History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 159

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

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begun. The land, it is said, on which the church stands being owned by oue Saunders, then residing in England, he was asked to donate the plot, and in response authorized the congregation " to fence off five acres in one corner" of his tract. This statement may well be questioned until it is established that Saunders ever owned the land. Perhaps William Shalow was the name of the donor. But, be that as it may, the right to build was obtained, and Acrelius records the ceremonial observances when the corner- stone was laid. He says,-

"THE LAYING OF A CORNER-STONE .- But something peculiar is to be geen among the English at the laying of the foundation of a church. On the 9th of May, 1715, Pastor Sandel was invited to attend the laying of the foundation of Rednor Church, sixteen miles from Philadelphia. First, & service with presching was held in a private house; then they went in processiou to the place where the church was to be built. There & prayer was made ; after which each one of the clergyman laid a stone according to the direction of the master mason."?

For over half a century after the church was built no floor was laid in the building, and no pews, the worshipers being seated on benches, at first furnished by the occupant, but subsequently placed there by the vestry and leased to the congregation. The quaint record states, " William Evans and Hugh Jones are to have ye upper bench above ye door for two pounds." Later, pews were introduced, but the peculiar custom prevailed of selling the ground, and the party pur- chasing to make the improvements, thus, "At a vestry held December 5th, 1763, the vestry granted to Robert Jones the privilege to build a pugh on a piece of ground in St. David's Church adjoining Wayne's and Hunter's pugh, he paying for ye ground four pounds ten shillings." This, however, is not the first mention of pews, for it appears on June 8th, 1756, the vestry "Ordered that the clerk and his assistants shall sit in John Jones' pew." In 1765 the church was floored, in 1767 a vestry house was built on the site of the present Sunday-school, and in 1771 a subscrip- tion was made sufficient to build the gallery, which, when first erected, extended further than at present, passing over the front door and joining on the east wall. Capt. Isaac Wayne, the father of Mad Anthony, was the chief mover in the improvement, and under his direction it was built.

John Clubb, the active pastor, during whose in- cumbency the present church was built, labored so diligently in the ministry, being compelled to make long journeys to preach to the scattered congrega- tions in his charge, that it undermined his health and caused his death in December, 1715. In that year it is believed Dr. Evans returned to England for the second time, designing to remain, but after the death of John Clubb, the petition of the " poor settlers in a

I Hazard'e Register, vol. v. p. 162.

2 Acrelius' " History of New Sweden," p. 221. The fact that the servicee were held at a private house, and the absence of the slightest reference to a prior church building in any of the documentary authorities touch- ing on the early history of St. David's, tend strongly to disprove the truth of the old tradition that & log structure huilt for church purposes preceded the present edifice.

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wilderness," as was the expression used by the con- gregations at Radnor and Oxford, earnestly requesting that another missionary should be sent them by the society, that Dr. Evans petitioned that he might again go to the American colonies. The only vacant charge at that time being the Welsh settlement, he was ap- pointed, and in 1716, for the third time, being tem- porarily assigned to that parish. At Radnor he preached on alternative Thursdays until the summer of 1718, during which, from April, 1717, until May, 1718, he was also minister of Christ Church, in Phila- delphia. In February of the latter year he was of- fered a living in Maryland by the Governor of that State, which he accepted, conducting services at Rad- nor for the last time in June, 1718. Rev. John Hum- phreys, of Chester, who was so unpopular in his own parish that the people united in April, 1717, in ask- ing that another missionary might be sent to St. Paul's, supplied the vacant pulpit until December, 1718, when Rev. Robert Weyman, who had been ap- pointed missionary, assumed charge of the Radnor Church. The latter did not understand Welsh, and for twelve years many of the pious members of the church attended his preaching without comprehend- ing any of the sermons, and in those days pulpit essays were not confined to a brief matter of a half-hour, but were lengthy and bristling with doctrinal arguments. On April 1, 1725, the old record of the church shows the appointment of the first vestrymen, consisting of William Davis, James Price, Thomas David, Joseph Coleman, William Moore, John Hunter, Anthony Wayne, Thomas James, David Evans, William Evans, Peter Elliot, John David, while the church wardens were Evan Hughes and Griffith Howell.

