History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 82

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

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Under like date " a representation" from William Webster, John Baily, Joseph Pennock, John Strode, and thirty other signers, was presented which states

that "having heard yt John Chads, Jr., to bee Soprest or put down from Publick house keeping . . . that Itt Is a house that Lies most Convenient to the ford or ferry Boat on Brandywine and Ceeps the best Entertainment for man and horse on the upper Road from Maryland to philadelphia and Likewise Keeps a very orderly house, not allowing of Either drunk- eness or Swaring." This representation is indorsed "not Regarded."

Chads was determined that his license should be re- newed, for very shortly after the refusal of the court to continue his as a house of public entertainment, he presented a petition, signed by himself and a con- siderable number of inhabitants of Chester County to the Commissioners and assessors, setting forth that " pursnant to an agreement made with their predeces- sors in the year 1737, he built a boat and suitable ap- partenances for the conveying of people and carriages over Brandywine Creek, with the money that he bor- rowed of the County for that purpose, the sum of which was 30 pounds, and it being evident as ye petitioner conceives, that the profits of the said ferry, will not without some consideration compensate for the charge thereof, and that the Honorable Justices, hath at last August Court, thought proper to deprive him the sd John Chads from keeping a house of entertainment, near the sd ferry, which he had done heretofore. They therefore request that the said John Chads may be acquitted & discharged from the payment of the sum of money above mentioned, and also from the care and management of sd, boat and appurtenances, and some other person appointed to act therein in his stead."

This shrewd movement on the enemy by the flank was not the only effort of Chads, but he charged the bench in column when, under date of Nov. 30, 1742, a petition "of sundry inhabitants of Kennett and places adjacent" in favor of John Chads, as one of "sundry inhabitants and freeholders of the said County on the west side of brandy Wine," and still another from "sundry Inhabitants of Concord and other adjacent Places," and even yet another from "inhabitants of Nottingham and places adjacent" is presented. These petitions, which are signed in the aggregate by one hundred and seventy-one persons, are couched in the same language, and state to the court that " being sensible that we may be Liable to great Disappointments as well on account of Enter- tainment, as also ye attendance of ye boat over ye said Creek wch has been greatly servicable to our In- habitants & more especially to Strangers unacquainted with ye sd. Creek," they ask for these reasons that license may be granted to Chads.

The same day the personal petition of John Chads was presented, in which he says " that whereas many of the Inhabitants of the Townships on the West side of Brandywine and others of my neibourhood have aqwainted me with their Intention To Petion the Court for their Recommendation to the Governor for

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BIRMINGHAM TOWNSHIP.

his Lycense to keep a publick house as heretofore have don, and Desired me to signifie to the Court my Inclination to Gratifie them in there desire and to shew myself willing to serve my frends in Genrall, as well as soport of myself, if the Court thought fitt to Grant it mee, and these are to Request of theis hon- ourable Court to Grant my frenns the prayer of their petion and also to Take into their Prudent Considera- tion what measures to Take ahought the Boate to Render it as servicable to Travelors as heretofore have heen."

The number of petitions and the sly reference of Chads, that there might be some difficulty at the ford if his license was not granted, was too much for the justices, and the above-mentioned application of Chads bears this indorsement : " Allowed according to ye Prayer of ye Petition." In 1743 the license was re- newed and so continued to him until 1746, when he was succeeded in business hy James House, who rented the premises to whom the license was extended,-he giving security to perform all things relating to the ferry over " Brandewine" according to agreement with the commissioners and assessors. It was continued to House until 1752, when he in turn gave place to Amos Harvey, who became the landlord of the inn. To the latter license was annually allowed until the year 1756, when his name disappeared from the rec- ords. Henry Hays was granted license in 1757, but whether it was for this tavern I cannot as yet deter- mine; but in 1767, William Kerlin received license for the "Chad's ford" Tavern, and annually thereafter was on the list until 1772, when Joseph Davis peti- tioned and stated in his application that it was for the premises " formerly John Chads' where a tavern has heen for thirty years." Davis was the landlord of the hostelry at the time of the battle of Brandywine, although the county records for that year are missing respecting licenses, for in 1778 Gideon Gilpin is granted license for the tavern, and the petition sets forth that he succeeds Joseph Davis in business. To Gilpin license is annually allowed by the court of Chester County until the date of the creation of Del- aware County, his last application being presented in the year 1789. At that time Gilpin was the land- lord of the house now known as Gen. Lafayette's headquarters, in which no license has been had for nearly a century.

