CHAPTER XLIV.
BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES — SOLEBURY.
JOHN ARMITAGE, deceased, was born in Solebury township March
12, 1780, and is a son of James and Martha (Dennis) Armitage.
His grandfather, Samuel Armitage, from Leeds, England, settled
in Solebury prior to 1740. He was a weaver, also taught school,
and about 1750 built the Armitage mills. His wife was Elizabeth,
daughter of James Hambleton, by whom he had two children, James
and John. The former married Martha Dennis, and had nine
children:
Elizabeth, Hannah, John, Martha, Henry, Samuel, Letitia,
Charles and Amos. Of these, John was a farmer, and married
Alice, daughter of Jacob and Lydia (Gilbert) Walton, of
Buckingham township, and had eight children: Lydia, Hannah,
James, Julia (Mrs. Amos Ellis), Martha, Charles, Harriet and
Maria (Mrs. Tobias Helwig). Mr. Armitage died December 30, 1857,
and his wife December 25, 1876, aged 93 years. They were members
of the Society of Friends. Tobias Helwig, who married Maria
Armitage, youngest daughter of John and Alice (Walton) Armitage,
was born in Tinicum township, this county, July 21, 1819, and is
a son of Daniel and Catherine (George) Helwig. His father, a
mason by trade, settled in Tinicum township in 1805, and in 1834
in Solebury, where he resided until his death. His children
were: Amos, Tobias, Lavina, Silas, Susan, Frederick and Edward.
Mr. Helwig’s grandfather was Adam Helwig, of German descent,
whose ancestors were early settlers of Berks county. He was in
the war of the revolution. His maternal grandfather was
Frederick George, a farmer of Tinicum township.
CHARLES S. ATKINSON, manufacturer, P.O. New hope, was born in
Buckingham township, and is a son of Mahlon and Sarah H. (Smith)
Atkinson. His grandfather was a blacksmith and farmer. His
maternal grandfather, Thomas Smith, was a farmer and nurseryman
at Wrightstown. Mahlon Atkinson was a prominent farmer of
Buckingham township, and was born, reared and died there. He had
four children: Charles S., Silas (deceased), Howard and A.
Jennie (Mrs. Charles H. Williams). Charles S. was educated in
the common schools, the Millersville Normal school, and
Claverack academy, Hudson, N.Y. He engaged in farming, and in
1879 purchased the New Hope Agricultural works, which he is now
conducting. He located in Solebury township in 1862. The same
year he married Matilda M., daughter of Jonathan P. and Mary
(Watson) Magill. Her grandparents were Jacob and Rebecca (Paxson)
Magill. Jacob was a son of John and Mary (Whitson) Magill; John,
a son of William and Sarah (Simcock) Magill, early settlers of
this county. Her maternal grand parents were David and Rachel
(Twining) Watson. David was a son of Joseph and Rachel (Croasdale)
Watson, and Joseph a son of Mark and Ann (Sotcher) Watson. Mr.
and Mrs. Atkinson are the parents of one child, Mary M. Mr.
Atkinson is a prominent citizen, and a member of the Hicksite
Society of Friends. Politically he is a republican.
LEVI BLACK, agent, P.O. Lambertville, N.J., was born in
Plumstead township, December 28, 1829, and is a son of Isaac and
Cynthia (Carver) Black. His grandfather was Henry Black, a
farmer of Plumstead township and a son of Abram Black, a native
of Germany, a Mennonite preacher and an early settler of Tinicum
township. Isaac Black was a carpenter. His children were: Sophia
(Mrs. Hile Wood), William, Catharine, Anna (Mrs. Joseph G.
Rice), Levi, Isaac, Ezra, Abram and Jesse. Levi was reared in
Plumstead and Solebury townships, and for fifteen years was in
the mercantile business at Aquetong. He married Amanda, daughter
of Joseph and Cynthia (Scarborough) Large, of Solebury township.
They have had five children: H. Ella, Mercianna, Caroline P.,
Remington (deceased) and Stella.
WILLIAM C. BLACKFAN, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, August 20, 1832, and is a son of John and
Elizabeth R. (Chapman) Blackfan. Edward Blackfan was a son of
Edward and Rebecca (Crispin) Blackfan, born in Stenning, county
of Sussex, England, in 1699. He came to America with his mother
in 1700 and settled at Penn Valley. In 1721 he married Eleanor
Wood, of Philadelphia, and settled in Solebury about 1726,
residing there until his death in 1779. The homestead is now
owned by Charles Atkinson. William Blackfan, his fifth child,
was born May 28, 1732, and married to Esther Dawson. He had
eight children, of whom John, the first child, was born February
20, 1762. He married Martha Quinby, of New Jersey, and had one
child, John, who was born in October, 1799, and was married in
1821 to Elizabeth R., daughter of Benjamin and Mary Chapman, of
Wrightstown, and had seven children, of whom four grew to
maturity: Hetty A., William C., George C. and Martha C. William
C. Blackfan, the subject of this sketch, was married October 3,
1861, to Elizabeth, daughter of Amasa and Alada (Brittain) Ely,
of Philadelphia, and has three children: Alada E., Elizabeth C.
and Edward. The Blackfans are descendants of John Blackfan, of
Stenning, county of Sussex, England, whose son, Edward, married
Rebecca Crispin, of Kinsale, Ireland, in 1688. The wedding
certificate, with the names of William Penn, wife, son and
daughter as witnesses, is now in the possession of William C.
Blackfan. The farm now owned by William C. Blackfan came into
the family through Esther Dawson, wife of William Blackfan. She
was the daughter of Thomas Dawson and granddaughter of John
Dawson, whose deed of the farm is still on record, dated 1719.
THE CANBY FAMILY.— Perhaps no one person who came to our
shores in the early settlement of this county has a history of
more interest than Thomas Canby. His father was Benjamin Canby,
who resided in Thorne, Yorkshire, England. Thomas was an orphan
of 16 years of age when in 1683 he came with his uncle and
guardian to Bucks county. The family were Friends, and the
youth, in connection with his guardian and Bucks quarterly
meeting, settled a claim of five years’ service due in payment
of his passage over. After the expiration of this service young
Canby settled near Jenkintown, Montgomery county, and in 1693
married Sarah Jarvis, by whom he had nine children. His wife
died in 1708, and about two years thereafter he married Mary,
daughter of Evan Oliver, who came from Radnorshire, in Wales. By
her he had eight children. She died in 1721. He moved from
Abington shortly after and purchased land below Centerville, in
Bucks county. He remained there some time, but finally disposed
of it and purchased three hundred acres on the Street road, in
Solebury township. We find him again marrying his third wife,
Jane Preston, a widow, and living at the mill on the Great
spring above New Hope, on the Delaware. It does not appear that
he had any children by his third wife. Some time afterward he
removed to Wilmington, Delaware, where some of his children had
located, but returned to Solebury, where he died in 1842, aged
70 years. In the life of Thomas Canby there is much to admire.
Starting in the humble walks of life a poor and friendless
orphan boy, we find him working his way by industry and
perseverance into general confidence, while his sterling
integrity of character, his usefulness as a citizen, and his
many acts of Christian kindness and charity endeared him to the
community at large. In the home circle and the religious
society, of which he was an active member, his influence for
good was widely felt. He and his descendants served Buckingham
monthly meeting as clerks almost continuously after its
establishment in 1720 for a period of over one hundred years,
and in important appointments in church matters the name of
Canby often appears. The Canby name is not very common in our
county at the present day. This is partly owing to the fact that
of Thomas Canby’s seventeen children twelve were girls. Most of
them changed their names and were blessed with large families.
The children of Thomas Canby by his first wife were: Benjamin,
who died young; Sarah, married John Hill; Elizabeth, married a
Lacey; Mary, married a Hampton; Phebe, married, first, Robert
Smith, and second, Hugh Ely, of Buckingham; Esther, married John
Stapler; Thomas, married Sarah Preston; Benjamin, the second of
the name in the family, left eight children; Martha, married a
Gillingham. Of the children by his second wife, Jane, the
eldest, married Thomas Paxson, who was a grandson of James,
through William. The late Thomas Paxson was a grandson through
Jacob. Rebecca, another child of Thomas Canby, married a Wilson;
Hannah died young; Joseph left no children; Rachel died single;
Oliver married Elizabeth Shipley; Ann did not marry; and Lydia
married John Johnson. Many of the above contracting parties
settled outside of Bucks county, and their descendants under the
various names have a large following in the states of New
Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio and the far west. Bucks county
retained her full quota, however, and travellers in central and
lower Bucks will meet them on every hand; and to have come from
"the good old Canby stock" is a household word.
ALEXANDER CATHERS, farmer, P.O. Lahaska, was born in
Buckingham township, July 7, 1806, and is a son of William and
Anna (Duer) Cathers. His father was a native of the north of
Ireland, and when 18 years of age settled in Plumstead township.
Later he located in Buckingham, and lived there until his death,
August 28, 1866. His wife was a daughter of Joseph Duer, a
pioneer of Buckingham township. By her he had five children:
Alexander, Samuel, Robert, Newton and Harrison. His second wife
was Mary Maginness, by whom he had six children, five of whom
grew to maturity: John, Monroe, George, Thomas and Anna.
Alexander Cathers, with the exception of four years, resided in
Buckingham township until 1880, when he removed to Solebury. He
married Amy, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Burns) Hill of
Buckingham, by whom he had thirteen children, eight now living:
Thomas S., Oscar, Mary A., Helen, Margaret, William, James and
Henry. For many years our subject was engaged in lime burning,
and for twenty years was a buyer and seller of mules. He kept
hotel at Lahaska for twenty years. He cast his first vote for
Andrew Jackson for president in 1828. In politics he has always
been a stanch democrat.
HENRY E. CARVER, deceased, was born in Plumstead, this
county, March 13, 1815, being a son of John and Sarah (Ellicott)
Carver, of that township. His parents had nine children: Rachel,
Thomas, Parmelia, Ann, Sarah A., Letitia E., John E., Rebecca
G., and Henry E. The latter was a miller, and for many years
owner of Carver’s mills, near Carversville. December 7, 1844, he
married Elizabeth S., daughter of John and Grace (Carr) Shaw, of
Plumstead township, by whom he had one daughter, Sarah Grace,
who died young. Mr. Carver was a thorough business man, and one
who attended strictly to his own affairs. Though not a member of
the Society of Friends, he was an advocate of their principles.
Politically he was a republican,. He died February 22, 1877.
J. WATSON CARVER, miller, P.O. Carversville, was born in
Hunterdon county, N.J., September 29, 1854, being a son of
Samuel L. and Sarah A. (Kegan) Carver. He was reared in Bucks
county from the age of eight years, and served an apprenticeship
of two years at the milling trade at Carver’s mills. He also
served two years at Chain Bridge mills, Northampton township. In
1875 he became a partner with Henry Carver in the milling
business at Carver’s mills. He remained with Mr. Carver two
years, and on his death continued one year longer with the widow
of the latter. In 1878 he purchased the property, which he has
since managed successfully. In 1876 Mr. Carver married Cynthia,
daughter of Edward and Cynthia (Carver) Worthington, of
Buckingham township, by whom he has three children: Gertrude,
Minnie and Della. He is a member of the Christian church, and
also of the Knights of Pythias. Politically he is a republican.
MAHLON CARVER, P.O. Carversville, was born in Philadelphia,
September 25, 1823, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Briggs)
Carver. John and Mary (Lane) Carver came from Hertfordshire,
England, in 1682, with his brothers, William, Joseph and Jacob,
and settled in Byberry, now Twenty-third ward of Philadelphia,
and took up seven hundred acres of land along the Poquessing
creek. It included the site of the old homestead, which has
remained in the family for six generations, having descended
successively from father to son, all of whom were named John,
until 1864. The pioneer, John Carver, died in 1714. He had four
children. John was the second child, and married Isabel Weldon,
by whom he had three children. John, his first son, married
Rachel Nayler, of Southampton. They had ten children, of whom
John, the eldest son, married Mary Buckman, of Wrightstown. He
had ten children, of whom John was the third child and first
son. He married Elizabeth Briggs, of Wrightstown, daughter of
John and Letitia (Buckman) Briggs. They had four children: John,
married to Phebe A. Tomlinson, of Philadelphia; Mahlon, Esther
and Eliza (Mrs. Richard Wilson). All except John are residents
of Bucks county. Mahlon was reared in Byherry, where he resided
until 1867. In 1869 he removed to Carversville, where he has
since resided. He married Susanna G., daughter of Daniel and
Catherine (George) Helwig, of Solebury.
ROBERT CONRAD, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in Buckingham
township, Bucks county, July 19, 1825, and is a son of Abram and
Euphemia (Flack) Conrad. His paternal grandfather was John
Conrad, of German descent. In 1859 he married Martha, daughter
of Amos C. and Rachel (Ely) Paxson, of Solebury, by whom he has
two children: Annie R. and Carrie P. Mr. Conrad is a
representative farmer of Solebury township, and has carried on
the Amos C. Paxson farm since 1858.
STEDMAN COWDRICK, farmer, P.O. Carversville, was born in
Hunterdon county, N.J., December 19, 1816, and is a son of John
and Elizabeth (Hall) Cowdrick. His paternal grandfather was John
Cowdrick, a native of Germany, who came to New Jersey in his
boyhood. His maternal grandfather, Jacob Hall, was of English
descent. He was a stone mason by trade, but for many years was a
farmer in Hunterdon county, N.J. Stedman Cowdrick resided
principally in Bucks county since 1833, and located on the farm
he now occupies in 1858. His wife was Martha, daughter of Joseph
and Mary (Paxson) Dilworth, of Solebury, by whom he had two
children, Beulah and Austin (both deceased). Mrs. Cowdrick is a
granddaughter of Moses Paxson, who formerly lived in Solebury,
and is a member of the Orthodox Society of Friends.
