INTRODUCTION
and BI-CENTENNIAL REUNION
from, The Maris Family in the United States
A Record
of the Descendants of George and Alice Maris, 1683-1885.
Compiled
by George L. and Annie M. Maris; published 1885.
Typed by
Linda Cunningham Fluharty (LCFlu@aol.com), descendant of George & Alice
Maris.
MEDALLION - REUNION MEMENTO
(Owned by Linda Fluharty.)
MARIS GENEALOGY SITE
(Raymond Maris.)
INTRODUCTION
The Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia, in 1876, suggested
to the writer the idea of holding a Bi-Centennial Celebration of the landing in
America, of GEORGE and ALICE MARIS, and at a suitable time he mentioned the
subject to some of the descendants, especially to John M. Maris, of
Philadelphia, Pa. The proposition received a hearty second from all.
The first step toward making an organization, was a meeting in
Philadelphia, Pa., of John M. Maris, Joshua Maris, George C. Maris, and George
L. Maris, at the residence of the first named, on the evening of February 14,
1882. Various plans were discussed, and
it was thought, as the Bi-centennial would call together not more than 250
people, it might be held at the spacious home of John M. Maris, which was
freely offered for the occasion.
At a subsequent meeting held at the house of Dr. Edward Maris, in
Philadelphia, the committee was enlarged to embrace representatives of the
different lines of descent, as follows:
John M. Maris, Philadelphia; Thomas R. Maris, Philadelphia; John
Welsh, Philadelphia; Dr. Edward Maris, Philadelphia; John M. Broomall, Media,
Pa.; George G. Maris, Lahaska, Pa.; Joshua Maris, Wilmington, Del.; George C.
Maris, Wilmington, Del.; George M. Booth, Chester, Pa.; B. Frank Beatty,
Chester, Pa.; Richard Maris, Wilmington, Del.; Jared Maris, Columbus, Ohio;
William Maris, Chester, Pa.; George J. Maris, Guthrie Centre, Ia.; Robert
Hatton, Easton, Md.; Maris Taylor, Doe Run, Pa.; Dr. Clarence F. Maris,
Columbus, Ohio; George Maris, Marple, Pa.; Joseph P. Maris, Marple, Pa.;
William Maris, West Branch, Ia.; Joseph Maris, Smith River Valley, Cal.; Geo L.
Maris, West Chester, Pa.
Geo. L. Maris was authorized to compile a family genealogy, and on
behalf of the committee to affix his name to the introduction.
As the committee thought the attendance at the Bi-Centennial would
largely exceed their first estimate, and George Maris, the owner of HOME HOUSE,
offered the use of his grove, it was decided to hold the Re-union on the spot
originally occupied by our immigrant ancestors, GEORGE and ALICE MARIS. This property was pre-eminently suited for
the occasion, as it was purchased by George Maris from William Penn, in 1683,
and has remained in the name of Maris in unbroken succession.
A full account of the proceeding -- substantially the same as that
published at the time in the West Chester 'Daily Local News' -- being given
elsewhere, it only remains to be said here that the 'reunion' was a success in
every particular, far beyond the most sanguine expectations of the committee in
charge. The difficult task of compiling
the family genealogy still remained to be done, though considerable data had
been collected at and before Bi-centennial.
As the employment of a professional genealogist would involve a
large outlay of money, the Secretary, to whom the matter had been entrusted,
did not feel authorized to proceed in that way, but referred to the advisory
committee - Joshua Maris, of Wilmington, Del., John M. Broomall, of Media, Pa.,
and William W. Maris, of Philadelphia - the proposition that his wife, Annie M.
Maris, would, under his direction, do the work without compensation, if they
would pay the necessary expenses for 'postage, circulars, etc.', and the
employment, when necessary, of Gilbert Cope, a professional genealogist. This they agreed to do, and the work was
commenced in September, 1883, and has been prosecuted without interruption ever
since, involving constant daily employment for a period of over two years. The original plan of dropping the female
lines after the second generation, has been departed from where an interest has
been shown by such descendants.
The labor has been much greater than was at first anticipated, and
though the book is far more complete than we had any reason to expect, yet we
know it is not perfect, and from the very nature of the case, it cannot
be. We have been obliged to rely for
data, in a great measure, upon the descendants themselves, some of whom take no
interest in such work, and those that do, are often unable to present reliable
statistics. In many cases the dates
furnished are conflicting; and in such instances we have adopted those thought
most likely to be correct. Having done
the best we can, we deem no further apology necessary, but leave the result of
our labors to the charitable consideration of those concerned.
Our thanks are due to Hon. John Welsh, of Philadelphia, for
efficient assistance; to Hon. John M. Broomall, of Media, to whom we are
indebted for all the data of the descendants of Ann (5) and John Worrilow: to
Phebe Maris Horton, of Ohio, for most of the material furnished in relation to
the descendants of David Maris (250); to Phebe M. Taylor, of West Chester, for
nearly all the facts concerning the descendants of Mary Maris (32) and Joseph
Taylor; to John M. Maris, of Philadelphia, for the pamphlet entitled "The
Maris Family", which furnished the basis of this work, and to many others
to a greater or less degree for valuable assistance rendered.
Geo. L. Maris, Secretary
West Chester, Pa., 11th mo, 1885.
BI-CENTENNIAL
REUNION
1683-GEORGE
MARIS-1883
WORTHY SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF A WORTHY SIRE ASSEMBLE TO DO HONOR TO
THE PIONEER OF THEIR NAME IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE OLD HOMESTEAD, AUGUST 25,
1883.
Morton station on the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad,
presented an unusual scene of animation and activity last Saturday, because of
its being the objective point of hundreds of people from the city, town, and
hamlet en route to take part in the Be-Centennial Maris Family Reunion, which
took place that day in Springfield township, Delaware county.
The morning was a propitious one for this grand event, which, for months
past, had been looked forward to with zealous pride and much interest by the
almost innumerable descendants of George Maris, who, on this day, have long
centuries ago, landed upon these shores, the pioneer of this army (so to speak)
of descendants who to-day represent the most thrifty families in this
country.
From every point vehicles, great and small, freighted with young
and old, grave and gay, filled into the well-chosen grounds, and deposited
their passengers midst the welcoming throng, and the scenes of cheerful and
heartfelt greetings which were presented during the whole of the morning were
of a kind which any attempt to describe would be futile in the extreme. To hearty hand shakings, affectionate embraces
and kind words of welcome the pleasurable hours were devoted, and the scores of
well-ladened baskets, with snowy white coverings, made evident the very
important matter that the welfare of the inner man had not by any means been
lost sight of in the programme of arrangement looking to this gathering of
well-to-do people, who had met to pay tribute to the memory of their honored
ancestor.
In scores of cases friends who had been separated during a long
term of years were brought together, and the traditions of "Auld Lang
Syne" were resurrected and reviewed in that refreshing and happy manner
which led the participants to feel that they were living anew the happy days of
youth, and that it was indeed good to meet under the family tree and renew
kindred ties on this most social and fitting of all occasions. By every train, until afternoon was reached,
new accessions to the assemblage were let down at the station, while by the
country highways vehicles continued to arrive and add to the throng which by this
time had grown far beyond the expectations of those who were foremost in
arranging for the event.
THE
FARM-HOUSE AND GROVE.
The scene of this happy family gathering is one most charmingly
located and admirably suited to the purposes for which the day was set apart.
Its location is about three miles north of Morton village and one
mile east of the old Springfield meeting-house, where George Maris of old
worshipped nearly two hundred years ago.
This house was his particular place of worship, and in this connection
it is worthy of mention that on this day, 8th mo. 25, 1703, he was made the
custodian of its title deeds, he being a worthy one in the minds of his people
to take charge of its valuable papers.
SPRINGFIELD
MEETING HOUSE, BUILT IN 1738
The house which the ancestor built, and in which he lived and
died, has long passed away, and on its site is a quiet, quaint and staunch
stone structure of two and a half stories, erected by his grandson George, in
1722. The pioneer with his wife and
family left England in 1683, and settled in Pennsylvania. Soon after his arrival he took up his abode
in Chester county, (now Springfield township, Delaware county), and named his
residence the "Home House," and a spring on his farm is supposed by
many to have given the name to the township - Springfield.
The original tract was 400 acres, but it has, during the lapse of
the long term of intervening years, been divided and sub-divided until only 70
acres remain in the name - two tracts, owned respectively by George and Joseph
P. Maris, of the sixth generation. The
site proper, where the old house stood, is owned by George. Near by, the old spring feeds a handsome
public fountain or trough by the public's roadside, which is built of beautiful
stone and in a very symmetrical and durable manner. In its construction a large pillar-block, taken from Swarthmore
College, after its recent fiery ordeals, forms a conspicuous as well as an
attractive part.
The grove, about four acres in extent, is composed of fine old
lords of the forest, and is situated a little distance to the rear of the
farm. From it the near surroundings
gracefully slope toward Darby Creek on the eastern side, and the entire absence
of undergrowth makes it a beautiful spot indeed, just such a one as conforms to
the desires and tastes of those who delight in spending a summer's day in the
woods.
Here ample provision for the comfort, convenience and pleasure of
this family assemblage was provided, consisting of a speaker's platform, 10x30
feet, and seats for the audience.
In front of the stand or platform an arch was tastefully erected
and most beautifully decorated. Upon
the arch evergreens and pretty flowers were woven into shapely designs, forming
a beautiful edging to the motto "Esse quam videri." Immediately below, a board was gracefully
swung, bearing the honored name:
1683 GEORGE MARIS 1883
the whole being decorated by a generous expenditure of ivy and
choice wild flowers, in which the aster and golden rod were conspicuous, and
the whole setting forth the evidence of taste, coupled with patience and a love
for the beautiful.
The hours preceding the midday were passed in an informal manner,
being devoted to a general intermingling of the clan, to renewing old
acquaintances and forming new ones - all of which served to make the event a
re-union in the fullest sense of the term, as was designed by those foremost in
thus calling together the many holding the title to a place beneath the
widespread branches of the famous old Maris family grove.
