History of Delaware County (Ashmead)

While George Smith stands as the father of all Delco histories, Henry Graham Ashmead perfected the work started by Dr. Smith. Of the dozens of books, pamphlets and plays published by Mr. Ashmead; the book that he is most remembered for is 'History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania'. Published in 1884, it is a comprehensive documentary of Delaware County - its people, history and culture. Henry Ashmead writes, "The present history has been written with the purpose of presenting, as far as could be done in a single volume, an authentic, exhaustive and unbiased narrative of the events which have occurred in Delaware Count from the period of the early settlements within its territory to the present time".

Though only published 22 years after George Smith's similar title, Mr. Ashmead had an entire nation and county behind him. In his own words he explains, "Since the publication of the admirable History of Delaware County, written by Dr. George Smith, nearly a quarter of a century ago, the interest awakened in the National Centennial resulted in directing general attention in almost every locality through the country to its early annals, and as a consequence in Delaware County, at least, much historical material was reclaim from the past of which Dr. Smith could have had no information while preparing his works for the press." The great national excitement stirred up in 1876 from our nations 100th anniversary brought to light a great wealth of information, leaving George Smith's history obsolete.

Henry Ashmead's career was as diverse and impressive as any 19th century historian. He attended private schools in West Chester and practiced law, he extensively traveled around the country and wrote many diverse styles of literature. It was once written of him:

His writings have ever been characterized by that which is approved by the highest standards - clearness of style and smoothly flowing diction. It is to be said in all truthfulness that his pen has never been used in an unworthy cause. Whether as editor, writer or speaker, his one object has been the exploitation, forcefully, yet never outside the bounds of truthfulness, the accomplishments of those men of the past and of the present, too, who have stood for the best that there is in citizenship in their devotion to public interests and worthy causes, and all that goes to the establishment and development of an ideal community. To his tasks he has brought a wide range of abilities. A deep student of books, a close observer of events and a rare judge of men, and uniting the knowledge of the historian, the wise discrimination of the critic, and the well tempered judgment of the philosopher. He has through a long and peculiarly useful life, endowed himself with all the equipment necessary for his labors in promoting the up building of the historic city and county in which he takes a genuinely hearty pride.

The Horne history runs throughout the book - Ashmead documents our involvement in Delco civil history - our support of public libraries, petitioning the government for a road and other events that have built Delaware County into the great county it is today. One of my favorite recollections of the Horne's appears on page 284 where he tells a tale of fox hunting (a sport widely practiced in Delaware County):

The old fox-hunters of a past generation used to relate a notable chase on Tinicum, which occurred as long ago as Saturday, Feb. 1, 1824. On that morning, about eleven o'clock, John Irwin and James Burns, George Litzenberg, Philip Rudolph, and others started a fox on the island, and after a warm run the dogs were within fifty yards of him, when he sprang on the roof of an oven, then to a shed adjoining the house of Mr. Horne, jumped in at the second-story window, and neither huntsmen nor hound hand noticed it. A boy looking on told where the fox had gone, and one of the hunters, ascending the shed, entered the room and pushed down the sash. Just as he did this a girl of the family came in the room and shut the door. The fox, finding exit from the apartment by the door closed, ran to the chimney, which he ascended. From its top he sprang to the roof of the house and thence to the ground. He was not captured unil near sunset when he holed at the root of a hollow tree...

It's stories like these that can't be found in census, birth records and other genealogical materials... it's stories like these that fuel a collector's desires. Thank you Mr. Ashmead.