History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 86

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

USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania > Part 86

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In the wall of the Bible-class room, in the base- ment of the church, is the Sandelands tablet. The stone is disintegrating, and in a few years will crum- ble away.

James Sandelands, the elder, was a Scotchman, and there is some reason to believe that his father was Capt. Jacob Everson Sandelyn (the name per- haps incorrectly spelled by the early annalists), who, as master of the ship "Scotch Dutchman," visited the Swedish settlements on the Delaware in the year 1646, and sold to the Governor "duffel-cloth and other goods" to the value of two thousand five hun- dred guilders. His mother, we know, lived here in February, 1683, for she is mentioned in the trial of Margaret Mattson, of Ridley, for witchcraft. The first allusion to James Sandelands is in the patent of Aug. 6, 1665, " for two lots of land in Upland at Delaware, upon the North side of the creek or kill." On June 13, 1670, patents were granted to him for two other lots similarly situated, adjoining the property of his father-in-law, Jöran Keen.

In a deed in 1680 he is designated as " merchant," but there is no evidence to show what particular goods he dealt in, excepting a record that having purchased tobacco in Maryland, which was not delivered accord- ing to agreement, " a Certayne great Boate or Siallop," belonging to the delinquent consignor, was attached and "publicqly sould." The records of the early courts show that he frequently appeared as attorney for the suitors before that tribunal. In 1677 he is mentioned as the only person on the Delaware River, from Upland northwardly, who owned a slave, and is recorded as one of the "responsible housekeepers" at this place. He was appointed by Col. William Mark- ham one of the Deputy Governor's Council in 1681, and was constituted one of the justices of the newly- organized Upland court. From 1688 to 1690 he was a member of the General Assembly of the province of Pennsylvania. James Sandelands died April 12, 1692, aged fifty-six years. I have given a brief notice of this early colonist because St. Paul's was a meno- rial church, erected to keep him in the recollection of the inhabitants of Chester, wherein he had passed a busy and enterprising life.

His wife, Ann, after a brief widowhood, married Peter Baynton, who subsequently abandoned her and returned to England, leaving her in such destitute

341

THE CITY OF CHESTER.

circumstances that the Provincial Council, May 19, 1698, ordered the residue of his property in Chester should be appropriated to her support. He returned subsequently, and apparently was repentant for his misdeeds. Ann died, and Oct. 5, 1704, was buried by the side of her first husband, James Sandelands. As her name appears on the old tablet in St. Paul's Church, it proves that the stone was not set up by the descendants of Sandelands until after that date.

In a closet in the Sunday-school, some time ago, was deposited, for safe keeping, the noted tombstone which for many years attracted the attention of all strangers visiting the old churchyard, because of its antiquity, the manner in which the sculptor had per- formed his work, and the singularity of the inscrip- tion. The stone was cracked and in bad condition. The inscription reads,-

" FOR THE MEMORY OF FRANCIS BROOKS, who died August the 19, 1704 Aged 50 years.

In Barbarian bondage . And cruel tyranny For ten years together I served in Slavery After this Mercy brought me To my country fair And last I drowned was In River Delaware."

Martin states that Francis Brooks was a negro. The inscription would seem to indicate that Brooks was a native of the American colonies, and as his age at death precludes the idea of his birth in Upland, the chances are that he was a New Englander or Vir- ginian.

The most noted monument in St. Paul's ground, at least within recent years,-for, strange as it may ap- pear, neither Trego, in his "Geography and Histori- cal Accounts of Pennsylvania," nor Burrowes, in his " State Book of Pennsylvania," both published within the last forty years, make any mention of John Mor- ton, -- is that of the signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, whose remains lie beneath a plain Egyp- tian obelisk of marble, eleven feet in height, its four sides forming precisely the four cardinal points of the compass. The inscription on the west side of the monolith is as follows :

"Dedicated to the memory of John Morton,

A member of the First American Congress from the State of Penn- eylvania, Assembled in New York in 1765, and of the next Congress, assembled in Philadelphia in 1774. Born A.D., 1724-Died April 1777."

