Book excerpts pertaining to various Leedom families

Part I        Part II        Part III        Part IV        Part V        Part VI

History of Bucks County
Author: J.H. Battle
 

Chapter XIV - Northampton and Southampton

Among the settlers of Northampton were several who accompanied Penn in the Welcome, on his first visit to the province. Thomas Walmsley, of Yorkshire, and William Buckman of Sussex, millwright and carpenter respectively, were of this class. The former died before executing his plans, for his purchase included lands along the Neshaminy which might have made an eligible mill-site, and he had brought with him such necessary machinery as could not be readily improvised in a new country. Cuthbert Hayhurst, of Yorkshire, though not mentioned on Holmes map, was the owner of a tract of four hundred acres in the southwestern part of the township. The Dutch families of the township are descended from the same ancestry as those of the name in Southampton.

The middle road was granted in 1693 and when completed to Yardley, passed through the central part of Northampton in a direction nearly due east. Many years ago when the public house was in greater favor than at present, one Mr. Bennett established on this road the "Black Bear", a hostelry famous in its day and generation. He was succeeded by Richard Leedom, who was "mine host" in Revolutionary times, and amassed considerable property by speculating in continental money. His uniform prosperity invited competition, and the "White Bear" was thenceforth opened. The opening of a new road promised to give the advantage but Leedom, who owned all the land in the vicinity, was not thus easily left in the rear. He opened a private lane through his land, thus giving the travelling public a more direct route than before. It is known to this day as "Spite Lane". In course of time the middle road was extended from the Bear to the Anchor in Wrightstown, and a second branch was opened to connect with the Bristol road. About the beginning of this century Amos Addis laid off a number of building-lots a short distance north from the Bear on this road and the hamlet that thus came into existence received the name of Addisville.

Richard Leedom again felt that his prerogative was infringed upon, and forthwith prepared to absorb this incipient village into the town of "Leedomville". The effort was only partially successful; for in the course of years, and by a process neither rapid nor brilliant, the distance between the two villages was so abbreviated and their joint population had so increased that it became necessary to select a name for a post office. Whereupon, with a mutual forbearance both wise and effectual, the traditional antagonism was forgotten, or rather compromised, by the choice of Richboro, compounded from the first name of the richest citizen it had ever known and a good old Anglo-Saxon termination. But the Reformed church of Addisville has meanwhile come into existence; and as this reconciles the friends of that name, let the metropolis of Northampton be known ecclesiastically as Addisville, politically as Richboro, and popularly as the Bear to the end of time.

 

History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Author: Henry Graham Ashmead
Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co. 1884
Full text available off-site

 

Chapter XLIV. Haverford Township.

At the beginning of this - the nineteenth - century Haverford's taxables were mentioned as follows:

William Brooke (brigade inspector), Jane Burns, Thomas Brooke (miller), Benjamin Bevan, George Bonsall (blacksmith), Joseph Bond, William Bittle (innkeeper), Amos Bradshaw (grist- and saw-mill), Isaac Bittle, Abraham Cornog, Abraham Chapman John Cornog, John Cochran (shoemaker), Lewis Davis, Joseph Davis (tanner), Jesse Davis, Griffith Davis, William Davis, John Davis, Samuel Davis, William Dickinson, John Dickinson, Jesse Ellis, Jonathan Ellis, Isaac Ellis (blacksmith), Rudolph Epwright (weaver), Jacob Spright, John Free, Andrew Frederick (shoemaker), John Timple, John Gracy (wheelwright), Edward Gill, George Hayworth (carpenter), John Hughes (fulling-mill "going to decay," and saw-mill), Richard Humphrey, John Jones, Aaron Johnson, Jacob Johnson, William Johnson, Mary Jones, John Jones, Ludwig Knull, John Lindsay (justice of the peace), William Llewellyn, Anthony Lewis, David Lyons, Edward Lobb (millwright), Amos Lukens (joiner), Adam Litzenberg, Jacob Litzenberg (cooper), Simon Litzenberg (cooper), Mordecai Lewis, Samuel Leedom, Samuel Lewis (tailor), Mary Miller, Patience Morgan, Jonathan Miller (innkeeper), Joseph Powell, George Powell, Nicholas Pechin, Hugh Queen, John Ross (owner of the "Grange"), John Dickinson, Benjamin H. Smith, Philip Sheaff, Jacob Stanley, Valentine Smith, Matthias Snyder, Alexander Symington (storekeeper), Richard Tippins (shoemaker), Christian Vaughan, Joshua Vaughan, Johnson Vaughan, Garrett Van Buskirk, Keziah Wilday, George Willing, Marie Worrall (storekeeper, grist-, and saw-mill owner), and Casper Weist.

