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THOMAS PASCHALL, B by Clarence McDaniel June 1998
It has been said that Thomas Paschall was the first of his name in Pennsylvania; that is a pretty concept but may not be true. It may be said that Thomas was the first of his line in America. Thomas was a tradesman from of the city of Bristol. His lineage is traceable in England to about 1541. Thomas was born in Bristol, England, on 3, 8th month, 1634. He was baptized in the Anglican Church of St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, on 29 December, 1634. He married Joanna Sloper there about 1664. In 1682 Thomas purchased of William Penn 500 acres of land in Pennsylvania. Most authorities agree that Thomas embarked for America in that year in the ship, "Society".
Thomas arrived in Philadelphia, settled down a bit, and soon wrote back to his former home. His singular letter, dated February, 1683, to J.J. of Chippingham, England, told an account of the conditions of Philadelphia from a tradesmans viewpoint. The letter was copied, translated into French, Dutch and German and found its way before the eyes of those Europeans that were thinking of migration.
The letter related how, that first winter, Thomas had ordered suitable quarters for his servants to be built on his 500 acres and said that he had obtained adequate housing for himself and family. This shows us that Thomas was far from poor, and he was in a relatively built-up area. He warns would be immigrants to bring their wants for six months with them and he gave the prices of the local vendors and stated that the price was not "too dear".
The land that Thomas had bought from William Penn was located in the country, was west of the Schuylkill River and bounded on the west by Cobb's Creek, the dividing line between Philadelphia and Delaware counties. This land was set off in the famous Holmes map of 1685.
The land designated to Thomas in that map was bounded by natural and artifical means. The natural boundaries were: Swedes Mill Creek(Cobb's Cr) and a branch flowing south into the creek. The artifical boundaries were: A line beginning north of the junction of the branch and the creek which ran north. At a certain distance north, a second line bearing norteasterly(greater than 90 degrees from the first line) was struck. The second line ran to its intersection with the northern extreme of the branch. The property circuit was completed by going down(south) the branch to its junction with Swedes Mill Creek, then up the creek to the beginning. The land thus inscribed does not approach the Schuylkill River at any of its boundaries. This second line is probably where some prior investigators have gone astray as the line coninues on to strike a branch which feeds into the Schuylkill. This land is clearly shown to belong to Neels and Morris Johnson and further south to Lawrance Hedding and Peter Yocomb. The first natural boundary should not be disregarded.
Thomas apparently devised the southern 200 acres of his land to his son, Thomas. Thomas, B2, then built a fence between his father's land and his which encroached on his father's land. In his will, Thomas,B, required that his son remove the fence so that he could devise a full 300 acres to be sold for his grandchildrens benifit. The son, Thomas,B2, in his will devised the parcel of land upon which he resided to his son, Stephen. The description of which reads: In Blockley township; beginning at Swedes Mill Creek, N by the old bounds, 148 perches to a corner, then S 63 deg E 250 perches to a small run(branch), which divides my land from that of Neal Jones, then down the run to its mouth (junction) running into Swedes Mill Creek, up the creek to the beginning, containing 200 acres.
Reference to a 1712 map of Philadelphia County shows that Baltimore Ave was the east-west dividing line between Blockley and Kingsessing townships. The land west of the branch was in Blockley to its junction with Cobb's Creek. Thus all the 500 acre grant was located in Blockley township. An 1890 map shows this area developed into Angora Station and that the branch had the name, "Thomas Run".
In order to obtain 500 acres from this land as so far defined, the northern boundary must go to the vicinity of Winchester Rd(1890). This would be Market St as later extended.
The above quite lengthly description was due to the many "tales" of where the original land was located that the author has occasioned to find. It could be better defined by the even more lengthly task of deed tracing, but I feel the above is sufficient to acquaint the reader with the misconceptions he will encounter. The most common of these is that the land the third generation (John, Stephen and Jonathan) held in Paschalville was on the original acreage of the grant.
The executors of the will of Thomas sold 100a of the 300a in 1719. The deed is located in Book H1 p685. This deed describes the original 500a and gives many additional references and descriptions. This deed was recorded in 1751.