Shortly after the sun had crossed the meridian line there began a
stir which betokened the coming noonday meal, and soon into groups, large and
small, the grove became dotted with scores of scenes gastronomic, as made up a
pic-nic picture in the fullest measure.
Creaking baskets and jingling kettles were relieved of their carefully
prepared contents - contents which busy and skilled housewives had days before
exerted their best efforts in providing, and appetites, sharpened by a ride in
the fresh air of the morning and the long hours since an early breakfast, were
appeased after a style suggestive of a sound digestion and a keen appreciation
for the food things of life.
All over the grounds busy children flitted in gay colors and their
merry laughter added not a little to the merry scene, and so when the inner
guest looked up in his satiated woe and cried out "Hold, enough!" the
remnants were gathered together and the AFTERNOON PROGRAMME was looked for -
that which was to serve as a mental dessert for the feast just partaken of.
Accordingly at the sound of the slogan from the speaker's stand,
almost every one repaired to the spot set apart for the library exercises of
the day, and when all had found comfortable seats, and the attending bustle had
subsided, the following organization was effected:
PRESIDENT
DR. EDWARD MARIS, PHILADELPHIA
VICE PRESIDENTS
GEORGE J. MARIS, IOWA
NATHANIEL N. MARIS, INDIANA
PHEBE MARIS HORTON, OHIO
CHAS M. TAYLOR, PHILADELPHIA
WM. MARIS, JR., NEW JERSEY
DR. ISAAC MASSEY, PENNA.
GEORGE C. MARIS, DELAWARE
SARAH MARIS, IOWA
MARTHA P. GIBBONS, PENNA.
PENNOCK E. LEONARD, PENNA.
LEWIS D. MARIS, KANSAS
MORGAN B. HALL, PENNA.
GEORGE BROOMALL, PENNA.
NORRIS MARIS, DELAWARE
SARAH WORRALL, PENNA.
JOSEPH W. BARNARD, PENNA.
CHAS H. MARIS, TEXAS
HENRY J. MARIS, PHILADELPHIA
PHEBE M. TAYLOR, PENNA.
GEORGE MARIS, INDIANA
ISABELLE P. HUSTON, PENNA
BENJ. C. MARIS, NEVADA
GEORGE MARIS, PENNA
JEPTHA G. MARIS, DAKOTA
Then followed a very interesting paper upon "The Maris Family
in Europe," prepared by Dr. Clarence F. Maris, formerly of London, now of
Columbus, Ohio. Being unable to be
present, his welcome production was read by Miss Emma F. West, of Philadelphia,
as follows:
THE
MARIS FAMILY IN EUROPE:
The earliest mention of the name Maris is in the "Iliad"
of Homer. It occurs in the account of
the 6th battle before the walls of Troy, in which Maris and Atymnius, sons of
the Trojan, Amisodarus, die fighting with the two sons of Nestor. The objection to any attempt on our part to
make this Lycian the founder of the family who now bear the name, lies in the
fact that his father, Amisodarus, led by the Furies became the sire of a
crocodile and the body of a goat. To
establish claim to common inheritance with such a baleful personage, is hardly
to be desired, although it would give almost unrivalled antiquity.
I quote the lines in which this mention is made from Pope's
translation of Homer:
"In equal arms of two sons of Nestor
stand,
And two bold brothers of the Lycian band;
By great Antilochus Atymnius dies,
Pierced in the flank, lamented youth, he
lies;
Kind Maris, bleeding in his brother's
wound,
Defends the breathless carcass on the
ground.
Furious he flies, his murderer to engage,
But godlike Thrasymed prevents his rage;
Between his arm and shoulder aims a blow-
His arm falls spouting on the dust below.
He sinks with endless darkness covered
o'er,
And vents his soul effused with gushing
gore.
Slain by two brothers, thus two brothers
bleed,
Sarpendon's friends, Amisodarus' seed-
Amisodarus, who, by Furies led,
The bane of men, abhorred Chimera, bred,
Skilled in the dart in vain, his sons
expire,
And pay the forfeit of their guilty
sire."
The historical and biographical value of the statements of Homeric
poetry may be questioned, but that Maris was a common name among the citizens
of Lycia as early as the time of Solomon cannot be doubted.
In Roman history appears a man whose valor, perhaps rivaling that
of the Trojan warrior, is exhibited in the fearlessness of standing a professed
Christian before a pagan prince who ridicules his faith in God.
From Bingham's history I quote:
"Julian the Apostate, in a dialogue with old blind Bishop Maris,
said by way of scoff: 'Thy Gallilean God cannot cure thee.'" As the Emperor Julian became an apostate in
362 A.D., and died only three years later, the chronology of our Bishop is
closely given.
In the Sixth century a Sir Ector de Maris figures prominently in
Arthurian romance, as a rich and valiant knight and the foster father of King Arthur.
In the "Historie of King Arthur" there is a dialogue
between Utherpendragon and his court magician which runs as
follows:-"Soone came Merlin unto the King, and said 'Sir, you must provide
you for the nourishing of your child.'
'As thou wilt,' said the King, 'be it.'
'Well,' said Merlin, 'I know a lord of yours in this land that is a
passing true man and a faithful, and he shall have the nourishing of your
child; his name is Sir Ector and hee is a lord of faire livelyhood in many
parts of England and Wales.' So the
child was delivered unto Merlin, and so hee bare it forth unto Sir Ector, and
made an holy man to christen him and named him Arthur; and so Sir Ector's wife
nourished him."
The valor of this ancient Maris is well told in history "How
Sir Ector de Maris followed to seeke his brother Sir Launcelot." "When Sir Ector de Maris wist that Sir
Lancelot was passed out of court to seeke adventures, hee was wroth with
himself and made him ready to seeke Sir Lancelot."
His exploits on this occasion did not, however, add so much to his
renown as the part he took in the slaying of the four green Knights, before
whom all the Knights of Orkney had fallen, and who had slain nearly half a
hundred of the proved Knights of King Arthur.
The narrative of the killing of these Knights by Sir Ector, his brother
Sir Lancelot, their cousin Sir Bleoberis, and King Arthur, closes thus: "Then Sir Ector de Maris smote Garet so
hard that downe hee fell from his horse.
And then King Arthur encountered with Sir Dinadan and hee smote him
quite from his saddell, that hee fell downe to the earth and then the noise
turned a while how that the greene Knights were slain."
The next account of members of the family is traditional. In France, persecuted for conscience sake,
they appear as Huguenots worshipping in fear and by stealth in the seclusion of
forests and in the gorges of the Pyrenees.
At some time during the interval of the 26 years, between the massacre
upon Saint Bartholomew's Day and the promulgation of the Ediet of Nantes in
1598, they escaped to England.
But they had not yet found a country in which they might worship
the true God after the manner dictated by their consciences, and to this fact
do we owe our birthright to a State whose history bears no shameful blot
recording persecution on account of religious opinions.
It seems that the family have been from the earliest date amongst
those who have been classed as religious fanatics. First in the then pagan Italy; next of outlaws as Protestants
against Catholicism in France; then derided and imprisoned in England. What eminence is more enviable than that
from such suffering?
The heads which tower sufficiently above the common level to be
seen in looking back over the centuries, are a mitred Bishop, next a helmeted
Knight, and last the Quaker's beaver.
Richard Maris was one of the jury before whom the political
agitator John Horne Tooke was tried for his life, in London, in 1794. Tooke had previously been imprisoned for a
year, because he started a subscription for the families of those who fell in
the battle of Lexington, and charged the British government with murdering
Americans. Subsequently he became a
leader of the Constitutional Society, and was indicted for high treason. After having been twice convicted, he was
given another trial, and the jury, in spite of the pressure of the Crown,
acquitted him. The Constitutional
party, in commemoration of their victory, had medals struck, upon one side of
which were the names of the counsel and jury, on the obverse a bust of Horne
Tooke. The cut is a fac simile.
It was this celebrated case that first brought Thomas, afterward
Lord Erskine, prominently before the public and made the foundation for his
great reputation as an advocate.
The Marises now found in England reside in London and the county
of Sussex. An account of them, however,
can have nothing of interest to us; for the name this family bore at the time
of the coming of George Maris to this country was Marias, the second,
"a" having been dropped only a generation since. In a residence of two years in England at
different times, I found no person to whom we can prove kinship.
The two eminent painters of London who bear the name Van Maris
were originally from Amsterdam, but I was unable to find any of the family in
that city.
I have carefully searched the post-office directories of nearly
all the capitals of Europe, and of many of the smaller cities, and the business
directories as well. The only Maris
found aside from the two families mentioned, is Guisseppe Maris, an accountant
in Milan, Italy. Lack of knowledge of
the language he speaks prevented my learning anything of his ancestry. The name is of Latin origin, but a search
through the names of residents in all the principal cities of Italy finds but
the one in Milan. Spain has a noble
family of our name, and the name is also found in France.
Next in order, Prof. Geo. L. Maris, of West Chester, was
introduced. To him had been allotted
the preparation of the "History of George Maris, the Pioneer." This paper we give entire, as follows:
LIFE OF
GEORGE MARIS, THE PIONEER
Two hundred years ago the whole country by which we are surrounded
was a dense forest. Deer and game of
all sorts wandered at will over these hills as untamed as the red men who made
them their abode. How changed in these
beautiful hills gently sloping toward the Delaware. The same streams still gladden the hearts of all dwelling
near. The long lapse of years has not
changed the peaceful, quiet aspect so in accord with the feelings of him whose
landing on this soil we are here to celebrate.
No noise of mills or railroad, nor the bustle of city life, disturbs the
repose of two hundred years.
Glowing reports of the "Indian country on the western side of
the great river Delaware" had been sent home to England by those who had
before settled in the low lands of New Jersey, and an impetus had been given to
emigration by the broad and generous terms offered by that great
philanthropist, William Penn, and the oppressed of all nations began to look
toward Pennsylvania as a sweet asylum where they might worship God according to
the dictates of their own conscience.
