USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > History of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the territory included within its limits to the present time > Part 57
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MASSEY, THOMAS, migrated to this country prior to 1687, and before he was of age. He probably resided within the bounds of Chester Monthly Meeting
from the time of his arrival In 1692 he married Phebe, the daughter of Robert Taylor, of Springfield, and soon afterwards purchased a large tract of land in Marple, where he continued to reside while he lived. He died in 1708, in the forty-fifth year of his age, leaving seven children, viz., Esther, Mordecai, James, Hannah, Thomas, Phebe and Mary. The brick house erected by Thomas Massey is still standing in a good state of preservation. His widow intermarried with Bartholomew Co- pock, Jr, then a widower, in 1710. Mordecai remained on the mansion tract, but Thomas and James settled in Willistown.
MATSON, NIELS, or NEELS, was an early Swedish settler, who owned and occupied a tract of land imme- diately on the southwest side of Crum Creek, extending to the Delaware, for which Governor Lovelace issued him a patent on the 10th of March, 1770. In 1773 he served as an arbitrator by ap- pointment of the then Upland Court, in a controversy about land in Kingses- sing. It was Margaret, the wife of this man, who figured as defendant in the only trial for witchcraft that ever oc- curred in Pennsylvania. From the tes- timony in that trial, it may be inferred that this persecuted couple had resided in the country at least twenty years prior to the date of the trial, (1683.) In 1678, Neels Matson conveyed to James Sandelands, two lots in Upland, for which he had received a patent from Governor Richard Nicolls in 1668.
MCCLELLAN, JOSEPH, the eldest of eight children of James and Martha MeClellan, was born in Middletown township, in 1747. In 1770 the family removed to Sadsbury township, Chester County. At the breaking out of the Re- volution Joseph resolved to engage ac- tively in the service of his country. It is said that he was induced to take this step, or at least confirmed in his resolu- tion, by a sermon preached to the young men of his neighborhood by the Rev. Mr. Foster,at Octoraro Presbyterian Church, on their duty to their country, in the trying emergency that was then pre- sented. As Joseph was nearly thirty years of age, and a man of great firm- ness, it may be presumed that he acted on his own deliberate judgment. Im-
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mediately upon entering the service, he received the appointment of lieutenant in Captain Abraham Marshall's com- pany of musketeers, and shortly after- wards, (15th of July, 1776,) was ap- pointed captain in the room of Captain Marshall, who resigned. This com- pany belonged to Colonel Atlee's batta- lion ; but Captain Mcclellan was soon after transferred to the 9th regiment of the Pennsylvania line, to serve during the war, where he remained till a short time before his resignation, in June, 1781, when he had been attached to the second regiment.
Captain McClellan was generally joined to the main body of the army, and shared all its privations and hard- ships-was at the battles of Long Island, Brandywine and Monmouth, and on all occasions did his whole duty, as the following extract from an endorsement on his commission by General Anthony Wayne fully testifies :
" It is a duty which I owe to justice and merit to declare that the conduct of Capt. MeClellan upon every occasion, has been that of a brave, active and vigilant officer, which will ever recom- mend him to the attention of his country, and the esteem of his fellow- citizens. Given at Camp this 13th of June 1781.
" ANTY WAYNE B. G."
This endorsement was made at the time of Captain Mcclellan's resignation from the army, when there was no im- perious necessity for remaining longer in service, and when his presence at home was greatly needed by reason of the age and infirmity of his parents. In 1786 he married Keziah, the daugh- ter of Joseph Parke, Esq., and shortly after removed upon a farm within the present limits of West Chester. He served the several offices of Commis- sioner, Sheriff, and Lieutenant of Ches- ter County, the latter with the rank of colonel; he was the first President of the Bank of Chester County, and at the time of the whiskey insurrection, raised a troop of horse for its sup- pression. His death occurred in 1834, at the age of eighty-seven years, and ten years after he had had the felicity of meeting his old commander, General La Fayette, on the ground of the battle of Brandywine.
MEDLICOT, DANIEL, brought a certifi- cate from the monthly meeting of Salop, in Shropshire, and at first settled in Philadelphia, where in the latter part of the year 1684, he was married ac- cording to the usages of Friends, to Martha Sankey. Shortly after his mar- riage he settled among the Welsh Friends of Haverford, where he died in 1697, leaving but one child, Mary. His wife also brought her certificate from Salop meeting.