On the east side of the shaft is as follows:

" In voting by States upon the question of the Independence of the American Colonies, there was a tie until the vote of Pennsylvania was given, two members of which voted in the affirmative, and two in the negative. The tie continued until the vote of the last member, John Morton, decided the promulgation of the Glorious Diploma of American Freedom."

On the south side of the stone is cut the statement:

" In 1775, while speaker of the Assembly of Pennsylvania, John Mor- ton was elected a Member of Congress, and in the ever memorable eeg- siun of 1776, he attended thet august body for the last time, establishing his name in the grateful remembrance of the American People by signing the Declaration of Independence."

On the north side of the shaft is inscribed the fol- lowing sentence :

"John Morton being censured by hie friends for hie boldness in giving his casting vote for the Declaration of Independence, his prophetic spirit dictated from his death bed the following message to them : "Tell them they shall live to eee the hour when they shall acknowledge it to have been the most glorious service I ever rendered to my country."

This monument to John Morton was erected Oct. 9, 1845, sixty-eight years after his death. A regard for the truth of history compels me to state that there is not a particle of evidence to establish the assertion engraved on the stone that John Morton gave the casting vote for the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Indeed, the little information we have bearing ou that point absolutely negatives the inscription on the monument in St. Paul's graveyard.

St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church .- The church organization was effected on Nov. 28, 1868, when the court of Delaware County incorporated the rector, church wardens, and vestrymen of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church. The corner-stone of the neat little Gothic stone sanctuary at the southeast corner of Third and Broomall Streets, South Ward, was laid on Monday morning, Feb. 1, 1869, Right Rev. William Bacon Stevens, Bishop of Pennsylvania, officiating, assisted by Revs. Messrs. Brown, of Chester, Reed, of Linwood, Clemson and Potcken, of Delaware, Morrell, of New York, Stone, of Montgomery County, and Long, of Scranton. In order that Bishop Stevens should be in Philadelphia as early as possible on im- portant business, Superintendent Kenney ordered the New York express train to stop at Lamokin and re- ceive the distinguished divine. St. Luke's was then included in St. Paul's parish, and Rev. Henry Brown, the rector, had charge of the chapel, for such in the beginning it was designed to be during its erection. The funds of the building committee having become exhausted before the church was completed, the con- gregation for a time worshiped in the edifice, which was then without pews, settees being used in their places, and the unplastered walls presenting a rough and uninviting appearance. After Sunday, May 8, 1870, services were held there in the morning and evening, Thomas R. List, a student at the Divinity School of Philadelphia, being employed as lay reader, which duties he discharged until June 19, 1873, when he became rector of the parish. The church, now firmly established, was due largely to the efforts of Johu Burrows Mckeever, William Ward, Samuel Archbold, Samuel Eccles, Jr., William H. Green, William A. Todd, Maj. Joseph R. T. Coates, and their wives and other ladies of St. Paul's Church, South Ward, and South Chester. Edward A. Price and wife presented the parish with a handsome communion

342

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

service-silver tankard, paten, chalices, and plates for alms, while F. Stanhope Hill and Mrs. Hannah Depue gave the pulpit Bible. On May 19, 1874, St. Luke's Church was admitted into the Diocesan Convention, Samuel Archbold and William Ward being the first lay deputies. In 1874, John Burrows Mckeever, who was an ardent friend of the new parish, died, and through the efforts of Rev. Mr. List a memorial font was placed in the church in whose behalf he labored so zealously. In September, 1875, Rev. Mr. List, having received a call to a church in Philadelphia, resigned the rectorship. In October of the same year, Rev. George Clifford Moore, the present rector, was called, and almost immediately after his installa- tion he began the advocacy of the abolition of pew- reuts, substituting therefor voluntary contributions. In 1876, Charles Kenworthy bequeathed three hun- dred and fifty dollars to the parish, which sum was applied towards liquidating the mortgage, and the following year, Elizabeth Kerlin, by will, gave one hundred and fifty dollars, which was used in like manner until, in 1880, the entire debt was extin- guished. The parish, at present, is in a flourishing condition.