GEORGE EASTBURN, teacher, 700 North Broad street,
Philadelphia, born in Solebury township, Bucks county, November
25, 1838, is the great-great-great-grandson of Robert Eastburn,
who, with his wife Sarah, and their minor children, was received
at a monthly meeting of Friends held at Philadelphia December
26, 1713, as members from the monthly meeting of Brigham, in
Yorkshire, England. As evidenced by the minutes of Philadelphia
monthly meeting Robert was a prominent and influential member
until his death in 1755. Samuel Eastburn, the second son of
Robert, came from England with his parents. He married Elizabeth
Gillingham, a member of Abington monthly meeting, in 1728. He
and his wife removed to Solebury and settled on a large tract of
land lying northeast of the present Center Hill, becoming
members of Buckingham monthly meeting March 6, 1729, by
certificate from Abington monthly meeting. They have seven
children, of whom Robert, the youngest, born June 23, 1739,
inherited a part of the homestead, which continued to be the
ancestral abode during his lifetime. Samuel Eastburn was a
prominent minister of the gospel. Much of his time during the
latter part of his life was spent in visiting meetings in
different parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, at which he
preached to the edification and spiritual comfort of his
hearers. Robert Eastburn married Elizabeth Duer, a member of
Falls monthly meeting, 11th mo., 22d, 1763. After her death he
married on 9th mo., 16th, 1785, Rachel Paxson. He was a man of
positive character, discreet in action and very prosperous in
business, having added to his inherited possessions two of the
best farms in the fertile limestone valley of Solebury. Moses
Eastburn, born 4th mo., 1st., 1768, the oldest son of Robert and
Elizabeth, was the second of their five children. On 10th mo.,
21st, 1790, Moses married Rachel, daughter of John and Mary
Knowles, who, in a line of descent through his son, Robert
Sotcher, was a great-granddaughter of John Sotcher, William
Penn’s trusted friend, whom he delighted to call "Honest John"
and to whom the great founder consigned the care of his domestic
affairs at Pennsbury on his first departure from America. Moses
and Rachel Eastburn had eleven children, of whom only two now
survive. They are Rachel Eastburn, who lives at Langhorne, and
Moses, who resides on the farm formerly occupied by his father,
which was bought by Robert Eastburn in 1770 from Abraham Heed,
and which was the birthplace of all the children of Moses and
Rachel Eastburn. Moses Eastburn, Sen., was a man of marked
personal characteristics. He was distinguished for his strict
integrity and enterprising spirit, sparing neither pains nor
cost in the encouragement of whatever he believed would be of
substantial benefit to the community. After the marriage of his
son Moses he retired with his daughters Sarah and Rachel upon
his property at Limeport, where he died in 1846, the death of
his wife having occurred in 1842.
Jacob Easthurn, the fifth child of Moses and Rachel, was the
father of the subject of this sketch. He was born September 14,
1798, and died August 26, 1860, on the farm which his father
bought for him about the time of his marriage and upon which all
his surviving children were born. He was a member of Solebury
monthly meeting and was noted for his unassuming manners, his
kindness of heart and great generosity, helping many of his
poorer neighbors in such an unostentatious way as to obey the
scriptural injunction not to let his left hand know what his
right hand did. He also deserved the blessing promised to the
peacemakers, his kind offices being often called for in that
capacity. His beneficial influence was widely felt in the
community and he died regretted by a large circle of mourning
friends. He was married in 1829 to Elizabeth K. Taylor, who,
being descended through a line from his daughter, Mary Sotcher
(who married Mahlon Kirkbride about 1725), was a
great-great-granddaughter of John Sotcher. She was born at
Dolington, in Upper Makefield township, in 1805, and died in
1877. She was a woman of wonderful energy and rare executive
ability. She was prominent in the transaction of business, in
Friends’ meetings, serving as chief officer in some meeting
continuously from early womanhood until feebleness of age
necessitated retirement, having been chief clerk some time in
her life of the whole series of meetings from the little
preparative meeting at home to the great yearly meeting held in
Philadelphia.
Jacob and Elizabeth K. Eastburn had ten children, three of
whom died in infancy. The survivors are: Robert, justice of the
peace of Lower Makefield; Ellen E., wife of Samuel Hart, of
Doylestown township; Mary Anna, wife of J. Simpson Betts, of New
Hope; Elias, now sheriff of Bucks county; Timothy T., justice of
the peace of New Hope borough; Sarah T., wife of Mark Palmer, of
Lower Makefield township, and, George, who was born next after
Mary Anna. He worked on the homestead farm in summer and
attended district school in winter until his seventeenth year.
During the winters of 1855—56 and 1856—57 he attended the
Friends’ Central school in Philadelphia, of which Aaron B.
Ivins,
a native of Bucks county, was principal. In the summer of
1856 he taught in the octagonal school-house near Lumberville,
which was the last educational work done in that building, the
oldest school edifice in that part of the county. From April,
1857, to July, 1858, he taught at Edge Hill, Abington township,
Montgomery county, and in September, 1858, became assistant to
Mr. Ivins in the Friends’ Central school. He taught in that
institution five years, in which time he prepared himself in
classics for admission to Yale college, where he took the
regular four years’ course in the academical department and
graduated with the degree of B.A. in 1868. In 1871 his alma
mater conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. Having
long before dedicated his life to the cause of education he in
October, 1868, opened an English and classical school for the
preparation of boys for business and for admission to college.
He commenced his school with seven pupils at Broad and Market
streets, Philadelphia. Constantly increasing success attending
his instruction, after two other removals he, in the summer of
1877, established his school at his present location, Broad
street and Fairmount avenue, where he has the most completely
equipped institution of the kind in the city, neither pains nor
expense being spared to keep it abreast of the most modern
developments in the profession. On September 8, 1870, Mr.
Eastburn was married to Mary O. Davis, of Cream Ridge, N.J., who
died on May 8, 1873, leaving one child, Holmes D., born May 15,
1872. On July 12, 1876, he was married to Elizabeth M. Beale, of
Philadelphia, who is the mother of two children: George, Jr.,
born August 31, 1877, and Agnes G., born October 16, 1878.
Professor Eastburn’s chosen life-work has been successful.
Devoting himself to it with ardor he has laid the educational
foundation of many young men who are now holding enviable
positions in the legal and medical professions, in mercantile
life and as students in many of the best colleges in the land.
While at college Mr. Eastburn resigned his birthright membership
in the Society of Friends and united with the Congregational
church of Yale college, and upon his return to Philadelphia he
brought his certificate of church membership to the Central
Presbyterian church, of which he is now a deacon, a trustee and
an elder. Professor Eastburn is deeply interested in the
promotion of education and all kinds of true culture. He is
vice-president of the Schoolmasters’ association and a member of
the Franklin Institute, the Historical society of Pennsylvania,
the Pennsylvania Horticultural society and the Fairmount Park
Art association.
MOSES EASTBURN, retired, P.O. New Hope, is the youngest and
only surviving son of Moses and Rachel Eastburn before
mentioned, and is now living on the place of his birth, where
almost all of his life has been passed. He was born 5th mo.,
9th, 1815, and is a worthy representative of this old family.
Always unassuming in demeanor, Mr. Eastburn has ever been
distinguished by the possession, in a marked degree, of those
sterling qualities which have characterized the members of this
family. He has never held any political office, though often
urged thereto, but has been in many positions of trust, and has
always taken an active part in enterprises for the benefit of
the people of the county, among whom his long and useful life
has been passed. As a farmer he has stood in the front rank in
the county. He was a manager for several years, and afterward
president of the Bucks County Agricultural society; an active
member of the Solebury Farmers’ club; a manager of the Farmers
and Mechanics’ Mutual Insurance association of Bucks county for
many years, and its president from 1877 to 1886; a manager of
the Lahaska and New Hope Turnpike company, from the organization
of its first board in 1853, and its president continuously since
1864; a manager of the Buckingham and Doylestown turnpike
company since 1867; and a director at different times of the
Lambertville National bank. Amongst township offices he has held
the positions of school director, assistant assessor, etc. He
was appointed by the court in 1877 a member of the almshouse
investigating commission, serving thereon with Dr. Joseph Thomas
and William Kinsey, Esq. He has served Solebury monthly meeting
of Friends for thirty years, as assistant clerk first, and since
1864 as clerk, and in every position he has filled has
discharged its duties with ability and fidelity. Mr. Eastburn
was married on 4th mo., 16th, 1845, to Mary Anna, daughter of
Hugh B. and Sarah M. Ely, of Buckingham township, where she was
born on 11th mo., 30th, 1816. She died 7th mo., 22d, 1879. They
had two children: Hugh B. and Fanny C., the latter of whom died
in 1851.
Hugh B. Eastburn, only surviving child of Moses and Mary Anna
Eastburn, was born on the homestead in Solebury 2d mo., 11th,
1846. He attended the public schools until the fall of 1859,
when he went to the Excelsior Normal institute at Carversville,
graduating there in 1865. In September, 1866, he commenced a two
years’ service as teacher of the Boys’ Grammar school, one of
the Friends’ schools, located at Fifteenth and Race streets,
Philadelphia, and taught in the Friends’ Central High school in
1869. While in Philadelphia be began the study of law under the
direction of D. Newlin Fell, Esq. (now judge). He was admitted
to the bar in Philadelphia in the spring of 1870. In June of
that year he was appointed by State Superintendent Wickersham to
fill a vacancy in the office of County Superintendent of schools
in Bucks county, and was elected to that position in 1872, and
again in 1875 by the directors of the county. He discharged the
duties of the office with ability, and resigned in July, 1876,
and was succeeded by W.W. Woodruff. During the session of
1876—77 he attended the law department of the University of
Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar of Bucks county in
August, 1877, and in 1885 was elected district attorney. Mr.
Eastburn was chairman of the committee of arrangements, having
in charge the Bucks county bi-centennial celebration in 1882;
was a member for several years of the board of trustees of the
West Chester State Normal school, and is a director of the Bucks
County Trust company. He was married in December, 1885, to
Sophia, daughter of John B. and Elizabeth S.F. Pugh, of
Doylestown, and has one child, Arthur Moses, born September 27,
1886. Mr. Eastburn is regarded as one of the leading young men
of the county.
THE ELYS OF CINTRA.— Cintra, situated in the borough of New
Hope, on the rising ground west of the village, was built about
1816 by William Maris, and so called after the castle of Cintra
near Lisbon, Portugal, from a wing of which the plans were
designed. It was bought by Richard Randolph in 1830, and
conveyed to his brother-in-law, Elias Ely, father of the present
owner, by deed dated March 11, 1834. Richard Elias Ely, born at
Maple Grove July 5, 1833, was the third surviving child of Elias
Ely and Sarah M. Wilson, daughter of Dr. John Wilson, of Elm
Grove, Buckingham township, this county, and Margaret Mitchell,
his first wife. The eldest child, Ruthanna Ely, was born in 1825
and was married in 1861 to Oliver Paxson, son of Thomas Paxson
and Hannameel Canby. She owned and resided at Maple Grove until
1869, when she died, leaving four children: Sarah Ely Paxson,
Margaret Ely Paxson, Oliver Wilson Paxson and Caroline Ely
Paxson, the present owners of that place. The second daughter of
Elias Ely married in 1860 Dr. James E. Rhoads, of Philadelphia,
and with her children, Anna Ely Rhoads, Caroline Newbold Rhoads
and Charles James Rhoads, now lives at Bryn Mawr, Pa. In 1858
Richard Elias Ely married Caroline Amelia, daughter of William
F. Newbold and Elizabeth Pancoast, then living in Burlington,
N.J. William F. Newbold was a grandson of Clayton Newbold, of
Springfield township, New Jersey, whose great-grandparents,
Michael Newbold, and Alice, his wife, came to this country from
England. The earliest ancestor in England of whom there is
record was John Newbold, of Newbold, Parish of Chesterfield,
Derby, who died in 1556. The Newbold arms are: Azure, two bends
argent, a chief of the last. Crest, a cross flory fitchée azure.
Richard Elias Ely has two children: William Newbold and Margaret
Wilson, both born at Cintra.
The ancestor of the Elys of Cintra, in this country, was Hugh
Ely, who settled in Buckingham about 1720. He was the fourth son
of Joshua Ely, of Dunham, Nottinghamshire, England, who bought
land in New Jersey about 1685, and died in 1702, having married
Rachel Lee, his second wife, in 1699. In 1712 Hugh Ely married
Mary Hewson, the original marriage certificate being on file
among the family papers at Cintra. He had four children: Thomas,
who married Sarah Louther, and went to Maryland; Hugh, Ann, who
married Peter Matson, and Anna, who married John Wilkinson. The
second Hugh Ely, born in 1715, married in 1746 Elizabeth,
daughter of William Blackfan and Eleanor Wood, and
grand-daughter of Edward Blackfan, who was the son of John
Blackfan, of Stenning, county of Sussex, England, and Rebecca
Crispin, his wife, who was the daughter of William Crispin, of
Kinsale, Ireland, who were married at Ifield, in Sussex, on the
24th day of August, 1688. The children of Hugh Ely and Elizabeth
Blackfan were six in number, as follows: John, William,
Elizabeth, Hugh, Jesse and Joseph. The fourth child, Hugh, was
born in 1760. He married in 1793 Ruth Paxson, daughter of Oliver
Paxson and Ruth Watson, who resided at the place now known as
Maple Grove. Hugh Ely bought this place of Oliver Paxson, and
lived there until his death in 1822. He left two children:
Elizabeth, born in 1794, married Richard Randolph, of
Philadelphia, and died in 1831, without children. Elias was born
in 1795, and married Sarah M. Wilson in 1823, as was before
stated. He died in 1836. The Ely arms are: Argent a fesse,
engrailed between six fleurs-de-lis, gules.
ANDREW J. ELY, farmer, P.O. Solebury, was born in Solebury
township, October 6, 1822, and is a son of John H. and Elizabeth
(Kiple) Ely. His paternal grandfather was Asher Ely, who married
Eleanor Holcomb. Asker was a son of John and Sarah (Simcock)
Ely, and John was a son of Joshua Ely, who settled in Solebury
in 1738, and was a son of George, and a grandson of Joshua Ely,
who came from England in 1685 and settled where Trenton, N.J.,
now stands. John Ely, father of Andrew J., was twice married.
His first wife was Elizabeth Pownal, daughter of Reuben Pownal,
of Solebury, by whom he had two children: Reuben P. and
Elizabeth (Mrs. Howard Paxson). His second wife was Elizabeth,
daughter of Jacob Kiple, by whom he had five children: Andrew
J., Matthias C., Albert. K., Asher and Margaret (deceased).
Andrew J. Ely married Elizabeth, daughter of John and Jane
(Dungan) Gill, of Northampton township, by whom he had six
children: Sarah A. (deceased), Jefferson, Daniel, David K.,
Margaret (Mrs. Harry L. Fries), and Henry P. (deceased). Mr. Ely
is a prominent fanner, a member of the I.O.O.F. and F. and A.M.
Politically he is a democrat.
