USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > History of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the territory included within its limits to the present time > Part 55
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HUMPHREY, RICHARD, from Llangu- nin, Merionethshire, settled in Radnor in 1683. He had professed "the truth" many years before he left his native country. He died, unmarried, in 1692, and was buried at Haverford.
HUMPHREY, JOSEPH, lived in the town of Darby as early as 1684, and was that year married to Elizabeth Medford, a widow, of the same town. He re- moved to Philadelphia, and died in that city in 1693. He was in membership with Friends.
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HUMPHREY, CHARLES, the son of Daniel and Hannah Humphrey, was born in Haverford about the year 1712, and died in 1786. He was brought up to the milling business, and being a joint owner with his brother, Joshua, of the Haverford mill, he carried on that business extensively for many vears. He was a man of fine talents, and at one time was very influential in the county. In 1764 he was elected to the Provincial Assembly, and was re- elected to that office, annually, till 1775, when he was chosen a member of Congress. In that body, though he had contended, with all his energies, against the oppressive measures of Great Britain, he thought the time had not come to sever our connection with the mother country, and voted against the Declaration of Independence. He has been censured for this vote, but in giving it, he represented the views of a large majority of his constituents at the time it was given. He retired to pri- vate life, and though he took no part in the great struggle for liberty, his sympathies were on the side of his country. He was a kind neighbor and was serviceable in settling disputes in his neighborhood. No one ever ques- tioned his integrity either in public or private life.
HUMPHREY, JOSHUA, the son of Joshua, and grandson of the immi- grant Daniel Humphrey, was born in Haverford township in the year 1751. His mother was Sarah, the daughter of Edward and Elinor William, of Block- ley. His ancestors were thoroughly Welsh, and all of them Quakers. With only the advantages of such an early education as the common schools of the country afforded at that day, Joshua was apprenticed at a tender age to a ship-carpenter of Philadelphia. Before the completion of his apprenticeship his instructor died, but Mr. Humphrey had made such good use of his oppor- tunities in perfecting himself in his trade, and at the same time by his good conduct had secured the confidence of the family so fully, that he was at once placed at the head of the establish- ment, and managed the whole business for the widow during several years.
Being possessed of a comprehensive and philosophical mind, he soon came to be regarded as the first shipwright
in the country. So much was this the case, that after the adoption of the Constitution, and when it became ap- parent that our government must be possessed of a navy, Mr. Humphrey was consulted, officially, and his views, which had been communicated to the Hon. Robert Morris, in a letter dated January 6th, 1793, but more in detail to Gen. Knox, then Secretary of War, were, in the main, adopted. [Lives of Eminent Philadelphians, p. 588.] The leading ideas of Mr. Humphrey were : " That as our navy must be for a con- siderable time, inferior in the number of its vessels, to the navies of Europe, to compensate for this deficiency in number, our ships should be formida- ble from their character, and larger in size and armament, and stronger in construction than those of Europe of the same class." He was the first Naval Constructor of the United States, and several of our first ships of war were built under his immediate direc- tion. The marked superiority of our vessels in combats with those of Eng- land, of the same class, during the War of 1812, was mainly owing to the adop- tion of Mr. Humphrey's suggestions. He may justly be called The Father of the American Navy.
The last thirty years of his life were spent on a part of his patrimonial estate in Haverford. Here he died in 1838, at the advanced age of eighty- seven years, his mental faculties being almost unimpaired to the last.
HUNT, JAMES, arrived at Philadelphia, from Kent, England, in 1684. During the following year he purchased three tracts of land in Kingsessing, from Lasse Cock, and settled upon one of them that bordered on Minquas Creek. This tract had been occupied by the Swedes ever since the arrival of Go- vernor Printz, and no doubt our new settler found improvements ready made to his hand. He had been married in England many years before he left that country, and probably had lost his wife some time before he emigrated. Be- sides two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, who came with him, it is not known that he had any other children. Towards the close of the year 1686 he was married "at ye house of John Blunston " to Elizabeth, the daughter of Richard Bonsall, of Darby. By this
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second marriage he had two children, Anne, born in 1688, and James, born 1691.
His daughter, Elizabeth, was married to William Bartram in 1696. Their first child was John Bartram, the bota- nist. His daughter, Mary, was married to Abraham Marshall in 1703. Her eighth child was Humphrey Marshall, the botanist. Thus we have presented the remarkable circumstance of two sisters being the mothers of the two earliest students of botany in the New World.
