History of Bucks
County, Pa Volume 3 by William H. Davis
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THOMAS JANNEY THOMAS JANNEY, second son of Thomas and Elizabeth (WORTHINGTON) JANNEY, baptised at Stiall, Cheshire, England, January 11, 1634, "was convinced of the truth as held by Friends" at the first preaching thereof in Cheshire in 1654, and the next year took up the ministry in that sect and traveled extensively in England and Ireland. He married, 9 mo. 24, 1660, Margery HEATH, of Horton, Staffordshire. The marriage took place at the house of James HARRISON, in the township of Pownal Fee, in which Stiall the home of the Janneys was situated. Ann, the wife of James HARRISON, was a sister of Margery, as was also, Jane, the wife of William YARDLEY, both of whom came with their husbands to Pennsylvania and settled in Bucks county in 1682 as shown by an account of each family given in this volume.They lived at Stiall, where their four sons were born, until 1683, when they followed their brothers-in-law to Pennsylvania and settled on a tract of land in Makefield, Bucks county. Thomas JANNEY had purchased of William Penn, 6 mo. 12, 1682, 250 acres of land to be laid out in Pennsylvania, and it was laid out in Lower Makefield, fronting on the Delaware. He and his wife Margery, their four sons and two servants, John NIELD and Hannah FALKNER, arrived in the Delaware river in the Endeavor, 7 mo. (September) 29, 1683. He eventually purchased other lands in the vicinity; the present borough of Yardley containing 550 acres was confirmed by patent in 1691, and another tract of 1000 acres lay back of the "River Lots" and extended into Newtown and Middletown townships, where the line between these townships join the line of Lower Makefield. The latter tract was of irregular form and was well watered. Core creek running through it. A saw mill was erected on it soon after its occupation in 1683, and Jacob JANNEY erected a grist mill near the old family mansion in 1816, which was in use until a few years since, that portion of the plantation still being owned and occupied by descendants of the name. Thomas JANNEY was related by blood or marriage to many of the most prominent settlers of the county. William YARDLEY, for many years a justice of the county courts and a member of provincial assembly, and James HARRISON, Penn's confidential agent in Pennsylvania, were, as before stated, his brothers-in-law, and Phineas PEMBERTON, called by Logan "the father of Bucks County," was therefore his nephew, and John BROCK, another prominent official of the county, was his cousin. Thomas JANNEY was also an intimate friend of Penn, who entertained a high opinion of him and mentioned him lovingly in many of his letters. Thomas JANNEY continued his labors as a minister of the Society of Friends, but that did not preclude his engaging actively in civil affairs, and upon his arrival in America he at once took a prominent place in the affairs of the colony. He was elected to provincial council for a term of three years, and was qualified as a member 1 mo. 20, 1684, and was again elected and commissioned in 1691. He was also commissioned April 6, 1685, one of the justices of the courts of Bucks county, which commission was renewed January 2, 1689-90. He was one of the commission of twelve men appointed to divide the county into townships in 1690, and filled many other important official positions. In the ministry he visited Friends' meetings in New England, Rhode Island, Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, and was an esteemed counsellor in all matters pertaining to the Society, as well as of the county and province. In the early part of 1695 he began to make preparations for a visit to Friends in England, executing a power of attorney to his eldest son, Jacob JANNEY, to transact business for him in his absence, and making his will, which is dated 3 mo. 21, 1695. This will was doubtless proved and recorded in the county of Bucks, but the records of the county (with the exception of deeds) from 1693 to 1713 are entirely lost, and it is only through a copy found among the papers of Samuel M. JANNEY, the Quaker historian, that we learn what its provisions were. He was accompanied on his visit to England by Griffith OWEN, and they started by way of Maryland 3 mo. 31, 1695. Landing in London, they