Inmates. - Edward Fowler (wheelwright), John Hay, Reuben Lewis, Philip Litzenberg (cooper), Daniel Leedom (weaver), John Powell, Jesse Moore, Joseph Rogers (miller), Jonathan Vaughan, Daniel McElroy, John Van Buskirk, Samuel Wright (carpenter), and Martin Wise.

Single Freemen. - David Bittle (mason), Hugh Carm (carpenter), Thomas Ellis (carpenter), William Garrett (storekeeper), William Haskins and Andrew Lindsay (blacksmiths), Jesse Maddock (tailor), Thomas Downs, Abraham Free, Joseph Griffith, Amos Griffith, John Lindsay, Jr., William Lindsay, William Litzenberg, Edmund Leedom, William Lyons, John Little, Joseph Powell, John Stephens, Yorb Van Buskirk, Joseph Van Buskirk, Jacob Vaughan, George Weist, Garrett Van Horn, Jonathan Ellis, Isaac Ellis, Amos Lukens, and Jonathan Miller.

Since that day the improvements made in Haverford have been vast and varied. Its inhabitants have ever kept in the advance line in the onward march of the nation, and its lands, lying as they do just without the limits of a great city, are very fertile and highly prized.

We now turn to other topics which are treated under separate headings, but before doing so will add the following, which was made a matter of record by the township clerk: "Be it remembered that the winter of 1828 was the most mild winter in the recollection of the oldest people then living, there being scarcely any snow and but very little ice, and followed by the winter of 1829, which was the coldest that had been for many years, there being two months of study Friezing."

 

Early Mills, etc.

Haverford Mill. - As early as the year 1688 a small grist-mill, known as the "Haverford Mill," was built on Cobb's Creek,1 near where that stream is crossed by the road leading past Haverford meeting-house. Its original owner is unknown. By searching the records, however, a little light is thrown on the history of this, one of the first mills built in Pennsylvania. Thus, Fourth month (June) 12, 1700, Richard Hayes, attorney for William Howell, acknowledged a deed to David Lloyd, attorney for Rowland Powell, "for ninety-seven acres of land with a mill called Haverford Mill, and all other appurtenances and improvements thereunto belonging," the deed bearing date Third month 30th, 1700. This seems to indicate that William Howell, one of the first settlers of the township, was the original owner of "Haverford Mill." Friends' meeting-house, in Haverford, was also built upon the same tract, a tract which came into the possession of Howell in May, 1682. In October, 1703, Daniel Humphrey became the owner of two hundred and forty-one acres of land, of which the east line was Cobb's Creek, and the south line the road on which Friends' meeting-house stands. Humphrey's land included the mill-property above mentioned. Subsequently, Charles Humphrey2 (son of Daniel, and a member of the Continental Congress at the time of signing the Declaration of Independence), together with his brothers, became the owners of the mill property, which also included fulling- and saw-mills. Thus, in 1766, Edward Humphrey was mentioned as the owner of the fulling-mill, and Charles Humphrey of the grist- and saw-mills. The latter owned the grist- and fulling-mills in 1782. He died in 1786, but this mill property continued in the hands of the Humphrey family until about 1826, when Dennis Kelly purchased it and changed the buildings into a woolen and cotton manufactory, under the name of the "Castle Hill Mills."

Haverford New Mill. - On Fourth month (June) 14, 1698, Richard Hayes, Jr., before mentioned as Howell's attorney in the transfer of Haverford Mill to Powell, became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, of which Darby Creek formed the western boundary. On this property, about the year 1707, Hayes, with David Morris and Samuel Lewis, erected a grist-mill, for a longtime known as "Haverford New Mill" (now as Leedom's mill), which he managed himself till his death, in 1738. This property, with a saw-mill attached, belonged to Maris Worrell in 1802. Eighteen years later it was still in his possession. In 1826 it was owned by Elisha Worrell and occupied by Thomas Steel. In 1830 it was managed by Joseph Leedom, Elisha Worrell still being the owner. In 1875 it was owned by Maris W. Leedom. It is now owned by the latter's widow. Abram C. Lukens, now living at Upland, speaks of this mill property as follows: "The old mill stood a little farther up the stream. When the new mill was built, the gudgeon was lost in the creek. One of the workmen dived for it. The instrument was heavy, and as the man stayed under water a long time, seemingly, it was feared for a moment that he, too, was gone; but finally he came up, struggling and safe, with the recovered article in his hands." The mill now in operation, and of which Lukens speaks, was built in 1832.

