500 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. CLOUD, WILLIAM, of Calne, in Wiltshire, England, purchased land Oct. 7, 1682, which was afterwards laid out in Concord township. The will of William Cloud, of Concord, " being aged and well stricken in years," was proved in 1702, in which he mentions his sons,-William, Jeremiah, Joseph, John, and Robert. Of these Joseph came over as a servant to John Bezer, and received his 50 acres of land in Caln township, where he was living in 1709. John, William, and Jeremiah resided on Naaman's Creek for some time. William was living in Caln in 1715, and died there in 1720. His eldest son, Joseph, was there in 1719, but probably at Pextang after this. Joseph, Sr., married Mary Moore, widow of Richard, and mother of Thomas and John Moore. He died in 1739. Jeremiah Cloud died at Naaman's Creek, leaving children,-Jeremiah, Mordecai, Daniel, and others, of whom the two first named settled in the eastern part of East Marlborough (now Pocopson) township. Jeremiah married Ann Baily about 1710, and had children,-Elizabeth, Joel, William, Jeremiah, Benjamin, Mordecai, and Rachel. Mordecai, his brother, married, Feb. 12, 1714, Sarah Chads, daughter of Francis, and after her death married, 9, 30, 1738, Abigail, widow of Isaac Baily. He died in 1745, leaving children,-Mordecai, Abner, Betty (married William Baily), Sarah, Susanna (married Dougherty and Israel Taylor), Hannah (married Joseph Davis), and Joseph. Abner Cloud married, about 1760, Amy Pyle, and had children,-Elizabeth, Abigail, b. 2, 25, 1765, m. Hadley Baldwin ; Mary, Lydia, Joseph, Abner, Amos, Hannah , and Ann. Joseph, born Aug. 27, 1770, died July 3, 1845, married, Aug. 21, 1797, Eliza, daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth (Maris) Taylor, of West Bradford. He was at the head of the melting and refining department of the United States Mint, at Philadelphia, from January, 1797, till Jan. 14, 1836, when he resigned on account of defective eyesight. He died in Radnor, and was buried at Laurel Hill. Besides two daughters, Eliza and Elizabeth, who died young, he had a son Joseph, born Dec. 17, 1800, died June 2, 1834, married Elizabeth Roberts. He owned what was known as the C01110 farm, in West Bradford, and was familiarly spoken of as young Dr. Cloud. His son, Edwin Cloud, resides in Franklin township. COCHRAN, DR. JOHN.-About 1570 there crossed over from Paisley, in Scotland, to the north of Ireland one John Cochran. He was a clansman of the powerful house of Dundonald, and of kin with its noble head, and for several generations his descendants were born, tilled the land, married, and died in the home of their adoption. Many were of the gentry, most were yeomen, but all led sober, upright, and righteous lives. The family names were carefully handed down from sire to son : James, the son of John, was succeeded by John, who, in turn, was father of another James. Then came Robert, called " honest" to distinguish him from others of the same name. His sons were James, Stephen, and David, and these latter crossed the sea and settled in Pennsylvania. The children of James were Ann, Robert, James, John, Stephen, Jane, and George. Ann married the Rev. John Roan ; Jane, Rev. Alexander Mitchel ; Robert died, leaving a daughter, Isabella ; James died in April, 1768, preceded by his father, James, who died in the autumn of 1766. James first resided in Sadsbury, where his son, Dr. John, Cochran, was born, Sept. 1, 1730, and was educated at the grammar-school of Dr. Francis Alison. He received his professional training in Lancaster, under Dr. Thompson. At the outbreak of the French and Indian war young Cochran had but recently finished his medical studies. He entered the service, however, as a surgeon's mate in the hospital department, and remained with the Northern army until the close of the war. Dr. Cochran, together with Maj. (afterwards Gen.) Philip Schuyler, joined Bradstreet when he marched against Fort Frontenac in the summer of 1758. Dec. 4, 1760, he was married to Mrs. Gertrude Schuyler by Dominie Westerts, of the Reformed Dutch Church at Albany, N. Y. That lady was the only sister of Maj. Philip Schuyler, and the widow of Peter Schuyler, whose grandfather, Peter, had been president of the Council of the province of New York in 1719. By her first husband she had two children : one, Peter, who married, but died childless ; the other, Cornelia, who married Walter Livingston, grandson of Robert Livingston, first lord of the manor of Livingston. After his marriage Dr. Cochran removed to New Brunswick, N. J., and there continued to practice his profession, becoming one of the founders of the New Jersey Medical Society in 1766, and in November, 1769, succeeding Dr. Burnet as its president. During the close of the winter of 1776 he offered his services as a volunteer in the hospital department, and Washington recommended his name to the favorable notice of Congress in a letter written in the beginning of 1777. He spoke of Dr. Cochran's services as a volunteer, and of his experience during the French war. On April 7, 1777, Congress resumed the consideration of a report on the hospitals, and plans modeled after those of the British army, having been proposed by Dr: Cochran and Dr. William Shippen, and approved by Gen. Washington, were adopted that day. On the 11th of the same month, in pursuance of His Excellency's recommendation, Dr. Cochran was selected for the position of physician and surgeon•general of the army of the Middle Department. In 1781 (January) Congress conferred upon Dr. Cochran the unsolicited appointment of director-general of the hospitals of the United States, in place of Dr. 'William Shipper), who had resigned. He was on terms of intimacy with Washington, Lafayette, Wayne, Paul Jones, and other eminent contemporaries, and much of his private correspondence has been preserved, showing the closeness of the ties which bound him to those great men. To him Washington presented his camp furniture ; be received from " Mad Anthony" the latter's sword, the silver hilt of which was melted into goblets, and thus came down to his descendants, while Lafayette sent him from France a gold watch of delicate movement. Upon the formation of the Society of the Cincinnati, Dr. Cochran became a member from the State of New York, and in 1790 President Washington appointed him commissioner of loans for the State of New York. He died April 6, 1807, at the age of seventy-six years.* * Abridged from a sketch of Dr. Cochran, by Walter L. C. Biddle, in the Pennsylvania Magazine. BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 501 SAMUEL COCHRAN was born in West Fallowfield township, Jan. 16, 1763. He resided at Cochranville, and gave the village its name. His emigrant ancestor and grandfather was James Cochran, who married Ann, a daughter of Cornelius Rowan, an early settler. James and Ann (Rowan) Cochran left seven children, noticed in the preceding sketch, among whom was Stephen, the father of the subject of this sketch. Stephen Cochran commanded a company in the Revolution, and was elected to the Assembly in 1777 and 1778. Samuel Cochran was a drummer-boy in his father's company when about sixteen years of age. He was a member of the House of Representatives in 1816 and 1817, and of the Senate of Pennsylvania from 1818 to 1820. He was also surveyor-general under the administration of Governor McKean, from 1800 to 1809, and under that of Governor Mester, from 1821 to 1824. He was a prominent man in his day, prepossessing in his appearance, held in high esteem by his neighbors, and his advice was sought by them in their difficulties. He was for forty years a ruling elder in Fagg's Manor Church. He died May 3, 1829. COATES, MOSES, produced a certificate to Haverford Monthly Meeting from Carlow, Ireland, dated 3, 8, 1717, which stated that he had been brought up there from a child, and had taken his wife from among Friends in the province of Munster. In 1731 he purchased land at the site of Phoenixville, in Charlestown, and settled there. The name of his wife was Susanna, and among his children were Samuel, Moses, Jr., Benjamin, Jonathan, Aaron, and Elizbeth, married to John Mendenhall. Samuel married, 3, 11, 1743, Elizabeth, daughter of Aaron Mendenhall, of East Caln, where he also settled and left three children, viz. : Aaron, b. 4, 6, 1744 ; Moses, b. 12, 4, 1745-6 ; Isaac, b. 2, 1, 1748, d. 4, 3, 1809. Isaac married Hannah Stalker, daughter of Thomas and Grace, and had children,-Beulah, Grace, Lydia, Rebecca, Seymour, Amy, Zillah, Israel, and Lindley. The descendants are largely represented in the neighborhood of West Grove. Moses Coates married, 4, 26, 1770, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Musgrave, of Lancaster County, who died 4, 5, 1775, leaving two children. Moses was married again, 5, 6, 1777, to Mary, daughter of Peter Vickers, of Plumstead, Bucks Co. His children were Elizabeth, in. to Jesse Kersey ; Hannah ; Isaac, m. to Mary Gilbert, 1801 ; Ann, Caleb, Esther, Elisha, Sarah, Mary, Moses, Aquilla, Amos, and Jesse. Moses Coates possessed considerable inventive genius, and towards the close of the last century he contrived and constructed a curious apple-paring machine, which was at once simple, convenient, and highly useful in domestic economy. With some slight modifications the instrument is still in popular use. He also invented a self-setting sawmill, which attracted much notice at the time, but of its practical importance at the present day we are unable to speak. He likewise claimed the invention of a horse-rake, among other ingenious implements. That instrument, however, was afterwards greatly improved and brought nearly to perfection in the intellectual community of Kennet Square and vicinity, where agricultural machinery of various kinds is produced on an extensive scale ; but as the inventors and machinists are yet living and flourishing, their memoirs must await the historic efforts of some future county Plutarch. Dr. Jesse Coates, the youngest son of Moses, was born 3, 4, 1796, and died 8, 3, 1868. The village of Coatesville was named for his father, but became a town in the son's time. Owning a great portion of the land, he sold much of it to enterprising men, and assisted in other ways in ad vancing the interests of the place. He was a highly-esteemed citizen. CONARD, DENNIS, of whose name in German a great many different versions are given, came from Crefeld on the Rhine and settled at Germantown in 1683. His second son, Matthias, was the father of Cornelius Conard, of Horsham, and he was the father of Everard Conard, who married Margaret Cadwaladcr, and about the year 1784 removed to New London township, where he purchased 300 acres of land. His children were Isaac, Cornelius, Abraham, Everard, Jesse, Sarah, Mary, and Margaret, all of whom left families except Isaac and Margaret. Isaac and Abraham settled in Lampeter, Lancaster Co., and the latter was the ancestor of Samuel Conard and his cousin, Isaac Cooper, of the firm of Cooper & Conard, of Philadelphia. Jesse Conard married, 2, 10, 1802, Ann, daughter of Thomas and Susanna Pennington, and was the father of. Rachel, David, Ruth, Thomas, Ann (married to Job H. Jackson), Milton (now a director of the poor), Everard, Susanna, and Lydia (married to Thomas Gawthrop). Thomas Conard, son of Jesse, owned and conducted a boarding-school at West Grove for several years, in which he was succeded by his son, Thomas P. Conard, now of Philadelphia. His eldest son, Alfred F. Conard, is of the Dingee & Conard Company, rose-growers. Joseph Conard, son of Cornelius, of Horsham, and brother of Everard, of New London, settled in Tredyffrin township. His son Paul was the father of Jesse Conard, Esq., of the Chester County bar, and of Rebecca and Sarah Conard, the latter being now the widow of Abia Passmore. Rebecca was the author of some poems, which have been published in book form. She died in West Chester, 5, 1, 1875, at the age of 75 years. COOK, PETER, of Tarvin, Cheshire, England, married, 10, 7, 1695, Elinor Norman, of Kingsley, at Newton, in. Cheshire, and had the following children, of whom the first was born at Tarvin, the second at Kingsley, and the rest at Norwich, in Cheshire : John, b. 7, 2, 1696 ; Mary, b. 9, 12, 1698 ; Peter, b. 10, 4, 1;00 ; Isaac, b. 10, 18, 1702 ; Thomas and Abraham, b. 8, 29, 1704 ; Elinor, b. 3, 22, 1707 ; Mary, b. 3, 22, 1709 ; Samuel, b. 2, 23, 1712. The name in England appears to have been written Cooke. This family embarked for America soon after the birth of the youngest child, but the father died on the voyage or shortly after their arrival The widow produced a certificate to Chester Monthly Meeting, 1, 29, 1714, and in that year was married to John Fincher, with whom she removed with her children to Londongrove. John Cook married, in 1718, Elinor Langdale, or Lands-dale, and had children,-Mary, Margaret, John, Hannah, Stephen, Phebe, and Peter. Of these, Stephen married 502 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. Margaret Williams, and was the father of Ennion Cook, the school-teacher of Birmingham, b. 1, 1, 1773. Peter Cook, Jr., married, 9, 26, 1730, Sarah, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Gilpin, of Birmingham, and removed to Warrington, York Co., Pa., and left numerous descendants, some of whom have returned to Chester County. The late Dr. William H. Cooke, of Carlisle, who was much interested in the family history, and who returned to the original spelling of the name, died March 21, 1879. His father, Jesse Cook, died Feb. 9, 1880, aged eighty-three years. COOPER, JAMES, of Lancaster, England, removed to Mayfield, in the county of Stafford, about 1674, and in 1684 came to Pennsylvania, settling in Darby township. In the records of Darby Meeting we find the birth of Mary, 9, 4, 1699, and William, 5, 11, 1701, children of James and Hannah Cooper. Mary married James Johnson, of New Garden, in 1721, at which time her father was living at " Muscle Cripple" plantation, in New Castle County. In 1728, James Cooper was an attendant at Kennet Meeting, but nothing further is known of him. The following may have been his children : WILLIAM COOPER, of Kennet, married, 8, 18, 1732, Mary Miller, daughter of Samuel and Margaret, of Sadsbury, by whom he had children,-William, Calvin, Robert, and perhaps others. Robert was a justice of the Common Pleas prior to 1790. William, Jr., like his father, was a fuller, and lived for a time in Coventry and Tredyffrin townships. HANNAH COOPER, of Kennet, married, 1, 8, 1738, John Clark, of West Marlborough, afterwards of Sadsbury, Lancaster Co. CALVIN COOPER was a taxable in Birmingham in 1732, and in 1734 was one of the overseers of the poor for that township. About this time he purchased a tract of land on the Octarara, at or near the site of Christiana, where he erected a mill. He was a fuller, or " cloth-worker," as given in old records. He died 9, 15, 1779. His first wife was Phebe, daughter of Samuel Hall, of Kennet, to whom he was married 4, 29, 1732 ; she died 6, 18, 1757, and a year later he married a widow, Elizabeth Jefferis. His children were as follows : 1. William, b. 9, 5, 1734 ; d. 2, 20, 1821 ; m. 12, 5, 1759, Elizabeth Pyle, daughter of John and Rachel, of Kennet. They settled in West Bradford, at a fulling-mill late belonging to Daniel Temple. 2. George, b. 2, 28, 1737 ; d. 1, 14, 1820 ; m. 10, 15, 1761, Susanna, daughter of Thomas and Ann Truman, of Sadsbury second marriage, 5, 24, 1787, to Hannah Dixson. 3. John, b. 12, 9, 1739 ; d. 2, 15, 1811 ; m. 10, 24, 1764, Rebecca Moore, daughter of James and Ann, of Sadsbury. 4. Hannah, b. 10, 3, 1742, probably died young. 5. Mary, b. 12, 17, 1744 d. 9, 18, 1806 ; m. 3, 24, 1773, to John Dixson, and 11, 28, 1781, to James Phillips, of Hockessin. 6. James, b. 2, 14, 1747 ; m. 11, 8, 1775, Rachel, daughter of Andrew and Rebecca Moore, of Sadsbury. He married a second wife, Catharine Powell, and removed to Northumberland County, Pa. 7. Phebe, b. 6, 6, 1750, probably died young. 8. Sarah, b. 12, 12, 1753 ; m. to Thomas Dixson. Calvin's Cooper's residence was in Lancaster County, of which he was a commissioner, justice of the Common Pleas, and several times a representative in Assembly. His descendants are very numerous in this and adjoining counties. There were Coopers in Oxford and other townships, who are not supposed to be related to the above. COPE, OLIVER, of Abury, Wiltshire, England, was a purchaser of land from William Penn by deed of Sept. 8, 1681, and is supposed to have arrived in this country early in 1683, as he obtained a warrant for the survey of some land in that year. He fixed his residence on Naaman's Creek, below the circular line of New Castle County, and there died about the end of May, 1697, leaving a wife, Rebecca, and four children, viz. : 1. William, who inherited some of the land, and with his wife Mary sold it to Adam Buckley in 1729. 2. Elizabeth, who married - Foulke and Hugh Blackwell. 3. Ruth, m. to Thomas Buffington, of Bradford. 4. John. Rebecca, the widow of Oliver, died at John Cope's, in Bradford, about 1728. Of William's children or descendants nothing definite is known. An Oliver Cope, of Kennet, in 1747-53, may have been a son, and Rebecca Cope, who married John Walter, of Sadsbury, a daughter. John Cope purchased 200 acres in Bradford in 1712, and erected a log house thereon, in which his children were born. The name of his first wife is not preserved, but he married (second), Nov. 30, 1721, Charity Evans, widow of John, and daughter of Robert and Jane Jefferis, of East Bradford. Some time after this he joined with Friends, and he and John Buffington were appointed, 11, 6, 1732-3, to have oversight of burials at Bradford Meeting, which is his first appearance on the records. He married a third wife, Elizabeth, widow of Thomas Fisher, 12, 23, 1748. In 1761-63 he appears to have been to some extent a maltster. He died 2, 14, 1773, aged 82 years. The following were his children : 1. Hannah, b. 4, 25, 1724 ; d. 10, 10, 1817 ; m. John Carter, of East Bradford. 2. Samuel, b. 1726 ; d. 9, 15, 1817. 3. Mary, b. 1728 ; d. 2, 6, .1813. 4. John, b. 1730 ; d. 7, 31, 1812. 5. Nathan, b. 1733 ; d. 12, 3, 1820. 6. Caleb, b. 11, 4, 1736 ; d. 5, 30, 1824. 7. Joshua, b. 11, 4, 1736 ; d. 1818. 