His daughter, Anne, was married to John Bluntston, Jr., of Darby, and his son, James, to Sarah Wildman, of Falls Meeting, Bucks County ; both in 1707. James Hunt, and all his children, were married in accordance with the discip- line of Friends. He died in the spring of 1717.
HUNTER, JOHN, was originally a resi- dent of the north of England, was a strong churchman, and probably by his acts had made himself somewhat offen- sive to the Catholics. Upon the acces- sion of James II. to the throne, in order to escape observation, he removed to Rathdrum, in Wicklow County, Ire- land, where he became an extensive grazier. When William and Mary were called to the throne of England, and with their armies followed the fugitive forces of James into Ireland, John Hunter entered the Protestant army as a trooper, and, with his friend, Antho- ny Wayne, was present at the Battle of Boyne. William Hill had married the daughter of John Hunter, and, with his wife, had emigrated to Pennsylvania, and settled in Middletown township. John, with his family, followed his son- in-law to America and settled in New- town township, then Chester County, where he purchased a large tract of land, which he occupied during his life. He brought over with him a holster and pistol, (both in use at the Battle of Boyne,) and also a wedding ring. The two latter are still preserved among his descendents. The ring bears this in- scription, " Keep this in remembrance of me, 1693." John Hunter died in 1732, aged about seventy years. Peter, a son of John Hunter, served in the wars between England and France, in which the Colonies participated.
IRELAND, NICHOLAS, came from Lax- ton in the County of Nottingham England and settled in Darby, now Upper Darby in 1689, and was married to Elizabeth Humphrey at Darby Meet- ing in 1692. The name soon disappears from all records of the County.
JACKSON, ROGER, an early settler in the borough of Chester. He had ac- quired considerable property previous to his death, which occurred in 1715 ; but having no relatives in this country, he devised the whole of his estate to be equally divided between such of his relations in England, as should apply within seven years.
JACKSON, DR. PAUL, was distin- guished for his talents, and was one of the most highly educated men of his day. When quite a young man, he was appointed Professor of Greek and Latin, in the College of Philadelphia, now the University of Pennsylvania. Finding his health impaired by confine- ment and study, he left the College, and joined the expedition of General Forbes, got up for the reduction of Fort Du Quesne, as commander of a company. In this expedition, his pru- dence and bravery commended him to the particular notice of the General. By the active life of a soldier, his health was improved ; but his fondness for study returning with his renewed health, he abandoned the military profession, and engaged in the study of physic. Having by great application, and by the attendance at what was then called " the Royal Hospital," become well versed both in the theory and practice of medicine and surgery, he settled in Chester, where he soon became a well- established and successful physician. After practicing his profession for some years, and while holding the office of Chief Burgess of the town, he died at Chester, in the year 1767, at the early age of thirty-eight years, and was buried in St. Paul's Churchyard. There are reasons for believing that this eminent man was a native of Chester.
JACKSON, EPHRAIM, emigrated from England, and lived within the bounds of Chester Monthly Meeting of Friends, as early as 1687. In 1695, he was married to Rachel, daughter of Nicholas Newlin of Concord, and having pur-
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chased land in Edgemont, became a resident of that township. Having re- ceived a better education than was usual in his day, he, for many years, held the situation as clerk for Chester Monthly Meeting of Friends, of which he was an exemplary member. He was also much employed in civil affairs, especially where good penmanship was needed, and in 1710 he represented Chester County in the Provincial As- sembly. His children were John, Joseph, Nathaniel, Josiah, Samuel, Ephraim, Mary and Rachel. His death occurred in 1723, at the age of nearly seventy-five years.