Ellis' Fulling-Mill. - In 1694, Tenth month, 2d day, Humphrey Ellis purchased two hundred and twenty acres of land, of which Darby Creek formed the western boundary. On this property a very early fulling-mill was erected, and successfully operated. In 1790 it was owned by Humphrey Ellis, a son of Humphrey Ellis first mentioned by a second marriage.

Brown's (Garrigues') Mills. - About the year 1800, Peter Brown became the owner and operator of grist- and saw-mills, which stood on the head-waters of Cobb's Creek. On Feb. 11, 1802, he sold this property to William Hill, William White, and Miers Fisher. It then consisted of one hundred and thirty acres of land, with grist- and saw-mill. On the 1st of July, 1807, the parties above mentioned transferred the mills and property belonging to Samuel Garrigues, "House Carpenter." The mills were run by the latter for a few years, but by reason of a scarcity of water were finally abandoned. In 1826 this mill property was mentioned, by a Delaware County committee, on the subject of manufactories, etc., as "an old stone grist-mill, which has been out of use for several years past." On the 26th of July, 1834, Samuel Garrigues sold two acres of this tract to the Haverford School Association, and the same are now included with the lands owned by Haverford College. There are some, doubtless, who will question the existence of the Brown Mills. Indeed, Abram C. Lukens, for a time, stoutly maintained that such mills never existed, but finally remembered having seen the ruins of an old mill there. The volume of water in these small streams was much greater eighty years ago than it is now.

Lawrence's Mills. - A saw-mill, owned at various times by Henry Lawrence, and his sons Thomas, Mordecai, and William, was erected about the beginning of this century on Darby Creek, near where that stream is crossed by the West Chester turnpike. Prior to that time, however, an old fulling-mill had occupied the same mill-seat (standing on the north side of the present. turnpike), which, probably, was the one owned by Humphrey Ellis in 1790. In 1832 a stone grist-mill (the present one) was built by William Lawrence, just below the saw-mill. These mills have since been in the possession of members of the Lawrence family, and are now owned by Thomas D. Lawrence. They have been leased and operated by John E. Stanley and his father for the twenty-two years last passed.

Miller's Mills. - About the year 1810, Jonathan Miller built grist- and saw-mills on Cobb's Creek, just above the mill privilege, soon after utilized for the manufacture of gunpowder. A few years later David Quinn became associated with him in the business and served as manager. In 1827, Samuel Leedom took charge. For a number of years prior to that time the latter had operated Joshua Humphrey's mill, which was situated a short distance above Miller's, on the same creek. In 1844, Mr. Leedom purchased the Miller Mills, and lived there till his death, which occurred some twelve years ago. Augustus B. Leedom then became the owner, to be succeeded in a few years by one Lombert. The latter was in turn succeeded by the present owner, George Dickinson, who purchased the property in February, 1879, and came here to reside in April of the following year.

Nitre Hall Mills. - These mills, used for the manufacture of gunpowder, began operations prior to the beginning of the war of 1812-15. They were owned and managed by Israel Wheelen and William Rogers, Jr., until about 1825. Rogers alone then conducted the business until his death, which occurred about 1840, when Dennis Kelly purchased the property and converted the principal building into a woolen- and cotton-factory. It remained in the possession of Kelly and his heirs until March, 1880, when George Callahan became its owner by purchase. John and Thomas Burns, the present managers, have been identified with these mills for seventeen years. Fifteen hands are now employed, and about seven thousand pounds of cotton and woolen yarns are manufactured per month.

