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Chapter XXXVII
Upper Chichester Township. | |||
was followed in a northeasterly direction to the point where the Upper Chichester road crosses the last-named run, and then a straight line to the upper corner of Thomas V. Dutton's farm. The road from Chichester to Aston traversing the township almost due north, running through the tract of Jeremiah Collett, William Withers, Thomas Clifton, Henry Hastings, and Richard Buffington, and John Kingsman, was laid out 1688, while the Upper Chichester road was laid out on Oct. 25, 1687. On this tract part of Charles Dutton's farm is located, as are also those of Thomas W. Henry and David M. Dalton. David Morrow's land is entirely within the boundary of the Kingsman patent, as is that of Benjamin Elliott, a part of Samuel Wells, and a very small part of Thomas V. Dutton's plantation. Due west of Kingsman's land was the five hundred acres surveyed to John Bezer, June 19, 1682. The run which traversed the entire length of his estate received its name from that fact. The greater part of the William Booth farm, all of Mrs. Reynolds, A. Jester and E. Jester properties, and all of Salkeld Larkin's land lying east of the road from Concord to Chichester, which was laid out Jan. 19, 1716/7, are included within the original Bezer tract. The farms of T. B. Jones and Simon H. White are entirely a part of the one hundred and eighty-four acres patented to Walter Martin, Jr., June 10, 1703, which was at the northwest extremity of Upper Chichester. In the oddly-shaped line dividing Bethel from the township under consideration the farms of Thomas Marshall, Joseph Newlin, George Hammond, H. Barnes, Joseph Pyle, Mrs. Nathan Pennell, and parts of the farms of Salkeld Larkin and Mrs. E. M. Halsey, are located on the tract of two hundred and fifty acres surveyed to Francis Harrison April 3, 1683, known in early days as "Jacob's Well," that name having been given to it because of a noted spring of water on the lands. West of the Concord road, including all the land between the road and the easternmost feeders of Naaman's Creek, extending from Larkin's school-house lot through the lands of Salkeld Larkin, southward to and embracing that of J. Todd as also the northern end of John B. Okie's farm, was included in the fifty acres surveyed to William Thomas, June 2, 1682. On the west side of the east branch of Naaman's Creek the entire remaining territory in the township was included in four tracts. At the northwest and along the creek into Bethel, William Clowd had two hundred acres surveyed to him Sept. 28, 1685, one hundred of which was in Bethel and a like number in Upper Chichester, which included the properties of William S. Goodley, Thomas Painter, John C. Ogden, and the upper part of the farm of John B. McCay. The next tract to the south, containing two hundred acres, extending from the middle branch of Naaman's Creek, touching at its southern end the circular line, was patented Nov. 12, 1683, to Henry Reynolds, and included the farms of Charles W. Hance, the greater part of that of John B. Smith, as also much of that of John B. McCay. Intruding itself between the west line of Reynolds' tract of two hundred acres, already mentioned, and the circular line was a triangular piece of land, part of a tract of five hundred acres surveyed April 23, 1684, to William Cloud, - the Prince property. At the southwestern limit of the territory was a tract of two hundred and fifty acres, which was located Sept. 5/6, 1681, to George Anderson, and by him transferred, Dec. 15, 1683, to Henry Reynolds. The circular boundary line of the State of Delaware traverses this tract. That part of it which became part of Upper Chichester is now the property of George Broomall, J. S. Beeson, and parts of the farms of John H. Smeet and John B. McCay. The list of taxables for the year 1715 shows the following persons as the then residents of Upper Chichester: Enoch Flower, William Chandler, Walter Marten, Henry Reynolds, Francis Reynolds, Ruth Chandler, George Leonard, Francis Routh, Matthew Wood, John Bezer, John Kingsman, Humphrey Scarlet, James Whitaker, Shadrick Scarlet, Thomas Linvill, Thomas Withers, Jeremiah Collett, John Chambers, Richard Weaver, Jeremiah Cloud; Freeman, Richard Mashell (Marshall). We give the following list of the taxables in the township in the year 1799: Joseph Arkew, Daniel Brown, Nathaniel Brown, John Booth, John Burns (cordwainer), Peter Brown, James Craig, Mordecai Cloud, Pierce Crosby, Jonathan Dutton, Jacob Denibarker, Charles Dinger (saddler), Rachel Dutton, Caleb Eyre (grazier), Isaac Engle, William Ford, Rebecca Huston, Ann Huston, Matthias Kerlin, Joseph Larkin, Bezer Lamplugh, Josiah Lamplugh, George Martin, Joseph Martin (blacksmith), John Oliver, Adam Peirce, Susanna Pennell, Isaac Pennell (cordwainer), Phebe Reynolds, James Rowen, Jacob Richards, Thomas Ryerson, Susanna Robeson, Sarah Moore, John Smith (blacksmith), James Shelley, John Sholtz, John Talbot (miller), Caleb S. Sayers, Joseph Talbot (saw-mill), Thomas Wilson, Joseph Walker, James Withey, John Dutton (tailor), James Henderson (weaver), Thomas Young (weaver), Jeremiah Dutton (cordwainer), Elijah Farr (blacksmith), Aaron Huston (hatter), Joseph Pennell (cordwainer), Edward Pennell (cordwainer), Samuel Pearson (miller), George Wood (carpenter). The division of Chester into Upper and Lower Chichester was made early in 1700 by the people of that section to facilitate public business. About the middle of the last century an effort was made to have the division which had been thus made officially recognized, and to that end the following petition was presented to the court:
"To the Honourable Justices of the Court of General Quarter Sessions held at Chester on the 27th of February, 1753. | |||