8. Joseph, b. 8, 1, 1740 ; d. 12, 11, 1820. The average of their ages while all were living was over eighty years. It may be remarked that John Cope and all his children wrote the name Coupe, but the original spelling was resumed by all branches of the family early in the present century. Samuel Cope married Deborah Parke, daughter of Jonathan and Deborah, who lived on the adjoining farm, and settled on the eastern part of his father's land. His children were Charity (married to Caleb Baldwin), Jesse, Samuel, Abiah, Rebecca, Jonathan, Deborah, Mary, Sophia, and Deborah (second). Samuel succeeded him in the possession of the farm, and left one son, Gerard Cope, who died 5, 19, 1871, and the place was sold by his children. Abiah Cope married Jane, daughter of David and Jane Morris, of Berks County, and left four sons,-David, Samuel, Abiah, and Morris. These are all deceased except the last, who resides in West Marlborough, aged 81 years. He with his brothers, David and Samuel, have been well-known ministers in the Society of Friends. BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 503 Jonathan Cope established a tilt-mill, and manufactured scythes, augers, and other tools, in East Bradford. He married Susanna Mercer and (second) Zillah Darlington, and had children,-Phebe, Elizabeth, Susan, Jesse, John, Margaret, Caleb B., Samuel, Deborah, Jonathan, Chalkley, and Darlington. Of these, John lives on the homestead, aged 81 years, and Darlington in Franklin township. Nathan Cope, son of John and Charity, succeeded his father at the homestead with half the original tract. He Married Amy Bane, of Goshen, and had children,-Sarah, Hannah, Amy, Benjamin, Abigail, Nathan, Deborah, Charity, Edith, Rebecca, and Ezra. The last was the father of Edge T. Cope, living on the Brandywine, while Benjamin is represented by his only son, Caleb S. Cope, who holds the original homestead. Caleb Cope (of John and Charity) went to Lancaster, where his children were born, but later in life removed to Philadelphia. His son, Thomas P. Cope, was a successful shipping-merchant, in which business he was succeeded by his sons, Henry and Alfred, now also deceased. Prof. Edward D. Cope, a distinguished naturalist, is the son of Alfred, and his mother was of the Edge family of this county. Caleb Cope, of Philadelphia, a well-known patron and promoter of the fine arts, is a son of William and grandson of Caleb, of Lancaster. Joseph Cope, the youngest son of John and Charity, married Ann Taylor, 4, 6, 1769, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Taylor, of Kennet (now Pocopson) township, and settled on a farm near his father, where he carried on the malting business in connection with farming. His children were Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Charity, John, Isaac, Hannah, and Joseph, of whom only Elizabeth, Sarah, and Joseph married. John, born 5, 1, 1783, died 3, 18, 1811, at Natchez, Miss. Having little taste for practical agriculture, his father placed him at Westtown Boarding-School, where, under those thorough teachers, Enoch Lewis and John Forsythe, his mind was carefully trained. He subsequently had the benefit of a course of instruction on natural philosophy and the higher mathematics in the University of Pennsylvania, under the accomplished Prof. Patterson: He also availed himself of the opportunity afforded by his residence in Philadelphia to study nautical astronomy, with the Latin, French, and. Spanish languages. His progress in these pursuits naturally directed his attention to the business of teaching as a profession, in which calling he spent some years in Philadelphia. At this period he mingled much with scholars and strangers, visitors and sojourners in the city, literary and scientific men, among whom he was highly gratified to make the acquaintance of the younger Michaux, who was then engaged on his splendid work descriptive of the forest-trees of North America. With a desire to see more of the world, in the spring of 1810 he went to Pittsburgh and down the Ohio River, with .a view of engaging in the mercantile business at some point on the Mississippi River. At. St. Louis his health failed, with threatening symptom's of pulmonary disease. Arriving at Natchez, about the beginning of the year 1811, his disease became more serious, and he sank under it a few weeks afterward. The late Dr. Darlington said of him that he " was unquestionably one of the most profound and promising young mathematicians of his day." Joseph Cope, his younger brother, inherited the homestead, and upon a part of which he continued to reside until his death, 4, 4, 1870, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He visited England in 1820, partly on account of his health, and in 1839 returned thither to procure improved stock of cattle and sheep, of which he was a most enthusiastic breeder for many years. He was a great admirer of the standard English writers and poets, and seldom penned a letter without a familiar quotation from one of them. He married, 11, 27, 1823, Rachel, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Cope, of Fayette Co., Pa , by whom he had children as follows : 1. Ann, m. to Darlington Cope, of Franklin township. 2. John, m. first to Caroline Baldwin, who left one child, and second to Hannah M. Cooper, of Parkesburg. He was assistant superintendent of the West Chester and Philadelphia and Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroads at the time of his death, 3, 4, 1867, and was instantly killed by the cars. His widow and daughter Lucy conduct a boarding- and day-school at Toughkenamon. 3. Paschall, m. to Amy A. Baily, of West Chester ; d. 8, 25, 1873, leaving one child, Lydia, now the wife of Prof. Isaac Sharpless, of Haverford College. 4. William Cowper, m. to Margaret M. Hughes, of Londongrove, d. 2, 5, 1868, leaving one child, Mary II. 5. Ellen, m. to Lewis Passmore, of London Britain ; d. 12, 5, 1874, leaving three children, William C., Thomas L.; and John W. 6. Edward Young, m. to Alice Gilbert and living in Ohio with two children, Charles and Anna. Joseph Cope married second Eliza Gilbert, daughter of Abner and Ann, of Westmoreland Co., Pa., 4, 6, 1838, by whom he had two children. 7. Rachel W., m. first to William Cope, and second to Job Huestis, and died in Ohio, 10, 18, 1874, leaving issue,-Frank and Edna Cope and Edward C. Huestis. 8. Gilbert, m. 2, 5, 1880) to Anna Garrett, daughter of David and Mary Ann, deceased, of Birmingham, and they have a son, Herman, b. 11, 21, 1880, in West Chester. The following sketch of a member of the family is inserted by request : Benjamin Cope, born 9, 14, 1765, died 12, 15; 1845, son of Nathan and Amy, of East Bradford ; married first, 9, 13, 1792, Rachel, daughter of Joshua and Edith Sharpless, who died 8, 10, 1807; and he married second, 6, 11, 1817, Rest, daughter of Caleb and Mary Swayne; of East Marlborough, born 4, 7, 1778, died 3, 29, 1844. He left but one child, Caleb S. Cope. On the 15th of 2d mo., 1799, also on the 7th of 2d mo., 1801, Benjamin Cope received certificates from Bradford Monthly Meeting to travel as companion to Thomas Baldwin, who was paying a religious visit to some of the neighboring Quarterly Meetings. He was appointed in 1814 one of the committee of oversight of Westtown Boarding-School, and on the establishment of Birmingham Monthly Meeting he, was appointed, 1, 4, 1816, to the stations of elder and overseer therein. He was chosen by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 4th mo., 1818, as one of the committee on Indian affairs, in which service he several times visited the different reservations in Western New York. Although his time was very much occupied in the service of the church, yet he was also successful in business; for by prudent dealing, and by proper economy, he always had something to spare for public improvement and private charities. On the 5th of 9th mo., 1804, he and his first wife informed Friends 504 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. of Bradford Monthly Meeting of a concern that attended their minds to go and reside with the Indians, near the Alleghany River, to instruct them in agriculture, spinning, dairying, etc. Obtaining their concurrence and unity, also the approbation of the Yearly Meeting's committee, they started on their journey the 20th of 5th mo., 1805, and arrived at Tunesassa the 7th of 6th mo., having to travel between sixty and seventy miles of the latter part of the way through an uninhabited pine forest on foot. They left a very interesting manuscript of incidents and labors among that people. Here his wife died, and Benjamin returned home in the winter of 1810-11. In 1812-13 he traveled as companion to Caleb McComber, who was on a religious visit to the meetings of Friends in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Perhaps here would be a suitable place to state that this short account, which was placed here that the memory of the just might live, and also to show the crowning result of a retiring, unspeculative life of integrity and true holiness, owes its position in this volume principally to the suggestion of my friend, Eli K. Price, whose father and mother, Philip and Rachel Price, were among the most intimate friends of Benjamin, Rachel, and Rest Cope. Eli K. Price speaks of him as follows : " I have a clear and distinct remembrance of B. Cope, particularly his general appearance and countenance. His features were symmetrical, his expression was friendly, benign, benevolent; and all his movements were in harmonious accord with these expressions. All of these indicated truly the character of the man, and that it sprang from the inward life that made the mild, gentle, sincere gentleman ; a gentleman of the truest stamp, one who must do to others as he would have others do unto him ; one who must obey the religious powers always operating within him. He was a good man, a holy man." And there are many more still living who well remember his fatherly care for their temporal and spiritual welfare; how by unwavering example and kindly precept he endeavored to direct their steps in the path of wisdom and virtue; and none have better cause than those of his own immediate family, for he was a pattern of dignity, integrity, and uprightness in all the departments of life. Also many of the late worthies, who, we have good reason to believe, have been safely gathered home with him, have left like testimony behind them concerning him. Hannah Rhoads, writing to me after his death, observes, " What a loss the church sustains in the removal of such pillars ! May a deep consideration of this impress the minds of some of the younger members!" James Emlen (who was himself a remarkably upright standard-bearer in the Lord's army), coming to see him about the commencement of his last sickness, remarked to him, " I have always esteemed thee as a father in the church." Benjamin was silent for a short time, and then said, "I have not seen how this sickness will terminate, but I feel quiet on looking back on my getting along through life. I do not know whether, if I had my time to live over again, I should mend it much. What a satisfaction to experience such a solemn quiet ! I enjoy it more than I can express in words." Here is a declaration that speaks volumes, an autobiography that but few can leave behind them; and on viewing the course of his conduct through every relation in life, I think there are but few who could more truly bear such a testimony. Verily, the work of righteousness is peace, and the effect thereof quietness and assurance forever. But this can be but a brief index to the history of a long, useful, and eventful life, which was a perpetual rebuke to the ungodly. As he lived, so he died, retaining his mental faculties bright and clear up to his latest moments, leaving behind him a rich legacy in instructive remarks and exhortations which my present limits will not permit me to publish. On Second-day morning, the 15th of 12th mo., 1845, he appeared for sonic time to be engaged in supplication, but in so low a tone that we could not gather any part of what he said till near the last, when in a sweet melodious voice he continued, " Oh, Holy Father, I cannot relieve my spirit! Oh, Holy ! Holy ! Holy ! forever and for evermore! I believe I know all of you. What shall I say ? Farewell ! farewell ! farewell !" Four o'clock : " Oh that I could but be relieved ! poor creature ! It seems as if a little more would gather me home. Oh Lord, if thou wouldst gather me! gather home !" And here began the song of the heavenly host, the song of Holy ! Holy ! Holy ! which gradually became less distinct as his breath grew shorter and fainter, till both at once, in awful, solemn silence, ceased forever. What joy to grasp a father's hand Who calmly meets his doom, And hear him speak about the land. Which lies beyond the gloom ! To hear him with his latest breath Begin the eternal song,— Triumphant pass the gates of death, The heavenly host among !  C. S. COPE. CORNETT, SAMUEL, of Schuylkill township, Chester Co., Pa.—John Cornett, an emigrant from Ireland, early in his life settled in this county, and married Jane Knowles, by whom he had nine children,—Samuel, William, Joseph Latta, James Alexander, Sarah, in. to Samuel L. Rhoades, of Berks County ; Jane, Joseph P., and Elizabeth Ann. John and his wife Jane were members of the Great Valley Presbyterian Church, in which faith they reared their children. John, by his industry and economy, was enabled to raise an interesting and amiable family, of which he was long spared to be an honored head. He died March 24, 1847, and his wife Jane, Aug. 26, 1874. Samuel, their oldest child, was born Dec. 8, 1808, and in addition to a good common-school education enjoyed the educational facilities of the Chester County Academy. After leaving this school he followed his trade of stone-mason for fifteen years, when he accepted a position from Whitaker & Garrett, at their iron-works in Cecil Co., Md. He afterwards returned to Phoenixville, in this county, and commenced the mercantile business, under the firm-name of Cornett & Whitby, which continued for five years, when, upon the dissolution of this partnership, he assisted, for a short time, Joseph Whitaker in the Phoenix Iron-Works. He then re-entered the mercantile business, under the firm-name of Cornett & Co., with John Vanderslice and James Mellon as partners, afterwards Reeves & Cornett, which was for twenty years a well-known and well-patronized store, on the corner of Main and Bridge Streets, Phoenixville. His close confinement to business caused his health to give way, and he sold out his interest to John F. Starkey, and purchased his father's old homestead and farm, one mile west of Phoenixville, where, by his wonted and close attention, he is now known as a very successful and enterprising farmer. He also owns considerable real estate in Phoenixville, and no man is better known or more highly respected in this part of the county. In early life he was a Democrat, and held the office of postmaster in Phoenixville under Jackson and Taylor. From the formation of the Republican party he supported its nominees until the question of the legal suppression of the liquor traffic became a political issue, and finding that the Democratic and Republican parties were unwilling to support the principle of prohibition, and upon the repeal of the local law, becoming convinced of their determined hostility, he has acted with the Prohibitionists. All his life Mr. Cornett has been a total abstainer and active temperance man, and from education and principle was prepared to receive the platform of the Prohibition party, both National and State, and actively participated in the campaigns of 1875, '76, '77, '78, '79, '80. He was the candidate of the Prohibition party in 1877 for State treasurer, and in 1880 for Congress. He is a man of great probity of character, large and varied business experience BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 505 and acquaintance in Chester, Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware Counties, where he commands the confidence and esteem of the people, hence his party did wisely and well in often selecting him as one of its standard-bearers. Of his brothers and sisters, the only ones living are Jane C., Elizabeth Ann, and Dr. Joseph P. Cornett. Another brother, Dr. James Cornett, was in the 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Rebellion, was taken prisoner on Wilson's raid, taken to Andersonville, and died shortly after his return home. Dr. Joseph y. was first lieutenant in Company G-, 176th Pennsylvania Regiment, re-enlisted in 99th Regiment, and was at the capture of Lee at Appomattox. Samuel Cornett was many years a director in the Iron Bank of Phoenixville, and is now vice-president of the Mutual Benefit Association of that place. COWAN, REV. JOHN F., son of Adam Cowan, was born in Sadsbury township, May 8, 1801. He learned the printing business in Lancaster, but at the termination of his apprenticeship entered upon studies with a view to the ministry. He graduated at Jefferson College in 1824 ; studied theology in the seminary at Princeton, and was licensed to preach April 8, 1829. He had charge of Presbyterian churches in Missouri until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when he became chaplain of the military hospital in St. Louis. He there incurred the disease which terminated his life, Sept. 29, 1862. He was in the fullest sense an evangelist, and was instrumental in founding and strengthening a number of churches in Missouri. He has two sons in the ministry, the Rev. John F. Cowan and Rev. Edward Payson Cowan, the latter now of Germantown, Pa. COX, JOHN, from England about 1708, settled in the neighborhood of Kennet, and is supposed to have been the father of Richard Cox, who married, 3, 26, 1712, Margaret Potts, of Abington Monthly Meeting. The children of Richard were Anna, b. 8, 29, 1713 ; Sarah, b. 12, 15, 1715 ; Richard, b. 2, 17, 1718 ; Jonathan, b. 6, 11, 1720 ; Joseph, b. 2, 18, 1723 ; Benjamin, twin with Joseph ; John, b. 8, 9, 1725. In 1728 they removed near to the Schuylkill River, and Richard died in Vincent township about 1760. Benjamin Cox and Elizabeth, his wife, had children,—Richard, Margaret, Jonathan, William, Joseph, Hannah, Mary, Sarah, Benjamin, and John. William, born 12, 21, 1751, married, 6, 15, 1780, at Goshen Meeting, Lydia Garrett, daughter of Thomas and Hannah, of Willistown,' where they settled. Their children were Hannah, Benjamin, John (of Longwood), Abner, Thomas, Elizabeth, Levi, Jonathan, Lydia, and William. HENRY HAMILTON COX.*—In an article written by Bayard Taylor, and published in the Atlantic Monthly some fifteen or sixteen years ago, under the title of " A Strange Friend," a story is told of an Irish gentleman of noble family, who, accompanied by his wife and children, came to East Marlboro', Chester Co., and remained there in seclusion in the disguise of a member of the Society of Friends, leaving his Irish estate in the hands of a steward till the rents and profits should discharge the debts by * By Joseph J. Lewis. which they were encumbered. The gentleman is there represented to have assumed the dress, manners, and forms of speech peculiar to the Friends, playing the part of one thoroughly convinced of their principles, and conforming by choice to their usages from motives merely of policy or convenience, and, as soon as his estates were disencumbered, to have suddenly thrown off his disguise and resumed at once his original character as a man of the world. The story rests on a basis of well-known facts, but the facts are somewhat colored and embellished by the fertile fancy of Mr. Taylor. The original of the picture drawn by the artist was Henry Hamilton Cox, better known as Henry Cox. I have taken considerable pains to become acquainted with his history, as far as it is known in this region, and I will proceed to state the result of my inquiries. Henry Hamilton was a member of an Irish family connected with the nobility, but was not himself a noble, though generally reputed so to be while in America. In his youth he held a commission in the British army, and served in India with a rank not exceeding that of captain. A considerable landed estate, owned by his grandfather, Sir Michael Cox, was devised to him by that gentleman. The title, of course, did not accompany the devise, but went by descent to the next heir-at-law. The devise was subject to a condition that the devisee should take the surname of Cox, which he immediately did, whether by virtue of an act of Parliament or by voluntary assumption I am not informed. His great-grandfather, who bore the same name as his grandfather, was also a baronet, and for many years chancellor of Ireland. For a time after the devise took effect he wrote his name H. Hamilton Cox, but subsequently dropped the Hamilton and was called Henry Cox. In 1799 he emigrated with his family to this country. The first trace we have of him here relates to a transaction with the Philadelphia Library Company. lie brought with him a number of volumes of original manuscripts containing correspondence between the military and civil departments of the British government during the reign of William and Mary. Of these he made a free gift to the Philadelphia Library Company. During Hepworth Dixon's visit to this country, in the early part of this century, the volumes were shown to him. He immediately recognized their value, and on his return home he discovered that they would fill a hiatus in a series of similar volumes belonging to the British. government, and deposited in a public library at Dublin. Application was thereupon made for their restoration to their proper place in that series, and to that application the Philadelphia Library Company promptly acceded. From the time of William and Mary till 1799 these volumes had been in the hands of the family of Henry Cox, whose lineal ancestor was connected with the government during the period to which the manuscripts relate, and had the custody of the rolls. And whatever may have been the facts which attended the possession of the papers in the first instance, no blame could be attached to the last possessor by reason of any conduct on his part respecting them. Soon after his arrival in Pennsylvania he took a lease of a farm in York County, within the limits of York Monthly - 64 - 506 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. Meeting of Friends. He was at that time, it is believed, about forty years of. age. He professed to be a Friend, dressed very plainly, and conformed to all the usages of the sect. He was particularly strict in requiring that the dress of his children should be entirely plain, and would tolerate no approach on their part to the fashions of the world. So far as the records of the York Monthly Meeting show, he does not appear to have produced a certificate of membership from any other Monthly Meeting, but seems to have been allowed the privileges of a member without evidence of any right. His wife did not profess to belong to the society, nor did her mother, who was a member of the family. It appears by the minutes of the proceedings of the York Monthly Meeting, dated 9th month 9, 1801, that he on that day made request that his eight children—Joshua, Richard, David, Martha, Mary, Sackville, Eleanor, and Henry---should be received into membership. His request was complied with. Under date of 9th month 10, 1806, at his request, his children Henry Washington, Catharine Anne, Alexander James, and Arabella Dorothea were received into membership. Under date 11th month 6, 1811, there is on the same minutes this entry : " Henry Cox requests the right of membership for his two youngest children, namely, William John and Jane Eliza, which, being considered, was united with, and they received into membership." The same book of minutes shows an entry to this effect : " 1806, 4, 19.