ISAAC ELY, retired farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, this county, May 24, 1819, and is a son of
Mark and Rachel (Hamilton) Ely. His paternal grandparents were
George and Sarah (Magill) Ely. The former was a son of the
Joshua Ely already mentioned. The maternal grandfather of our
subject was James Hamilton, who was a prominent farmer of
Solebury township. Isaac Ely was reared in Solebury township and
was educated there, where he engaged in farming up to 1884, when
he removed to New Hope, and resides there at present. He was
married December 25, 1841, to Mary E., daughter of John and Anna
(Ely) Magill of Solebury township, by whom he has seven
children: William M., Anna M. (Mrs. Fred Smith), John H., Laura,
Warren S., Alice K. and Mattie C. Mr. Ely was for many years a
director of the Doylestown Agricultural society, and has held
several of the minor offices of the township. Both he and his
wife are members of the Society of Friends. Politically he is a
republican.
JAMES H. ELY, retired farmer, P.O. Solebury, was born in
Solebury township, November 16, 1816, and is another son of Mark
and Rachel (Hamilton) Ely. His father was twice married. His
first wife was Hannah Johnson, by whom he had four children:
Martha, Sidney, Rachel (Mrs. Amos Paxson) and Sarah A. (Mrs.
Samuel Cooper), all but the latter now deceased. His second wife
was Rachel Hamilton, by whom he had six children: James H.,
Isaac, Cyrus (deceased), Mary (Mrs. Howard Paxson), Amy (Mrs.
Isaac H. Worstall) and Mercy (Mrs. William McDowell). James H.
married Emeline, daughter of John and Anna (Ely) Magill, of
Solebury, by whom he had six children: Henrietta (Mrs. Ellis
Walton), Mary E. (Mrs. Joseph Lear), Josephine (Mrs. George
Quinby), Mark (married Mary Leedom), Rebecca (deceased) and
Amie.
JEREMIAH S. ELY, farmer, P.O. Aquetong, was born in New Hope,
Bucks county, December 4, 1841, and is a son of Thomas and Mary
(Ely) Ely. His paternal grandparents were Amos and Deborah
(Witson) Ely. Amos was a son of George and a grandson of the
Joshua Ely who settled here in 1738. His maternal grandparents
were Asher and Eleanor (Holcomb) Ely. Asher Ely was a son of
John and Sarah (Simcock) Ely, and John was a son of the original
settler in this township, Joshua Ely. Thomas and Mary Ely had
eight children Eleanor (Mrs. Richard Paxson), Howard, Lucy,
Jeremiah S., Mahlon, Henry, Deborah (Mrs. Elias Eastburn) and
Letitia. Jeremiah S. Ely married Ella, daughter of Levi and
Amanda (Large) Black, of Lambertville, N.J., and has one child,
Walter B., living, and two dead, both older than he, Herdes and
Carrie.
DANIEL ELY, deceased, was born in Solebury township, October
27, 1796, being a son of Asher and Eleanor (Holcomb) Ely. His
great-grandfather, Joshua Ely, settled in Solebury in 1738. His
paternal grandparents were John and Sarah (Simcock) Ely. His
maternal grandfather was John Holcomb, an early settler of
Solebury township. Daniel Ely was reared in Solebury, where,
with the exception of one year, he resided until his death,
which occurred March 14, 1886. He was a miller by trade, and
conducted a feed-mill on his farm for years. His wife was Sarah
Cox, daughter of Tunis and Elizabeth (Reeder) Cox, of Nockamixon
township, this county, by whom he had one child, William L., who
with his mother occupies the old homestead.
REUBEN POWNALL ELY was born in Solebury township, June 7,
1815. Like all others of the name in Bucks county, he is a
descendant of the first Joshua Ely. The second son of the first
Joshua was the father of seven children, the eldest of whom was
the Joshua who in 1738 removed to Solebury. Among the seven
children of the last-mentioned Joshua Ely, was a son John, who
was married twice. By his first wife, Sarah Simcock, he had five
children, the second child and only son being Asker, who was
born July 11, 1768. He married Eleanor Holcomb in 1791, and she
bore him nine children, the eldest of whom was John H., born
March 6, 1792. He was married twice; the first time to Elizabeth
Pownall, daughter of Reuben and Mary Lee Pownall. She was born
June 30, 1786, was married November 11, 1812, and died October
3, 1817. Reuben P. was the second one of three children; the
eldest, William Lee, having died in infancy; and the youngest,
Elizabeth, born August 17, 1817. She married Howard H. Paxson,
and had three children: Alfred, Rose Ellen (died in infancy),
and Martha Elizabeth. Elizabeth (Ely) Paxson died February 12,
1847. Reuben P. Ely followed farming for a number of years, but
removed to Lambertville, N.J., in 1860, where he has ever since
resided, with the exception of six years at New Hope, Pa. He
married Violetta Duer, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Duer, and
has two children, Elizabeth F. and Sarah W. For a number of
years he has been engaged in collecting the genealogy of many
families of Bucks and Hunterdon counties.
WILLIAM M. ELY, farmer, P.O. Solebury, was born in Solebury,
January 29, 1844, and is a son of Isaac and Mary E. (Magill)
Ely. He was reared in Solebury, where he has always resided, and
is a prominent farmer. He was married December 19, 1876, to
Agnes S., daughter of Hugh B. and Sarah (Betts) Michener, of
Plumstead township. They are the parents of one child, George H.
W. HORACE FELL, proprietor of the Black Bass hotel, P.O.
Lumberville, was born in Plumstead township, this county,
October 5, 1858, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Allam)
Fell. His paternal grandfather, James B. Fell, was a farmer of
Solebury township, and his maternal grandfather, John Allam, a
farmer of Plumstead. Mr. Fell is a miller by trade, and he
followed that business in Taylorsville, this county, fourteen
years. In the spring of 1887 he became, the proprietor of the
Black Bass hotel, in Lumberville. April 24, 1883, he was married
to Mary, daughter of Abner and Elizabeth (Heft) Cleaver, of
Newtown, by whom he has two children: Abner and Lizzie.
RICHARD C. FOULKE, physician, P.O. New Hope, was born in New
Hope, November 2, 1843, and is a son of Charles and Harriet
(Corson) Foulke. His father, also a physician, was a native of
Pennlynn, Montgomery county, and began the study of medicine
with Dr. Hiram Corson, of Plymouth, Pa., and was graduated from
the Medical university of Philadelphia in 1835. In 1842 he
located in New Hope, where he was actively engaged in the
practice of his profession until his death in 1871. In 1842 he
married Harriet, daughter of Dr. Richard Corson, of this county,
by whom he had three children: Richard C., Edward and Thomas,
the latter deceased. Dr. Richard Corson was a native of Bucks
county and a prominent physician of his time. He died in 1842.
He was a son of Richard Corson, a pioneer of Solebury, who died
in 1812. Richard C. Foulke, the subject of this sketch, was
reared in New Hope, and began the study of medicine with his
father in 1866, and was graduated from the Medical university of
Pennsylvania in 1869. He began practice in New Hope the same
year, and has been in active practice ever since. He was married
in 1872 to Louisa, daughter of Edward and Jane (Willett) Van
Zant of Solebury. He has two children living: Charles E. and
Claribel V. Dr. Foulke is a member of the Bucks County Medical
society, and of the I.O.O.F. He has been burgess of New Hope for
seven terms. Politically he is a republican.
CARY L. GORDON, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in Buckingham
township, April 21, 1835, and is a son of Stephen and Araminta
(Bodine) Gordon. His grandfather was Giles Gordon, an early
settler of Wrightstown, Bucks county, whose children were:
Giles, James, John, Stephen, Zephaniah, Mary and Ann. His
maternal grandfather was David Bodine, an early settler of
Buckingham and a lime burner by occupation. Stephen Gordon was
reared in Wrightstown township, lived in Buckingham, and about
the year 1850 came to Solebury and located on the farm occupied
by our subject. Later he removed to Philadelphia and died there.
His children were: Cary L., Edward, Morris, William H., Anna M.
and Angeline. Cary L. Gordon is a prominent farmer of Solebury.
In 1865 he married Melissa, daughter of Robert N. and Rebecca
(Selner) Caffey, of Upper Makefield township. They have an
adopted daughter, Mary A. Mrs. Gordon is a member of the
Presbyterian church, and of the W.C.T.U. Mr. Gordon is a
republican politically.
GEORGE W. HUFFNAGLE, retired, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Philadelphia, May 9, 1821, and is a son of John and Sarah E.
(Franks) Huffnagle. His father was a native of Lancaster county,
Pa., and was a merchant in Philadelphia for many years. In 1847
he removed to New Hope, residing there until his death. His
wife, was a daughter of Colonel Isaac Franks, of Germantown,
Pa., who entered the revolutionary army in 1776, when, 17 years
of age, and served with distinction. He was taken prisoner by
the British in New York, but escaped to New Jersey. He was
appointed ensign of the 7th Massachusetts regiment by John
Hancock, and was for a time assistant commissary at West Point
under General MacDougall. He retired at the close of the war as
colonel, and soon after was appointed prothonotary of
Philadelphia. He owned the house and furniture in Germantown,
which was rented and occupied by General Washington and his
family in 1793. The children of John Huffnagle were: Charles,
William K., Mary A., Benjamin F., George W. and Alfred. Of these
Charles was a physician and a graduate of the University of
Pennsylvania. He was surgeon of the ship "Star," from
Philadelphia to Calcutta in 1826, and was for several years
identified with a leading business house in India. He was
appointed consul to India by President Polk in 1847, receiving
the first appointment to that position, which he held, under the
succeeding administrations as consul-general, until his death in
1860. At the great London exhibition in 1851, he received two
bronze medals for the best collection of objects of art and
industry of British India at the exhibition. He died in London
in 1860. William K. Huffnagle was a civil engineer, and the
first of the family to locate in Bucks county. He afterward
removed to Mount Holly, N.J., where he resided until his death.
He held the following positions: principal assistant engineer in
the construction of the Camden and Amboy railroad; principal
assistant engineer in the construction of the Tide-water canal,
and principal engineer for the eastern division of the state of
Pennsylvania, for her railroads, canals, etc. George W., the
subject of this sketch, in early manhood located in western
Pennsylvania, where he engaged in the mercantile business and
other enterprises up to 1858, when he located in New Hope. Since
then he has lived a retired life.
CHARLES HURLEY, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in Solebury
township, August 24, 1871, and is a son of Johnson and Margaret
(Lewis) Hurley. His father was a native of New Jersey, and in
1785, at the age of four years, was bound to John Blackfan, of
Solebury township, until he was 16 years of age. He then learned
the shoemaker’s trade, and followed that as an occupation until
his death in 1849, aged 68 years. His wife was a daughter of
Elias Lewis, of Solebury township, by whom he had five children:
Thomas (deceased), Lucilla (Mrs. Charles Martin), Charles,
Richard and John (deceased). Charles Hurley was reared in
Solebury township. He followed shoemaking until he was 21 years
of age, when he engaged in farming. He located on the farm he
now occupies in 1865. His wife was Matilda, daughter of Moses
and Anna (Stout) Larue, of New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Hurley have
four children: Britton, Ezra, William W. and Lewis P. Mr. Hurley
served a short time during the late civil war in company C,
Pennsylvania militia, going to Harrisburg, New Castle and
Hagerstown, Md. He is a member of the I.O.O.F., and politically
is a republican.
WILLIAM W. HURLEY, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, January 23, 1853, and is a son of Charles and
Matilda (Larue) Burley. He was reared in Solebury, and was
educated in the common schools, finishing at Sharkey seminary,
Lambertville, N.J. He taught in the common schools for three
years, but his main occupation has been that of a farmer. In
October, 1879, he married Achsah, daughter of William Wallace
and Mary (Britton) Paxson, of Solebury. He has two children,
Wallace P. and Beulah Achsah. Mr. Hurley and wife are members of
the Baptist church. Politically he is a republican, and is a
member of the I.O.O.F.
WATSON KENDERDINE, manufacturer, P.O. Lumberville, was born
in Horsham township, Montgomery county, Pa., February 3, 1830.
He is a son of John E. and Martha (Quinby) Kenderdine, who
settled in Solebury in 1834, locating at Lumberton, where his
father built the grist-mill, owned now by Wilson S. Paxson. In
1847 John E. Kenderdine erected a saw-mill, which property is
now occupied for business purposes by his son Watson, and in
1851 changed it to a planing-mill, and in 1854 to a
sash-factory. In 1862 the building was remodeled for the purpose
of manufacturing bone dust and phosphates, which business has
been carried on by Watson Kenderdine since 1865. In 1886 his
son-in-law, H.W. Rice, became a partner, the present firm being
W. Kenderdine & Rice. John E. Kenderdine was a thorough business
man. He made nearly all the early improvements in the vicinity
of Lumberton, and was the projector of the Cuttalossa road. He
was foremost in all enterprises for the welfare of the public.
In politics he was an anti-Mason whig, and at one time was
defeated for state senator by only two votes. His children were:
James (deceased), Watson, Ellen (Mrs. Eastburn Reeder), Thaddeus
S., Elwood (deceased), Robert, who was killed at the battle of
Gettysburg, and was in the 114th Pennsylvania Zouaves; Isaiah,
and Lizzie (Mrs. E. Watson Fell). John E. Kenderdine died in
1868, in his 69th year. His son Watson was reared in Solebury
township since the age of four years, and has been in his
present business since 1865. His wife was Hannah, daughter of
Nathan and Martha (Stradling) Preston, of Plumstead township, by
whom he has three children living: Ellen K. (Mrs. Edward W.
Phillips), Emma L.K. (Mrs. H.W. Rice), and Florence. Mr.
Kenderdine is a wide-awake business man, and a well-known writer
on agricultural and other subjects, and has a talent for writing
poetry. He has contributed many articles to the county papers.
He is a member of the Society of Friends, and politically is a
republican. The first of the family in America settled in
Horsham township, Montgomery county. Thomas Kenderdine, at the
age of eight years, came to America with his father from the
town of Landless, Montgomeryshire, North Wales. He married
Dorothy Roberts and had seven children: Benjamin, Joseph, Jacob,
Margaret (married Richard Clayton), Mary (married James
Robinson), Jane (married Samuel Jones), and Hannah (married
Mathias Shoemaker). Jacob, the third son, had three children:
Jacob, Jr., John and Joseph. Jacob, 3d, was the father of
Thomas, Jacob, 4th, and John, twin brother of Joseph, who
married Ann Edwards and had four children: Hannah, Robert,
Elizabeth and John E.
CHARLES F. KITCHEN, merchant, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Center Hill, Solebury township, December 25, 1846, and is a son
of William B. and Mary A. (Alford) Kitchen. His grandfather was
Phineas Kitchen, a teacher by profession, and a resident of the
Northern Liberties, Philadelphia county. His father was a
tailor, and in early manhood located at Center Hill, in this
township, and continued in business there until his death. His
children were: Emma, Anna, Susan, Jennie, Bertha, William
(deceased), Charles T. and Addison. Charles T. was reared in
Solebury township, and in 1881 located in New Hope, where he
embarked in the mercantile business, which he has followed
successfully to the present time. In 1873 he married Isabella,
daughter of Edward and Catherine (Conover) Pickett, of New Hope,
by whom he has six children: Elmer, Addison, Burleigh, Augustus,
Eva and Jesse. He has one stepson, Joseph Holcombe. Mr. Kitchen
is a member of the I.O.O.F., and politically is a republican.
