History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 83

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

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The first street laid ont by authority was ordered by the grand jury, Eighth month 2, 1686, which body reports that they " doe lay out a street and a landing upon the creek to the corner lot far as over against the north west corner of the Court House fifty foote in breadth and from thence up the said Chester town for a street 30 foote in breadthe." This highway was at first called Chester Street, then Front Street, that runs along the creek, and now Edgmont Street or Avenue. In 1689 the grand jury continued the street from the present Second Street to low-water mark on the Delaware River, and from the northwestern corner of the then court-house, to low-water mark on the creek. This latter short street seems to have been closed at a later date, perhaps before the year 1690, for David Lloyd had the Governor and Council about that time to lay ont a street thirty-eight feet wide on

1 Martin's " History of Chester," p. 89.

329

THE CITY OF CHESTER.

the line of the present Second Street, from Chester Creek to the plantation he had purchased from Neeles Laerson's heirs in 1689. The plot of the town ap- proved by Penn, Nov. 19, 1700, as shown by many ancient deeds, is almost exactly the plan of the old parts of this city as now laid out on the official map. In November, 1699, William Penn came a second time to his colony, and during that visit to the province he chartered the borough of Chester. The document is of interest, and we therefore give it en- tire, since many have no knowledge whatever of this old charter :

"Preamble: William Penn, true and absolute Proprietary and Gover- nor-in-Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania and Territories thereunto belonging : To all to whom these shall come, Sende Greeting. Whereas in my first Regulation and Division of the Counties of this Province I thought fit to order. That the Townsted or Village then having the Name of Upland should be called Chester, which I thereupon constituted the Shire-town of the County of Chester and ordered and appointed all my courts of judicature, for the Affairs of that county to be there held and kept and the County goal or Prison to be and remain there for ever. AND whereas about the same Time, or soon after, for the Encourage- ment of the said Town, I was pleased to grant unto my ancient Friend John Simcock in Behalf of himself and others the Inhabitauts of the said Place the Privilege of a Market to be there weekly held and kept. After which the said Inhabitants of the said Place, the Privilege of a Market to be thus weekly held and kept. After which the said Inhabi- tants, upon their special Instance, did also obtain from my late Lieu- tenant Governor and Council a Grant for two Fairs to be held in the said Towo yearly. All which the inhabitants of the said Town, and of the adjacent Parts of the said County of Chester, having humbly he- eought me to confirm unto them, together with such additional Privi- leges an Francises as I might think fit or requisite for the better En- couragement of the Settlers, and Regulation of Trade therein.

"Now Know Ye, That I, favouring the just and reasonable Request of said Inhabitants, have of my own free Will erected, and do, by these Presents for me, my Heirs, and successors, erect the said Town into a Borough, which Town and Borough shall exteud from the River Dela- ware two miles backwards into the Woods, and shall be bounded East- ward with the west side of Ridley Creek, and westward with the East side of Chester Creek to the said extent of two miles backwards from the River and shall ever hereafter be called Chester. And I further will that the Streete, Landinge and Market-place in the said Town shall for ever hereafter be, continue and remain, as they are already and have lately been laid out and modelled and approved of by me and my coun- cil, then setting at New Castle. And I do hereby name and constitute Jasper Yeates, Ralph Fishbourn, Paul Saunders and Robert Barber, to be present Burgesses and James Lounes, High-Constables of the said Borough, who shall so continue until the tenth Day of the first Month next. On that Day, as also as the same day in the same month yearly afterwards for ever, it shall and may be lawful to and for the Freeholdere and Housekeepere of the said Town and Borough publickly to meet in some convenient Place within the said Town, to be by them appointed for that Purpose, and then and there nominate, elect and chose by the Ballot of the inhabitants of the said Town, fit and able men to be Bur- gesses and High constables, with such other Officers as by the Burgesses and Freemen shall be judged needful for assisting and serving the Bur- gesses in managing the affairs of the said Borough, and Keeping of the Peace therein from time to time, And the Burgees first chosen in the said Election shall be called the Chief Burgess of the said Town.

