A History of Delaware County (Jordan)

Jordan, John Woolf. A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and Its People. Lewis Historical Publication Company, 1914.

Though not as widely recognized as Ashmead and Smith's Histories of Delaware County; John W. Jordan's history is definitely on the same level as his predecessors. Rather than a chronological history of the county, he divides his works by topic - township histories, agriculture, churches, newspapers, Civil/Spanish American War, members of Congress, family and personal histories, etc. As a result, his works are easy to use. Researching is a breeze when you can browse to the chapter of interest and find the information you are looking for.

Mr. Jordan's literary career extends far beyond Delaware County. He also authored 'Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania', 'Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania', 'Historical, Biographical and Genealogical: Relating Chiefly to Interior Pennsylvania' and dozens more. I was unable to find much information on the life of John W. Jordan. I did locate a few discussions on a message board concerning his family history so maybe between now and my post on his next book, I'll do some more research to find out who Mr. Jordan was...

The publishers did insert a forward the explains the work quite nicely:

It was the consensus of opinion of many native residents of Delaware county, Pennsylvania, - men deeply interested in its history and proud of the impress its people have ever made upon the character of the State and Nation - that the time had come when a comprehensive history of this remarkable region would prove an invaluable contribution to the literature not only of the country itself, but of the commonwealth, and of the country at large. With this encouragement, and the assistance of unusually well informed antiquarians and annalists, the publishers undertook the present work, "A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and Its People". This include a comprehensive resume of the history of the county, from its colonization down to the present day. The narrative down to 1862 is based upon the elaborate history of Dr. George Smith, published that year. While not at all slighting the periods covered by that accomplished historian, due attention has been given in the present work, to the marvelous development of the county during the half century which has passed away since the appearance of his publication.

The value in this set to me lies in its mention of Amos Johnson, an individual who inspired the family name Amos Johnson Horne of which my son is the 4th in that line. Volume 3 contains the only written mention of Amos that I have found (other than census and vital records) so it is especially important to me. I'm grateful that the publishers and authors set out to document the history of the county and update the record to the "present time". Without these works, our history would be lost.

A Survey of Mills in Delaware County, Pennsylvania 1826-1880

Case, Robert P.. A Survey of Mills in Delaware County, Pennsylvania 1826-1880. Pennsylvania: Delaware County Historical Society, 2004.

This recent publication by Dr. Robert P. Case lists all of the mills that were in operation during the 1826-1880 time period. Dr. Case and associates did an excellent job of summarizing the information in table form. He included location, products produced, owners, locations and much more. Though I was unable to find any of my ancestors, this would prove to be a valuable resource for those related to former mill owners.

Barn Find - Atlas of Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Miller, William S.. Farm Line and Borough Atlas of Delaware County, Penna.. E.W Smith, 1892.

In the world of car collecting, when someone finds a rare car tucked away in a garage or barn, it is known as a barn find. Cars worth hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars have been found in common and otherwise insignificant garages around the world. Barn finds are so coveted that they are often sold as with little to no restoration ever completed. Extending this concept to book collecting, I've come across a few 'barn finds' in the last few years. One of my favorites is my copy of the 'Farm Line and Borough Atlas of Delaware County'.

I was notified about this book, having been recently listed on Ed Rogers Rare and Out of Print Geoscience Books. Ed specializes in science based and geology Atlases. I never asked but somehow he came in possession of this little gem. It's in superb condition, his wife did a great job of repairing some tears on the maps. As far as atlases goes, they don't come in much better condition than this. After exchanging a few emails with Ed, he admitted he didn't know much about the atlas as it fell outside his realm of expertise. Lucky for me, these little beauties rarely come up for sale so there isn't a large bank of sales data for him to have priced out it's value. He was asking $800 for it but agreed to sell it for a reduced price since it didn't have much place with his clientele. I obviously bought it immediately and several days later had this fine atlas resting in my library.

These early atlases are large in size (24"x36") and consist of hand colored maps of each of the township in the county. In addition, they contain landownership information on each of the plots. This atlas is significant to me (other than the fact it's a Delco atlas) - my great-grandfather, Charles Horne's land in listed on Tinicum Island.

It just goes to show, with a little bit of research and being tuned into the book community can pay large dividends. You never know when your next "barn find" will surface.

