., where George, his eldest brother, was already established as a manufacturer of cotton fabrics. With him he sought employment, and remained as one of his most valued assistants until May 2, 1844, when he removed to Darby Creek, in Delaware County, and became a partner with his brother in the manufacture of jeans. On removing to Lenni, in connection with George Mallison and George Gladhill, under the firm-name of Burnley & Co., he rented the Parkmount Mills at this point, and began the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods. He retired in 1870 from active business, but two years later, together with George Mallison and Francis Butterworth, resumed his business relations, the firm being known as Burnley & Co., which was changed in July, 1878, to "The Parkmount Cotton and Woolen Company, Limited." Mr. Burnley con- tinued thus actively engaged until his death, on the 26th of November, 1883, being secretary and treasurer of the company. He married Mary Lomas, daughter of James and Mary Lomas, whose children are Wil- liam, Adeline (Mrs. Edward Marland), Frances Ann (deceased), Johu Edward. Mrs. Burnley died Aug. 1, 1881, and he was again married, March 1, 1883, to Alice Lomas, sister of his first wife. Mr. Burnley was in politics a Republican, but devoted to the in- terests of his business, and gave little attention to matters associated with the political world. He pos- sessed great business capacity, strict integrity, and a genial nature, which endeared him to all who were favored with an intimate knowledge of the man. His religious preferences were for the Protestant Episcopal Church, in which faith he was educated. Mr. Burn- ley was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of Protection Lodge of Independent Order of Odd-Fel- lows of Philadelphia. The business which he aided in establishing is conducted as formerly, his interest being represented by the estate. The grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Burnley are John H. Burnley, Flor- ence B. Marland, and Mary Lizzie Burnley.

John and Mary Burnley were residents of Levisage, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, where their son, Charles, was born on the 21st of June, 1808. Here and in the immediate vicinity his youth was spent. After limited educational opportunities he entered a blanket manufactory, where his father

624

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

was employed, and there learned the trade of a spinner. This industry was followed in his native land until 1842, when he embarked for America. He was, in 1838, married to Miss Susanna, daughter of James and Mary Woodcock, of Hightown, in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Their children are Mary (Mrs. Henry Grant), deceased ; Mabeth (Mrs. Albert Smith), Joseph, and Charles, deceased.

Mr. Burnley, on landing upon American shores, at once repaired to Montgomery County, Pa., and en- gaged in spinning with his brother, with whom he remained until 1844. He then removed to Upper Darby and pursued his vocation in connection with his brother George. At a later date the three broth- ers-George, John, and the subject of this sketch- formed a copartnership for the manufacture of cotton goods, which was continued until 1865, when the last named came to Middletown township and purchased a farm, having meanwhile relinquished the business of a manufacturer. He remained thus engaged until 1878, when on his retirement from active pursuits he removed to Lenni. Mr. Burnley was in politics a Republican, but not active as a politician. He was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and interested in all projects for the advancement of morality and religion in the community. His death occurred Oct. 13, 1881, in his seventy-fifth year. The grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Burnley are Charles E., Ulysses C., Henry T., Georgianna, and Anna, children of Henry and Mary Grant ; Ella B., Wilmer C., Susanna, George, and Mary, children of Albert and Mabeth Smith; Susan E., Lizzie, and Mary, children of Joseph Burnley.

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 153

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