History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 172

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

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Here is that wonderful treasury of books and of priceless manuscripts, which Mr. Childs' taste for lit- erature led him to amass, and which his acquaint- anceship with authors and his wealth enabled him to make the most interesting one in America.

" Wootton" led to Wayne. The happiness which Mr. Childs experienced in his country home led his mind, always active in devising the welfare of others, to the conception of a plan by which many men of moderate means might enjoy the beauty and the wholesomeness of the country. His idea was the founding of a village with perfect sanitary regula- tions, with broad avenues and streets, and with com- fortable, attractive houses which should be within the reach of men enjoying comparatively small incomes.

To create such a suburban villa, Mr. Childs and his friend, Anthony J. Drexel, of Philadelphia, devoted their thought, their energy, and their money, and began the work in the spring of 1881. It has pro- gressed steadily and entirely to the satisfaction of the projectors, and the investment at Wayne now equals half a million dollars, and more money will be spent there from season to season, until the town is equal in all respects to the preconceived idea of what it should be. The enterprise was not undertaken with any idea of realizing a profit, but simply of furnishing country homes to city men, and surrounding them with all of the advantages to be secured in a well-ordered village in which should be combined all of the measures for the preservation of health that scientific experiment has during late years suggested. The plan could only be carried out by the employment of large capital and by organized effort. This will secure to a large number of men, dependent upon their incomes from professional or business toil, with precisely those

Edward Peace.

CLISE DEL

"CASTLEFINN." RESIDENCE OF JAMES RAWLE, DELAWARE GO., PA.

"ANNASDALE."

COUNTRY RESIDENCE OF THE LATE EDWARD PEACE, M.D., DELAWARE CO., PA.

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RADNOR TOWNSHIP.

surroundings that only the man of wealth could obtain through individual enterprise. And herein, as time will demonstrate, is one of the largest and most far-reaching of Mr. Childs' public benefactions. Wayne will be the monument, however, to a man who needs none, for he will live in the hearts of thou- sands, and in the hearts of their successors, and his name will be cherished for ages as one which will re- call a type of the highest class of mankind,-a man who has lived for others, has made others live,-a man who has to the utmost of his great ability soft- ened human sorrow, and enlarged human happiness.

DR. EDWARD PEACE.

Prior to 1770, Isaac Peace, the grandfather of Dr. Edward Peace, emigrated from England to the Bar- badoes, where on the 31st of June, in that year, he married Elizabeth Gibson. After a few years he re- moved to the United States and settled at Bristol, Pa., where he died, Dec. 25, 1818. Joseph Peace, the eldest son of Isaac, was born in Barbadoes, May 1, 1771. He came to this country with his father, and settled at Charleston, S. C., where he was a prosper- ous merchant for a number of years; but becoming dissatisfied with his surroundings, especially with the practices of slavery and its attendant evils, he re- moved to Philadelphia, Pa. About the time of the birth of his son, Edward, his place of residence here (Philadelphia) was on the corner of Sixth and Wal- nut Streets, opposite Washington Square, a property which is still owned by his descendants. He also owned a country-seat at Bristol, Pa. He died at Philadelphia, March 31, 1826.

Dr. Edward Peace, son of Joseph, was born Feb. 10, 1811, and was one of the younger members of a family of thirteen children. When about fifteen years of age he became a student of the Mount Airy Military School, located at Chestnut Hill, where he zealously pursued his literary studies some two or three years. He then studied medicine, and after attending a full course of lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, graduated from that institution with honor. Soon after that event. he proceeded to Europe, and for two or three years still further pros- ecuted his medical studies under the instructions of the most eminent physicians and surgeons of Paris. After his return to Philadelphia he became connected with the University of Pennsylvania and the Penn- sylvania Hospital, where he was superintendent from 1840 to 1861, and thereafter was identified with their history for a long term of years. When the Asiatic cholera raged with such virulence in Philadelphia, in 1832, he volunteered his services, and, while others faltered or fled, rendered most efficient aid at the almshouse, finally becoming ill with that dread dis- ease himself.