—Henry Cox expressed a desire to attend the ensuing yearly meeting in Philadelphia. We inform he is a member in good esteem amongst us. The clerk is directed to furnish him with a copy of this minute signed on behalf of the meeting." By two other minutes it appears that in 1808 and 1809 he was appointed to represent the Monthly Meeting of York at the Quarterly Meeting of which it is a constituent part. From this it must be inferred that he was a recognized member of the society in good standing. He continued to reside in York County until the spring of 1813, when he removed with his family to Chester. County, and became a lessee of a large farm of about four hundred acres belonging to Isaac Pennock, in East Marlborough township, within the limits of Londongrove Monthly Meeting.* Prior to his removal, under date of 3d month 10, 1813, he obtained a certificate from York Monthly Meeting to that of Londongrove for himself and his minor children. His four elder children,—Joshua Hamilton, Richard, David Hutchinson, and Martha,— who had attained majority, applied for and obtained at the same time certificates for themselves. During his residence in York County he was punctual in his attendance at meetings both for worship and discipline. In the former he sometimes spoke by way of exhortation, but not very acceptably, and was never acknowledged as a minister.. In meetings for discipline he frequently took an active part. On some occasions it is said that, forgetful of his surroundings, he addressed the meeting as " My Lords," as though speaking to the peers of the Upper House of Parliament, though he certainly * This farm is about one mile east of Londongrove Meeting, and on the north side of the Street road, and is the property lately owned and occupied by Samuel Moore, now deceased. never was a member of that body. Some of the elderly people in the neighborhood of York remember his convey, ing his large family of young children to meeting on Sundays in a cart, he acting as driver, and on arriving near the meeting-house door, of his withdrawing the tail-board and " dumping out his load as he might have done a cart-load of potatoes." This instance of eccentricity, and others of a similar character, affected him unfavorably in the consideration of his neighbors, and caused among the Friends more or less distrust as to his real character, notwithstanding his superior intelligence and unexceptionable moral deportment. In the summer of 1817, Henry Cox received information that his Irish estates were at length disencumbered, and he immediately commenced preparations for leaving America during the following spring. It appears by a minute on the Londongrove Monthly Meeting, dated 9th month 17, 1817, that he applied for and obtained a certificate at that date certifying his membership to Friends in Dublin. Before those preparations were completed his son Richard, a young man, well educated and of great promise, was killed by a fall from his horse. This sad accident was a terrible shock to the father, mother, and family, and awakened the sympathy of the neighborhood. This sympathy was manifested in so considerate and kindly a manner as to inspire in the bereaved family the most grateful recollections of the kind-hearted people among whom he had previously dwelt without quite comprehending them. The accident which was fatal to Richard occurred Dec. 29, 1817, and. Henry Cox, having completed his arrangements, sailed for Liverpool early in the following spring. When he reached the town upon which his lands bordered, he was met by his tenantry in a body with demonstrations of joy. His horses were taken from his carriage, and he was drawn by the crowd to his old mansion, where he was welcomed by the acclamations of his people. Immediately previous to his departure he published a poem written during his residence in East Marlborough. It .was issued. in a little volume from the press of Kimber & Sharpless, No. 93 Market Street, Philadelphia, and was. entitled " The Pennsylvania Georgics." It was a pastoral poem in imitation of the Georgics of Virgil, and descriptive of a farmer's life in Pennsylvania. The author directed that after Kim, ber & Sharpless should be fully repaid the expense of printing and publishing from the proceeds of sale, the residue of the profits, whatever they might be, should be handed over to the Widow's Asylum, of which Mrs. Sarah Ralston was the head. After disposing of as many copies as would fully indemnify them, the publishers sent the remainder of the edition to the Widow's Asylum. About the time his little volume came from the press an error was discovered, which was a subject of some mortification to the author.. Two lines in the early part of the poem were repeated in the latter part. He called at the store of Kimber & Sharp-, less and requested that the latter couplet should be stricken out. Mr. Isaac Pugh, who was then in attendance in the store, pointed in answer to the motto on the title-page,— "No line, whthe StreetI would wish to blot," and observed that, after adopting such a motto, the blotting BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 507 of the two lines would not look well, and that, at all events, not one reader in twenty would observe the repetition. Mr. Cox insisted, however, upon the obliteration, and a dozen or two of copies were treated as he desired. I happened to be in the store at the time of this interview, and well recollect Mr. Pugh informing me of what had occurred immediately after Mr. Cox had withdrawn. He, if I recollect aright, was then on his way to New York to embark for Liverpool. He was dressed as one of the plainest of the Friends. I soon after learned, however, that on his way from New York to Liverpool he doffed his plain coat, threw his broad-brimmed hat into the sea, and appeared in the ordinary dress of a man of the world. The news of this transformation caused a good deal of talk among those who had known him in America, and strengthened the suspicions that were previously entertained, that his connection with the Friends was a matter of caprice or policy, rather than of principle. Henry Cox, after his return to Ireland, in the course of a few years became involved in the troubles which have obtained for centuries between landlords and their tenants in that unhappy and ill-governed country. These caused him much annoyance and anxiety of mind, and are supposed to have hastened his death. He died in the year 1822 of inflammation of the brain. During his residence in America he pursued the avocation of a farmer, upon rather a large scale, with energy and industry. He did not immediately adapt himself to the modes of tillage in vogue in Pennsylvania, but adhered for some time with characteristic pertinacity to the course of farming with which he was acquainted in Ireland, under different conditions of soil and climate. This want of readiness on his part to adopt new modes, made necessary by circumstances, interfered with his success. Some failures, however, taught him the lessons which he was slow to learn, and he came at length to follow our ordinary agricultural processes. He did not depend upon the products of his farm wholly for his support, but received occasionally moderate remittances through William Warder, of Philadelphia, from his steward in Ireland. He was a man of large frame, of good features strongly marked, and of somewhat decided and resolute aspect. His manners were those of a well-bred gentleman, accustomed to society, yet he had somewhat of a soldierly air and a bearing that was deemed aristocratic. This made him unpopular with the people generally of the neighborhood, with whom he did not seem ready to associate on terms of equality. In his intercourse with persons of education and culture he was habitually cordial and agreeable, and there was no assumption of superiority. In a word, his adoption of the principles of Friends did not alter his notions of social distinction, and he could not readily accommodate himself to the republican level to which his neighbors expected him to conform. He was strictly honorable in his dealings. But he did not patiently brook opposition, and he had an imperative way with him that seemed to indicate a consciousness of the right to command. I recollect, when a boy under fourteen, meeting with him unexpectedly. I had been sent on an errand to his landlord, Isaac Pennock, and stopped at his house to inquire the way. He came out into the piazza in front of his dwelling on my summons, and gave me courteously and explicitly the directions that I needed. I was so much struck with the appearance and gentlemanly demeanor of the man that I mentioned the circumstance to my father on my return home, and told him that I had noticed a scar on the back of one of his hands as he placed it on the rail of the piazza while speaking. My father then informed me who he was, and what were his objects in removing to this country, and also that he had been an officer in the British army and had served in India, and that the scar which I had observed was caused by a cannon-ball, which had grazed his hand in action and taken off the skin without inflicting permanent injury. When Henry Cox left this country he had the appearance of being a man about sixty years of age. His family accompanied him to Ireland, and one of his sons took with him a wife, whom he married in this country. Richard, at the time of his death, was under an engagement of marriage with Miss Alison, a sister of the late Oliver Alison, Esq. The daughters of Henry Cox corresponded with Friends in America for some years after their return to Ireland. Two of them, Katharine A. Cox and Arabella Lucas, are still living in Queenstown, Ireland, and he has a grandson, Richard S. Cox, Esq., who now resides in Toronto, Upper Canada. In "The Strange Friend" there are some embellishments to which we are indebted solely to the imagination of the author. One of them is the love of the landlord's son for a daughter of his tenant, which resulted in a disappointment so grievous that the young man never married. Whether Isaac W. Pennock ever had any fancy for either of the Misses Cox I am not informed but certain it is that if he had it was attended with nothing very serious, for he married, not long after the family left America, a very lovely lady of the city of Philadelphia, who is, I believe, still living. In the tale of " The Strange Friend" the principal actor is represented as playing a hypocritical part from the beginning in passing himself off as a member of the Society of Friends conscientiously attached to its principles and there seems to be a general impression in the community accustomed to worship at the old Londongrove meetinghouse that the representation is true as applied to Henry Cox. But this view of the subject is hardly credible. It is difficult to believe that a man of his associations and high social position should have so far forgotten what was due to his own character as to wear the mask attributed to him during nineteen years of the best part of his life, when it is obvious that such a deception could afford to no honorable mind either amusement or satisfaction, but must have been most humiliating to his self-respect. - It is still more difficult to believe that he should have educated his children in principles essentially diverse from his own, and enforced upon them habits and usages not conformable to his own tastes and opinions. He was doubtless eccentric and probably unstable, and his views and feelings may have been largely influenced at different periods of his life by differences in the condition of his fortune and his prospects. He may not have had the moral courage to meet his old asso- 508 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. ciates in the character and garb of a Friend, and subject himself to the ridicule with which he would be liable to be assailed by them, wholly unacquainted as they probably were with the peculiarities of the people with whom he had connected himself. There was doubtless much inconsistency in his conduct, but he does not appear to have been, in any of the elements of his character, of the stuff of which hypocrites are made. As to the merits of his poem I am unable to speak. I can recollect that it was written in heroic English measure, and that the versification was easy and flowing, and the rhythm faultless. On the fidelity of its descriptions I formed no judgments. I have endeavored to find a copy, but have failed after extensive inquiry. Writing verses seems to have been a family proclivity. I have some now in my possession written by his son Richard, and others by his son Sackville. Though pretty clever for young men of their age, they are not remarkable. They give no indication of genius. Although Henry Cox before leaving this country was furnished at his own request with a certificate from the Monthly Meeting of Friends at Londongrove showing his right to membership in the society, he does not appear to have made any use of the document on his return to Ireland. He certainly never associated with the Friends in that country, nor did he profess the principles or conform to the peculiar usages of the sect during any part of his subsequent career. CULBERTSON, JOHN, ESQ., died Nov. 11, 1767, aged 57 years, and was buried at Brandywine Manor church. Maj. John Culbertson, probably a son, was an active Whig during the Revolution. He died Sept. 12, 1794, aged 55 years, and Sarah, his wife, April 15, 1812, aged 75. The following notice occurs in Saffell's " Records of the Revolutionary War" : "Captain Samuel Culbertson, of Colonel Montgomery's Regiment of Flying Camp, a Fort Washington prisoner, was captured Nov. 16, 1776. He was a prisoner, within certain bounds on Long Island, until Aug. 16, 1779, when he was ordered into the city prisons of New York. Lewis Pintard and Colonel Palfrey supplied him, in 1776 and 1777, with money. He was exchanged Nov. 2, 1780, at Elizabethtown, N. J., and made his way to his place of abode, at Yellow Springs, Pa. Capt. Culbertson was possessed of fine literary abilities and military talents." Margaret, wife of Samuel Culbertson, died May 12, 1811, in her 66th year. CUNINGHAM, CAPT. ALLEN, was of the Scotch-Irish stock, and was born in County Armagh, Ireland, in 1738. He emigrated to this country in 1765, and settled at New London Cross-roads, in Chester County, in 1775. In the war of the Revolution he actively participated in the campaigns of 1776 and 1777, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He commanded a company at the battle of Brandywine, in the division of Gen. Maxwell. This company was held in reserve, in a grove near Chads' Ford, during the whole eventful day, with positive orders not to fire a gun until specially directed ; and although exposed to danger, and liable to be shot down by the enemy, not a man violated the order, but remained at his post, ready and eager for the order to fire. It was not given, and this brave portion of the reserve, in the evening, marched off the field as coolly as veterans. He was a man of talent and education, as his letters written while in the service (some of which have been recently published) abundantly evince. He was noted for his probity and punctuality in his engagements, for his excellent judgment, and his industry and uprightness in business; so much so that his honor and industry were proverbial in his neighborhood. The lives of few men have been more checkered with good and evil, and although not volatile or over-cheerful in disposition, he was never known to be despondent. To use his own words, he was " twice shipwrecked, twice robbed, twice burned out, twice married, and had two sons and two daughters." He never held an office, and although frequently and earnestly solicited, never could be induced to accept any station either in church or state,—a virtue with which the present generation are not very familiar. He died May 15, 1801, at the age of 63. His remains were interred in New London graveyard, and the stone which covers his grave contains the simple record of his name, his years, and the time of his death, together with a line from Pope,— "An honest man's the noblest work of God." Gen. John W. Cuningham was a son of Capt. Allen Cuningham, and was born in the village of New London, Chester Co. (then, and until recently, known as New London Cross-roads), in the year 1779. In this village he resided during his entire life. He represented Chester County in the State Legislature in the years 1809 and 1810, and was appointed prothonotary by Governor Wolf, Feb. 15, 1830. This office he held during the entire administration of Governor Wolf,six years,—and was esteemed a very efficient and accomplished officer. He also held the office of clerk of the court during the greater portion of the same period. Gen. Cuningham was a Presidential elector in 1828, when Gen. Jackson was first elected to the Presidency, and was the Democratic candidate for Congress in 1836. He possessed a strong and vigorous mind and great benevolence of character. He was a devoted friend of the soldiers of the Revolution, and was frequently called upon by them for assistance in making applications for pensions, and he prepared and put together the evidence of their claims for the mere pleasure of the task. Indeed, the whole neighborhood made frequent requisitions upon his services, and never in vain. To all he was kind, considerate, and obliging, and no one was more useful in his day and sphere. His name and his character inspired confidence, and a promise given to perform anything was followed by execution, or the most strenuous efforts at fulfillment. His " stane of memorial," in the old graveyard at