Kelly's Woolen and Cotton Mills. - About 1814, Dennis Kelly, with borrowed capital, purchased a mill-seat on Cobb's Creek from Isaac Ellis, and erected thereon a small stone woolen-factory, now known as the "Clinton Mills." His venture proved to be highly successful, and soon after, with George Wiest as a partner, the remainder of Ellis' lands were bought, and the capacity of Clinton Mills considerably enlarged. Not a long time elapsed, however, before Mr. Kelly was again conducting his business alone. He furnished the United States government, per contract, large quantities of goods for the use of the army and navy. His mills were worked to their greatest capacity, and he accumulated wealth rapidly. About 1826 he purchased Joshua Humphrey's grist-mill, and changing it to a cotton- and woolen-factory, gave it the name of "Castle Hill Mills." Samuel Rhoads, as lessee, occupied this mill for a number of years. On the 20th of February, 1834, it caught fire from the picker, and was entirely consumed, the insurance of ten thousand dollars covering but a small part of the loss. After this mill was rebuilt it was leased for some ten years to John Hazlitt. George Burnley, James Howorth, Boyle, and Calleghan were also prominent lessees and operators at different times of Kelly's mills. Up to the time of his death Mr. Kelly was widely known as one of the most successful manufacturers of cloths in the State of Pennsylvania. He died in July, 1864, worth nearly one-half million dollars.

Boyle's Mills. - About fifteen years ago John Boyle erected the large four-story building located just above Castle Hill Mills, which yet stands as a monument to his name. Intended for the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods, they are inactive, and have been so for some five or six years.

Other Mill Interests. - Besides the mills already mentioned, a few others, as well as tanneries, etc., were established and operated here during years long passed, of which traces are only to be found in early assessment-rolls. Hence, in the endeavor to give an impartial list of the manufacturing interests of the township from 1766 to 1830, we turn to these rolls and find that the mills and the owners of them during the years indicated were as follows:

1766. Edward Humphrey, fulling-mill; Charles Humphrey, grist- and saw-mills.

1770. Isaac Davis, grist- and saw-mills.

1779. Elisha Worrall, grist- and saw-mills.

1782. Charles Humphrey, grist- and fulling-mills.

1788. Humphrey Ellis, part of fulling-mill; Francis Lee, saw-mill; John Moore, grist- and saw-mills; Philip Sheaff, tannery.

1790. Thomas Brooke, grist-mill; Joseph Davis, tannery; Humphrey Ellis, fulling-mill; Francis Lee, saw-mill; John Moore, grist- and saw-mill; Philip Sheaff, saw-mill.

1802. Peter Brown, stone grist- and saw-mill on head-waters of Cobb's Creek; Joseph Davis, tannery; James Tyson, saw-mill and old fulling-mill; Enoch Watkins, stone grist-mill; Maris Worrell, grist- and saw-mill.

1807. Joseph Davis, tannery; Mordecai Lawrence, saw-mill; James Tyson and John Dolen, saw- and fulling-mill; Enoch Watkins, stone grist-mill; Samuel Garrigues, stone grist- and saw-mill, the property formerly owned by Peter Brown.

1809. Samuel Garrigues, grist-mill; E. Leedom, saw-mill; Mordecai Lawrence, saw-mill; Joseph Mathews, grist-mill.

1811. Joseph Davis, tannery; Jonathan Miller, grist- and saw-mill; Thomas Steel, grist-mill; Maris Worrell, grist- and saw-mill.

1817. Joseph Davis, tannery; Francis Gaucher, paper-mill; Mordecai Lawrence, saw-mill; Jonathan Miller, saw-mill; Robert Steel and Charles Leedom, grist-mill; Dennis Kelly and George Wiest, fulling- and carding-mills; Israel Wheelen, powder-mills; Maris Worrell, saw- and grist-mill.

1820-22. Edward Humphrey, paper-mill; Joshua Humphrey and ----- Leedom, grist-mill; Dennis Kelly, woolen-factory; Jonathan Miller and ----- Quinn, grist- and saw-mill; William Rogers, eight powder-mills and refinery; Maris Worrell, grist- and saw-mill.

From a report of a committee of Delaware County citizens made in 1826, on the subject of manufactories and unimproved mill-seats, we obtain the following pertinent items regarding Haverford township:

"On Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, a mill-seat, on lands of Manuel Eyre, about where the creek ceases to be the dividing line of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties. "On Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, a cotton-factory; head and fall about 14 feet; owned and occupied by Dennis Kelly; drives 628 spindles; manufactured last year 26,194 pounds of cotton-yarn; employs about 12 hands.

"On Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, 'Nitre Hall Powder-Mills;' head and fall from 22 to 34 feet, on the various mills owned and occupied by William Rogers, Jr.; manufactured last year about 10,000 qr. casks of gunpowder; employs about 20 men; a large mansion-house and tenements for 10 families.

"On Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, a mill-seat; head and fall about 12 feet, on lands of Jonathan Miller.