For many years no man in Pennsylvania was more prominent in the field of surgery than he, and it has i

been stated that he was the first surgeon in America to make a success in tying a deep-seated artery. During the latter part of his active professional ca- reer he officiated as chief visiting surgeon and clinical lecturer at the Pennsylvania Hospital. However, he gave up his practice at the hospital in 1861.

Until 1852, Dr. Peace resided at the corner of Ninth and Walnut Streets. He then removed to No. 1602 Chestnut Street, a property which is still owned by his heirs. About 1853 he purchased " Annasdale," a beautiful country-seat in Radnor township, Delaware Co., Pa., where he afterwards resided six months in each year, and where he made all of the improvements to be seen to-day. He was the first city resident, we believe, to establish a country home in Radnor, and made choice of this location because of its altitude, great natural beauty, and healthfulness. Dr. Peace was a gentleman of fine physical proportions (being five feet ten inches in height), of easy manners, and social with all with whom he came in contact, and, as before intimated, was excelled by but few, if any, in this country in the knowledge of his profession. He died on the night of Sept. 9-10, 1879, at " Annas- dale," and was buried in the grounds belonging to the Church of the Redeemer, at Bryn Mawr.

Dr. Peace was widely known throughout Pennsyl- vania for his quiet and unostentatious benevolence. His neighbors in Radnor, and all with whom he came in contact, unite in testifying to his regard for and attention to the wants of suffering humanity, and the neighborly kindness of manner which won all hearts.

He was looked up to and revered by all, and the people of Radnor felt his loss as that of a near and dear friend, and as that of one who could not be re- placed.

When about twenty-two years of age he married Caroline, a daughter of Richard Willing. Three children were born to them, two of whom-Richard Willing and Mrs. Osgood Jackson, of New York City survive.

On the 14th of July, 1853, Dr. Peace was again married to Mrs. Anna Coleman Parker, daughter of Robert Coleman, and then the widow of Charles Col- lins Parker, whose remains are interred at Bryn Mawr, they having been removed thence from Laurel Hill Cemetery. At the time of Dr. Peace's marriage to Mrs. Parker, she was the mother of one daughter,- Charlotte Collins Parker,-who is now the wife of James Rawle, Esq., of Castlefinn, near Bryn Mawr, Pa., a gentleman by the way who is likewise a grand- son of Robert Colemam, above mentioned.

By his second marriage Dr. Peace became the father of five children, viz .: Anna, Florence, Mary, Philip Physia, and Edward Coleman. Of these chil- dren, the first named was married to Lieut. Alfred Mead Bates, of the Fifth United States Cavalry, who died at Fort Dodge, Kansas, Nov. 12, 1876. Subse- quently she became the wife of Henry Hobart Brown, whose father was the first rector of the Church of the

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Redeemer at Bryn Mawr. She died July 2, 1883. Florence is the wife of R. Mead Smith, of Philadel- phia. Mary died Oct. 18, 1880, as the wife of John S. Watts, of Philadelphia. Philip P., who married the daughter of Isaac Caldwell, Esq., a prominent lawyer of Louisville, Ky., resides alternately in Louisville and Philadelphia; while Edward C., the youngest member of the family, is also a resident of Philadelphia.

Their mother, the second wife of Dr. Peace, died at 1602 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Feb. 21, 1876, and was buried at Bryn Mawr.

D. C. ABRAHAM.

In the latter part of the seventeenth century, in the early days of the settlement of Delaware County (then Chester County), there came to its territory a widow and her three sons, and settled in Upper Merion township, Montgomery Co. This was Sarah Abraham and her three sons, Isaac, James, and Enoch, who came from England, and from these emigrants are descended the families of Abraham or Abrahams now scattered through Delaware and Pennsylvania, and in Illinois and Minnesota. James remained in Mont- gomery County, while Isaac settled finally in Lan- caster County, and Enoch removed to Pittsburgh.