St. Michael the Archangel .- The imposing Cath- olic Church of St. Michael's is the second sanctuary erected on the site, the first having been razed, in 1874, to make room for the present edifice. The church organization extends backward in the history of our city over forty years. In 1842 a number of Catholics employed in this neighborhood-the nearest church being located nine miles distant-determined to estab- lish one of that denomination in the borough. Ap- plication was made to Rt. Rev. Francis Patrick Kendrick, Bishop of Philadelphia, for permission to organize a congregation and erect a church in Chester. In response to the request the bishop assigned Rev. Philip Sheridan to the parish, and earnestly did he labor to accomplish the end in view. July 12, 1842, a lot was purchased on Edgmont road, and Thursday, September 29th, of the same year the corner-stone was laid by Bishop Kendrick. June 25th of the year following the church was dedicated to Almighty God under the patronage of St. Michael the Archangel, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Moriarty preaching the dedicatory sermon. Rev. Messrs. Sourin and Sheridan, accom- panied by a large number of ladies and gentlemen, came from. Philadelphia on the steamer "Bolivar," Capt. Whilldin. The first church building was of stone, in Gothic architecture, seventy-five by forty- two feet, the tower in front rising one hundred and five feet above the level of the street. For many years St. Michael's Church was the most noticeable build- ing in Chester, and so conspicuous was it that the gilded cross, surmounting the lofty spire, could be seen glittering many miles away as the town was ap- proached in any direction. On Sunday, Aug. 9, 1846, a violent storm of rain and wind occurred, which loosened some of the masonry, and a stone hurled

by the fury of the blast, falling on the roof, crushed through it into the aisle below, breaking the pews and the floor of the main apartment. For nearly seven years no regular pastor was assigned to the parish. Occasional visits were made by Fathers Sheridan, Lane, Sourin, Walsh, Amat, and Dr. O'Hara until July 12, 1850, when Rev. Arthur P. Haviland, who had been ordained a priest in Philadelphia, June 29th of the same year, was appointed to the charge of St. Michael's parish. So faithfully did he labor that in a short time the building became too small to accom- modate the worshipers, and for many years the parish struggled under that difficulty.

In 1854 the parsonage adjoining the sanctuary was built, and the same year Father Haviland was assigned an assistant, Rev. Patrick McEnroe. On Sept. 20, 1858, a bell, the present one, weighing one thousand pounds, was raised to its designated place in the tower, and for almost a quarter of a century its well-known tones have daily been heard in the thriving city of Chester. On the occasion of raising the bell to its allotted place a large concourse of people was present, the services being conducted by Archbishop Wood. In 1867, Father Haviland went to Europe, and during his absence the parish was in charge of his assistant, Rev. Edward McKee, Father McEnroe having been removed to Mauch Chunk. On the return of Father Haviland, Father McKee was assigned to Catasauqua, and Rev. Father Shankey became his assistant for a brief period, to be followed in succession by Revs. Fathers William F. Cook, Thomas McGlynn, Hugh McGlynn, James Timmins, and Patrick J. Mackin.

