USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > History of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the territory included within its limits to the present time > Part 40
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351
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1814.]
a better system of farming, that much of the land of this County has been brought from an exhausted condition to its present state of fertility and productiveness.
The declaration of war by our government in 1812 against Great Britain, created no greater alarm in our community than was common over the whole country. It was not till the sum- mer of 1814 that apprehensions of immediate danger were seriously entertained. The appearance of the British fleet in the Chesapeake aroused the Philadelphians to the adoption of measures for the defence of their city. The approaches by land were to be defended by a series of earthworks which were hastily erected. The most distant of these defences from the city was located in this County between Crum and Ridley creeks, so as to command the Southern Post-road.
The danger of Chester was still greater than Philadelphia, and the means of defence much less, although an extensive earthwork had been thrown up immediately below Marcus Hook, and mounted with cannon, so as to command the river. As a measure of precaution the public Records of the County of Delaware were kept packed up, ready for removal to a place of greater security in the interior.
In October, an encampment of several thousand militia was established on the high grounds immediately back of Marcus Hook. The men composing it were drafted from the south- eastern part of Pennsylvania. Of these Delaware County fur- nished two full companies of 100 men upon two separate drafts, the second of which was regarded as illegal. The first company was convened at the " Three Tuns," now the Lamb tavern, in Springfield, on the 14th of October, and marched to Chester that day. Its officers were, Capt. William Morgan, Ist Lieut. Aaron Johnson, 2d Lieut. Charles Carr, and Ensign, Samuel Hayes. This company remained at Chester two weeks waiting for their camp equipage, before repairing to the encampment at Marcus Hook. During this time the men occupied meeting- houses and other public buildings.
The second company arrived at camp about two weeks later. It was commanded by Capt. John Hall, Lieutanant and Ensign Robert Dunn. John L. Pearson of Ridley held the office of Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment to which the above two companies belonged.
The danger of an invasion of the State by way of the Dela ware or Chesapeake having passed away, the encampment was broken up early in December. The two Delaware County com- panies with others were marched to Darby, where, for two weeks, they occupied the Methodist and Friends' meeting-houses, the bark-house, school-house, &c., after which they were marched to Philadelphia and discharged the day before Christmas.
352
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
[1814.
Besides the two companies of militia mentioned, Delaware County furnished two companies of volunteers. One of these, called The Delaware County Fencibles, numbering 87 men, includ- ing officers, was commanded by Capt. James Serrill; First Lieut., Geo. G. Leiper ; Second Lieut., James Serrill, Jr., and Ensign, Geo. Serrill. This company was fully equipped on the 21st of September, and marched on the 23d. On the 26th the tents of the company were pitched at Camp Marcus Hook, where it remained one month. At the expiration of this time the com- pany marched to Camp Dupont, and thence on the 16th of No- vember to Camp Cadwalader ; both of these latter camps being in the State of Delaware. On the 29th of November they marched by the way of New Castle towards Philadelphia, where the company arrived on the 2d of December, and was dismissed on the 6th of that month.
The other company was called The Mifflin Guards, and was commanded by Dr. Samuel Anderson as Captain ; First Lieut., Frederic Shull ; Second Lieut., David A. Marshall, and Ensign, Wm. Biggart. This company, which did not muster so many men as the Fencibles, was in service about the same length of time. It was stationed part of the time at Camp Dupont, and another part near Kennet. Both of these companies were well officered, and were composed of men able and willing to do their duty. Like the militia, they were called into service to defend the approaches to Philadelphia against the threatened invasion of the enemy ; but fortunately the presence of the troops station- ed on the Delaware was sufficient for the purpose, and no actual hostilities ensued.
The Bank of Delaware County was incorporated in the year 1814. The act authorizing its incorporation was passed in oppo- sition to the veto of Simon Snyder, then Governor of the Com- monwealth. A large number of banks was created by this act, but many of them soon failed, and but few of them have been more generally successful than the Bank of Delaware County. This bank, however, met with one serious re- verse, in having more than one-half of its capital abstracted. It was never discovered who committed the robbery, nor was the exact time or times when it was committed ever ascer- tained.