Baldwin's Book Barn

Another stop on my Pennsylvania bookstore trip was Baldwin's Book Barn in West Chester, PA. Baldwin's has always been special to me, it's one of the first antiquarian bookstores I visited and probably led to my addiction of old books.

Located in the Brandywine Valley of Chester County, Baldwin's is a 19th Century barn, built by the Darlington family in 1822. It was purchased by the Baldwin family in 1964 to be converted into a bookstore. It presently houses over 300,000 books on five stories. They did a wonderful job of preserving the barn feel - much of the store is still heated with a wood burning stove giving the shop a smokey, drafty warmth. The floors are original split timber that creak as you make your way up and down the narrow stairways dividing the floors. Each floor is packed with shelves and narrow aisles, making an almost impenetrable labyrinth of books. However, just when you feel like you're going to be overwhelmed with books, you happen upon a quite corner with a period chair set up for reading (or resting).

Nostalgia aside... this had been the first time I'd been back to Baldwin's Book Barn in probably ten years. For an amatuer book enthusiast it's quite impressive, so I was curious what it would be like as a semi-serious collector. I can only speak for the books of my genre, so other areas of the store may be different but overall I was disappointed. Their offerings were common at best... they mostly consisted of pamphlets and cheap local histories. Their small "rare" book area did carry a few classics but all of them were in poor condition and overpriced. I tried to negotiate with the gentleman there but he was only able to reduce the price by a few dollars; not bring it to an acceptable, competitive price. Two examples of this were 'Records of the Courts of Chester County, Pennsylvania' - they were asking $120, a quick search of Abebook.com revealed several copies of similar quality at $80 and below. The best they could offer me was $110. They had a set of 'Chester and Delaware Counties' for $400 - volume 2 had a detached board and water damage with mold - G.S. MacManus had the same copy for $200 in near perfect condition. I will say that it did help me realize how good G.S. MacManus' prices are... he's competitively priced at market value AND his quality far exceeds what's available in the market.

Though disappointing, it was worth the stop. It was fun visiting the place it all began - I'll probably stop back again. It's fun just exploring the levels and layers of their collection. Small bookstores are always worth your time - you never know when you'll find tucked away in their shelves a diamond in the rough. I should do my next post on book barn finds...

G.S. MacManus Co.

Last month, while spending the holidays in Pennsylvania with my family, I was able to visit G.S. MacManus Co. bookstore. Founded in the 1940's by George S. MacManus, his company has grown to be the premier bookstore in southeastern Pennsylvania. Their collection consists of over "45,000 cataloged titles focuses on primarily 18th and 19th century Americana with specialties such as Voyages and Travels, Local Histories, Indians and the West and the Civil War. Also included in our collection are English and American literary first editions, Limited Edition Club selections and Books about Books". Today it is owned by George MacManus' partner's son (that's a mouth full), Clarence Wolf. Over the last few years of book buying Clarence has become not only a supplier of high quality rare and antiquarian books but also a mentor in book collecting. He's sold me some of my best pieces including a leather, signed copy of 'Genealogy of the Smedley Family'; 1870 H.W. Hopkins, 'Atlas of Delaware County'; 1909 Frank H.M. Klinge, 'Atlas of Delaware County' and has put many other hard-to-find family and local histories on my library's shelves.

To understand my excitement in visiting this store, you have to consider the situation I am in... I collect Pennsylvania books with a focus on Delaware and Chester County family and local histories. Living in the middle of Utah, there aren't many bookstores to shop. So all of my collecting thus far has been done online. I realize we live in a global age where commerce is conducted easily over the internet, however, purchasing rare books online is difficult. It often involves requesting detailed photos, asking questions, getting more photos, negotiating prices then waiting for the books to arrive. Not bad... but to be able to walk the aisles of a bookstore filled with thousands of books that pertain to my collection... well... that's a dream.

I had a high expectation for Clarence's store, I've spent hours searching his online lists and he's sent me dozens of photos of books. Even with a basic understanding of his content, I wasn't prepared for what I was going to find. His shop consists of floor to ceiling shelves, often times 12+ feet tall, of every kind of book imaginable. His section of Pennsylvania, family and local histories had nearly every book on my wish list and even a few that I had never heard of. He had multiple copies of nearly every book, giving you the choice of modern prints, modern re-backings, original cloth, leather - every combination and option.