"On Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, a grist-mill and saw-mill; head and fall about 20 feet; owned by Jonathan Miller, and occupied by David Quinn.

"On Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, a grist-mill, head and fall about 20 feet, owned by Joshua Humphrey and others, and occupied by Samuel Leedom.

"On Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, a large woolen-factory; head and fall 16 feet; owned and occupied by Dennis Kelly; has 1 pair of stocks, 4 carding-engines of 24 inches, 2 bellies of 50 spindles each, 3 jennies of 75 spindles each, 10 power-looms; manufactures about 2500 yards of cotton and woolen goods per week; employs about 60 hands; dwelling-houses for 10 families.

"Near the head of Cobb's Creek, in Haverford, an old stone grist-mill; head and fall 18 feet; owned by Samuel Garrigues; has been out of use for several years past.

"On Darby Creek, in Haverford township, an ancient grist-mill and saw-mill; head and fall about 10 feet, to which two feet more may be added; owned by Elisha Worrell, and occupied by Thomas Steele; grinds from 12 to 15,000 bushels of grain, grist, and merchant work per annum. Also cuts about 85,000 feet of lumber per annum.

"On Darby Creek, in Haverford and Marple, a mill-seat; head and fall about 12 feet; on lands of Mordecai Lawrence and others.

"On Darby Creek, in Haverford, a saw-mill; head and fall 10 feet and 6 inches; owned by Mordecai Lawrence and others, occupied by John Richards; cuts about 30,000 feet of lumber per annum.

"On Darby Creek, in Haverford and Marple, a mill-seat; head and fall about 10 or 11 feet, on land of the heirs of William Moore, deceased, and others. [Probably the site of John Moore's grist- and saw-mill, 1790.]

"On Ithon Creek, or east branch of Darby Creek, in Haverford, a mill-seat; head and fall 7 or 8 feet; on lands of Gen. William Brooke." This probably was the site of the grist-mill assessed to Thomas Brooke in 1790.

The mills, etc., of the township in 1829-30, according to the assessment-rolls for those years, were as follows:

Lewis-Davis, tannery; Dennis Kelly, lower factory (stone), dry-house, two frame dwellings, five stone dwellings, upper factory (stone), fulling-mill, stone grist-mill, seven stone dwellings, four frame dwellings; Clermont Lawrence, stone grist-mill and saw-mill; Jonathan Miller and Samuel Leedom, grist- and saw-mill; Elisha Worrell and Joseph Leedom, grist- and saw-mill.

 

The grist- and saw-mills and woolen- and cotton-factories in operation in the township at the present time (1884) are as follows:

Leedom's saw- and grist-mills, on Darby Creek; Lawrence's grist- and saw-mills, on Darby Creek; Dickinson's (formerly Miller's) grist- and saw-mills, on Cobb's Creek; Callahan's (Nitre Hall Mills) cotton- and woolen-factory, on Cobb's Creek; and Taylor Wolfenden & Co.'s (Castle Hill Mills) woolen-factory, on Cobb's Creek.

The "Castle Hill Mills," under the management of Messrs. Taylor Wolfenden & Co., lessees, are running nearly to their utmost capacity. More than one hundred operatives are furnished with steady employment, and about ten thousand dollars' worth of fine cassimeres are manufactured per month.

Schools. - Doubtless schools of some kind were established and maintained in an irregular manner from the date of the first settlement of the township, but for many years thereafter all records now available are silent respecting them. On the 28th of October, 1799, however, Joseph Davis, Abraham Lewis, George Hayworth, and John Gracey, as trustees, purchased of Jesse Davis a lot in the southwest part of the township, near the present school building, "for the purpose of erecting a school-house thereon, and for no other purpose or use." In the stone structure which was soon after erected upon this lot John Hayes and David Bond were early teachers. It continued to be used for educational purposes until 1883, when the present substantial stone school-house was erected, on a lot purchased of John Leedom, and the old school property was abandoned.

On the Townsend Cooper property, formerly owned by Levi Lukens, a stone school-house was built by John Lukens, Robert Clark, John Hayes, and others, about 1814. The children of William Johnson, Levi Lukens, Dennis Kelly, and George Smith attended at this school-house. It was torn down about the year 1835, having been discontinued as a school-house for several years prior to that date. About 1830 another school-house was built, on the lands of Jonathan Miller. It is still in use, and is located near the grist-mill of George Dickinson, on Cobb's Creek. John Moore was known as a teacher there for several years. On a corner of the Darby road and a road leading from West Chester road to Clinton Mills a stone school-house was built about 1874, on a lot purchased from William Davis. Another school-house was erected, date unknown, on Mrs. Sarah O'Connor's property, east of Cobb's Creek, and near the Montgomery County line. After the passage of the school law, in 1834, the court appointed inspectors of schools in each township, who served till directors were elected. The inspectors appointed for Haverford were Bertine Smith and John Williams. The amount of school moneys received by the township from State and county in 1835 was $573.44.