"The plains," say these enthusiastic settlers,
"along the winding flood are, in most places, covered with corn and
natural meadows, and marshes; while all on the back of this a mighty forest
rose, tall and stately, darkening the western sky with its blue shade, and
stretching itself north and south with the river as far as the astonished eye
can travel. And as to the country we
can truly say of it that it is a land most rich, and desirable to dwell in - a
land of fountains and brooks - a land of might oaks and elms, and all manner of
precious trees for timber - a land whose soil, especially on the water courses,
was a black mould, very deep and rich, insomuch that Indian corn, without the
aid of a plough, grew there to an enormous size, with two and sometimes three
large shocks [ears] on a stalk; and we have counted seven and eight hundred
grains on a shock.
And then for the game in the ancient forests; it is wonderful to
look at, far surpassing in abundance anything we had ever thought of. For, in walking through the woods, we were
ever and anon starting up deer in droves, and also frequently within sight of
large herds of buffalo, all perfectly wild and wallowing in fat, and seeming in
their course to shake the earth with their weight. And, indeed, no wonder; for the grass, particularly in the
lowlands, grew so rank and tall that the buffalo and deer on flying into it,
which they were wont to do when frightened, would disappear in a moment."
One can readily imagine how gratefully such accounts fell upon the
persecuted followers of Penn and Fox, as they lay suffering in the filthy
dungeons of England; how such an asylum seemed to them like a sign from God
himself that they should go where freedom of conscience was the law of the
land.
Among those who determined to try the fortunes of that pioneer
life were George Maris, and his wife Alice, with their six children, of Grafton
Flyford, and county of Worcester. His
life in England had been rendered oppressive, because he could not conform to
the customs of the established church; for having a religious meeting at his
house he was fined 20 pounds.
Afterwards "he was taken by an assize process and sent to prison on
the 23rd of the month called July, 1670, and continued there above eight
months, but never knew for what cause he was so long imprisoned." As persecutions in England continued there
seemed to be no way left but to emigrate, and as the Colony of Pennsylvania had
been founded a year or two before, and William Penn, whom all Friends so much
admired, had already sailed for the shores of the Delaware, our common
ancestor, as was customary, laid his intentions before the Monthly Meeting to
which he belonged, and in response thereto received a testimonial, of which the
following is a copy, taken from the 3d page of the oldest records of the Darby
(Pa.) Monthly Meeting:
"From our meeting at Hattswell, in the pish (parish) of
Inkborough, and county of Worcester, in Old England, to which meeting our
friends hereafter mentioned did belong, the 6th of the 3d month, 1683.
TO FRIENDS IN PENNSYLVANIA--Dear Friends--We, whose names are here
subscribed, thought good to give you this short testimony concerning our friend
George Maris, with his wife and children, of the pish of Grafton, of the county
and nation aforesaid:
WHEREAS, Our dear friend before mentioned, hath laid before us his
intention of transporting himself and family into your country, he being free
to leave our country, we have nothing against his going, but do condescend to
him therein. And this may certify to
all Friends and others whom it may concern, that we have this further to say
for our dear friend, George Maris, that we have had good knowledge of his life
and conversation, and we have known it to be such that hath adorned the gospel
of Christ; and hath been a good example in his place, and a man ye bent of
whose heart hath been to serve ye Lord and all people in love, and hath not
spared to spend and be spent in the service of Truth; and this we can say, we
do not know of any person, Friend or others, that hath aught against him, his
wife or children, upon any just account whatsoever; and surely friends, we
could have been glad, if it had been so ordered, that they might have spent the
remaining part of their days with us, who have lived together in true love and
unity for many years. And, dear friends
in the unknown parts of America, having given you this short account of those,
our friends, though far short of what we have testified, we remain your dear
friends, Brothers and Sisters, in the love that makes us willing to submit to
the will of God in all things." (Signed by fourteen men and women
Friends).
Previous to leaving England our ancestor had purchased from Robert
Toomer, of Worcester, 1,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania, but unlocated. In a short time after his arrival he took up
a tract of 400 acres and built upon it a house on the exact spot now occupied
by the residence of Geo. Maris, by whose generosity we are permitted to gather
upon the land where our pioneer ancestor took up his abode 200 years ago; the
house now standing on this ground was erected in 1722 by George Maris, a
grandson of the immigrant.
Scarcely had he time to begin the work of clearing the timber from
his farm before he was commissioned Justice of the Peace, and empowered with
six others, Christopher Taylor, Wm. Wood, Robert Wade, John Blunstone, James
Saunderlaine and John Warding, to hold the Courts of Chester for the County of
Chester.
The oldest official Court records of Chester county (now at West
Chester, Pa.), dating back to 1681, show that he took his seat on the Bench on
the "1st of 5th mo., 1684," and from that time until the year 1690 he
attended every sitting of the Court, when he was allowed a rest for one year;
but from the beginning of 1691 till the close of 1693 he was just as assiduous
in his attention to his judicial duties.
Though the sessions of the Court occupied much of his time, his public
service did not end with his duty, but the demands of the State were laid upon
him, and he was chosen a member of the Assembly in 1684, and annually elected thereafter
till the year 1693, with the exception of the year 1689; and I might state in
passing that throughout this long period there is no record of his absence from
a single sitting of the Court or from one session of the Assembly -- a faithful
attention to duty of which we may all feel proud.
While he was thus busily engaged with affairs of justice and
State, and he and his family were occupied in making a home in the wilds of a
new country, he was not unmindful of his duty to his Maker, who had so blest
his faithfulness to conscience and right.
He was acknowledged minister in the Society of Friends, in regular
attendance at its meetings for business and worship.
In those early days the cases that came before the Court were not
what we, in these times, would call heavy or important, yet when we consider
that all transactions in real estate, that all brands and marks on cattle, all
proceedings in the laying out of roads, as well as the ordinary civil and
criminal cases, had to be passed upon by the Court, we can easily imagine that
his duties in this direction were by no means light.
It would be useless to give in detail many of the cases passed
upon by our honored ancestor, yet I have deemed it not improper to give one or
two from the records of those times.
"9th of 12th mo., 1687.
By virtue of an order from ye last County Court given unto us whose
names are hereunto subscribed, being of the Grand Jury, for to lay out a road
way that should serve for Newtown, Marple, Springfield and ye inhabitants that
way to ye landing Place at Amosland, did upon ye day above written Begin att a
Road way in ye lands of George Maris which road goeth from Chester through
Marple to Newtown, and from that road through Bartholomew Coppock's land, near
to his house, his house being on ye left hand.
Soo on through Robert Taylor's land, straight on through more land of
George Maris his land, leaving his Plantation on ye right hand, through George
Simcock's land, leaving his plantation on ye left hand, soo on straight through
land Joining to Amosland unto ye King's road from Darby, marking ye trees as we
came, soo on to ye landing place by Maine'screek's side, beyond Morton Morton's
son's house. Signed, William
Garrett," and others.
1-16-1687. "This
court being informed that Richard Crosby was Drunk on the 6th instant last, he
was upon ye same called to ye Barr, and upon his submission was amerced tenne
shillings to the Governor's use to be levied upon his goods and chattles, this
being his second offence."
2-18-1693. "George
Maris the elder acknowledged a deed in open court, unto his son George Maris
the younger foe one hundred acres of land in Springfield, bearing date the
seventeenth day of ye second mo., 1693."
The sessions of the Legislature during the eight years George
Maris was a member were short, occupying on an average nine days each. They began at 7 o'clock in the morning and
continued till noon, and, after a recess of two hours, extended late into the
afternoon, every day of the week, except the Sabbath. The pay was six shillings a day.
I shall quote a very few of the bills acted upon while our
ancestor was a member of Assembly. - "It was put to vote whether a Bill
relating to corporal punishment by stripes might be passed into law; this was
carried in the affirmative."
"The bill relating to the Grant of Liberty for selling Rum to
the Indians, upon condition, etc.; this was answered in the negative."
"Proposed to a vote, as a Rule, in the House, That whatsoever
member shall not attend the House, but shall wilfully absent himself therefrom
without lawful and satisfactory Reason given, shall be expelled from the House;
this was carried in the affirmative."
"Put to a vote whether any member that doth not appear in due
Time, according to Adjournment, shall be fined one shilling." --Carried.
"By vote Simon Irons was fined 1 shilling, 6d, for absence,
and 5 shillings for being disordered with Drink."
"Carried that Custom of the Country to servants shall be two
suits of apparel, ten Bushels of Wheat
or fifteen Bushels of Indian Corn, one Axe and two Hoes."
This applied to apprentices who had completed their term of
service.
The session of Assembly in 1692, the last attended by the pioneer,
George Maris, was the longest and much the most exciting up to this time. The opponents of William Penn, who were
assiduous in their efforts to prejudice the new King and Queen, William and
Mary, against Penn, succeeded in their purpose in the year 1692, whereby Benjamin Fletcher, Governor of New York,
received a commission giving him authority over Pennsylvania, and superseding
the authority of Penn.
I shall give an outline of this controversy, because George Maris
took an active part in the proceedings.
At the opening of the session of the Assembly in 1693, Queen Mary's
letter to Gov. Fletcher was read as follows:
"Trusty and well beloved, we greet you well. Whereas, it has been represented unto us in
Council in Behalf of our province of New York in America, that same having been
at great expense for the Preservation and Defense of Albany, its Frontier
against the French (by the Loss of which Province the Inhabitants of Maryland
and Virginia would not be able to live only in Garrison) and having hitherto
preserved that Post, the Burden whereof is intolerable to the inhabitants
there, we think it reasonable and necessary that our several Colonies and
Provinces of New England, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania should be aiding
and assisting from Time to Time the Governor or Commander-in-Chief of our said
Province of New York in the Maintenance and Defense of it during the present
War; and accordingly our Will and Pleasure is that upon the Application of the
Said Governor or Commander-in-Chief, you do immediately send him such Aid or
Assistance, in men or otherwise, for the security of our said Province from the
Attempts of the French or Indians, as the conditions of the said plantations
under your government shall permit, &c., and that you return a Speedy
Account of your Proceeding herein to the End that such further Directions may
be given as shall be necessary for Securing the Fort at Albany from the
Attempts of our Enemies in those Parts.
