History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 193

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

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" My fatigue in the woods has brought a small fever upon me, which an ounce of hark hay pretty much abated, so that to-morrow I shall return home by slow journeys directly to Philadelphia, where I shall rejoice to see you once more."

A petition was presented from "sundry freeholders and inhabitants of the City and County of Philadel- phia," January I, 1723, "setting forth that they are sensibly aggrieved in their estates and dealings, to the great loss and growing ruin of themselves and the evident decay of this province, for want of a medium to buy and sell with, and praying for a paper enrreney, was presented to the House, and read and ordered to lie on the table." This bill passed the Assembly, and was signed by the Governor, contrary to the wishes of the Penn family, which afterwards led to his being set aside by the appointment of a successor in the government. Respecting this subject, Dr. Franklin remarks,-

" I was on the side of the new emission of paper currency, convinced that the first small sum fabricated in 1723 bad done much good in the province hy favoring commerce, industry and population, since all the houses were now inhabited, and many others building ; whereas, I remembered to have seen, when I first paraded the streets of Philadelphia eating my roll, the majority of those in Walnut street, Second street, Fourth street, as well as a great number in Chestnut and other streets, with papers on them signifying that they were to let, which made me think at the time that the inhabitants of the town were deserting it one after another."

Governor Keith, in his message to the Assembly on this occasion, thus referred to the subject,-

" When I reflect that this is the Seventh Assembly which in less than six years I have had the honour to meet as Governor of this Colony, and that no difference or nneasy disputes have yet happened in the Legisla- tive Body, it is but natural to think that so happy an unanimity, with the blessing of God, has been chiefly owing to the commendable and hearty disposition which hitherto has prevailed in both parts of the Legislature to establish the true interest of the Government upon the happiness and prosperity of the governed. We all know it is neither the great or the rich, nor the learned, that compose the body of any people ; and that civil government ought carefully to protect the poor, laborious and industrious part of mankind in the enjoyment of their just rights, and equal liberties and privileges, with the rest of their fellow-creatures."

Under date of London, May 20, 1724, Hannah Penn wrote to the Governor respecting the affairs of the province and of the late meeting he had attended at Albany with the Indians, respecting which she re- marked that,-

" We hope and desire the wune care of those poor people, the Indians, may still be continued ; that the same measures my husband first estab- lished with them may be constantly pursued ; and that on all occasions of moment, the Council, especially those members of it who are intrusted with the Affairs of Property, may be consulted ; and that all Treaties with them may be managed with their concurrence and approbation. To these I shall only add, that as thon wert chosen in the time of my husband's weakness, by means of his friends ouly, to that important trust, it would be with some regret, should we be obhged to make a change before our final settlement with the Crown, though the means are ready at hand. We therefore earnestly desire that thy skill and abilities may be employed to render thy continuance yet grateful to ns, which can he no other way effected thao by a strict observation of thy former and these present instructions."

There can be no question that the latter remarks are insulting, aud can refleet no credit to the one who wrote them. The emission of paper money did not concern the proprietors, yet we see here the most overbearing insolence aimed not only at the Governor, but against the chartered rights of the people.

At the celebration of the King's birthday at New Castle, May 28, 1724, the Governor was present, on which occasion they proceeded to the court-house, attended by the principal inhabitants of the place. The King's charter, establishing the city of New Castle with valuable privileges, was read, after which he made them an address, which was replied to by the mayor, recorder and aldermen. The Governor and Lady Keith were handsomely entertained at a dinner by the magistrates, when the King's health, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and all the royal family and numerous other loyal healths were drank with the discharge of eannon. The proceedings at the time were published by Samuel Keimer, of Philadelphia, and sold and distributed in New Castle by William Read, to which source we are indebted for this in- formation.

In reply to Mrs. Penn's private instructions, Sep- tember 24, 1724, the Governor further exposes the attempts to deprive him of his due authority, as fol- lows:

" What else could have put it in Mr. Logan's head to advise you, Madam, to order the seal, which everywhere is looked upon as the en- sigo of government, out of my hands into his possession. That it was do before my time, or, which is the same thing, that Mr. Logan exercised au absolute and despotic authority over my predecessor, which is well known, rendered the Governor at that time despicable in the eyes of the people, is a very poor argument to support such an extravagant demand as this,

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which must extinguish all authority in the person of the governor when- soever it iscomplied with."