When Thomas arrived in America, Philadelphia was a "planned" city, the dream of William Penn. It was at first mostly a dream and not a reality. The purchase of 500 acres had entitled Thomas to a city lot and he set up his shop and became one of the legions of Philadelphia merchants. Thomas was a "pewterer" which means he fabricated household utensils of metal, usually tin and cast lead-tin alloys. His lot with shop and house was situated near the small central "market" which ran along the center of todays Market St. from the dock area to 2nd St.
There is found in Deed Book E1 p233, the deed of Anna Lee to Thomas. She was the widow of Charles Lee as shown by this and other deeds in the same book. Her husband must have died in 1685 as indicated by another of her deeds where she completes a contract made by him. There seems to be another Anna Lee making a deed to Thomas who is the daughter of Charles Lee.
Thomas made his will in 1716 and it was probated in 1718. He made his surviving son, Thomas, his chief heir but ordered 300 acres of his grant sold and divided among his 21 grandchildren and greatgrandchild. An earlier attempt (ref: W H Jinks) to ascertain the names of these children came up with 17. Here is a later rendition, those living 1716:
by dau, Mary 1. Joanna Say marr Wm Say 2. Mary Say 3. Paschal Say 4. Elizabeth Say 5. Thomas Say by son, William 6. William by son, Thomas 7. Thomas 8. Joanna 9. William 10. Joseph 11. Elizabeth 12. John 13. Benjamin 14. Samuel 15. Stephen by dau, Elizabeth 16. John Flower marr Henry Flower 17. Thomas Flower 18. Seth Flower 19. Henry Flower, Jr. 20. Enoch Flower
Mary and her second husband, Benjamin, had no children. Wm Say, Jr. was the son of Wm Say's first wife. Henry and Elizabeth had seven children. The order given above may not be correct by birth. Elizabeth died before her father and Henry remarried.
The children of Thomas and Joanna were members of the Friends or Quakers and it is with the well kept birth, death and quaint marriage and removal records of this group that we owe quite a bit of the knowledge of this family. The Quakers required strict attendance to their marriage requirements. These marriage ceremonies were attended by the entire meeting which then signed, as witnesses, the marriage certificate, some of these containing fifty or more signatures. When a member left the local area of one congregation for that of another he obtained a certificate of removal which was again normally signed by the group. The certificate was surrendered to the receiving meeting which kept it on file. Many thousands of these certificates are among the surviving records. We note here, while on the subject of these records, that Joanna, the wife of Thomas, was buried with the notation, "burials of such as are not Friends". This notation indicates that Joanna and presumably, Thomas, were not members of the Friends but were buried by them anyway.
The surviving two sons and daughter married and raised families. From the records we can see the numerous births and early deaths of a large number of their children. Life was no picnic in early Phillie; it was chancey at best.
The two sons of Thomas, William and Thomas, had different aspirations in life. William became one of Philadelphia's first silversmiths while Thomas took up the life of the gentleman country farmer in Blockley township. William very likely had his shop with his father using the same forges and tools, whereas Thomas started with 200 acres of his father's land.
The following is a short description of some of the descendants of Thomas and Joanna:
William, B1
From a tax list of 1684 we find William was born about 1666. William had by 1693 married Susannah Budd, the daughter of Thomas (not John) Budd. William and Susannah had a son after which William soon died (1696) leaving a will. In his will, William, silversmith, left a legacy of L150 to his son, William. The money was to remain in the custody of Susannah. She then obtained from her father a building and lot known as the 4th building in "Budds Row" on Front St. This was an investment for her son William during his minority. In 1718 when William reached his majority Susannah (now Susannah Cropp) transferred this property to her son, \<sole heir of his father.\> An unfortunate misreading (in print) has caused some confusion but the above story is abundantly supported by the deed records.
William, B11
William,B11, has sometimes been regarded as "William of the Land Grants" of North Carolina. However, it is certain now that he died in Philadelphia on September 28, 1751. William did not follow his father's trade but instead became a "sadler" or maker of saddles. It was a very common thing in these early days to append a persons trade to their name, as a further means of identification. William like his father and grandfather, had a shop on High St between Front and 2nd streets. His next door neighbor in 1741 was George Miffin.