And so we bid you farewell.
"Given at our Court at Whitehall, the seventh day of October,
1692, in the fourth year of our Reign.
By Her Majesty's command.
"Nottingham."
In reply to Governor Fletcher's request that Supplies be voted to
equip eighty (80) soldiers for the defence of Albany, etc., the Assembly
replied: "We earnestly beseech
that our Procedure in Legislature may be according to the usual method and Laws
of this Government founded upon the late King's Letters Patent which we humbly
conceive to be yet in Force, and therefore we desire the same may be confirmed
unto us as our Rights and Liberties. -- And we (with all Faithfulness and
Sincerity) do give what answer we are capable of, in the present circumstances
we are under, to answer the Queen's Letter and thy Request according to our
ability.
"3-mo. 17, 1693."
The same day the Governor replied: "The Constitution of their
Majesties Government and that of Mr. Penn's are in a direct opposition, one to
the other. If you will be tenacious in
sticking to this, it is a plain Demonstration, use what words you please, that
indeed you decline the other. *** Time
is very precious to me. I hope you will
desist from all unnecessary Debates, and fall in earnest upon those matters I
have already mentioned and shall have to recommend to you, and for which you
are principally convened." He also
spoke of the Want of Necessary Defence against the Enemy, and the danger of
being lost from the Crown.
The Assembly replied the same day: "We do not apprehend that the Province is in Danger of being
lost from the Crown, although the Government was in the hands of some whose
Principles are not for War. And we
conceive that the present Governancy hath no direct Opposition (with respect to
the King's Government here in General) to our Proprietary's, William Penn,
though the exercise of the Authority at present supersedes that of our said
Proprietary's."
When the Assembly met next day (3-mo. 18, 1693), the following
record was made upon the minutes:
"Ordered that Samuel Richardson, **** George Maris [and others] be
a committee to consider that Part of the Governor's speech relating to a supply
for the support of the Government and Fortifications of the Province, etc., as
also what measures and course may be taken to raise money for the same; and
what sum may be thought expedient, and make report thereof to-morrow
morning."
At the appointed time this committee reported as follows:
"The Committee appointed to consider that Part of the Governor's Speech
relating to Supplies, &c., report to the House, they believe there is an
absolute necessity of raising money to support the Government, and the most expedient
way is, viz:
By tax on a Strong Beer and Ale retailed; by Deer Skins raw and
dressed; by the Pole; by Land, per hundred acres, by rent of Houses; upon Wine
and Cyder imported; but have not considered how much is needful to be raised,
desiring that the house would ascertain the sum.
The report was adopted and a protest signed by ten members, our
ancestor among them, placed on record.
The protest is as follows:
PHILADELPHIA, 4th mo. 1st, 1693.
"We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, Representatives of
the Freeman of this Province in Assembly, do declare, it is the undoubted right
of this House to receive back from the Governor and Council, all such bills as
are sent up for their approbation or Amendment: and it is necessary to know the
Amendments and debate the same as the Body of the Bills: and that the denial of
that Right is destructive of the Freedom of making Laws. And we do also declare it is the Right of
the Assembly that before any Bills for supplies be presented for the last
Sanction of a Law, Aggrievances ought to be redressed: Therefore we with
Protestation (Saving our just Rights in Assembly) do declare that the assent of
such of us as were in Favor of sending up the Bill for Supply this morning, was
merely in consideration of the Governor's Speedy Departure; but that it should
not be drawn into example for the Future."
This was George Maris's last act in the Assembly. During his term of service therein he was
frequently appointed on committees having in charge important subjects, among
them one "to draw up a Bill for the erecting of a Post Office, and also a
bill against Privateers and Pirates."
He was a member of the Council only one year - 1695 - during which
time the controversy in regard to raising troops for the defense of New York
was carried on with considerable spirit between Governor Wm. Markham and the
Council, the details of which it is not within the purpose of this paper to
name.
One circumstance, however, is thought worthy of mention in this
connection as it illustrates the condition of the people at this time.
When the Governor asked the advice of the Council, whether to call
another meeting of the Assembly before the 9th of September, which day seems to
have been previously appointed, he received the following reply, our ancestor
being at the time in the Council:
"It was the unanimous opinion of all the members present that
it would be of no service to call ym (thyem) sooner. The Governors having asked them the reason of their opinion, one
of the members answered:
Because by the Great Mortalities of the Cattle and stock of the
inhabitants last year, the people have been and still are under great straits
for corne and provisions, and the substance of the Province and the Territories
consisting altogether in stock, provisions, and corne, if the inhabitants
should call off from getting in their Harvest and Cropts to attend Assemblie,
whose number with the Council, are 54 persons, it would tend to their utter
ruine." "To which the rest of
the members unanimouslie assented."
George Maris was a member of Chester Monthly Meeting of Friends,
and was an active worker for the cause of Truth; he was also a member of the
Yearly Meeting of Ministers, which met at Burlington and Philadelphia in the
early days, but afterward only in Philadelphia. During the latter part of his life, and especially after he had
retired from the active participation in judicial and legislative duties, he
was almost always one of the Committee appointed to represent his Monthly
Meeting at the Quarterly Meeting, and was as uniformly appointed a
representative to the Yearly Meeting.
As early as 1688 he was one to sign "a petition against selling Rum
and other Strong Liquors to the Indians."
The early records if the Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly Meetings of
Friends are very brief, merely naming the subjects treated of and giving
account of his active work in the Ministry; but is frequent appointment to
visit and labor with the erring where the finest qualities of a loving heart
are most effective bears testimony to his amiable disposition; for the records
speak of his being appointed on such visits even after the labors of many
others had proven intellectual; and on the other hand his appointment by the
Yearly Meeting to visit George Keith, the leader of almost determined faction
in the Society of Friends, and deliver to him the censure of the Meeting for
certain of his acts, shows their estimate of is his good judgement and
courage. George Maris lived in this
company twenty-two years (being over fifty years of age when he left England),
during the first twelve of which he was constantly occupied with affairs of
Church and State; he was not a man of many words, nor did he push himself
forward into public place; he was clearly a man of gentle manners and of
unswerving integrity and courage, whose purpose was "to serve the Lord and
all people in love."
To Hon. John M. Broomall, of Media, was given the subject -
"The Descendants of George Maris," which was also a very valuable
historical production; we give it entire, as follows:
THE
FAMILY OF GEORGE MARIS
We are as we are, very much by reason of our antecedents and
surroundings. The line of ancestry
through which we came, and the associations among which our advent as conscious
beings has thrown us, in the main make us what we are. The former of these we have no control
over. No man is consulted about who
shall be his parents. As far as
inheritance is concerned he must take his being as it is cast upon him. Within certain limits, we can modify the
inheritance after it comes to us.
Within certain limits, we are free agents. We can vary our surroundings.
We can choose our associations, and thereby make for ourselves a new
creation, to some small extent, a changed estate, so to speak, to transmit to
our heirs. It is certainly no merit to
be descended from a line of worthy and virtuous ancestors; as it is no demerit
to be the offspring of vicious and ignoble parents. But the former is as certainly a blessing as the latter is a
misfortune.
The man who can trace his parentage back for two hundred years,
without finding qualities he would not wish to inherit, is to be envied; and
such a man is base indeed if he fails to transmit untarnished the inheritance
he received.
The desire to know something of the stock from which we came is a
laudable one; and while there a few of us but will find something of which we
have reason to be ashamed, yet, as a rule, the descendants of the first
settlers of Pennsylvania have good cause to congratulate themselves that their
line of ancestry at that point of time commenced well. They are doubly
fortunate, first, in the fact that their fathers were emigrants, and second, in
the fact that they fled from ecclesiastical tyranny at home.
All other things being equal, it requires more force of character,
and, therefore, more mind to dissent than to conform. It is easy to go with the current. A log does that. But to
shape a course against the current or independent of it requires a higher power
than mere gravity. Hence the English
dissenters of two centuries ago, and possibly ever since, possessed more than
the average mental force of Englishmen.
However wrong they might be, at least they were sincere in their
opinions. They acted from a sense of
duty whether mistaken or not, and by that fact they manifested a more than
average moral force of Englishmen.
Grant that they were wrong, the error was one of judgment only, which
would have yielded to time and the spirit of inquiry. But no time and no inquiry
would correct an error of intention.
Surely there has been no period in the history of England of a scarcity
of intentional wrong-doers sufficient to keep the government busy.
Only the energetic emigrate voluntarily. Hence emigration always deprives the parent stock of its energy
for the benefit of the new country. It
requires more force of character to expatriate one's self to avoid the ills
that threaten than to remain and bear them.
True, this extra force of character may not be in the direction of
morals, and so the result may be lawless, as well as strong and energetic
stock. But in those who fled from
persecution at the hands of the State Church in England, in the seventh
century, we find the force of character that led to emigration combined with
the moral force that led in the line of duty, making the best possible
combination of elements for a new stock.
Having more than the average mental, and more than the average moral,
force of Englishmen, they were just the people whom England should have labored
to keep at home.
A government that undertakes to control the citizens in their
religious opinions and in their acts that concern only private duty, always
find it most difficult to manage the great energetic middle ranks, the higher order
of producers. It may bribe its nobility
with power and titles, for they are few.
It may coerce or frighten the very low, because they are weak. But the shrewd, thinking middle classes
cannot be reached by either of these means.
Hence, in England the ranks of the dissenters have always been kept up
mainly from those below the nobility, and above the average of the commonality.