JACKSON, JOHN, an eminent minister of the Society of Friends, was the son of Halliday and Jane Jackson of Darby, near which place he was born, on the 29th of September, 1809. His religious training was as careful and guarded as surrounding circumstances would per- mit, and at a very early age, it became evident that his inquiring mind was exercised on the doctrines and practi- ces of his forefathers. His natural temperament was ardent and impetu- ous, and he had much to contend with in bringing himself under the teach- ings of the " still small voice within :" but this he accomplished at a very early age. In 1835, his father was re- moved by death, an event that produced a strong impression on his mind, and at his grave he appeared in supplica- tion. At the age of twenty-five years, he married Rachel T., the daughter of Isaac Tyson of Baltimore. His wife being possessed of a thorough educa- tion, after proper reflection, they deter- mined to establish a boarding school for girls. In this determination, the well known " Sharon Boarding School" had its origin. He was a land surveyor, and made himself useful in settling disputed lines. In 1840, with the approbation of his meeting, he paid a religious visit to the West India Islands in company with Thomas B. Longstreth and George Truman. But theological studies did not occupy the whole of his attention. In 1834, he became member of the Delaware County Insti- tnte of Science, and from that time, the study of Philosophy and the Natural Sciences, engrossed a share of his time and constituted his chief recreation. His school was supplied with extensive
cabinets of minerals and fossils, and its Astronomical observatory with the best and most costly instruments. He de- livered popular courses of lectures on Philosophy, Chemistry, Geology and Astronomy, which his natural fluency of language rendered attractive. His health, never robust, and doubtless im- paired by overtaxing his mind, gradu- ally became more and more feeble, till the close of his earthly career, on the 14th of April, 1855. As a preacher of the Gospel, he has had few superiors in eloquence, and the strict upright- ness of his character, was never ques- tioned by any one who knew him.
JAMES, JAMES, was an early Welsh settler in Radnor. He was married to Jane Edward of the same township in 1692. He settled in the southwest part of Radnor, but after a time removed to Haverford, where he died in 1708. In his will he names three children, George, David and Sarah, and a son - in-law, David Lewis.
JAMES, HOWELL, was from Pontmoel, in Monmouthshire, England. His cer- tificate is dated, 5th mo. (July) 1684. The meeting from which it emanated, was held in a court in front of the meeting-house, that had been locked up more than a year. He settled in Radnor, where his wife Gwenlin died in 1686, and from the record, would appear to be the first corpse buried in the graveyard at Radnor Meeting. In 1690, he contracted a second marriage with Maudlin Kinsey, a widow, and in 1698, made a visit to his native country. He took a very active part in the meet- ing affairs of the Society of Friends, in which he was held in much esteem.
JAMES, DAVID, with his wife Margaret, arrived in Pennsylvania in August, 1682. They were Friends, but having neglected to bring the usual certificate with them, one was forwarded the next year, which names a daughter Mary, and informs us that they came from the parish of Llangeley or Llandegley and Glascum, in Radnorshire, Wales, and that " they owned the truth several years." This certificate is signed by John Jarman, David Meredith and other early settlers of Radnor, and was pro- bably brought over with them. Tra- dition says, a son named Evan was
.
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born in the passage over. A David James, supposed to be the same person, purchased a large tract on the eastern border of the township of Radnor, upon which he resided, and upon which his descendants continued to reside till within a recent period. This David James, died in 1738 or 1739, leaving a wife named Jane, who was a second or possibly a third wife. Besides Mary and Evan, his children, so far as is known, were Sarah, Rebecca, Isaac and Thomas. Evan, to whom the mansion property was devised, married Margaret Jones of Tredyffrin. Dr. Thomas P. James, and John F. James, Esq., of Philadelphia, are descendants from Evan.
JANSEN, CARLES, (Charles Johnson,) was one of the original patentees of Marcus Hook, from Governor Andros in 1676, who, with his five associates were then in possession of the place. He was a resident of Marcus Hook in 1678, but how much longer is not known. His name would indicate that he was a Dutchman.
JANSEN, JAN, as early as 1643, was custom house officer at Fort Nassau, on the Delaware, by appointment of the Dutch authorities at New Amster- dam. In a year or two afterwards he held the office of Commissary under the Dutch West India Company, and "was accustomed to trade on the South river of New Netherland, with the Indians," under the name of Jan Jansen von Ilpendam. His employments on the Delaware made him acquainted with the country, and induced him to fix his residence here, but how early is not known. In 1677 he resided on Marcus Hook Creek, and that was the place of his residence in 1685, at the time of his decease. In his will he re- quests to be buried at " Chester, alias Upland." He left a wife, Ellen, to sur- vive him. He was doubtless an Epis- copalian.