Early in the spring of 1731, Rev. Mr. Weyman was ordered to another field, and for two years Radnor Church was without a missionary, dependent on sup- plies for religious services, and the difficulties with which the congregation had to contend are shown by the register, when, on Nov. 7, 1731, a subscription, amounting to nine pounds eleven shillings was made, and the subscribers obligated themselves to make pay- ment " on or before ye sixteenth day of May next en- suing the date hereof, for the use of Mr. Backhouse, who pretends, with God's assistance, to preach here once a month." Early in the spring of 1733, Rev. John Hughes, who had been appointed missionary, assumed the charge of Radnor Church, and continued there until the summer of 1736, when, his health be- coming impaired, he requested the society to fill the place which he was compelled to resign. The society thereupon appointed Rev. William Currie, a Scotch- man, liberally educated, who assumed the duties of the office in 1737, and he continued in charge of the parish until May, 1776, when, announcing to the congregation that, under the obligation of his office, he felt he must use the liturgy of the Church of England in behalf of King George, he tendered his resignation of the rec- torship, which he had filled for nearly half a century.

After his resignation church organization appears to have been demoralized, and seldom during the long years of that contest were religious services held within the building. That the church was stripped of the lead in which the small diamond-shaped glasses in the windows was held in place is most probable, but it is not likely, as tradition has stated, that Gen. Grant massed some of his command in the cedar thicket, which, during the Revolution, was on the site of the present rectory, preparatory to his attack on Wayne at Paoli, on the night of Sept. 20, 1777. It may be that some of the dead and wounded American troops, to the number of sixteen, who fell in that massacre, were buried in the little hollow west of the gallery- stairs, but the story that the buried men were of the dead of Brandywine battle-field is worthy of little, if any, consideration.

From a well-written account of St. David's Church the following incidents are taken : 1

"In June, 1763, very threatening rumors having reached Radnor concerning the devastation of the In- dians under Pontiac, who had at that time advanced as far as Carlisle, Mr. Currie, on the Sunday after the arrival of the news, announced his text from Eccle- siastes vii. 14: 'In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity considerate.' So eloquent was the old gentleman's discourse that the congrega- tion, impressed with a sense of their danger from an attack by the Indians, resolved themselves, before leaving the church, into a mutual protection associa- tion ; and, after due deliberation, returned to their homes, carefully cleaned and prepared all the guns and other weapons found in the neighborhood, and thus made full arrangements to resist the Indians should they approach. This home-guard system continued, it is said, until Pontiac's peace and with- drawal in August, 1764."

The other incidents occurred during the Revolu- tion, and happened while services were being held by Rev. David Jones, the Baptist pastor of the Great Valley Church, in Chester County, who was Wayne's chaplain from 1777 to 1783, and on this occasion was preaching in the old Radnor Church. The event is thus recorded by the writer already mentioned :

"After finishing the introductory formalities, old Davy Jones climbed into the lofty pulpit, and, having announced his text, glanced around in order to assure himself of the attention of his audience; that one glance, however, completely disconcerted the worthy old gentleman. He saw seated comfortably before him several young and active men (previously hidden from so close a scrutiny by the old-fashioned, high- backed pews). In an instant patriotism had so com- pletely mastered him that he threw away his sermon, and, shaking his finger vehemently at the astonished youths, demanded to know why they didn't go into .

1 llistorical Sketch of Old Radnor Church, 1685-1875, pp. 5, 6, Media, 1875.