Considered in the light of these obvious propositions much of
American history becomes plain. We
derived from England more than average energy, more than her average moral
sense, more than her average obstinacy in demanding on the one hand, and
fairness in conceding on the other, all we believed to be right. With this it was impossible that we should
remain a dependency of the mother country.
Our enormous strides in material well-being, our vast and increasing
national and individual wealth, our readiness to embark in all moral and
material projects, our jealousy of governmental assumption of power - all these
are the natural result of our English antecedents and our American
surroundings.
Two hundred years ago George Maris, and Alice, his wife, selected
the spot on which we stand, for their future home. They were emigrants from Worcestershire, England years before,
the husband had had his goods distrained and sold to the value of twenty pounds
sterling, equal to four hundred dollars now, and had been imprisoned eight
months, for the crime of permitting a religious meeting to be held at his
dwelling house, without having the services conducted by a priest of the State
Church. Learning from bitter experience
that God was not at that time free by the laws of England to receive such
worship as His creatures, under all the light He gave them, could tender Him,
these worthy people sought and found here a country where there is no embargo
on religious worship. And now, after
the lapse of the two centuries, we, the present audience, some of the
descendants of the worthy couple, have met to clasp hands as brothers and
sisters, to recognize a common parentage, to cultivate those sentiments of
affection which should pervade and animate persons of one blood, to study the
character and emulate the virtues of our first American parents, and to carry
to our widely scattered homes the sentiment that it was good for us to be here.
It is with design that I speak of Alice, as well as of her
husband, for we must not forget that we are of her blood as well as his. Indeed it is possible that she contributed
more to the family traits than he. It
is believed by many that Nature reproduces the mother in the children more
faithfully than the father. However
this may be, the descendants of our venerated ancestors have exhibited the
peculiar American modifications of British character. They have largely diverged.
Numbering the thousands they do, they have scattered themselves all over
the United States. They are of every
grade of society, and of every shade of political and religious opinion. Comparatively few of them remain attached to
the Society of Friends of which George Maris was so active and so worthy a
member. Under the same sense of duty
that governed him; claiming and conceding the same right of individual opinion
for which he so suffered, that even banishment was a relief, they formed from
time to time new religious associations as they themselves guided by the inner
light of which he was so distinguished a follower.
The descendants of George and Alice Maris have been more or less
distinguished in the diplomatic service of the country, in the halls of State
and National legislation, in the political and constitutional conventions, in
the army and navy, in the learned profession, in the college, the school, the
work-shop, the counting house, and largely in the field. It is true we have furnished no President of
the United States, no Governor of a State; but on the other hand we have
contributed little, if anything, toward the occupation of the prison and the
almshouse. Mainly the family has been of
the great middle rank of the people, in comfortable circumstances, with
probably more than the average American education.
John Welsh, late Minister to England, of whom Philadelphia is so
justly proud; Washington Townsend, who represented our district in Congress so
ably for four successive terms; Dr. John T. Huddleson, a former State Senator;
General Persifor Frazel Smith, of the United States Army; Simon Barnard, an
active operator on the Underground Railroad, as long as its functions lasted;
Edward H. Magill, President of Swarthmore College; George L. Maris, formerly
Principal of the West Chester State Normal School and now Principal of Friends
Central School, Phil'a, and many others might be named to show that the mental
and moral force which characterized George Maris is still potent and active in
his progeny.
The family has furnished at least six members of Congress, and
while it may not be entirely proper to speak of the four living ones, yet a few
words may well be devoted to the dead - the gifted dead. John Edwards Leonard, a Representative from
Louisiana, was born September 22, 1845, near Fairville, Chester county, and was
the only child of John E. and Mary H. Leonard.
He died of yellow fever at Havana, March 15, 1878. He was a graduate of Harvard University, and
he completed his studies at Heidelberg, Germany, receiving the degree of Doctor
of Laws. He settled in Louisiana in
1870, practiced law the Thirteenth District of the State, and became a Judge of
the Supreme Court. Finally he was
elected to the Forty-fifth Congress and died while a member.
Though so young a man, Mr. Leonard was a ripe scholar. He was the author of some legal works, and a
volume of poems of considerable promise, published in 1871. The memorial addresses delivered in Congress
April 18, 1878, show that he had acquired quite a standing among his fellow
members, and testify a universal regret at his untimely end.
It is a remarkable coincidence that John Edwards, a great uncle of
Mr. Leonard, and the line of the family of George Maris, also died while a
member of Congress. He was elected in
1838, again in 1840, and again in 1842, and died June 25, 1843. He was a prominent lawyer of our county; and
he owned and operated the iron works at Glen Mills.
Mr. Leonard was not the only poet in the family. Susan Wilson, the gifted author of "The
Painter of Seville," was also of the lineage of George Maris and Alice,
his wife, and we have just reason to be proud of the relationship. Judging of her talent from that production,
it is a pity that she wrote so little.
That certainly is a sample of word painting rarely excelled in the
language, and as such it deserves the place it has among the choice specimens
of English poetry. We do not merely
read the incidents; we see, for example, the slave boy with the brush in his
hand to efface, standing at dawn before the canvas which contained his
surreptitious workmanship. We see the
coming day light up the picture until its beauties stayed his hand, as
"He cried: Shall I efface it? No!
That breathing lip; that beaming eye,
Efface them? I would rather die."
In the living words of the author we see the day slowly opening,
while touch after touch of the brush in the slave hand brings out new beauties,
making the picture what it still is after the lapse of centuries. We see the stealthy approach of the master
and his pupils. We see them, gazing in
silent wonder at the glowing and breathing madonna. We see the discovery, the terror, the crouching at the feet of
his master as only a slave can crouch, to receive, not the punishment he
expected, but the reward he hardly dared ask for, his father's freedom and his
own.
The family of George Maris furnished some of the most prominent
anti-slavery men of the days when it cost something to avow their sentiments; and
when the time of terrible reckoning came, the dies(?) irae(?), a goodly number
of them espoused the cause of the nation in the field. Among them was George W. Roberts, whose last
promotion to Generalship came after he had fallen in battle. He had distinguished himself in various ways
in his early service; and his most daring deed was the spiking of the rebel
guns on Island No. 10. From that time
onward his short life exhibited a series of brilliant achievements, and he fell
at Stony River, gallantly repulsing the enemy.
Distinguished as he was in the early years of the war, at the age of
twenty-nine, what might have been expected of him if he had lived until its
close?
Among the gifted dead may be mentioned Professor John F. Frazer,
of the University of Pennsylvania, who occupied a most enviable position among
his fellows; and Persifor Frazer Smith, of West Chester, a prominent member of
the Bar and of the House of Representatives, who has left a durable record of
his name upon his Supreme Court Reports, as well as other legal
productions. We might speak of others
of the lineage who who have gone before us, leaving us still less by which to
remember them, "Mute, inglorious Miltons," "Cromwells guiltless
of their country's blood," examples to us in the common everyday walks of
life. We might mention John Talbot, of
Upper Chichester, a prominent member of the Society of Friends; a successful
farmer, and the wealthiest man of his day in the two counties of Chester and
Delaware. He died at an advanced age in
1821. Caleb Maris, of Willistown, who
was born one hundred and thirty-nine years ago to-day, and lived to be
ninety-four. He was noted for his
benevolent disposition and his desire to aid the afflicted of all races, ranks,
classes and religions. George Maris, of
Willistown, who was born one hundred and eight years ago to-day, and lived to
be ninety-five. He remembered the
closing scenes of the Revolution, and was fond of relating interesting
incidents of our early history. It is
remarkable that the day we celebrate is the anniversary of the birthdays of
both these old men. Thomas Dutton, of
Aston, who died at the age of a hundred years in 1879, leaving a numerous
family of four generations. Jesse J.
Maris, of Chester, for many years the President of the Bank of Delaware County,
and a most useful citizen in every walk of life.
But the list of those who have left us an example we can scarcely
hope to follow, would be too long; and the details may be left for the proposed
Maris family history. There are also
many more living members of whom it would be quite pleasant to speak, but it is
difficult to speak aright of the living.
The history of these people is still being made, and no man should be
called famous until he is dead.
Counting an average of four children to the family, the
descendants of George and Alice Maris, unaffected by inter-marriages, would
number over sixteen thousand. As this
average is probably large, we may set the number down safely at six
thousand. These would probably be of
the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth generations. The sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth
generations, are no doubt represented on the grounds to-day, and although the
present company comprises but a small portion of the family, yet no doubt there
are representatives of the families of all the grand-children of the first
settler among them.
Counting that the average of this company is of the sixth
generation from George Maris, and supposing the case unaffected by
inter-marriages, there are sixty-four of the contemporaries of George and Alice
Maris represented in the present audience.
And the descendants of those contemporaries, at the same rate of
increase, would exceed three hundred thousand.
Reducing the number to one-half on account of inter-marriages, and the
result would be a fair estimate of our individual kindred. It is no fiction of
language to speak of the universal brotherhood of man when we reflect that each
of us has probably one hundred and fifty thousand blood relations within the period
of two hundred years. Beyond all doubt
all persons whose parents and grandparents were born within the limits of the
old Chester county, are related to one another by blood or marriage within a
very few generations past; and it is reasonably certain that all men of the
Teutonic and Celtic races are related to one another by blood within fifty
generations.
These considerations, so far from making us value one another the
less as of the blood of George and Alice Maris, should simply enlarge the
sphere of clanship, causing it to comprehend new classes as they come up to our
knowledge, and making us recognize all we meet in our passage through life as
brothers and sisters.
Let us carry the remembrance of this meeting to our various homes,
and transmit to our children and our children's children the fact that we
gathered at this place on this day to recognize, and seal, and perpetuate the
bond of union that should link together those who feel that they are of one
blood. Let us collect and perpetuate
the evidence of our re;ationship, so that two hundred years hence the
descendants of George and Alice Maris, who will not then find standing room in
the township of Springfield, will look back over the ages to our meeting here,
as we look back over the ages to the first settlement; will point out to one
another the particular ancestors of each group here assembled; and as they
learn to venerate the memory of the patriarch from whom they take their being,
will feel for one another that affection and sympathy that arises from, as well
as demonstrates, a unity of blood.