I lose all trace of the old tavern at the ford until 1806, when Benjamin Davis, in his petition, states that " Brandywine Creek is in the township, and from the present way of crossing said creek, when the waters are high, travellers are often detained, which for that, as well as many other causes, renders a house of public entertainment necessary at that locality,"-a course of reasoning that resulted in a decision such as he desired from the court. I know that in 1800 Benjamin Ring had license for an inn in Birmingham,-the old Washington headquarters ; that he was refused license in 1802, when a remon-

strance from the "inhabitants in and near Concord" against his house was presented to court. In the fol- lowing year, 1803, Joshua Ring obtained leave to keep a public-house after a previous petition in the same year had been rejected, and in 1805, in his ap- plication, Ring gives the name of the tavern as the " United States Arms, on the road from Chester to Lancaster." In addition, in 1807, Thomas Monks petitioned for license for a house in Birmingham, which had been formerly kept by Benjamin Ring & Son. His application was met with a remonstrance from Isaac G. Gilpin, who stated that he was a resi- dent of the township, that he knew Monks and the house he kept, that " the entertainment for travellers and others at said house is not good, and by no means such as the public ought to expect on so public a road." Petition was rejected, although the preceding year the court had recommended Thomas Monks to the Governor as a proper person to have license, and thereafter the " United States Arms" disappeared as an inn in Birmingham. The house and farm became the property of Eli Harvey, as before mentioned.

John Way, in 1807, prayed that license might he granted him at the old Chad's Ford Inn (this tavern was the hipped-roof house at Eli Harvey's), and as an additional reason for the location of a public- house at that point, urged that "Brandywine creek by the present way of crossing is often impassable from the frequent great freshets therein." The court gave approval to his petition, and Way remained there until 1810, during which time he built the present tavern house, when Thomas Burnett suc- ceeded to the business until 1817, when he gave place to Jacob Smith, Jr. The latter remained at the tavern only one year, for in 1818 Thomas H. Bullock had license for the house, which he states is com- monly known as the "Rising Sun." In 1823, John Norrett was landlord for one year, but in 1824 Thomas H. Bullock returned to his former station, and in 1828 the latter was succeeded by Nathan S. Burnett. In 1830, Ezra Lamborn, who called the house the " Chad's Ford Inn," was landlord, and continued such until 1834, when Jones Eavenson rented the premises, still retaining the old name. The following year Eavenson associated Joseph D. Valentine in the husiness, and the firm received the license in 1835 for the " sign of the Bridge." In 1836, John Entre- ken was authorized to keep the public-house at Chad's Ford, and in 1838 Milton Stanıp was landlord of the "Bridge Inn, near the Eastern end of Bridge." Stamp, however, did not secure the grace of the court without a struggle, for a remoustrance signed by George Brinton, Jr., William Painter, Samuel Painter, Harlan Webb, Eli Harvey, Chalkley Harvey, Joseph P. Harvey, and Robert Frame was presented, alleging that the inn was unnecessary, as the locality was well supplied with public-houses at reasonable distances from each other, and stating that they helieved "the mode and manner of keeping said public-house has

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

not been in accordance with moral and religious pro- priety, and that it was injurious to the best interests of the neighborhood, hence we (the remonstrants) respectfully ask the court to remove the evil." Ed- ward Brinton also presented his individual remon- strance, in which he stated that he had for thirty-five years been engaged in "public business," the last fifteen within about a mile and a half of Chad's Ford Tavern; that he had "experienced great incon- venience and loss in business by the encouragement held out to his apprentices and hired men to meet there on various occasions to their great moral injury while in the company of the dissipated and profane, which common report says, and I believe truly, do too often assemble there, that there were more taverns than public convenience requires, which was par- ticularly the case with the Chad's Ford Tavern, that must look principally to neighboring custom for sup- port." This remonstrance concludes : "It has been observed by some writer that no person nor associa- tions are at liberty to indulge in any acts or practices in the face of the community which by their necessary operations are calculated to corrupt and debauch the youthful or the unwary, to incite to licentiousness or crime."

