Aston Township.

of August, 1843. His son, William, followed him to America the year after, and also located in Aston township, where he was employed in a factory devoted to the manufacture of cotton fabrics. He married, prior to his emigration, Hannah Kay, and had children, - John B., William, Samuel, Thomas (deceased), Ann, and Susanna, - all of whom were born in the United States. John B., the eldest, whose birth occurred Jan. 27, 1829, in Aston township, at the early age of six years entered a cotton-factory with a view to becoming proficient in that branch of industry. He was employed in the different departments of a weaving-mill, and ultimately acquired a practical knowledge of all branches of the business. His education was meanwhile gained at the sessions of a night-school (the public-school system not yet being introduced in this part of the State), and confined principally to the rudiments, habits of thought and observation having been of great service to him during his youth as in later life. He remained an employé of the factory until his majority was attained, and was then married by Bishop Alfred Lee, of Delaware, to Annie L., daughter of William Warren, of Middletown township, who was of English parentage. Their children are William K. (deceased), Charles B., Alfred L., John, Jr., Richard Somers, Ann L., and Jennie C. (deceased). On his marriage, Mr. Rhodes embarked in the business of store-keeping at Crozerville, Delaware Co., where he remained prosecuting a successful trade until 1864. He then purchased from Elwood Tyson, Esq., what is known as the Aston Mills property, and has since been engaged in the manufacture of doeskins, jeans, and dress-goods. His marked success prompted him, in 1866, to rent the Knowlton Mills, at Knowlton, in Middletown township, which are still controlled by him. To this already extensive manufacturing venture was added, in 1882, the purchase of the West Branch Mills, in Aston township, which are running to their full capacity. In the management of these extensive interests his energy and business tact have been exceptional, contributing essentially to the success of every enterprise in which he has engaged. From humble beginnings Mr. Rhodes has risen by inherent force and strong purpose to be an influential factor in the industries of the county. He is in politics a Democrat. He was a delegate to the St. Louis Convention which in 1876 nominated Tilden and Hendricks for the first offices in the gift of the people. He is a prominent Odd-Fellow, member of Benevolent Lodge. No. 40, of Aston, and has represented it in the Grand Councils for a number of years, his father having been in 1831 one of its charter members and organizers. He is a regular attendant upon the services of the Methodist Episcopal Church, though educated in the tenets of the Protestant Episcopal faith.

The Old Forge at Rockdale. - The first mention of a forge at this place, so far as we have yet ascertained, occurs in a deed dated Nov. 16, 1785, whereby Abraham Pennell conveyed to his brother, Dell Pennell, a tract of ground "whereon is erected an iron forge." That this forge was built subsequent to 1750 is evident from the return of John Owens, sheriff of Chester County, who, on the 24th of June in that year, made report to the Governor in relation to the iron-works in this county. In 1780 the forge was assessed to Dell Pennell, and doubtless operated by him until 1802, when it was conducted by William Speer and Joseph Churchman. The land whereon it stood was part of a large tract to which the father of Abraham and Dell Pennell for many years had title. The deed to Dell Pennell conveyed to him two hundred acres in Middletown and one hundred acres in Aston townships, "whereon is erected an iron forge, with the full and free liberty and privilege of raising the water of the forge dam within four inches of the top of the figures 1785, and an auger hole in a rock on the northwest side of the dam." Dell Pennell, on May 21, 1802, conveyed to Nathan Sharpless the right to use the waters of Chester Creek for the use of Sharpless' "grist-mill dam, where it now stands, and has long stood across the creek above our Forge dam." On the same day Nathan Sharpless and Rachel, his wife, granted to Dell Pennell the "right of an abutment on our land where the old forge dam now stands and has long stood across Chester Creek, and to repair and rebuild from time to time, and at all times, said dam so as to raise the water therein as high as is expressed in the deed from Abraham Pennell and Hannah, his wife, to the said Dell Pennell," which refers to the figures 1785 and the auger-hole in the rock. The day after these grants were made, May 22, 1802, Dell Pennell sold to George Chandler the iron-works and eight acres of sand. The latter seems not to have operated the forge, but Abraham Sharpless and Francis Wisley conducted the business there, at least they did in 1807, and on July 21, 1808, when Chandler sold to Thomas Odiorne, a merchant of Malden, Middlesex Co., Mass., - a relative of the Wilcox family, - that certain messuage, iron-works, etc., and eight acres of ground. In 1809 the nail-mill was built. After the sale to Thomas Odiorne, Capt. Henry Moore, of Portsmouth, N. H., took charge of the works, and continued there until after the death of Thomas Odiorne, the elder, and in the settlement of the estate Thomas Odiorne, the younger, on Aug. 28 1815, conveyed his interest in the property to George Odiorne, of Boston, for five thousand six hundred dollars, and the same day George Odiorne sold to his brother-in-law, Capt. Henry Moore, - the latter had married Ann Odiorne, - in consideration of fifteen thousand dollars, all his right in the real estate, consisting of eight acres fifteen perches," with the messuages, iron- and nail-works, and other buildings thereon erected," and the right of water and to build dams, together with his interest in twenty and three-fourth acres of land. To these mills Capt. Moore