Following is a list of the school directors elected in Haverford township since and including the year 1840, as found of record in Media:

1840, John Leedom, Samuel Leedom; 1842, John Gracey, Thomas D. Lawrence; 1843, Samuel Leedom, James A. Moore; 1844, Adam C. Eckfeldt, Archibald Gray; 1845, George Pyatt, David Sell; 1846, Philip Sheaff, William V. Black; 1847, Bartine Smith, Thomas H. West; 1848, James A. Moore, George Pyatt; 1849, Thomas D. Lawrence, Philip Sheaff; 1850, Bartine Smith, Thomas H. West; 1851, Jackson Lyons, Mordecai Lawrence; 1852, James A. Moore, Davis Sill; 1853, William Bittle, Bartine Smith; 1854, Mordecai Lawrence, James A. Moore; 1855, Davis Sill, Thomas D. Lawrence; 1856, Bartine Smith, William Bittle; 1857, Edwin Johnson, David Bond; 1858, B. Lindsay, Charles Johnson; 1859, Henry McAllister, John Leedom; 1860, W. H. Eagle, W. W. Leedom; 1861, no report found; 1862, John Leedom, ----- Haydock; 1863, C. P. Bittle, D. R. Ralston; 1864, Charles Johnson, A. B. Leedom; 1865, James Smith, William C. Hawkins; 1866, C. P. Bittle, John H. Clemens; 1867, William C. Hawkins, Charles Johnson; 1868, Joseph Leedom; 1869, C. P. Bittle, Edwin Johnson; 1870, William C. Hawkins, William C. Jones; 1871, Joseph Leedom, Joseph T. McClellan; 1872, C. P. Bittle, W. M. Callahan; 1873, Charles Johnson, William C. Hawkins; 1874, Joseph Leedom, John Johnson; 1875, C. P. Bittle, Morgan B. Davis; 1876, Charles Johnson, Lewis K. Esrey ; 1877, James Leedom, R. N. Lee; 1878, C. Pennell Bittle, Florence Lockwood; 1879, Charles Johnson, Lewis K. Esrey; 1880, Taylor Wolfenden, Joseph Leedom; 1881, Florence Lockwood, Charles Getz; 1882, Robert N. Lee, Charles Johnson; 1883, Frank Ebright, Joseph T. McClellan; 1884, William Carter, Joseph Leedom.

Churches - Haverford Meeting-House. - Friends' meeting-house in Haverford township, the oldest place of worship in Delaware County, was erected in 1688 or 1689. The first marriage solemnized in it was that of Lewis David to Florence Jones, at a meeting held First month (March) 20th, 1690. The south, or what is now known as "the old end" of the structure, was built in 1700, at a cost of about one hundred and fifty-eight pounds. It was erected as an addition to the meeting-house of 1688 or 1689, which original building was replaced by the present "new end" in the year 1800. At the date last mentioned the part built one hundred years before was modernized somewhat in its outside appearance, by changing the pitch of the roof and in substituting wooden sash in the windows for those of lead. The gallery was originally at the south end of the building. It is also claimed that a number of chestnut boards with which the house was at first lined are still in place. For many years the original building and its annex of 1700 was without a chimney, being warmed with a kind of stove or furnace, placed on each side of the audience-room, and supplied with fuel from the outside. Only the tops of these stoves were of iron, and the smoke escaped by flues opening on the outside of the wall, a few feet above the opening through which the fuel was introduced. Part of this arrangement is yet conspicuous in the walls of the old end of the meetinghouse.

Soon after the completion of the building erected in 1700, Governor William Penn visited Haverford and preached in the new meeting-house. Yet from the fact that the Welsh language was the prevailing dialect then spoken in Haverford, and that the majority of its inhabitants at that time could speak no other, many of his hearers could not understand him.