WILLIAM S. LARGE, farmer, P.O. Solebury, was born in Solebury
township, October 1, 1820, and is a son of Joseph and Cynthia
(Scarborough) Large. His grandfather was Ebenezer Large,
formerly of New Jersey, and of German descent. He was a
shoemaker, but in latter life was a farmer and a resident of
Solebury for many years. His children who lived to maturity
were: Joseph, Isaiah, Samuel, Ann (Mrs. Stephen Kirk) and John
R. The oldest son, Joseph, was a miller, though his principal
occupation was farming. He married Cynthia, daughter of Isaac
Scarborough, who was a son of John and Margaret Scarborough,
early settlers of Solebury. The children of Joseph and Cynthia
Large were: William S., Isaac, Mary A. (Mrs. William Moon),
Amanda (Mrs. Levi Black), Hannah (Mrs. E.H. Smith) and Joseph.
William S. was reared in Solebury and was a shoemaker, which
trade he followed for fifteen years. For more than thirty years
he has been engaged in farming. He has been twice married; his
first wife being Martha, daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth
(Grubham) Past, of Solebury, by whom he had three children: Anna
(Mrs. Chapman Kirk), Winfield and Frank. His second wife was
Charlotte, daughter of Amos and Mary (Pearson) Pearson, of
Solebury, by whom he had four children: Henry, Merrick, Watson
and Mary. Mr. Large is a leading citizen of Solebury, has held
several township offices, and politically is a republican.
ALBERT LIVEZEY, retired, P.O. Lumberville, was born in
Solebury, September 12, 1811, and is a son of Robert and Sarah
(Paxson) Livezey. The Livezeys are of Anglo-Saxon origin, the
first of the name to settle in Bucks county being Daniel
Livezey. He married Margery Croasdale, from which marriage all
the Livezeys of Bucks county (except those living at Doylestown)
trace their genealogy. Daniel Livezey settled in Southampton
township, about 1781, and died there in 1796, leaving eight
children. Robert, the eldest son, was born at Fox Chase,
Philadelphia county, February 22, 1780, and at the age of 16
removed to Solebury, to learn the carpenter’s trade. In 1804 he
married Sarah Paxson, daughter of Abraham Paxson, and settled on
his father-in-law’s farm. In 1814 he removed to the old Townsend
place, and lived there until his death in 1864. He had eight
children: Cyrus (deceased), Elizabeth (Mrs. Hiram Jones), Ann
(Mrs. Samuel Rice), Albert, Allen, Samuel (deceased), Elias and
Abram. Albert Livezey married Mrs. Hannah F. Kirk, daughter of
Jonathan and Elizabeth (Fulmer) Bright, of Abington, Pa. Mr.
Livezey has been in the mercantile trade at Center Bridge and
Lumberville for thirty-three years, and ten years prior served
as clerk in a store. He was postmaster of Lumberville from 1841
to 1848, and of Center Bridge from July 1, 1860, to April 1,
1869, and again at Center Bridge from October 1, 1885, to April
1, 1887, when he resigned. Between his commercial life at
Lumberville and his return to it at Center Bridge, he was a
farmer on a farm of fifty-six acres, near the former place, for
nine years, and at Center Bridge, in addition to, store-keeping,
was a horticulturist of more than ordinary ability. He is a man
of strict integrity and retired from business with an
unblemished reputation. April 1, 1887, he again selected
Lumberville as his residence. He has for many years been
correspondent of the "Doylestown Democrat." He is a member of
the Society of Friends, and in politics a democrat.
ELIAS LIVEZEY, real estate dealer, Baltimore, Md., is the
youngest but one of the sons of Robert and Sarah Livezey. He was
born on the farm near Lumberville, June 3, 1819. He began his
mercantile career when 14 years old, first with his brother
Cyrus at Lumberville, then with his uncle at Attleboro, and
later with Plumley and Ely at the same place. When 20 years of
age he began for himself in a store at Centerville, Buckingham
township. Two years later he took his brother’s store at
Lumberville, which he successfully carried on for three years,
when, on his marriage, he removed to Attleboro, buying out the
business and real estate of the former firm of Plumley & Ely.
Here he did a flourishing trade for ten years; then sold and
removed to Philadelphia; but not finding a satisfactory opening
he accepted, a year later, the position of secretary and
treasurer of the London Park Cemetery company (in which he had a
large interest, and was one of the incorporators); 5000 Union
and a large number of Confederate soldiers now rest in this
cemetery. He removed to Baltimore, where he has since resided.
He gradually got into the real estate business, in which he has
since been actively engaged, building up a large and prosperous
trade. In 1841 he was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas
and Rachel Elton, formerly of Philadelphia. Three of their
children are deceased: Thomas Elton, Elton Paxson and George
Gillingham. Three are now living: Francis B., farmer in Howard
county, Md.; Elizabeth Catherine, wife of Bernard N. Baker, a
prominent shipping merchant of Baltimore; and Josephine, living
with her parents. Mr. Livezey is a straightforward, outspoken
man, and during the darkest days of our civil war used all his
force and influence to keep Maryland loyal to the Union. in
politics he is an ardent republican, and he is in every way a
worthy son of old Bucks county.
EDWARD H. MAGILL, A.M., president of Swarthmore college, was
born in Solebury township, Bucks county, September 24, 1825. He
is a son of Jonathan P. and (Mary Watson) Magill, the former
also a native of this township, and the latter of Falls
township, and a daughter of David and Rachel Watson, whose
ancestors came from England with William Penn. Jonathan P.
Magill was engaged in farming during his active life. Both he
and his wife were consistent members of the Society of Friends,
and were of strong anti-slavery proclivities, and were leaders
in that movement, their home having been one of the stations of
the celebrated under-ground railroad, where many hunted
fugitives found help and safety. They had seven children, viz.:
Sarah T. (deceased), Edward H., Watson P., Rebecca (deceased),
Catherine M. (Mrs. Henry C. Phillips), Rachel M. (Mrs. John S.
Williams), and Matilda R. (Mrs. Charles S. Atkinson). The early
life of Edward H. was spent at the home of his parents until his
14th year. He then became a pupil of the Friends’ school at
Westtown, Chester county, for two years, after which he was
engaged in teaching until his 25th year. Entering the Freshman
class of Yale college in 1850, he remained one year, and in 1851
became a student of Brown University, Providence, R.I., from
which he received in 1852 the degree of A.B., and that of A.M.
in 1855. In 1852 he became principal of the classical department
of the Providence High school, acting as such until 1859, when
he was appointed sub-master of the Boston Latin school. During
his sub-mastership he published a French grammar, and a series
of French readers, that have been widely used in the schools and
colleges of this country. In 1867, having resigned his position
in the Latin school, he devoted a year to foreign travel. In
1869 he was made principal of the preparatory school of
Swarthmore college, and two years later became president of the
college, which office he still holds. In 1852 he was married to
Sarah W., daughter of Seneca Beans, of Lower Makefield township,
Bucks county. The children born to this union were: Helen,
Eudora, Beatrice, Gertrude B., Francis G. (deceased), and
Marian. Under the presidency of Mr. Magill, Swarthmore college
has enjoyed a high degree of prosperity. His career as an
educator has been attended by signal success. His own accurate
scholarship has led him to require the same accuracy and
thoroughness in his students. With this trait of his character
is combined unwearied patience, with a seriousness and
earnestness which have won for him the confidence of those under
his instruction.
WATSON P. MAGILL, farmer, was born in Solebury township,
December 1, 1827, and is a son of Jonathan P. and Mary (Watson)
Magill. His paternal grandparents were Jacob and Rebecca
(Paxson) Magill. Jacob was the son of John and Amy (Whitson)
Magill, and John was the son of William and Sarah (Simcock)
Magill. William Magill came from the north of Ireland and
settled in Bucks county about 1726. The maternal grandparents of
Watson Magill were David and Richard (Twining) Watson. David was
a son of Joseph and Rachel (Croasdale) Watson, and Joseph a son
of Mark and Ann (Sotcher) Watson. Ann (Sotcher) Watson was a
daughter of John and Mary (Loftis) Sotcher, both of whom came
from England with William Penn. Jonathan P. and Mary (Watson)
Magill, who lived in Solebury, reared a family of seven
children: Sarah T., Edward H., Watson P., Rebecca, Catherine M.,
Rachel and Matilda R. Watson P. was married in September, 1851,
to Mary W., daughter of Eli and Rachel (Hollingsworth) Harvey,
of Delaware county, Pa, They had two sons: Chalkley H., a
resident of Philadelphia, and Edward W., a member of the
Philadelphia bar. In 1882 Watson P. was married to Elizabeth H.,
daughter of Francis W. and Mary (Kelly) Moore, of Philadelphia,
and a niece of James Kelly, one of the early editors of the
"Bucks County Intelligencer," at Doylestown. Mr. Magill always
took an active part in the political affairs of Bucks county and
served one term in the legislature, to which he was elected in
1854. In 1862 he raised and was captain of a company of one
hundred and three men, with whom he was mustered into the 17th
regiment, Pennsylvania militia, at Harrisburg, and during the
battle of Antietam they were forwarded to Hagerstown, Md. In
1863, prior to the battle of Gettysburg, he again responded to
the call of the governor, and with his company was mustered into
the United States service for the emergency, as company D, 31st
regiment, Pennsylvania volunteers. He was elected presidential
elector in 1868 on the Grant ticket. He was appointed to and
held the office of United Stated assistant internal revenue
assessor in the fifth district of Pennsylvania for four years,
and was appointed United States gauger and inspector for the
first district of Pennsylvania in July, 1879, which position he
held until December, 1885. He has always been a stanch
republican, and was a pioneer in the organization of that party,
being president of the first republican association formed in
Solebury and New Hope, a position he continued to fill for a
number of years. He is now a resident of Philadelphia.
JOHN MAGILL, farmer, P.O. Carversville, was born in Solebury
township, August 15, 1848, and is a son of Joseph and Angeline
(Hallowell) Magill. He was reared in Solebury, and located on
the farm he now occupies in 1874. He married Harriet A.,
daughter of Isaac S. and Ann E. (Coneway) Large, of Solebury, by
whom he had seven children: Howard L., I. Remington, Emma L.,
Della, William, C. Roscoe and Bessie.
JOSEPH E. MAGILL, retired farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, July 1, 1811, and is a son of John and Anna
(Ely) Magill. His first ancestor in this country was William
Magill, who with his brother, Alexander, emigrated from the
north of Ireland in 1727. The latter died in Troy, N.Y. William
located in Falls township and was a tailor by trade. Soon after
his marriage he settled in Solebury, where he engaged in farming
and remained until his death. He had six children, of whom John
was the second son. He married Amy Witson, by whom he had six
children: Jacob, Jane, Rachel, William, David and John. The
latter married Anna, a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Witson) Ely
and had six children: Jane (Mrs. Joseph Wiley), Joseph E.,
Emeline (Mrs. James H. Ely), William, Henry and Mary (Mrs. Isaac
Ely). Joseph E. was reared in Solebury, and owns and occupies
the original homestead where William Magill first settled. In
1839 he married Angeline, daughter of Thomas and Sarah
(Shoemaker) Hallowell, of Chester county, Pa., by whom he had
twelve children, ten of whom grew to maturity: Sarah A., Thomas,
Spencer S., Amy (Mrs. E. Doan), Ezra, John, Elizabeth (Mrs.
Harvey Stout), Jane (Mrs. Benjamin Patterson), Joseph and Clara
(Mrs. Amos Patterson). The homestead farm is now carried on by
Joseph, the youngest son, who was married January 16, 1877, to
Ida J., daughter of John and Lydia (Benscoter) Hough, of
Solebury, and has two children, George H. and John J.
ASHER MATTISON, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in Solebury
township, December 24, 1847, being a son of Joseph and Mahala
(Vanselas) Mattison. His grandparents were Richard and Mary
(Pownal) Mattison. Richard Mattison came from Hunterdon county,
N.J., and settled in Solebury township about 1800. He had a
family of nine children, of whom Joseph succeeded to the
homestead. He has two children, Asher and Richard. The latter is
a manufacturing chemist in Philadelphia, of the firm of Keasby &
Mattison. Asher Mattison resides with his father. He was married
February 12, 1885, to Huldah, daughter of Wilson and Rachel
(Fell) Pearson, of Solebury. Mary Pownal, paternal grandmother
of Asher, was a descendant of George and Elinor Pownal, who came
from England in 1682. Two weeks after their arrival he was
killed by a falling tree near Yardleyville. George Pownal, Jr.,
his sixth and youngest child, was born in Bucks county, near
Yardleyville, November 11, 1682, eleven days after his father’s
death. He married Hannah Hutchinson in 1707, and settled in
Solebury. They had four children, of whom Reuben was the third,
and was born March 8, 1719. He married Effie Burd and had eleven
children, of whom Reuben, the third child and first son, was
born November 6, 1750. He married Mary Lee and had two
daughters, of whom Mary married Richard Mattison, the paternal
grandfather of our subject, and had nine children. Only two of
these survive, Joseph Mattison, father of Asher, and Martha.
