History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 151

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992

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He remained abroad about a year, and upon return was made one of the proprietary's attorneys for the sale of lands in order to pay the debts in which the province had been involved. At the accession of King George I., Deputy Governor Gookin having charged Logan and the Quakers with being not faithfully dis- posed toward the new government, he was removed by Logan's solicitation, and Keith substituted in his stead. An accomplished, able man was Keith, but of a will too ardent for the safe guidance of such a gov- ernment. It was during his administration that the first paper currency was started in the province, and it was through his influence that a militia law was passed, as well as one for the establishment of a sep- arate Court of Chancery, which we have seen had an existence of only fifteen years, destined after its abolishment never to be revived. Keith was ever disposed to question the authority of the Provincial Council, as it was not recognized, he contended, in the charter of 1701. Logan and the Council were indignant that their views were so little consulted, and on one occasion, with a majority of the members present, left the meeting, whereupon the Governor, with the few that were left, passed the bills, and Logan was shortly afterward removed from the office

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of secretary. Penn died in 1718. having appointed by his will Logan as trustee of all his possessions in America, and Hannah Penn constituted him one of her attorneys. He became mayor of Philadelphia in 1723. After this he made a visit to England for the purpose of laying before Hannah Penn his complaints for the treatment he had received from Keith, and returned with a letter from her to the Governor or- dering him not only to restore Logan to the secre- taryship, but to be controlled by him in the general management of his office. A fierce conflict arose. The Governor was defiant, and the Assembly was in accord with him until it was rumored that the wishes of Logan and the widow had prevailed at court, when the Assembly were not slow to leave the Governor to fight the battle alone. In 1726, Patrick Gordon ar- rived with a commission from the Penns that had been confirmed by the crown. Logan was not only restored to the office of secretary, but made one of the justices. In 1731 he became chief justice of the Supreme Court. Lieutenant-Governor Gordon having died in 1736, the office of president of the Council devolved upon Logan as senior member. This cre- ated him chief magistrate of the province until the arrival of the new Lieutenant-Governor, George Thomas. Logan had refused the offer of Lieutenant- Governorship on account of the troubles he had had with the question of the boundary lines between Pennsylvania and Maryland, and his having been ordered by the government in England to cease to meddle in that dispute until having received further and definite instructions from thence. After the coming of Thomas he retired from politics, and spent the remainder of his life on his estate, "Stenton," near Germantown, dying in 1751.

The government of Pennsylvania and the society of Philadelphia had never had an officer more vigor- ously active in the various services in which he acted during all the years from his first arrival to his re- tirement. He found time amidst his public duties and devotion to his mercantile and other private in- terests to pursue studies both in science and literature. He contributed papers to the Philosophical Transac- tions on Lightning. Several of his written produc- tions were published in Europe, as "Canonum pro Inveniendis Refractionum," " Epistola ad Joannem Albertum Fabricium," " Demonstrationes de Radi- orum Lucis." He established for the benefit of the people of Philadelphia a free library, and gave a lot and one thousand pounds' value of books. He also erected a library building that he designed to add to this gift, but died before the deed was executed. This was the beginning of the Loganian Library. He, while chief justice, translated the " De Senectute" of Cicero, and the " Disticha" of Cato. He was one of the trustees named in the deed by which the meeting-house of Whitefield was given for an academy, destined in time to become the University of Penn- sylvania.

As early as 1690 young Isaac Norris, the first rep- resentative of this family in American history, was sent by his father, a Friend, who had recently set- tled at Port Royal, in Jamaica, to Penn's new colony, in search of a fresh resting-place for his family, but upon his return to that island to report his views of this unfamiliar province, he was saddened by the tragic news that his father and all his family had perished, with their possessions, in a frightful earth- quake, which had devastated Jamaica while Isaac was on his journey.

Returning to Philadelphia in the year 1693 he soon rose to power and fortune, one of his first steps in the direction of those goals being his marriage, in 1694, with Mary Lloyd, whose influential and well-known father, Thomas Lloyd, was president of the Provin- cial Council and a man of mark in the new-founded town.