traveled through England and Wales, visiting many meetings. JANNEY was taken sick in the spring of 1696, while in Derbyshire, but partially recovering, attended the Quarterly Meeting in London, and then started to pay a visit to his relatives in Cheshire, and, though detained in Hertfordshire by a severe attack, eventually reached Cheshire, and so far recovered as to visit meetings there and in Lancashire, and made preparations to return to Pennsylvania in 11 mo. 1696, but, being taken seriously ill, returned to the home of his sister, Mary BURGESS, where he was born, and died there the 12th of the 12th mo., (February) 1696-97, at the age of sixty-three years, having been a minister for forty-two years. His wife Margery survived him and died somewhere between 1697 and 1700. Their children were six in number--four sons: Jacob, Thomas, Abel, and Joseph, who accompanied their parents to America; and two daughters Martha and Elizabeth who died in England. 1. Jacob JANNEY, born at Pownall Fee, Cheshire, 3 mo. 18, 1662, buried in Bucks county, 8 mo. 6, 1708, married at Falls Meeting, Bucks county, 10 mo. 26, 1705, Mary HOUGH, born in Bucks county, 7 mo. 6, 1684, daughter of John and Hannah HOUGH, of Newtown. After her husband's death she married, 3 mo. 2, 1710, John FISHER, by whom she had one child, Mary, who married in 1740 John BUTLER. The only child of Jacob and Mary (HOUGH) JANNEY was Thomas, born 12 mo. 27, 1707-8, died 4 mo. 8, 1788. 2. Martha JANNEY, born at Cheadle, Cheshire, 5 mo. 17, 1665, died there 12 mo. 4, 1665-6. 3. Elizabeth, born at Pownall Fee, 11 mo. 15, 1666-7, died 11 mo. 17, 1666-7. 4. Thomas JANNEY, born at Pownall Fee, Cheshire, 12 mo. 5, 1667-8, died in Bucks county. He married 9 mo. 3, 1697, Falls Meeting records, Rachel POWNALL, born in Cheshire, England, daughter of George and Eleanor POWNALL, of Bucks County. They had four children; Henry, born 4 mo. 20, 1699; Sarah, born 8 mo. 26, 1700, married 1722, Thomas PUGH; Mary, married 1725, Thomas ROUTLEDGE; Abel, born in Bucks county, died there 1748, married June 5, 1740, Elizabeth BILES. 5. Abel JANNEY, born at Mobberly, Cheshire, 10 mo. 29, 1671, married in New Jersey, 1700, Elizabeth STACY, born at Dorehouse, Yorkshire, 8 mo. 17, 1674, daughter of Mahlon and Rebecca (ELY) STACY, of Trenton, New Jersey. They had seven children; Amos, born 11 mo. 15, 1701-2, died in Fairfax county, Virginia, 1747, married, 1727-8, at Falls, Mary YARDLEY, daughter of Thomas and Ann (BILES) YARDLEY; Rebeckah, born 9 mo. 9, 1702, died at Wilmington, Delaware, married Joseph POOLE., of Bucks county, born in Cumberland, England, 1704, died in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, 1767; Mahlon, born in Bucks county, 2 mo. 18, 1706; Thomas, married 1735., Hannah BILES, daughter of William and Sarah (LANGHORNE) BILES; Jacob, born 4 mo. 10, 1710, died in Delaware 11 mo. 14, 1782, married Elizabeth LEVIS, at Kennett, Chester county, was a prominent minister; Abel, removed to Virginia, 1742; Elizabeth, married 10 mo. 22, 1737, John STACKHOUSE, and (second) David WILSON, both of Bucks county. Abel JANNEY, the father of the above named children, was a justice of the peace 1708-10, and a member of assembly 1710-21. 6. Joseph JANNEY, born at Pownall Fee, Cheshire, 1 mo. 26, 1675-6, died in Bucks county, about 1729, married at Falls Meeting, 6 mo. 18, 1703, Rebeckah BILES, born in Bucks county, 10 mo. 27, 1680, daughter of William and Joanna BILES, and had six children: Martha, married Nicholas PARKER and settled in New Jersey; Ann, died young; Abel, married at Falls, 8 mo. 2, 1733, Sarah BAKER, and removed to Virginia; William, married at Falls, Elizabeth MOON, on 10 mo. 16, 1719, daughter of Roger and Ann (NUTT) MOON, and removed to Virginia; Jacob, married at Falls, 1725, Hannah INGLEDEW, and removed to Virginia; Mary, married at Falls, 1720, John HOUGH, of Bucks county and removed to Virginia; they are the ancestors of Emerson HOUGH, of Chicago, the novelist and historical writer, editor of "Forest and Stream." Thomas JANNEY, born 12 mo. 27, 1797-8, only son of Jacob and Mary (HOUGH) JANNEY, is the ancestor of the Janneys at present resident within the county of Bucks. He married at Wrightstown Meeting, Bucks county, 10 mo. 28, 1732, Martha MITCHELL, daughter of Henry and Sarah (G0VE) MITCHELL; the former a son of Heniy and