CHARLES T. MICHENER, mail contractor, P.O. Solebury, son of
Levi J. and Elizabeth P. (Kirkpatrick) Michener, born in
Solebury township 10th mo., 24th, 1842. The pioneers of the
family came from England with William Penn. The first to come
was John Michener. His wife’s name was Sarah. Their son,
William, was born 10th mo., 1st, 1696, and married Mary Kester
in 1720. Their son, George, was born 6th mo., 10th, 1744; he
married first, Elizabeth Worthington, second, Hanna Shoemaker,
in 1771. They had a son, George, born 11th mo., 10th, 1777, who
married Isabella Shannon 12th mo. 7th, 1805, and died 4th mo.,
10th, 1823. Their son, Levi J., was born 12th mo., 8th, 1818,
and died 2d mo., 12th, 1860. He married Elizabeth Kirkpatrick
6th mo., 20th, 1839. She was born 3d mo., 8th, 1820, and died 3d
mo., 7th, 1884. They had nine children: Thomas K., Charles T.,
George W., Mary A., Joseph K., Caddie B., Sallie M., Jefferson
S. and Belle H. Thomas K. was born 5th mo. 23d, 1840. He
enlisted in company E, 19th Indiana volunteer infantry, and was
at the battle of Gettysburg. Charles T. enlisted in company C,
104th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 9th mo., 4th, 1861, and was
mustered out as first orderly sergeant in 2d mo., 1863. He
re-enlisted in the same company as second lieutenant and was
honorably mustered out with the rank of captain 8th mo., 28th,
1865. Since then he has been engaged in various enterprises. For
five years he has been mail contractor between Solebury and
Center Bridge. He married Martha E. Hamilton 9th mo., 25th,
1874. George W. was born 11th mo., 26th, 1843. He enlisted in
company G, 104th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 9th mo., 4th, 1861,
and was honorably discharged as color sergeant 9th mo., 1864. He
married Mary A. Evans, of Ohio; 4th mo., 7th, 1870. Mary A. was
born 2d mo., 24th, 1845, and married James S. Michener, 12th
mo., 30th, 1866. Joseph K. was born 12th mo., 10th, 1850, and
died 12th mo., 15th, 1850. Caddie B. was born 5th mo., 7th,
1848, and married frst, Isaac H. Selnor 12th mo., 30th, 1867. He
died 6th mo., 27th, 1874, and 10th mo., 16th, 1880, she married
Frank Poulton. Sallie M. was born 12th mo., 26th, 1851, and
married Randolph Hauler 11th mo., 8th, 1872. Jefferson S. was
born 4th mo., 10th, 1854, and married Mary A. Smith 1st mo.,
25th, 1885. Belle H. was born 8th mo., 11th, 1856, and died 4th
mo., 24th, 1871. The Michener family are of Quaker parentage,
and Levi and all his children are republicans.
ISAIAH MICHENER, veterinary surgeon, P.O. Carversville, was
born in Buckingham township January 25, 1812, and is a son of
Thomas and Sarah (Bradshaw) Michener, the latter a daughter of
James Bradshaw, of Warrington township. His paternal grandfather
was Mechack Michener, an early settler of Buckingham, whose wife
was Mary Trego. He had eight children, of whom Thomas was the
fourth. The latter was a shoemaker by trade. In early life he
was a resident of Buckingham, then removed to Horsham township,
Montgomery county, where he resided until his death. His
children were: Mary, Jane, James B., Clarissa, Isaiah, Sarah A.,
Hannah, Susan, Eliza and Rebecca. Isaiah was reared in
Buckingham township, Bucks county, and in Horsham township,
Montgomery county. In 1830 he located in Buckingham, where he
resided until 1884, then removed to Solebury. He began the
practice of his profession in 1836. His wife was Esther,
daughter of John and Sarah (Smith) Good, of Plumstead township,
by whom he had ten children: Ezra, Sarah B. (Mrs. Charles
Paxson), Curtis C., Thomas (deceased), Mary Ellen (Mrs. Asher M.
Fell), Horace, Clarissa, Charles, Anson B. and Anna M.
(deceased). Mr. Michener is a member of the Society of Friends,
and was president of the Doylestown Agricultural and Mechanics’
Institute for twenty-one years, and politically is a republican.
THE PARRY FAMILY trace their descent from the Parrys of
Caernarvonshire, North Wales, a family which in point of
antiquity takes rank with the most ancient in the kingdom. Their
coat of arms may be found in "Burke’s General Armory of England,
Scotland and Ireland," published in London, A.D. 1842, and are
thus given: Arms---vert----a stag trippant----Ppr. for Parry;
Crest----a war charger’s head and neck, argent. Lord Richard
Parry, Bishop of St. Asaph, from A.D. 1604 to the time of his
death in A.D. 1623, was of this family; and Sir Love Jones Parry
of "Madryn Castle" in Caernarvonshire (born A.D. 1781), and who
was a general in the British army, at the battle of Waterloo,
was a lineal descendant of Colonel Geoffrey Parry, mentioned
below, the colonel himself having at one time been an officer in
the English army. Colonel Geoffrey Parry, of Caernarvonshire,
North Wales, a cadet of this family, married Margaret Hughes of
Cefn Llanfair, North Wales, by whom he had issue a son, Love
Parry, Esq., of Wanfour, who was high sheriff of Caernarvonshire
in 1685. He married Ellen, daughter and heiress of Hugh Wynn, of
Penarth. By her he had two sons, Love Parry, Esq., and Thomas
Parry, gentleman. The latter was the first of the family in
America. He was born in Caernarvonshire, North Wales, in 1680.
He settled in Pennsylvania, and in 1715 married Miss Jane
Morris, of an early and distinguished colonial family. By her he
had ten children. Thomas Parry died in 1751, aged 71 years.
John Parry, of Moorland Manor, third child of Thomas Parry,
was born July 25, 1721, and on September 21, 1751, married
Margaret Tyson, having by her seven children. He died November
10, 1789, aged 69 years. Benjamin Parry, son of John and
Margaret (Tyson) Parry, became an early resident of New Hope
borough, settling there in 1784, while it was still styled
Coryell’s ferry, and bringing with him considerable means,
obtained from his father. He was born March 1, 1757, and came to
Coryell’s ferry from Philadelphia county. He was a prominent and
useful citizen, and foremost in all enterprises for the benefit
of his neighborhood and the county. He was, in connection with
his friend, the Hon. Samuel D. Ingham, especially active in
procuring from the legislatures of Pennsylvania and New Jersey
the necessary charters permitting the erection of the New Hope
Delaware bridge at that point, and was the first signer of the
original list of stockholders, and a liberal subscriber to the
stock. Mr. Parry was fond of study and scientific research, and
his reading covered a wide range of subjects. In 1810 he
invented the well-known "kiln drying" process, and has been
largely engaged in exporting corn-meal to the West Indies and
other tropical countries. Beside being the proprietor of the
linseed oil factory at New Hope, he owned mills for the
manufacture of flour, lumber, etc., both at New Hope and in
Amwell township, N.J., the latter being called the "Prime Hope
mills." He also had erected a warehouse and store, continuing
his interest therein with his brothers, Thomas, David, and
Daniel, for a number of years. A map of New Hope in 1798 shows
most of the settlement to have belonged at that time to the
Parry family. Benjamin Parry was the senior member of the firm
of B. Parry & Co., a partner in Parry & Cresson, and was also
connected in Philadelphia with the old flour commission house of
Timothy Paxson & Co., of which his relative, Mr. Paxson, was the
head. Benjamin Parry was married November 4, 1787, to Jane, a
daughter of Oliver Paxson of "Maple Grove," Solebury township,
by whom he had four children: Oliver, Ruth, Jane and Margaret.
Mr. Parry died in 1839 at the "old Parry mansion" in New Hope,
in the 83d year of his age, and is buried in the family lot in
the Friends’ Solebury burying ground.
Oliver Parry, gentleman, only son of Benjamin Parry, was born
in New Hope, December 20, 1794, and became a wealthy and
prominent citizen of Philadelphia, dying at his home in that
city February 20, 1874, aged 80 years. He also is buried in the
Friends’ Solebury burying ground. May 1, 1827, he married Rachel
Randolph, of Philadelphia, daughter of Major Edward Randolph, a
patriot of 1776. He had by her eight daughters and four sons.
The first son was Major Edward Randolph Parry, of the United
States army, born at New Hope, July 27, 1832, and married
December 17, 1863, to Frances, daughter of Gen. Justin Dimick,
of the United States army. In May, 1861, Major Parry entered the
army as first lieutenant in the 11th United States infantry and
served throughout the war with great credit. In 1864 he was made
captain of the 11th, afterward transferred to the 20th, and on
re-organization of the army was promoted a major for gallant
services. He was in the terrible fighting along the line of the
Weldon railroad, and before Petersburg, Va., commanding his
regiment in several actions. In 1865 he was assistant
adjutant-general of the regular brigade, Army of the Potomac,
and was serving upon the staff of General Winthrop when the
latter was killed. At Lee’s surrender he was attached to army
headquarters. In 1868 Major Parry commanded Forts Phillips and
Jackson at the mouth of the Mississippi river, and Fort Ripley,
Minn., in 1869. He resigned on account of ill health in 1871,
and died at the "old Parry mansion" in New Hope, April 13, 1874,
and was buried on the 16th at Friends’ Solebury burying ground.
Major Parry was one of the few representatives of Bucks county
in the regular army during the civil war, and was a gallant
soldier.
The second son was Richard Randolph Parry, gentleman. He was
born December 5, 1835, and was married October 11, 1866, to Miss
Ellen L. Read, of Portland, Me. He has three children: Gertrude
R., Adelaide R. and Oliver Randolph Parry; the latter born March
29, 1873. Richard Randolph Parry is a member of the Bucks County
Historical society, and also of the Historical society of
Pennsylvania, a director of the New Hope Delaware bridge
company, and a warden of St. Andrew’s Protestant Episcopal
church, Lambertville. The third son, George Randolph Parry,
physician in Philadelphia, was born in Philadelphia, September
3, 1839, and began the study of medicine in the Philadelphia
College of Pharmacy in 1859, and graduated in 1862. He entered
the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in
1864, and was graduated in 1867. He began the practice of
medicine the same year at Union Springs, N.Y., remaining there
until 1880. He then located in New Hope, in the ancestral home,
the "old Parry mansion," where he has been in active practice
ever since. Dr. Parry is a member of the Bucks County Historical
society, and also of the Historical society of Pennsylvania. He
was married March 2, 1869, to Miss Elizabeth Van Etten, by whom
he has had two daughters: Elizabeth Randolph and Jane Paxson.
The fourth son, Oliver Paxson Parry, was born June 20, 1846, and
died December 13, 1852. The "old Parry mansion" in New Hope
borough, erected in 1784 for Benjamin Parry, Esq., has never
been out of the family, and is now owned and occupied by his
grandsons, Richard Randolph Parry and Dr. George Randolph Parry.
Daniel Parry, Esq., a gentleman of liberal fortune, lived and
died in New Hope. He married in early life, but left no issue.
The Bucks county papers, in speaking of his death, described him
as a man of large benevolence, and a generous friend to the
destitute; he was the youngest brother of Benjamin Parry.
Colonel Caleb Parry, of the army of 1776, cousin of Benjamin
Parry, was instantly killed at the battle of Long Island. Much
mention is made of him in a work, entitled "Campaign of 1776,"
published by the Long Island Historical society, and in sundry
other works. The Parry family in the United States are allied by
marriage, and intermarriage, with some of the oldest colonial
families, such as Morris, Tyson, Randolph, Vaughn, Paxson, Bull,
Wayne (General Anthony Wayne), Lewellyn, Winslow, and others of
note.
THE PAXSONS OF MAPLE GROVE.— The Maple Grove property was
conveyed about 1763 from Richard Pike, of Cork, Ireland, to
Thomas Paxson, son of William and Abigail Pownall Paxson,
grandson of James and Jane Paxson, who came to America in 1682
from the county of Bucks, England. Thomas Paxson married in 1732
Jane, daughter of Thomas Canby, who came in 1683 from Yorkshire,
England. He married first, Sarah Jarvis, and second, Mary
Oliver, of Welsh descent, mother of Jane Canby. Thomas and Jane
(Canby) Paxson had nine children. Two of them, Benjamin and
Oliver, are respectively the paternal and maternal ancestors of
the present heirs Of Maple Grove. Oliver Paxson, a prominent and
influential Friend, married first Ruth Watson, and second Ruth
Johnson. By the first marriage there were four children, two of
whom, William and Oliver, died in infancy; Jane married Benjamin
Parry, and Ruth married, in 1793, Hugh Ely, son of Hugh and
Elizabeth Blackfan Ely. Their children were: Elizabeth, married
Richard Randolph, and Elias, married Sarah M., daughter of Dr.
John and Margaret (Mitchel) Wilson, of Buckingham. Elias Ely
died in 1836 and his wife in 1849, leaving three children: Ruth
Anna married in 1861 Oliver Paxson, son of Benjamin Paxson;
Margaret Wilson married Dr. James E. Rhoads; and Richard Elias
married Caroline A. Newbold. Oliver Paxson, senior, ancestor of
Ruth Anna Ely, had a brother, Benjamin, ancestor of the late
Oliver Paxson, as mentioned before. Benjamin Paxson married in
1763 Deborah Taylor, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Town)
Taylor, and had eight children. Thomas, the third child, born in
1769, married in 1814 Hannamiel, daughter of Thomas and Beulah
Canby. They had six children, two of whom died young. The
remaining are: Deborah, Elias, married Margaret Wilson; Richard,
married Eleanor Ely; and Oliver, who married in 1861 Ruth Anna
Ely, and whose children are: Sarah Ely, Margaret Ely, Oliver
Wilson, and Caroline Ely Paxson, who at present reside at Maple
Grove.
AMOS C. PAXSON, retired farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, September 17, 1805, and is a son of Eliada
and Mary (Cooper) Paxson. James Paxson came from the parish of
Bucks, England, in 1682, and settled in Buckingham, under which
township heading is given a detailed history of the family. His
son Henry, born in 1683, married Ann Plumley in 1706, by whom he
had twelve children, of whom Thomas, the eleventh son, was born
July 17, 1726. His son Aaron was the paternal grandfather of
Amos C. Paxson, Eliada Paxson, father of the latter, was a
farmer. Amos C. learned shoemaking as a trade, and followed that
for ten years. In 1836 he engaged in farming, which he followed
up to 1858, when he retired; and the homestead has since been
carried on by his son-in-law, Robert Conrad. Mr. Paxson was
twice married; first to Rachel, daughter of Mark and Hannah
(Johnson) Ely, by whom he had nine children: Hannah (Mrs. A.C.
Worthington), Letitia (Mrs. William A. West), Moses, Beulah,
Sarah A. (Mrs. Horace Smith), Mary Ellen (Mrs. Charles M.
Updike), Lewis, Martha (Mrs. Robert Conrad) and Caroline (Mrs.
R.P. Price). His second wife was Rebecca S., daughter of Eli and
Elizabeth (Hamilton) Smedley, of Lancaster county, Pa., by whom
he had two children, Elizabeth S. and Dora.
CHARLES S. PAXSON, farmer, P.O. Carversvillle, was born in
Solebury township, March 8, 1836, and is a son of Howard and
Mary (Small) Paxson, the latter a daughter of Jonah Small, of
Philadelphia. His paternal grandfather was Elias Paxson, who
married Catherine Rice. Elias was a son of Abraham and Elizabeth
(Brown) Paxson, and Abraham a son of Thomas and Sarah (Harvey)
Paxson. Thomas was a son of Henry and Ann (Plumly) Paxson, and
Henry a son of James and Jane Paxson, who came from Bycot house,
Oxfordshire, England, in 1682 and settled in Bucks county.