Isaac Norris adopted mercantile pursuits as his business, and in them he seems to have attained large financial success at a time when he was still young in years. About 1706 he made the then un- usual journey to England, where he became well acquainted with William Penn, whom he helped to release from the jail, where his creditors had placed him. While there he was hospitably received by his wife's family, the Lloyds of Dolobran, but whether this visit abroad was one of business or of mere pleasure is not now apparent.

In the investment of the moneys which he amassed in his business Mr. Norris showed sagacity. Evi- dently believing that there was a great future for the young colony, he bought largely of real estate, beginning such acquisitions in 1704, and continu- ously adding to them hereafter. At one time he owned about eight thousand acres on the east bank of the Schuylkill, situated in and about the present borough of Norristown, for which he seems to have paid some nine hundred and twenty-five pounds Pennsylvania money, or about two thousand five hundred dollars. His town residence was what was well known as the "Slate-Roof House," on Second Street, below Chestnut, but the purchase which is most nearly connected with his name was that of "Fair Hill," an estate of some six or seven hun- dred acres in the old township of Northern Lib- erties, but now in the well-settled limits of the city. This, in the latter years of his life, he used as a quiet country home, remote from the noise and bustle of the steadily-growing capital, where he could free himself from the cares of business and of politics.

With the latter, far more simple and unpretending then than now, Isaac Norris became early connected. He was many times elected to the Provincial Assem- bly, noted above those of its sister provinces then and at all times for its fearlessness and independence. More than once he presided over it as Speaker. In 1709 he was appointed a member of the Governor's Council, and at various times he held other impor-

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tant and responsible public offices, both elective and appointive, which facts certainly testify to the high esteem in which he was held, not by the Governors only but by the governed.

In June, 1735, while attending the Friends' Meet- ing at Germantown, he died suddenly, aged about sixty-six years, having had many children, most of whom survived him. Among them was a daughter, Hannah, married to Richard Harrison, of Maryland, whose daughter, also uamed Hannah, afterward mar- ried Charles Thomson, celebrated in Revolutionary times as the upright secretary of the Continental Congress.

Isaac Norris, son of the former and second of that name, was very prominent during a long life iu our provincial politics. Born in 1701, he early became a merchant, continuing in business until about 1742, but always devoting a portion of his time to public affairs. He was much looked up to as an authority upon all points of trade and finance, and his opinion on such matters seems to have been often sought by those in authority. In 1739 he became the recognized leader of what was known as the "Quaker party," who opposed the proprietaries in more ways than one, antagonizing them especially by the curious aud mem- orable opposition to all acts of war, even defensive, on the part of the colony.

Party feeling often ran high in those days, and the disputes between the Governor's party and Norris and his friends spread from the Assembly chamber to the streets, and if the Quaker drab covered meek hearts, it none the less clothed gallaut ones, which brooked no wanton injury, so that when, in 1742, an attempt was made to defraud Mr. Norris of his election as a member of the Legislature, actions spoke louder than principles with his Quaker supporters, and so serious a riot resulted that it was always thereafter known as the " bloody election."

It was this Isaac Norris who, appointed by the Governor in 1745 a commissioner to represent his province at a conference held with certain Indian tribes at Albany, undertook the long and tedious journey to that place, and has left an interesting diary of the incidents of his trip. So changed are all the methods of life in the one hundred and thirty-nine years since Isaac Norris wrote this that it seems diffi- cult to comprehend the fact that, though he did not tarry by the wayside, it took him six days to accom- plish what the modern traveler can complete in about the same number of hours. Nor was his return speed- ier, though it, too, was as direct as the ordinary means of travel could make it.

The result of the conference was inconsequential, but it was an interesting incident, and one which at that early day would in itself suffice as a foundation for a whole lifetime of anecdote. Ten years later he was again appointed commissioner for the same pur- pose, but of this trip there remains no personal record.