James purchased the large landed estate now occu- pied by the sons of Joseph Abraham, in Upper Merion township, Montgomery Co., of Lucretia Penn, in 1730, it being a part of the Penn manor.

The line of descent to Daniel Cornog Abraham, the subject of this sketch, is James, son of Sarah Abraham to his son Isaac, to his son Isaac, to his son Daniel, to his son Daniel Cornog.

Isaac Abraham, grandson of Sarah Abraham, was born April 28, 1717, and married Dinah Haverd, of Chester County, about 1750, to whom were born two sons and three daughters,-James, born 1751 ; Dinah and Miriam, born between 1751 and 1756; Isaac, born 1756; and Mary, born 1758.

Isaac married Jane Cornog, of Chester County, about 1778, and their children were Enoch, born 1779, died 1827 ; Daniel, born 1781, died 1861 ; David, born 1783, died 1813 ; Sarah, born 1786, died 1866.

Daniel was born Jan. 11, 1781, upon the farm at Wayne, now owned by Messrs. Childs and Drexel. This property was purchased about 1750 by his grand- father, Isaac, about the time of his marriage to Dinah Haverd. Daniel married, in 1807, Eliza Phillips, daughter of Deacon Jonathan Phillips, of Mont- gomery County, who was of Welsh descent. Their children were six daughters and five sons, of whom only two-David, the eldest, and Daniel C., the youngest-are now living.

The children of Daniel and Eliza (Phillips) Abra- ham were Martha, who died unmarried in 1878; Mary P., married Jacob Printup and lived near Sche-

nectady, N. Y., and died in 1843; Jane A., married David Siter, of Delaware County, and died in 1861; Sarah C. B., who married Nathan Stetson, of East Bridgewater, Mass., and died June 9, 1870; David, now living near Centreville, Chester Co., Pa .; Jona- than P., who was a member of the State Legislature from Delaware County, and afterwards moved to Min- nesota, married Sarah Thomas, of Newtown, Dela- ware County, he died at St. Peter, Minn., Decem- ber, 1880; Phineas P., who died while at school at Haddington College, in 1836, aged eighteen years ; Elizabeth D., remained single, died in 1845, near Centreville ; Samnel P., married Elizabeth Evans, of Radnor township, died in Norristown, Montgomery Co., March 28, 1878 ; Daniel C .; Anna T., who married the Rev. James F. Brown, now residing at Mullica Hill, N. J., and there died Dec. 23, 1880.

George W. T. Abraham, one of the sons of Jona- than P., deserves special mention. While only in his eighteenth year he endured all the hardships and privations incident to a soldier's life, and died in An- dersonville prison, a victim to starvation and ill-treat- ment, after having refused liberty at the price of en- listment in the Confederate service.

Daniel Cornog Abraham was born upon the farm now owned by the heirs of Samuel P. Abraham, which lies between Wayne and his present residence (1884), on Feb. 1, 1823. His early education was acquired at the common schools of Radnor township, Delaware Co., and in Tredyffrin township, Chester Co. These meagre opportunities were supplemented by a short term at Haddington College. His occu- pation has been that of an agriculturist almost ex- clusively, and he has made his home in the township in which he was born. For a short time he was in business in Blair County, Pa., and also spent some time in Georgia, but his home has generally been Delaware County, and all of his interests and aspira- tions centre here. During the civil war he was in the Internal Revenue Department, He has been justice of the peace since 1873, being the third generation of Esquires Abraham. He has served faithfully and acceptably two and is now beginning upon a third term; has been school director three years, as also treasurer of the school fund. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and is now president of the board of the Great Valley Church, in Chester County. Mr. Abraham was a contributor towards the building and endowment of the Lewisburg University, and is a life member of the Delaware County Institute of Science. He was one of the most active members of the board of the Great Valley Baptist Church when it was remodeled in 1871, and this church was at that time made one of the finest in the neighborhood. In 1882 was the member of finance committee of the Bi-Centennial Association of Delaware County for the two hundredth anniversary of the landing of Wil- liam Penn in Chester for his district of Radnor, and by his energy raised and paid in a larger amount of

Hleabraham

Laurence Parmy

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RADNOR TOWNSHIP.

money than any other district in the county. Mr. Abraham is a stanch Republican, and a firm be- liever in Republican principles as the sure foundation of the prosperity of this country. He is looked up to by all his acquaintances, and the "Squire's" advice is received and reverenced as being sound and just.