Respecting the compensation allowed him for his services, Governor Keith remarks,-

"You will please to consider that the revenue here is the free gift of the people's representatives to the acting Governor, which they judiciously augment, lessen or withdraw annually, according to the expense which they observe hr has been at in their service, and to the ease and satisfac- tion they receive from the justice of his administrativo. Moreover, al- though the revenue granted in my time has been larger than formerly, yet the expeose and figure which the colony has made, both at home and abroad, has been vivre than proportionably advanced, whereby the saving profits, which may be supposed to have been applied to my use, have not arisen to so much as even those of former Governors, and this matter of fact is so universally known among the people that it will be altogether in vain to endeavor to contradict so notorious a truth."

In the "Votes of Assembly " (vol. ii. pp. 441-447) may be seen an able vindication of the Governor and legislative power, with a remonstrance sent to Han- nah Penn's private instructions, drawn up by Chief Justice David Lloyd, and ordered by the Assembly to be sent to Mrs. Penn, from which we take this ex- tract,-

" I cannot leave this subject withont observing that the first Purchas- ets bought their lands dear, and came under perpetual quit-rents, which far exceeded what the Proprietaries of the adjacent Provinces required of their Tenants, but when they come to be handled in Secretary Logan's office, they were told they must pay half a crown, or a crown, English money, for every City lot forever, which the Proprietary had freely given to his purchasers, expecting, as was thought, but twelve pence Sterling per annum for every one hundred acres of their lands; and when they came for their patents there was a reservation of three full and clear fifth parts of all royal mides, free of all deductions and reprisals for digging and refining the same, whereas the Royal Charter had reserved but one- fifth part of such mines, elrar of charges. You may find by your journal divers other instances of the Secretary's abuses and illtreatment of the people."

The Assembly, December 7th, prepared an address "To the Descendants of our late Hlouourahle Proprie- tary, William Penn, Esq.," in which they nobly de- fend the Governor from the calumnies of a few enemies, and vindicate the beneficial results of his administration, and that they hope he may be con- tinned in the office. In conclusion they state, -

" Much more might be sail in favor of the Governor's administration which we omit, lest we should trespass too much upon your patience, hoping these short hints may be sufficient to obviate objections and re- move the impression that some persons have endeavored to make oo the minds of such as may be strangers to the circumstances of our af- fairs."

Major Patrick Gordon was commissioned Deputy- Governor of Pennsylvania by Springett Penn, with the assent of his stepmother, Hannah Penn, sanc- tioned by the royal approbation. He arrived in Philadelphia, June 22, 1726, and at once entered upon the duties of the office. On his retirement, Governor Keith's Council consisted of Richard Hill, Anthony Palmer, Henry Brooke, Thomas Græme, Isaac Norris, Robert Assheton, William Fishbourne and Evan Owen. He had now held the office above nine years, a much longer period than any other had previously from the beginning of the proprietary sway,-a period of forty-four years. No sooner had he been deprived of his position than he was

spoken of as a most probable candidate for the As- sembly, to which he was elected the following October as one of the representatives of Philadelphia County.

As may be well supposed, the long-continued popu- larity of Governor Keith and his election to the As- sembly gave considerable alarm to his few enemies, and their expressions on the subject are amusing and worth inserting. James Logan wrote, October 8, 1725, to John Penn that-

"For my owu part I am quite tired with standing the public butt to all your enemies, and as I have been represented to those who would dissemible with you as if I had by my conduct contributed to those tronbles, I take it to be of importance, to you, as I find it absolutely necessary for my own ease that I should retire, for which having laid somne fonodation when last at Bristol. It is fit you should know in time that next fall I fully design (God willing) to take over my family to said city, and place them there, if not for life, at least till affairs take such a turn as to make it more eligible for an honest man to reside bere than it can be at present, or ever will be while I am concerned in your Proprie- tary affairs, and your disputes among yourselves continue."

Governor Gordon wrote to the same, October 18, 1726, that his "predecessor" had been elected to the Assembly, and when this body met on the 14th-

"Sir William made his public entry into the city with abont eighty horse, composed of butchers, tailors, blacksmiths, journeymen, appren- tices and carters, marching two and two, Sir William being at the head of them, svine ships firing their guus."

