History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 99

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

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The old county prison and work-house, as before stated, were built previous to or about the same time as the court-house. The jail was two stories high, built of square cut stone, and extended westwardly along Fourth Street. In the front part of the build- ing was the sheriff's house. This was a structure two stories and an attic in height, presenting in the front to the street the general style of the court-house. Back of the prison, and extending along Fourth Street, was the work-house, also of stone. In 1741 the court- house and jail were repaired and painted, and a well dug in the court-house yard. The old pump, with a heavy iron handle, stood within the memory of many of our older residents a nuisance in winter, because of the drippings therefrom forming ice and rendering its locality a dangerous one to pedestrians. Many years ago the trunk was taken out and the well filled in. Part of the old brickwork of the well is under the front foundation of the store No. 404 Market Street. During the year just mentioned the commissioners paid Nathan Worley £10 for planks used in flooring the two dungeons on the east side of the prison, and Thomas Morgan was paid £5 118. 6d. for one hundred and fifty pounds of spikes used in laying the dungeou floors. In front of the gaol and extending to the court-house doors was a double row of Lombardy poplars which afforded a pleasant shady walk in the summer, and frequently during periods of political excitement here the orator of the day held forth and saved the nation by his noisy mouthings. The old trees at length grew so unsightly, many of their branches having died, that over half a century ago the poplars were cut down and a double row of lindens were planted to replace the ancient trees under whose towering branches our Revolutionary sires discussed the Boston Port Bill and other measures preceding the actual outbreak of hostilities between the colonies and the mother-country, and within the venerable structure proceedings were had to raise the quota of the Continental troops required from Chester County, as in after-years similar meetings were held to provide soldiers during the rebellion.

On the removal of the county-seat to West Chester, the old court-house and public buildings in Chester were sold, on the 18th of March, 1788, to William Kerlin, for £415. After the passage of the act of Sept. 26, 1789, creating the county of Delaware, Ker- lin sold the property Nov. 3, 1789, to the county for £693 33. 8d. As long as Chester remained the seat of justice of Delaware County courts continued to be held in the old building, and at times it must have been exceeding unpleasant to those who were com- pelled to attend, particularly in rainy weather, when, as is stated by a county newspaper in 1843, the mud on the floor was nearly an inch in depth. It was cer- tainly not in this condition on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 1824, when Gen. Lafayette was the guest of Chester. He was accompanied by Governor Shulze and staff, Gen. Cadwalader and staff, and many of the dignitaries of

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Philadelphia. The steamboat did not reach the land- ing until eleven o'clock at night, but a line of boys, each bearing a lighted caudle, was formed, extending, it is said, from the wharf to the Washington House. Most of the houses in the town were brilliantly lighted, and the windows decorated with transparen- cies and designs. At one o'clock in the morning the general and friends were " regaled with a sumptuous entertainment" at the court-house, which had been prepared by the ladies of Chester. Lafayette re- mained in the ancient borough during Wednesday, when he reviewed the volunteers of Delaware and Chester Counties, and on Thursday, at seven o'clock in the morning, he started in a coach and four for Wilmington, accompanied by a suitable escort.

The old jail, during the last ten years it was used as a place for the detention of prisoners, was "a miser- able old rattle-trap, nearly all the bars of the win- dows rusted off and the ceilings and windows any- thing but secure." This is the description given of the jail building in 1841 by the editor of the Delaware County Republican. In truth it could only retain those inmates who were too indolent to make an effort to escape.

