History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 175

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

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Presbyterian auspices, but has during a large portion of his life worshiped with the Orthodox Friends' Meeting, of which his wife, whose death occurred Oct. 28, 1876, was a member.

JOHN BRINTON.

The progenitor of the Brinton family in America was William Brinton, who was born about 1630, and died in 1700. He married Ann Bagley in 1659, and had four children, of whom one was named William, born in 1666. He married Jean Thatcher, and had a son, Joseph, who married Mary Pierce, and later Mary Elgar. John, the second son by the first marriage, was united to Margaret Williamson, and had three children, among whom was Joseph, who became a man of note, and for years a justice of the peace. He married Mary Martin, who hore him eight chil- dren. Of these, Abraham Brinton, the father of John, was born in 1784. He married Mary Evanson, and to them were born six children, among whom John, the subject of this sketch, was born Sept. 2, 1819, in Thornbury township, Delaware Co., Pa. On the farm of his father John found employment until his mar- riage, on the 11th day of January, 1842, to Sarah Ann, daughter of Thomas and Mary Manley. Her birth occurred Aug. 14, 1822. Their children are Ann Mary, born Nov. 27, 1842; she married Lewis W. Kitzelman in 1862; their children are John B., Charles Anna, Finley H., Eva D., Lewis W., and Lettie (deceased). Joseph Harlan, born May 25, 1845; he married Kate B. Pyle on the 16th day of March, 1870; their children are William Rupert (deceased), Albin, Irwin, Correll, and Cidney F. James Curtis, born April 20, 1851; he married Phebe Pyle in January, 1871; their children were George (deceased), Anna (also deceased), and Lottie M. After the death of Phebe, in 1878, James married Rachel Yarnall on the 16th day of March, 1882; their child, Edith, died in infancy. Sarah Emily, born Dec. 10, 1857, married to Eli E. Pyle Oct. 31, 1878,-children, Lillie B., Lavinia, and Florence. Lavinia Jackson, born June 24, 1860; she married, Feb. 21, 1883, Charles B. Hawes, to them was born one child, Susannah. Charles Anna, the daughter of Ann Mary and Lewis W. Kitzelman, married, in 1882, to G. D. Ladell, and has one child, Harry. George Evanson, youngest child by Mr. Brinton's first marriage, was born April 20, 1863, and is un- married. Mrs. Brinton died Oct. 28, 1868, and Mr. Brinton was, on the 8th day of February, 1871, mar- ried to Lydia E. Manley, sister of his first wife, whose birth occurred Feb. 25, 1832; their only child is Lizzie Bolden, born Sept. 2, 1873. Mr. Brinton, after his marriage, cultivated his father's farm on shares, and eventually purchased a small place adjacent to it, to which he removed, and where he remained until the death of his parent, when a portion of the estate be- came his by inheritance, and the remainder by pur-

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

chase. On the decease of his first wife, a lady of many Christian virtues, he purchased the present home, his son meanwhile cultivating the farm. Mr. Brinton is in politics a Democrat, and much inter- ested in the success of his party, and in the affairs of the township, in which he has held minor offices. He is a member of the Upper Birmingham Lodge, No. 940, of Independent Order of Odd-Fellows. In religion he is a Methodist, and steward, trustee, treas- urer, and sexton of the Methodist Episcopal Church adjacent to his home, to which he has been a liberal contributor.

JOSEPH E. BRINTON.

William Brinton, the first of the name who emi- grated to America, came from the village of Nether Gournall, parish of Sedgely, Staffordshire, England. He was born about 1630, and died in 1700. He first settled in the State of Delaware, in the year 1684. He married Ann Bagley in 1659, and had four chil- dren, of whom his son, William, born in 1666, mar- ried Jean Thatcher in 1690. Their children were five in number,-Joseph, the eldest, was born in 1692, and married, in 1711, Mary Pierce, whose chil- dren were thirteen in number. Joseph married for his second wife Mary Elgar in 1748, to whom were born no children. John Brinton, the second son of Joseph and Mary Pierce, married Margaret William- son. To this marriage were born children,-Joseph, Sarah, and Esther. Joseph, whose birth occurred in 1754, married Mary Martin, and had children,- Weldon, Margaret, Lydia, John, Abraham, Mary, Samuel, and Thomas. Abraham was born Nov. 3, 1784, and married Mary Eavenson. Their children were Joseph E., the subject of this biographical sketch, Margaretta, Mary Ann, John, Yearsley, and Lydia. Abraham Brinton died on the 3d of Novem- ber, 1859. His son, Joseph E., was born Dec. 7, 1813, in Thornbury, on the farm which his father purchased. The advantages of education at this early period were limited, and confined to the rudiments of English, which were acquired by Joseph E. at the neighboring school, after which his willing hands found occupation in cultivating the land his father owned. He con- tinued to be thus associated with his father until his marriage, on the 1st of February, 1838, to Mary Mar- shall, daughter of William and Sarah Marshall, who sailed from England, and landed in Philadelphia with her parents on the 10th of October, 1820, when but four years of age. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Brinton are Marshall, Margaretta, Sarah, Anne, John, Lydia, Hannah, and Joseph A., who died May 6, 1870. On the death of his father, Mr. Brinton inherited one-half the paternal estate. This lie cul- tivated until 1879, when, having erected an attractive residence of brick adjacent to the homestead, he re- tired from active labor, his son succeeding him in the