The Governor wrote again on the following Sth of May that-

"Everything that has been proposed by the moderate and well-meau- ing People of the House has been opposed by Sir William and his crea- tures, which consist of the Members of the City and County of Philadel- phia. I am sorry to tell you that the influence of that Party has ap- peared in their late proceedings, much greater than wo had been aware of, so that if there is not some course taken to make this man quiet we shall never be in peace here ; doubtless you will think it mulvisable to bring about this good work for the ease of the country."

To a gentleman entertaining honorable motives and self-respect the position of a colonial Governor was a degrading one to hold, having no less than three masters to serve,-first, the proprietary family, with their feudal prerogatives, to whom he owed his com- mission and hampered him with selfish instructions ; second, to the King, whose approbation he must se- cure, fettered by loyalty ; and thirdly, the colony and Assembly, who voted him his annual salary, lessened or increased, as suited their pleasure for the services rendered. Franklin wrote as follows concerning Keith :

"Differing from the great body of the people whom he goverued, in religion and manners, he acquired their esteem and confidence. If he sought popularity, he promoted the public happiness, and his courage in resisting the demands of the Proprietaries may be ascribed to a higher mutive than private interest."

As stated, Governor Keith came in possession of his land at Horsham in 1718, and may not have com- menced making improvements thereon earlier than in 1721; for in the spring of the following year we know he had bis mansion there and other buildings pretty well under way. To his bill of sale, made May 21, 1726, to Dr. Thomas Græme and Thomas Sober for the sum of five hundred pounds sterling, was ap-

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HORSHAM TOWNSHIP.

pended, "A schedule of the slaves, plate, household furniture, horses, cattle, goods, chattels upon Sir Wil- liam Keith's plantation at Horsham, in the county of Philadelphia." The slaves mentioned are fourteen in number, called William, Jane, Mercury, Diana, An- drew, Cæsar, Mary, Ann, Maria, Sarah, Robert, Har- rington, Oronoca and William, five or six of whom are represented as children. Among the numerous items, mention is made of a silver punch-bowl, ladle and strainer, 4 salvers, 3 castors and 33 spoons, 70 large pewter plates, 14 dozen smaller plates, 6 basins, 6 brass pots with covers. Chiuaware: 13 different sizes of bowls, 6 complete tea-sets, 2 dozen chocolate cups and saucers, 3 dozen small bowls and custard cups, 20 dishes of various sizes, 4 dozen plates, 6 mugs, I dozen fine coffee cups "and also many odd pieces of china." Of Delft stone and glassware: 18 jars, 12 venison pots, 6 white stone tea-sets, 12 mugs, 6 dozen plates and 12 fine wine decanters. Linen: 24 Holland sheets, 20 common sheets, 50 table-cloths, 12 dozen napkins, 16 bedstead», 144 chairs of various kinds, 32 tables of various sizes, 3 clocks, 15 looking-glasses, 10 dozen knives and forks. Horses and stock : 4 coach horses, 7 saddle horses, 6 working horses, 2 mares and 1 colt, 4 oxen, 15 cows, 4 bulls, 6 calves, 31 sheep and 20 liogs; a large glass coach, 2 chaises, 2 wagons, I wain, I pair of timber wheels, 4 carts, + plows and 4 harrows. Much is omitted in the list of plate, ta- bleware, parlor, bedroom and kitchen furniture, be- sides utensils of various kinds.

There is a tradition based on pretty good authority in the neighborhood that the baronet had a prison built on his estate for offenders. Descended as he was from an old feudal family, we have thought in consequence that he may have here held at times a manorial court for the trial of his servants and slaves, who thus had punishment meted out to them, as was then the case in England and Scotland; hence the foundation of this lingering and oft-told circumstance. In the Minutes of Council for June 3, 1721, he is for the first time styled "The Honourable Sir William Keith," which would denote that his father had died in the spring, and that the son had inherited the title. In October, 1727, he was again elected to the Assembly, and we find, in looking over their proceed- ings, that he was placed on some of their most import- ant committees. In the following April he sent in his resignation to that body, stating that affairs of importance had now called him to Great Britain, for which they exensed him, so that new writs be issued for electing some other person in his place. On the question being put, the House allowed his absence. So, in the spring of 1728, he went on board Captain From what has just been given, we are enabled to judge that the Governor must have lived pretty sumptuously here, and that he entertained company, at times in considerable numbers. There is no doubt Colvell's ship at New Castle and sailed for Great Britain. We learn from the Gentleman's Magazine that in June, 1732, he was elected a member of Par- liament for Aberdeen, to supply the place of Sir that at this date deer still abounded in the vicinity, Archibald Grant, who had been expelled from the and it is possible that he may have kept a herd on | House of Commons.