The court, however, deemed the house a public necessity and granted the license to Milton Stamp, continuing so to do annually until 1843, when in the fall of that year John M. Dusham had the license transferred to him. The latter, in 1845, gave place to Edward B. Hoskins, who in his petition states that the tavern was known as the "Chad's Ford Inn." In 1847 it received license, as did most of the public- houses in Delaware County, as a temperance inn, but the next year, when the local-option law of that day was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, the Chad's Ford Tavern received full license, and it was extended to Hoskins until 1854, when John Evans had the control of the ancient hostelry. The following year the court refused their consent, and so annually kept the house under the ban of their dis- pleasure for three years, although there were not wanting applicants for the position of "mine host." In 1858, Philip Mullin presented his petition to court, which was supplemented by a petition from James Twaddell, of Philadelphia, who represented to the judges that he had resided in the latter city for fifty years, and was a reputable citizen ; that he was owner of the Chad's Ford Tavern, which had been kept as a public-house for the last fifty years or more ; that he had held the property for three years, and his tenants had been refused license, although well recommended. The reason for this denial Mr. Twaddell could not understand, nor could the neighbors in Birmingham, he stated, since the house was in much better order than when he purchased it, as he had expended over a thousand dollars, and proposed to make further im- provements if circunistances should warrant it. The applicant who had rented the property was well rec-

ommended, and would no doubt keep a reputable public-house if the court would only give him an op- portunity to do so. But the bench turned a deaf ear to his pleadings. The following year Isaac C. Lindsay leased the hotel, and the owner smiled once more when the judge announced that the new applicant had received the judicial approval. Annually there- after the house remained as a tavern,-in 1862, under the control of Benjamin French and Horatio J. Shep- pard, and the following year under French alone. In 1864, Charles Mendenhall had license, as well as in 1865. In 1866 the house remained without a tenant, and in 1867, Charles Twaddell was granted privilege to keep a public inn there. William Seal, Jr., in 1869 was the landlord, and remained so until 1871, wben he gave place to Charles Davis, who in turn was followed by Jackson McFarland in 1876. In 1880, John D. Makiever had become the landlord, and continues as such to the present time.

Kaolin Pits .- Over fifty years ago Amos C. Brinton says white clay lay on top of the ground in James Russel's meadow, and small quantities were used by the fullers in fulling-mills. It is also stated that pot- ters from up the Great Valley came down occasionally and carried some of it to their works, and that one man used the white clay for adulterating white lead and soap. It was not, however, until 1863 that any particular effort was made to bring the white clay in this section into use. At that time the property that in 1848 belonged to Thomas H. Bullock was in pos- session of Caleb Hayburn, who had purchased it of William McKay, a son-in-law of Bullock. Brinton J. Hayburn, a butcher, came one day with his butch- er's cart from Caleb Hayburn's place to Concordville. Some of the clay was on the wheels of his cart. When Mrs. George Rush was buying some beef, the white clay attracted her attention, and Brinton told her that it would take grease out of cloth. She took some of it and tried it on a carpet, and accomplished the result. He also told her it was potters' clay. George Rush became interested, and went over to the farm, procured some of the clay, and wrote to E. B. Shee, a paper manufacturer of Philadelphia, and also inter- ested in mining in South Carolina. Mr. Shee in the course of a short time came to Concordville, and vis- ited the farm with Mr. Rush, More samples were obtained, which Shee took to Philadelphia, where it was shown to Bartles Shee and Christian Spengler, on Minor Street. Mr. Spengler also came to the place and examined it.

In 1864, Edward Shee purchased sixty acres of land of Caleb Hayburn for ten thousand dollars, in the interest of Edward B. Shee, Bartles Shee, George Rush, Christian Spengler, and Henry Shillingford. Pits were sunk on the farm, and samples of the clay were sent to different parties. Negotiations had been in progress with several persons in New York, who formed the " Union Woolen Company of New York," with Edward Peckham, president. To this

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THE CITY OF CHESTER.

company the land was sold for thirty thousand dol- lars, and the deed from Hayburn made to the com- pany. Work was at once begun, under the charge of George Rush, and clay shipped to potteries in Tren- ton, N. J., and other places. In 1865 the property was sold to William Wharton, of Philadelphia, who worked the pits about a year, and sold to Lewis P. Harvey, of Chad's Ford. The National Woolen Company was then organized, of which Lewis P. Har- vey was principal owner and manager. Hansom H. Johns was one of the partners, and together they conducted the works many years, furnishing to pot- teries in Trenton, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Liverpool, and elsewhere, clay at the rate of one hundred tons per month. Later, Mr. Johns retired from the com- pany; Tilghman Johnson became a partner, and this firm are now operating the works.