New London, contains this inscription,— " Sacred to the memory of John W. Cuningham. In public life esteemed and variously employed. As a neighbour, upright, firm, and friendly. At home, tender and affectionate. Of the Presbyterian Church an attached member, and for twenty-nine years a ruling elder. lie departed this life April 26, 1840, in the sixty-first year of his age." MORDECAI D. CORNOG. The Cornog family early settled in this county, where its descendants are quite numerous. Abner, son of Abraham and Dinah Cornog, married Margaret Davis. To them were born nine children, five sons and four daughters, of whom the eldest son and fifth child, Mordecai Davis Cornog, was born Feb. 18, 1818, in Easttown township. On his mother's (Davis) side he is likewise of Welsh descent. He passed his youth on his father's farm and was educated in the subscription schools. He was married Feb. 18, 1837, to Sophia Curll, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Curl. This union was blessed with three children : Naomi, married to Watson Lobb ; Ella, married to Christian Lapp ; and Jennette Davis. He began farming on his own account in Charlestown township just before his marriage, and some seven or eight years subsequently came to the place he now owns. This is the old Cornog homestead of one hundred and sixty-seven acres, to which his parents removed when he was but one year old, and which after his father's death he took at the appraisement. Farming has been his avocation, with considerable attention paid to dairying. He has served on the school board and taken an active interest in educational matters. He belongs to the Great Valley Baptist Church, where he and his family worship. He is identified with the Republican party, but has never sought political place or power. His post-office is Chester Valley, on the railroad of the same name. His farm is located in a beautiful region, and has upon it fine improvements. He is a highly respected citizen in the community, and is a systematic farmer, raising large crops, particularly of corn. He is a man of good business tact and judgment, as was his father, Abner, who by industry and careful management acquired an estate of over seven hundred acres of choice farming lands. HENRY E. CHRISMAN. On Sept. 5, 1730, Daniel Chrisman arrived from Germany in the ship " Alexander and Ann," William Clymer master, from Rotterdam, last from Cowes, as the vessel's report shows. He settled in Worcester township, then part of Philadelphia, now of Montgomery County. He had a son, Henry, who was the father of Jacob Chrisman, who married Margaret Evans. To this couple were born five children, of whom the third son and fifth child, Henry E. Chris-man, was born April 8, 1822, in East Vincent township. On the maternal side he is of Welsh extraction. He spent his boyhood days on the farm ; attended the common schools, and afterwards the academy of Rev. Mr. Rodenbaugh, in Montgomery County. He began farming on his own account in 1873, having previous to that time been managing the estate of his father. He was married .1 une 13, 1877, to Martha, daughter of John Chrisman. He is a general farmer, and has two hundred and seventy-six acres of land, upon which, in 1880, ho erected his present farm residence. He has served on the school board. He attends, with his family, the Lutheran Church. Is a Democrat in politics, but has never been an office-seeker. His farm is the same deeded by Thomas Willing to Hazel Thomas, Dec. 24, 1794, and was a part of " Callowhill Manor," of one thousand acres, on a branch of French Creek, and conveyed by the Proprietary under Penn, April 16, 1686, to Robert Thompson. Henry, grandfather. of Henry E. Chrisman, bought it at sheriff's sale, and the deed is dated Feb. 26, 1819, the land being sold in settlement of Hazel Thomas' estate at judicial sale. Henry E. once belonged to the First Troop of Chester .County militia, was in it some six or seven years, and in the latter part of this time commanded a company. He went with the troop to Philadelphia to suppress the " Southwark Riot," under the command of Capt. Hallman, whom he succeeded as captain, receiving his commission from Governor Johnston. RESIDENCE OF HENRY E. CHRISMAN, EAST VINCENT. BIOGRAPHICAL. AND GENEALOGICAL - 509 CUNNINGHAM, SAMUEL, of Nantmeal township, was a member from this county in the convention of July 15, 1776, to form the first State constitution. He was also a member of Assembly in 1776 and 1777 ; appointed collector of excise Nov. 27, 1778, and justice of the peace Aug. 26, 1791. He died June 26, 1806, aged 74 years, and was buried at Brandywine Manor. Sarah, his widow, died Jan. 30, 1807, aged 66, and his son John, Jan. 24, 1816, in his 47th year. CURRIE, REV. WILLIAM.-The following account of Mr. Currie was taken down from the lips of a lady who was well acquainted with him, and whose statement may be relied upon as being entirely correct: " William Currie was born and educated in Glasgow, Scotland, and under the following circumstances emigrated to America. A Mr. Carter, of Virginia, having an only son, placed him at college in Glasgow to receive all the advantages of a liberal education ; but being an only child, and consequently a great favorite with his parents, they were soon led to regret the step they had thus taken in separating themselves from their son. They at once determined to send for him, requesting the faculty to send one with him who would be competent to perform the duties of a tutor, and under whose instructions he would be able to complete his education. Mr. Currie, being then much esteemed in the college as a man of learning and sound judgment, was at once recommended, and consented to take charge of his young pupil, and shortly after sailed for America. With this family he continued a number of years, after which he came to New Castle, in Delaware, where he became intimately acquainted with the Rev. Mr. Ross, a clergyman of the Episcopal Church, and under whose influence he was led to examine the doctrines and discipline of the Church of Scotland, and was accordingly recommended by the Rev. Mr. Ross to the Royal Society of England, whither he proceeded for ordination. After his return he became rector of Perkiomen, Radnor, and St. Peter's Churches. He was married to the eldest daughter of Mr. Ross, by which marriage he had five sons and one daughter,-John, James, William, Richard, Alexander Ross, and Elizabeth. His daughter Elizabeth was married to Dr. Demon, of Reading. John was educated to the legal profession, and married a wealthy lady named Crookshank ; they lived and died near Bethlehem, Pa. James, William, and Alexander were physicians. Alexander went to one of the West India Islands, married and died there. William married and died in Philadelphia. Richard joined the First Militia, and went to Amboy ; afterwards returned and died, leaving a widow and three children to the care of his father. " Mr. Currie continued to be the rector of the above churches until independence was declared. Feeling that he could not violate his ordination vows by refusing to pray for the king of England, he resolved to give up the charge of the churches. He accordingly left the churches, but occasionally preached by request, and performed other duties appertaining to his office. His second wife was Lucy Ann Jones, formerly a Miss Godfrey, at this time the widow of David Jones. He resided for a few years after this marriage on his farm in Tredyffrin, situated a short distance from Washington's encampment at Valley Forge. He here lost his second wife, after which he gave his farm into other hands and resided with his tenants. His granddaughter married, and Mr. Currie spent the remainder of his days with her, and died at the advanced age of 105 years. He was interred at Radnor church, together with his two wives and his son Richard; he died some time during the autumn of 1803." DARLINGTON, JOB, of Darnhall, Cheshire, England, with Mary, his wife, had children,-Abraham, John, Joseph, Matthew, Jane, Mary, and perhaps others. The mother died Dec. 18, 1728, and the records of the parish of. Whitegate show that Job was buried Aug. 11, 1731. Of the children, Abraham and John came to Pennsylvania, and tradition says it was through the inducement of John Neild, an uncle by marriage, who lived in Aston township. There is evidence that the boys came while not yet fully grown. John is said to have gone to Maryland, and it is not known that there are any of his descendants bearing his name. Abraham, born 1690, was bound apprentice to a saddler at the age of eleven years, and followed that calling after his arrival in this country. His residence for some years was in Aston, whence he removed to a farm in Birmingham, which he bought in 1723 from the heirs of John Fred, now belonging to Clement Biddle. He early joined with Friends, and was married among them in the 1st month (March), 1712, to Deborah, daughter of Joseph Carter. She died leaving no children, and he married in the 10th month, 1716, Elizabeth Hiliborn, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth, of Bucks County. She died 12, 28, 1771, and was buried at Birmingham on the 30th. Abraham died 2, 9, 1776. Their children were as follows : 1. Mary, b. 1, 14, 1717-8 ; m. 2, 29, 1736, to Moses Pyle. 2. Deborah, b. 7, 13, 1719 ; m. 10, 16, 1741, to Samuel Taylor, of East Bradford. 3. Elizabeth, m. 9, 21, 1750, to Isaac Pyle. 4. Abraham, m. 1, 18, 1769, to Mary Nicklin, and 11, 22, 1786, to Lettice Ryan ; descendants few in number. 5. Thomas, m. 4, 25, 1754, Hannah, daughter of Edward Brinton, of Birmingham, and settled in East Bradford, on 100 acres of his father's land, purchased from John Strode in 1750. 6. John, m. 3, 17, 1751, Esther Dicks, daughter , of Peter and Sarah, of Providence, and settled on 100 acres, the remainder of his father's purchase in East Bradford, where he died 2, 3, 1813. 7. Hannah, m. 4, 30, 1752, to William Jefferis, of East Bradford. 8. Rachel, m. 4, 25, 1765, to William Seal, of Birmingham ; second husband Isaac Miller, a first cousin of her former husband, to whom she was married 7, 3, 1777. 9. Job, probably died young. 10. Rebecca, in. 12, 28, 1763, to John Brinton, of Kennet. Aug. 20, 1853, a sesquicentennial gathering of the Darlington family met at the residence of Brinton Darlington, grandson of the emigrant, in East Bradford, where nearly four hundred persons were present, out of the thousand and more then living. The children of Thomas and Hannah Darlington were,-- 11. Edward, b. 6, 13, 1755 ; 12. Abraham, b. 8, 28, 1757 ; 13. Thomas, b. 1, 21, 1760 ; 14. Jesse, b. 2, 16, 1762 ; 15. Amos, b. 3, 15, 1764 ; 16. George, b. 8, 22, 1766 ; 1.7. 510 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. Stephen, b. 10, 25, 1768 ; 18. Hannah, b. 1, 27, 1771 ; 19. Elizabeth, b. 2, 7, 1773 ; 20. Emanuel, b. 6, 28, 1775 ; 21. Brinton, b. 12, 23, 1781. The children of John and Esther Darlington were,- 22. Sarah, b. 3, 1, 1752 ; 23. Job, b. 12, 20, 1753 ; 24. Joseph, b. 12, 12, 1755 ; 25. Elizabeth, b. 8, 15, 1757 ; 26. Esther, b. 7, 7, 1759 ; 27. Deborah, b. 5, 1, 1761 ; 28.. Leah, b. 8, 29, 1763 ; 29. Rachel, b. 8, 29, 1763 ; 30. John, b. 3, 17, 1766; 31. Zillah, b. 9, 5, 1769. Of these, Job married Rebecca Hoopes, remained at the homestead, and had children,-Joshua, Esther, Susanna, Garrett, Job (now at the same place), John T., and Jacob E. Darlington. Edward Darlington (11) married, 3, 8, 1781, Hannah, daughter of John and Joanna Townsend, of East Bradford, born 12, 17, 1760, died 8, 9, 1826. Edward died 4, 1, 1825. Their children were William, b. April 28, 1782, d. April 23, 1863 ; Thomas, b. June 27, 1784, d. Feb. 17, 1866 ; Ziba, b. June 1, 1788, d. Nov. 7, 1876 ; Sarah, b. July 19, 1790, d. May 12, 1818 ; Samuel, b. Nov. 6, 1793, d. Dec. 25, 1794 ; Jane, b. Sept. 9, 1796, d. Jan. 3, 1817 ; Edward B., b. Dec. 16, 1798, d. May 6, 1851, m. March 23, 1831, to Hannah Sharples, daughter of Nathan H. and Martha, of West Chester. Of these, Thomas was possessed of a love for family history, and many of the family papers. He died unmarried, and these papers passed into the hands of his brother Ziba, who spent the last years of his life in West Chester. He was a fine old gentleman, with a mind well stored with reminiscences of the past, which he took pleasure in relating. He was first married, Feb. 19, 1829, to Hannah Webb, but their children died young. His second marriage was on March 5, 1850, to Ruth C. Gilpin, who survives him. Henry T. Darlington, son of Edward B. and Hannah, learned the printing business, and at the time of his death was proprietor of the Bucks County Intelligence?) trustee of the West Chester State Normal School, commissioner for the erection of the Insane Asylum near Norristown, etc. Abraham Darlington (12) married, 3, 22, 1781, Susanna, daughter of Isaac and Esther Chandler, born 10, 10, 1760, died 5, 12, 1849. He died 2, 14, 1844, having had the following children : Isaac (judge), b. 12, 13, 1781, d. 4, 27, 1839 ; Hannah, b. 5, 16, 1783, d. 11, 2, 1839 ; Thomas, b. 11, 14, 1784, d. 11, 8, 1860 ; Benedict, b. 9, 22, 1786, d. 7, 17, 1864; Abraham, b. 7, 17, 1789, d. 7, 31, 1879; Clement, b. 7, 4, 1791, d. 8, 19, 1791 ; Esther, b. 5, 5, 1793, d. 1, 7, 1877 ; Susanna, b. 11, 11, 1795, d. 9, 15, 1803 ; Eliza, b. 5, 26, 1797, d. 3, 17, 1878 ; Cidney, b. 2, 19, 1799, d. 7, 7, 1868 ; Chandler, b. 11, 4, 1800, d. 3, 29, 1879 ; William, b. 10, 19, 1804, d. 12, 6, 1879. Of the eldest and youngest of these sketches are here given. Thomas, the second son, married Mary Brinton, 9, 7, 1809, daughter of Joseph and Mary, b. 6, 24, 1788, d. 1, 27, 1828. He died 11, 8, 1860. His children were Brinton (sheriff), Clement, Abraham B., Mary Ann, Jane, Susan, Joseph, Isaac, Melinda, Franklin, Thomas, Edward, Alfred, and Chandler. George Darlington (16) married, 5, 28, 1795, Lydia, daughter of Richard and Lettice Barnard, of Newlin, born 8, 6, 1770, died 5, 31, 1826. He died 5, 16, 1839, in Pennsbury, now Pocopson, township. His children were Hannah, Richard, Stephen, Cyrus, George, Joseph, Hill-born, Lydia, and Eliza. Richard married Edith Smedley, daughter of Thomas and Abigail, of Willistown, and removed to West Marlborough. His brothers, Stephen, George, and Joseph, reside on adjoining properties in Pocopson. Brinton Darlington (21) married, 11, 12, 1807, Sarah Garrett, daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth, of Willistown, born 4, 24, 1785, died 2, 19, 1854. Brinton died 8, 29, 1860. His children were Isaac G. (who was a noted maker of ice cream), Brinton, Thomas B., Hillborn (a physician), Elizabeth, and Sarah Ann. Jared Darlington, son of Jesse (14) and Amy, established a high reputation as a dairyman, in which he is succeeded by his sons, at and near Darlington Station, in Middletown, Delaware Co. DR. WILLIAM DARLINGTON, LL.D.-Dr. William Darlington, the eldest child of Edward and Hannah (Townsend) Darlington, was born near the ancient village of Dilworth, now called Dilworthstown, in Birmingham township, April 28, 1782. He descended from ancestors each branch of which, as far as it can be traced, was an unmixed race of plain English Quakers. He was early inured to the severe labors of agricultural life, and when old enough to hold the plow was kept at work in the summer, and only permitted to go to school in the winter season. He obtained a good English education under John Forsythe, an Irish Friend, one of the best teachers of that time in the county, and in the spring of 1800 entered the office of Dr. John Vaughan, a reputable physician of Wilmington, Del. While pursuing his medical studies he also acquired a knowledge of the French language, and there developed a passion for the study of languages which enabled him afterwards to master the Latin, Spanish, and German. During the scourge of the yellow fever in 1802, all the physicians in Wilmington fled but Dr. Vaughan and his pupil, William Darlington, who continued heroically at their posts and rendered faithful services in that fearful epidemic. In the winters of 1802-3 and 1803-4 he attended the medical lectures in the University of Pennsylvania, and June 6, 1804, graduated, being the first citizen of Chester County who took the degree of Doctor of Medicine in that university. The subject of his inaugural thesis was " The Mutual Influence of Habits and Disease," which received a flattering compliment from the distinguished Prof. Rush. At the close of his second course of medical lectures he attended the botanical lectures of Prof. Benjamin Smith Barton, and thus began his first acquaintance with that science whose beauties and pleasures he, in later years, did so much to illustrate, and in so successful a manner as to make his name known and respected throughout the botanical world. On receiving his diploma, he returned to his native place and commenced the practice of medicine. In the following year he was appointed physician to the Chester County Almshouse, and also surgeon to a regiment of militia. The latter appointment, however, caused his disownment by the Society of Friends, of which he was a member, as it was contrary to their BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 511 discipline to assist in or encourage war in any manner whatever. In 1806, Dr. Darlington was appointed surgeon to an East India merchantman belonging to Philadelphia, and made a voyage to Calcutta, whence he returned the following year. A sketch of the observations made during this voyage was, some years afterwards, published in the form of familiar letters in the Analectic Magazine. In the year succeeding his return from Calcutta he settled in West Chester and resumed the practice of medicine, and was soon in the enjoyment of an extensive and profitable practice. He was married, June 1,1808, to Catharine, daughter of Gen. John Lacey, of New Jersey, an officer of distinction in the Revolutionary war. In 1811 he was made a trustee and secretary of the West Chester Academy, then about to be built, and these offices, then conferred on him, were continued more than half a century, and up to his death. In September, 1814, during the war of 1812, he went to the camp on the Delaware River as an ensign in the American Grays, a volunteer company of West Chester, and there was chosen major of the first battalion, in which his company was assigned, in which post he served until the corps was disbanded. In 1814 he was elected to the Fourteenth Congress of the United States, and in 1818 and 1820 elected to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Congresses from the same district. During his second term the celebrated Missouri question agitated the Union from one end to the other, and called forth the ablest efforts of the best men in Congress. On that question Dr. Darlington was found ranked with those who were desirous to restrict slavery, and raised his voice in a most able speech in opposition to its extension. While serving his three terms in Congress he was distinguished for untiring and assiduous industry and attention to the duties of his station. In 1822 he was appointed by the Secretary of War a Visitor to West Point, and his report attracted great attention throughout the country. In 1825 Pennsylvania commenced her grand scheme of canals and railroads, and Dr. Darlington was one of the members of the first Board of Canal Commissioners, and was associated with such men as Albert Gallatin, John Sergeant, Robert W. Patterson, and David Scott, whose names hold a distinguished place in our country's annals. He served in that station two years, during the last of which he was president of the board. In 1826, in conjunction with some of his intimate friends, he assisted in organizing the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Sciences, of which institution he was president from its origin ; and in the same year he published his " Cestrica," being a catalogue of plants growing around the borough of West Chester. The arduous duties of the office of canal