"The Maris Family in the West," was a lengthy and
well-prepared paper, closely devoted to the subject. It was read by its writer, Mr. JARED MARIS, of Columbus, Ohio, as
follows:
THE MARIS
FAMILY ON THE WEST.
MR. CHAIRMAN, RELATIVES AND FRIENDS: - When I came upon this stand
I thought to offer an apology for appearing a stranger before you, but finding
myself related to such gentlemen a surround me, and that I may say of the
author of the "Painter of Seville," she was my cousin, why should I
apologize for appearing anywhere? The
marked attention given by you to the addresses you have heard is a high compliment to those who delivered them. There are two things connected with my address
with you will be ultimately pleased.
First, it will not be published in the book of chronicles in its present
form; secondly, much of it will not appear at all. Before opening the manuscript I will outline the narrative.
George Maris, grandson of George, the immigrant, has been called
George the patriarch, because of his numerous family, he having been married
four times. His eldest son, James, was
the father of David and Levis. David,
with five adult sons, Nathaniel, Jonathan, Lewis, Owen, and Isaiah, removed to
Ohio about the year 1814. These were
the progenitors of that branch of the Maris family of which I shall speak.
The value of history and biography consists in the amount of truth
it embodies, and the motto of the biographer should be
"Nothing extenuate
Nor nothing set down aught in
malice."
One may write of the dead and their deeds with little
embarrassment, but he who writes truthfully of the living, and especially if
they be relatives, has an undesirable task, or, very desirable relatives. In the economics of nature ancestors are a
commn inheritance, and, whether good or bad, they are the links which bind us
to the past, and the channel through which we receive the image of our Maker. Though the proper subjects of critical
inspection, they are doubtless entitled to a certain degree of veneration. Each succeeding generation should inherit
the experiences of the past.
Recent discoveries in the laws of heredity show the desirability
of family history, as well as the importance of a record of a Nation's
growth. The peculiar nature of a
genealogical history demands fair, careful, and accurate statement.
Saxe cautions against climbing the family thread, lest we
"find it waxed at the other end by some plebian vocation." Better it were waxed at both ends than
stained with blood or scorched in the fires of licentiousness.
We have the Maris thread unbroken for two hundred and fifty years,
and find it strung with ornaments of society as seamstresses, shoemakers and
tailors, and it has survived these oft repeated waxings. The forthcoming book will, I trust, give
such information touching the physical, mental, and moral status of the family
as will furnish data for the sociologist.
Investigation concerning all the branches of the family in the
West was denied me on account of limited time.
I must therefore confine this paper to that division of which I am a
member.
Our ancestor was assigned to us in a very undemocratic manner,
without consent of ours. The fates were
kind, however, for having none who had been imprisoned for conscience sake, or
fined for "the meeting being at his house," they gave us one whose
conscience never got him into any such trouble.
In middle life he, with his family, moved West beyond the
Alleghenies, presumably to "grow up with the country;" and grow they
did.
Isolated from our kindred by this mountain barrier, we lost our
ancestral thread. Our generation have
longed for a knowledge of their ancestry; and now after a lapse of three score
and ten years, weare glad to be invited to meet with you at the "Home
House."
When scarce half a year ago I met by accident our good cousin,
Prof. George L. Maris, and told him how the long lost David, son of James,
eldest son of the abundantly and well married George the patriarch, had crossed
the mountains in 1814, taking with him six adult children, who traveled behind
the wagon that carried the parents and household effects, and also that two
married sons, with their families, had emigrated to the same place, Nathaniel
with three, and Jonathan with four children, and how they planted homes and
reared families, to one of which I had the fortune to belong, he looked
somewhat as one who would know more, and yet feared to know too much.
He kindly told me of the effort making good friends to gather up
the family threads with their many ties, and to show the one pattern the Master
has been weaving all these years. He
gave me a little book of the Maris generation, to the present him, and we were
left out. I felt that we were the
orphans of the period, and insisted (quite unnecessarily) that we be admitted
to the fold. He asked for names, and
received names of David's descendants in many States and Territories, and
numbering hundreds. He in turn told me of unnumbered cousins and those united
to them who, I learn, detract nothing, but rather add to the honor of the
cherished name. This kindled fire of
consanguinity ran in circulars, letters and missives over all the West. Nine-tenths of David's descendants had no
knowledge of eastern connections. None
of us heard of George the first, or of the patriarch, and more than all, we did
not know that a Maris had ever been in jail.
We did not even know whence our lineage came. The intelligence received at this interview, coupled with an
invitation to meet you here, stirred our hearts to right loyal depths. I can assure you that there are many scores
of your cousins and mine in many western homes, who talk of our communion here
this day with warm hearts and right spirits, and who will anxiously await the
printed reports and enduring mementoes of this grand occasion. We rejoice to know that the common
home-place of which we had never heard, had not been alienated, but is ours
still; held in trust by one who bears honorably the ancestral name.
The generous bestowment of these grounds, so sacred to us, for the
purposes for which they are used to-day, shows that he appreciates the
fiduciary character of his title.
We trust it will by his descendants whose name shall be Maris, a
thousand years to come. Or if some
Maris who thirsts for fame among his kindred, would buy and dedicate it to
holding of family anniversaries forever, we would vote him a right royal, loyal
benefactor; would teach our children to speak of him as cousin Richard, of
George (as the case might be), and adorn the next centennial medal with his
medallion.
About one hundred and ten years ago, at a farm house not many
miles from here, David Maris, grandson of George the Patriarch, was married to
Sarah, daughter of Richard Fox (Fawkes), and sister of Ann, wife of Caleb
Maris, whose grand-sons, Norris, John, and Caleb, still survive, and grace us
with their venerable presence.
To this wedded pair, David and Sarah, children came till they
numbered nine. As they arrived at
proper age, the mother, who was a wise, judicious woman, put the sons out to
service under indenture in good homes, and afterward apprenticed them to
trades. This she did because the
husband and father held chronic consultation with his cups and his comrades.
Many years passed, and all the family but Curtis emigrated to
Belmont county, Ohio. Of Curtis I know
nothing but the report of a brother that he married, and died, leaving a
daughter. Nathaniel was married to
Elizabeth, daughter of Matthew Wood, a Friend, of Chester county, with whom he
removed to Ohio. Jesse Maris, their
oldest son, still lives at the home in Ohio, where they settled in 1812. As he is the oldest one of our generation I
may speak of him as having a blameless life, and though blind for many years,
is a cheerful, joyous man of seventy-seven.
Susan (a note on this page says, "Rebecca") married Jacob
Hoopes, and died early. Rachel married
John Harbin, and at an advanced age died of paralysis. Mary married a Friend by the name of Thomas
Deweese.
Jonathan married Sarah Thomas, of Delaware county, Pa., of whose
family I know nothing. I knew her many
years as an excellent wife and a devoted mother of twelve children.
Owen married Rachel, sister of George K. Jenkins, a noted educator
and prominent advocate of pacific measures in the Government's treatment of the
Indians. She was a very queen among
women. Of this marriage there were
eight children. She died in life's
prime. He afterwards married Amy
Spencer Vanlaw, who lived but a few months.
He subsequenly married Anna Worthington Vanlaw. Of this marriage there were six children,
the eldest of whom died in the Union Army.
His three wives were Friends.
Isaiah married Phebe, daughter of David Fawcett, an Ohio
Friend. She died early of consumption,
leaving five children. He afterwards
married Mary, daughter of Benjamin Street, widow of Mark Yocum. Of this marriage there were five children. The mother still lives, the only surviving
member of a long-lived family. She is
the mother of nine living children, ranging in age from 25 to 52 years. Her home is in Salem, Iowa. I sometimes visit her, my only living aunt. I wish you could see her, dressed, as she
always is, in simple Quaker garb, in apparent contentment, waiting, not for the
little feet that come no more, but for the sure reward of faithful life.
As he crossed the mountains on foot to visit the place of his birt
about the year 1818, Lewis Maris met Sidney, daughter of Isaac Hoopes, of
Goshen, as she journeyed to Ohio in company with William Dewees and wife, her
elder sister, who with their family, were emigrating to Ohio. They had met in earlier youth. It was now nearing night, and he retraced
his steps upon the mountain road with her to an inn, where the company stopped
for the night. While sitting near each
other in the moonlight on the porch, the landlady came to them and said, as if
by some strange inspiration, that they were suited to each other and they were
superstitious enough to think her a prophetess.
On the morrow both went their ways, he to visit the place of his
birth, and she to a new home in the west.
Not as the day before, weary trudgers on the highway, but with a new
life, and hearts singing a new song - the one song whose infinite variety never
"stales."
At her home in Ohio, they met again and resumed their journey on
life's valley and mountain road, and walked together to the measure of that
ever new song for nearly sixty years.
Ten years of the way she was blind, and he was eyes for her. Love never grew weary or faltered even once,
but his body failed, and one early morning as I watched beside his chair, his
head fell upon his breast. "The
silver cord was loosed." My father
had left life's highway, and rested not at the wayside inn, but Home.
The story of the landlady and her lover guests was told me by the
woman who was the heroine more than sixty years before the telling. She was now eighty-seven years of age, and
yet she told it with almost bated breath, a though it were a secret still, and
in tender accents, as if her lover three years in spirit land, might hear and
feel that she might not tell it even to her son.
She seemed to trip along the mountain road once more, though her
feet refused the carpet floor of home. Her
eyes were long since dead to the light of Heaven or loving face of friends, and
every physical power faltered at the threshold of dissolution, yet manner, tone
and accent showed love was strong. The
very day following, while in my arms, she ceased to breathe and rested; not as
one who lies down to dream, but as one whom the light of morning waketh.