MENDENHALL, MOSES, was a brother of John and Benjamin Mendenhall, and doubtless came from the same place in England. In 1686, he was a resident of Concord, and purchased land from his brother Benjamin. It does not ap- pear that he was a Friend. He re- turned to England where his descen- dants now reside.
MENDENHALL, BENJAMIN, came from England in 1686, probably in company with his brother John. They came from a town of Suffolk called Milden- hall, that being the original family name. In 1689, he was married to Ann, the daughter of Robert Pennell, in Chichester Friends' meeting, of which they were both members. Their children were, Benjamin, Moses, Han- nah, Samuel, Rebecca, Ann, Nathan and Robert. By trade he was a wheel- wright. He was a man held in good esteem both in his religious society and as a citizen. In 1714 he served as a member of the Provincial Assembly, and died in 1740 at an advanced age, while his wife Ann was still living. Their son Benjamin married Lydia, the daughter of Owen Roberts, of Gwynedd, and his son Robert, Phebe, the daugh- ter of Isaac Taylor, of Thornbury. Their daughter Hannah became the wife of Thomas Marshall, and Ann, the second wife of John Bartram, the bota- nist.
MENDENHALL, JOHN, was a brother of Benjamin and Moses Mendenhall, and doubtless came from the same place in England. (See notice of Benjamin.) He was one of the earliest settlers in Concord, and in 1685 was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of George Ma- ris, of Springfield township. He was a Friend, and was active and influen- tial in the Society. In 1697, he grant-
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ed the ground occupied by Concord Friends' meeting-house and grave-yard. In 1708, his wife being deceased, he contracted a second marriage with Hes- ter Dix. He was one of the original shareholders of the first Concord mill. His children by his first wife were, George, John and Aaron. It is not known that he had any by his second wife.
MERIDITH, DAVID, came from the pa- rish of Llanbister, Radnorshire, Wales, in 1683 or 1684, and settled in Radnor township. His name appears on the minutes of the monthly meeting earlier than that of any other Radnor Friend. He was accompanied to this country by his wife Katharine and their five child- ren-Richard, Mary, John, Meridith and Sarah. Katharine died in 1688, and in 1690 he was married to Mary Jones, a widow, of Upper Providence, as his second wife, by whom he probably had no children. He had been a Friend twenty years in his native land. The time of his decease is not known ; but from the circumstance of his name dis- appearing from the minutes of his meet- ing in 1695, it is supposed that it oc- curred about that period. He had suffered imprisonment in Wales on ac- count of his religious principles.
MILES, RICHARD, was one of the Welsh purchasers of land from Richard Davies, in Wales, in 1682. He was a resident of Radnorshire, and probably emigrated shortly after his purchase, and located his land in Radnor town- ship, where he settled. He was a mem- ber of the Society of Friends, and in 1688 intermarried with Sarah, the daughter of his Welsh Quaker neigh- bor, John Evan. He died in 1713, leaving his wife Sarah and children- Richard, James, Evan, John, Jane, Sa- rah and Abigail to survive him.
MILES, SAMUEL, with his wife Marga- ret, emigrated from Radnorshire, in Wales, in 1683, and at first settled in Philadelphia. As early as 1686, and perhaps earlier, they had removed to Radnor township. They were in mem- bership with Friends, but their names are not frequently connected with the business affairs of the Society. Their children were Tamar and Phebe. Sa- muel died in 1708. Tamar intermarried
with Thomas, the son of William Tho- mas, of Radnor, and Phebe with Evan, the son of Owen Evans, of Gwynedd.
MILES, GRIFFITH, an early Welsh Quaker colonist of Radnor. After his marriage with Bridget Edwards, of the same township, in 1692, his name dis- appears from the records.
MILLER, HENRY, with his wife Sarah and several children, emigrated from the parish of Dunster, Somerset county, England, in 1714, and settled in Upper Providence. He had previously lived in the parish of Bradnich, in the county of Devon, where, in the year 1704, his son John was born. A daughter, Dorothy, and a son, Henry, were also born in the same par- ish. His son George, father of the late George Miller, was born in Upper Providence in 1716. Henry Miller, by trade, was a manufacturer, and after his arrival here he had a small manu- facturing establishment, at which he made serges, camlets, &c. He also kept a store for the sale of these and other articles. He was strict in his re- ligions duties as a member of the So- ciety of Friends, and for some years was the Clerk of Chester Monthly meeting. In 1717, three years after his arrival in the country, he was a representative from Chester County in the Provincial Assembly. Henry died in 1730, and his wife the next year.