Sutcliff, an English Quaker, who visited the province about the tinge of Penn's second visit to America, mentions another incident concerning the Governor which is pertinent to the history of Haverford meeting-house. A little girl named Rebecca Wood was walking from Darby, where she resided, to Haverford meeting-house, when Penn, who was proceeding to the same place on horseback, overtook her and inquired where she was going. Upon being informed, "he with his usual good nature, desired her to get up behind him; and bringing his horse to a convenient place, she mounted, and so rode away upon the bare back, and being without shoes or stockings, her bare legs and feet hung dangling by the side of the Governor's horse."

The burial-ground attached to Haverford meeting-house was laid out in 1684. During the same year the first interment was made in these grounds, it being the body of William Sharpus, who was buried Ninth month 19th. More than one hundred years later another burial was made in the same place, which attracted many people. The circumstances are related by Dr. Smith, as follows:

"In the winter of 1788 a very tragic affair happened on Darby Creek, where it forms the line between Marple and Haverford, in the death by drowning of Lydia Hollingsworth, a young lady of great worth and beauty, who was under an engagement of marriage to David Lewis. The party, consisting of Lewis, Lydia, another young lady, and the driver, left the city in the morning in a sleigh, and drove out to Joshua Humphreys, near Haverford meeting-house, and from thence they drove to Newtown; but before they returned the weather moderated and some rain fell, which caused Darby Creek to rise. In approaching the ford (which was on the road leading from the Presbyterian Church to Cooperstown), they were advised not to attempt to cross, but were made acquainted with the existence of a temporary bridge in the meadows above. They drove to the bridge, but the water was rushing over it, and the driver refused to proceed; whereupon Lewis took the lines, and, missing the bridge, plunged the whole party into the flood. All were rescued but Lydia, whose body was not found till the next morning. The feelings of Lewis can be more readily imagined than described. The young lady was buried at Friends' graveyard, Haverford. In some pathetic rhymes written on the occasion it is stated that 1700 persons attended her funeral."

Haverford meeting-house occupies one of the most beautiful and commanding sites in the township. Regular meetings are held there each week, the Friends usually attending being from twenty to thirty in number. A Friends' meeting-house is also located near the Haverford College grounds.

The Humphrey Family.

Concerning this, one of the most illustrious families Pennsylvania has yet produced, we condense from what has been written by others as follows: Daniel Humphrey came from Llanegrin, County of Merioneth, Wales, in 1682, and soon after settled in Haverford township. He had joined the Friends in his native country. In 1695 he married Hannah, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Wynn, of Merion. Their children were Samuel, Thomas, Hannah, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Mary, Joshua, Edward, Martha, and Charles. He visited his native country on business in 1725.

Edward Humphrey, son of Daniel, was born in Haverford township in the year 1710. He learned the fulling and dyeing business in early life, and carried on that business as long as he lived, at the place that is now known as "Castle Hill Mills." In later years, however, he did not attend to his mills personally, for, having acquired a knowledge of medicine and surgery, probably from his grandfather, Dr. Wynn, he practiced that profession with much success. His services were much sought after, but he never charged the poor for attendance. He died unmarried, Jan. 1, 1776, and was buried at Haverford Friends' burying-ground.

Charles Humphrey, son of Daniel, and brother of Edward, was born in Haverford about the year 1713, and died in 1786. He was brought up to the milling business, and, with his brothers, carried on that occupation extensively for many years. A man of fine talents, he was at one time very influential in the county. He served in the Provincial Assembly from 1764 to 1775, when he was chosen a member of the Continental Congress. In that body, though he had contended with all his energies against the oppressive measures of England, he thought the time had not come to sever our connection with the mother-country, and voted against the Declaration of Independence. He has been censured for this vote, but in giving it he represented the views of a large majority of his constituents at the time it was given. He retired to private life, and, though he took no part in the great struggle for liberty, his sympathies were on the side of his country.

Joshua Humphrey, the son of Joshua, and grandson of the immigrant Daniel Humphrey, was born in Haverford township in 1751. After availing himself of such limited educational advantages as the township then afforded, he was apprenticed at a tender age to a ship-carpenter of Philadelphia. Here he made a good use of his opportunities, and, being possessed of a comprehensive and philosophical mind, he soon gained the reputation of being the best ship-builder in the country. After the adoption of the Constitution, and it became apparent that our government must be possessed of a navy, Mr. Humphrey was appointed as the first naval constructor of the United States, and several of our first ships-of-war were built under his immediate direction. Among them the famous ship "Constitution," of which he was the designer, draughtsman, and architect. It is claimed that the marked superiority of our vessels in combats with those of England of the same class, during the war of 1812-15, was mainly owing to the adoption of Mr. Humphrey's suggestions. He may justly be called the father of the American navy. The last thirty years of his life were passed on a part of his patrimonial estate in Haverford, where he died in 1838.