Early in 1873, notwithstanding the parish had been divided, and the Church of the Immaculate Heart erected in the South Ward, it became evident that the old edifice was insufficient to accommodate the congregation, and it was resolved to erect a new sanctuary. Before the plans to this end could be fully matured the financial disturbances in the fall of that year so paralyzed business that it was deemed inexpedient to begin the demolition of the old and the erection of the new edifice until the industrial dejection had in a measure abated. In the summer of the following year permission was granted by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood to demolish the old struc- ture and rear in its stead a larger and more attractive building. To that end, on July 29, 1874, the pews were taken out of the church, and the parochial school-house, which had been erected in 1866, was prepared for use as a temporary chapel. Angust 11th following the excavations for the foundation of the new edifice were made, and on the 31st of the same month the old building was leveled to the earth. The corner-stone of the new church was laid Sunday, Nov. 1, 1874, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood. The new structure is one hundred and seventy-eight feet in length, and the façade forty-two feet. Its height from the pavement to the eaves is sixty-eight feet, while from the centre of the façade rises a tower of

343

THE CITY OF CHESTER.

ninety-two feet in height. The cost of the sanctuary approximated one hundred thousand dollars.

The structure is built of Leiperville granite, with polished granite trimmings and columns from Maine. Externally and internally the edifice is artistically and handsomely finished. The ceiling of the central aisle rises to the altitude of fifty-five feet above the floor, supported by graceful columns, while the altar (thirty-eight feet in height, with side altars for the Virgin and St. Joseph) and furniture are elaborate and beautiful, making as a whole the most imposing building in the county. Two large frescos, one a copy of Murillo's Conception, the other a St. Joseph, the latter an original by Baraldi, are admirable speci- mens of art. Sunday, Nov. 5, 1882, the church was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies by Rt. Rev. Bishop Shanahan, of Harrisburg. On Sunday, Oct. 3, 1880, the ceremony of blessing the cross which sur- mounts the centre tower of the church was performed by Archbishop Wood, over two thousand persons being present on the occasion.

Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary .- In the spring of 1873, the parish of St. Michael's having become densely populated, and the congrega- tion attending the old sanctuary having grown so large, it was deemed expedient to institute a new Catholic Church in South Ward, and a committee waited on Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood to that end. After several interviews with the committee the bishop consented to the division, and July, 1873, he appointed Rev. John B. Kelley pastor in charge of the parish, which was named the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Two days after his appointment Father Kelley was drowned while hathing at Atlantic City, and Rev. Thomas J. McGlynn was assigned to the pastorate. The parishioners immediately erected a frame chapel on Second Street near Broomall, and the congregation was organized therein. Prompt steps were taken towards the building of a permanent church edifice, and the following fall, Sept. 23, 1874, the corner-stone of the brick Gothic church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, at the northwest corner of Second and Norris Streets, was laid by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Wood. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, 1876, the frame chapel was totally destroyed by fire, and so rapidly did the flames spread that only a few benches were saved, the organ, church furniture, and vest- ments of Father MeGlynn being consumed, involving a loss of four thousand dollars.

The work on the new church edifice was pressed earnestly forward, and it was dedicated on Rosary Sunday, Oct. 1, 1876. The ceremonies were con- ducted by the Most Rev. James F. Wood, D.D., Arch- bishop of Philadelphia, assisted by Rev. A. J. Mc- Conomy, chancellor of the archdiocese, and attended by Revs. E. F. Pendercese, Francis P. O'Neill, A. J. Gallagher, T. J. Barry, James Timmins, and Thomas J. McGlynn.

The church is of brick. It is lighted by fourteen

stained-glass windows on either side, and the rear of the sanctuary is adorned by a large painting of the Transfiguration. The altar is chaste and ecclesiastical in aspect.

In 1883 the parish began the erection of a three- story brick parochial school-house, conforming in its exterior architecture with that of the church edifice, which was completed in 1883.

Rev. Father McGlynn has been in charge of the parish ever since it was organized, and under his im- mediate supervision all the permanent improvements have been made.