Brandywine Summit Kaolin Works .- In 1880, John Griffin, of Phoenixville, bought of Isaac Bul- lock sixty-three acres, and in that year work was be- gun. Buildings were erected in 1881. Clay is sup- plied to whiteware-makers in Liverpool, Ohio, and Trenton. William S. Manley has been in charge of the works from the first.

In 1882, Hamilton Graham began work on prop- erty adjoining the above. It was abandoned in 1853, and in September of that year was purchased by the Brandywine Kaolin Works.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE CITY OF CHESTER.

IN 1644 the present site of Chester, east of the creek of that name, was a tobacco plantation, occu- pied by farm servants in the employment of the Swedish company. About that time many of the colonists began to seek grants of the broad acres on the main land, and the ground between Ridley and Chester Creeks was selected by Jöran Keen, aud to him the Swedish government granted a patent for a tract of land one and a half miles inland, following the right bank of Chester Creek above its mouth, and reaching along the Delaware eastward as far as Ridley Creek. The plot at its northwestern limit, at the present Crozer Theological Seminary, was a half- mile in breadth, and a diagonal line ran thence east- wardly to Ridley Creek. Jöran Keen, or Kyn (as his name was written by the Swedes, and also from his peculiar complexion known as " snohuitt" or "snow white"), was one of the earliest European residents upon the Delaware River within the boun- daries of the present State of Pennsylvania, and for more than a quarter of a century was the chief pro- prietor of lands at Upland, afterwards Chester. He was born in Sweden about 1620, and came to America,

in company with Governor Printz, in the ship " Fama," and resided at Tinicum. He was a soldier, whose duty was to attend daily upon the Governor, and travel with that dignitary wherever he might go, as one of his Excellency's body-guard. As before stated, Keen received the grant of a royal tract of ground, and it is believed that when Printz left the colony to return to Sweden, Keen resigned his military position and gave his undivided attention to agriculture.1

The land on the west bank of Chester Creek, ex- tending along the river as far as Marcus Hook, Queen Christina, of Sweden, granted to Capt. John Am- mundson Besk, "his wife and heirs," by patent dated Aug. 20, 1653, in cousideration of faithful services he had rendered to the State. Besk, who is believed to have been a man of large means, never entered into possession of this vast tract of ground, and it seems to have been held and claimed by Armgart Pappegoya, the daughter of the first Swedish Governor, Printz. In a letter from the Dutch vice-director, Beekman, under date of Sept. 14, 1662, he writes, "I inquired into the situation of a certain lot of land on the Southwest side of Upland Kill, and was informed by the Swedish Commissaries and other ancient inhabi- tants of said nation, that the aforesaid is called Printz's village, which has always been in possession during 16 years of the Swedish Governor, John Printz, and his daughter who owns it."

Chester, in 1645, was a place of such insignificance that Andreas Hudde, an agent of the Dutch, who had been sent by Governor Kieft to learn the num- ber, condition, armament, and military force of the Swedes, made no mention of it in his report. It is even doubtful whether at that time Jöran Keen had erected a house on his land, inasmuch as in the " Rulla," dated by Printz at "Kihrstina" (Christi- ana), June 20, 1644, the statement appears that Up- land was a tobacco plantation, as already mentioned. Between the years 1646 and 1648 a considerable set- tlement must have been made at this point, for in Hudde's interview with the Passyunk Indians, in that year, they spoke of Upland, among other places, in the possession of the Swedes, and charge the latter with having stolen the land from them, while in Cam- panius' account of New Sweden, " Mecoponacka," or Upland, is mentioned in the year 1648 (the date of the elder Campanius' return to Sweden) "as an un- fortified place, but some houses were built there. It was situated between Fort Christina (near Wilming- ton) and New Gottenburg (Tinicum), but nearer the latter. There was a fort built there some time after its settlement. It is good even land along the river shore." ?