In 1824, when Joseph Weaver was sheriff, a convict named Tom Low succeeded in making his escape from confinement. He had been in the jail-yard, as was usual, at a certain time of the day, and, being for- gotten, he managed to get possession of a spade, with which he burrowed under the yard-wall, coming out about fifteen feet from the court-house. He was never recaptured. In the latter part of May, 1844, Henry Johnson escaped from the jail by scaling the wall. His sentence would have expired the next day, but, learning that a commitment had been lodged against him in Philadelphia, and that he would be taken there for trial for another offense as soon as discharged, he de- clined to serve out the full term of his imprisonment. Indeed, the old jail had no terrors for the professional cracksman, for on the night of Jan. 20, 1844, the dwelling in the front, then occupied by Sheriff Hib- berd, was entered by burglars, who decamped with the wearing apparel of the family and other articles of value. On Sept. 6, 1847, two prisoners attempted to escape by making ropes of their blankets, but a passer-by, noticing the head of one of the men just above the wall, gave the alarm, and they were pre- vented from making a general jail delivery. George Harris, a colored man, by the same means escaped on July 9, 1847, and was not recaptured, while another of his race (Brown), who had four times before left the jail without the consent of the county authorities, on July 4, 1848, took the privileges of the day and re- gained his freedom, shaking off the dust of the old prison for the fifth time. After the county buildings at Media were being constructed Arthur Goodwin, a prisoner in the jail at Chester, on Sunday, Dec. 1, 1850, dug through the walls. But as the convict returned to his own house the sheriff had little diffi-

culty in recapturing him. This is the last prisoner who defied the bolts and bars of the old jail, for on Dec. 9, 1850, the property in the borough was offered at public sale by the county commissioners. The court- house and two lots were sold to the borough authori- ties for two thousand six hundred and one dollars, the prothonotary's office and lot, adjoining it on the north, to James Hampson for fifteen hundred and twenty-five dollars, and the jail and lots adjoining to James Campbell for three thousand five hundred and twenty dollars.

A large frame building which stood in the rear of the jail and work-house was bought by Campbell pre- vious to his purchase of the old prison, and here he began alterations for the reception of looms. In the Delaware County Republican of Feb. 1, 1850, the fol- lowing reference is made to the change then being made,-the dawning of Chester's prosperity :

"Improvements in Chester .- Appearances indicate that in the spring our borough will take a start in the march of improvement. Our friend, James Camp- bell, of Leiperville, has made arrangements for man- ufacturing of cotton goods in the building back of the jail. He will start with fifty power looms, driven by a ten horse-power steam engine, and will soon increase the number to one hundred. In this mill will be the first looms ever set in motion on the spot first occu- pied as the capital of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Camp- bell will be the Columbus in manufacturing in Chester."

In the issue of the same journal for April 5, 1850, appeared the following local :

" PIONEER FACTORY .- The new manufacturing establishment pro- jected in the horonghi by Mr. Jamea Camphell, of Ridley, was put in par- tial operation last week, and the puffing of the steam-engine and the music of the shuttle are daily heard in our midst, causing us increased wonder why a town possessing so many and rare advantageaas our own was not years ago converted into a great manufacturing mart. Mr. Campbell is about to extend hia buildings, and in a short time will have one hun- dred looms in active operation. The machinery used is handsomely finished and of a superior kind. We have examined a specimen of the goods made by it, ,and predict that they will find a ready sale in what- ever market they may be offered."

As before stated, the factory mentioned in the Re- publican was the old bowling-alley, which stood on the north side of Fourth Street, where part of the market-house is now located. The Republican failed to record an incident which happened when the first Joom was started in the Pioneer Mills by the late James Ledward, then in Campbell's employ. A number of citizens of Chester were present when the machinery first began to move, and as they saw it in motion, all present broke into a cheer, and afterwards they one and all sang "Hail Columbia." Many who were then employed in the first manufacture of textile goods in Chester will recall this incident to memory. After Mr. Campbell purchased the jail and work- house, he tore down the northern wall of the old structure and built out in that direction, so that his mills, retaining the name " Pioneer Mills," extended over to and included the prison-yard walls. In the

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THE CITY OF CHESTER.

new addition he kept the Jacquard looms, and thereon were woven quilts and fabrics of a like character. The great difficulty he had to contend with was the scarcity of water, and to meet this want he expended thousands of dollars in sinking wells in the yard. The new enterprise, which had required a large out- lay of means, was getting well established when the panic of 1857 came upon the country, spreading ruin in all directions, and crushing down industrial establish- ments by the thousands Mr. Campbell at that time became financially embarrassed, and in 1858 the " Pio- neer Mills" passed into the ownership of the late Gen. Robert E. Patter- son.