One book that I was specifically going to see was his copy of 'Genealogy of the Sharpless Family', 1887 by Gilbert Cope. This book has been in my top ten list of books I couldn't find and here he had 4 copies (he probably needs to work on updating his inventory system or he's masterfully controlling the prices). All in all, I exercised some self constraint and only came away with four books (pictured) - Genealogy of the Sharpless Family by Gilbert Copy, 1887; Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties Pennsylvania by Henry Graham Ashmead, 1904; and History of Chester County, Pennsylvania by Gilbert Cope, 1881. I'm looking forward to my next trip to Pennsylvania and some more time to peruse G.S. MacManus' collections. I'm sure over the coming years, we'll build my collection into something great.

History of Madison County, New York

Smith, James H.. History of Chenango and Madison County, New York. New York: Mason & Co., 1880. This local history covers both Chenango and Madison counties in central New York. I added this title to my collection for its chapter on DeRuyter, New York and its mention of my ancestor, Chester Benjamin who settled the Village of DeRuyter in the early 1700's. As you can see in the photo the book has its original spine and boards. The spine has been repaired by being overlaid a modern backing. Given the quality of the repair and the price reduction because of it (it sold for about a quarter of its value) it was well worth the sacrifice.

I was fortunate enough to travel to Madison and Chenango counties in November to visit the places documented in this book. Madison County consists of the familiar rolling Adirondack hills, broken only by the miles of finger lakes.

With the help of books like these I was able to find the lands that my ancestors settled and farmed over two hundred years ago. Long since sold away from the family, the only remaining reminder of these pioneers are the small farm cemeteries tucked away in patches of trees between the tilled land. If it weren't for the help of several local genealogists, I would have never believed that Revolutionary War cemeteries had been abandoned in such remote locations. However, armed with GPS coordinates I took off on foot into the forests looking for these small, long forgotten treasures.

The first cemetery I came upon was in Cuyler, just a few miles from DeRuyter. Finding this cemetery was a small miracle. I had found it mentioned in several books I own but only knew it was in Cuyler, NY. After many months of looking for a modern listing, I enlisted the help of several friends and fellow genealogists in the area. One woman, Nancy, traveled to the local historical society and located the cemetery in an Atlas published in the mid-1800's. Luckily this region hasn't changed much in the last 200 years so many of the original dirt road still existed and with a little effort she was able to locate the cemetery.

Located just s feet off a dirt road (which fortunately my rental car was able to traverse), the cemetery had been so neglected and over grown you could barley make out the tombstones. I was grateful that of the thirty or so tombstones scattered amongst the woods, my ancestors were two of only a few still standing. I didn't have much time but I took an hour to clean, uncover and otherwise expose the dozens of stones that had long been forgotten. It was sad to be standing alone, in such a remote portion of upstate-New York, honoring a group of pioneers that time had forgotten. It's a shame that local groups can't organize sufficiently to keep these sites cleaned, documented and preserved. Through my quick efforts I was able to photograph 30 individuals interred there. I entered the cemetery into the databases at FindAGrave and added the photos so hopefully other will be able to enjoy the cemetery as much as I did.

Cuyler, Madison County, New York

Tombstone of Darius Benjamin, served in the Revolutionary War with the

Ulster County Militia, Third Regiment, Capt. Frederick Schoonmaker's Company

His wife Charity

Tombstone worn past recognition

Damaged and partially buried

Infant Burdick

The next cemetery I encountered was the Merchant Family cemetery located in DeRuyter, NY. In 1796, Gideon Foster was the first death of a white settler in DeRuyter, NY. In a book published in 1872, it's written, "a burial ground was then laid out, on the farm of Elijah Benjamin, and here, for the first time, the earth closed over the body of a white settler". Later Elijah sold his land to Bradley Merchant, he later sold it to the Smith family. As a result, the cemetery often goes by the Smith Family Cemetery or the Merchant Family Cemetery. Regardless of the name many of the early Benjamin are buried here. This cemetery was much easier to find. Like a beacon, a ring of white pine trees encircled the plot in the middle of a large field.

The cemetery from a distance

Nestled amongst this fortress of trees was a small, family cemetery carefully guarded with a wrought iron fence around its perimeter. It was perched on a small hill overlooking the surrounding farms and wooded landscapes. It appeared to be fairly well maintained with many of the tombstones having been repaired and the grass neatly cut. Seeing the names of the people I had so carefully studied in my family tree and in the local history was rewarding. I was able to photograph the 90 or so tombstones there and also add them to the FindAGrave database. In the Merchant family cemetery was my 5th Great-grandfather, Elias Benjamin. Elias was one of the founding pioneers of that region and had served in the War of 1812. He was the father of William F. Benjamin, a physician, Civil War veteran and mason.