LAWRENCE RAMEY.

The ancestors of this gentleman were of German origin, though members of the society of Friends, and early settlers in Montgomery County, Pa.

Lawrence Ramey, the grandfather of the present Lawrence Ramey, was born in Montgomery County. Among his children were two sons, Benjamin and Jacob, who, as members of Capt. Holgate's company of Montgomery County volunteers, served at Marcus Hook during the war of 1812-15. Both contracted pulmonary disease in the service, and both died of consumption while still young men.

Benjamin Ramey was but thirty-five years of age at the time of his death. Of three children born to him, Lawrence, the subject of this notice, is the only survivor. The latter was born near the borough of Conshohocken, Montgomery Co., Pa., Sept. 23, 1818. He was but ten years of age at the time of his father's death, and since he attained the age of twelve years has managed his own way through life, almost un- aided. His educational advantages were limited to an attendance at the schools of his neighborhood two or three months during each winter until attaining the age of fifteen years. He grew up on a farm, and though disabled in his right arm and shoulder from infancy, has always followed the laborious yet hon- orable occupation of farming. From his fifteenth year until within a period quite recent he regularly attended the Philadelphia markets with farm pro- ducts of his own production. As a result, pecuniary success has attended his efforts ; honesty, industry, and frugality have met with their reward, and he is now regarded as one of the most successful farmers in the township.

In the autumn of 1843 he was married to Ann Eliza, the daughter of George Stacker, of Radnor, who died July 10, 1847. Their only child, Hannah Emily, was born Oct. 7, 1844, and died Aug. 6, 1864. On the 17th of October, 1854, Mr. Ramey was again married, to Jane English, of the city of Philadelphia, who is still living. No children have resulted from this union.

The valuable farm now owned by Mr. Ramey has been occupied by him continuously since March, 1844. It was purchased for his use iu 1843 by his first wife's uncle, John Stacker, then a prosperous ironmaster near Clarksville, Tenn. Stacker afterward became associated in business with Hon. John Bell, of Ten- nessee, a prominent politician and a Presidential cau- didate just prior to the late war. During the war

their interests suffered terribly, and much of their property, including the Cumberland Iron-Works, was destroyed. After Bell's death, Stacker, by reason of having assumed liabilities not really his own, was financially ruined. As a result the claim upon the farm occupied by Mr. Ramey passed to the control of Stacker's trustees. To them, therefore, Mr. Ramey paid the sum of twelve thousand dollars cash for the farm. Originally it contained about seventy acres. Thirty acres have been added by its present owner. Mr. Ramey has served as township auditor for a period of twenty-one years, and is now one of the oldest residents, in point of residence in the town- ship, in Radnor.

THE KIRK FAMILY.

More than a century ago, Philip Kirk, an English gentleman of considerable wealth, came to America, purchased a large tract of land in the immediate vicinity of the present town of Media, Pa., and there passed the remainder of his days. His weight was about three hundred and seventy-five pounds avoir- dupois, and he was widely known for his many ec- centricities and the rather extravagant style in which he lived. It is related that he was a pronounced patriot during the Revolutionary war, and for that reason British scouts several times attempted his cap- ture, but always failed, as he had a secure place of hiding. The names of only two of his children are remembered,-Benjamin and John. The latter re- moved to the State of Virginia, where he prospered and became the father of a large family.

