Darby Township.

"That the Inhabitants of the Townships through which the same Road passes, not doubting its being a recorded Road, have hitherto duly repaired and amended the same, but now being apprized that it either has not been regularly recorded, or that the Record thereof cannot be found, so that they are not obliged to repair the same or contribute thereto, the said Road is at present much out of Repair, and, growing worse, will, in the Winter, become utterly impassable or dangerous to travel with Horses, Chaises, or other Carriages, unless the same be repaired before the ensuing Winter. That your Petitioners are informed that if the said Road was surveyed and recorded according to Law, the same would and ought to be from Time to Time repaired by the Inhabitants of the Townships through which the same lyes, whereby the same, being a great and much travelled Road, would become safe and passable.

"Therefore your Petitioners humbly pray the Honourable the President and Council would be pleased to grant an Order or Warrant for surveying the said Road, so that it may be surveyed and recorded and sufficiently amended and kept in Repair, or that you would please to give such other Order or Warrant concerning the same as the Nature of the case may require.

"And your Petitioners will ever pray, &c.:

At the same meeting of Council a petition from the commissioners and sundry inhabitants of the county of Chester was presented, which stated that "it appears after strict search made that there are divers parts of the king's road leading from Cobb's Creek Bridge, over Chester Bridge, to the line of New Castle County, not to be found upon Record or any return thereof," and for "the Benefit of the Publick" respecting the erection of bridges and repairs to the highways, requested the appointment of persons "to lay out such Parts of the said Road as are deficient."

To these petitions Council replied that "as the Road mention'd is an antient Road, in use before the Grant of the Province, the Board thinks there must have been some Orders of Council made about it, &, therefore, postpone the Consideration thereof till the Council Books be well search'd by the Secretary, & it be known what Orders have been formerly given."² At the meeting of Council, Sept. 8, 1747, the secretary reported that he had examined "the council Books, and had found several orders of Council for laying out the several Parts of the said Road, and likewise the Record of that part of the said Road which lies between Darby & Chester;" that he was of opinion that the whole road had been actually laid out, and that the returns were given to the late secretary, Patrick Robinson, who had omitted to enter them in the books of Council, and that his papers, both public as well as private, came into the hands of "his Wido' upon his decease," were lost or destroyed, and the returns of the road might be among those missing papers. Council, however, ordered that the road should be resurveyed, beginning at the south boundary of the city of Philadelphia; thence to the lower ferry (Gray's); thence to Darby Creek; and "thence by the courses described in the recorded Return made in the year 1706 to Chester Bridge; & from thence by the present Courses thereof to the Limits of New Castle government."³ Caleb Cowpland, Esq., Joseph Parker, Esq., Joseph Bonsall, Esq., Samuel Levis, James Mather, John Davies, Peter Dicks, Thomas Pearson, and John Sketchley, of Chester County, or any five of them, were instructed to join the persons named for Philadelphia County, or any three of them, "in continuing to lay out as aforesaid the said Road from the Division Line which parts Philadelphia County from Chester County to the Limits of Newcastle." The surveyor-general was also directed to assist them in the survey. They were to report by the first day of October, 1747.

³ Ib., p.107.

On the day designated the surveyor-general reported to Council that he, with the persons who had been appointed to lay out the road from Philadelphia to New Castle, had met and the road had been laid out as far as Darby, but from this point they could go no farther, unless Council would alter the order, which directed the surveyor and those associated with him in making the highway to conform to the courses of a road "said to be laid out between Darby & Chester Creeks in the Year 1706 & give the same directions as to that part of the Road which they had given as to all other parts, viz^t to follow the Courses of the Road as it is now used. The Council considering that that part of the Road was actually laid out, returned and Recorded, tho' it does not appear ever to have been cleared or taken Notice of, did not incline to come to any determination till they shou'd receive full Information how it would affect the Inhabitants and the Possessors of Lands between Darby & Chester."⁴

On March 2, 1748, the following petition from persons living along the road from Darby to Chester was presented to the Provincial Council:

"To the Honoble, the President and Council of the Province of Pennsylvania, &c.:

"Whereas, You was pleased by Your Order bearing date the 8th Day of September last to appoint us, the subscribers, with some others, to lay a Road out from Cobb's Creek to New Castle line, with directions to follow the Road as now used, where it is not already laid out, and where it is to follow the Courses & Distances therein mentioned in order (as we presume) to prevent as much as might be injuring the Owners of the Land adjacent to the s^d Road. We, therefore, in obedience to the said Order, met at Cobb's Creek Bridge, and took the courses and Distances of the Road as now used, until we came to that part of the Road which leads from Darby to Chester, and has been laid out by courses & Distance, & then upon trying the courses thereof found them to run a considerable distance in divers Places from the Road now used, & that frequently through Improved as well as wood Lands, and would in our opinion be very injurious to a Great number of the Inhabitants adjacent to the Road & as we conceive very contrary to Your Intention.

"Therefore we pray, in behalf of ourselves & others, that you wou'd be pleased to appoint a jury and Grant them such Powers as you may think proper to enable them to lay out a Road in the most convenient Place to accomodate the Publick & least injurious to the Inhabitants, which We apprehend is agreeable to Your Design, & we as in Duty bound shall ever Pray.