Elizabeth (FOULDS) MITCHELL, was born at Marsden Lane, Lancashire, and the latter was a daughter of Richard GOVE of Philadelphia. By the will of Thomas JANNEY, the pioneer and provincial councillor, he devised to his son "Jacob the house and plantation which we do live in and upon, with all the lands and appurtenances thereunto belonging," and, Jacob dying in 1708, it descended to his infant son and only child Thomas JANNEY, and has continued to be the home of his descendants to the present day. On a visit to the old homestead in May, 1905, the writer of these lines was shown the old family Bible nearly a century old, in which was inscribed, in the quaint handwriting of long ago, the dates of the birth of the children of Thomas and Martha (MITCHELL) JANNEY. Martha, the mother died 9 mo. 19, 1785, and Thomas, the father, 4 mo. 8, 1788. Their children were: Jacob, born 8 mo. 22, 1733, died 3 mo. 26, 1761, without issue; Thomas, born 2 mo. 17, 1736, died 11 mo. 16, 1754; Richard, born 8 mo. 22, 1738, died 9 mo. 5, 1766, see forward; Mary, born 1 mo. 18, 1741, died 2 mo. 24, 1795, married 3 mo. 19, 1788, William LINTON, no issue; Sarah, born 10 mo. 19, 1743, married 11 mo. 11, 1762, Daniel RICHARDSON, and had one son, Daniel; Alice, born 10 mo. 4, 1747, married John DAWES, and settled in New Jersey; Martha, born 9 mo. 11, 1750, married Issac WARNER. None of these sons survived their father, and the homestead was devised by his will to his grandson Jacob JANNEY, the only grandson of the name. Richard JANNEY, third son of Thomas and Martha (MITCHELL) JANNEY, born 8 mo. 22, 1738, married, in 1764, Sarah WORTH, daughter of Joseph WORTH, of Stony Brook, Burlington county, New Jersey. She was born in 1741, and died in Wrightstown township, Bucks county, August 20, 1833, at the age of ninety-two years, having been a widow for forty years, though three times married. Richard JANNEY died 9 mo. 5, 1766, leaving an only child, Jacob JANNEY, born 4 mo. 10, 1765. His widow married Stephen TWINING in 1773, and had two children; Mary born September 16, 1774, died March 8, 1815, married Joseph BURSON; and Stephen TWINING, born 1776, died 1849. Her second husband dying in 1777, Sarah married (third) 2 mo. 6, 1782, James BURSON. Of the youth of Jacob JANNEY, only child of Richard and Sarah (WORTH) JANNEY, little is known. Tradition relates that he lived for a time in New Jersey. If this were true, it was probably with his maternal grandparents. As his mother's last two husbands both resided in Wrightstown, it is probable that he was reared there or on the old homestead in Newtown, with his grandparents, Thomas and Martha JANNEY. Certain it is that that was his residence at the time of his grandfaqther's death in 1788, when he is devised the plantation and made executor of the will of his grandfather. He married, 11 mo. 16, 1792, Frances BRIGGS, born 10 mo. 19, 1773, died 8 mo. 21, 1851, daughter of John and Letitia BRIGGS, and continued to reside on the old homestead until his death, 2 mo. 19, 1820. The children of Jacob and Frances (BRIGGS) JANNEY, all born on the old homestead at Newtown, are as follows: 1. Thomas, born 8 mo. 9, 1794, died in Newtown borough, 3 mo. 1879, married 10 mo. 11, 1838, Mary KIMBER, daughter of Emmor and Susanna, born 2 mo. 10, 1807, and had two children: Anna, married a BERGNER, and is still living in Newtown; and Emmor JANNEY, of Philadelphia. Thomas lived on the old homestead until 1842, when he rented it to his youngest brother, Stephen T. JANNEY, and removed to Newtown. He was a large landowner in Newtown and Makefield. 2. Richard, born 3 mo. 13, 1796, died in Lower Makefield, 8 mo., 1877, married (first) Ann TAYLOR, and (second) Achsah YARDLEY, and lived and died in Lower Makefield. He had seven children: Mercy Ann, married Heston LOVETT, of Lower Makefield, and is deceased; Taylor, died unmarried; Susan, married (first) Lovett BROWN of Falls, and (second) Oliver PAXSON, of New Hope, where she still resides; Franklin, died in Philadelphia; Jacob, married Matilda ELY, of Lambertville, and is living in Philadelphia; Frances married Jonathan SCHOFIELD, of Lower Makefield, and is deceased; and Mary, married William LINTON, of Newtown, and is deceased. 