MINSHALL, THOMAS, with his wife Margaret, came from Stoak, County Palatine of Chester, England, and ar- rived in 1682, having had the mis- fortune to lose a daughter on the passage. Thomas Minshall was one of the original purchasers of land in Eng- land, part of which he located in Nether Providence, his dwelling being near the meeting-house, which was erected on land given by him for the purpose. He was an active and influential mem- ber of the Society of Friends, and it was from the meetings held at his house that Providence meeting had its origin. Margaret died in 1727, in her seventy-fifth year, leaving Thomas to survive her. Their children, so far as is known, besides the one above men- tioned, were Isaac, who married Re- becca, daughter of Dr. Griffith Owen of Philadelphia, Jacob, who married
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Sarah, another daughter of Dr. Owen, Rebecca and Moses.
MORGAN, JAMES, was probably a son of John Morgan, who settled early in Radnor, and was a large landholder. In 1694 he was married to Elizabeth Prythereth, the daughter of Evan Pry- thereth, also of Radnor. They were Friends, and doubtless both had emi- grated from Wales while children.
MORGAN, ANTHONY, emigrated from Cardiff, in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1689, accompanied by his wife Eliza- beth and only child Mary. They at first, it is believed, settled for a time on a small tract of land on the west side of Cobb's Creek, some distance above the Blue Bell, but in the year 1700 removed to a larger tract in what is now Upper Darby. In 1707 his daughter was married to Abraham, the son of Ralph Lewis of the same town- ship. Through life he remained in full unity with the Society of Friends, but was never active in the business trans- actions of their meetings. He died at an advanced age in 1732, and his wife a little before him the same year.
MORGAN, OWEN, with his wife Jannie, came from the parish of Machanlleth, in Montgomeryshire, Wales, in 1684, and settled in Haverford. He was a man of limited means, and appears to have owned no land in Haverford. He was a Friend in good standing. After the death of his wife, he, in 1694, married Blanche, the widow of William Sharpus, and removed to Newtown, where he died in 1704. Blanche sur- vived him till 1717, at which time she appeared to be in easy circumstances.
MORRIS, DAVID, was a very early immigrant, and probably came from Wales. He resided for a time in Philadelphia, and was married to Mary Phillipin 3d mo. 4th, 1685, according to the usages of the Society of Friends, of which they were both members. This couple, about five years after their marriage, removed to Marple town- ship, and made a permanent settle- ment. Besides attending strictly to his religious duties, David exercised con- siderable influence in civil affairs. He was one of the projectors and owners of " Haverford new mill," and for some
time had an interest in running it. His children were David, Isaac, Jona- than, Elizabeth and Mordecai. David the elder died in 1720.
MORRIS, DR. JONATHAN, son of Jona- than and Catharine Morris, and grand- son of the immigrant David Morris, was born in Marple township, Delaware County, on the 17th of the 3d month, (May,) 1729. His mother was a daughter of Richard Moore of Radnor. Both parents were consistent members of the Society of Friends, as all his ancestors had been for two or three generations. It may therefore be rea- sonably concluded, that in his early training he was carefully guarded against any contamination from vice or immorality. It is not known that his preliminary school education, before entering upon the study of medicine, extended beyond what he acquired at the schools in the neighborhood, but his knowledge outside of his profession was greatly enlarged, by embracing opportunities that presented, while a student, and subsequently.
About the year 1745, the subject of our notice was placed in the office of Dr. Thomas Bard of Philadelphia as a medical student. Before the com- pletion of his studies, Dr. Bard removed to New York, to which place he was accompanied by his student. There his opportunity for study was improved, particularly in acquiring a knowledge of surgery, as his preceptor had been placed in charge of the garrison hos- pital.
After having completed his studies, about the year 1751, Dr. Morris re- turned to his native County, and com- menced the practice of his profession at Newtown Square. Here he became acquainted with Benjamin West, the painter, then quite a youth. and dis- cerning the genius of the young artist, purchased materials for him and aided him in preparing his colors. West, subsequently, but before leaving the country, painted a likeness of Dr. Morris, which, unfortunately, cannot now be found. General Wayne and Dr. Morris were "the first public patrons of the great artist."