the place, as the "12 venison pots" are suggestive. What greatly surprises us is to find that after only a four or five years' possession for making improve- ments, he should be enabled to have his place so well stocked in horses, cattle and other animals, and which, no doubt, the place could support. The accomplish- ment of this, where all was so recently a wilderness, places Sir William Keith among the early improvers of the country. We here realize what James Logan mentioned concerning him in a letter to the Penn family, dated Philadelphia, October 8, 1724, in which he said that Colonel Spottswood, Governor of Vir- giuia, had stated "That he was of an honorable family, a baronet, good-natured and obliging, and spends with a reputation to the place all he gets of the country." It has been published in a "Vindica- tion," at London, that he had laid out six thousand pounds in lands and improvements, two thousand pounds on the Horsham estate and four thousand pounds on the erection of an iron-works in New Castle County. The former he settled on his wife, and the latter was retained for the security of his debts, having conferred, July 23, 1725, for the pur-

pose, a power of attorney on Samuel Preston, provin- eial treasurer of Pennsylvania, to collect all sums due him and pay the same over to his creditors,-Micajah Perry, John Gray, Edward Jeffries, Henry Gouldney and Thomas Pierce, all of London,-until they should be fully satisfied, they having furnished him with means to secure the office and outfit to Pennsylvania.

He gave himself subsequently to authorship, and wrote a "Ilistory of Virginia, with remarks on the Trade and Commerce of that Colony: Printed at the expense of the Society for the Encouragement of Learning," at London, in 1738. It is a handsome quarto ofone hundred and eighty-seven pages, elegantly printed, with two maps. This work he dedicated "To His Royal Highness, Frederick, Prince of Wales." At page three of the introduction hestates his object,- " To trace out, from the first English Expedition into America, the particular History of each Colony in its natural order of Time, observing the changes which have happened to their respective Soils, Trade and Government." Respecting this work, Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia," speaks very favorably. Sir William Keith died in London, November 17, 1740, aged nearly eighty years, one account says in the Old Bailey, and that his title would descend to his son Robert, then a lieutenant-colonel under Mar- shal Keith, in the Prussian service. In the deed of conveyance to Lady Keith of the Horsham estate, April 23, 1781, mention is made of "Alexander Henry Keith, Esquire, eldest surviving son and heir-ap-

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HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

parent of the said Sir William." The aforesaid was collector at New Castle and one of the three commis- sioners for holding a Court of Admiralty at l'hiladel- phia, October 15, 1731. From the " Votes of Assem- bly," (vol. ii. ) it is ascertained that he had also a son William, who was his private secretary while Governor. Respecting his last son we can gain no additional particulars.

Lady Ann Keith was born in 1675, near London, and on the death of her husband, Robert Diggs, sub- sequently married Sir William Keith. With the former she had a daughter, Ann Diggs, who became the wife of Dr. Thomas Græme. On her voyage hither with Governor Keith, in May, 1717, she had a son born at sea. In 1737 she parted with all her claims to the Horsham estate, of which her son-in-law became sole owner in 1739. About this time she made her home altogether in the city, where she died, July 31, 1740, aged sixty-five years. Her remains re- pose in the south side of Christ churchyard, beside the Græme family, where a large stone has been placed to her memory. She did not die in poverty, having wealthy descendants and relatives; neither did she survive her husband many years, as is stated hy Watson in his " Annals," and since circulated by others.