Mr. Norris was in 1751 elected Speaker of the As-

sembly, the same office which his father had held before him, aud which he himself filled for many years. He was always a sturdy opponent of the Penns and of the policy which they sought to force upon their colony. He died in 1766. In 17.9 he had married Sarah, daughter of James Logan, and their daughter Mary subsequently married Jolin Dickinson, well known in after-days as a patriot and a statesman. He left no surviving sons.

His brother Charles, son of the first Isaac, was born in Philadelphia in 1712, and became a prominent and wealthy merchant, residing on the then outskirts of the city, where the United States Custom-House now stands. His plans in life seem to have led him into quieter paths than those trodden by his father and his elder brother, for he is but little heard of in politics or public affairs, though he was at one time a trustee of the general loan office, and was always much interested in promoting the welfare of the Pennsyl- vania Hospital from its earliest foundation. He was twice married, and by his second wife, Mary, daughter of Joseph Parker, of Chester County, he left four children to survive him when he died, in 176.5.

Of these children the third, Joseph Parker Norris, was born May 5, 1763. He was educated at the school of Robert Proud, the historian, with whom he subse- quently had very friendly relations. In 1790 he mar- ried Elizabeth Hill Fox, daughter of Joseph Fox, who had succeeded his uncle, Isaac, as Speaker of the Assembly. For quite a number of years Mr. Norris was president of the Bank of Pennsylvania, and was at all times much considered and respected. He died in June, 1841, leaving many children, to whom he left his large landed estates, devising " Fair Hill" in trust for his sons and "Sepviva" for his daughters.

The fifth of those sons is the present Isaac Norris, the fourth of that name. Born in his father's honse, on Chestnut Street, below Fifth, on the 21st day of February, 1802, when that part of the city had still rather a rural look, he was liberally educated at pri- vate schools and at the University of Pennsylvania, from which latter institution he was graduated bach- elor of arts in the year 1821.

Choosing the law as his profession, Mr. Norris studied in the office of Joseph R. Ingersoll, and was admitted to practice Jan. 15, 1825. At present | Jan- uary, 1884) he stands third on the list of living Phil- adelphia lawyers, James J. Barclay, admitted in Sep- temher, 1815, and Eli K. Price, in May, 1822, alone outranking him in seniority, after his fifty-nine years' experience.

Until the death of his father, in 1841, he devoted himself with much success to the regular practice of his profession, achieving position and standing by his assiduity. Since that time his intimate connec- tion with the "Fair Hill" property, at first as counsel and later as trustee, has compelled him to relinquish the ordinary pursuits of a lawyer, and to devote him- self almost exclusively to the large landed interests

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which were intrusted to his care. How thoroughly he has done this, and how admirable his management has been, those best know who have benefited by his industry and prudence, but the difficulties of handling so vast a piece of property can only be fully appreci- ated by the practical real-estate man, who has had similar charges on his hands.

When Joseph Parker Norris died, a little over forty years ago, this "Fair Hill Estate," which had de- scended to him from the founder of the family, was still what it had always been, a suburban residence. The old house, built in 1718, and in its day a very grand edifice with its front of sixty feet, had been burned by the British during the Revolution, but it had been restored, and though the city was fast circling about it, there it still stood surrounded by magnificent forest and evergreen trees. The entrance to the place was from the Germantown road, and the policy of its owners. drive led through an extensive lawn, past pleasure grounds, green-houses, gardens, fish ponds, and walks, all celebrated in their time as models of grace and beauty.

The house in its day saw many distinguished gnests. John Dickinson lived there at the time the Continen- tal Congress met at Carpenters' Hall, in 1774, and doubtless invited many of the distinguished men who formed that body to share his hospitality. John Adams, the future President of a then unborn re- public, records in his diary that he dined there in that year.

It was at " Fair Hill," too, tradition has it, that the first willow-trees ever seen in the province were grown. The story runs that Benjamin Franklin observed a twig sprouting in a basket newly landed from the hold of a ship, and presented it to Miss Debby Norris, a daughter of the elder Isaac, who carefully nursed the unknown growth.