commissioner calling him away from home more than was either convenient or agreeable, he resigned that office the next year, and was almost immediately thereafter appointed prothonotary and clerk of the courts of his native county by his political and personal friend, the late lamented Governor Shulze, the duties of which office he continued to discharge till 1830. In 1828 he and some of his medical friends cooperated and formed the Medical Society of Chester County, of which he was unanimously placed at its head, which position he held until 1852, when he resigned, and was immediately elected an honorary member. ,In 1830 the Legislature appointed him one of the commissioners to lay out 512 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. a State road from the Delaware River, near New Hope, to the Maryland line, in a direction towards Baltimore. About the same time, through the exertions of himself and other prominent citizens, the West Chester Railroad was built by a company of which he was the first president, and superintended the construction of the road. In 1830 he was elected president of the Bank of Chester County, of which institution he had been one of the commissioners named in the charter for receiving subscriptions of its capital stock, and a director almost ever since its establishment in 1814. He was re-elected annually, and continued in that station at the time of his death. In 1837, Dr. Darlington published his " Flora Cestrica," a description of the flowering plants of Chester County, which was a new edition of his former work, much enlarged and greatly improved. In 1847 he prepared and published his " Agricultural Botany," and in 1843 he collected the letters, memoranda, etc., of Dr. William Baldwin, a native of his own county, who was also passionately devoted to botany, but who died at an early age while on the expedition up the Missouri under Maj. Long. These remains were given to the world in a volume entitled " Reliquiae Baldwinianae." The pioneers of botany in Pennsylvania were Humphry Marshall and John Bartram, both of Chester County ; and Dr: Darlington collected in 1849 such portions of their correspondence as still remained in existence, comprising, together with their own letters, those of many eminent botanists of the day, and published them in one large volume, with illustrations of their homes, under the title of " Memorials of Bar-tram and Marshall." The doctor's son, Lieut. B. S. B. Darlington, who for seventeen years had been an officer in the United States navy, died at Portsmouth, N. H., in 1845, of a disease contracted during the first cruise of our squadron on the coast of Africa, under the stipulations of the Ashburton treaty which concern the slave-trade. His youngest son, who bore his name, was acting colonel of the Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry during the war of the Rebellion of 1861-65. In 1853 the name of Darling. tonia Californica was given in his honor by Dr. Torrey, of New York, to a new and remarkable variety of' pitcher-plant found in California, and a similar honor had been conferred on him in 1825 by Prof. De Candolle, of Geneva, for the doctor's eminent services in the beautiful science of botany. Shortly after the death of Lieut. Darlington, that afflicting dispensation was followed by one still more severe and poignant in the death of the doctor's wife. She had borne him four sons and four daughters, and for nearly forty years had been his faithful counselor and partner. Soon after her death he became a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the congregation of which he had years before assisted in forming, as well as in aiding in the erection of its church edifice. Dr. Darlington died April 23, 1863, aged nearly eighty-one years, with his mental vigor unimpaired, but his physical system worn out by a long and active life. In his earlier years he was an ardent politician, and a warm Republican of the school of 1800, and was long a leader of the Democratic party of his county. He was a zealous supporter of the administrations of Jefferson and Madison, and of the economical doctrines of the American system, as ad vocated by Clay, Carey, Niles, and Calhoun, before the latter turned nullifier. The radical tendencies of the Democratic party, in the campaign of 1824, caused him to abandon that party for the more conservative principles of the men who supported Adams and Clay, and he was from that time onward a Whig and Republican. As a political writer, he was bold, nervous, and sententious, with a strong vein of sarcasm running through his compositions, whilst as the author of numerous literary addresses and scientific dissertations, delivered before bodies of that character, his style was easy, plain, and flowing, mingling wit and humor with knowledge and instruction. As a physician, he enjoyed an extensive practice, and whilst he continued his medical labors he was confessedly at the head of his profession in Chester County. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Yale College, and that of Doctor of Physical Science from Dickinson College, and lie was elected a member of more than forty literary and scientific associations, among which may be mentioned the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia and the Botanical Society of the Netherlands at Leyden. The last work in which he was engaged was " Notae Cestrienses," or notices of Chester men and events, the joint production of himself and his friend, J. Smith Futhey, each contributing a portion thereof. Dr. Darlington was then nearly eighty years of age, and the work was only finished a few months before his death. His extensive herbarium of plants and his scientific works he bequeathed to the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science. His remains repose in the Oaklands Cemetery, near West Chester, in the establishment and embellishment of which he took a deep interest. The following is the epitaph inscribed upon his memorial stone, written by himself twenty years before his death: " Plantae Cestrienses, quas dilexit atque illustravit, super tumulum ejus scraper floreant." (The plants of Chester, which he loved and described, may they blossom forever above his tomb.) ISAAC DARLINGTON, eldest son of Abraham and Susanna (Chandler) Darlington, was born in the township of Westtown, Chester. Co., Dec. 13, 1781. He was of the fourth generation from Abraham Darlington, the first immigrant of the family, which at a sesqui-centennial gathering of the clan in 1853 mustered nearly four hundred, and reckoned altogether upwards of one thousand living members. While Isaac was yet young, his father and family removed to Thornbury township, near Birmingham Meeting house, where he was brought up and had his home until he had nearly reached the age of eighteen years. His father had been taught the trade of a blacksmith (for in those days it was usual for young men of reputable family to learn some mechanic art), and was an excellent workman ; but he was also a practical farmer, and carried on both occupations with extraordinary energy, skill, and success. He likewise, for a number of years, filled the office of justice of the peace with great credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of the vicinage. He was a hard worker on the farm through the day, and did the smith-work for the neighborhood during the noon intermission, and in the BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 513 evening, often wielding the hammer until late bedtime. His sons were early initiated into the same industrious habits, and Isaac, being the eldest, as soon as he acquired sufficient strength to swing a sledge-hammer, labored continually with his father in the fields, and was moreover taught to blow and strike in the smith-shop at noon and in the evening. Probably no boy in Chester County was trained to more laborious habits in early life than Isaac Darlington. His education was simply English, with a fair start in mathematics, and his schooling was limited to the winter season as soon as he reached an age or was strong enough to work on the farm or take his stand by the anvil. It is true he had the benefit of the instructions of John Forsythe, the best schoolmaster of that period and region of country, and under that tuition he made extraordinary progress. Isaac Darlington's physical constitution was remarkably sound and vigorous, and from his earliest youth his intellectual powers and attainments so far exceeded those of his juvenile contemporaries as to excite the admiration of all who knew him. At the age of fifteen years his aspirations reached beyond the farm and smith-shop ; but as his father did not then perceive the importance of a thorough. education for such faculties (.a circumstance much to be regretted, for he was endowed with a singular aptitude for learning), instead of sending the boy of so much promise to a seminary, where his powers could be adequately trained and developed, he was merely permitted to take charge of an insignificant country school. In this occupation Isaac Darlington was engaged for two or three winters, and ac, quitted himself with remarkable success for so juvenile a - 65 - teacher, whose pupils were often his seniors. In his eighteenth year, dissatisfied with the drudgery, and impatient under the routine duties of a rural pedagogue, as then practiced, he turned his attention to the profession of the law and became a student in the office of Joseph Hemphill, Esq., at that time a distinguished member of the bar at West Chester. Although, like most county towns of that day, West Chester was a place of perilous dissipation, especially among the young men of the legal profession and sundry idle hangers-on of society, Isaac Darlington, amid it all, applied himself so successfully to his studies that he was found duly qualified, and admitted to the bar at the early age of twenty years.* The powerful grasp of his intellect enabled him—maugre the prevalent, unpropitious habits of the time—speedily to take a high and influential position among his professional seniors who then attended the county courts and adorned the West Chester bar. In the years 1807 and 1808 he was elected to the State Legislature, where he was an active member ; but, finding the position to interfere with his practice, he declined a further continuance in that station. At a special election, * In a chronological list of West Chester lawyers, showing the dates of their admission respectively, it appears that Isaac Darlington was admitted at November term, 1801, some two or three weeks before he was twenty years old. Tradition says that when the committee asked him if he was of age he carelessly replied, "Not quite ;" and, judging from his finely-developed, manly form and nonchalant manner that he must have nearly reached that period, one of them remarked that a few days more or less were of little consequence : and, with a complimentary report in his favor, the precocious minor forthwith took his stand among the veterans of the Chester County bar. 514 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. however, in February, 1816, to supply a vacancy, he was chosen to the same body without opposition. During the war of 1812-15, although a zealous member of the political party opposed to that war, when the strife began to be serious Isaac Darlington aided in raising a company of volunteer infantry for the defense of altars and firesides ; was the first lieutenant and master-spirit of the corps, and on the . call of the Governor, in 1814, after the sack of Washington City, marched with it to the camp formed for the protection of Philadelphia. He there served as adjutant of the Second Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers until the close of the campaign. At the general election in 1816 he was elected by the district composed of Chester and Montgomery Counties a member of the Fifteenth Congress, and served through the term, but declined being again a candidate. In December, 1820, he was appointed deputy attorney-general for Chester County, which office he held until May, 1821, when he received the appointment of president judge of the judicial district composed of the counties of Chester and Delaware. This situation he held until his death, April 27, 1839. Judge Darlington was twice married, first to Miss Mary Peters, by whom he had two interesting daughters, the eldest of whom especially was distinguished for rare personal and mental endowments ; but he survived them both, and has left no descendants. His second wife was Miss Rebecca Fairlamb, who survived him nearly twenty years. WILLIAM DARLINGTON, youngest son of Abraham and Susanna, was born 10th mo. 19, 1804, and married, 3d mo. 19, 1829, Catharine Paxson. Their children—fifth generation in America—were Charles, d. in childhood ; William H., m. Hettie, daughter of Caleb Brinton ; Stephen P., m. Josephine, daughter of Hon. Joseph J. Lewis ; Francis J., m. Annie M. Biles, of Maryland ; Isabella, m. Maj. L. G. McCauley ; and Catharine Mary, m. Jerome B. Gray. William Darlington studied law with his brother, Judge Darlington. On Jan. 31, 1826, he was examined by Ziba Pyle, William H. Dillingham, and Townsend Haines, a committee appointed by the court, who reported " that they find him well qualified to practice as an attorney of this court," whereupon he was admitted and sworn in at the bar on same day before his brother, who was then the presiding judge. The discipline, flexibility, and ease which collegiate education is supposed to best supply were in his case attained by self-culture, quick observation, engrafted into the stock of native good sense, superadded to such educational facilities as the local schools afforded ; and with a natural aptitude for the practical adaptation of circumstances and means to ends, he became, like his illustrious brother, a man of intuitions. He soon achieved a deserved prominence at the bar. He was steadfast to his profession from the commencement of his practice, in 1826, to the moment of his death, when he sank down in the corridor of the court-house, Dec. 6, 1879, while on his way to the court-room to try a cause. His practice was chiefly confined to the county courts in Eastern Pennsylvania and the Supreme Court of the State, although he was frequently engaged in the District Court of the United States at Philadelphia, and was a member of the Supreme Court of the United States at Washington. As the committee of the Philosophical Society of West Chester, of which Mr. Darlington was a distinguished member, has aptly said, " There was nothing dramatic nor startling in his career, but he kept right on in the higher levels of local practice, surrounded by a large and wealthy clientage, whom he served always with the utmost alacrity and fidelity. "'Untainted by the guilty bribe, Uncursed amid the harpy tribe."' In 1837, when less than thirty years of age, he was elected a member of the State convention to remodel the constitution, where he bore so active and discreet a part that thirty-five years later, when further amendments were to be considered, the people with one accord recommissioned him to represent them in the Constitutional Convention of 1873, in which he took a most conspicuous and honorable part. He served as deputy attorney-general for Chester County from 1835 to 1838, under Governor Ritner, but had a distaste for the practice of criminal jurisprudence, as it was in the deeper and richer mines of legal science that he most loved to delve, consequently his practice was of the most desirable and lucrative kind. About the year 1857 he traveled in Europe, attended the " -World's Fair," and kept a journal of all be witnessed worthy of preservation. He visited the locality where his progenitor, Job Darlington, lived, at Darnhall, and discovered many facts relative to the Darlington lineage. He lived to see all his children married, well established, and flourishing, and it was his delight to prosper them. He was a great student, and his literary tastes, although varied and quite ardent, seemed to incline more to modern history, which, it is believed, he read more as a record of events than as showing a development of thought in a strictly literary sense. As the " memorial" of the Philosophical Society happily said,— " He was a man who, in the strong language of Napoleon, was victory organized.' He rose up out of the common level, lifting up others with him, "Not propped by ancestry, Whose grace chalks successors their way," but by the force of his own merits acquired high station and great wealth ; yet he was not puffed up, proud, or aristocratical, but remained plain and unpretending and true-hearted; was easily approached, and always interested in the wants and purposes of the people, countenancing worthy young people, and taking an active part in affairs." RICHARD DARLINGTON, son of Richard and Edith, was born Aug. 14, 1834, and first educated in the common schools of West Marlborough township. At sixteen years of age he went to Jonathan Gause's academy, near Marshallton, and afterwards was for two years or more a pupil at Ercildoun Boarding-School. He now entered upon the work of instruction, teaching for a while in this last-named school ; then a select school near Green Tree ; at Westfield, N. J. ; and at Friends' Central High School, Philadelphia. During all his spare hours from teaching he was engaged in the study of French, Latin, phonography, and many other branches, and in 1858 entered Harvard University, directing his attention chiefly to the studies of the Lawrence Scientific School of that institution, to which he added geology, botany, chemistry, and other branches, under BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 515 Agassiz, Gray, Cook, Horsford, and other noted professors of that day. In 1861 he bought the Ercildoun Seminary for Young Ladies (since removed to West Chester), and conducted it from that to the present time. This school is now known as " Darlington Seminary," named after its proprietor, and which for the last twenty years he has managed with marked success. In 1857 he began reading law, but his educational duties engrossed so much of his time that he abandoned the study and resumed teaching and lecturing. He is one of the leading educators of the county ; takes an active part as a lecturer in teachers' institutes and in the State Teachers' Association. He was president of the West Chester Philosophical Society, in which he takes a deep interest. He married, in 1861, Lizzie F. Alexander, of Bucks County, formerly a teacher in Ercildoun Seminary, an accomplished scholar, and deeply interested in the various departments of the institution over which she presides. He gives most of his time to his profession, but does not fail to take an active interest in all scientific, literary, and political movements that are transpiring around him. Darlington Seminary was founded in 1854 as " Ercildoun Seminary," at Ercildoum but in 1877, Mr. Darlington purchased a valuable property three-fourths of a mile southwest of West Chester, to which he removed that school in October, on the completion of the new buildings, where the new school opened. The grounds are beautifully laid out, and the surroundings are most 'tasteful and satisfactory. The grounds include twenty-six acres, and the school buildings, commodious and elegant, admit of about sixty boarders. It is the largest private school in the county, and one of the largest in Eastern Pennsylvania. He and his wife conducted the Ercildoun Seminary from 1861 until 1877, when the buildings were partially destroyed by a tornado,* after which the school was removed to its present location. They had while the Ercildoun school was under their control over 1200 boarders, and in their four years at West Chester have frequently been unable to accommodate all who desired to attend. Four teachers are employed, and the pupils, from every section of the Union, embrace in part those designing to