DR. THOMAS GRÆME .- The subject of this sketch was born at the ancestral seat of Balgowan, in Perth- shire, Scotland, October 20, 1688. The family being an ancient one, intermarried with the principal no- bility of that country, their coat-of-arms indicating a royal descent from a daughter of Robert IH. It is very probable that he graduated in medicine at the University of Leyden, for in his evidence respecting the Maryland boundary dispute in 1740 he stated that he had been there in 1712. The next we know he embarked with Governor Keith's family, in the be- ginning of May, 1717, for America, and arrived in Philadelphia at the close of said month. He was mar- ried in Christ Church, Nov. 12, 1719, to Ann Diggs, the Governor's step-daughter, who was then in her nineteenth year, and a native of St. Albans, England. From the family record it appears that Dr. Græme at first resided with the Governor, for mention is made that his first child, Thomas, was "born in the house of Governor Keith, in Philadelphia, September 5, 1721." In 1719 he was first appointed to the naval office, and February 24, 1726, became a member of the Council, in which he served until the close of the Governor's administration. He was appointed by Governor Gordon, April 8, 1731, one of the three jus- tices of the Supreme Court, which position he retained until September, 1750,-nearly twenty years,-and in addition, was made, April 28, 1732, a " Justice of Oyer and Terminer and General Goal Delivery for Philadel- phia, Bucks and Chester."

Dr. Græme succeeded in obtaining an extensive medical practice in the city and its neighborhood, and became acknowledged as one of its most skillful and

successful physicians. In connection with this suh- ject he sent a letter to Thomas Penn, dated Philadel- phia, November 7, 1746, wherein he says,-

"Yours of the 20th of May I received with the greatest acknowledg- ment of your goodness in regard to my care of Nanny Hockley, and, as it gave you satisfaction, very much added to mine. This leads me to say something in regard to myself, which is, that I can assure yon I begin to feel very sensibly the impression of years upon my constitution. I have this fall been under a lingering intermittent fever, of which I am pretty well recovered ; but the complaint stick s in me, and of which I never ex- pect to be freed from, is an insupportable fatiguing congh, which I should take to be truly consumption, were it not I keep pretty free from hectic fever. Yet it is such as will oblige me to retire into the country for some time next spring for a change of air, and to live on whey and buttermilk, and whether I shall be ever able after to follow my practice I cannot say, but donht it much. I have the satisfaction to let you know that your little negro family got well from the small-pox this summer. Early in the spring I had much to do to keep your maid, Ilagar, from a consumption. Your Dutchman, Jacob, has been very ill, but is now recovered."

These persons were employed on Thomas Penn's estate at Springettsbury, Mrs. Hockley being steward- ess, the negroes slaves, and the doctor attending phiy- sician.

In 1739 Dr. Græme was appointed physician of the port, and in 1751 physician and surgeon to the Penn- sylvania Hospital. The latter position he resigned in 1753. With his brother, Patrick Græme, a merchant of Philadelphia, he purchased, in the present North- ampton County, in 1739, three thousand acres of land. In December, 1749, the St. Andrew's Society was founded, with a view of rendering aid to unfortunate Scotchmen, of which he was elected president, and continued therein until his death. Thomas Penn, in a letter to Governor llamilton, of September 8, 1751, stated that "some time since I wrote to Dr. Græme and Mr. Peters to lay out some ground in the forks of Delaware for a town, which I suppose they have done. I desire that it be called Easton, and when there is a new county that it shall be called North- ampton." In the doctor's correspondence to his daughter, at Græme Park, July 6, 1754, he spoke of his coach, and in another letter, of his wagon pro- cceding there from the city. James Young, his future son-in-law, in a letter of May 13, 1755, to the family at the park, announce a visit there from Mr. Roberdeau. He also spoke of the splendid tulips then out in bloom in the doctor's garden in the city. In a letter of the following 18th of September mention was made of Mrs. Græme's being ill and suffering from chills and fever at her Horsham home.

Mrs. Græme wrote, May 1, 1753, to her daughter in Burlington, that "we will be in a delightful place, for your papa has taken Mr. Shippen's house, which we will gointo on June 1st, and Messrs. Franklin and Gal- loway have taken ours." Respecting this change, John Penn wrote from the city, the following November 7th, to his uncle, Thomas Penn, that "Dr. Græme lives in Mr. Shippen's house, and has taken it for five years; there are, I believe, four rooms on a floor. I believe the front is forty-five feet and about the same in depth. The inside is not quite finished. They

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 193

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534