During the war, and for a short time afterwards, the people of this section of our country were in a prosperous condition. The families of the farmers of our County manufactured their own clothing to a considerable extent. There were, and had been for a long time, fulling mills throughout the County, that aided in these domestic operations, and machine cards had been intro- duced. The difficulties thrown in the way of trade, even before
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353
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1817.]
the commencement of hostilities, caused an advance in the price of foreign dry goods, that induced our people to turn their at- tention to a more rapid production of textile fabrics than that which had herctofore prevailed. As early as 1810, an English family, named Bottomly, converted an old saw-mill that stood on a small stream in Concord (with a small addition) into a woolen manufactory, to the astonishment of the whole neighborhood. Dennis Kelly, with the assistance of a Mr. Wiest, erected a small stone factory on Cobb's creek, in Haverford, about the commencement of the war. This establishment was patronized by the government, and with the energetic management of Mr. Kelly, turned out goods to the fullest extent of its capacity. Other mills were soon erected and put into operation, but still, during the war, dry goods of all kinds continued to command a high price.
But the almost free introduction of foreign goods, some time after the close of the war, was a severe blow to these hastily gotten up establishments, and caused the suspension of some of them. Still it was in these small beginnings that the manufac- turing business of Delaware County had its origin.
Farmers, in consequence, lost their home market, and there was no foreign demand for the productions of their farms. With the fall in the price of agricultural products, that of land also declined. During the war, land came to be regarded as the only safe investment, and purchases were made at almost fabulous prices. Many of the purchasers, under such circumstances, were now obliged to sell at a ruinous sacrifice. In this County the number of such sales was, however, strikingly less than in the adjacent counties.
This depressed condition of business did not last long, but the improvement was gradual, and as a consequence people could only advance their pecuniary interests by the slow but certain means of industry and frugality.
In the year 1817, Edward Hunter, Esq., a highly respectable citizen of Newtown township, was deliberately murdered by John H. Craig, by lying in wait in the daytime and shooting him. Esquire Hunter had witnessed a will that Craig was anxious to have set aside, and being an ignorant man, he believed that by putting the witnesses to it out of the way, his object would be accomplished. He had watched more than once for an opportu- nity to shoot Isaac Cochrane, the other witness to the will, but failed to accomplish his purpose. Mr. Hunter was shot while taking his horse to the stable, and although the fiendish act was committed in the most cool and deliberate manner, Craig's pre- sence of mind at once forsook him, for he left his gun where it was readily found, which at once indicated him as the murderer. 23
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354
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
[1820.
He was subsequently arrested in the northern part of the State, where he was engaged in chopping wood, being identified by a fellow wood-chopper from the description in the advertisement, offering a reward for his apprehension. He was tried and con- victed in the following April at Chester, and soon after exe- cuted.
On the 8th of November, 1819, the first newspaper published in Delaware County was issued from the office of Butler & Wor- thington, at Chester. This paper, which made a very neat ap- pearance, was called the "POST BOY." Its dimensions were seventeen by twenty-one inches.
Dissatisfaction had for some time existed among the people of the upper part of the County on account of the seat of jus- tice being situated on its southern margin. The people of the township of Radnor, residing much nearer to Norristown, the seat of justice of Montgomery County, than to Chester, peti- tioned for the annexation of their township to that County. The fact that the taxes of Montgomery were lower than those of Delaware, is also said to have had an influence in pro- moting this movement. Be this as it may, the prospect of losing one of the best townships in the County was a matter of serious alarm, when its small dimensions were taken into consideration. The discontented in the other remote townships secing that the loss of Radnor would weaken their strongest ground of com- plaint, determined to test the question of a removal of the seat of justice of the County to a more central situation. Accord- ingly a general meeting of the inhabitants of the County, "both friendly and unfriendly" to the proposed removal, was con- vened on the 8th of June, 1820. The meeting was unusually large and very respectable, and after the subject of removal had been discussed very fully and rather freely, a vote was taken which resulted in favor of the removalists. Removal now be- came the leading topic of discussion throughout the County. All party distinctions became merged in it, and the most ultra politicians of opposite parties united cordially on a removal or anti-removal platform. Meetings were held and nominations were made accordingly. The ballot-box showed the anti-remo- valists in the majority. George G. Leiper, of Ridley, and Abner Lewis, of Radnor, both anti-removalists, were elected to the Assembly. The anti-removalists, by the nomination of Mr. Lewis, had secured nearly the whole vote of Radnor-under the belief that the election of the anti-removal ticket afforded them the only chance of being annexed to Montgomery County. The test was not regarded by the removalists as satisfactory, and they petitioned the Legislature for redress, but certainly with but small hopes of success. In their memorial, which is very
355
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1824.]