First Baptist Church .- The Kerlin farm was pur- chased in 1850 by John M. Broomall and the late John P. Crozer in equal shares, and after a large part of the real estate had been sold so as to repay the original outlay, Mr. Crozer, in 1856, conveyed his in- terest in all the land remaining to Mr. Broomall, re- serving, however, the absolute title in the half-square of ground on Penn and Second Streets. Mr. Crozer stated at the time of the conveyance that he designed that locality as a site for a Baptist Church. This in- tention was doubtless due to the fact that previous to the autumn of 1854 occasional religious exercises by Baptist clergymen had been held in Chester, but it was not until the fall of the year mentioned that any regularly stated services were had, when Rev. William Wilder, of the Upland Baptist Church, established worship in the court-house, and it was continued un- der Mr. Wilder's supervision for four years. In the spring of 1858, Mr. Crozer donated the ground at the northwest corner of Second and Penn Streets, seventy feet on the first and one hundred and twenty-seven on the latter, for a church. During the summer of the same year Benjamin Gartside, at his personal cost, built a chapel twenty-three by forty feet, which building, now standing in the rear of the church, was completed during the month of August, and worship . was held there every Sunday afternoon. Rev. Miller Jones, then stationed at Marcus Hook, and Rev. William Wilder conducted the services. In the spring of 1863 an effort was made to erect a building and to have the congregation recognized as a church, but the public excitement consequent on the battle of Gettysburg postponed definite action until Sept. 24, 1863, when the chapel, built by Mr. Gartside, was dedicated as the First Baptist Church of Chester, and Rev. Levi G. Beck was, May 24, 1864, ordained its first pastor.

The same year a sufficient sum was pledged to the building fund to justify the building of a sanctuary. The corner-stone was laid July 2, 1864, and in the fall the edifice was so far advanced that the lecture- room could be used for religious services. The work on the church was continued, and in the fall of the following year all had been completed ; but as it had been decided that the main apartment should not be used until the debt of the building committee, amount- ing in all to sixteen thousand dollars, had been dis-

344

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

charged, it required several weeks to gather the fund. This was done, and Dec. 28, 1865, the church was dedicated, Rev. J. Wheaton Smith, D.D., officiating on that occasion. After two years' pastorate, Rev. Mr. Beck was elected secretary of the Baptist General Association of Pennsylvania, which office he ac- cepted, and resigned his charge of the church in April, 1866. On Feb. 22, 1866, the First Baptist Church of Chester was incorporated by the court of Delaware County. For several months after Mr. Beck's resignation went into effect the congregation was without a regular minister, until November, 1866, when Rev. Andrew Fuller Shanafelt was called, and assumed the duties of the pastorate in December of the same year. During his ministry James Irving presented the lot on Second Street, immediately ad- joining the church, for a parsonage, and Benjamin Gartside erected the present building at his personal cost. In 1874, Mr. Shanafelt's health was so much

impaired that he was granted a vacation to travel in Europe and the Holy Land. He returned in the fall apparently much improved, but his application to duty brought on a return of his physical weakness, causing his death March, 1875. The following July Rev. Z. T. Dowen became the pastor, and for two years remained in charge, when he resigned August, 1877, and returned to England. In November of the same year Rev. A. G. Thomas, the present pastor, was called, and began his ministerial work in the fol- lowing December.

Madison Street Methodist Episcopal Church .- The name "Chester" appears in the minutes of the Philadelphia Conference in the list of appointments of preachers as early as the year 1774, when Daniel Ruff and J. Yearby were assigned to that circuit. Subsequent to that date the following appointments were made by Conference to that circuit :