management of the farm. He has been an energetic, active man, and risen by his own exertions to a posi- tion of independence. He has evinced strict truth- fulness and honesty in all business transactions, his word being regarded as good as his bond. Mr. Brin- ton's political convictions are iu accord with the prin- ciples of the Democracy, though his ballot is cast for men of worth irrespective of party. He has taken much interest in affairs connected with the township, and served in a minor official capacity. His services are also frequently called into requisition as trustee and in the settlement of estates. He worships with both the Friends' Meeting and the Methodist Episco- pal denomination, and aids in the support of each.

GARRETT THATCHER.

Richard Thatcher, with wife and children, came from England soon after the first visit of William Penn, having left his home in Uffington, Berkshire County, on account of religious persecution. He settled in Thornbury township, Delaware Co., where his death occurred in 1722. One of his sons, named Jonathan, married Mary Hix, and had among his children a son Richard, whose son, William, was united in mar- riage to Hannah Dickison, of Lancaster County, Pa., and resided upon the family estate in Thornbury township. Their children were Joseph, Richard, William, Betsey (Mrs. Isaac Garrett), Hannah (Mrs. John Worrell), Edith (Mrs. Jesse Green), Sarah (Mrs. Nathan Sharpless), and Phœbe (Mrs. Davis Garrett). William Thatcher was born in the State of North Carolina, and in childhood came to the homestead, where he remained and cultivated its productive acres. He married Betsey Garrett, of Goshen, Ches- ter Co., and had children that survived,-Charity (Mrs. John Sharpless), Sarah (Mrs. Smith Sharp- less), Garrett, Betsey (Mrs. James Painter), William, Richard, Benjamin, and three who died in childhood. The death of Mr. Thatcher occurred Dec. 16, 1851. Garrett Thatcher was born July 24, 1811, on the homestead, which is his present residence, and has been the scene of his life-long and successful labors. After the usual period devoted to instruction at the nearest school of the neighborhood he became an as- sistant to his father, and in 1840 leased the farm. On the decease of the latter, in 1851, he inherited the property, to which he subsequently made valuable additions. He was married on the 9th of January, 1844, to Hannah H. Pyle, a descendant on the pater- nal side of John Sharpless, the pioneer, and daughter of Aaron and Sarah Parks Pyle, of Thornbury town- ship. Their children are Emma T. (Mrs. George B. Painter) and Howard. Mr. Thatcher is in politics a Republican, and, though not politically ambitious, has held various township offices. He is in religion a Friend and member of the Concord Monthly Meet- ing, as is also Mrs. Thatcher.

Joseph, Bintou

RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH E. BRINTON, THORNBURY, DELAWARE CO., PA.

Garrett Thatcher

Locepho Probster

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SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.

JOSEPH WEBSTER.