Benjamin, the son of Philip Kirk, married a young and beautiful lady of Irish parentage named Rosanna Carr. The ten children born to them were Esther, Philip, John, George, Benjamin, Mary Ann, Simp- son, Washington, Samuel, and Rachel. All lived to be heads of families with the exception of Washing- ton, who died when a child. The survivors at this writing are John, George, Benjamin, and Rachel. It has often been remarked that, as a family, the chil- dren of Benjamin and Rosanna Kirk were never ex- celled as regards physical strength and activity in the county of Delaware.

Esther became the wife of Ezekiel Norman, and passed her days near Media. Philip, a carpenter by trade, also passed the greater part of his life near Media, but died at the Sorrel Horse Hotel, in Radnor township. He married Eliza Worrell, of Upper Provi- dence. Their surviving children are Anderson, Jo- seph, Rudolph, Jemima (Anderson), and Rachel. John, the second son of Benjamin Kirk, is a black- smith by trade, and still resides near Media. George, by occupation a farmer, has been known for many years as an auctioneer in the counties of Delaware, Mont- gomery, and Chester. Benjamin, whose portrait will be seen on one of these pages, is a wheelwright by trade, but is better known as an old-time inn-keeper. He

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

officiated as "mine host" of the Sorrel Horse eight years, of the Unicorn one year, of the Spread Eagle, in Radnor, eight years, and of the Eagle, in Haver- ford, eight years. He married Mary Griffith, of Ches- ter County. Of four children born to them-George, Jesse, Rachel, and Benjamin-all are living with the exception of Benjamin. George and Jesse are resi- dents of Philadelphia, while Rachel, the wife of Thomas Crosby, resides at Rosemont. Mary Ann married Evans Way, of Chester, Pa. He was promi- nent in his day, and served as sheriff of Delaware County. Simpson, a saddler by trade, passed the most of his life in Chester County, Pa. Samuel, a noted athlete and runner, was a butcher by occnpa- tion, and resided at Media all his lifetime. Rachel, the youngest child of Benjamin and Rosanna Kirk, married Maurice Deshong, long known as a promi- nent hotel-keeper in Chester, Pa., where she still resides.

CHAPTER LII.

THORNBURY TOWNSHIP.

THE origin of the name of this township is purely conjectural, but is doubtless the correct reason for the title which was given to this municipal district. George Pearce was one of the earliest and wealthiest settlers in the township. The place of his wife's (Ann) nativity was Thornbury, in Gloucestershire, " hence we can readily account for the name of the township, and at the same time cannot fail to appreciate the tender affection that prompted this pioneer settler in its selection in preference to the name of his own native town."1 The first recognition of Thornbury as a municipal district occurred in 1687, when Hngh Durborow (Darborough) was appointed constable for the township.

The present boundaries of Thornbury are not those recognized in colonial days, for by the provisions of the act of Assembly of Sept. 26, 1789, creating Dela- ware County, the original township was divided, three- fourths of the territory being retained within the new county and the other fourth constituting the township of the like name in Chester County. This adjustment of the lengthened quarrel in the old county of Chester over the removal or retention of the seat of justice at the borough of Chester was unsatisfactory to the resi- dents of that part of Thornbury which remained in Delaware County, hence, on Nov. 30, 1789, a petition from "the inhabitants and freeholders of the town- ship of Thornbury, Delaware Co., remonstrating against the act for erecting the said county, and pray- ing they may be re-annexed to the county of Chester," was presented to the Legislature, but that hody refused to consider the proposition.2

i Smith's " History of Delaware Couoty," p. 401.

2 Ante, p. 83.

The meddling with the township lines of Thorn- bury was again renewed by the Legislature, when, fifty-three years thereafter, on July 30, 1842, an act was passed annexing all that part of Aston lying north of a line beginning immediately south of Stony Bank churchyard, and extending east and west from Chester Creek to Concord township, was annexed to Thornbury. In considering the early land-grants and the settlers, the present township lines will be ohserved.