become teachers. It is in no sense a local school, but extends its influence to the most remote parts of the country, and its direct control and management have always been under the care of its learned and popular principal and his accomplished wife, who devote their time and attention to its minutest details. The great secret of its success has been in the careful supervision exercised over its various departments, and in the character of the instruction bestowed upon its pupils. † WILLIAM DARLINGTON, a settler in West Nantmeal about 1730, came perhaps from Ireland, judging from his associations. He died in the fall of 1757, leaving a wife, Mary, and children,-Joseph, Robert, John, and Meredith. Saffell gives the following notice of a member of this family : * An illustrated description of this tornado is given on page 459 of this work. † For a further account of the Ercildoun Seminary and the Darlington Seminary, of West Chester, see the department " Educational and Literary," in this work. " Lieut. Robert Darlington, of Col. Watts' Regiment of Flying Camp, was captured at Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776, and was confined on Long Island. He was admitted to parole May 26, 1777, but was ordered into the New York city prisons on the 17th of August, 1779, where he was supplied by Mr. Pintard and Mr. Beatty, and was honored, on the 6th of June, 1777, with a warrant for one hundred and sixty-seven dollars from His Excellency Gen. Washington. He was exchanged at Elizabethtown, May 14, 1781, and returned to his home in Chester Co., Pa. Lieut. Darlington was an able officer, a ripe scholar, and polite gentleman." Robert Darlington had seen military service prior to the Revolution, and about 1770 was keeping tavern near the Brandywine Manor church. He was an Episcopalian. JOSEPH DARLINGTON was a single man in Aston in 1715, and in 1718-19, of Goshen, but in 1721 was a married man in Caln township, where he probably resided until his death. DAVID, JAMES, of Tredyffrin, purchased land there in 1711, which he conveyed to his grandson of the same name in 1741. He died in or about 1744, leaving a daughter Margaret, wife of James Abraham, Jane (married to Thomas James, May 15, 1722), Eleanor, unmarried, and some grandchildren by a deceased son, viz. : James David, Elizabeth (married to David Parry, Sept. 27, 1735, and secondly to - Hackett),. Mary (married to Henry Owen), etc. Eleanor Davis inherited the homestead of 100 acres, and with her lived John Thomas, whose wife, Elizabeth, was her niece, and Rachel James, the daughter of her sister Jane. Eleanor Davis and John Thomas were murdered and Rachel James dangerously wounded, Aug. 1, 1752, by three men, two of whom were subsequently caught and hung. LLEWELLYN DAVID, of Haverford, " sawyer,' purchased Oct. 16, 1708, from Lewis 'Walker, of Valleyton (Tredyffrin), 300 acres of land in the latter township. He had purchased in 1705 205 acres in Easttown, but did not settle there. He was married, Nov. 14, 1709, to Bridget Jones, by whom he had four children,-Elizabeth, Isaac, Sarah, and Llewellyn. His widow married April 7, 1722, James David, or Davies, of Tredyffrin. Isaac Davies, or Davis, son of Llewellyn and Bridget, married, May 30, 1738, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Mary Bartholomew, and, buying the interests of the other heirs, settled on the homestead in Tredyffrin. He was a justice of the peace and an active citizen ; died in 1778, leaving a wife and children,-Benjamin, Mary (married to John Morgan), Thomas, John, Sarah (married to Daniel Wilson), Elizabeth (married to Maj. Ezekiel Howell), and Joseph, a physician. His widow survived him about one year, dying in July, 1779. The property was divided between the sons,-Benjamin, John, and Thomas. John Davis married Ann Morton, daughter of John Morton, the signer, and had children,-Isaac, John Morton, Mary, Charles Justis, Ann, Benjamin, and Albert. His services in the Revolution are set forth in a petition to Congress, from which we make the following extract : "The Petition of Charles J. Davis, Administrator, &c., of John Davis, late of Tredyfferin township, in the county of Chester, and State of Pennsylvania, deceased, respectfully represents the said John Davis, who entered the Army of the Revolution in the year 1776, raised a 516 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. company and served as Captain of the same, and on the 21st day of October, A.D., 1780, was regularly commissioned a Captain in the Pennsylvania Line, and continued in the service to the end of the war. " His commission, signed by John Jay, his oath of allegiance, taken before General Lord Sterling, his certificate of membership of the Society of Cincinnati, a copy in his hand writing of the military orders issued while the army was encamped at Valley Forge, and his diary of the military events with which he was personally connected down to January, 1782, about the time when active military operations were suspended, are still extant, and have been exhibited to committees of Congress. Capt. Davis was present at and participated in the battles of Brandywine, Paoli, Germantown, Monmouth, Stony Point, and Yorktown ; and he was also with Gen. Wayne in South Carolina and Georgia during his operations in those States. " By an Act of Congress, of the 21st day of October, 1780, it was provided that all officers continuing in the service until the close of the war, should be entitled to half pay for life. This half pay thus promised Capt. Davis never received." In April, 1800, John Davis was appointed brigadier-general of the First Brigade of the militia of Chester and Delaware Counties, and on March 31, 1803, was commissioned an associate judge of Chester County, a position he continued to fill until disabled by the infirmities of age. He died in 1827. His son, John Morton Davis, born 1788, died 1848, married 1818, Elizabeth Knight, of Philadelphia, by whom he had two children, Mary and Albert K., who reside at the homestead. John M. Davis married in 1830 a second wife, Anna Maria Walley, by whom he had children,-WilHam W., Henrietta, John M., Elizabeth, Isaac Henry, and Anna Maria. DR. ISAAC DAVIS* was the eldest son of Gen. John Davis, of the Great Valley, Chester Co. His mother was Nancy, the daughter of John Morton, a name familiar to every one who has read of our struggles for independence. Dr. Davis was born in Tredyffrin township, Chester Co., Pa., July 27, 1787. He commenced the study of the Latin and Greek languages with the Rev. Wm. Latta, afterwards went to Norristown, and pursued his education with diligence and success under the direction of the Rev. John Jones, a Presbyterian clergyman. In the year 1806 he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Joseph Shallcross, of Darby, Delaware Co., and after remaining some time he placed himself under the tuition of Dr. Elijah Griffith, of Philadelphia, and completed his medical education by attending three courses of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania. He received his diploma from that institution in 1810. He entered upon the practice of his profession in Edgmont township, Delaware Co., and was cared for in the family of Everet Passmore, near the " William Penn." He had, however, been there but a short time, says Dr. Thomas Harris, U.S.N. (and his intimate friend), before he received an appointment from President Madison as surgeon of the Sixth Regiment of the United Infantry, under the command of Col. Simonds, who was then stationed at Albany, N. Y. After being at Albany about six months the regiment was ordered to Carlisle, Pa.. From there he, with his regiment, was sent to Pittsburgh, Mobile, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and finally to Fort Jackson, Miss., where * By C. J. Morton, M.D., in Medical Reporter, vol. i. p. 126. he closed his life by the rupture of a blood-vessel in the lungs, July 21, 1814, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. Dr. Davis was a talented and accomplished gentle; man and skillful physician. He was never married. JOHN DAVIS, or DAVID, of Uwchlan, purchased 100 acres there in 1715, and is said to have come from Radnorshire. He, died in 1736, leaving a widow, Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel and Sibyll Harris, and children,-1. Daniel, who died in Uwchlan about 1784, probably unmarried. 2. Hannah, m. 9, 10, 1743, to David Cadwalader. 3. Mary, m. 9, 28, 1740, to David John. 4. Rachel, b. 2, 10, 1720 ; m. 3, 10, 1745, to Joshua John. 5. Elizabeth, in. to Jonathan Worrall. 6. Sibbilla, b. 1, 1, 1726 ; m. 4, 13, 1746, to Edward Williams, and 3, 27, 1754, to William Kirk, of Nantmeal. 7. Amos, b. 3, 1, 1728 ; d. 2, 23, 1782 ; m. 5, 5, 1757, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Grace Meredith, of Vincent ; second marriage, 6, 7, 1771, to Agnes, widow of William Brown, daughter of Evan and Susanna Jones. 8. Abigail, probably died unmarried. 9. John, m. Hannah, daughter of Griffith and Ann John. 10. Ruth, b. 3, 27, 1733 ; m. to Jacob Williams. 11. Benjamin, b. 7, 27, 1736 ; d. 10, 9, 1809 ; m. 10, 31, 1771, to Hannah, daughter of John Davies, of Radnor, by whom he had children,-John, Mary, Elizabeth, Hannah, Benjamin, Amos, Tacy (m. to Thomas Woodward, of Thornbury), Samuel, Sibbilla, Sarah, and Ruth (m. to Samuel Smedley). JOHN DAVIS, of Thornbury, died in March, 1719-20, leaving a wife, Mary, and children,- Abraham, John, Daniel, Isaac, Mary, Hannah, Susanna, and Charity. This family continued to own land in Thornbury and the lower end of East Bradford, now Birmingham, until after the Revolution. ASA DAVIS, born 8, 8, 1743, son of William and grandson of Lewis and Florence David ; married Elizabeth Humphreys in 1769, and came, perhaps, from Haverford to East Bradford in 1784. He had children,-Elizabeth, William, Jane, and James, of whom the first married Jesse Reece, and was the mother of Davis Reece, who occupied the position of governor in Westtown Boarding-School from 1831 to 1859. William Davis married, 10, 14, 1802, Mary Hibberd, and had children,-Emmor, Elizabeth, John, Sarah, Deborah, Samuel H., and Martha. ROGER DAVIS, M.D., the son of Isaac Davis, was born in Charlestown township, Chester Co., Oct. 2, 1762. His mother's name previous to marriage was Sophia North. She was a resident of Montgomery County. He received a good English education, and under the instruction of the Rev. Mr. Simonton, pastor of the Valley Presbyterian Church, obtained an excellent knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. He pursued his medical studies under the direction of Dr. Duffield, of Philadelphia, and attended three full courses of lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, though he took no degree. About the year 1785 he commenced the practice of medicine in his native township, where he continued to reside until his death. He was married to Sarah Jones, of the township of Heidelberg, Berks Co., on May 10, 1785. By this marriage he became the father of thirteen children, of whom (in 1852) four were living,-two sons, Jones and Thomas Davis, physi- BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 517 cians, in Montgomery County ; Isaac Morris Davis, residing upon the homestead farm ; and a daughter, Maria Anderson, a widow, in the same township. In the year 1809 he was chosen a representative to the State Legislature, and served two years in that body. In 1811 he took his seat as a member of the Lower House of Congress, in which he served four years. He died of congestive fever, Nov. 20, 1815, aged fifty-three years. Dr. R. Davis, as a man, was highly esteemed ; as a physician, he was greatly beloved ; as a husband and father, he was kind and affectionate. The facts for this notice were furnished by his son, Dr. T. Davis.* NATHANIEL DAVIS and Hannah Martin were married March 4, 1746, at the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, and resided in Charlestown, Chester Co. Their son Hezekiah served in the Revolutionary .war, and was taken prisoner at Fort Washington. He was exchanged Dec. 8, 1780, at Elizabethtown, and returned home. He was a member of Assembly in 1803 and 1804. J. M. Toner, of Philadelphia, communicates the following to the Pennsylvania Magazine, iv. 120, as copied from a document on file in the pension office in that city : " Lieut. Hezekiah Davis, born on Nov. 22, 1747, in Charlestown, Chester Co., Pa., and residing there in 1832, enlisted early in 1776 in Fifth Pennsylvania, Col. Magraw, which was afterwards captured at Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776. Davis was appointed lieutenant in Capt. Culbertson's company, belonging to the Flying Camp, Sept. 7, 1776, which commission was signed by Benjamin Franklin, President of Council of Pennsylvania, and joined his regiment, Col. Wm. Montgomery, but as he did not take the command, it was organized, etc , by Lieut.-Col. Thomas Bull. The regiment was raised in Chester County and went to Fort Lee, which was being or was built by the corps of the Flying Camp, the troops laying around in huts and tents. From there they were ordered to Fort Washington, where the Flying Camp were taken prisoners, the engagement continuing from early morn till late in the P.M. The prisoners were taken to New York City, and Davis confined with others on board the prison-ship, but in a few weeks went to Long Island, and exchanged Dec. 7, 1780. " During his captivity he made a list of officers who were prisoners of war and detained in New York City and on Long Island from official documents, showing the rank, dates of commission, the corps to which they belonged, the time when captured, and place where taken, as well as those who had died prisoners of war, which document he exhibited to court in 1832 when snaking his affidavit for his pension. The Legislature of Pennsylvania, by act of April 2, 1822, granted him a pension. Ile names Dr. Wm. Darlington as one to whom he is well known. He always resided in Charlestown." CALEB DAVIS was one of the active Chester County men of the Revolutionary period, who figured considerably in our Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives. His duties were chiefly civil, but seem occasionally to have been partly military. In April, 1776, he obtained £1500 for payment for firelocks, etc., in Chester County ; also £100 and an order for two quarter-casks of gunpowder. In April, 1777, the Board of War made a requisition upon Col. Caleb Davis, Chester County, for wagons. But in July, 1777, he was appointed prothonotary and clerk of the courts of Chester County, with Thomas Cheyney, Esq., as his surety ; in which offices he was continued until 1791. May 5, 1778, an order was drawn on the treasurer, in favor of Caleb Davis, for the sum of £15, for six days' riding to Gen. Potter's camp and through the neighborhood of Darby and * Medical Reporter, vol. i. p. 96. Chester, in order to gain intelligence. Caleb was a prominent target for the shafts of the county wits during the protracted struggle for the removal of the seat of justice from the ancient Upland to West Chester, viz., from 1780 to 1786, when the removal was effected. But he was also a good officer and a zealous patriot in the times which put men's real worth to the test. The old gentleman was distinctly remembered, towards the close of the last century, in his retirement on a valuable farm near Chester, but the exact date of his decease has not been ascertained. JOSEPH C. DAVIS.—Caleb Davis, of Welsh descent, and of a family early settled in this county, married Jane Walker, of English extraction. Of their twelve children, Joseph Cope Davis, so named for a friend of his father, was born June 3, 1820, in Honeybrook township. He passed his youth on a farm, was educated in the common schools, and one of his early teachers was the distinguished Professor McClune, now of Philadelphia. He learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed for seventeen years. He then engaged in the hardware business, in which he continued some twenty-nine years. He began this business in the basement of a tailor's shop, and increased it until during the war his annual sales aggregated forty thousand dollars a year. He erected the fine building in Honeybrook where he successfully conducted this business, from which some three years ago he retired. Since then he has been engaged in selling sewing-machines, which before he had united in his hardware trade. He is also largely interested in the insurance business, life and fire,—in the former representing the " Penn Mutual," of Philadelphia,—and has been for eighteen years a director in the Chester County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He was a director in the Bank of Chester Valley, at Coatesville, and for some years after its change into a national 518 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. bank. He has, been a director in the National Bank of Honeybrook since its charter in the spring of 1868.. He was a member of the board of East Brandywine and Waynesburg Railroad for fourteen years, and until its extension to New Holland. He was married, Feb. 22, 1843, to Rebecca A., daughter of William Buchanan, by whom he has had nine children, of whom seven are living. Of these, Franklin B., of the U. S. army, and three daughters are married, viz. : Elizabeth, to Charles Hornberger ; Mary, to J. D. Landis, of Coatesville ; and Ida Almena to Mordecai Markward, of Coatesville. The other three living are Norrie Evelin, Charles Walker, and Joseph Simpson. The names of the two deceased were Asenath Ann and William Summerfield. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has filled all positions therein save that of the ministry. He has added much to the material growth of Honeybrook in building and in varied business matters. DEAN, WILLIAM, brought a certificate to Newark Monthly Meeting, 1, 3, 1714-5, from Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England, and married, 9, 15, 1722, Lydia, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Gilpin, of Birmingham. She was a minister among Friends. They at one time owned a farm in what is now the southern part of West Chester, which they sold to Nathan Sharpies in 1747, and removed to Wilmington. They had children,-Isaac, Caleb, and Hannah, born in Birmingham. JEREMIAH DEAN, a brother of William, married in 1720 Hannah, daughter of Richard Buffington, of Bradford, by whom he had children,-James, Nehemiah, John, and Mary (m. to Joseph Cook). JOSEPH DEAN was the son of Rev. William Dean, a Presbyterian clergyman, and was born at Ballymenagh, county of Antrim, Ireland, Aug. 10, 1738. His father was licensed by the New Brunswick Presbytery, Oct. 12, 1742, and was sent to Neshaminy and the Forks of the Delaware. In 1745 he went into Virginia, but the year following he was ordained pastor of the congregation at the Forks of Brandywine. He died July 9, 1748, at the early age of twenty-nine, and his remains lie in the graveyard at Brandywine Manor. He was an active, zealous, and faithful minister. He had four sons,-Joseph, Benjamin, John, and William,-and one daughter, who married a Mr. Fleming, residing on the Susquehanna. Joseph Dean became a large importing merchant in Philadelphia previous to the Revolution. He was a signer of the celebrated non-importation resolutions. At the outset of the war he loaned the general government some sixty thousand dollars, which he lost. In December, 1776, he was appointed by the Assembly on the Committee of Safety, and on the organization of the Board of War a member of that body. In January, 1781, the Supreme Executive Council appointed him one of the auditors to settle and adjust the accounts of the troops of this State in the service of the United States," and in October following a warden of the port of Philadelphia. In 1790 he was chosen auctioneer of that city. Joseph Dean purchased large quantities of real estate at the close of the Revolution, the property of attainted persons. He died Sept. 9, 1793. Mr. Dean was twice married, first to Frances McCracken, who died March 1, 1776 ; second to Hannah Boyd, who departed this life June 28, 1823. Their remains lie interred in the Moravian burying-ground at the corner of Franklin and Vine Streets. A portrait of Joseph Dean, by Peale, is in the possession of William F. Dean, Esq., of Philadelphia. John Dean, a brother, was a major in the army of the Revolution ; and William, another brother, a colonel in the same service, who did valiant duty at Princeton, Trenton, and Germantown.