"And I will and ordain. That all the said Burgesses for the Time being shall be, and are hereby impowered and authorized to be Cooser- vators of the Pence within the said Borough; and shall have Power hy themselves and upon their own view, without any Law proceedings, to remove all Nuisances and Incroachments out of the said Streets as they shall see Occasion : With Power also to arrest, imprison, and punish Rioters and Breakers of the Peace, and to biod them and all other of- fenders and Persons of evil Fame to the Peace nr good Behaviour, as fully and effectually as any of the Justices of the Peace in the snid County can do, and return or bring the Recognizances by them to be taken to the Court of Qwarter-Sessions for the said County. And that the said Chief Burgess from time to time shall, by Virtue of these Pres- ents, without any further or other commission, be one of the Justices

of the Peace, and one of the Justices of the County-Court and Qwarter Sessions, Oyer and Terminer and Goal-delivery, in and for the said County of Chester. And shall have full Power and Authority with the rest of the said County Justices, or a Qworum of them or by himself, where the laws of this Province, &c., direct one Justice to award Pro- cess and hold Pleas cognizable, by and before the Justicee of the said County of Chester from time to time.

" And I do hereby grant and appoint. That the Sheriff and Clerk of the Courte of the said County of Chester for the Time being, if not Res- idents iu the said Borough shall appoiut and constitute sufficient Dep- uties, who shall from time to time reside ur constantly attend in the said Town of Chester, to perform the Duties of their respective offices. But before any of the said Burgesses, Constables, or other Officer, shall take upon theni the execution of their respective Offices they shall eub- scribe the Declaration and Profession of their Christian Belief, accord- ing to the late Act of Parliament, made in the first Year of the Reigo of King William, and the late Queen Mary, intitled ' An act for ex- empting their Majesties' Protestant Subjects, dissenting from the Church of England, from the Penalties of Certain Laws.' And they that are to he newly elected for Burgesses, Constables and other Officers from time to time shall he attested for the due Execution of their respective Offices and shall subscribe the said Declarutiune and Profession of Belief before the old Burgesses, or such of them as go off and are not again chosen in the New Elections: But in case the old Burgesses are all chosen by the new Elections, then they shall have Power, and are hereby impow- ered and qualified to act upon their former Attests and Qualifications. And I do further grant and ordain, that the High-Constables of the said Borough for the Time being shall be Clerk of the Market, who shall and Diay have Assize of Bread, Wine, Beer, Wood and other Things; and to do, execute and perform, all Things belonging to the Office of Clerk of the Market within the said Town and Borough of Chester.

" And I do for me, my Heirs and Assigne, grant unto the said Bur- gesses and their Successors, That if any of the Inhabitants of the said Town and Borough shall be hereafter elected to the Office of Burgess or Constable as aforesaid, and, having notice of his or their Election, shall refuse to undertake and execute their Office to which he is chosen, it shall be lawful for the Burgess or Burgesses then acting to impose mod- erate Fines upon the Refusere, so as the Burgess's Fine exceed not Ten Pound, and the Constable's Five Pounds; to be levied by Distress and Sale, by Warrant under the Hand & Seal of one or more of the Bur- gesses, or by other lawful Ways, to the Use of the enid Town being to summon and assemble Towo-meetings, from time to time, as often as they shall find Occasion : At which Meetings they may make such Or- dinancee and Rules (not repugnant to or inconsistent with the Laws of this Province) as to the greater Part of the Town-meeting shall seem necessary and convenient for the good Government of the said Town. And the same Rules and Ordinances to put in Execution, and the same to revoke, alter and make anew, as Occasion shall require. And also impose such Mulcts and Amerciamente upon Breakers of the said Ordi- Dances as to the Makers thereof shall be thonght reasonable; to he levied as is directed in Case of Fines, to the Use of the Town, without rendering any Account thereof to me, my Heirs or Assigns : With Power also to the said Meetings to mitigate or release the said Fines and Mulcts, upou the submission of the Parties.

" And I dofurther grant to the said Burgesses and Inhabitants of the aforesaid Town and Borough of Chester, That they and their successors shall and may, for ever hereafter, hold and keep within the said Towa in every Week of the Year one market on the fifth Day of the Week called Thursday : And also two Faire there in every Year, the first of them to begin the fifth Day of the third Month, called May, and to con- tinne that Day and two Days after; and the other of the said Fairs to begin the fifth Day of October and to continue till the seventh Day of the same Month in such Place and Places in the said Town as the Bur- gesses from time to time shall order and appoint.

" And I do further grant, That neither I, nor my Heirs or Assigns, shall or will eeize any of the Liberties or Franchizes hereby granted, nor take any Advantage against the said Borough for the non-using or waving the present Execution of any of the Powers or Privileges hereby granted.