long, they set forth the fact of the effort of Radnor to be at- tached to Montgomery County ; the dilapidated condition of the jail ; the insalubrity of the air at Chester to persons from the upper parts of the County ; the danger of the records from at- tack by an enemy ; the badness of the water, &c. " And finally," they say, "to satisfy the Legislature that nothing is asked for by the petitioners which would throw any unreasonable expense on the County, assurances are given by one of the inhabitants- perfectly responsible and competent to the undertaking-that he will give an obligation to any one authorized to receive it, conditioned to erect the public buildings upon any reasonable and approved plan, for the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, to be paid in seven years by instalments-if the convenience of the County should require credit-and to take the present buildings and lot at Chester at a fair valuation as part pay."
This petition was drawn up by Robert Frazer, Esq., then a prominent lawyer, residing in the upper part of the County, and was signed by 912 citizens. The number who signed the remon- strance is not known, but as a matter of course with both repre- sentatives opposed to removal, no legislation favorable to that measure was obtained, and it is only wonderful that the remo- valists should press the matter under such circumstances. What is remarkable, the people of Radnor appeared to relax their efforts to obtain legislation to authorize the township to be an- nexed to Montgomery County.
At the next election, John Lewis and William Cheyney, both removalists, were elected members of the Assembly, but from some cause they failed in obtaining the much-desired law authorizing the seat of justice to be removed to a more central situation. The question after this effort, appears to have been allowed to slumber for a time. It was, however, occasionally discussed, and the removalists maintained a strict vigilance to prevent any extensive repairs being made to the public buildings at Chester.
In February, 1822, a remarkably high freshet occurred in all the streams of Delaware County, chiefly caused by the rapid melting of a deep snow. The mill-ponds were covered with a thick ice at the time, which was broken up and occasioncd con- siderable damage in addition to that caused by the great height of the water in the creeks.
In 1824 one of the most brutal murders on record was com- mitted at the residence of Mary Warner, in Upper Darby, upon a young married man named William Bonsall. The family con- sisted of Mrs. Warner, Bonsall and his wife. Three men entered the house late at night with the object of committing a burglary, and although Bonsall was sick and made no resistance, one of
356
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
[1826.
them wantonly stabbed him in the abdomen with a shoemaker's knife, which caused his immediate death. Besides committing the murder the party plundered the house. Three men were arrested and tried for the homicide ; Michael Monroe, alias James Wellington, was convicted of murder in the first degree and ex- ecuted ; Washington Labbe was convicted of murder in the se- cond degree, and Abraham Buys was acquitted.
After the close of the war with Great Britain, manufacturing establishments, of various kinds, rapidly sprung up over the County. It became an object of interest to ascertain the extent of these improvements, and also to obtain more particular infor- mation in respect to unimproved water-power. For this purpose George G. Leiper, John Willcox and William Martin, Esqs., were appointed a committee, who employed Benjamin Pearson, Esq., to travel over the County and obtain the necessary statis- tics. From the facts reported by Mr. Pearson, the committee make the following summary :
Thirty-eight flour mills, sixteen of which grind 203,600 bushels of grain per annum.
Fifty-three saw mills, sixteen of which cut 1,717,000 feet of lumber per annum.
Five rolling and slitting mills, which roll 700 tons of sheet iron per annum, value, $105,000; employ thirty hands, wages, $7,200.
Fourteen woolen factories, employ 228 hands.