* DELL, THOMAS, of Upton, in the county of Bucks, England, son of Thomas and Elizabeth, of that place, was married, 5, 22, 1691, at Reading, to Mary Eldershaw, of Reading, daughter of Edward and Mary, of Southwark, Surrey. They had the following children : Mary, b. 5, 31, 1695 ; Sarah, b. 6, 11, 1699 ; Elizabeth, b. 6, 1, 1697 ; Thomas, b. 9, 29, 1701 ; Edward, b. 2, 24, 1704, d. 5, 20, 1704. Thomas Dell, late of Reading, in Berkshire, brought a certificate to Chester Monthly Meeting, 10, 27, 1708, and settled in Ridley township. He took an active part in meeting affairs, and his wife was clerk for a considerable time. He died 6, 15, 1750, aged 84, and she 9, 11, 1751, aged 81. Their daughter Sarah died 7, 27, 1714 (or 1715). Elizabeth married, 7, 29, 1720, Willian*Swayne, of Marlborough. Thomas Dell, Jr., married, 8, 7, 1728, Rachel Sharpies, daughter of James and Mary, of Providence, and left children, two of whom married, viz. : Sarah to Isaac Weaver, 7, 20, 1750, and Mary to William Pennell, 2, 25, 1751. From these the name of Dell, as a given name, has descended in both Weaver and Pennell families. DENNY, WILLIAM, probably of Scotch-Irish stock, settled in Uwchlan as early as 1735, and in 1750 obtained a patent for 293 acres next to land of Robert Smith and others. In 1775 he and his wife, Margaret, conveyed this to David Denny, one of their sons. William died Oct. 8, 1784, in his 77th year, and his widow May 7, 1794, aged 76. David Denny was an active patriot in the Revolution and a useful citizen after its close ; was a justice of the peace, and one of the first directors of the poor. He died Nov. 4, 1820, in his 78th year. His first wife, Elizabeth, died Sept. 21, 1809, aged 59 years, 6 months, 10 days, and Martha, his second wife, died June 14, 1867, in her 78th year. All were buried at Brandywine Manor church. We find a William Denny, unmarried, in Birmingham, 1721-22 ; as a married man in West Nottingham, 1734 to 1740, and perhaps later. Walter Denny was also unmarried in Birmingham, 1721-22, a married man in West Nottingham, 1724-26, and of Kennet, 1729-32. WILLIAM and WALTER DENNY, brothers, removed from Chester to Cumberland County in 1745. William's wife was Agnes, daughter of John Parker, and their son, Maj. Ebenezer Denny, was a prominent officer in the Revolutionary and Indian wars, born March 11, 1761. A journal which he kept during some of the campaigns was published by the Historical Society some years since. David Denny, for many years pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Chambersburg, was a son of Walter. * 2d Archives, i. 9. JAMES M. DORLAN. The United States government, on June 11, 1872, granted by letters a patent, No. 127,858, for an improvement in " Sizing Paper, etc.," to James M. Dorlan, which most valuable invention has become of great benefit to the world. It consists of a new and useful ingredient (in compounds or compositions of other ingredients) called chloride of lime, bleaching-powder, or bleaching-salts, or its equivalent, to be made use of in any suitable quantities, as and for an improvement in creating or forming a pore-less or water-proof gum size in paper stock and paper pulp for gum pulp-sizing paper of any or all kinds, but more particularly for gum-sizing paper stock and paper pulp for making pulp-sized hanging or house-wall and other wall papers of all qualities. Mr. DorIan was born March 19, 1807, in this county, near Manor .meetinghouse. He early learned the paper-making trade, beginning in his fourteenth year, and during this time only attended school one month in a year. He served his apprenticeship with Davis & Cooper, and afterwards carried on the mill for Joseph M. Downing, now Guie's mill. About the year 1832 he purchased the paper-mill on the east branch of the Brandywine, four miles from Downingtown, and now known as Dorlan's mills. When he bought it thirty-seven acres of land were attached, and to this he added nearly two hundred more. This mill, operated successfully by him for about fifty years, found a market for its paper in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. During this time he never was engaged in litigation with his patrons. About fifteen hands were employed to run the mill, which is now operated by his son, Samuel B. He was married in 1828 to Elizabeth Dowlin, to whom were born eleven children ; the following are living : Samuel B.; Thomas; John D.; James; Esther Helena, married to Henry L. McConnell, of Philadelphia; and Mary Elizabeth, married to Dr. C. G. Traichler. Mr. Dorian is of English descent, and was the son of Samuel and Mary (Scott) Dorian. He started with no capital but his will and industry, and has been eminently successful in the race of life. He was elected justice of the peace, but owing to his extensive business declined to serve. In 1851 he was elected from Chester County a representative in the Legislature, and served a full term. Is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is highly respected in the community. His invention and patent to make paper impervious to water, to which he devoted much time and means, has given him celebrity, and made his name widely known. RESIDENCE OF JAMES M. DORLAN, EAST BRANDYWINE. BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 519 DE BEELEN.—In the list of taxables in West Nantmeal, soon after the close of the Revolution, we find the name of " Baron Debillion." His full name is said to have been Jacob Francis Frederick Nugent, Baron de Beelen, but he signed himself simply Baron de Beelen Bertholf, and his place of residence " Head of little Brandywine." He was interested in botany, and obtained seeds and plants for cultivation from Humphry Marshall. Tradition says that he fled from his native land, and that his silverware, China, and French-plate looking-glasses were the wonder and admiration of the residents for miles around his home near Cambridge. His remittances ultimately failed, and his property passed into other hands. DICKEY, REV. EBENEZER, D.D., was born near Oxford, Chester Co., Pa., March 12, 1772. His ancestors migrated from the north of Ireland, and were members of the Associate Presbyterian Church. His mother, whose maiden name was Jackson, descended from English Puritans. He graduated with great credit at the University of Pennsylvania, of which Dr. John Ewing was then the provost, in the year 1792. He was licensed in 1794 as a minister of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and in 1796 became pastor of the Associate Reformed congregations of Oxford and Octorara. His connection with Octorara was continued until 1800, and with Oxford until his death. His father and grandfather had both served as elders in the latter church. In 1822 a union took place between a part of the Associate Reformed Synod and the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and the Oxford congregation, with their pastor, came under the care of the General Assembly. Mr. Dickey had taken an active part in bringing about this union. In 1819 and 1820 he traveled extensively in Europe for the benefit of his health. He possessed eminent intellectual endowments, a clear, comprehensive, and well-disciplined mind, and was a clear, strong, solemn, and impressive preacher. He was a man of great prudence and sincerity, and an eminently safe counselor. His advice was frequently sought and seldom disregarded. He was also characterized by amiability and simplicity of character was cheerful, social, and affectionate, and enjoyed the confidence of his congregation and of the community in which he lived. He was an earnest advocate of every cause promising to advance the interests of man for this life as well as the future. The cause of education, temperance, and agriculture in his native county found encouragement at his hands. He was free from sectarian bigotry, and his views were far in advance of the general opinions and feelings of his day. He seemed to have caught the first dawning light of the world's progress, and his only desire to live was that he " might see the great changes which would take place in the next twenty years." He was a prominent actor in the affairs of the church, and exercised a commanding influence in her judicatories. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, in 1823. He died May 31, 1831, in the 60th year of his age. DR. EBENEZER V. DICKEY.-Of the family of Samuel Dickey, who came to this country from the north of Ireland early in the seventeenth century, his son, Samuel Dickey, was married to Mary Jackson in 1759, and had four sons,—John, Samuel, Ebenezer, and David. Ebenezer, born in 1771, had four sons,—John, Samuel, Ebenezer, and David. Ebenezer V., the subject of this sketch, was born in Oxford, Dec. 15, 1821. After completing his preparatory studies in the academy at Hopewell, he entered Lafayette College, and was graduated by the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1844, and settled in the practice of medicine in Oxford. He was married in 1845 to Miss Frances G. Ralston, daughter of Samuel Ralston, of Brandywine Manor, and sister of Dr. Ralston, of Norristown. She and three children survive him. In connection with his brothers, John and Samuel, he was largely instrumental in the building of the Baltimore Central Railroad, of which he was president at the time of his death. He was elected from Chester County in 1856 to the State Legislature, and served one term in the House, and having secured, with his brother Samuel, a charter for the Octorara Bank, which was located at Oxford, was elected its first president. For the purpose of restoring his health he traveled in Europe, but returned unbenefited, and died July 31, 1858. As a man and as a physician he was very much respected, and exerted a wide influence as a citizen and member of the Presbyterian Church. REV. JOHN MILLER DICKEY, D.D., for more than fifty years was a most successful man in doing good. Remarkable for the variety of the work accomplished, for the large, comprehensive, and correct views entertained, and for the independence shown in devising and executing plans of usefulness, the purity and benevolence of his motives and the modesty and sincerity of his manner won for him the confidence of all who labored with him, or who knew him. The scene of Dr. Dickey's labors, and where for the most 520 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. of his life he retained a home (residing a large part of each year in Philadelphia), was the town of Oxford, in Chester County. Here, on Dec. 16, 1806, he was born, the eldest son of Rev. Ebenezer Dickey, D.D. Here his grandfathers for three generations had lived, many of whom had been office-bearers in the church. Here his own father was pastor of the Presbyterian Church for thirty-five years, known as a learned divine, an earnest and eloquent preacher, and a wise and judicious counselor. His mother was the daughter of John Miller, Esq., of Philadelphia, from whose four daughters, all marrying ministers, have sprung many men of high standing and acknowledged ability in the learned professions and in business. Another daughter married Rev. William Finney, for fifty years pastor in Churchville, Md. ; another, Rev. Dr. Charles G. McClean ; another, Rev. REV. JOHN MILLER DICKEY, D.D. Dr. George Junkin, founder of Lafayette College, Pa., and president of 'Washington College, Va., and Miami University, Ohio. Jane, the eldest daughter, was a woman of remarkable character, in whom we can trace many of the features which distinguished the son. Of her, as a pastor's wife for forty years, her brother-in-law, Rev. William Finney, wrote,— " She possessed a strength of nerve and a spirit of enterprise that carried her beyond the narrow circle of home. She hesitated not over what she believed to be her duty, but efficiently and at every hazard performed it. Her whole soul was thrown into all her undertakings. She was qualified to lead rather than to be led, to govern rather than to obey, and while manifesting in various forms the humble spirit of a Christian, she possessed in an eminent degree all the essential elements of a mind and heart of the highest order. She was a friend to all, especially to those in need." Born of such parents, should we not expect a noble character in the son? Besides the eldest son, there were born to these parents three daughters and two sons,—Rev. Samuel Dickey, still prominent before the people of Chester County as a man of large mind, varied attainments, and great benevolence ; the other son was Dr. Ebenezer V. Dickey, a physician and surgeon of large practice and skill, who is mentioned elsewhere. Gifted by nature with a strong physical frame, the eldest son early began the study of the classics in the academy connected with his father's church, then under the charge of a famous teacher named Kirkpatrick, who afterwards went to Milton, Pa., accompanied by his pupil, who there completed his preparation for college associated with other pupils, many of whom afterwards gained distinction in their native State. Among them were ex-Governors Curtin and Pollock, with whom an unbroken friendship was maintained, and who assisted him on various occasions in his plans of public benevolence. He graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, in 1824, then under the presidency of Dr. John M. Mason, afterwards of New York (his father's co-laborer in the establishment of the Associate Reformed Theological Seminary of New York City), the influence of whose spirit made a deep impression upon the young heart. Hence he passed to Princeton Theological Seminary under Drs. Alexander and Miller, from whence he was licensed to preach in 1828 at the age of twenty-one. But his preparation was not yet complete. The good old custom of the church required him to spend two years in missionary labors. In these God blessed him with marked success. He was sent to visit the northern tier of counties of Pennsylvania, then possessing few Presbyterian churches. On horseback and with his saddle-bags he traveled, passing through Stroudsburg, Wyalusing, Orwell, Towanda, and many other towns, preaching in school-houses, court-houses, and, when the congregations were too large, in barns. In some places, after two or three weeks' preaching, BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 521 there were scores of converts gathered, which grew in many instances into flourishing churches, and still remain. During the next year he went as missionary to the State of Georgia, and to St. Augustine, Fla., where his success was such that he was called as pastor to St. Mary's, Ga., and to the Second Church, Savannah, and at the same time to New Castle, Del., in which latter place he was ordained in 1830. Here he began a ministry of the warmest mutual interest, attended by the chancellor of the State, Kinsey Johns, Judge Black, and others. But during the next year, on the death of his father, he was called to the charge of the Oxford Church. During the remarkable revivals of religion in 1832-33 he was conspicuous as a revival preacher in the best sense of the word,—old in doctrines, new in labor, power, and effect. At this date he was about twenty-six years of age, tall and commanding in appearance, with strongly-marked features and a penetrating eye. Especially was his voice noticeable, clear and powerful, yet sweet and persuasive. His articulation was so perfect that even the old and partially deaf came to hear him preach. A ripe scholar and earnest student, his public exercises and sermons commanded great attention. During 1832-33 he was accustomed to go from church to church and preach at protracted meetings, day and night. At this time Dr. Dickey received numerous calls, among others to Washington, D. C., and two to Philadelphia, one of the latter, signed by many clergymen (Albert Barnes and others), urging his acceptance. Declining all invitations to remove elsewhere, he chose rather to devise new places of usefulness in his own large congregation, including at that time fields occupied by several other congregations. He maintained at one time in different parts of his congregation more than twelve Sabbath-schools, and regular preaching in Oxford and West Nottingham churches, and at other points. He established Zion Church as a separate congregation. In 1834, Dr. Dickey married Miss Sarah Emlen Cresson, of Philadelphia, sister of Elliott Cresson. How much the husband's success should be attributed to the wife eternity alone will disclose. Educated, refined, devoted, self-sacrificing, possessing a deep religious experience and knowledge of the truth, and interested in every good work, her influence was strong and lasting. For more than forty years they walked side by side. In 1854 his health was broken down, and his life is believed to have been prolonged by their removal to Philadelphia, where they continued to reside during the remainder of life, a period of about twenty-four years. She died in February, 1878, and he six weeks thereafter. One of their sons, John M. Cresson Dickey, Esq., resides in the homestead in Oxford, and is a member of the bar of Chester County., Another son, Rev. Clement C. Dickey, is pastor of the Sixty-third Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. The sons inherit the public spirit of their parents. In 1835 the subject of public schools excited the deep interest of Dr. Dickey. Throughout the State they were taught by teachers poorly prepared. After consideration he decided to establish a training-school for women as teachers, wherein moral science and the Bible would form part of the course. In the employment of women as teachers he was much interested accordingly, in 1837, - 66 - property was purchased for the purpose, and he associated with himself, at first, Rev. Dr. Ralston, afterwards, his brother, Rev. Samuel Dickey and the " Oxford Female Seminary" became and remained for more than twenty years a powerful instrumentality for good, sending out hundreds of young women fitted for any position in life. Its work only ceased when the State established normal schools for all. On the subject of temperance Dr. Dickey took decided grounds. He organized local societies in his own congregation, gathering in the young. He conducted conventions, which did much to secure the present school system. He took an interest in improved agriculture, and in the planting of ornamental trees and flowers. He originated and assisted in completing the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad. One incident illustrating his character cannot be omitted, and is of itself full of thrilling interest. A young colored girl named Rachel Parker, living in Pennsylvania, was cruelly kidnapped and carried to Baltimore and sold into slavery. No one dared to pursue or attempt her recovery. All were intimidated by threats of personal violence if they should presume to enter a slave State for any such purpose. Dr. Dickey formed a party of a few interested men and started to Baltimore. The train upon which they traveled was watched by desperate men, who at one point, near Baltimore, boarded the cars, and taking out one of the party, hung him to a tree until life was extinct, thinking in this way to intimidate and turn back the brave leader of the company. But nothing daunted, he pursued his purpose. He entered the courtroom in Baltimore and demanded the body of the woman upon a writ of law. Accompanied by the sheriff of Baltimore, he passed her captors among the slave-pens