About the year 1756 Dr. Morris re- moved from Newtown Square to East Marlborough, and on the 15th of the 12th month of the following year, he
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was married to Alice, the daughter of Cadwalader Evans of Edgmont. Their marriage was accomplished at the meeting-house at Middletown, aecord- ing " to the good order " of the Society of Friends, of which society they both remained exemplary members during their lives. This marriage resulted in the mutual happiness of the parties during a period of more than sixty years.
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After his marriage, Dr. Morris re- . moved to Marple township, and settled on the premises now owned and oc- cupied by Walter W. Green, where he resided till near the close of his life. It was here that his superior qualifi- cations as a physician, and particularly as a surgeon, became generally known, and secured for him as large a practice as the sparsely populated country could afford.
From the early period at which Dr. Morris obtained his medical education, it might be supposed that his know- ledge was deficient, and that his prac- tice would, in a great measure, be empirical. This would be a serious mistake, for although he commenced his course of studies at the very dawn of correct medical science, several of the great lights of the profession had lived before him, or were then in the full tide of their successful careers, and his position in Philadelphia and New York, and his residence in the vicinity of the latter eity, enabled him to avail himself of every new discovery. The true circulation of the blood, dis .. covered by Harvey, was then well un- derstood, while it may be presumed that many of the discoveries of the two Hunters in Anatomy were promulgated during his student life, or shortly after- wards.
He was a man of quick perception and close observation, and of course availed himself of the knowledge gained by experience, but his leaning was strong against empireism in any shape. In fact he was the father of the regular practice of medicine, within the limits of this County.
Dr. Morris was a man of the greatest humanity. The suffering poor were cared for equally with the rich. When the sound of cannon at the battle of Brandy wine reached the neighborhood, he at once repaired towards the scene of conflict, and in the vicinity of Con-
cord meeting-house assisted the medical staff in the care of the wounded.
Dr. Morris, in person, was under the ordinary stature, and apparently of a delicate frame, yet he enjoyed almost uninterrupted health to extreme old age. lle possessed an unusual amount of both physical and mental activity, and but few men have evinced more decision of character. Though a re- ligions man, he had neither leisure nor taste for theological discussions, but he practiced in humility the Christian virtues-Love to God and good-will to men.
Towards the close of his life he re- moved to Darby, where his wife died in 1818, aged eighty-three years. After her death he removed to the residence of his son in London Grove, where he died on the 7th of April, aged one month less than ninety years.
MORTON, JOHN, whose name has been immortalized by his vote for the De- claration of Independence, was born in Ridley, Delaware County, in the year 1725, on the farm now owned by Charles Horne. His father, whose name was Jolin, was a son of Morton Mortonson, but probably not the first of that name, and died before the birth of his only child, the subject of this no- tiee. His mother was Mary, the daughter of William and Gertrude Archer, also of Ridley .. In the will of John Morton, provision is made for his unborn child. John Sketchley, an Englishman, married the widow of the elder John Morton, but had no children by her to survive him. She was still living at the time of the deeease of her second husband in 1753.
In 1756 John Morton was elected a member of the Provincial Assembly, and was re-elected ten years consecu- tively to that office, till 1767, when he was elected Sheriff of Chester County for three years. In 1765 he was one of the representatives from Pennsylvania in the first American Congress held at New York. He was again sent to the Assembly from Chester County in 1772, and continued in that office till 1775, when he presided over that body as speaker. He also held the office of Justice of the Peace, and was one of the Justices of the Court many years. He was again a representative from Pennsylvania in Congress in 1774, and
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was continued a member till the me- morable meeting of that body in 1776. The part he took in securing the inde- pendence of the United States is fully given in the body of this work. This was the last session he attended, for he died in April, 1777, aged fifty-three years. His body was interred in the grounds of St. Paul's Church, Chester, and over it a neat monument has been erected, upon which some of the facts stated above are inscribed, and also the following prophetic message, which was sent from his death bed to such of his friends as censured him for his boldness in giving the casting vote in favor of INDEPENDENCE: "Tell them that they will live to see the hour when they shall acknowledge it to have been the most glorious service that I have ever rendered to my country."
MORTONSON, MORTON, was a native of Sweden, but was not among the ear- liest Swedish emigrants to the Dela- ware River. His residence was in Amosland, a little west of Muckinipat- tus creek, where he resided as early as 1672. Morton Mortonson, Jr., it is supposed, was his eldest son and im- migrated with him. He had two other sons, Andrew and John. Morton, jr., died in 1718. The elder Morton was living in 1693.