Twelve cotton factories, manufacture 704,380 lbs. of yarn per annum, value, $232,445; employ 415 hands, wages, $51,380.
Eleven paper mills, manufacture 31,296 reams of paper per annum, value, $114,712; employ 215 hands, wages, $29,120.
Two powder mills, manufacture 11,900 quarter casks per annum, value, $+7,600; employ forty hands, wages, $12,000.
One nail factory, manufactures 150 tons of nails per annum, value, $20,000; employ eight hands, wages, $2,400.
Four tilt, blade and edge-tool manufactories, two of which manufacture, per annum, 2000 axes, 200 cleavers, 1,200 dozen shovels, 200 doz. scythes and 500 drawing knives.
One power-loom mill, weaves 30,000 yards per week, $3,000; employs 120 hands, wages, per week, $500; 200 looms.
Two oil mills, make 7000 galls. linseed oil per annum, value, $7,000.
One machine factory, five snuff mills, two plaster or gypsum mills, three clover mills, three bark mills, and one mill for saw- ing stone-making, in the aggregate, 158 improved mill seats, and forty-two unimproved on the principal streams. Total mill seats 200.
These returns, though in several branches of small account
357
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1833.]
in comparison with the extensive establishments of the present day, were certainly creditable at that early period, when steam had been but little employed in propelling machinery, and when it is considered that the whole extent of the County is only about 170 square miles.
In 1827 the dissensions, that had for some time existed in the Society of Friends, culminated in an open rupture. The history of this unfortunate feud properly belongs to the history of the Society throughout the United States. The animosities that were engendered among those who, in former times, had lived on terms of the most friendly, and even social intercourse, existed here, as in other places, and were productive of the like conse- quences. The author has witnessed with pleasure, within the past few years, a softening down of those animosities, and indeed of every feeling of unkindness in each party towards the other. He would, therefore, regard himself as doing an unpardonable mischief in reviving the facts and circumstances that unhappily gave rise to them.
On the 21st of September, 1833, the institution under whose authority this history was prepared, was organized with the title of the "Delaware County Institute of Science," by the associa- tion at first of only five individuals.1 The object of the associa- tion was to promote the study and diffusion of general knowledge, and the establishment of a museum. The number of members gradually increased, and when it became necessary for the insti- tution to hold real estate, application was made to the Supreme Court for corporate privileges, which were granted on the 8th of February, 1836. A Hall of very moderate pretensions was built in Upper Providence in the year 1837,2 at which the mem- bers of the Institute have continued to hold their meetings till the present time. Lectures were also given in the Hall for some time after its erection. The number of its members was never large, but through the persevering efforts of a few individuals it has been enabled to accomplish most, if not all, the objects con- templated in its establishment. The museum of the Institute embraces a respectable collection of specimens in every depart- ment of the natural sciences, and particularly such as are calcu- lated to illustrate the natural history of the County. It also embraces many other specimens of great scientific or historical value. Nor has the establishment of a library been neglected ; and although the number of books it contains is not large, it is seldom that the same number of volumes is found together of
1 The persons referred to were George Miller, Minshall Painter, John Miller, George Smith and John Cassin.
2 The Hall of the Institute was formally opened in September of that year, upon which occasion an appropriate address was delivered by Dr. Robt. M. Patterson, then Director of the U. S. Mint.
358
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. [1836.
equal value. It has not failed to observe and record local phe- nomena and to investigate local facts; and the usefulness and value of the natural productions of the County have, in more than one instance, been established by laborious scientific inves- tigations. But for obvious reasons the author will forbear to give any detailed account of the doings of the institution be- yond such as it may be necessary to notice incidentally, here- after, in relating a few historical facts.
Since the establishment of the Delaware County Institute of Science, many similar institutions have been established in vari- ous counties throughout the commonwealth. But few of these are prosperous ; a few maintain a nominal existence, while most of them have ceased to exist.