Joseph Webster, the grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, who was of English descent, married a Miss Kester, and had children,-Rachel, Mary, Ruth, William, and Joseph. The last named was born in Delaware County, where he was actively engaged in farming, and married Susanna Duncan, daughter of Aaron Duncan. Their children were Charles, Rebecca, Aaron D., Susanna D., Lydia (Mrs. John Gilpin), and Joseph. The youngest of this number, Joseph Webster, was born April 15, 1814, in Chester County. Having been left motherless in infancy he was placed in care of his maternal grand- mother, and remained with her until six years of age. He then returned to his father, and, after enjoying such advantages of education as the common schools afforded, he became, on attaining his seventeenth year, an apprentice to the trade of a wheelwright in the township of Sadsbury, Chester Co. On the completion of a term of service, embracing a period of four years, he abandoned his trade for the more healthful pursuits of a farmer. He was on the 25th of April, 1839, married to Sarah, granddaughter of Caleb and Phobe Yarnall, and daughter of Caleb and Hannah Yarnall, of Middletown township. The children by this marriage are Mary M. (Mrs. A. W. Sloan), Charles N. (deceased), M. Rebecca (deceased), Thamzin R. (Mrs. Jacob Kimes), Hannah A., and Joseph, Jr. Mr. Webster rented for some years after his marriage, and in 1861 purchased, a farm in Marple township, where he resided for four years. On effect- ing an advantageous sale of this property, he became the owner of the farm in Thornbury township, which is his present home. He has since been engaged in its cultivation and improvement, though the more onerous duties it involves have been assumed by his son. Mr. Webster has always been either a Whig or Republican in politics, and has held minor offices in the township. In 1872 he was elected and served one term as sheriff of Delaware County, the duties of which responsible office were filled with entire ac- ceptance. In religion he espouses the faith of the society of Friends, both Mrs. Webster and he being members of the Chester Monthly Meeting.

CHAPTER LIII.

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.

THE township was not recognized until after 1684, for at a court held Fifth month 1, 1684, " James Ken- ela" and "Randolfe Vernome" were appointed col- lectors for "Ridley and in the Woods," clearly showing that the locality subsequently known as Springfield was too sparsely settled to be recognized as a munici- pal district. The first appearance of the township as

a distinct municipality is in 1686, when Peter Lester was appointed constable for Springfield ; aud at March court, 1687/8, among "the names of ye Constaples Chosen to serve ye next ensuing year" for Springfield "James Louues is attested as above." The name of the township, we are told by Galt, in his "Life of Benjamin West," was given to the locality because Thomas Pearson, the maternal grandfather of West, in clearing the first field on his estate, discovered a large spring, and when the township was erected that fact was remembered and determined the title of the new district made from the lands lying " in the woods." This traditional account may be the correct one, for although Pearson settled and died in Marple, his lands extended to the boundary-line of Springfield, and be- fore any definite limits were given to the several dis- tricts his plantation might easily have been regarded as within the township to which his spring may have given the name. Unfortunately, however, there is another claimant for the honor of godfather to Spring- field. The tradition in the Maris family is that the township was named because of the large spring near the dwelling of George Maris. The latter was a judge of the courts in 1684, and his influence was such that as he had voice in the name adopted, the tradition among his descendants is doubtless correct. On Holmes' " Map of the Improved part of Pennsylva- nia in America," the district is marked as “Spring- feild."

This township is separated from Nether Providence on the west by Crum Creek, and excepting at its southeastern end from Upper Darby, and at its ex- treme northeastern limit from Haverford by Darby Creek, while Ridley lies to the south and Marple to the north of the township. Beginning at the di- viding-line between Ridley and Springfield, on Crum Creek, a tract of land extending eastward to the present village of Morton, and continuing along Crum Creek to a point about half-way between Wallingford bridge and the Wallingford Mills, including all the territory between lines drawn at right angles from the places named, comprising eight hundred and fifty acres, was surveyed to Henry Maddock and James Kennerly, March 21-22, 1681. Henry Maddock, of Loom Hall, Cheshire, in connection with his brother- in-law, James Kennerly, purchased in that year, be- fore leaving England, from Penn, fifteen hundred acres of land in the province. Henry Maddock lo- cated on this plantation, and represented Chester County, in 1684, in the General Assembly, but he subsequently returned to England. The eight hun- dred and fifty acres in Springfield came to the posses- sion nf Mordecai, the eldest son of Henry Maddock. Mordecai was in the province in 1690, but returned to England, where he married, and again came to Pennsylvania, arriving here for the second time, March 30, 1702. The grant included the present Swarthmore College, and extended almost to Lownes' Free Church. Just above the Maddock land, lying