Howard Paxson was a farmer, and had a family of nine children:
Charles, Emeline (Mrs. William H. Walter), Watson F., Joseph A.,
Eugene, Wilson S., Elliott, Catherine (Mrs. J.R. Paxson) and
Oscar. (See "The Paxson Family," in Buckingham township, for a
detailed history of the family.) Charles S. Paxson was reared in
Solebury, and was married March 12, 1863, to Sarah B., daughter
of Isaiah and Esther (Good) Michener, of Solebury. They are the
parents of one child, J. Howard, born September 2, 1868. Mr.
Paxson is a member of the Society of Friends. Politically he is
a republican.
EUGENE PAXSON, farmer, P.O. Lumberville, was born in Solebury
township, January 8, 1845, and is a son of Howard and Mary
(Small) Paxson. (See Charles S. Paxson, above, for family
ancestry.) Eugene Paxson occupies a part of the old Paxson
homestead, where he was born and reared. November 23, 1869, he
married Martha, daughter of Samuel and Harriet (Bright) Livezey,
of Solebury, and has five children living: Samuel L., Lizzie C.,
M. Anna, Edward M. and W. Henry. Mr. Paxson and family are
members of the Hicksite Society of Friends. Politically he is a
republican.
WATSON F. PAXSON, real estate and general business agent,
P.O. Carversville, was born in Solebury township, August 18,
1840, and is a son of Howard and Mary (Small) Paxson. (See
Charles S. Paxson, for family ancestry.) Watson F. Paxson was
reared and educated in Solebury township, and on attaining his
majority embarked in the mercantile business in Carversville,
which he successfully continued until 1882. Since that time he
has been engaged in his present business. September 28, 1869, he
married Ruth, daughter of Ephraim and Margaret (Good) Shaw, of
Plumstead township. Her paternal grandfather was Ephraim Shaw,
and her mother’s father was John Good, both representatives of
old and respected families of Plumstead township. Mr. and Mrs.
Paxson have two children, Margaret S. and Mary S. Mr. Paxson was
appointed postmaster of Carversville under President Grant’s
second administration, and held the office until 1884. He and
his family are members of the Solebury Friends’ meeting.
Politically he is a republican.
WILSON S. PAXSON, proprietor Lumbertown mills, P.O.
Lumberville, was born in Solebury township, March 14, 1847, and
is a son of Howard and Mary (Small) Paxson. (See Charles S.
Paxson, above, for family ancestry.) Wilson S. was reared in
Solebury, and in 1868, on reaching his majority, purchased the
Lumbertown mills, which he has since successfully conducted. In
1872 he married Jennie, daughter of A. Ellicote and Sarah
(Kiple) Hall, of Upper Makefield township. He has three
children: George S., R. Ella and Watson. Mr. Paxson is a member
of the Solebury Friends’ meeting. Politically he is a
republican.
ELIAS E. PAXSON, farmer, P.O. Aquetong, was born in Solebury
township, October 25, 1817, being a son of Thomas and Hannameil
(Canby) Paxson. His grandfather was Benjamin Paxson, a tailor by
trade, but who followed farming. He was a son of Thomas and a
grandson of William Paxson. William Paxson was a son of James
Paxson, who settled in Bucks county in 1682. The maternal
grandfather of Elias E. Paxson was Thomas Canby, a son of
Thomas, who was a son of Benjamin Canby. Thomas Canby came from
Yorkshire, England, and settled in Bucks county in 1683.
Benjamin Paxson was the first of the name to occupy the farm now
owned by Elias E. He had eight children, of whom Thomas, the
father of our subject, was the third child. Thomas had the
following children: Deborah, Elias E., Oliver, Beulah
(deceased), and Richard. Elias E. married Margaret, daughter of
Samuel and Hannah (Longstreth) Wilson, of Buckingham township,
by whom he had four children: Samuel W., Sarah W., Deborah
(deceased), and Hannah. Mr. Paxson and family are members of the
Orthodox Society of Friends.
HOWARD H. PAXSON, retired, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, September 20, 1810, being a son of Asher and
Martha (Harding) Paxson. His grandfather was Mahlon Paxson, a
descendant of James and Jane Paxson, who came from the parish of
Slow, Oxfordshire, England, and settled in Bucks county in 1682.
His maternal grandfather was Jonathan Harding. Howard H. Paxson
was reared in Solebury township, where most of his life has been
spent in farming. He was a natural mechanic, and was also
engaged in various business enterprises. He was twice married,
first to Elizabeth, daughter of John H. and Elizabeth (Pownal)
Ely, of Solebury, by whom he had two children, Alfred and M.
Elizabeth. His second wife was Mary P., daughter of Mark and
Rachel (Hambleton) Ely, of Solebury. By the second marriage he
has one child, Mary Anna, who is married to Harvey Warner, and
has one child, Howard.
HUGH P. PAXSON, farmer, P.O. Aquetong, was born in Solebury
township, March 31, 1813, being a son of Asher and Martha
(Harding) Paxson. His paternal grandfather was Mahlon Paxson, a
son of Henry, who was a son of Henry Paxson.
The latter was a son of James Paxson, from Bycot House,
parish of Slow, Oxfordshire, England, who settled in Bucks
county in 1682. Our subject’s mother was a daughter of Jonathan
Harding, of Southampton township, who died in 1833. Mahlon
Paxson, grandfather of Hugh P., married Jane Parry, by whom he
had four children: Alice, Asher, Phineas and Jane. Asher, the
second of these children, had five children: John H, (deceased),
Sarah H., Howard H., Alice P., Hugh P. and Grace W. (deceased).
Hugh P., with his sister Sarah, occupies the old homestead of
his father and grandfather.
WILLIAM WALLACE PAXSON, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, May 11, 1829, being a son of John K. and
Achsah L. (Dennis) Paxson. His paternal grandparents were Aaron
and Letitia (Knowles) Paxson. Aaron was a son of Thomas and
Sarah Paxson, and Thomas a son of Henry and Ann (Plumly) Paxson.
Henry was a son of James Paxson, of the parish of Slow,
Oxfordshire, England, who emigrated to America in 1682. Henry
Paxson was born July 7, 1663, married Ann Plumly in 1706, and
had twelve children, of whom Thomas was the eleventh child. He
was born June 17, 1726, and took up the land now owned and
occupied by our subject, in 1764, and erected the present
dwelling in 1774, which is a well-preserved mansion. His son
Aaron succeeded to the property, and reared a family of six
children: Phineas, Letitia, Ezra, Eliada, Aaron and John K. The
latter succeeded to his father’s property. He was born December
27, 1794, and was married July 31, 1828. He had three children:
William Wallace, John L. and Eugene. Our subject was married
January 17, 1855, to Mary, daughter of John C. and Sarah (Quinn)
Britton, of Holland, N.J. They are the parents of three
children: Achsah (Mrs. William Hurly), Sallie and Lizzie.
CHARLES PHILLIPS, proprietor of Phillips’ Mills, P.O. New
Hope, was born in Solebury township, November 12, 1820, and is a
son of Aaron and Sarah (Croasdale) Phillips. His grandfather was
Thomas Phillips, a son of Aaron Phillips. In 1756 Aaron Phillips
purchased of his half-brother, William Kitchen, an interest in
the mill property now owned by Charles Phillips, and in 1779
became the sole owner. He was succeeded by his son Thomas, who
in turn was succeeded by his son Aaron. These mills have been
owned and conducted by Charles Phillips since his father’s death
in 1858, and for upward of a century have been known as
Phillips’ mills. Aaron Phillips married Sarah Croasdale,
daughter of Jeremiah and Ann (Quinby) Croasdale. Her father was
a descendant of Thomas Croasdale, who came from Yorkshire,
England, and settled in Middletown, Bucks county, at an early
date. Aaron and Sarah Phillips had four children who grew to
maturity: Anna (Mrs. Smith Trego), Mary (Mrs. Barclay Knight),
Charles and Martha (Mrs. John S. Young). Charles Phillips was
married in 1847 to Sarah B., daughter of Joseph and Mary (Betts)
Smith, of Upper Makefield township, by whom he had five
children: Fannie S. (Mrs.. Martha Cunningham), Edward W., Frank
A., Mary E. and Addie M. Mr. Phillips and family are members of
the Hicksite Society of Friends. Politically he is a republican.
He has been township auditor and school director, and is now and
has been for a number of years one of the directors of the
Lambertville National bank.
THOMAS T. POOL, proprietor Great Spring grist and
paper-mills, P.O. New Hope, was born in Buckingham township
March 10, 1848, and is a son of William and Maria (Thompson)
Pool. His grandfather was William Pool, of English descent. He
was a farmer, and early settler of Southampton township. His
maternal grandfather was Hugh Thompson, a farmer of Wrightstown.
He was a son of John Thompson, a native of Ireland, and an early
settler of Northampton township. Thomas Pool has followed the
occupation of milling for twenty-two years. In 1876 he purchased
the Great Spring grist and paper-mills, which he has operated
successfully to the present time. He married Jennie Slack, a
daughter of Albert and Elizabeth (Fell) Slack, of Buckingham, by
whom he has two children: Samuel A. and Ellen D.
ISAIAH QUINBY, retired, P.O. Lumberville,. was born in
Hunterdon county, N.J., September 5, 1814, and is a son of James
and Margaret (Good) Quinby.
His maternal grandfather was Robert Good, a pioneer of
Plumstead township, Bucks county. Isaiah Quinby was reared in
Hunterdon county, N.J., and located in Solebury in 1834. He
learned the milling business at Lumberton with his
brother-in-law, John Kenderdine. He followed this as an
occupation for twenty-five years, after which he retired. He
married Ruth, a daughter of Crispin and Mary (Shaw) Scarborough,
of Solebury, by whom he had three children: Wilmot, Mary and
Margaret. Mr. Quinby and wife are members of the Society of
Friends at Solebury meeting. He has held the office of school
director of Solebury township for nine years. In politics he is
a republican.
EASTBURN REEDER, farmer and dairyman, P.O. New Hope, was born
in Solebury June 30, 1828, being a son of Joseph E. and Letitia
(Betts) Reeder. Charles Reeder was born in England June 24,
1713, emigrated in 1734, and settled in Bucks county. He was one
of the petitioners that Makefield be organized as a separate
township in 1737. The same year he married Eleanor Merrick, by
whom he had eleven children. Merrick, the seventh son, was born
July 31, 1754, and in 1773 married Elizabeth Collins. In 1810
they removed to Muncy, Lycoming county. They had thirteen
children, of whom Merrick, Jr., was the second son, born
February 8, 1776. In 1802 he married Elizabeth Eastburn, and had
three sons: Joseph E., David K. and William P. Merrick Reeder,
Jr., was a prominent citizen of his day. He was a good surveyor,
was a clerk of the almshouse, and a justice of the peace for
many years. He died in 1851, aged 75 years. Joseph E. Reeder,
eldest son of Merrick Reeder, Jr., and father of Eastburn
Reeder, was born March 28, 1803. He married Letitia, daughter of
Stephen and Hannah (Blackfan) Betts, by whom he had two
children: Eastburn and Elizabeth; the latter of whom died
November 7, 1860. Eastburn Reeder, the subject of this sketch,
was married December 15, 1853, to Ellen, daughter of John E. and
Martha (Quinby) Kenderdine. Mr. and Mrs. Reeder are the parents
of four children: Watson K., Elizabeth (Mrs. Newton E. Wood),
Letitia and Martha. Mr. Reeder is a representative citizen of
Solebury, and is an extensive breeder of Jersey cattle, in which
he has been interested since 1872. He has been the
representative of the State Board of Agriculture from Bucks
county since 1876, and is a member of the Hicksite Society of
Friends, and politically is a republican.
WATSON K. REEDER, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in Solebury
township October 3, 1854, and is a son of Eastburn and Ellen
(Kenderdine) Reeder. His father was a son of Joseph E. and
Letitia (Betts) Reeder. His maternal grandparents were John E.
and Martha (Quinby) Kenderdine. Watson K. was reared in
Solebury, and was educated in the common schools, subsequently
attending Swarthmore college. February 20, 1879, he married
Mary, daughter of Robert and Ann (Carver) Beans, a
representative family of Warminster township.
WILLIAM REEDER, D.D.S., southwest corner of Sixth and Green
streets, Philadelphia, was born in Solebury township April 14,
1857, and is a son of Merrick and Rachel A. (Trego) Reeder. The
ancestry of the family is given in detail, under name of
Eastburn Reeder, above. David K., second son of Merrick, Jr.,
and Elizabeth (Eastburn) Reeder, was born in Solebury township,
October 29, 1804, and married Elizabeth Reeder, daughter of
Charles and Jane (Atkinson) Reeder, of Lower Makefield township.
He had two children, Merrick and Sarah J. The former was born in
Philadelphia September 19, 1828, and in 1856 married Rachel A.,
daughter of Charles T. and Anna (Smith) Trego, of Wrightstown,
Bucks county. Charles T. Trego was a son of William Trego, born
in 1774, and a grandson of William Trego, born in 1744. The
latter was a son of John Trego, born in 1711, John, a son of
Jacob Trego, born in 1687, and Jacob, a son of Peter Trego, who
was born in 1655, and settled in Bucks county in 1682. Merrick
and Rachel Reeder were the parents of two children, William and
Mary. William Reeder was reared in Solebury township, and
educated in the public schools, and at the Lambertville (N.J.)
seminary. He began the study of dentistry in 1879, at the
Pennsylvania Dental college at Philadelphia, and was graduated
in 1881, from which date until 1885 he was demonstrator of
operative dentistry in the same college. He also began the
practice of his profession in 1881, in Philadelphia, where he
has built up an extensive and successful practice. April 28,
1886, he married Florence, daughter of Linford and Anna N.
(Reeder) Lukens, of Philadelphia. Dr. Reeder is a member of the
Pennsylvania Association of Dental Surgeons, of the
Odontological Society of Pennsylvania, and a member of the board
of managers of the Philadelphia Lying-in-Charity and Nurse
school.
HAMPTON W. RICE, manufacturer, P.O. Lumberville, was born in
Solebury township, March 24, 1844, being a son of Samuel H. and
Ann (Livezey) Rice. His grandfather, William Rice, was a farmer,
and a grandson of Edward Rice of county Tyrone, Ireland. The
latter settled in Bucks county in 1736. Mr. Rice’s mother was a
daughter of Robert Livezey. Samuel H. Rice, father of Hampton
W., was a farmer and also an auctioneer for many years. He was
married twice; first to Euphemia, daughter of John Watson of
Buckingham township, by whom he had one child, Mary E. (Mrs.