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the American army and fight the British ? 'I'm not afraid to go,' he screamed; 'they can't hurt me ! They may kill me, if they like, and make a drum- head of my old hide, but they'll play humy, drum, drum, humy, drum, drum, till the British are scared out of the country ;" then, in wild excitement, he threw off a heavy cloak, which hung around his shoulders, and displayed an American uniform."

In 1783, Rev. William Currie again took charge of St. David's and began energetically to collect funds to repair the ravages which time and the war had made in the old church building and graveyard wall. While he was rector the church was admitted to membership in the Diocesan Convention of Pennsyl- vania, in 1786. In August, 1787, Thomas Reed and Philip Sheaf were appointed as delegates to secure a minister, the Great Valley Episcopal Church of Chester County, St. James at Perkiomen, and the Swede's Church near Norristown being united with St. David's Church in the parish. The result was the calling of Rev. Slaytor Clay. In August, 1792, while Mr. Clay was rector, the church was incorporated, and it was during his incumbency that the body of Gen. Wayne was removed from the fortress at Presque Isle to Radnor churchyard by his son, Col. Isaac Wayne. On the 4th of July, 1809 (an oppressively warm day), the Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati placed a plain marble monument over his remains. This stone was erected previous to the removal of the body of the general to Old Radnor churchyard. The ceremonies of the dedication of the monument were conducted by the Society of the Cincinnati. There was an imposing pageant, and the First City Troop of Phil- adelphia, under command of Maj. Robert Wharton, paid the honors of war over the grave. The hearse con- taining the body of the general was preceded from his residence to the grave by a veteran, Samuel Smiley, one of the Wayne brigade, who refused to ride, and seemed overcome with the realization of the fact that his old commander was dead. One of the officers of the City Troop, it is said, was overcome by the extreme heat, and after the ceremony was over, an eccentric Baptist preacher, old Davy Jones, who had witnessed the massacre at Paoli and had taken part in the battle, mounted the platform that had been erected near the monument and told the story of that butchery. The crowd gathered on the occasion is said to have been so large that many of the limbs of the trees in and surrounding the yard broke with the weight of the people who had climbed up on them.

During Mr. Clay's rectorship an addition was made to the graveyard and the wall repaired, the dashed part of the wall showing where the extension was made. The present northwest wall of the graveyard, added at a still more recent date, forms the boundaries between Delaware and Chester Counties. The church building was repaired and the pews rearranged. Mr. Clay continued in charge of St. David's until his death, in 1821, although his health was so broken that

frequently services were not held in the church, and often the congregation was dependent on supplies. In 1818 Rev. Samuel C. Brinckle settled near the church, and preached every other week after that time until Mr. Clay's death ; and succeeding the latter in the rectorship, he preached every Sunday, but that he did so was due to William Crosley, a wealthy member of the church, who subscribed twenty dollars to the support of a minister who would preach every Sunday. The congregation, moved by this example, contributed until the salary was increased to nearly four hundred dollars.

The rectors of the church since Mr. Brinckle have been : Rev. Simon Wilmer, from December, 1832, to July, 1833 ; Rev. William Henry Rees, from July, 1833, to September, 1838; Rev. William Peck, from October, 1838, to October, 1845; Rev. William W. Spear, from January, 1846, to March, 1846; Rev. Breed Batchelor, from March, 1846, to December, 1847; Rev. Thomas G. Allen, not regularly ap- pointed; Rev. John A. Childs, from January, 1848, to August, 1856; Rev. Henry Brown, from 1851 to 1855; Rev. Richardson Graham, from January, 1856, to January, 1861; Rev. Thomas G. Clemson, from August, 1861, to June, 1866; Rev. William F. Halsey, from Nov. 18, 1866, to his death, October, 1882; Rev. George A. Keller, from December, 1882, the present incumbent.