This family estate Joseph Parker Norris devised in trust for the use of his sons, having provided for his daughters by leaving them other lands in the same neighborhood. It consisted of some six hundred and fifty or seven hundred acres in all, each of which had cost, when purchased, the equivalent of some eight or ten dollars. The city was rapidly encroaching upon it, and it was almost the last, if not the very last, pre- revolutionary country home which had warded off the assaults made upon it by the needs of an advancing, growing, and manufacturing quarter of the city.

It had been the desire of the devisor that none of this land should be disposed of until his youngest grandchild (then unborn) should reach legal age, but it was found impossible to comply with this. Streets were pushed through the quiet fields, paved and cobbled in approved Philadelphia fashion, and the demand for the land upon which to build homes for the workingmen of the neighborhood soon became so imperative that it was necessary to yield.

The eminently judicious plan of selling upon ground-rent was finally adopted on the advice of

Horace Binney, as a preferable way of disposing of the estate, and has since been followed. While much of the land still remains in the possession of the family, very much more has been sold, and that which was the retired plantation of the first Norris, has now become the home of thousands of the well-to-do me- chanics and tradesmen of the Nineteenth and Twenty- fifth Wards, and through the once quiet fields and woods of the estate there now run more than forty miles of busy city streets.

In all ways a public-spirited citizen, Mr. Norris has especially shown himself to be so in connection with "Fair Hill," having always been foremost in there promoting improvements of a beneficial public nature, and the city itself has vastly benefited by the increased population (with consequent enormously in- creased values) drawn to "Fair Hill" by the liberal

Mr. Norris' skill and large grasp of business affairs have been appreciated by others than his family, and he has not always been allowed to devote his knowl- edge solely to bis own relations. When the whole financial world was startled, ten years ago, by the un- foreseen failure of Jay Cooke & Company, and when that great firm was forced into bankruptcy, Mr. Norris was called upon, as representing one of the creditors, to help take charge of the broken estate and to lend his knowledge to assist in extricating those who had gone down with the ruins of the house. How well the trustees did their work is now a matter of history, and it is sufficient to note Mr. Norris' con- nection with that event.

Through his long life Mr. Norris has always taken an interest in the various public institutions, charita- ble and otherwise, scattered through the city. He has never sought nor held political office. Since its formation he has been an active and interested mem- ber of the Republican party, always supporting its worthy nominees by his vote and influence, and upon more occasions than one he has done that highest (and to some most unusual) duty of the voter, attended primary elections with a view to secure proper and fitting candidates.

In May, 1830, Mr. Norris was married to Mary, danghter of George Pepper, Esq., a well-known citi- zen. Mrs. Norris died in 1862. He has had seven children, three of whom are dead; the others, three sons and one daughter, are all married and have chil- dren in their turn.

In person Mr. Norris is tall and well proportioned, and his figure, little bent by his more than fourscore years, is a familiar sight to many, and one always greeted with respect and esteem as he daily goes to his office, still devoted to his life-long task with its large and responsible transactions.

Prudent, firm, and decided in character, he has always been affable, kind, and dignified, and, like his ancestors, he has ever been esteemed and honored by all with whom he has been brought in contact.