Of eight children of Lewis, five are living. The brothers, Nathaniel, Jonathan, Lewis,
Owen and Isaiah, pursued their mechanical trades in connection with clearing
lands and farming. Being men of honest
character, and allied by marriage to good families, they exercised a large
influence for goof in this new country.
They were all families, they exercised a large influence for good in
this new country. They were all total
abstinence men except Jonathan, who in his early life was not. In politics they were all Whigs and among
the few men of their time who took a newspaper. Their descendants are to a man and woman Republicans or
Prohibitionists. Many were in the Union
army, some wounded and some slain. Upon
moral and educational questions they uniformly occupy advanced ground. Their position on questions pertaining to
good order may be inferred from the fact that all except Jonathan adhered to
the distinguishing doctrines of the Society of Friends.
The family of Jonathan, however, has demonstrated that this was
not necessary to the development of good sterling character. The five brothers were all ready talkers and
though high-tempered, wore bright, kindly faces. With one exception they were in stature above medium and all of
fine personal appearance. A personal
pride bordering on vanity was characteristic of them all. They had a certain habit of moderate
strutting, rising slightly on tiptoe, which told of blood descended from
knights of old who choose for their helmet's crest a peacock in full
bloom. None of the descendants of the
five have died of intemperance, and among them all there are not three moderate
drinkers. In religion some of them
adhere to the spiritual faith of their fathers. Many are Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists.
No imbecile or congenitally deformed child has been born to any of
David Maris's descendants, and there is no evidence of hereditary taint of any
kind in the family. No man has died of
consumption, though three women have.
Of the five brothers, Nathaniel, the eldest, died at the age of near 70
of paralysis, the others from disorders consequent upon senile decay. At one time during the life of the four
younger brothers, their ages aggregated three hundred and twenty year.
Western Marises have not accumulated large property. They are fair moneymakers, but not disposed
to invest for accumulation. It requires
but little money to make the average Maris rich. Ambition and necessity have developed in us a more desirable
quality, viz., ability to command good position in society without it.
The domestic qualities of the connections are of a very high
order. Levis, the revolutionary soldier
brother of David, was our only confirmed bachelor. Marrying well, early and often as circumstances require, is
characteristic of the family.
When you consider the fact that the average distance the western
members would have to travel is more than one thousand miles, you will not be
surprised that they are not all here. I
desire on their behalf to assure the active working members of your committee,
our hearty thanks. Our family, which
now numbers hundreds, would I doubt not, sanction my saying to you that we are
a fair class of common people, and I am equally sure that when you become
acquainted with us you will be impressed with the idea that it were well if
such common people were more common.
Members of our family have held places of public trust from school
directors to Legislatures.
This reunion will be to us "little less than a liberal
education." We had not dreamed of
ancestral bishops, barons or knights, and were innocent of any suspicion that
we were entitled to an heraldic coat-of-arms.
But even if our veins are warmed by noble blood, we would be
humbled if asked "to what purpose" in a land where every drop of
blood is royal, and emblems of distinction are the ornaments of children. Some of our people have a knowledge of the
distinguishing characteristics of the Society of which our ancestor of the line
of true nobility was a distinguished member, a few of the favored ones who in
youth were compelled to sandwich "piety promoted" between Dickens and
Thackeray, and Barclay's Apology and John Dymond's Essay's, between Robinson
Crusoe and Sandford and Merton.
A knowledge of life and its incidents has shown us that the good
boys and girls that were painted and died to order, were feeble imitations of
real religious character and their chroniclers not having a spark of genius,
the youths and the books are alike dead to some of us. Not so with Barclay, whom, to follow and
understand, is a thorough course in logic; or John Dymond's essays, whose
technical morality no philosopher dare with logic attack. The conflict, with error,
of these giants we do not forget.
Neither do we forget our own conflict with error, when, with simple
argument and pleading faces we fought earnestly as ever Paul fought with beasts
at Ephesus for the privilege of whistling a tune, singing a sentimental song or
devotional hymm, or playing a Jews-harp.
The conflict grew hot if we sought the privilege of going with some
youthful friends to even a Friends' meeting, if of an opposite ite or dox. Consigned, as we were, to wear clothing
invented to invite the terrible sword of ridicule, we stood between its biting
edge and disobedience to parents, who, in their tender love for us, would have
saved us from both but for the tyranny of society. The placard advertisements of spiritual life were burned into us
and, like all other surface burning, left a scar.
We learn from the opening address that our family name is almost
extinct in Europe, and, from statistics, that it is waning here.
Luxury is doubtless preying upon your vitals. We of the West have escaped its inroads and
are waxing to fine proportions.
We trust you will not regard us presumptuous in claiming that some
of the mantles of our ancestors have fallen upon western shoulders.
Our fathers taught and suffered for such doctrines as these: Woman is man's, equal, before God, in the
church. No priest stands between the
Soul and God. There can be no connubial relation between the State and the
Church. That where God's children meet
regularly for worship, there is a church, priest or no priest. That temperance is a virtue. That black men should be equal in Church and
before the law. That slaveholders should not be compromised with. No Western Maris votes the Democratic ticket.
We hold that woman is superior before God in the Church, and should
be equal before the law, and most of us advocate her right (as a right), to
every position and franchise within the gift of the State.
Protection to industry and capital; advertisement of civilization
by compulsory education, and the aid by General Government in this regard for
the Southern States; absolute control by law of the liquor traffic, are also in
our political creed.
You may be glad to learn that our worthy ancestor has a descendant
of the same name who has been doing good battle for prohibition in the
Legislature of Iowa, and he writes me that the temperance canvass in that State
keeps him from being with us to-day.
Hoping that you have some faith in us, we trust that you will add
it to charity for our failings and a generous appreciation of our
successes. We will covenant with you on
this to us sacred day to remember the motto of our ancestors, inscribed on the
beautiful memorials of this good time.
Be what we seem. Then, "If
God be for us, who can be against us?"
With the reading of this entertaining production of Mr. Jared
Maris the prepared programme of the occasion terminated.
The President having announced that Hon. John Welsh, late Minister
from the United States to Great Britain and Ireland was present, he would take
the liberty of introducing him. Mr.
Welsh came forward and spoke in substance as follows:
"MY KINSMAN: - Although unauthorized by me, I cheerfully
respond to the call of our honored President, with the assurance that it
affords me great pleasure to meet you all and to find before me so large a
gathering of our now numerous and widely-spread family. I may well be proud of such a connection.
A single household driven by religious persecution, in 1683,
sought a home here on this very spot, then a dense wilderness, and behold what
a multitude it has become!
I am fifth in descent from our revered ancestor, George
Maris. My mother was Jemima Maris,
daughter of Jesse, son of Joseph, son of Richard, son of George, and I am one
of one hundred and twenty-five descendants from my mother, now living. Thus I am one of you, and with you, I have
cordially and earnestly united honoring him, of whose character and life we
have so much reason to be proud.
Having done so, ought we not take our minds from the past and fix
them on the future? In the years to
come, we are to hold the same relation to our descendants, that George Maris does. Now is the moment that we should impress
this though upon ourselves - each one individually, so that we may so order our
lives that our descendants may have no less cause to honor our memories, that
we now have to honor the memory of George Maris of 1683, who endured
persecution for conscience sake, and imparted to us, through our blood; as we
trust, some of the virtue with which he was imbued.
I must say no more, you are already weary, and the day is far
spent, therefore, I bid you goodbye."
COMMITTEES
The committees upon the work of preparing for the event were
respectively as follows:
Grounds and Relics - - George Maris, Joseph P. Maris, John Leedom.
Finance - - Joshua Maris, John M. Broomall, William W. Maris.
Transportation - - Joshua Maris, Wilmington, Delaware.
A tent, of the camp meeting order, was erected outside the grove; wherein
bronze medals bearing a correct fac simile of the family's coat of arms,
together with a traditionary inscription, were sold to hundreds of eager
purchasers.
The number in attendance was generally rated at two thousand
persons, though some thought it much greater.
In every way the occasion far exceeded the expectation of those who
labored in front ranks in bringing about the affair, and a number of friends
from a distance, who were not expected, helped to swell the kindred
throng.
We have seldom seen so many vehicles at any gathering, the grove
and adjacent fields being literally filled with them, and the wonder of
everyone was where they all came from.
Every hoped for feature of the reunion was faithfully and satisfactorily
carried out, and we feel safe in saying that there has not been a larger or
more successful event of the kind ever held in this part of the State. Old and young vied in making everybody feel
at home, and in no particular was there one made feel that his best
anticipations had not been fully realized.
The many conveyances employed in carrying people to and from the
railroad station at Morton were kept busy until after sunset, and we heard the
driver of a single vehicle say, that he had carried over one hundred passengers
during the day. Taking his statement as
a guide, we may safely say that at least one thousand persons were thus
carried, which means of transportation was but a fraction of what the scene
presented to the eye during the day.
Many were obliged to quit the grove much earlier than they wished in
order to make sure of transportation to the station, while some, through fear
of missing the train, made this portion of their homeward trip on foot.
The press of Philadelphia and surrounding towns was well
represented, the representatives making copious notes of the occasion, and
generally according it one of the largest assemblages of the kind they had ever
witnessed.
FIRST
GENERATION
1. George
Maris, b. 1632, in England. In 1683, he
and his wife Alice, with their six children, came from Worcestershire to
America, and settled at “Home House,” in Springfield township, Chester (now
Delaware) county, Pa. He was one of the
Justices holding the Courts for Chester county, during the years
1684-85-86-87-88-90-93. Members of the
Provincial Council, in the year 1695.
He was a Minister in the Society of Friends, a member of Chester Monthly
Meeting, and took and active part therin.
For further account, see Bi-centennial Address. Died 11, 15, 1705. Alice died 1, 11, 1699; wehave been unable to learn anything
further in regard to her.