"In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and caused my Great Seal to be affixed. Dated the One-and-thirtieth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and One, 1701.

" WILLIAM PENN."

" Recorded Pat. Book Vol. 2, p. 138." 1

1 Hazard's Register, vol. iii. p. 264.

330

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

The borough grew slowly, for Oldmixon refers to it in 1708 as containing " one hundred houses." Bamp- fylde Moore Carew, in 1739, stated that it " contains about a hundred houses, and a very good road for shipping." In 1758, Acrelius said, "it had 120 houses, which gives endorsement to the assertion of Lewis Evans, in a letter written in 1753,1 that "Ches- ter, Bristol, and Newtown have been long at a stand." Peter Kalm, the Swedish naturalist, in the fall of 1748, journeying from Wilmington to Philadelphia, mentions in his journal "Chester, a little market town which lies on the Delaware. The houses stand dispersed. Most of them are built of stone and two or three stories high ; some are, however, made of wood." The Delaware County Republican of July 1, 1836, states, Chester " has about 140 dwellings."

In 1713 the inhabitants of Chester County peti- tioned Governor Goodkin and Council " that ye Bor- ough of the Town of Chester, in this Province, may be made a free Port." The petition was referred to William Penn, who took no action in the matter. Over a century thereafter, in March, 1838, the inhab- itants of the borough of Chester petitioned the Coun- cils of Philadelphia to have Chester made a port of entry, promising, if that was done, to build a railway from the piers to intersect with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. The project was so flattering to the hopes of the people of the place that, on March 7, 1840, an act of Assembly was obtained empowering the authorities to lay such track in the streets, but nothing ever came of the scheme.

In 1739 the noted clergyman, George Whitefield, preached in Chester, and so great was his fame and the excitement throughout the colony, occasioned by his eloquence, that about seven thousand persons gathered here to listen to his sermon. It is said that a cavalcade of one hundred and fifty horsemen ac- companied the noted divine hither. It was during this year that Bampfylde Moore Carew, heretofore men- tioned, passed through Chester, and he relates how the people for many miles around flocked to the places where Whitefield was to preach. Carew came here on Sunday, "stayed all night, and the next morning he inquired of one Mrs. Turner, a Quakeress, who for- merly lived at Embercomb, by Minehead, in Somer- setshire. From her he got a bill (money) and a recommendation to some Quakers at Darby, about five miles further." This Mrs. Turner lived at the northeast corner of Third Street and Concord Avenue, the property of the late Mrs. Shaw.

The story of Chester in its stationary condition is so interwoven with that of the county that it cannot be separated the one from the other. And it is un- necessary to refer to it here, since it is told in the general history heretofore given. On several occa- sions enterprising men have endeavored to give busi- ness impetus to the old borough. Jasper Yeates, in

1698, erected extensive granaries on the creek, and established a large bakery. It was located at Second and Edgmont Streets. The eastern abutment of the bridge there is built partly on the site of the old gran- ary. The second story of the building was used for the storage of grain, while the lower was the biscuit- bakery. The enterprise failed to satisfy, for in a letter from James Logan to Penn 5th First month, 1708/9, it is set forth :

" The Country people of this Province having of late generally fallen upon the practice of bolting their own wheat and selling or shipping the flour, Jasper Yeates, a man of a working brain for his own interest, found his trade at Chester to fall under a very discouraging decay. Upon this he has frequently discoursed of removing to New Castle, where he is possessed of a large tract of land close to the town."

The old granary was substantially built of stone and brick, the walls being nearly three feet wide. The lime and mortar had so cemented the materials together that when it was demolished in April, 1853, by Mr. Pusey, of Chester County, to erect on its site a large flouring-mill, it almost defied the efforts of the workmen to pull it down. During the Revolution Joseph Ashbridge baked much of the "hard tack" for the American army, and in 1812 it was used for a like purpose for the United States. The archway of the building, which led from Edgmont Street to the creek, was a place of dread to the children in the olden times, for it was stated a woman had been murdered there and her uneasy spirit lingered about the place of her untimely "taking off."