After Campbell had erected the Pioneer Mills, the heirs of William Kerlin brought an action in ejectment against him, alleg- ing that the land and buildings which Kerlin had con- veyed to the county of Delaware in 1789 was conditioned on the use of the prem- ises as a court-house and jail, and that inasmuch as the buildings had ceased to be used for the purposes in- tended, the title re- verted to the heirs- at-law of Kerlin. The court below de- cided that the deed from Kerlin to the county was absolute and for a valuable consideration, with power of aliena- tion in the county ; and an appeal being taken to the Supreme Court, this opinion was sustained.

Janus Campbell,

James Campbell, to whom Chester owes so much for its present manufacturing prominence, was born in Stockport, England, on Aug. 12, 1805, where at an early age he entered a mill, learning thoroughly the trade of cotton-weaving. Energetic and self-reliant, he came to this country in his early manhood, deter- mining to make his way in this world. He sought employment at the factory of Mr. Philips, at Rock- dale, and subsequently became the manager of the mills at Pennsgrove, then owned by James Houghton,

now by Samuel Riddle, continuing there until 1837, when his employer removed to Groveville, N. J., to which place James Campbell declined to go, although he was urged to do so by Houghton, who was loath to part with him. At that time John Garsed, whose eldest daughter (Angelina) Campbell had married, had a machine-shop at Pennsgrove, and he offered to his son-in-law six cotton-looms, which he had made for parties who had failed in business and could not take the machines. Campbell accepted the offer, and placed the looms in a vacant building at Pennsgrove, and began bis ca- reer as a manufac- turer. Industrious and progressive, he soon established a reputation in busi- ness, and in the following year Hon. George G. Leiper proposed to erect an additional story to the bark-mill, at Leiperville, so as to afford sufficient room for the ma- chinery required in a cotton-factory, if Campbell would agree to lease the property after the change was made. The offer was ac- cepted, and in that locality Campbell was very successful, accumulating con- siderable capital, which he subse- quently lost in his effort to develop the borough of Chester into a manufactur- ing town. His ob- ject was attained, hundreds have prof- ited by his endeav- ors, but in the panic ot 1857, when many of the commission-houses with whom he dealt suspended, it embarrassed him, and finally caused his failure. So great had been his struggles to prevent this result that his health broke under the strain, and after several years of almost unintermitting illness, during which his indomitable energy never forsook him, he died, May 14, 1862.

The mill, after Campbell's failure, was occupied by James Stevens until about 1863, when Messrs. Rob- erts, Wilson & Willey carried on the manufacturing business therein. In 1865, Gen. Patterson sold the

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Market Street front to James Chadwick, who, in 1866, tore down the old building and erected Lincoln Hall. While taking down the tall flag-pole which stood on the sidewalk at Fourth and Market Streets, where it had been erected during the excitement occasioned by the news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the halyards were drawn through the block, and Charles Martine clambered up to make a rope fast so that the pole, lower and topmast, might be pulled over into the street. After he had reached some distance the pole, which had rotted where it entered the ground, broke off level with the sidewalk and fell, fatally crushing Martine beneath it. The rear part of the old prison passed into the ownership of John Cochran, and on part of the lot the market-house now stands. Chadwick sold the property to Messrs. Gartside & Sons, and they in turu conveyed it to Chester Lodge, No. 236, F. A. M., who now own it.

When the present mayor's office was being built, in 1866, in digging the cellar, the southeast end wall of the old prothonotary's office fell, and a three-months' old infant of Michael Biggans, the then occupant of the dwelling, who was asleep in a bed against the wall in the second story, was thrown into the cellar among the debris, a distance of twenty feet, without sustaining any harm, while a child a few years older, sleeping in the same room, was buried in the broken bricks and plaster without receiving any serious inju- ries.

After the borough authorities acquired title to the old court-house they made many changes, provided a commodious hall in the second story for the use of the Council, which is to-day used by their successors, the Council of the city of Chester ; they also removed the old belfry and built a steeple, in which was placed a four-dialed clock and a new bell. The old one, which had called together judges, lawyers, jurors, and suitors for nearly a century and a quarter, was removed to the ancient school-house at Fifth and Welsh Streets.

The machinery consists of eighty-five looms, nine thousand and forty-eight spindles, and sixteen cards, driven by two engines, with two sets of boilers.