In that part of the township which was formerly Aston, Joseph Baker, John Worrilow, and Daniel Hoopes on First month 12, 1699, took up five hundred acres, part of John Simcock's grant of fifteen hun- dred acres, four hundred of which comprised almost all the territory lying in Aston. Joseph Baker never settled on this tract, but settled in Edgmont, to which township his brother, John, gave the name it now bears ; nor did John Worrilow locate there, but he, too, made Edgmont his place of abode, and Daniel Hoopes, who was a son-in-law of John Worrilow, settled in Westtown prior to his purchase of this land. The greater part of this tract in 1724 was purchased by John Taylor, who erected at Glen Mills the noted Sarum Forge. All the land that juts into Edgmont, and is bounded on the south by Middletown, was seated by William Bostock, March 2-3, 1681. It was entered as five hundred acres, but on a resurvey to Joshua Bispham, in 1734, it proved to contain five hundred and thirty-five and a half acres. In 1707, Cheyney Bostock owned the land ; but it had passed out of his possession prior to 1715. The upper half of this tract in 1735 was purchased hy Abel Green. West of the Taylor tract, and on a straight line drawn across the township from the southwestern part of Edgmont, where the latter overlaps Thornbury, to Birmingham line, to John Simcock on March 15-16, 1681, was surveyed fifteen hundred acres of land, ex- tending to the present village of Thornton and embrac- ing all the land lying between Concord and the line already spoken of running from Edgmont to Birm- ingham. The Taylor land was originally included in this tract. This estate subsequently passed into the ownership of a number of persons. Five hun- dred acres east of Westtown road were purchased by Randolph Vernon, which in 1715 was owned hy his son, Jacob Vernon. The five hundred acres lying west of Westtown road became the property of John Kingsman. The upper part of this tract containing two hundred acres, extending as far south as Thorn- ton, was purchased by George Pearce ; it ahutted on his four hundred and ninety acres lying to the north ; and the lower part was divided into two plantations. The eastern, containing two hundred acres, was pur- chased by Elizabeth Hickman, while the western passed to Joseph Edwards. West of Thornton Ed- ward Brown took up five hundred acres on Feb. 13, 1683, which subsequently hecame the property of. Robert Pyle, Dec. 12, 1698, and doubtless he settled

BENJAMIN KIRK.

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THORNBURY TOWNSHIP.

on this land, for subsequently it was distributed among his children, and in 1715 John Pyle was a resident of Thornbury.

All the land west of this point to Birmingham was taken up in one-hundred-acre plots, in the following order : Robert Sonthey, John Gibbons, Robert Pyle, Joseph Bushel, and Edward Turner, the latter having one hundred and twenty-four acres which extended to the Birmingham liue. The Southey and Gibbons lands were purchased by Edward Bennett, a brother of John Bennett, who had married a daughter of Wil- liam Brinton, the first settler of Birmingham, and as Joseph Brinton purchased the Pyle and Busbell lands to the west of Bennett, it is probable that the latter settled on the tract he purchased. Certain it is that the Bennett family were represented in Thornbury in 1715. Robert Turner, whose land was at the Birming- ham line, on Third month 16, 1694, sold his one hun- dred and twenty-four acres to Jonathan Thatcher, and the latter, in 1715, was living thereon. The real estate of Mrs. Baker, Robert Baldwin, Louisa Evanson, and Thomas McFadden, as shown on Hopkins' map of Delaware County in 1870, were part of the Thomas Evanson four hundred and thirty-seven acres, part of which he had purchased of the thirteen-hundred-and- fifty-acre tract surveyed to John Simcock in 1684, and the remainder of Robert Sumner. The western part of the farms of I. H. Cheyney and Curtis Cheyney was the tract of one hundred acres purchased by Hugh Darborough, the first constable of the township, from Thomas Bradford on March 1, 1692/3, while the farm of Mrs. Mary Jones, the remaining part of I. R. Cheyney, Curtis Cheyney, and the upper part of Hill Brinton, and A. Pierce (as shown by the Hop- kins map), are on the four hundred and ninety acres surveyed to George Pearce, Twelfth month, 1684.

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 172

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