The Indian name of the site of the present city of Chester was Mecoponacka ; the Swedish, Upland ; the Dutch, Oplandt ; and the English, Chester and Up- land indifferently until the former entirely absorbed

1 Penna. May. of Hist., vol. ii. p. 325.

2 Campanius, p. 79.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the latter in designating the borough abont the mid- dle of the last century. The proper Indian name of Chester Creek was Meechoppenackhan, according to Heckewelder, in his "Indian Names," which signifies "the large potato stream," or "the stream along which large potatoes grow." This was corrupted into Macopanachan, Macopanackhan, and finally into Mecopanacka. The Indian tribe which owned the land whereon Chester stands, according to John Hill Martin, was the Okehockings, and were subse- quently removed by the order of William Penn, in 1702, to " the tract in Chester county, formerly laid out to Griffy Jones, but now vacant."

The story of Penn coming to Upland, the change of the name of the hamlet and the county to Chester, the meeting of the first Assembly, the courts held therein have already been narrated in the general his- tory, and it is unnecessary to recapitulate those inci- dents here. During the winter of 1682-83, Penn resided in the Boar Head Inn, an ancient building which stood until March 21, 1850, when it was de- stroyed by fire. The noted hostelry stood on the line of the present street, on the footway approaching it having ascent to the building. It was one story and a half high, with peaked roof, the gable end standing toward Third Street, and from it, just below the eaves, projected the crane from which the old sign of a boar's head was suspended. The house was constructed of heavy frame timber, filled in with brick, and outside as well as inside the laths, which were interlaced in a kind of basket pattern, were covered with plaster made of oyster-shell lime and mud, while, in place of hair, swamp-grass was employed to hold the composition together. The doors were peculiar in the manner in which they were hung; a peg or projection from the door above and below fitted into holes made in the frames, and on these they swung instead of hinges. The windows, with the exception of the one in the kitchen, were small ; the glasses, four by three in size, were set in lead. The roof was of split-shingles, the kitchen floor was laid in flagging, some of which were as large as six by eight feet, and under these was a body of eighteen inches of sand on which they rested. In the kitchen, on the side opening to the west, was a large double door, through which a cart-load of wood could be drawn if desired. The chimney was an enor- mous affair, nearly sixteen feet in width, and the wide-mouthed old fireplace was spacions enough to hold entire cord-wood sticks on great iron dogs, while on either side in the fireplace were benches, where, on excessively cold days, the chilled inmates of the house could rest themselves while enjoying the blazing fire on the hearth. The cellar was of dressed stone, the joints trne, every stone set square, and as carefully laid as the masonry of the City Hall.

Penn, shortly after his arrival at Chester, sent for James Sandelands, the elder, to confer with him, for it was "talkt among-the people" of that day "that it was Intent to have built a City (at Upland), but that

he and Sanderlin could not agree." The conclusion of this interview was that Penn had to look elsewhere for a site for the future metropolis of Pennsylvania, if it be trne that Penn at that time proposed building a "great town" there. The refusal of the chief owner of land, at Chester, to accede to Penn's desires was disastrous in its results, and was discovered when too late to avoid its consequences, although an attempt was made to correct it, in a measure, on Nov. 19, 1700, when the petition of James Sandelands, the younger, was presented to Governor William Penn, on his second visit to the colonies, and his Council, in session at New Castle, setting forth that the royal patent to the proprietary gave him "absolute power to . . . erect and incorporate Towns, Hundreds and Connties and to incorporate Towns in Boroughs, & Boronghs into Cities & to make & constitute Fairs & Markets herein, with all other convenient privileges & Immu- nities according to the merits of the Inhabitants & fitness of ye places. ... And whereas ye Petitioner is possessed of a certain spot of land lying in sd Countie of Chester, verie fitt & naturally commodions for a Town & to that end lately cansed ye sd. spot of Land to be divided & Laid out into Lotts, Streets & Market place, a Draft & Model whereof (the gene- rallie desired & Leiked of by ye sd Inhabitants of sd Conntie) is notwithstanding herewith presented & submitted to your honors for your approbation and consent." The same day it was ordered, after the heirs of James Sandelands, the elder, had appeared before Council, that "the Proprietary & Governor & Council having approved of the within Petition & of the design thereof & Looking upon the place within proposed to be fitt for a Town did not onlie approve of ye within & annexed model, but also did erect & do hereby erect the said spot of Land so modelled & Laid outt Into a Town provided the same do not en- croach upon other men's Land without their express consent under their Hands and Seals, and saving to the Proprietor & Governor & everie one their right." 1

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 82

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