Between 1761 and 1770, Francis Richardson, to whom Grace Lloyd devised the greater part of her large estate, built extensive warehouses and two piers, known as Richardson's Upper and Lower Wharf (in 1816 conveyed to the State, and in 1823 conveyed by the commonwealth to the United States), believing that Chester could be made a rival of Phila- delphia as a shipping-point for grain and produce, but the difficulties with the mother-country totally ruined him. In 1732, Joseph Howell was a tanner in Chester, and continued in that occupation at the old tan-yard (now Frederick J. Hinkson's) on Edgmont · Street, near Third, until 1764, when Isaac Eyre pur- chased the property and carried on the business. In 1799, John Birchall had the tannery there, and Wil- liam Brobson followed him until 1863. The latter dying, the business was continued by Hon. Fred- erick J. Hinkson and J. S. Bell; later by I. J. & C. Hinkson, sons of Judge Hinkson, and more recently by the Chester Morocco Company.

In 1782, Jonathan Pennell, a blacksmith, had a shop on Edgmont Avenue, near Front, and William Spear in the same trade, in 1799, where Ladomus' block now stands. John Baggs was employed in one of these shops or with Jonathan Morris, who had a shop at that time on the southwest corner of Fifth and Welsh Streets. William Hawken was then the

1 Martin's " History of Chester," p. 62.

331

THE CITY OF CHESTER.

village wheelwright. About 1800, William Ford was a shipwright at Chester. I do not know how long he had been in business as such, but we do know that on July 1, 1778, Col. Jehu Eyre was placed in charge of the department for building boats for the State, having four separate sets of ship-carpenters at work at differ- ent locations, with one at Chester, under charge of Capt. William Bowers.1 Samuel Lytle sawed ship- plank for their vessels. It is stated a gunboat was built in the woods upon the creek since known as "Ship Creek," so that it might be hidden from the view of any English man-of-war ascending the river; and after it was launched it was discovered that it was a foot or so wider than the passageway between the abutments at Third Street bridge, and could not make its way to the Delaware. The stream still re- tains the name, but the circumstance from which it derived that title has generally been forgotten.

The first description of Chester after the Revolution which I have found describes the town thus : 2

" Chester, borough of, a post-towo of Penosylvania, aod capital of Chester County [Delaware County]. It is situated on the northwest eide of Delaware River, between Ridgely [Ridley] and Chester Creek, fifteen miles southwest of Philadelphia. It contains about sixty dwel- linge, built on a regular plen, a court-house, and jail. Courte of Com- mon Pleae and General Quarter Sessione of the peace are held here the third Monday in February, May, August, and November. This town is remarkable for being the place where the first Colonial Assembly was convened, which was on the 4th of December, 1682. Ae it affords an agreeable morning's ride, and having genteel accommodations, it is the resort of much company from Philadelphia in the summer season. It was incorporated by an act of Assembly December [March ], 1795, and ie governed by two burgeseee, ooe high constable, one town clerk, and three assistants. The powers of the corporation are much limited; they are wholly confined to the preservation of peace and order among the in- habitants of the borough."

Almost all the inhabitants of the venerable borough believed that the removal of the county-seat to Media would be a fatal blow to the prosperity of the town ; that it would rapidly sink in population and as a busi- ness point. Few persons comprehended that the hour for its advancement had come. The purchase by John P. Crozer of the old Chester mill-site to the northwest of the borough, the erection at that place of a cotton- mill, and the location of James Campbell at Leiper- ville, to the northeast, where he built up a large busi- ness in manufacturing cotton goods, had directed the attention of a few thoughtful men to the possibilities and advantages of Chester as a manufacturing centre.

To properly appreciate the condition of Chester at that time, it is necessary to present a brief picture of the borough, which, after the Revolution, was incor- porated with all the rights and privileges of a shire- town by act of Assembly of March 5, 1795. It had, however, remained almost stationary in respect to pop- ulation and business enterprises. In 1840 the popu- lation of the borough was seven hundred and forty persons of all ages and sexes. The town occupied, in a scattered manner, the space extending from the

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad to the river, and from Welsh Street to Chester Creek. But a small part was built upon, and in the area given, most of the houses, many of them dilapidated, had been erected in the preceding century, and the place showed all the features of a finished town. The change which has since that time so developed the little fishing village, for Chester was scarcely more than that, first began to show itself about 1842. A few properties then changed owners at fair prices.

The great difficulty in the way of Chester was that it was surrounded by large farms held by persons in easy circumstances, who would not sell a foot of ground at any price, and who looked upon those who proposed to build a city here as visionary men, who would run themselves in debt and ultimately fail. Time, how- ever, brought these farms into the market. Death and debt have no respect for couservatism, and by degrees these agencies worked in behalf of the change that was dawning. The first of these tracts of land which came into the hands of the progressive spirits who were guiding the new order of things was that of William Kerlin, a fifty-acre plot, the Essex House tract, lying between the post-road and the river, on the west bank of Chester Creek.