NAYLOR, ROBERT, with his wife, Eliza- beth, migrated from Manyash, County of Derby, England, and settled in what is now Upper Darby township, in 1683. His dwelling was near Naylor's Run, and doubtless that stream derived its name from him. He had been married but a short time before leaving his native country. Their children, so far as is known, were only two-John and Elizabeth. Both Robert and Elizabeth were alive in 1707. They were both Quakers at the time of their arrival here.
NEED, JOSEPH, from Arnold, in the County of Nottingham, England, came to America in 1686, and settled in Dar- by, now Upper Darby township, west of Darby Creek. He was a member of the Society of Friends, but was not very active in meeting affairs. In 1693 he was married to Rebecca Hinde, by whom he had several children. His daughter, Rebecca, married John David
(changed to Davis), in 1714, and his
. daughter, Ann, Nicholas Fred, of Bir- mingham, in 1720. Joseph Need died in 1741.
NIELSON, ANTHONY, an early Swedish settler, who owned and occupied a tract of land, extending from Crum to Ridley Creek, about a mile from the river. His wife appears to have been the daughter of Margaret Matson, the only person ever tried for witchcraft in Pennsylvania.
NEWLIN, NICHOLAS, a gentleman in easy circumstances, with his wife and family, emigrated from Mountmelick, in the County of Tyrone, Ireland, in 1683. He had embraced the profession of Quakerism some time before, and, it is rather strongly intimated in his certi- ficate, that his reason for removal was " his fearfulness of suffering there for the testimony of Jesus." Be that as it may, his conduct here showed him to be a man firm in the performance of what he believed to be his duty under all circumstances. He settled in Con- cord and built a mill there in very early times. For a time he served the county as one of the Justices of the Court. Meetings were held at his house as carly as 1687. His two sons, Nathaniel and John, both unmarried, accompa- nied their father to this country.
NEWLIN, NATHANIEL, son of Nicholas Newlin, emigrated from Ireland with his father, and was of age at the time of his arrival here. In 1685 he mar- ried Mary Mendenhall, also an immi- grant, and a sister of Benjamin and John Mendenhall. He was a man of good abilities, and exercised consider- able influence, both in the meetings of the Friends and in the community at large. During seven years, at different times, he was a representative from Chester County in the Provincial As- sembly, and was frequently employed in other important trusts. He contin- ued to reside in Concord as long as he lived, and held a large amount of real estate there as well as elsewhere. A brick dwelling-house erected by him in 1699, upon the site of the present dwelling of John Sharpless, was stand- ing till within a few years past. His children were Jemima, Elizabeth, Ni-
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cholas, Nathaniel, John, Kezie and | Mary. He died in 1731.
NIELD, JOHN, migrated from Cheshire, England, and settled in Aston town- ship as early as 1686. It is not certainly known that he was married at the time of his arrival, but if so, his wife must have died prior to 1695, for he was in that year married to Mary the widow of John Dutton. This lady being in membership with Friends, and John not being " in possession of the truth," she was brought into some trouble by the marriage, but it does not appear that she was " disowned." John was living in Aston in 1722. See Abraham Darlington.
NOBLE, RICHARD, emigrated to America in 1675, with John Fenwick the founder of Salem, in the ship Grif- fith from London. In 1677, he was a taxable in Upland district, and on the 15th of December, 1679, he was ap- pointed Surveyor of Upland County, by Sir Edmund Andros. At the first Court held under the Provincial Govern- ment, his name occurs as a juror. Though a Quaker, he did not take an active part in meeting affairs, nor did his residence long continue within our limits.
NORBERRY, THOMAS, one of the very earliest settlers of Newtown, was mar- ried to Frances Hugh, widow, early in 1685. She was doubtless the widow of Stephen Hugh of Springfield, who died in February, 1684. He was a Friend, but was not so fortunate in business as was usual with members of that Society. Their children were Jacob, Deborah, Thomas, John, Philip, Mary, Hannah and Sarah.
NOSSITER, THOMAS, took up land and settled in Ridley in 1678. Though not a Quaker, he probably came to the Delaware in one of the early emigrant ships to West Jersey. He was a juror at the second Court under the Proprietary Government.
OBERN, HENRY. As early as 1684, Administrators were appointed by the Chester Court, to administer the es- tate of William Obern, who had then recently died intestate. It is believed
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