. 1775, Richard Webster; 1776, preacher's name omitted; 1777, Robert Lindsay ; 1779, James Crom- well; 1780, name omitted ; 1783, R. Ellis, J. Hagerty, Thomas Haskins; 1788, R. Cann, J. Milburn ; 1789, William Dougherty, James Campbell; 1790, Sylves- ter Dougherty, J. Cooper ; 1791, J. McClaskey, J. Robinson, S. Miller; 1792, James Lovell, J. Wheel- wright; 1793, Robert Cloud, William Hunter; 1794, William Early, James Smith ; 1795, J. Jarrell, T. F. Sargeant, J. Robinson; 1796, Thomas Bell, Samuel Welsh; 1797, William Colbert; 1798, William P. Chandler, Daniel Higby; 1799, W. Colbert, J. Her- ron, E. Larkin, R. Bonhan ; 1800, R. Sneath, S. Ten- ison, T. Jones; 1801, William Hunter, S. Timmons, R. McCoy; 1802, William Hunter, John Bechtel ; 1803, Anning Owen, William Brandon ; 1804, Wil- liam Hunter, J. Osborn, J. Stephens; 1805, William Hunter, D. James, J. Moore; 1806, John Walker, William Early; 1807, Daniel Ireland, Peter Beaver ; 1809, appointment not recorded; 1810, Richard Sneath, John Fox; 1811, Richard Sneath, James Laws; 1812, Thomas Dunn, William S. Fisher ; 1813,

W. S. Fisher, J. Fernon, Joseph Samson; 1814, George Sheets, Thomas Miller, S. P. Levis; 1815, Asa Smith, Joseph Samson ; 1816, William Torbert, Charles Reed ; 1817, William Hunter, William Tor- bert.

Notwithstanding these appointments, it is very doubtful whether, at those times, there were any Methodists in the ancient borough of Chester, the name being given to a circuit extending in territory from the river Delaware nearly to the Susquehanna, and from Philadelphia County to the Maryland line.

The first absolute knowledge we have of a meeting of that denomination is in 1818, when John Kelley and his wife, Esther, moved to this place. Mr. Kel- ley had been a local preacher in St. George's Church, Philadelphia, and shortly after locating in Chester held services in his own house, where he organized a class. The circuit preacher soon afterwards estab- lished a regular appointment for preaching, and on Sundays religious services were held in the court- house for many years. In that structure the noted Bishop Asbury, it is said, preached on several occa- sions. The denomination grew gradually, and sev- eral attempts were made to raise funds sufficient to build a house to meet in, but all efforts failed to that end, until in 1830, sufficient means had been obtained to justify the congregation in erecting, not without considerable difficulty, a stone church on Second Street, at the corner of Bevan's Court, which building was greatly due to the energy and efforts of the late David Abbott, and was named in honor of the bishop, " Asbury Chapel." The society was still largely dependent on the circuit minister, although more fre- quently the services were conducted entirely by the local preachers. The congregation attending the church had grown so large in 1845 that Chester was made a station, and Rev. Isaac R. Merrill was ap- pointed pastor in that year.

Although the following clergymen appear by the records of Conference to have been appointed to Ches- ter Circuit, many names therein were at no time, so far as can be ascertained, stationed in Chester, yet the list is worthy of preservation, and is therefore inserted in this work: 1818, John Goforth, Samuel Budd ; 1819, John Robertson, Phineas Price; 1820, Wil- liam Leonard, Thomas Davis; 1821, David Bartine, Thomas Davis; 1822, David Bartine, John Tally; 1823, Thomas Miller, William Allen; 1824, Henry Boehm, John Woolson ; 1825, Henry Boehm, Levin Prettyman ; 1826, Jacob Gruber, S. Grace, J. Tally ; 1827, Jacob Gruber ; 1828, T. Miller, E. Reed ; 1831, William Ryder, N. Chew, J. Tally; 1832, William Ryder, J. B. Ayres, J. Tally ; 1833, J. B. Ayres, J. Edwards, R. E. Morrison, J. Tally; 1834, William Ryder, R. Anderson ; 1835, William Ryder, R. An- son, J. Tally ; 1836, R. E. Kemp, J. Tally; 1838, William Torbert, G. Orem, J. Tally ; 1839, J. Ed- wards, G. Orem, J. Talley ; 1840, I. T. Cooper, J. Ed- wards, J. Tally ; 1842, D. Daily, Thomas Sumption,

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 86

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