JARMAN, JOHN, with his wife Margaret and two children, Elizabeth and Sarah, came from Llanidles, Montgomeryshire, Wales, and settled in Radnor township about the year 1684. He was a minis- ter in the Society of Friends, and was instrumental in the establishment of Radnor Meeting. He constantly took
an active part in the proceedings of the monthly meeting to which he be- longed. He died in 1697, and in 1701 a testimony concerning him was read, but the record of it is not to be found. The name is frequently written " Jer- man." Meetings were held at his house in Wales, for permitting which a cow was taken from him worth £2 10s.
JARMAN or JERMAN, JOHN, JR., son of the above John Jarman, was born in Radnor 9th mo. (November) 12th, 1684, and was the first male child born of European parents in that township. He was one of the earliest American mathematicians. He died in Radnor in 1769, aged nearly 85 years. In an obituary notice published in the "Pennsylvania Chronicle," a newspaper of that day, he is spoken of as a "gentleman well known for his astronomical calculations " It is said that he published an almanac.
JENKINS, WILLIAM, came from the town of Tenby, in the county of Pem- broke, Wales, about the year 1686, and settled in Haverford township. He was an active and influential mem- ber of the Society of Friends, and had suffered persecution in his native coun- try. His name disappears from the minutes of Haverford Meeting after 1697. In 1691 he was one of the Jus- tices of the Court for Chester County, and was a member of the Assembly about the same time. He was an original purchaser of 1000 acres of land before leaving his native country.
JOB, ANDREW, was an early settler in and near Chester, but was not among the earliest. He was married to Eliza- beth Vernon in 1692. Both as a mem- ber of the Society of Friends and as a citizen, he maintained a good stand- ing. In 1697 he served the office of Sheriff, and in 1702 he represented Chester County in the Provincial As- sembly. His children were Benjamin, Jacob, Thomas, Mary, Enoch, Abraham, Caleb, Joshua, Hannah and Patience. Shortly after 1704, he removed to Not- tingham, and became a permanent re- sident there. He died in 1722.
JURIAN, HANS, was a resident and owner of land in Calken Hook as early as 1677, and was still living there in
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1693. It is believed that he was born in this country. The name appears to have been changed to Joranson.
KEY, MOSES, migrated from Middle- with, in the county of Chester, Eng- land, in 1700, and upon his first arri- val here settled in Nether Providence. Early in 1702 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of John Yearsly of Thornbury, and at that time, or a little before, had fixed his residence in Concord. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and by trade a blacksmith. His chil- dren were, Lettice, William, Mary, Eli- zabeth, Moses, Hannah, John, Robert, Rebecca and Ann.
KING, THOMAS, settled in Concord as early as 1686. He was in member- ship with Friends, and died in 1706, leaving his wife Mary, but no children, to survive him.
KINSMAN, JOHN, from Fifel, in the county of Wilts, England, was settled in Chichester as early as 1684, and was married to Hannah, the daughter of John Simcock the same year. He was an active member of Chichester Friends' meeting, and the monthly meeting was sometimes held at his house. As a citizen, he held a respect- able position in the community. His children were, Elizabeth and Hannah, the former of whom married John Dut- ton, in 1704. He died about the year 1701.
KIRK, JOHN, from All Freetown, in the county of Derby, England, settled in Darby, now Upper Darby township, in 1687. He was married to Joan, daughter of Peter Ellet, (now changed to Elliot,) of Kingsessing, the next year after his arrival, at Darby meeting, of which they were both members. A family of eleven children was the result of this marriage, all of whom were living at the time of his death in 1705. He devised his mansion farm to his son William, a part of which is still owned by his descendants. To his other sons. 500 acres in Philadelphia County (Montgomery) was given.
LAMPLEW, NATHANIEL, was an early Quaker settler on the Delaware below Marcus Hook. In 1686, he married Susanna, the daughter of John Beazer,
of Chichester, then deceased. At this time he was a Friend, but his name dis- appears from the records in 1688, and as it is known he continued to reside in the neighborhood, he probably dis- continued his membership.