On July 30, 1820, the first confirmation ever held in St. David's Church was conducted by Bishop White, sixteen persons being on that occasion ad- mitted to membership. In 1824 the Sunday-school was organized, and about 1830 that part of the old gallery which passed over the front door was taken down, the high-backed, old-fashioned pews torn out, and the present ones substituted, the pulpit enlarged, and the sounding-board removed. A vestry house was built, about seventeen feet square, on the site of the present Sunday-school building. In 1844 the present parsonage was built. In 1850 St. David's corporation brought suit against Thomas Beaumont, who, they alleged, had gradually been encroaching on the church lands. The church was comparative suc- cessful in the suit, but the vestry was unable to show any title to the land other than possession. It is a tradition that Queen Anne presented Radnor Church with a communion service, which is doubtless true, for it was her custom to make such gifts to every church of England in the British colonies. It was due to her interest in these matters that Walpole called her " the wet-nurse of the church." This service was taken by some marauding party of soldiers during the Revolution, and has never been recovered.

In 1861 the corporation purchased an acre of land from George Phillips, and enlarged the graveyard. On Sept. 4, 1867, the church celebrated its sesqui- centennial, the date being erroneous, 1717 being ac- cepted as the year of the church building, instead of 1715. In 1871 the church was repaired, and a new

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

and commodious vestry-room was built on and beyond the site of the old house.

During the national centennial Longfellow visited Old Radnor Church, and so deeply did the scene impress his poetic feelings that he gave expression to his thoughts in the following poem, entitled

"OLD ST. DAVID'S AT RADNOR.1

" What an image of peace and rest Ie this little church among its graves ! All is so quiet : the troubled breast, The wounded spirit, the heart oppressed, Here may find the repose it craves.

" See how the ivy climbe and expande Over this humble hermitage, And seems to caress with ite little haude The rough, gray stones, as a child that stands Caressing the wrinkled cheeke of age.

" You cross the threshold, and dim and emall Is the space that serves for the Shepherd's fold : The narrow aisle, the bare white wall, The pews, and the pulpit quaint and tall, Whisper and say, ' Alas! we are old.'

" Herbert's chapel at Bemerton Hardly more spacious is than this, But poet and pastor, blent in one, Clothed with a splendor, as of the sun, That lowly and holy edifice.

" It is not the wall of stone without That makes the building emall or great, But the soul's light shining round about, And the faith thet overcometh doubt, And the love that stronger ie than hate.

" Were I a pilgrim in search of peace, Were I a pastor of Holy Church,

More than a bishop's diocese Should I prize this place of rest and release From further longing and further search.

"Here would I stay, and let the world With its distant thunder roar and roll; Storme do not rend the sail that is furled, Nor like a dead leaf, tossed and whirled In an eddy of wind, is the anchored soul."

The ancient God's acre which surrounds this quaint church is crowded with the dead of many generations. The oldest tombstone in the inclosure bears this inscription :

" Here Lieth ye body of Edward Hvghee, Entered ye 16 day of December 1716-aged 56 years 9 months."

Another erected to an infant reads, -

" Remember, children, as you pass by That you, too, also soon must die."

The door-stone to the church is a tablet bearing the date 1781, and the name William Moore, whom tra- dition has declared was a rank Tory. Another stone has this inscription, which is now difficult to decipher :

"HERE! LIETH: THE: BODY : OF: WILLIAM: EVANS: WHO: DEPART- ED: Tais: LIFE: THE : SEPTEM- BER: 29: 1731: AOED: 52 MY : PILGRIM : RACE : I : RAN: A : PACE: MY: RESTING : PLACE : Is : HERE: THIS: STONE: Is : GOT: To: KEEP: YE: SPOT: TEAT : MEN : DIO : Nor : Too : NEAR!"

1 Lippincott's Magazine for June, 1880.

Near the church has been erected a plain marble monument to the memory of Gen. Anthony Wayne. On one side of the stone is the following inscription :

" Major General Anthony Wayne was born at Waynesborough, in Chester county, State of Penneylvania, A.D. 1745. After a life of honor and usefulness, he died in December, 1796, at a military poet on the shore of Lake Erie, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United States. Hie military achievements are consecrated in the history of his country and in the hearts of his countrymen. Hie remains are here deposited."

