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of them who lay in wait for him. By another accident while he was resting under a hedge which divided his master's ground from a neighbouring plantation he fell asleep, and did not awake until it was perfectly dark. He was aroused by the sound of voices, and, on listening, found that his mistress and Stephano, a slave on another farm, were plotting to rob his master and to flee to Europe. Repressing his desire to reveal the whole scheme to his master, he took the first opportunity of informing his mistress that her infamy was discovered, and that if she persevered in her design he would be compelled to reveal all that he had over-heard. The woman at first pretended the utmost repentance, and not only earnestly promised that she would never repeat her conduct, but by many excessive acts of kindness led him to believe that her unlawful passion had changed its object. Finding, however, that she could not prevail upon him either to wink at her misdeeds nor gratify her desires, she endeavored to get rid of him by poison; and an attempt having been made upon his life, Annesley resolved once more to risk an escape, although the time of his servitude had almost expired.
"On this occasion he was successful; and having made his way in a trading ship to Jamaica, got on board the 'Falmouth,' one of his majesty's ships, and declared himself an Irish nobleman. His arrival, of course, created a great stir in the fleet, and the affair came to the ears of Admiral Vernon, who, having satisfied himself that his pretensions were at least reasonable, ordered him to be well treated, wrote to the Duke of Newcastle about him, and sent him home to England. He arrived in October, 1741. His uncle Richard had in the mean time succeeded, through default of issue, to the honors of Anglesea, as well as those of Altham, and became seriously alarmed at the presence of this pretender on English soil. At first he asserted that the claimant, although undoubtedly the son of his deceased brother, was the bastard child of a kitchen wench. He next tried to effect a compromise with him, and subsequently endeavored to procure his conviction on a charge of murder. It is also said that assassins were hired to kill him. But it is certainly true that Atinesley having accidentally shot a man near Staines, the Earl of Anglesea spared neither pains nor money to have him convicted. He was tried at the Old Bailey, and being acquitted by the jury, proceeded to Ireland to prosecute his claim to the Altham estates. On his arrival at Dunmain and New Ross, he was very warmly received by many of the peasantry. His first attempt to secure redress was by an action at law. An action for ejectment was brought in the Court of Exchequer in Ireland for a small estate in the county of Meath, and a bill was at the same time filed in the Court of Chancery of Great Britain for the recovery of the English estates.
"In Trinity term, 1743, when everything was ready for a trial at the next ensuing assizes, a trial at bar was appointed on the application of the agents of the Earl of Anglesea. The case began on the 11th of November, 1743, at the bar of the Court of Exchequer in Dublin, being, as is noted in Howell's 'State Trials,' the longest trial ever known, lasting fifteen days, and the jury (most of them) gentlemen of the greatest property in Ireland, and almost all members of parliament. A verdict was found for the claimant, with 6d. damages and 6d. costs. A writ of error was at once lodged on the other side, but on appeal the judgment of the Court below was affirmed. Immediately after the trial and verdict, the claimant petitioned his Majesty for his seat in the Houses of Peers of both Kingdoms; but delay after delay took place, and he finally became so impoverished that he could no longer prosecute his claims.
"James Annesley was twice married; but although he had a son by each marriage, neither of them grew to manhood. He died on the 5th of January, 1760."
The Talbot Mill. - In 1767, John Talbot built a stone grist-mill on the east branch of Naaman's Creek, which for many years was noted in that section of the county commanding a large and remunerative trade. The mill, shortly after 1820, passed into possession of Nathan Pennell. In 1826 it was owned by his heirs and rented to Mordecai Larkin, and subsequently to others. It was finally purchased by William McCay, and subsequently became the property of his son, John B. McCay. In 1884 the ancient mill was entirely consumed by fire.
Dutton's Saw-Mill. - On a branch of Green Creek, and on the tract of land surveyed to John Kingsman in 1682, a saw-mill was built shortly after the middle of the last century by Kingsman Dutton, the grandson of the settler, Kingsman's daughter Elizabeth having married John Dutton. The date stone on the east gable of the two-story brick house standing near the east branch of Aston township, erected by Kingsman Dutton, bears that date, and it is supposed that he built the saw-mill about that time. He died leaving his estate much involved, and the premises were sold by the sheriff in 1768. Joseph Talbot became the owner of the mill and plantation, and the estate descended to his grandson, Benjamin Elliott, who removed the old saw-mill building in 1860; it having been long discarded, became dilapidated and an unsightly ruin.
Evening Star Lodge. - The only secret society in Upper Chichester, Evening Star Lodge, No. 13, of the Daughters and Sons of St. Luke, was chartered in June, 1879. The members of this lodge, an organization of colored men and women, reside mostly in Lower Chichester, although the meetings are held at Upper Chichester Cross-roads. The society was instituted with thirty charter members, but the number has largely increased since that time.
The quiet stillness which pervades the township of Upper Chichester, wherein license to keep public-house has not been granted for almost a century, was rudely shaken on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1869, when the body of a female was found in the middle branch of Naaman's Creek, on the farm of George Broomall, which is located in the southwestern end of the township on the circular line. The utmost excitement prevailed. The dead girl was a stranger, and although the circumstances strongly suggested that she had committed suicide, inasmuch as her hat and veil were found on the bank near by, and her under-skirt had been removed and wrapped around her head in a way that indicated that she had placed it in that position, yet there was much anxiety to learn the cause prompting the act. It was subsequently ascertained that the deceased was Ellen Haggerty, and that her mind had become diseased, the result of religious excitement. The body had lain in the water four days before it was discovered.
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