While it has ever been the policy of the religious Society of Friends to have their children well instructed in the more useful branches of learning, it was not till the year 1833 that an insti- tution was established by them, specially for the instruction of their youth in classical and corresponding studies. In that year, members of the branch of the Society termed Orthodox, founded Haverford School. The benefits of this institution were at first confined to the sons of the members of the religious Society men- tioned, though that Society, as such, had no control in its manage- ment.
Connected with the school buildings, which are not large, is a tract of nearly two hundred acres of land. Forty acres of this land, surrounding the buildings, were appropriated to a lawn, which for beauty and the variety of its trees and shrubbery, is scarcely equaled in the country. The balance of the land is used for farming purposes.
Some years since, all the privileges of a college were conferred on this institution; and the managers thereof agreeing to receive as students others than the members of their Society, the sphere of its usefulness has been greatly increased. Haverford College now enjoys a high reputation as a literary and scientific institu- tion, while in respect to the moral training to which the student is subjected, it is unsurpassed by any college in the country.
, At the commencement of the construction of the Delaware Breakwater, a large proportion of the stone used for that pur- pose was taken from the quarries in this County. The superin- tendent of the work, in the autumn of 1836, arrived at the conclusion that the Pennsylvania stone was inferior to that from the quarries in Delaware State, on account of the large propor- tion of mica it contained. He thought the presence of the mica rendered the Pennsylvania stone " peculiarly liable to chemical decomposition," and also to a further decay from the attrition of the waves. He even stated in his report, "that the experience
359
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
1843.]
of the work, within the few years it has been in construction, has shown that the stones have decayed from both these causes."
Large quantities of stone had been quarried, particularly on Crum and Ridley Creeks, when the Government, on the strength of the report of its agent, rejected the stone from Delaware County. Those engaged in the business, who would be subjected to great loss by the rejection of their stone, brought the matter to the notice of the County Institute, which promptly appointed a committee to investigate the subject. The author was chair- man of that committee, and upon him devolved the task of making the necessary investigations, and of drawing up the report. That report was decidedly favorable to the durability of the Delaware County stone. Its material conclusions were subsequently confirmed by a board of military engineers, and the Pennsylvania stone again accepted by the Government.
The year 1838 was remarkable on account of a great drought that prevailed throughout a large extent of country, embracing Delaware County. From about the first of July till nearly the first of October, no rain fell except a few very slight showers. The earth became parched, and vegetation dried up. All the later crops failed; and what added greatly to the injurious effects of the drought, myriads of grasshoppers made their appearance, and voraciously devoured nearly every green blade of grass that had survived to the period of their advent. Even the blades and ears of Indian corn were greatly injured in many places. Cattle suffered much for want of pasture, and many persons were obliged to feed them on hay during the months of August and September, or upon corn cut from the field.
A great ice freshet occurred in the winter of 1839, which caused considerable damage; but as it sinks into utter insignifi- cance when compared with the great freshet of the 5th of August, 1843, we will proceed to give an account of the storm and freshet of that day, which may be regarded as one of the most extraordinary events that have occurred within the limits of our County since it was first visited by Europeans. This will be an easy task, as all the material facts connected with this unusual phenomenon, and its disastrous consequences, were carefully collected at the time by a committee of the Delaware County Institute of Science, of which the author was chairman, and embodied in an elaborate report, which was published in pamphlet form. Only the general and most material facts will be extracted from that report, as the reader who may desire more particular information on the subject, can have recourse to the report itself, which is preserved in several libraries.
The morning of the 5th of August, 1843, at early dawn, gave indications of a rainy day. The wind was in the East or North
360
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
[1843.
East, and the clouds were observed to have an appearance which indicated a fall of rain. The sun was barely visible at rising, and a short time afterwards the whole sky became overclouded. At about 7 o'clock, A. M., it commenced raining, and continued to rain moderately, with occasional remissions, but without any very perfect intermission until noon or later. This was a gene- ral rain, which extended much beyond the limits of Delaware County in every direction. This general rain scarcely caused an appreciable rise in the streams; but it had the effect of fully saturating the surface of the ground with water to the depth of some inches, and in this way contributed to increase the flood in some degree beyond what it would have been, had the subsequent heavy rain fallen on the parched earth.
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