In 1717, William married Sarah England and they had a number of children. The Friends death records list their deaths and those of a number of their children. These early records did not show the age at death but when the person was a child the parents first names were also listed. No parents names were included for the death of an adult. Since these are sometimes burial dates they do not always exactly correspond to other records. William, Sarah, and their listed children were buried in the Friends graveyard in Philadelphia. As a curious thing, some of these children were baptised at Christ Church where the records show William and Sarah as parents. Also William's name is found on a brass plaque on the door as vestryman from 1726-1745. The Friends Society informs me he could not have been a member of both groups but that they did bury non-members.
William, sadler, was well known and several records are found with his occupation attached. Notable is the 1731 will of his aunt, Mary,B5. She named her nephew and four of his then living daughters. William signed her will as a witness. He also signed the will of the silversmith, Cesar Ghiselin, in 1729. The published record has confused him with his father in a self-evident error. In 1733 we find William a member of the first Masonic Lodge installed in America. William and Sarah sold some property to the estate of his deceased cousin, Joseph, B24, in 1742. This identifies and shows they were living at this time. The administration of William, sadler, was granted on December 2, 1751, to John Knight, his son-in-law, Sarah, the widow, having declined. Sarah died in 1768 at 68 years of age. There was no will but some of the surviving children may be found in various records. It is unknown at this time whether or not a son, survived him but this is very doubtful. The male line of William, B11, is belived to be extinct.
Hannah,B116
Hannah was born after 1725 and before 1732. She married John Stow on April 6, 1751, at Christ Church in Philadelphia, PA. This was not a Quaker approved marriage so she was dismissed from the Quaker association. John Stow died about 1754 and Hannah was administrator of the estate. She lived until 1793 and had rejoined the Quaker Society as evidenced by the Quaker records. No children are known.
Sarah,B118
Sarah was born January 1, 1732. She obtained a Quaker certificate of removal with her sister, Rebecca, in 1778 to relocate in Burlington, NJ. She married George Wells, April 3, 1787, in Burlington. This was not a Quaker marriage. She was also named in her uncle's will (Thomas,B211) in 1787. A Quaker record shows her dismissal for marriage outside the society.
Rebecca,B119
Rebecca was born after 1732 (not named by Mary,B5 in will) and obtained a Quaker certificate of removal with her sister to Burlington, NJ. She married a Mr. Powell outside of the Quaker society about 1780 as evidenced by a Quaker record expelling her from the association. The record states she had married her late niece's husband.
Thomas,B2
Thomas was born in Bristol, England, in the year 1667. He is regarded as a country gentleman, appearing on tax lists of Chester County from 1715 to 1727. He seems to have been in the real estate business, was styled, "maltster" and in his will of 1743 stated he was "of Blockley". Blockley is a township in west Philadelphia county. Darby township was to the south, across Cobb's Creek, in Chester county.
Thomas married Margaret Jenkins in Haverford township of Chester County. They lived on his property in Blockley, but he also owned land in Chester County. He seems to have preferred the nearer Darby Meeting and the records of that meeting record the vital statistics of the family. Thus the "removal" records show a change of membership from Darby to Goshen, etc, for his sons upon their marriages.
As the sons reached maturity, Thomas gave the two oldest, Thomas and William, land in Goshen and Whiteland districts, whence they removed and married in the Friends way, 1716 and 1720.
These two oldest sons both died before their father, leaving issue. William had married twice before he died in 1732. The surviving widows then remarried, one having been a widow before she became the second wife of William. Most of the Friends removal and marriage certificates or copies of them are still existent. Some birth records of their children can also be found.
In his will of 1741, Thomas, named his two deceased sons, Thomas and William, and indicated that they had sons. The wording is a bit confusing and prior investigators have assumed that Thomas had one son, Thomas, and that William had one son, William. This may be so but it is not an exact requirement. Thomas gave his other heirs tokens but left his estate and land to his son, Stephen. This likely means the others had previously obtained their share of the estate. Even though Thomas had his will in Philadelphia county he seems to have been buried in the Friends graveyard in Chester County.
Thomas had married, as his second wife, Mrs. Abigail Golding in 1729. She signed with Thomas on marriage certificates and is listed in the death records of Darby Meeting, she dying before Thomas.
Further evidence of the children of Thomas is found in the will of William Jenkins, the maternal grandfather.