William Wharton). His second wife was Ann Livezey, by whom he
had three children: Euphemia A., Hampton W. and Sallie L.
Hampton W. owns the homestead farm, and followed farming until
1886. He then embarked in the manufacture of bone-dust and
fertilizers, in connection with his father-in-law, Watson
Kenderdine, under the firm name of W. Kenderdine & Rice, in
which business he is still engaged. His wife was Emma, daughter
of Watson and Hannah (Preston) Kenderdine, of Solebury township.
They have two children, Marian and J. Walter. Mr. Rice is a
member of the Friends’ Solebury meeting. Politically he is a
republican.
WILLIAM HENRY RICE, farmer, P.O. Lahaska, was born in
Solebury township, September 22, 1828, and is a son of Joseph
and Julia (Iden) Rice, the latter a daughter of George Iden, of
Richland township. His grandfather Joseph, son of Edwin Rice,
came from county Tyrone, Ireland, and settled in Solebury in
1736. He brought a certificate of good character, signed by the
rector and church wardens of the parish of Killaman, which
certificate is now in the possession of his
great-great-grandson, Hampton W. Rice, of this township; Joseph
Rice, grandfather of William H., was a weaver by trade, and also
followed farming. He had four children: William, a farmer;
Joseph, Letitia and Catherine. Joseph was a farmer, and had four
children: Joseph G. and William H. (farmers), and George I. and
Lewis C., who were physicians. Mr. Rice has always been a
resident of Solebury, and occupies a part of the family
homestead. He married Phebe T., a daughter of Jacob and Anna
(Passmore) Taylor, of Chester county, Pa., by whom he had six
children: Alfred T., Anna P., George I., A. Lincoln, Julia I.
and Joseph. His son George I. was married on October 7, 1882, to
R. Amy, a daughter of Aaron Gilmore, of Buckingham township, and
has three Sons and one daughter, William H. and A. Lincoln,
twins born April 22, 1883, James A. Garfield, born January 7,
1884, and Maude, July 25, 1886. On January 1st, 1887, his son A.
Lincoln was married to Miss Sadie B., daughter of John Shepler,
of Lambertville, N.J.
JOHN N. RICH, farmer, P.O. Holicong, was born in Buckingham
township, February 10, 1815, and is a son of Anthony and Maria
(Mann) Rich. His grandfather, Jonathan Rich, a farmer of’
Plumstead township, had three children: Anthony, James S. and
Josiah. Jonathan Rich was a son of Joseph Rich, and a grandson
of John Rich, who settled in Solebury as early as 1730. He was
of English descent, and his ancestors came to America in the
"Mayflower," in 1620. Mrs. Rich’s grandfather was John Mann, a
carpenter, and a resident of Doylestown. Anthony Rich was born
in Plumstead township, but nearly all his life was a resident of
Buckingham. He was a farmer, and a soldier of the war Of 1812.
His children were: Benjamin, Jonathan, Mary, John M., Martha,
Preston, Josiah, Elizabeth A., Almira, James, Susan, A.
Worthington, Emily and Sarah E. John M. was reared in Buckingham
township, and in 1847 located on the farm he now owns and
occupies. He married Mary M., daughter of Lewis and Caroline
(Clark)
Deffebach, of Doylestown. Mrs. Rich’s father was colonel of a
regiment during the war of 1812, and for several years was the
editor of the "Doylestown Democrat." Mr. Rich and wife have had
two children: Lewis D. and Martha (deceased). The son carries on
the homestead farm. He married Caroline, daughter of Henry and
Emeline (Rich) Watson, of Buckingham township.
HIRAM SCARBOROUGH, collector of tolls, New Hope & Delaware
Bridge company, P.O. New Hope, was born in Upper Makefield
township, this county, January 19, 1806, and is a son of Enos
and Meribah (Jackson) Scarborough. His paternal grandfather was
Isaac Scarborough, a native of England, and a blacksmith by
trade, who settled in Upper Makefield township, this county, and
died there. His son Enos was also a blacksmith. In 1809 he
settled in New Hope, where he died. His children were: Isaac,
Joseph, William, Hiram, Susan, Hannah, Mary and John. Hiram
Scarborough was also a blacksmith by trade. He always took an
active part in political affairs, and served two terms as a
member of the legislature, besides holding several local
offices. In 1851 he lost his right arm by the accidental
discharge of a gun, since which time he has been collector of
tolls for the New Hope & Delaware Bridge company. His wife was
Ann M., daughter of Joab and Elizabeth (Fisher) Jones, of
Lambertville, N.J. They have four children living: Rutledge,
Isaac, Kate and Fletcher. Mr. Scarborough is a member of the
Masonic order. In politics he is a democrat.
ISAAC P. SCARBOROUGH, farmer, P.O. Aquetong, was born in
Solebury township, July 24, 1846, and is a son of Isaac and
Mercy (Pearson) Scarborough. His grandparents were Isaac and Amy
(Pearson) Scarborough. The Isaac last mentioned was a son of
John and Margaret Scarborough, who early settled in Bucks
county. The maternal ancestors of our subject were Crispin and
Hannah Pearson, and the great-grandparents, Crispin and
Elizabeth (Wilkinson) Pearson. The children of Isaac
Scarborough, grandfather of our subject, were: Crispin, John,
William, Asa, Cynthia, Isaac, Charles, Amy, Pearson and Elijah,
all now deceased but Elijah. Isaac, son of the above, and father
of our subject, had six children: Amy, Watson, Elizabeth (Mrs.
Richard Betts), Mercy E. (Mrs. Isaac C. Thomas), deceased, Isaac
and Margaret (deceased). Mr. Scarborough occupies the homestead
of his father and grandfather. He married Emma, daughter of
Quinby and Elizabeth (Betts) Hampton, of Buckingham township, by
whom he has had eight children: Charles, Mercy (deceased),
William, Elizabeth, Howard, Frank (deceased), Isaac and Nellie.
WATSON SCARBOROUGH, farmer, P.O. Lumberville, was born in
Solebury, April 24, 1839, and is a son of Isaac and Mercy W.
(Pearson) Scarborough. He was reared in Solebury township, and
has always been a farmer. He was married on January 1, 1868, to
Anna M., daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Wismer) Stover, of
Solebury. They have one son, Harry W., born July 24, 1870. Mrs.
Scarborough is a member of the Christian church. Politically Mr.
Scarborough is a republican.
JAMES SHAW, farmer, P.O. Carversville, was born in Plumstead
township, August 13, 1821, and is a son of John and Grace (Carr)
Shaw. His grandparents were James and Rachel (Bancroft) Shaw,
and great-grandparents James and Mary (Fenton) Shaw, pioneers of
Plumstead township. John Shaw’s family consisted of five
children: Eleazer C., Elizabeth S. (Mrs. Henry E. Carver),
Hannah, Comley and James. The latter was reared in Plumstead
township, and has always followed farming. He located in
Carversville in 1883. In 1845 he married Charlotte T., daughter
of Samuel and Susan (Pittenger) Smalley. They are the parents of
the following: Grace Emma, Clementine G., John S., Henry C. and
Albert P. Grace Emma married William Henry Palmer, and had two
children: M. Alice and Lottie E. John S. married Tarilla
Reading, and Henry C. married Sarah R. Watson. Albert P. married
Anna L. Reading, and has two children: Frank and Bertha. Mr.
Shaw’s maternal grandfather was David Carr, a farmer of
Plumstead township, and a son of Jonathan and Deborah (Robinson)
Carr.
SAMUEL SHUPE, blacksmith and farmer, P.O. Carversville, was
born in Nockamixon township, February 19, 1835, and is a son of
Jacob and Susan (Meyers) Shupe. His grandfather was Jacob Shupe,
and his maternal grandfather Henry Meyers, both farmers and
early settlers of Tinicum township. Jacob Shupe, Sr., had six
children: Solomon, Mary, Henry, Jacob, Jr., Abraham and Sarah.
Jacob, Jr., was a farmer and reared a family of seven children:
Elizabeth (Mrs. James Jolley), Catherine (Mrs. Silas Althouse),
Joseph, John, Mary A. (Mrs. George Ely), Samuel and Sally (Mrs.
William Mason). Samuel was reared in Tinicum township, and in
1859 located in Solebury, where he has followed blacksmithing
and farming. He married Charlotte, daughter of George and Sarah
(Ott) Mood, of Bedminster township, this county, by whom he has
six children living: William, Sally (Mrs. Morris Hellyer),
Edwin, John, Libbie and Mary.
JOSEPH B. SIMPSON, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Solebury township, December 4, 1828, and is a son of John and
Letitia (Buckman) Simpson. His grandparents were David and Agnes
(Wiggins) Simpson. David Simpson was a son of John Simpson, who
was born October 23, 1739. This John was the second of five
children of John Simpson, who was born in Ireland in 1712, and
emigrated to this country. He married Hannah Delaplane, of
French origin. They settled in this county on the verge of
Buckingham monthly meeting, when their son John was an infant.
In the 26th year of his age he became an able minister of the
gospel. He married Ruth Whitson and had five children, of whom
David was the eldest. David Simpson married Agnes Wiggins and
their children were: Ruth, Sarah, John, Rachel, Hannah and
Agnes. Of these John married Letitia, daughter of Joseph and
Elizabeth (Linton) Buckman, by whom he had five children: Joseph
B., Benjamin W. (deceased), David, Elizabeth and Agnes. Joseph
B. occupies the homestead farm owned by his father and
grandfather. He was twice married; first to Macre A. Flowers.
His second wife was Sarah P., daughter of Preston and Macre
(Pickering) Eyre, of Upper Makefield township, by whom he has
had three children: Edward, Charles and Martha, Mr. Simpson has
been school director of Solebury for fourteen years and served
several terms as township auditor. He is a member of the
Hicksite Society of Friends. Politically he is a prohibitionist.
FREDERICK M. SLAUGHTER, merchant, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Frankford, Pa., October 21, 1818, and is a son of Peter and
Sarah (Mangold) Slaughter. He was reared in Frankford, where he
served four years and four months as an indentured apprentice at
the machinist’s trade, after which he worked as a journeyman in
various sections of the country until 1855, when he located in
New Hope and embarked in the mercantile business, which he has
continued until the present time. In 1841 he married Mary A.,
daughter of John and Martha (McKeone) Bartley, of New Hope, by
whom he had four children: Hiram (deceased), Peter, Frederick
(deceased) and Jonathan. Mr. Slaughter served about one hundred
days in the late war of the rebellion being honorably discharged
at the end of that time. He is a member of the New Hope
Presbyterian chapel. Politically he is a republican.
ANDREW J. SOLOMON, proprietor Delaware house, P.O. New Hope,
was born in Hunterdon county, N.J., June 20, 1828, and is a son
of Charles and Asenath (Kelley) Solomon. His father was a native
of Bucks county and a millwright by trade. Andrew J. located in
New Hope in 1851, and was employed on the Delaware division of
the State canal for several years. He afterward engaged in
various business enterprises, and in 1879 became owner and
proprietor of the Delaware house at New Hope, which he has since
conducted. His enterprise and natural fitness for this pursuit
have proven him to be the right man in the right place. Mr.
Solomon has always taken an active part in the political affairs
of the county; he was elected county commissioner in 1875 and
served three years with credit to himself and to the
satisfaction of his constituents. Politically he is a stanch
democrat.
WILLIAM STAVELY was born in Shrewsbury parish, Kent county,
Eastern Shore of Maryland. At his death he had in his possession
the original deed for seven hundred acres of land, dated 1682,
and granted by "Charles, absolute lord and proprietor of the
province of Maryland and Lord Baron of Baltimore," a part of
which tract is still held by the Stavely family. When 15 years
of age Mr. Stavely went to Philadelphia and was apprenticed to
Thomas J. Stiles, publisher of "The True American." He then
entered the employ of John H. Cunningham and in 1823 purchased
Mr. Cunningham’s business and printed on a small scale at Third
and Dock streets, until the property was purchased by Stephen
Girard. He then removed to Pear street near St. Paul’s church
and began to extend his business. August 27, 1822, he married
Margaret, daughter of George Sheed, Esq., of the old district of
Southwark. In October, 1823, he began to print "The Philadelphia
Recorder" (afterwards called "The Episcopal Recorder," and
successively "The Episcopal Register" and "Church"), a weekly
paper published by a brother of the late Bishop Potter. This
brought him in contact with many of the most prominent clergy
and laymen of the Episcopal church, with many of whom his
business relations ripened into a life-long friendship. Shortly
afterward he published and circulated throughout the United
States a cheap edition of the Common Prayer Book. Just after the
liberation of the Spanish American colonies, Mr. Stavely did a
very large and lucrative printing trade in the Spanish language
for the Mexican and Columbian governments. He afterward removed
to the vicinity of Third and Dock again. He took James McCalla
into partnership and then the firm assumed the name of Stavely &
McCalla. A vast amount of church printing, convention journals,
reports, tracts, etc., fell into the hands of the firm. In 1839
he bought Garret Bryan’s estate, consisting of three hundred
acres in Solebury township, near Lahaska, and afterward added to
it the adjoining Brown estate, consisting of two hundred and
thirty-two acres, thus making himself one of the largest
landowners in Bucks county. He removed to the country and made
farming his Occupation, though keeping up his connection with
the publishing house until 1854. He was an ardent churchman and
worked faithfully and contributed generously to all the parishes
that he was in any way identified with. He was for fifteen years
vestryman and Sunday-School superintendent at "Old Swedes"
church, and also took great interest in the "Church of the
Ascension," which church, through his efforts, was greatly
relieved from financial difficulties. After his removal to Bucks
county he took an active part in the organization of the
parishes at Doylestown and Centreville, the parsonage of the
latter of which was donated by him. He was also president of the
Bucks county Bible Society. His life in the country was simply a
repetition of his city life. His great knowledge and tact as a
business man, coupled with his remarkable energy, always assured
him prominent positions. He was for a number of years president
of the Bucks County Agricultural society. At the time of his
death he was president of the Brownsville Horse company, United
Horse companies, Farmers and Mechanics’ Mutual Fire Insurance
company of Bucks county and director of Lahaska and New Hope,
Buckingham and Doylestown turnpike companies, declining the
presidency of the latter on account of advanced years. He was
very much interested in all farming improvements. In fact, he
was the first man who used a mowing machine in this county. In
politics, first a whig and later on a republican, he always took
great interest, though he never sought for a public position.
Eight children were the fruit of his marriage, five of whom are
still living. On August 27, 1872, he celebrated his golden
wedding, and the great number present, the expressions of regard
and the congratulatory addresses all testified to the great
esteem in which he was held. He died on the 22d of March, 1877,
at the ripe age of 77 years, and was buried in Centreville.