John M. Broomall, then residing in Upper Chi- chester, supposed that he had bought the farm in 1846, at one hundred and fifty dollars an acre, but the agent, Charles D. Manley, though authorized to sell at that price, was, to his great mortification, unable to get his principal to execute the deed and the sale fell through. In the early part of 1849, Mr. Broomall, who had in the mean while removed to Chester, pur- chased the farm again of Mr. Kerlin himself after considerable negotiation, at two hundred dollars an acre. A time was fixed for executing the contract of sale, but before the day came, Mr. Kerlin again changed his mind. In December following, John Ed- ward Clyde, who was quite anxious that a sale should be effected, meeting Mr. Kerlin on the street, agreed to purchase the farm, and insisted that the former should go at once to the office of Mr. Broomall. The latter declined to enter into a negotiation except upon the condition that the deed should be forthwith ex- ecuted and the sale consummated, if a price could be agreed upon. The condition was accepted ; Hon. Edward Darlington was sent for as counsel for Mr. Kerlin, and in half an hour the deed was executed, the price paid being two hundred and fifty dollars an acre. During the negotiations, in the early part of 1849, Mr. Broomall had offered to John P. Crozer and John Larkin, Jr., each an equal interest with himself in the farm he then believed he had purchased from Mr. Kerlin. The attention of both of these gentle- men had been attracted to Chester as the site of a future city if it could only get room to grow, and they had been looking at the Kerlin farm as a pos- sible outlet. Before the actual purchase took place, Mr. Larkin bought a large part of the farm of John

1 Penna. Mag. of Hist., vol. iti. p. 423.

2 Joseph Scott'e " U. S. Gazetteer" (Philadelphia, 1795, firet "Gazetteer" of the United States published), title " Borough of Chester."

332

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Cochran to the north of the town, now forming a considerable portion of the North Ward. He de- clined to accept Mr. Broomall's proposal, and the Kerlin farm was bought by Mr. Crozer and Mr. Broomall in equal shares.

On Jan. 5, 1850, Jobu Larkin, Jr., purchased eighty- three acres of land, which had formerly been a race- conrse, from John Cochran. This tract had been in- cluded in the estate of David Lloyd, and the greater part of it was embraced in the purchase, May 1, 1741, made by Joseph Hoskins from Grace Lloyd, and which he devised to his nephew, John Hoskins, of Burling- ton, N. J. The latter sold the property to his son, Raper Hoskins, March 22, 1791, and he dying seized of the property, his widow, Eleanor, administered to the estate, and sold it, April 27, 1799, to Thomas Lay- cock. The latter dying, and his heirs making default in payment, the property was sold by John Oden- heimer, sheriff, Oct. 26, 1806, to Anthony Morris, who in turn sold it to Maj. William Anderson, and the latter conveyed it to John Cochran, May 26, 1823, who dying intestate, the estate was conveyed by the heirs to John Cochran, the younger, who sold it to John Larkin, Jr., at the time already stated. The entire tract was in one inclosure ; the only improvement, so far as buildings were concerned, was the small stone house, still standing, with its gable end to Edgmont Avenue, below Twelfth Street, and a frame stable. The land, after it ceased to be a race-course, had been used as a grazing lot for cattle.

Both tracts were laid out in streets and squares, and almost immediately signs of improvement began to manifest themselves in the present North and Sonth Wards. Many of the old residents looked on in amaze- ment, and often the quiet remark went round, "These men will lose every dollar they have in this business." The enterprising men, however, paid little attention to these prognostications of misfortune. Dwelling- houses were erected, streets laid out and graded, and capital was invited to locate in this vicinity. Early in the year 1850, James Campbell, of Ridley, pur- chased the lot and bowling-alley formerly belonging to the Delaware County Hotel, which lot was located on the north side of Fourth Street, where part of the market-house now stands. This building he altered to receive looms, and in March, 1850, within three months of the purchase of the Kerlin and Cochran farms, for the first time the noise of the shuttle was heard in the borough. When the public buildings were sold, Mr. Campbell bought the prison and work- house, and at much expense he changed the ancient structure into a cotton-mill, thus making the first per- manent establishment in which textile fabrics were woven within the bonnds of the present city of Ches- ter.

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 83

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