of the city. Failing to find her there, he pursued from place to place, until they were beaten out in their vain efforts of concealment and compelled to return their victim, with another taken about the same time, from the far-distant city of New Orleans, whither they had taken her. This incident created universal interest at the time, and may be found described at length in Still's " History." It produced a most salutary effect upon public opinion, and the warmest approval was bestowed upon Dr. Dickey for his conduct of the case. There remains to mention another great and successful work of Dr. Dickey's later life. He long felt the need of educated teachers and preachers for the colored people both North and South, and though at the time slavery existed, yet he determined to do what he could to prepare teachers for this destitute people, not only in America, but in Africa, where the life of a white man was very short because of a fatal climate. Accordingly, in 1851, he resolved to lay the foundation of a permanent institution, though more than ten years were yet to pass before emancipation should be proclaimed. He secured a charter from the State for " Ashmun Institute," taking the name from that of " Judiah Ashmun," an African missionary whose character he admired. By necessity he became the president of its board of trustees and its nursing father, although he never taught as a member of its faculty. The site was chosen about four miles from Oxford, at what is now called Lincoln University Station, upon the Philadelphia and Baltimore Central Railroad, upon a spot where 522 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. a young colored man, afterwards a missionary in Africa, and whom Dr. Dickey had partially educated in his own study, used to pray that a way might be opened up for the education of his race. - The rock upon which he knelt was placed in the foundation. In December, 1856, the Rev. Dr. Courtlandt Van Rensselaer delivered the opening address, and Hon. William E. Dodge, of New York, endowed the first professorship. In the front of the main hall Dr. Dickey erected a tablet with the prophetic words,— "The night is far spent; the day is at hand." This was truly the darkest hour, when only the strong eye of Faith could see that it was far spent." Under the instruction at first of Dr. Carter, of Baltimore, and now of Dr. Isaac Rendall, president of the faculty, the classes have never been omitted. When the work became wonderfully increased by emancipation the name was changed from. Ashmun Institute to Lincoln University,* and now, after a quarter of a century of uninterrupted success, its graduates are to be found occupying positions of trust in nearly every State in the Union. Several of its graduates have gone as missionaries to Africa Dr. Dickey, at the time of his death (March 21, 1878), had been for many years an esteemed member of the board of directors of Princeton Theological Seminary. He is everywhere acknowledged to have been a leading spirit in all departments of public usefulness in which he was engaged. JESSE C. DICKEY is of Scotch-Irish origin. His grandfather, John Dickey, came to America in 1744, bearing with him a certificate of membership from the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, which he deposited in the Piesbyterian Church of New London. He was a farmer of considerable intelligence and noted integrity. Dying at the age of seventy-five, he bequeathed his farm and homestead to his son Robert. He being anxious to engage in a business more lucrative than farming, sold his farm in 1800 to Francis Good, late owner of the same, and removed to Beaver, Pa. From thence he removed to New Castle, Lawrence Co., Pa. Here, on the 27th of February, 1808, Jesse C. Dickey was born. The father, being unfortunate in his new undertakings, became much discouraged, and returned in the autumn of 1812 to Chester County. The demands of a largely-increasing family made it necessary to seek aid from his children. Thus, at the early age of eleven, Jesse became a farmer's boy, and continued working in the summer and attending school in the winter until twenty-one years of age, when he began teaching. For six years he taught and attended school alternately. He was very ambitious and anxious to advance in scholarship, and pushed forward with untiring energy towards the acquirement of an education. A share in the New London Library furnished him with excellent reading, and contributed largely in storing his mind with valuable knowledge. History and biography were his favorite reading. Especially did he esteem the lives of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Clay. To the life of the former he declares much of his success in life is due. During these six years of teaching he gave instruction to six of his sisters and two brothers, * See sketch in Educational Department of this work. who, with an ambition akin to his own, soon became independent. Being anxious to secure a permanent home for his parents, he purchased, in 1832, his present homestead farm, to which they immediately removed. Here his father died at the age of eighty-one. His mother, some years later, died at the home of her daughter, Elizabeth Hudson, at the advanced age of ninety-seven. Mr. Dickey married, Dec. 11, 1834, Margaret, youngest daughter of Col: David Dickey, of Hopewell. Twenty years later she died, and three years subsequently he married Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Wilson, an eloquent preacher in the Society of Friends. As early as 1832, Mr. Dickey became noted for his strong anti-slavery principles. In 1837, when William Burleigh was invited to deliver an anti-slavery speech in the school-house of Hopewell (which, owing to the prejudices of the neighborhood, was locked against him), Mr. Dickey opened his private house, from whose porch Mr. Burleigh delivered an eloquent address to an interested audience. He received in 1842 the nomination on the Whig ticket for the Legislature, and was elected for three successive years. As a member of the Legislature Mr. Dickey became prominent through his active interest in matters of special importance. In 1846 he purchased the property late the residence of Col. David Dickey. After enlarging the buildings he opened the Hopewell Academy. A liberal patronage made this work a success. Many young men came hither to secure an academical education, and no young man proving himself worthy of aid was ever denied, a home and advantages of instruction. In the fall of 1848, Mr. Dickey was elected to Congress. In that body his anti-slavery principles were manifested in his speech on the admission of California into the Union as a free State. His whole record was such as to secure his renomination,- although his opponent, the Democratic candidate, was chosen to the office. At the breaking out of the Rebellion, Mr. Dickey, as a member of the State Central Committee, labored zealously for the election of Governor Curtin and President Lincoln. Being in Washington when Fort Sumter was fired upon, he joined the Cassius M. Clay battalion for the defense of the city, in which he served until it was disbanded. After this he was connected with the quartermaster's department, under Capt. C. G. Sawtill, until the " Seven Days' Fight." In the mean time he was appointed paymaster in the United States army. He continued in this service until June, 1866, with headquarters at St. Louis and New Orleans. During this period he traveled by land and water 33,188 miles, disbursing more than four million of dollars. Since the war Mr. Dickey has been actively engaged in farming, taking always a deep interest in the growing skill and intelligence of the agriculturist. To the laboring class of the community he has ever been a fast and efficient friend, advocating their cause both in public and private. The passing years have touched him lightly, his physical nature being still strong and vigorous. DICKS, PETER, of the city of Chester, England, flax-dresser, purchased 250 acres of land in Pennsylvania, Aug. 16, 1684, from James Dicks, who had bought the same from William Penn in 1681. Peter, with his wife Esther, arrived about 1686 and settled in Birmingham, -where he BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL - 523 died in 1704. In 1708 his widow married John Mendenhall. The children of Peter were Hannah, m. to Jonathan Thatcher ; Elizabeth, m. to Richard Tranter, 10, 2, 1714 ; Sarah, m. to Joseph Pyle, 4, 16, 1715 ; Esther, m. to Francis Swayne, 1724 ; Deborah, m. to Jonathan Fincher, 1726 ; Nathan, and Peter, who married in 1716 Sarah, widow of Thomas Powell, Jr., and daughter of Joseph Hayes, of Cheshire, England. He settled in Providence, and later in life became interested in iron-works. He died about 1760, leaving a widow, Sarah, formerly wife of William Swaffer, to whom he was married in 1750. His children were Joseph, b. 3, 26, 1717 ; James, b. 6, 18, 1718 ; Nathan, b. 11, 2, 1719 ; Sarah, b. 1, 19, 1720 ; Peter, b. 10, 23, 1722 ; Job ; John ; Abraham ; Esther, m. to John Darlington ; Jane, b. Nov. 4, 1751, m. to John Peirce, 11, 17, 1786 ; Roger, b. 7, 30, 1753, m. Rebecca Maris, 5, 25, 1797, d. 12, 29, 1808. He was an esteemed minister among Friends. DILLINGHAM, WILLIAM H., was the son of Nathan and Rebecca (Fessenden) Dillingham, and was born in the town of Lee, in Western Massachusetts, Aug. 3, 1791. His education, preparatory to a collegiate course, was acquired at Lenox Academy, in the vicinity of his birthplace. At the age of fifteen years he entered the sophomore class in Williams College, where he continued a year and a half. The circumstances of his family, however, rendered it expedient to withdraw from college before his course was completed ; but his alma mater, in 1815, conferred on him the honorary degree of A.M. In 1808 he came to Philadelphia and commenced the study of law under the auspices of the late Charles Chauncey, Esq., a gentleman who was ever his generous friend and faithful counselor, and for whom, to his latest hour, he cherished the most profound veneration and grateful regard. In 1811, Mr. Dillingham was admitted to the bar, and thereupon settled in the city of Penn as a practitioner of the law. With a taste finely cultivated, and a decided predilection for literary and scientific pursuits, he was always ready to aid in establishing and fostering institutions which promised to enhance the intellect and moral character of the community. Accordingly, we learn that in 1813 he was one of a " half-dozen young men of Philadelphia" who " came -together and arranged a plan for the establishment of reading-rooms." From this slender beginning has resulted the noble institution which is at once the ornament and benefaction to that city, known as the Athenaeum. In 1817 he removed to West Chester, where he rapidly advanced towards the head of the bar, among competitors distinguished for talents and professional acumen. He was especially remarked for that exemplary trait in a barrister of being always well prepared and ready for trial, so far as depended on himself, when his cause was called on. In 1821 he received the appointment of prosecuting attorney, which office he held until the close of' 1823. In May, 1823, he married Christiana, daughter of Joseph II. Minton, Esq., of Chester County, and thus became identified' in feeling and interest with the people among whom he resided. He co-operated cordially in all measures propounded for the public benefit, and was a liberal supporter of' all their institutions, religious, educational, literary, and scientific. His professional abilities becoming generally understood, his services were put in requisition in nearly every important case within the sphere of his practice. He was employed as solicitor of the Bank of Chester County for upwards of fifteen years ; was one of the founders and a principal manager of the Chester County Athenaeum ; was a trustee of the West Chester Academy for seventeen years, and a munificent member of the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science for nearly twenty years. In 1837 he was elected to the State Legislature, where he was both active and eloquent in the great cause of education, and in the support of scientific institutions. In the autumn of 1841, after a residence of nearly a quarter of a century in West Chester, Mr. Dillingham returned to Philadelphia, where he passed the residue of his days ; but in retiring from Chester County he by no means ceased to be interested in the concerns of that venerable bailiwick. In all the movements of her people, designed to elevate the pursuits of agriculture and to promote a taste for the refinement of horticulture, he manifested a lively interest. When, in 1847, the Chester County Horticultural Society was projecting their spacious hall, the second edifice dedicated expressly to Flora and Pomona in the United States,-Mr. Dillingham cheered them on in their generous purpose by an able and persuasive address, which convinced them that in the vocabulary of a people embarked in such an enterprise, in such a region, there should be no such word as fail. It might be supposed that by merging himself in the vast and growing metropolis after so long an absence he would be lost to public view, but not so. His qualifications were justly appreciated, and his services speedily secured, such as the direction of the public schools, the Institution for the Blind, for the Deaf and Dumb, the Schuylkill Navigation Company, etc. In July, 1843, he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, and justified the choice by his zeal for its prosperity, and his anxiety that it should continue worthy of the great names associated with its early history. In the latter years of his life he gradually withdrew from the active duties of his profession, though he served as counsel for the Bank of Pennsylvania from 1846 until 1852, when the feeble state of his health, induced by a slight paralytic stroke or affection, caused him to resign. His infirmities continued to increase, attended with great nervous excitability, though still retaining his mental faculties and his literary predilections, until Dec. 11, 1854, when he suddenly departed this life. A letter written by him to Dr. William Darlington, dated December 8th, and received by the doctor after his death, was his last labor, and refers to the " Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society." Although the published and avowed productions of Mr. Dillingham's pen are not voluminous, he was a frequent contributor of elegant and judicious essays to the leading journals of the times. He was also the author of several highly-finished performances in the character of orations and reviews. Of these it is sufficient to mention his addresses before the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science, the Alumni of Williams College, the Chester County Horticultural Society, the Society of the Sons of 524 - HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA. New England in Philadelphia, and his glowing tribute to the -memory of Peter Collinson. His researches in procuring authentic material for his discourses were indefatigable. His literary taste was refined almost to fastidiousness, and hence his style is terse, chaste, and polished. It may be safely predicted of him as a writer, nail tetigit quod non ornavit. DILWORTH, JAMES, married, about 1681, Ann Wain, and came from Thornbury, in Yorkshire, to Bucks Co., Pa., where he died in 1699, leaving children,—William, Richard, Jane, Hannah, Jennet, Rebecca, and James. Of these, it is believed that William married Sarah, daughter of Richard Webb, and settled in Birmingham. John Dilworth, son of William, married, 12, 8, 1749-50, Hannah Woodward, daughter of John, of Thornbury, and his sister Hannah married first John Martin, and second John Woodward. John and Hannah Dilworth had two sons,—Caleb and John of whom the first married Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Ryant, in 1790. James Dilworth, perhaps a son of William, married, in 1745, Lydia, daughter of George Martin, of West Bradford, by whom she had children,—Charles, Joseph, Sarah, Caleb, William, James, Mary, George, Lydia, Hannah, and Letitia. He died 8th mo., 1769, and his widow, 10, 25, 1814, at the age of 95. He is said to have built the first house, a log hut, where Dilworthstown now stands, and the tavern building in 1758, though there was no tavern kept there until after his death, when his son Charles obtained license. The latter was a prominent citizen and frequently concerned in public affairs. He was disowned by Friends for taking an active part in Revolutionary measures. Benjamin Hawley notes in his diary, 8, 27, 1770, that he " went to the Raising Charles Dilworth's sign." No doubt it was made the occasion of much drinking and hilarity. Hannah Dilworth, daughter of James and Lydia, married, 11, 4, 1775, John Parry, and her sister Letitia married Edward Brinton. DR. RICHARD B. DILWORTH was born in Philadelphia, Jan. 24, 1810. His parents were Thomas and Sarah Ann (Burch) Dilworth. He studied medicine under Dr. Kennedy, at Oxford, Chester Co., a practitioner of considerable merit, and at the time a resident of that place, and graduated at the Jefferson Medical College, in Philadelphia, in March, 1835. In June, 1835, he married Harriet, daughter of' James Wilson, Esq., and located at Youngsburg, Chester Co., where he devoted himself to the practice of his profession until 1849, when he removed with his family to Juniata Co., Pa., where he, in company with others, had purchased a large tract of woodland. He died Nov. 15,.1851, of an affection of the heart. He left seven children. As a man, Dr. Dilworth was free from selfishness, which, added to his energy of mind and irreproachable character, rendered him beloved by all who knew him. As a physician, he was successful and much beloved by his patients. DOBSON, GEN. JOHN R.—James and Hannah Dobson, of the Society of Friends, emigrated from London, England, in 1750, and settled in Pennsylvania. Their son, John R. Dobson, married Sarah A., daughter of John and Mary (Haybisen) Richesson the former an emigrant, in 1756, from Manchester, England, and the latter born in this State of German parents. To John R. and Sarah A. Dobson was born in Cumberland County, Dec. 6, 1818, John Richesson Dobson. He received a common-school education, and at the age of sixteen was apprenticed to the iron business. In 1848 he entered upon the duties of superintendent in the Phoenix Iron-Works. In December, 1848, he married S. A. Slackhouse, born in February, 1828, in Dover, N. J., and their family now consists of one son and two daughters. In 1858 he was burgess of the borough of Phoenixville. In 1860 served as school director. In 1861, at the call of the President, he recruited a company, and on the 19th of April offered its services to Governor Curtin, and was succeeded in the iron-works by his brother, Joseph Dobson. His company was accepted and mustered into service, and known as Co. G, First Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps. He served with his company in the Army of the Potomac until the battle of Gettysburg, where, in the charge on Little Round Top, Capt. Dobson was so severely wounded that he was rendered unable to resume active duties in the field. For his bravery on that occasion he received from the War Department a major's commission. In 1864, at the expiration of his three years' service, he was mustered out with his regiment, and returned to Phoenixville to resume the duties which he had left to enter the army. In 1866 he was elected school director, and served as secretary of the board. In 1867 an effort was made to erect a monument in Morris Cemetery to the memory of those who had fallen in defense of the nation, in which he took a prominent part, serving as president of the organization. In 1869 he was appointed postmaster of Phoenixville. In 1870 he was commissioned by Gover-