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

along Crum Creek, was one hundred and thirty acres, which was patented to John Gleaves at as late a date as March 20, 1743. Immediately adjoining the last-mentioned plautation was a tract of two hundred and fifty acres, surveyed to Peter Leiscester, Nov. 20, 1682. He appears never to have settled on this land, hut it subsequently passed into the posses- sion of George Gleaves, who died previous to 1690, and one hundred and twenty-five acres on Crum Creek was owned by his son, John. "The ford on Crum Creek, at Lewis' mills (Wallingford Mills), for nearly a century was known as Gleave's Ford. This ford was on the 'great road from Marlborough to Philadelphia,' and as early as 1754 a bridge was erected over the creek at that point by private con- tributions, the subscription paper for which is still preserved." 1 The remaining one hundred and twenty- five acres of the Leiscester land in 1700 passed to George James, which in recent years was part of the plantation of James Lownes. On the Leiscester tract is the main stream of Lownes' Run. Above this es- tate, on Nov. 10, 1682, to Jane Lownes was surveyed one hundred and fifty acres. She was a widow, of Cheshire, England, who for conscience' sake fled with her children from persecution in the Old World, and settled in this land in 1684. About one hundred yards southwest of the old mansion-house on this farm, still owned by her descendants, is a stone bear- ing the inscription, "Jane Lownes, her cave and dwelling, 1684." Above the Lownes tract Robert Taylor took up four hundred acres of land, Nov. 11, 1682, extending from the southeastern line of the lands of J. Howard Lewis to a point where the east- ern line of George S. Powell's farm touches on the State road. Taylor came from Little Lehigh, county of Chester, and settled in Springfield as early as 1684. On Sixth month 20, 1689, he conveyed the western part of the estate, containing three hundred acres, to his son, Isaac, and the remaining one hundred acres to the east to his son, Thomas Taylor.

Above the Taylor tracts, and extending to the Marple township line, Bartholomew Coppock, on Nov. 11, 1682, seated four hundred acres, on which he settled in 1685, but two years thereafter purchased lands in Marple, and removed thither. Two hundred and sixty acres of this land at the eastern part of the tract subsequently became the property of Bartholo- mew Coppock, Jr., who is believed to have been the nephew of Bartholomew Coppock, Sr., although there were but a few years' difference in their ages. It was at his house where the first meetings of Friends in Springfield were held, and he it was who gave the two acres of land on which the meeting-house and grave- yard were located. He was a member of the Pro- vincial Council, and for several terms represented Chester County in the General Assembly. George Maris seated, Oct. 26, 1683, four hundred acres, being

part of one thousand acres purchased by Robert Toomer on May 14, 1683. This plautation comprised the land lying along Darby Creek, from Marple town- ship, a short distance above the mouth of Lewis' Run. It was an irregular tract, difficult of description, the Amosland road running through the southwestern part of the estate. In a valley, selected because of its sheltered location from the chilly blast of the severe winters of the early colonial times, George Maris built a stone house near the spring before men- tioned, and here he resided until his death, in 1705. He was over fifty years of age when he emigrated, coming from Grafton, Flyford, county of Worcester, England, his wife, Alice, and several children ac- companying him. He was a man of influence in the infant colony, filling the office of justice of the court, and from 1684 to 1693 (excepting in 1689) represented Chester County in the General Assembly. In 1722 the original house of this settler was removed, but on its site was erected, by George Maris, a grandson, a two-story and a half stone dwelling, known as Home House, and at the grove back of that building, on Aug. 25, 1883, the two hundredth anniversary of the arrival of George Maris and his family was celebrated by a reunion of his descendants, more than a thou- sand being present, some of whom had traveled many hundreds of miles to take part in the ceremonies. The exercises were of a most interesting character. Continuing along Darby Creek to the present line of Upper Darby, Owen Foulk, on June 17, 1683, entered two hundred acres, which was part of the five thou- sand acres purchased by John, ap John, and Thomas Wynn, and on March 22-23, 1681, conveyed to Foulk. One hundred and fifty acres in the southern part of the tract was conveyed to Samuel Levis, Fourth month 27, 1692. He, accompanied by his wife Elizabeth, and one child, emigrated from Harly, county of Leicester, England, in 1684, and settled in Springfield. Prior to leaving Europe, he with William Garrett purchased one thousand acres of land. In 1686 he represented the county of Chester in the Gen- eral Assembly, an office to which he was frequently elected. He was also a justice of the court. Directly south of the Levis tract were four hundred and ninety acres which were surveyed to George Simcock, Oct. 12, 1682. Whether he ever lived on this land is unknown, but he prior to 1703 had sold the tract to several parties in plots of one hundred acres and smaller farms. On Oct. 17, 1683, to Francis Yarnall was surveyed one hundred acres, which was an oddly-shaped plantation, lying to the north of the southerly part of the Sim- cock land, bounded on the north by Peter Leiscester's and James Lownes' tract, to the east by the estate of George Maris, and on the west by lands of Joseph Powell. Yarnall emigrated about the date mentioned, aud resided on this property ; but he subsequently removed to Chester, and in 1711 was a representative. from this county in the General Assembly. Joseph Powell seems never to have resided on his plantation,