The descendants of the children of Thomas and Margaret lived in Philadelphia and the surrounding countryside and a small number later fanned out generally towards the west moving to Ohio and then on through Indiana to Missouri and Iowa. Not one case has yet been identified of this line moving into the southern part of the United States. The lines of John,B27, Benjamin,B28, and Stephen,B2a, are the best known and developed. The male lines of Thomas,B21, William,B23, Joseph,B24, Benjamin,B26, Samuel,B29, and Jonathan,B2b, are believed extinct. Thomas,B2, died April 7, 1743. Some information for each child of Thomas and Margaret follows:
Thomas,B21
Thomas,B21, and his brother William,B23, were members of the Quakers and were given certificates of "removal" and "marriage examinations". These records show they moved to Goshen and Whiteland districts of Chester County, PA. The tax lists of Chester County show their presence. The Chester Quaker marriage records indicate their marriages in 1716 and 1720 respectively. Thomas had four children, a son and three daughters. The son, Thomas,B211, had children but his will, probated 1796, fails to mention any surviving children or grandchildren.
Joanna,B22
Joanna married John Marshall and she died about 1731.
William,B23
William had a daughter by his first wife and five daughters and a son by his second wife. The son married but no descendants have been determined as yet.
Joseph,B24
Joseph married Elizabeth Coates and they had nine children, most of whom died young or without issue. A son, Isaac, married but had only two daughters. Joseph's widow had the well-known Cedar Grove mansion built.
Elizabeth,B25
Elizabeth married Jacob Jones about 1730.
Benjamin,B26
Benjamin died at the age of four and another son was subsequently named Benjamin. John,B27
John married and had nine children. His son, Henry, is the best known of this line today.
Benjamin,B28
Benjamin was the second of the name. He has been confused in the past. One genealogy lists him as having married Elizabeth Horne in 1758 and another believes he married Margaret Price about 1734. The latter is now considered correct due to the supporting evidence that has been found. Benjamin was a cutler (maker of knives) and had a shop in the city on 2nd St. Margaret was a member of the Haverford Meeting but Benjamin was not so she was dismissed from that group. Benjamin died in 1745 and Margaret applied for readmission, which was granted, as shown by a letter of removal, dated 1750. Margaret then married William Montgomery within the society in 1750. Benjamin and Margaret had 3 sons, John, Joseph and Benjamin. The evidence shows that Benjamin died a minor, without issue. At least one of the older sons is thought to have married and is the apparent father for some of the prior unknown lines that lived in NJ and northern VA. Samuel,B29
Samuel died at the age of 17 without issue.
Stephen,B2a
Stephen married and had eight children, his namesake evidently carried the line down. However the son, Stephen,B2a8, died before the father just prior to the 1790 census. This family had an occupation described as "ironmonger" or "cutler" and had a shop at High and 31st streets, but lived at 19 N 5th St. Stephen is credited with being one of the first Americans to manufacture steel in this country.
Jonathan,B2b
Jonathan married the widow, Mary Fisher, but did not have issue. He did not mention any children in his will. He had the rank of Colonel in the PA Militia during the Revolutionary War.
The other children of Thomas and Joanna Sloper were:
Elizabeth,B3
Elizabeth was born May 28, 1671, in Bristol. She married Henry Flower in 1689 and they had seven children. She died the 19th of July, 1706, per the Say Bible (as Elizabeth Flower).
Joseph,B4
Joseph was born 1672 in Bristol and did not have issue.
Mary,B5
Mary was born July 27, 1674, in Bristol and married William Say in Philadelphia and had issue. The Say Bible has been published and has many interesting entries of several generations. Mary next married, c1716, her cousin, Benjamin Paschall, A246. Mary died 1734 in Philadelphia. In her will she named her nephew, William, identifying him with his occupation as "sadler". She named four of his then living daughters. William signed Mary's will as a witness. Mary and Benjamin lived, at their deaths, around 2nd and 3rd streets.
Joseph,B6
Joseph, the second of the name, was born November 16, 1676, and died August 9, 1679. Frances,B7
Frances, was born March 18, 1678 and died August 9, 1680.