On the other is inscribed,-

"In honor of the distinguished military services of Major Gen. An- thony Wayne ; and ae an affectionate tributs of respect to his memory thie stone was erected by his companion in arme, the Pennsylvania State Society of the Cinclonati, July 4th, 1809; thirty-fourth anniversary of the United States of America ; an event which constitutes the most ap- propriate eulogium of an American soldier and patriot."

In another part of the graveyard is a massive slab, which bears the following inscription :

" Mary Wayne, consort of the late Major Gen. Anthony Wayns, died April 18th, 1793, aged 44 years.

" Major Gen. Anthony Wayne, late commander of the Army of the United States, died at Presque Isle, December 15th, 1796, aged 52 years. His body is interred within the garrison near the town of Erie."

The stone just mentioned was erected prior to the removal of " Mad Anthony's" remains to Old Radnor Church.

Industries .- In 1799 John Foulkes owned in New- town a saw-mill and chairmaker's shop, Abraham Cal- vert and Joseph Foulkes owned each a weave-shop, Robert Mendenhall and William Vandever owned a saw-mill, and Ezra Thomas had a wheelwright shop.

Union Paper-Mill .- On Feb. 2, 1828, William Crosley purchased one hundred and eighty-seven acres of land on Darby Creek, and in that year erected a woolen-factory, where he conducted a large business for many years. The mill was finally burned, and on Feb. 24, 1861, the property was purchased by Dr. Henry Pleasants, and later sold by him to Caspar C. Garrett, who erected a paper-mill, which he subse- quently enlarged, and is now one of the most pros- perous establishments of this character in the county.

Moore's Mill .- About 1835, Adam Siters sold to Samuel, James, and Alexander Moore eighty acres of land on Darby Creek, a short distance below the Crosley Mill, on which they erected a stone paper- mill, forty by sixty feet, three stories in height, and a stone picker-house one story high. Fourteen tene- ment houses were also built, and a large and exten- sive business was conducted until 1855, when the main mill was destroyed by fire. The small one was burned a few years later. Since that time the water- power has not been used, and the property later passed to Dr. Pleasants, who now owns it.

Tannery .- David Lewis, in 1799, owned a tan-yard, and also had a store. The tan-yard in 1815 was con- ducted by John Pratt, and was on land near Old New- town Square, now belonging to Charles Tyson. It was continued until subsequent to 1830.

Pierce's Plows .- In 1843, William Cobourn had a foundry near Fox Chase Tavern, where he made and

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had the exclusive sale of Pierce's plows, which he manufactured of cast iron, wrought iron, and steel.

Williamson's Saw-Mill .- In 1799 Enos William- son owned a saw-mill on Crum Creek, which fell into disuse subsequent to 1848.

Thomas' Shingle-Mill .- Thirty-five years ago Jon- athan H. Thomas was operating a shingle-mill in Newtown, which, on the evening of March 22, 1861, was set on fire and destroyed. The ground being at the time covered with a deep snow, the track of the incendiary was followed to Howellville, in Edgmont, where he was arrested.

Licensed Houses .- The first record of license granted in Newtown is mentioned in the following petition of Joseph Hawley, which would designate it as having been done in 1727, although I do not find Hawley's name in the petition for licenses pre- vious to 1729. The petition I allude to is dated Aug. 25, 1741, and the petitioner sets forth his case to the court that he has " for these fourteen years Past Be- haved himself as an honest, Civill aud quiet neighbor in his said Imploy, forbidding Gameing or Drunken- ness or Suffer Men's Servants or others, to Sitt Tip- ling in his house, and he and his wife being each of them Between Sixty and Seventy years of age. . . . And hope you will not allow Francis Elliot, a young man (that hath a good trade, being a wheelwright, house carpenter and joiner, having a wife and one Child, hath Two or three apprentices, one Journey- man), to obtain your Grant for Keeping of a Publick house in Newtown, aforesaid, to the Great hurt and damage of your Petitioner in his old age."