DR. W.R. STAVELY, physician and surgeon, P.O. Lahaska, was
born October 21, 1831, in Philadelphia and is a son of William
and Margaret (Sheed) Stavely, the former a native of Maryland
and the latter of Philadelphia and both of English descent. Our
subject’s father moved to Philadelphia before he was married and
established a religious paper, which he conducted as long as he
lived. He also did job printing and had quite an extensive
business. He died in 1878 in Solebury township. He had eight
children, five of whom are living: Levina, Ermina, Dr. W.R.,
Margaret and Rosabelle. Our subject when seven years of age
moved with his parents to Solebury township, where they had
purchased a large farm. He remained at home until he was fifteen
years of age and then entered the West Chester school and from
there went to Princeton, N.J., to college, where he graduated in
1852. He studied medicine in the Jefferson Medical college,
Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1856. He then came to this
place and began practice. He practised here until 1861, when he
enlisted as a private in the Doylestown guards and served three
months, during which time he was promoted to sergeant. He then
came back and went to Harrisburg, where he was examined and
appointed surgeon in the 103d Pennsylvania regiment and served
about eighteen months and left with the Chickahominy fever.
After he recruited he served in the Chestnut Hill Military
hospital and the Dale hospital at Massachusetts. He witnessed
nearly all the battles of the campaign. At the close of the war
he came home, where he has since been in practice. He was
married in 1856 to Julia Kelly, by whom he has four children:
Carrie, Albert, Margaret and Sarah. Dr. Stavely is a member of
the Masonic fraternity.
HENRY W. STOVER, miller, P.O. Carversville, was born in
Bedminster township December 14, 1839, and is a son of Isaac and
Elizabeth (Wismer) Stover. His grandfather was Jacob Stover,
born May 13, 1857, who was a soldier of the revolutionary war
and followed farming in Bedminster township. His wife,
Catharine, was born March 27, 1768. His children were:
Elizabeth, Henry, Matthias, Nancy, Jonas, Jacob, Samuel,
Abraham, Catharine and Isaac. The latter in early life was a
tanner and teamster and before the days of railroads made
several trips between this section and Pittsburg. In 1843 he
purchased the Carversville mills, which he conducted until his
death in 1876. His children were: Oliver (deceased), Anna M.
(Mrs. Watson Scarborough), Henry W., Jacob A., Fannie E., Sarah
J. (deceased), Kate M. (Mrs. S.B. Jones), Cornelia (deceased),
I. Newton and Emma L. Mr. Stover’s maternal grandfather was
Henry Wismer, wife Barbara Ruth, a farmer and drover of
Plumstead township and one of the original manufacturers of
eight-day clocks in Bucks county. Jacob A. Stover is in the
exchange and livery business and I. Newton in the grocery
business, both in Trenton, N.J. The latter married Adelaide
Opdicke and has one child, Jacob M. Henry W. Stover was reared
in Solebury from the age of four years. He learned the milling
business and at his father’s death succeeded to the business. He
married Amanda, daughter of Josiah R. and Catherine (Cress)
Hellyer, of Solebury, and has four children: Helen, Warren, Ray
and Miriam. Mr. Stover was postmaster of Carversville two years
under President Hayes’s administration. He is a member of the
Christian church, the Knights of Pythias and the I.O.O.F.
Politically he is a republican.
LUKENS THOMAS, retired, P.O. Lumberville, was born in
Montgomery county, Pa., near the mouth of the Perkiomen creek,
February 15, 1812, and is a son of Charles and Sarah (Lukens)
Thomas. He lived with his father on the farm in Upper Dublin,
until 17 years of age, then went to Upper Darby township,
Delaware county, Pa., and served a three years’ apprenticeship
at the milling business. In 1833 he located in New Hope, and for
two years was miller for Mordecai Thomas. He then removed to
Lumberton, and started the flour mill built by John E.
Kenderdine, which he rented and occupied for two years;
afterward he was a partner with Mr. Kenderdine in the milling
and lumber business for six years, the firm continuing in the
milling business two years, when Kenderdine & Thomas dissolved
partnership. He then carried on the lumber business for four
years longer. After this he purchased from the estate of William
Dilworth, deceased, the property in Lumberville, where he now
resides, to which he removed in 1847, and there engaged in the
retail lumber trade. He also built a saw-mill, sash, door and
blind factory, which he conducted up to 1867, when he retired
from business. He was one of the first stockholders, and a
liberal subscriber to the stock of the Lumberville & Delaware
Bridge company, which, owing to his and others’ efforts, was
made a success. Mr. Thomas was twice married. His first wife was
Ann, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Williams) Conrad, of
Montgomery county, by whom he had four children: Charles
(deceased), Joseph, Jonathan and Reuben. His second wife was
Sarah, daughter of Amos and Rebecca (Huffman) Armitage of
Solebury township. Mr. Thomas and wife are members of the
Solebury monthly meeting of Friends. Politically he is a
republican.
WILLIAM TINSMAN, lumber dealer, P.O. Lumberville, was born in
Warren county, N.J., January, 8, 1821, and is a son of Daniel
and Margaret (Fine) Tinsman, who settled in Durham township in
1831. Daniel Tinsman was engaged in farming for many years in
Durham township, and in the latter part of his life conducted
the Monroe grist and saw mills in the same township. These mills
were bought by Daniel Tinsman and William Bennett about 1840.
His children were: John F., Sarah (Mrs. William Bennett),
William and Philip F. William remained in Durham until 1846,
when he farmed in New Jersey for five years. He also run a
saw-mill for four years. In 1854 he returned to Durham and
purchased his father’s interest in the milling and lumber
business, which was carried on by Bennett & Tinsman for twelve
years. He then sold out and was afterward in the lumber business
at Riegelsville, N.J., two years. In 1869 he rented the Lukens
Thomas mills and lumber yards at Lumberville, this county, where
he has been actively engaged in business since, under the firm
name of W. Tinsman & Son. In 1844 he married Mary, daughter of
John and Phebe (Purcel) Gordon, of Riegelsville, N.J. They have
four children: Emily (Mrs. Dr. J.R. Haney), Margaret (Mrs. James
S. White), Daniel and Sallie A. (Mrs. A.B. Worman).
MICHAEL A. VAN HART, proprietor Logan House, P.O. New Hope,
was born in Makefield township, December 15, 1823, and is a son
of Jacob and Mary (Richardson) Van Hart. His grandfather, a
native of Holland, settled in Falls township prior to the
revolution. His maternal grandfather was Daniel Richardson, a
pioneer, who resided near Dolington, this county. Jacob Van
Hart, father of Michael A., was a shoemaker, but followed
farming to some extent. He reared a family of fifteen children,
of whom Michael A. was the ninth. In his tenth year he went to
work on a farm, and continued until he was 16 years of age. He
then served an apprenticeship of five years at the tailor’s
trade, for his board and clothes, after which he worked for
himself in various parts of Bucks county until 1863. At that
time he located in New Hope, and embarked in the hotel business,
which he has conducted successfully to the present time, being
now proprietor of the Logan house. He married Mary, a daughter
of Francis and Sarah (Conrad) Worthington, of Centreville, this
county, and has three children: Frank, Kate and Minnie. Mr. Van
Hart is an F.A.A.M., and in politics is a republican.
JOSEPH B. WALTER, physician, P.O. Solebury, was born in
Plumstead township, August 30, 1840, and is a son of John and
Mary (Beek) Walter. His paternal grandfather was Michael Walter,
of Alsatian descent, and an early resident of Plumstead
township. He was a farmer, and for some years a justice of the
peace of that township. His maternal grandfather was Samuel
Beek, a farmer of the same township. John Walter was born in
Plumstead, and was a carpenter by trade. His family consisted of
five children: Catharine, Joseph B., Levi, Silas and Emma B.
Joseph B. resided with his parents in Plumstead until eight or
nine years of age, when, on the death of his mother, he was
taken into the, family of his maternal uncle, William Beek,
residing in Doylestown. He was educated in the private schools
of S.A. Thompson, Rev. Dr. S.M. Andrews and the public schools
of that town, and subsequently at Kishacoquillas seminary in
Mifflin county, and at the boarding school of Rev. M.S. Hofford,
Beverly, N.J. In 1859 he entered upon the profession of
teaching, and also began the study of medicine, under direction
of Dr. I.S. Moyer, now of Quakertown. He taught in the public
schools of Durham, Warrington and North and Southampton
townships. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a private in company
E, One hundred and twenty-second regiment Pennsylvania
volunteers (nine months’ service), and was mustered out with his
regiment in May, 1863; taught school for a few months at
Richboro, Northampton township, and then re-enlisted in the One
hundred and fifty-second Pennsylvania regiment, with which he
served, being stationed for the most part at headquarters,
Virginia and North Carolina, until mustered out at the close of
the war. In this regiment he was promoted to the rank of third
sergeant, and on September 1st, 1865, was commissioned second
lieutenant, but declined. He participated in the battles of
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Appomattox, and other minor
engagements. Immediately on his discharge, he resumed the study
of medicine with Dr. I.S. Moyer, then of Plumsteadville, and in
1866 entered the medical department of the University of
Pennsylvania. He was graduated in the spring of 1868, and at
once began the practice of his profession with Dr. J.E. Smith at
Yardley, in this county, where he remained till the spring of
1870. He then located in Solebury township, where he has since
been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. On
October 13, 1870, he married Mary T., daughter of George M. and
Sarah (Wood) Child of Plumstead township. Dr. Walter is a member
of the Bucks County Medical society, the Pennsylvania State
medical society, the Lehigh Valley medical association, the F.
and A.M. (R.A.C. and K.T.). In politics he is a republican.
JACOB A. WALTON, carpenter, P.O. Carversville, was born in
Solebury township, February 22, 1837, and is a son of James and
Jane (Thomas) Walton. His great-grandfather, John Walton, was a
son of Jacob and Ann Walton, pioneers of Solebury township. John
Walton married Hannah Carey, and had seven children:
Jonathan, David, Jacob, John, Jesse, Samuel and Mary. Of
these children, Jacob married Hannah Armitage, by whom he had
five children: Evelina, Eliza, John, James and Martha. Of these
James, who was a farmer in Solebury, married Jane, daughter of
Jesse Thomas, of Plumstead township, and had eight children:
Jacob A., Jesse T., Caroline, Elvira B., Charles, Albert, George
R. and Mattie. Jacob A. was reared in Solebury, where, with the
exception of four years, he has always resided. He married
Marietta, daughter of Jesse and Mary (Holcomb) Walton, of
Solebury, and has one daughter, Hannah M.
JOSHUA WHITELEY, manufacturer of cotton yarns, Spring Dale
mills, P.O. New Hope, was born near Holmfirth, Yorkshire,
England, January 1, 1823, and is a son of John and Anna
(Broadhead) Whiteley. After receiving a common-school education,
he became familiar with the manufacture of woolen cloths. On
March 1st, 1853, he sailed for America, and located on Upper
Darby township, Delaware county, Pa.; in 1856, he and his
brothers, Joseph and John, together with John Ashwath, formed a
partnership under the firm of Whiteley Brothers & Co., and
commenced to manufacture cotton and woolen goods at Cardington,
Delaware county, Pa., and after doing a successful business for
over eight years, he sold out his interest, and bought the New
Hope cotton mills, and in 1865 began the manufacture of cotton
warp, which he has successfully continued until the present
time. Under the able management of Mr. Whiteley, the business
has become one of the leading industries of New Hope, giving
employment to nearly fifty people, and turning out from 4200 to
4500 pounds of yarn per week.
JOHN S. WILLIAMS, farmer, P.O. New Hope, was born in
Buckingham township, March 21, 1831, and is a son of Edward and
Esther (Scholfield) Williams. His grandparents were Samuel and
Sarah (Watson) Williams. Samuel was a son of Benjamin and Mercy
(Stevenson) Williams, and Benjamin was a son of Jeremiah and
Mary (Newberry) Howland Williams, who were among the pioneers of
Tinicum township, this county. Jeremiah was a native of New
England. The maternal grandparents of John S. were John and
Agnes (Blackfan) Scholfield. John was a son of Samuel and Edith
(Newlin) Marshall Scholfleld, and Samuel a son of John and Ann
(Lenoire) Scholfield. The latter (wife of John Scholfield last
mentioned) was of French Huguenot descent, and came to Falls
township, this county, from Acadia, Canada. Edward Williams was
a native of Buckingham township, and a farmer. He was twice
married; first to Esther Scholfield, above mentioned, by whom he
had one son, John S., and two daughters (deceased). His second
wife was Ellen (Scholfield) Hunter, by whom he had six children:
Charles H. (deceased), Hetty (Mrs. James R. Hibbs), Mary (Mrs.
T.H. Atkinson), Frank H. (physician in Trenton, N.J.), E.
Marshall and Harriet (Mrs. Benjamin E. Johnson). Our subject was
reared in Buckingham, and located in Solebury in 1855, where he
has since resided. In 1854 he married Rachel M., daughter of
Jonathan P. and Mary (Watson) Magill, of Solebury township, by
whom he has three children: Carroll R., attorney-at-law in
Philadelphia; Agnes B. and E. Newlin.
S. HOWARD WILSON, physician, P.O. Carversville, was born in
Buckingham township, December 23, 1854, and is a son of Samuel
and Maria (Burger) Wilson. He was reared in Buckingham, and
educated in the Doylestown English and Classical seminary. He
began the study of medicine in 1878 with Dr. Joseph Foulke, of
Buckingham. He entered the Jefferson Medical college of
Philadelphia in the fall of the same year, and was graduated in
1881. In 1882 he located in Carversville, where he has been in
active practice since. He is a member of the Bucks County
Medical society.
ISAAC WOOD, quarryman, P.O. Lumberville, was born in
Plumstead township, November 14, 1848, and is a son of Hiuel and
Sophia (Black) Wood. His grandparents were John Wood, a farmer
of Plumstead township, and Catherine Ridge, his wife, by whom he
had six children: John, Hiuel, Clarissa, Charlotte, Julia and
Susan. Hiuel was a farmer of Plumstead township, and is now
retired. He has had twelve children, of whom seven are now
living: Ira C., Sally (Mrs. Shaddinger), Jonathan, Isaac,
Marshal, Ella (Mrs. Samuel Hand) and Winfield. Our subject was
reared in Plumstead township and learned the wheelwright’s
trade, which he followed several years. For the past five years
he has resided in Lumberville, being in the employ of Kimball
Brothers in their quarries. He married Emma, daughter of Francis
S. and Mary (Myers) Rush, of Plumstead township. By her he has
had seven children: Francis, Iris, Lauretta, Samuel, Stella,
Alice and Kemble.
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