The Keokuk Mills were established in 1852, by Benjamin Gartside. Land was purchased at the foot of Fulton Street, and the original structure, ninety by thirty-eight feet, four stories, was built. On the 11th of August, 1852, a bricklayer employed in build- ing the chimney of the engine-house of the factory fell from the scaffold to the ground, a distance of sixty feet; he was severely but not seriously injured. In 1858-59 land adjoining to the north was bought, and additional buildings erected. On the 1st of January, 1857, James and Amos Gartside, sons of Benjamin, were admitted as partners, the firm-name becoming B. Gartside & Sons, and has continued as such to this time. The works occupy over two acres of ground, comprising the square between Front Street and the Delaware River and Parker and Fulton Streets. The mill is supplied with four sets of cards, eighty looms, and the necessary machinery for the manufacture of woolen jeans. The power is supplied by a seventy horse-power engine. Three thousand pounds of raw material are used per week, and fourteen thousand yards of goods are manufactured per month. Seventy hands are employed.

Benjamin Gartside was born in Rochdale, Lan- cashire, England, May 26, 1794. After a limited education in his native country he learned the trade of hand-loom weaving, and continued it until his emigration to the United States in 1831. Coming at once to Philadelphia, he found employment at the Blockley Mills, and remained until 1833, when Man- ayunk became his home and Joseph Ripka his em- ployer. · In 1838 he engaged in business on his own account, first using but one hand-loom, but as busi- ness increased, introducing four power-looms. In 1840 he rented a mill on the Wissahickon Creek, fitted it with appropriate machinery and power-looms, and conducted the business until 1843, when he re- moved to Cardington, Delaware Co., and there leased a mill for nine years. Here he introduced a new and complete set of machinery, making it in every way suitable to the business he proposed conducting. He was very successful during his residence at the latter place, which he left on removing to Chester to con- tinue the business in a factory which he built in 1852. This was at the time one of the most complete estab- lishments in the country, and was subsequently in- creased in dimensions by the purchase of additional lands and the erection of other buildings. A full de- scriptiou of the business and its various ramifications having been given elsewhere, renders repetition here unnecessary. Mr. Gartside, by a technical knowledge of the business, together with great industry and strict integrity, has enjoyed a career of remarkable pros- perity. On the 1st of January, 1857, he admitted his sons, Amos and James, into partnership, the firm

Broad Street Mills .- The buildings at Broad and Crosby Streets, owned by James Stevens, and used for the manufacture of bed-ticking, warps, and cops, were originally built for a sash-factory and machine- shop, the first on Broad Street, the second on Crosby Street. In 1856 they were used by James Campbell for the manufacture of cotton goods, and at his death, in 1862, passed into the hands of Gen. Patterson, under the charge of James Stevens. They were pur- chased by Mr. Stevens in March, 1882. Since Mr. Campbell's time the buildings have been much en- larged and improved, and the old machinery replaced with new. The main mill on Broad Street is two hundred and six by twenty-eight feet, three stories high, and on Crosby Street two hundred and twenty- two by thirty-six feet. The latter is two stories high, with the exception of sixty feet, which is one story. In this part is the dye- and finishing-house, sixty by sixty feet, provided with a small engine, and a pump for forcing water over the building in case of fire. | becoming Benjamin Gartside & Sons. Since his resi-

B. Gartside

amos. Gartside

James, Gartsie

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THE CITY OF CHESTER.

dence in Chester, Mr. Gartside has been actively iden- tified with its growth and prosperity. He was in pol- itics early an Old-Line Whig, and later became a Republican. He was for many years a councilman of the borough, and filled various other positions of trust. He was the originator of the First National Bank of Chester, and has also been director of the Chester Mutual Insurance Company. He was also prominent in the projection of the Chester Rural Cemetery, and has, by his public spirit and liberality, ever been a promoter of all measures tending to the development of the city of his adoption. In religion he is a Baptist, and one of the oldest deacons in period of service in the church of which he is a member. Mr. Gartside was married in 1815 to Miss Elizabeth Kershaw, of Rochdale, England. Their children are Enoch, Robert, Mary (Mrs. John Ker- shaw), John, James, Ann (Mrs. Jonathan Grant), Amos, and Joseph.