NOTE ON REFERENCE SOURCES
There was a concerted effort to collect data and information concerning the early families of the Philadelphia area in the late 1800's. Several of these men gathered up considerable Paschall information and recorded it in their notebooks. Some of these notebooks have found their way into the collections of the Chester County Historical Society of PA. The author has been able to access three of these original manuscripts. These three were:
John J. Parker, notes of c1885 Gilbert Cope, notes of c1894 Dr. George Smith, notes copied by Painter in 1863
These men had access to the collection of Phillip P. Sharples of West Chester, PA, who had posession of the Bible and papers of Thomas,B2. The Morris family had also inherited through the children of Thomas,B2, some of the original papers. Several biographical works have been published that used these notes and documents with various copying errors. The author has attempted, where possible to bypass these published works and to find as many original references as possible. For this reason the source lines will often not reference a published work but will refer to the manuscripts. The published books will be found listed amoung the reference sources.
The author has not been able to access an earlier collection than those named.
GENERAL HISTORY (or storytelling)
Since these stories involve the Revolutionary War this will be taken into some detail at this point.
In order to give a picture of events during this troubled period some history and physical locations of the members of the Paschall family will be necessary. Also the religious involvement must be understood to correctly view the records.
The Friends or Quakers did not allow a member to be involved in any act of war. They did not allow even the attendance to military training. As a result some were dissatisfied and did so anyhow, these were turned out or disowned by the group. They then started their own Friends, called Free Friends. Of course not all disowned members joined the splinter group, some just went to other religious groups.
The identified lines that were turned out are:
John B27 and sons, B278,B279 Stephen, B2a and son, B2a8, B2a1? Jonathan, B2b
Those that married after being turned out may be found in the records of other churches. It may be that all the Paschall B-line left the Quakers at this time or before. Some may have rejoined after the war. This same episode occurred for the war of 1812.
Before 1772, Jonathan,B2b, had acquired a farm of 239 acres with dwelling, 5 horses, 35 cows and 45 sheep located in Kingsessing township. There were no other Paschalls listed (1772) as owning property in Kingsessing.
About 1776, John,B27, had acquired the Blue Bell Inn located at todays 73rd and Woodland streets next to Cobb's Creek in Kingsessing township.
The road between Darby and Philadelphia has had a succession of many names. Today it is most nearly equal to what is named Woodland Ave.
This road was the route taken by segments of the British Army under Howe in October, 1777, in their occupation of Philadelphia.
The Paschall family that joined in the Revolutionary War were all members of the Pennsylvania militia and not the Continental Line or regular army. This means most of the records are held by PA and not the US Archives.
Some of the marriages of interest:
Jonathan,c1741 marr Mary Fisher, widow of John Fisher John, 1728 marr Frances Hodge Henry, 1770 marr Ann Garrett Stephen, 1779 marr Nancy Ann Fisher
Mary was the sister of Frances; both were the daughters of Henry Hodge. With these preparations we are set to relate an oft told story and attempt to identify the participants of that story.
In October of 1777, Nancy Paschall was visiting (one version has her living) with relatives and they were preparing clothes for a forthcoming wedding (that the wedding was her's is another possible assumption). The story has her brother, Bob, 9, and cousin Mary Paschall in attendance. The story was passed down by Mary in a letter sometime after the event. The British Army under Howe came up the road on their way to occupy Philadelphia (November, 1777). Some soldiers entered and searched the house, the wedding things giving some character to the story. The story varies on some of the points. One story has it that John Randulph was to marry Nancy. The house in question has also been the subject of debate with the Blue Bell Inn being sometimes quoted but most believe it to have been the Garrick house which still stands today at 6840 Paschall Ave. Some aspects have the house as belonging to Thomas Paschall, a rich, Quaker farmer off fighting in the war. Another version says it was occupied by the Price family.
What do we do with such a mess of storytelling? It is the purpose of genealogy to unravel and identify real people and their families and so that is what we will attempt to do.
The given names of women are more reliable than their surnames and there are two common given names in the story. It will be noted by the astute observer that Nancy Paschall could refer to her name after her marriage as it may also to Mary. These were both adult women in 1777. Here is my analysis which can be verified.
There is no known Nancy Paschall (maiden) or Bob Paschall at the time (1777). The name Bob or Robert had never been given in the Paschall family at this time. Mary Paschall was a common name in the family, both married and maiden.
Thomas Paschall,B211, was a hatter and had his shop in the city. He was quite well off at the time and a Friend. He seems to have helped the revolution and perhaps was disowned. He did not have any living children in 1787 when he made will. There is no record yet found of this line owning land in Kingsessing or even living there.