Appendix, Note 1. – "George Maris
emigrated from the parish of
Inkborough, in the Co. of Worcester, England, in 1683, with his wife Alice and
several children. On his first arrival
he appears to have tarried for a short time with the Friends that had arrived
the year before and settled at Darby, but he soon located a large tract of land
in Springfield township, whereon he settled & named it "The Home
House." He was among the most
eminent of the public Friends that came over with the first settlers, & was
so esteemed in his native country, where meetings had been held in his house,
& where he had suffered by fines & imprisonment. His certificate, which is recorded at Darby,
says, "He hath adorned the Gospel of Christ." He held many public trusts; was a Justice of
the Peace, one of the Judges of the Court, & on several occasions was
chosen a member of the Provincial Assembly.
He was one of those who signed the testimony against the celebrated George
Keith. The descendants of this worthy
patriarch are numerous; those bearing his name in this County, Chester Co.,
& in the city of Philadelphia, are probably all descended from him.
His death occurred in 1705, at the age of
seventy-three years; his wife having died nearly four years earlier. His children, so far as is known, were
Elizabeth who intermarried with John Mendenhall; George, with Jane Maddock;
Ann, with John Worrilow; John, with Susanna Lewis, of Haverford; and Richard,
with Elizabeth Hayes, of Marple."
(Alice with Jacob Simcock.) --Smith's History of Delaware Co., Pa.
Copy of the patent from Wm. Penn to George
Maris.
William Penn by the providence of God
& the King's authority Proprietary & Governor of the province of Pa.
& the territories thereunto belonging,
To all to whom these presents shall come
sendeth greeting --
Whereas, there is a certain tract of land
in the Co. of Chester Beginning at a corner marked post from thence North by a
line of Marked trees three hundred & eighty perches to a corner marked
white oak being the corner tree of the land of Batholomew Coppock from thence
South West by West by the sd land five hundred & seventy-five perches to a
corner marked post from thence North by West by a line of marked trees three
hundred and fifteen perches to a corner marked Maple tree standing by Darby
creek from thence downe the severall courses of the creek to a corner marked
post standing by ye sd creek from thence South by West by a line of marked
trees two hundred & ninety-seven perches to a corner marked post being the
cornerpost of the land of George Simcock from thence North West by a line of
marked trees one hundred & sixty perches to the first mentioned corner post
containing four hundred Acres of land granted by a warrant from myself bearing
date the sixth day of the eighth month one thousand six hundred and
eighty-three, and laid out by the surveyor general’s order ye twenty-fifth of
ye 8 month and year unto George Maris purchaser & ye sd George Maris requesting
me to confirm the same by patent.
KNOW Ye that I have given granted &
confirmed & by these presents for me my heirs & successors do give
grant and confirm unto the sd George
Maris his heirs and assigns forever the said four hundred Acres of land.
TO HAVE HOLD AND ENJOY Ye land ye only use
and behoof of ye said George Maris his heirs and assigns forever to be holden
of me my heirs & successors proprietarys of Pennsylvania & the
territories thereunto belonging as of our manner of Spring Town in the county
aforesaid in free and common Socage by fealty it being seated planted and
improved yielding and paying therefore to me my heirs and successors at or upon
the first day of the first month in every year at the town of Chester one
silver English shilling for every hundred Acres or value thereof in coyn
currency to such persons as shall from time to time be appointed for ye
purpose.
In Witness hereof I have caused these my
letters to be made patent.
Witness myself at Philadelphia the
thirtieth day of the fifth month one thousand six hundred and eighty-four being
the thirty-fifth year of the king’s reign and the fourth of my government
SECOND
GENERATION
Children
of George (1) and Alice Maris
2. Alice,
b. 8, 17, 1660; m. 11, 15, 1684, at an
appointed meeting at Chester, to Jacob Simcock, son of John and Elizabeth. Died 10, 10, 1726.
Appendix, Note 2. – “John Simcock. NO early settler in Pennsylvania possessed
the confidence of the Proprietary to a greater extent than John Simcock. Arriving in the Province about the same time
with Penn, he was immediately taken into his council, a position he occupied
till 1690. Besides being a member of
the Free Society of Traders, he was on his own account one of the largest purchasers
of Pennsylvania lands, in England. His
place of residence was Ridley, in Cheshire.
Upon his arrival he located 2,875 acres of his purchase east of Ridley
creek, and immediately back of a tier of Swedish plantations that occupied the
whole river front, in what subsequently became the township of Ridley – named
no doubt from the place whence he emigrated.
Besides being one of the Council, he was a
member of Assembly and sometimes speaker of that body; was a justice of the
Court and frequently presided; was a Commissioner to settle a difficulty with
Lord Baltimore, and deputy president of the Free Society of Traders. In England he had been a severe sufferer on
account of his devotion to the principles and practices of the Quakers. At one time he was imprisoned fifteen
months, and at different times his persecutors distrained from him property to
the amount of several hundred pounds.
The various secular employments in which he was engaged after his
arrival in this country had no effect in lessening his zeal in ‘the cause of
truth.’ He was here a nursing father in
Israel, tender over the seed of God, and wherever he saw it in the least
appearance, he was a cherisher of it without respect to persons; but he
abhorred deceit and hypocrisy. As a
preacher in the Society, a few in his time had a better standing. In very early times meetings were held at
his house, and though his time was much occupied with business, his religious
duties were not neglected. He found opportunities
to pay religious visits to the neighboring provinces of Maryland and Virginia,
and even to New England. He was active
in visiting George Keith with a view of restoring him to the true faith, but
after all efforts had failed, he joined in the testimony against him. He died on 7th of the 3rd month
(March) 1703?, aged 73? Years, having on the day before his death expressed to
those around him his confidence in the faith that he had kept and in its
sufficiency to secure life eternal.
“Jacob Simcock, son of John the elder,
immigrated to this country with him and settled in Ridley. Early in the year 1683, he was married to
Alice, daughter of George Maris of the “Home House,” in Springfield
township. He also, like his father, was
a public Friend, traveled as a minister, and held public trusts. He was appointed Deputy Register General
under James Claypole in 1686, and possibly for a short time resided in
Philadelphia. He died about the year
17??. His wife survived him ten years. Their children were John, Jacob, Benjamin,
Hannah, and Mary” – Smith’s History of Delaware County, Pa.
3. George,
b. 10, 2, 1662; m. 1690,Jane Maddock, daughter of Henry. She died 6, 28, 1705. He married 6, 7, 1718, Jane Hayes, widow of
Jonathan of Merion, and daughter of Edward Rees. Was a member of Assembly in 1717. Died in 1753?
Appendix Note 3. – “Mordecai Maddock was
the oldest son of Henry Maddock, of ? Hall, Cheshire, England.
In 1681, Henry and his brother-in-law
James Kenerly, purchased 11500 acres of land in Pennsylvania and arrived here
some time before the Proprietary, in 1682.
In 1683 part of this joint purchase, supposed to be 800 acres, but
really more than 1100 acres, was located in Springfield adjoining Ridley, and
James established his residence upon it.
In a few years afterward James died, leaving his share of the joint purchase
to his nephew, the subject of this notice, and shortly afterwards, his father
Henry, who returned to England, conveyed the other half to him. Mordecai appears to have made a visit to
Pennsylvania about the year 1687, and remained here for some time, but returned
to England and it was not till 1701, that he returned with his family, and
fixed his permanent home on his estate.
He was in membership with Friends.” – Smith’s History of Delaware
County, Pa.
4. Elizabeth,
b. 2, 3, 1665; m. 1685, John Mendenhall, of Concord. In 1697 they gave to the Society of Friends, the land on which
the Concord Meeting House was built.
Appendix, Note 4. – “John Mendenhall came
from England, from a town of Suffolk, called Meddenhall ?, that being the
original family name. He was one of the
earliest settlers in Concord, and in 1685 he was married to Elizabeth, the
daughter of George Maris, of Springfield township. He was a Friend, and was active and influential in the
Society. In 1797 he granted the ground
occupied Concord Friends’ Meeting House and graveyard. In 1708, his wife being deceased, he
contracted a second marriage with Hester Dix.
He was one of the original shareholders of the first Concord mill. His children by his first wife were George,
John and Aaron. It is not known that he had any by his second wife.” – Smith’s
History of Delaware County, Pa.
5. Ann, b.
6, 18, 1667; m. 8, 14, 1690, at an appointed meeting at the house of
Bartholomew Coppock, Jr. in Springfield, John Worrilow, son of Thomas of
Edgemont.
Appendix, Note 5. – Thomas Worrilow was
settled in Edgmont as early as 1690 and possibly earlier. He called his place ???, which was probably
the name of the place in England from which he emigrated. He was in membership with Friends. The time of his death is not exactly
known. His widow died at Philadelphia
in 1710? - Smith’s History of Delaware County, Pa.
“Thomas Worrilow, a son of the above named
Thomas was settled in the County as early as 1687. In 1690 he was married to Ann, the daughter of George Maris, of
Springfield. As a member of the Society
of Friends, he was more active than his father. His place of residence was Edgmont. - Smith’s History of
Delaware County, Pa.
6. John, b.
3, 21, 1669; m. 9, 21, 1693, at Haverford Meeting, Susanna Lewis of
Haverford. Member of Assembly in
1709-12-16-19-20. He was the owner of
the “Home House,” in Springfield, where he resided. Died 1, 8, 1747.
7. Richard,
b. 9, 20, 1672; m. 1698, Elizabeth Hayes, daughter of Jonathan and Ann of
Marple. Member of the Assembly in
1714. Died in 1745. She died 8, 9, 1720.
Appendix, Note 6. – “Jonathan Hayes with
his wife (Ann), was settled in Marple as early as 1684. He was much the largest landholder in that
township, was a man of ability and influence, and appears to have acted on his
own judgment. He was a Justice of the
Court, and represented the County in the Provincial Assembly. He had a daughter Mary (Elizabeth), a son Jonathan and perhaps
other children. Many intermarried with
Evan Lewis of Newton, and Jonathan with Jane Rees of Merion, (Elizabeth with
Richard Maris of Springfield.) - Smith’s History of Delaware County, Pa.