Edgmont Township.

ing his horses became unmanageable. He was thrown violently against a rock, and a portion of his skull as large as a walnut was broken in. It was carefully removed by trepanning, and he lived seventeen years afterwards with the indentation conspicuous in his forehead. He died in 1868, aged eighty-one years, and was buried at Moorestown, N. J.

The paternal grandparents of Mr. Eachus were Enoch and Esther Eachus, of Goshen township, Chester Co., Pa., while on the maternal side he was the grandson of William and Susanna Rusell, of Delaware Co., Pa. His parents were Evans and Hannah Eachus, whose children were William R., Emmor David, Mary, Sarah, Susanna, Esther, Hannah, Matilda, and Eber, all of whom with the exceptions of Eber and Esther are deceased. Eber Eachus was born Feb. 22, 1807, in Upper Providence township, Delaware County, where be continued to reside until April 1, 1832. He received when a lad such educational advantages as were obtainable at the public schools of the vicinity, and subsequently made farming the business of his life, - first in Upper Providence and later in Edgmont township, where he removed in 1832, and became the occupant of his present farm. He was on the 29th of November, 1836, married to Priscilla P. Bishop, daughter of Thomas and Martha Bishop, of Hartsville, Bucks Co., Pa. By this marriage are two children, - Evans, born Jan. 8, 1838, and Hannah, whose birth occurred April 18, 1840. Mr. Eachus was in politics an Old-Line Whig during the existence of that party. At the beginning of the war he joined the ranks of the Republican party, but in later life ceased to take an active interest in affairs of a political character. He was reared in the faith of the society of Friends, and affiliates with the Hicksite branch of that religious body.

Three brothers - John, Benjamin, and George Mendenhall - came from England with William Peon in 1682. George returned after a brief sojourn in America, John settled in Chester County, and Benjamin found a home in Concord township, Delaware Co. He was united in marriage to Ann Pennell, and had sons, - Robert and Benjamin. The former, who was born in 1719, married Phoebe Taylor, and became the parent of thirteen children, among whom was John, the father of the subject of this biographical sketch. He married Tabitha Newlin, whose children were Cyrus, Martha, Esther, John, and Anne. John Mendenhall was born May 27, 1793, in Edgmont township, Delaware Co., upon the farm which was for sixty years his home. After the rudiments of an English education were obtained, he assisted his father in his daily routine of labor, then became superintendent of the varied farm interests, and finally lessee of the property. He later purchased an estate in close proximity to his former home, and made it his residence. He was married in 1821 to Hannah Sharpless, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Sharpless, of Chester township, Delaware Co., Pa. Their children are Rebecca (deceased), Henry, and Joseph. Henry is a resident of Media, and married Deborah Passmore, of Chester County, whose children are Ella, J. Howard, Walter P., and Anna R. Joseph resides in Lawrence, Kan., where he is actively engaged in business. In 1849, Mr. Mendenhall removed to a farm in Edgmont township. Here he resided during the remainder of his life, though his son, Henry, cultivated the farm for many years. Mr. Mendenhall was a Whig in his political convictions, and subsequently supported the platform of the Republican party, having held numerous minor offices in the township of his residence. He was in religion a Friend, and member of the Orthodox Friends' Meeting of Middletown.

Haverford Township.¹

This division of the county lies in the northeastern quarter, on the border of Montgomery County, and wholly within what was known at an early period as the Welsh tract. With the exception of Merion, in Montgomery County, it was the earliest settled of the Welsh townships. Its name was brought over with the first settlers, who came from the vicinity of Haverford-West,² in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. In early days, says Dr. Smith, the name was very frequently written with an u instead of v, and doubtless had the pronunciation that this change of letters would give it. The pronunciation was, at length, corrupted to Harford, a name by which the township was generally known within the recollection of many now living.

² The term Haverford is of very ancient date. Haverford in Wales had its castle as early as 1112 A.D., and Giraldus Cambrensis gives an account of "a preaching tour" made there by Archbishop Baldwin and himself in the year of our era 1118. He reports that they were most kindly received by the Haverfordians and their religious services gratefully acknowledged.