Thomas,B2a1, was an ironmonger and lived on 2nd St in the city in the 1790 census. He was apparently there for the 1780 tax list. Not much is known concerning him. No descendants are known.
The Paschall families known to be in the area at this time were:
The family of John, B27. They are all well known. The daughters would likely go by the Blue Bell Inn and depending upon circumstances may have been in the inn frequently. It is not known if John ran the Inn or had a resident manager (Lloyd family).
Jonathan,B2b, who listed himself as a yeoman (farmer) in his will of 1777. He was a Colonel in the militia and thus would be away from home.
Stephen,B2a8, may have been in the area. He well may have been the overseer of his uncle's farm at this time. Jonathan's wife, Mary, would have been at home. The farm was no doubt located near to the Garrick house and the Inn.
The Fisher family were also in the area.
My conclusion goes like this:
Nancy Ann Fisher and her brother, Bob, with her cousin, Mary, the wife of Jonathan, were in the house while getting clothes ready for the wedding. This wedding may have involved John Randulph but not Nancy unless John died and she subsequently married Stephen in 1779. Thus Nancy acquired the Paschall surname used in the story. This takes care of the people but the house itself is more difficult. This could have been Mary's house which, of course, was a Paschall house.
Further evidence can be obtained by several means:
1. Identify by deeds where Jonathan had his farm and house. 2. Was Mary Hodge Paschall a cousin to Nancy Ann Fisher? 3. Did Nancy Ann have a brother, Bob Fisher, b c1768? 4. Did Mary live to write the letter in question?
No marriage has been found of John Randulph to Nancy for this time. The 1772 tax list shows John Randulph, with no property, in Kingsessing.
Sometime after the 1790 census, Benjamin, B278, moved across Cobb's Creek to Kingsessing township. He was soon followed by his brother, Henry. It has been tradition that Henry founded the area known as Paschalville by 1810. In a letter in the 1920's, a descendant, Mary, wrote that her greatgrandfather, Henry, would "give 10 or 15 acres to any man who would settle and build a house thereon".
The deed records show that Henry did indeed make many conveyances but most were to his own. The land was broken up into lots and transferred to his many children. One street to the southeast of Woodland became known as Paschall Ave., a name it still retains.
GENERAL REFERENCE SOURCES, B-Line
The John Lea Family History, by John Lea, 1906 Bible of Thomas Paschall, 154x, in possession of Morris family, 1925 Lloyd Manuscripts, by Howard W Lloyd , 1912 Genealogy of the Morris Family, by Robert Moon, 1898 PA Magazine of Hist. and Biography, Hist Society of PA, 1877+ Genealogies of PA Families, PA Gene. Magazine, reprint, 1982 Colonial and Rev. Families of PA, by John W Jordan, 1911 History of Delaware Co, PA, by John W Jordan, 1914 Some Colonial Mansions, by Thomas Glenn, Vol 1, 1899 The American Genealogist, Vol 39, p79 Sharpless Family Genealogy, by Gilbert Cope, 1887 Smedley Family Genealogy, by Gilbert Cope, 1901 Darlington Family Genealogy, by Gilbert Cope, 1900 Chester Monthly Meetings, Marriages, by Gilbert Cope, 1873 History of Chester & Delaware counties, PA, by Gilbert Cope, 1904 PA Vital Records, Vol II,1983, Indexed by Elizabeth P Bentley Ency. of American Quaker Genealogy, by William Hinshaw, 1938 Compendium of American Genealogy, by Frederick Virkus, 1925 PA Chronicle by Kenneth Scott, Nat. Gene Society, Publ. #37, 1971 Official Army Register, Sec of War, Part III, 1865 Passengers/Ships Prior to 1684, Welcome Society of PA, 1985 Welcome Claiments by George McCracken, Welcome Society, reprint, 1970 Welsh Settlement of PA by C Browning, 1912 American Prisoners of the Rev., by D Dandridge, reprint, 1967 PA in the War of the Rev., by William Egle, 1896 PA Archives, by Mathew Quay, Second Series, 1878 Merion in the Welsh Tract by Thomas A Glenn, reprint, 1970 Colonial Records of PA Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA Quaker records Bristol Quaker records by Gilbert Cope, LDS Library films |
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