LAERSON, NEELS, (alias Friend) an early Swedish inhabitant of Upland. He owned 182 acres of land, embracing what is now the central part of the present town of Chester, most of which subsequently became the property of David Lloyd. The earliest Courts of Upland County of which we have the records, were held at his house, and subsequently at the " House of defence," which was built on his land, where, doubtless, the Courts under the Pro- prietary government were for some time held. He kept a kind of tavern, and entertained the Justices of the Upland Court, a service which he had also performed for the Justices of an earlier Court, the records of which are now lost. There is evidence that he acted as an arbitrator by appointment of this Court as early as 1673. As early as 1668, in conjunction with Oele Raw- son, he purchased land on the east side of the river, which they had previously bought of the Indians. This noted Swede died in 1689, leaving a widow, Anico, (Ann) and several sons, who were afterwards known by the name of Friend, or had that name as an alias. The widow survived her husband till about the year 1724, when she died at the advanced age of 106 years. [See file of O. C. papers, office of the Clerk of Q. Sessions, West Chester.]. From this circumstance it may be concluded that Neels Laerson was a native of Sweden.
LANGHAM, ROBERT, was an early re- sident and owner of land in Chichester. He died early in 1708, leaving a wife and children. It does not appear that he was a Friend.
LAWRENCE, DAVID, with his wife Eli- nor and two or three children, emi- grated from Pencheston, Pembroke- shire, South Wales, in company with his father-in-law, Thomas Ellis, and settled in Haverford township. He had witnessed the sufferings and persecu- tions of his father-in-law in his native land, and had come here with a mind and a will to maintain " the truth" in
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its purity. To this his life was devoted, and at his death he left a written testi- mony to his children, admonishing them to the same course of life that " gave him rest and peace with God," copies of which are still preserved among his descendants. His wife was also a devout and exemplary member of the Society of Friends. His children were, Daniel, Henry, Thomas, Marga- ret, Elinor and Rachel. Thomas inter- married with Sarah, and Henry with Ellen Williams, daughters of William Edward of Blockley, and Edward Wil- liam, a son of William Edward, mar- ried Elinor Lawrence. Magaret inter- married with David Llewellyn. David Lawrence died in 1699. His wife sur- vived him many years.
LEE, OR LEA, JOHN, the son of John Lea, glover, of Christian Malford, in the county of Wilts, England, learned the trade of a woolcomber. He became a preacher among Friends, but at what time is not known. In 1698, he mar- ried Hannah Webb, a widow, of the city of Gloucester, and in 1700 he mi- grated to Pennsylvania, and after re- maining about a year in Philadelphia, settled in Concord township. His cer- tificate was from Naylesworth Quar- terly Meeting in Gloucester county. He was held in high estimation as a minis- ter, and frequently made religions visits to distant places ; sometimes in com- pany with Thomas Chalkley. The lat- ter speaks of him as a "living, ser- viceable minister of the gospel of Christ." He died in 1726. So far as is known, his children were, Isaac, Hannah, John and Rachel.
LEIPER, THOMAS, by birth a Scotch- man, at the age of nineteen immigrated to Port Tobacco in Maryland, upon the invitation of an elder brother, Dr. James Leiper, who had settled at or near that place. Here he was placed in the large mercantile house of a Mr. Sample, where he no doubt acquired the busi- ness qualifications for which he was afterwards noted. After he arrived at age he accepted an invitation from Gavin Hamilton to join him in the to- bacco business in Philadelphia. After some time the partnership was dis- solved, and Mr. Leiper set up the busi- ness for himself. The Revolution broke out, and the leading house in Philadel-
phia in the snuff business being inter- dicted, a fine opening was presented for Mr. Leiper, and enabled him to make his fortune. He warmly espoused the cause of the Colonies at the commence- ment of hostilities, and united himself with the "first city troop," and became its orderly sergeant, treasurer and sec- retary. When General Washington was almost on the eve of disbanding the army for want of supplies, he, with Robert Morris, Blair McClanagan and others, subscribed a large sum of money to supply the deficiency. Tho- mas Leiper was the warm friend of Jefferson, and a firm adherent of the Democratic party. His mills and his quarries were in Delaware County, but his residence was mostly in Philadel- phia, where for many years he was president of the Common Council. He was a man of much public spirit and energy of character, and exerted him- self in promoting the improvement of the State. He subscribed as much as $100,000 in the stock of various turn- pikes, canals, &c., from which he could expect but little return. His wife was Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of George Gray, a lady of excellent character and great worth. He died in the year 1825 in the eightieth year of his age.
LESTER, PETER, settled in Springfield township as early as 1684. In 1685 he married Mary Dnucalf of Chester Meeting, and in 1686 he served the office of constable for the then newly organized township of Springfield. The family probably removed, as the name disappears from the records of the meetings within our limits.
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