Views from the Merchant Family Cemetery


Elias Benjamin's tombstone

My trip was overwhelmingly rewarding - I was honored to stand on these hallowed lands and honor my ancestors who had contributed so much to my family and our nation. This trip combined my love of family history with my curious need to explore. I appreciate all the help I received in preparing from my friends and researchers on Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com. It also reinforced in my mind the value of my book collection and the great rewards that can be reaped by collecting and studying early works. I look forward to future trips back to Madison County and other parts of the country that my ancestors inhabited. There are hundreds of years worth of stories and knowledge trapped within our records. It's up to us to find them, explore them and bring them to life.

Chester (And Its Vicinity) Delaware County

Chester (and its Vicinity), Delaware County, in Pennsylvania; With Genealogical Sketches of Some Old Families was published in 1877 by W.H. Pile and Sons. Authored by John Hill Martin, the publication was a "limited edition to 500 subscribers". In his work, Martin provides a classic "history of" outlining the history of Chester and it's surrounding county of Delaware. Martin's personal collection is now housed at the University of Delaware. Their website provided the following biography:

"Author, editor, genealogist, illustrator, lawyer, and publisher John Hill Martin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1823. Martin, who remained single, became well known in Pennsylvania for his writings about genealogy, history, and marine insurance. His parents were William Martin and Sarah Ann Smith (b. 1801-d. 1876), and his grandparents were Dr. William Martin, Jr. (d. 1862) and Eleanor Crosby (who later married John F. Hill) and Margaret S. and William Smith, Jr. His father gave up his law practice to move to the Lungren House near Lungren Mills, which he named Lenni Mills after the Lenni Lenape Indians of Delaware. These mills later became Lenni Station, which was part of the Philadelphia, West Chester, and Media Railroad. After his father’s faltering career in the mills in the late 1820s, Martin was sent to live with his grandparents, the Hills, who lived on a farm (possibly called Martin’s Plantation) in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

When his family moved to Chester after his father was elected Secretary of the Delaware County Insurance Company, Martin returned to his parents’ home. Young Martin attended the Ridley School. At fifteen Martin was appointed a midshipman to West Point. He wrote that he was “too young and entirely unprepared for the course of education persued [sic.] at the Military Academy.” In 1841 after a checkered experience, he was asked to leave. He returned to Philadelphia where he studied law under George L. Ashmead. Martin was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1844, and practiced law until 1881. He concentrated his cases on the admiralty and insurance.

John Hill Martin incorporated his love of history and literature into his everyday life. For almost fifty years he was the legal editor for the Insurance Intelligencer (Philadelphia Intelligencer), and became an author and publisher in the 1870s. Many of his summers were spent in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His fondness for the town inspired him to chronicle its history in a two-volume edition called Historical Sketch of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, with Some Account of the Moravian Church (1872-1873). At the same time he wrote “Sketches in the Lehigh Valley,” which were several articles written for the Bethlehem Daily Times. Martin edited and published Historical Notes on Music in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania by Rufus A. Grider. He also published Martin’s Bench and Bar of Philadelphia (1873) and his work Chester (and its Vicinity) Delaware County, in Pennsylvania (1877). A member of the Moravian Historical Society and the Pennsylvania Historical Society, he bequeathed many of his papers to the latter. By 1897 Martin lived in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He died in 1906."

The copy I'm presenting today is extremely special. It not only is signed by the author but also was a gift presented to Rear Admiral Peirce Crosby by John Hill Martin. Both their signatures appear in the book. Attached throughout the book are handwritten notes by both John Hill Martin and Admiral Crosby outlining the the Crosby family history contained within the book.

Peirce Crosby (16 January 1824 – 15 June 1899) was an rear admiral in the United States Navy, whose active duty career included service in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. Rear Admiral Peirce Crosby died at Washington, D.C., on 15 June 1899 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The destroyer USS Crosby (DD-164) was named after him.

In addition to these famous people, my own ancestors appear in the book. Mentioned is Thomas Horne and his proprietorship of a Tavern in Delaware County. Not much but a nice little glimpse into his life.