3. Jacob, born 4 mo. 24, 1798, married Esther BETTS, daughter of Stephena and Hannah (BLACKFAN) BETTS of Solebury, and removed to Cecil county, Maryland, and after several years residence there returned to Bucks county, and later removed with his family to Michigan, where he died 12 mo, 1869. They had seven children: Hannah, married Amasa ATKINSON; James Worth, married Loisa BEITZEL; Edward B., died single in Michigan; Frances, married John SUMNER, and is recently deceased; Elwood, married Almeda ALLEN; Robert Simpson, married Urania BALDWIN; Dr. Joshua JANNEY, of Moorestown, New Jersey, who married Amanda EASTBURN, of Solesbury. 4. John L., born 5 mo. 31, 1800, died on his portion of the homestead, 4 mo. 12, 1872. He married Mary JENKS, daughter of Thomas and Thomazine (TRIMBLE) JENKS, of Middletown. (See JENKS family).By the will of Jacob JANNEY the homestead was devised to his sons Thomas and John L., and they in 1829 made partition of it and a tract purchased by them adjoining, the new purchase and a small part of the homestead on the east going to John L., where he lived and died, and where his son Thomas and daughters Elizabeth and Thomazine still reside. The children of John L. and Mary (JENKS) JANNEY were: Charles, married first Anna YARDLEY, and second her sister, Julia YARDLEY, was a merchant at Dolington for many years, and died on a farm in Solebury in 1902; Thomas J., who was prothonotary of Bucks county, 1895-7, and is now cashier and accountant in the office of the Newtown, Bristol and Doylestown Electric Railway Company at Newtown; John L., Jr., married Matilda WYNKOOP, and still resides in Newtown borough, though still conducting he old homestead farm; and Elizabeth and Thomazine, before mentioned. 5. Martha, born 10 mo. 14, 1801, died 12 mo. 6, 1876, married Robert SIMPSON, of Upper Makefield, and had five children:Jacob, of Buckingham, deceased, married Elizabeth JOHNSON; William of Upper Makefield, deceased, married Julia JOHNSON; Elizabeth, wife of Benjamin SMITH, many years principal of Doylestown English and Classical Seminary, now of Plymouth Friends' School; Martha, wife of Alobert HIBBS, of Kansas; and James, who married an EISINBREY, of Solebury, and died in Kansas. 6. Benjamin, born 1 mo. 17, 1804, died 1 mo. 8, 1806. 7. Mary, born 6 mo. 8, 1805, died 7 mo. 31, 1807. 8. Sarah, born 10 mo. 21, 1806, died 10 mo. 10, 1851; married Joshua DUNGAN, no issue. 9. Letitia, born 9 mo. 25, 1808. died 1 mo. 22, 1813. 10. William, born 3 mo. 31, 1810, died 3 mo. 7, 1891, married 12 mo. 15, 1830, Rebecca SMITH, daughter of William and Sarah (MOORE) SMITH, of Solebury, where she was born in 1810. He was a farmer in Lower Makefield for several years, and later lived retired in Newtown borough, where his widow and two daughters still reside. They were the parents of nine children: Richard H., residing on the old SMITH homestead in Solebury, married Mary HIBBS, of Pineville, and had three children: Dr. William Smith JANNEY, of Philadelphia, see forward; Sarah Smith living with her mother in Newtown; Stephen Moore, of Newtown, married Elizabeth NICKELSON, of Yardley; Oliver, of Wrightstown, married Hannah WILLARD, of Newtown; George, of Solebury, married Elizabeth ELLIS, of Langhorne; Martha, wife of Harrison C. WORSTALL, a hardware merchant of Newtown; Rebecca Frances, died in infancy; and Mary Ella, living with her mother in Newtown. 11. Joseph, born 9 mo. 19, 1812, died 10 mo. 19, 1887, married 11 mo. 21, 1833, Mary Ann TAYLOR, daughter of David B. and Elizabeth, of Lower Makefield, lived and died in Philadelphia. They had children: Barton Taylor, of Emilie; Benjamin, Samuel and Joseph, of Philadelphia; Frances, wife of Joseph LOVETT, of Emilie; Elizabeth, died in Philadelphia; and Emma, wife of Charles WALTON, of Langhorne. 12. Mahlon, born 12 mo. 15, 1815, married Charlotte BROWN, and removed to the west where he died. Text taken from page pages 54 - 59 of: Davis, William W.H., A.M., History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania [New York-Chicago:The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905] Volume III Transcribed July 2000 by Betty Breithaupt of California as part of the Bucks Co., Pa., Early Family Project, www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/bucksindex.html Published July 2000 on the Bucks County, Pa., USGenWeb pages at www.rootsweb.com/~pabucks/ |
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Page was last edited:
11/15/2008