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Andrew Hamilton is one of the most illustrious that the quit-rent dne from Coll's land, being a rent service, distress was incident thereto as of common right. The account given by James Logan of this suit shows the astuteness of the counsel, both in as- sault and timely retreat. " He baffled them, though he thought not fit to suffer it to proceed to a trial for want of better tackle on our side." What the coun- selor meant by " tackle" we cannot precisely say. It was perhaps the sufficiency of good witnesses, or full assurance of the value of the defense. It is believed that he removed to Philadelphia about the year 1715. His bold temper brought him the following year into collision with Charles Gookin, who was then Lieu- names in the provincial history of Pennsylvania. There was a mystery concerning his origin and early antecedents that has never been cleared. Only con- jectures could be indulged about the confusion of the name Hamilton with that of Trent, which he some- times bore, and which, was often said, was the one to which he was really entitled. His eminent abilities, the dignity of his carriage, the courage with which be maintained his convictions upon the subjects of right and liberty, given to public exhibition not very long after his first appearance in humble guise, have led some to suspect that for some political or other reason he had fled from his native country, Scotland, ' tenant-Governor of the province, against whom he and, while yet calling him- was reported to have sworn an oath, and uttered other "wicked, oppro- brious, and reproachful words." The bond fixed for his appearance at court to answer the charge was one thousand pounds, showing either the im- portance of the injury that the high official had received or that of the assault made by the emi- nent lawyer. The case did not come to a hear- ing during the term of Gookin, and it was dis- continued by his succes- sor. The following year Hamilton became attor- ney-general of the prov- ince, and in 1720 was invited to the Council. He accepted the invita- tion on condition that his services there should not interfere with his profes- O Hamilton sion. self occasionally by bis pa- ternal name, had adopted the other, or been heard to say that it was his real name, in order to avoid identification and pursuit. Some, indeed, went so far as to connect him with the duke of the same name, who had fought a duel with Lord Mohun. Many inquiries, after his death, were made about his fam- ily, but none were ever satisfactory, except that he was known to have been born about the year 1676, and when about of age came to the county of Accomac, on the eastern shore of Virginia. In one of his addresses before the Assembly of Pennsylva- nia, after he had become famous, he made that cele- brated eulogy in which, among other things, he spoke of "Liberty, the love of which, as it first drew to, so it constantly prevailed on me to reside in this province, though to the manifest prejudice of my fortune."

When he arrived at Accomac County he gave his name as Trent. Shortly after his arrival he opened a classical school, and was afterward employed as steward upon a plantation. On the death of the owner he married his widow, and, removing to Chester- town, in Kent County, Md., began the practice of the law. How it was that he went to England not long afterward it has not been told, but it appeared that he was admitted to the bar of Gray's Inn, London, and in the winter of 1712-13 he acted as counsel for Wil- liam Penn in a case of replevin, brought by one justice on his side. He has done many considerable Berkeley Codd. The defense by the proprietary was services for our Governor (Sir William Keith), but

A letter from James Logan, in 1723, contains expressions that enable us to form an idea of the singular greatness of spirit that belonged to Hamilton. "He has for three or four years past appeared very hearty in the Proprietor's interest, notwithstanding it is not his natural disposition to be on the side of those who are accounted great, or one in power; but of late he has somewhat recoiled, and given more way to nature. He is very true when he professes friend- ship, unless he thinks himself slighted, which he cannot easily brook. He is a very able lawyer, very faithful to his client, and has generally refused to be concerned for any plaintiff who appeared not to have

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of late they have openly heen at variance, for which reason I am of opinion that he will not appear against the Governor, for he is singularly generous that way. I have been much obliged to him, both on my own account and the Proprietor's, and I heartily wish he may be treated there by the family in such a manner as may engage him, of which I am somewhat appre- bensive." This letter was written to Gouldney, one of the friends of the Penn family in England, on the occasion of a prospective voyage of Hamilton thither. Among other subjects of dispute with Governor Keith was doubtless Hamilton's opposition to the Court of Chancery that the latter had established in 1720, and which afterward Hamilton bore the leading part in abolishing.

He sailed for Europe in 1724, having before then resigned as attorney-general, and appeared as solici- tor in the Court of Chancery in London for proving the will of William Penn. For his services to the Penn family he received as reward one hundred and fifty-three acres of land, lying north of the city and west of what is now Ridge Avenue, whereon he built his country-seat,-" Bush Hill." In 1727, Hamilton became prothonotary of the Common Pleas and re- corder of the city. The same year he was elected to the Assembly, of which, in 1729, he became Speaker. For ten years consecutively, with one exception, he was returned to the Assembly. The exception oc- curred during the administration of Governor Gor- don, and was owing to a social quarrel between the Governor's daughters and Miss Margaret Hamilton. The particulars we do not know, but this much is certain, that the young ladies at the Executive Man- sion induced their father to employ all his influence, official and personal, against the father of their rival, and he was defeated at the polls.

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History of Philadelphia, 1609-1884, Part 151

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 992

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898. cn; Westcott, Thompson, 1820-1888, joint author
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L. H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 992