Amos Gartside, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Kershaw Gartside, was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, Oct. 23, 1829, and with his parents hecame a resident of the United States in 1831. His pri- mary education was chiefly obtained at the common schools, though supplemented by a course at the Ger- mantown Academy. Having finished his studies, at the age of eighteen he entered his father's factory for the purpose of becoming proficient in the art of woolen-weaving. Here he became thoroughly ac- quainted with the business in all its details. When his father left Cardington, Delaware Co., and estab- lished mills at Chester, his son accompanied him and remained in his employment until 1857, at which time he was, together with his brother, James, admit- ted to a partnership. He was the same year married to Miss Emma, daughter of James Pierce, of Chester, whose children are Elizabeth (Mrs. H. G. Pennell), Mary Aun, and Amy Alberta, who survive; and John, Georgie, and Katie, deceased. Mr. Gartside has manifested an active interest in public affairs, and done much to advance the growth of the city of Chester. He was for sixteen years a member of the City Council, and president of that body. He was formerly a Whig in politics, and more recently be- came a Republican. He has been active in advo- cating the principles of his party, and represented the Sixth Pennsylvania District as a delegate to the National Convention, held in Chicago in 1880. He has been for eight years a member of the Board of Port Wardens. Mr. Gartside has also been largely identified with business enterprises as director of the Steel Casting Company, of the Eureka Steel Casting Company, and of the Chester Mutual Insurance Com- pany. He is the originator of many public works in the city of Chester, and has filled the office of presi- dent of the Chester Water-Works since its organiza- tion. He was also a director of the Chester Improve- ment Company, and of the McCaffry Direct Street Carting Company. He is furthermore a director of

the Delaware River Railroad, and was largely instru- mental in securing the terminus of the Chester Rail- road at Chester. His business qualities are charac- terized by a remarkable degree of judgment and general ability, which gives him an influential posi- tion in the commercial world.

James Gartside, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth K. Gartside, was born in Rochdale, England, on the 20th of October, 1823, and emigrated with his father to America in 1831. He enjoyed but limited advan- tages of education, and at the early age of eight years entered the mill of his uncle, James Kershaw, where he acquired the trade of a spinner upon throstles. He subsequently removed to Manayunk, and found em- ployment with Joseph Ripley. His father having started a milling interest at Blockley, his son continued with him at that point, as also at Roxbury and else- where. The mills established by Benjamin Gartside at Chester, in 1852, were successful ; his son having been admitted to the firm in 1857, which partnership is still retained by him. He was on the 17th of August, 1851, married to Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph T. and Su- sannah Smith, of Blockley (now the Twenty-fourth Ward of Philadelphia). Mr. Gartside joined the emergency recruits during the late war, in defense of Gettysburg, and on the expiration of his period of service resumed his business. In politics he is a Republican, but not active as a politician. In religion he is a supporter of the Baptist Church.

Arasapha Mills .- Abraham Blakeley, the senior partner of the firm of A. Blakeley & Sons, began manufacturing cotton goods at Knowlton, Jan. 1, 1847, with Phineas Lownes. In the fall of 1853, Blakeley disposed of his interest to J. William Lewis, and removed to Chester, where, in September, 1854, he commenced the manufacture of tickings, denims, and stripes in the three-story brick building, one hun- dred by forty-five feet, erected by John Larkin in that year, at Eleventh and Walnut Streets. On the 1st of January, 1860, his son, Benjamin W. Blakeley, be- came associated in the business, under the firm-name of A. Blakeley & Son. In 1873 the firm erected a three-story building, one hundred and two by fifty- five feet, a finishing-room, forty by thirty feet, offices, and other buildings. On the 1st of January, 1874, the present firm was constituted by the admission of William S. Blakeley, another son of Abraham Blake- ley. The mills, in 1873, were refitted with new and improved machinery. Additions were made to the buildings in 1874 and in 1877. The main building is at present two hundred and seventy-six by fifty feet ; dye-house, one hundred by farty feet, with storage- sheds for six hundred bales of cotton.

The mills contain 276 looms, 35 setts of cards, and 8500 spindles. The power is supplied by a Corliss engine, with three sets of boilers; 33 bales of cotton are used, and 80,000 yards are manufactured per week; 200 persons are employed.

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 99

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