1 Smith's " History of Delaware County," p. 465.

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SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP.

but in 1685 it was purchased by Joseph Stidman, who died in 1694, and it subsequently passed into the owner- ship of George Lownes. South of this tract Elizabeth Stedman, on Oct. 16, 1682, took on rent fifty acres, which subsequently became the property of Joseph Stidman. Below this land, and extending nearly to the northern limit of the present village of Morton, John Stidham purchased one hundred and ten acres, and to the right of the latter plantation, Samuel Hall bought, on Feb. 23, 1702, ninety-nine acres, now part of the I. H. Odgen farm. All the remainder of the land in Springfield, including the village of Morton, the lower part of the Davidson, Edwards, and part of the Shipley farm, as shown on Hopkins' Atlas of 1870, was part of the two thousand two hundred patent to John Simcock, of Ridley.

Remarkable Freak of Lightning .- The following account of noticeable discharge of electric fluid in the form of lightning was abridged by Dr. Smith for the Pennsylvania Chronicle :

"At ahunt seven o'clock in the morning of Nov. 3, 1768, Mr. Samuel Levis' honse in Springfield was struck by lightning. The morning was showery, bnt no thunder was heard nor appearance of lightning seen, either before or after the shock, which produced the following effects: It appears first to have descended on the chimney, which it entirely leveled to the top of the house, dispersing the bricks to a considerable distance, with great part of the roof, fractured the gable end, a stone wall, into snadry pieces, and penetrated in veins or branches dowa to different parts of the house. In the closet of a lower room, a glass bottle with a pound and a half of gunpowder in it was broken and part of the powder throwa about, which did not take fire ; & clock near the closet was overset and the weighte found at fifteen feet distance from the place where it stood, and considerable damage was done to the furniture. In passing intu the upper chamber by the stack of chimneys, a gun-barrel and some pieces of brass which were in a closet were melted in several places. A young woman (Margaret), a daughter of Mr. Levis, happened to be near the door of the closet, was struck down, and to all appear- ance, breathless for some time. The father, rnaning immediately up- stairs where the greatest signs of violence appeared, was the first who found his daughter in her melancholy situation, amid the ruins of the shattered wainscot And an exceedingly strong smell of sulphur. He carried her down-stairs in his arms, and upon examination there ap- peared signe of life. A doctor was immediately sent for, who in vain attempted to bleed her, there seeming almost a total stagnation, but being put to a warm bed she bled freely, and revived so as to be able to speak, to the inexpressible joy of her dietracted parents, her whole family, and all her friends. In the evening she was able to walk up to her chamber. So instantaneous was the shock, and so sudden the de- privation of her senses that she could give no account of what happened to her at the juncture. When she regained ber senses she complained of much pain, and of being eore, as she was very much scratched, the light- ning passing from her head, and as it descended rent her clothes, even her garters into a number of pieces, then to her sbnes, carrying away the upper leather, which was torn into fragments, and melting part of one of her silver shoe-bucklea. In 1773 this lady became the wife of the Iste Thomas Garrett, of Upper Darby, and was the mother of the late Samuel Garrett, of the same township. A number of her descend- ants Are still living."1

The Revolutionary history of Springfield is meagre. Doubtless during the raids of the British troops in the winter of 1777-78 the inhabitants suffered from the foraging parties of the enemy; but little respecting that period of our history has been preserved. Maj. John Clark, Jr., in a letter written from Mr. Lewis', near Newtown Square, at four o'clock on the

morning of Dec. 19, 1777, addressed to Washington, says, "I must again tell your Excellency that the country people carry in provisions constantly ; a number went to-day. One of them caught my spy by the coat, and called him a 'damn'd Rebel' before the enemy's advanced sentries, but clapping spurs to his mare left him lying on the road, since which the villain was returning, and one of our horsemen took him, and he appealed to my spy if he did not know him to be well affected. His name is Edward Hughes, is a papist, and lives in Springfield. I hope an ex- ample will be made to deter others. If a troop of Horses was stationed in this quarter and patrole the roads, 'twould be of infinite service."? What ulti- mately became of Hughes does not appear.

The taxables in Springfield in 1715 were returned as follows :

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 175

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