Samuel Humphrey, a son of Joshua and great-grandson of Daniel first mentioned, learned all the details of ship-building and naval architecture under the instruction of his father. When his reputation had become world-wide the Russian emperor endeavored to secure his services, and offered him a salary of sixty thousand dollars per year, besides the use of a furnished mansion, with coach, horses, servants, etc., in attendance, but. Mr. Humphrey declined the position with the remark that his services were only at the disposal of his country. Subsequently, under John Quincy Adams' administration, he served as chief of the naval Bureau of Construction and Repairs.

 

Joseph B. Leedom.

John Leedom was a prosperous farmer in Montgomery County, Pa. His children were Charles, Joseph B., Samuel, John, Elijah, Esther (Mrs. Jesse Thomas), Hannah (Mrs. Charles Jones), Ruth Anna (Mrs. Jacob Carncross). Joseph B. Leedom, of this number, whose life is here briefly reviewed, was born in 1796 in Merion township, Montgomery Co., and spent his youth upon the farm of his father. During this time he received such advantages of education as were obtainable in the neighborhood, and subsequently made farming the business of his early life. He married, at the age of twenty-five, Mary M., daughter of Elisha Worrell, of Springfield township, Delaware Co., and had children, - Myra W. (Mrs. Charles Worrell, whose death occurred in 1879), John, Maris W. (who died in 1873), and Joseph.

Mr. Leedom, after his marriage, engaged in the business of milling, and became the proprietor of a mill located on Darby Creek, in Haverford township, belonging to his wife. This pursuit was continued until 1851, when he retired, and since that date has not been actively engaged in business. Mr. Leedom, first as a Whig and later as a Republican, has evinced a keen interest in the political issues of the day. He has ever been a strong partisan, and filled at one time the office of director of the poor for Delaware County. His religious creed is that of the society of Friends, his membership being in connection with the Haverford Meeting. Mr. Leedom is a man of modest demeanor, who, by his consistent character and sound common sense, has won the respect of the community. His surviving children are Joseph, who married Emily Pyle, of Haverford, to whom were born six children, and John, who married Hannah T. Worrell, and has had five children.

 

Newtown Township

Jesse Leedom

Isaac Leedom, the father of Jesse, who was of English descent, was a former resident of Bucks County, Pa., from whence he removed to Radnor, and engaged in the labor attending the cultivation of a farm. He married Ann Jones, of Merion township, Montgomery Co., and had children, - John, Jesse, Silas, George, and Isaac. By a second marriage to Rebecca Matlack were born children, - Ann, Elizabeth, Benedict, William, Sidney, Mary, and Enoch. The death of Mr. Leedom occurred on the 12th of March, 1848.

His son, Jesse, was born June 23, 1801, in Radnor township, Delaware Co., where his youth was spent. At the age of sixteen he left home with a view to acquiring in Chester County the trade of a miller. Having become proficient in this trade, he labored for a while as a journeyman, and later rented a mill. Mr. Leedom continued his vocation for many years, having both leased and purchased milling property. In 1846 he secured a farm in the same county, popularly known as "the White Horse farm," and two years later became owner of the Mineral Spring farm in Newtown township, Delaware Co., where he continued to reside and cultivate the land until his death on the 4th of August, 1883. He married on the 19th of November, 1835, Elizabeth Williamson, daughter of Enos and Sarah Williamson. Their children are Sarah Ann (Mrs. J. H. Thomas, of Media), Hannah E., J. Jones, Margaret L., Enos W. (deceased), and E. Mary (Mrs. Alfred Palmer, of Steelton, Pa.).

Mr. Leedom evinced a keen intelligence in the discussion of the political questions of the day as on all subjects of current interest. Though a pronounced Whig in politics, and on the organization of the Republican party one of its ardent adherents, he never sought or held office. He was during his later life an enlightened reader of the most substantial literature, and gifted with keen powers of perception. This he found a source of much pleasure and profit as advancing years deprived him of other means of enjoyment. He was in religion reared in the faith of the society of Friends. Mrs. Leedom's death occurred on the 7th of March, 1883, but a few months prior to that of her husband.