The petition is indorsed by sixty-seven citizens of the township, who request the court to grant the license, lest "Hawley and wife become a publick charge." The application received the favorable consideration of the justice. In Angust, 1743, Haw- ley's petition states that "having obtained the favour of this Honorable Court for the Keeping a Publick house of Entertainment for these sixteen years past," he wishes to continue, and the court permits him so to do. From the diagram attached to Francis Elliot's petition, Nov. 24, 1741, it appears that "Hally's" (Hawley's) house was located on the north side of the then Darby (now West Chester) road, a short dis- tance below where that road intersects with the road leading to Bishop's Mills and Lima, which places it above where the Fox Chase Hotel now stands. EI- liot also states that his house is about ten miles dis- tant on "Newtown Street," where the road from Goshen to Philadelphia crosses the former, and lo- cates his house at the southwest intersection of New- town Street and Goshen road, exactly on the site of the building of Mrs. Ruth Pratt, in 1870, as shown by Hopkin's Atlas of Delaware County.

As noted, Francis Elliot failed in the petition men- tioned above, but he again presented his petition to the November court, in the same year, mentioning therein that he had made application at the August 1

court, but without success. Aug. 31, 1742, he again appears, stating that he had been refused license at the previous August and November courts, but urges that " he hath been encouraged almost to complete a large Brick Building, and in a short time (by the Providence of God) shall be finished." His applica- tion appears to have this time been successful, for Aug. 30, 1743, he petitioned for a renewal of license, which was allowed.

Neither Hawley's nor Elliot's name appears, so far as I have been able to find, after the date just given, but Aug. 28, 1744, John West (the father of Benjamin West) petitioned that he " having obtained license for Keeping A public House of Entertainment in the County of Chester for one year, which being now Ex- pired, your Petitioner Craves to be Continued in the Same Station in the Township." From that time until 1748 he continued in the business, but in that year Jonathan James, who leased the premises, received license for the house "where John West lately Dwelled," and had it renewed to him the following year. November, 1750, John Morris, also a renter, petitioned for license for the house where Jonathan James dwelt, which he says has been "a tavern ever since built," and it was allowed. The same year Jona- than James also made application at another location, but it was rejected. Morris kept the inn until 1755, when John West again became " mine host" and so continued until 1758, when John Hamilton obtained the license, which was consecutively continued until and including 1766. There is no record for the year 1767, but in 1768 John Jarvis was empowered to keep a public-house, which in 1771 was known as the Square. In 1774, John Powell succeeded Jarvis for three years, when Andrew Wilson conducted the busi- ness, and in turn was followed by James Elliot, the name of the house now being Newtown Square, a title which it appears to have retained until 1787, when it was again called the Square. This name it retained in 1788 and 1789, when Richard Britton was the host. In 1790, after the erection of Delaware County, Evan Jones was licensed at the Square, and in 1792 he was succeeded in business by William Beaumont, who owned the property. In 1810 he was superseded by Joseph Davis, who, in his petition the following year, gives the title of the old inn as the Wagon. The lat- ter in 1814 was followed by Levi Wells, aud in 1817, Davis Beaumont, a son of the owner of the tavern, became the landlord, to be followed in 1823 by Wil- liam V. Black. At this time the electors of Newtown, Radnor, Marple, and that part of Edgmont lying to the west of Ridley Creek, had their polling-place at Black's Inn. In 1826, William L. Cochran followed William V. Black, to give place, in 1832, to Joseph Black, and the latter, two years later, to Joseph E. Anderson. At this time the voters of Newtown and Edgmont, east of Ridley Creek, had their polls at the Wagon. In 1838, Isaac Hull became the host, and when Newtown, in 1840, became an election district

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 159

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