Middletown Township.

Another tract was in Aston, and was partly covered by the mill-pond, and was adjoining and below the land of Jesse Grissell (Griswold). Samuel Love retained title to the estate until Feb. 9, 1825, when he conveyed it to John D. Carter, who had been operating the Trimble cotton-mill in Concord since 1813. In the deed to Carter it is stated that the rolling-mill had been changed into a cotton-factory, and that the "cotton-factory, mill-dams, ponds, races, etc., and four pieces of land" were the properties embraced in the conveyance. In the "Report of the Manufactories of Delaware County," made in 1826, the place is described as being above the Dutton Mill, "on Chester Creek, in Middletown township, a cotton-factory, forty by ninety feet, head and fall thirteen feet, owned and occupied by John D. Carter; has seven carding-engines of twenty-eight and two of thirty-one inches, workers and strippers, two drawing-frames of four double heads each, two double speeders of ten bobbins each, one stretcher of forty-two spindles, eight hundred and eight throstle spindles, six hundred and sixteen mule spindles; spins twelve hundred and seventy-eight pounds of cotton yarn per week. No. 20, with power to drive four thousand spindles, with all the necessary preparation. Employs about forty-six hands; tenements for thirteen families." This property was owned by Carter until April, 1829, when it was sold to Edward Darlington and Thomas Clyde, and Carter removed to the South. The mills were rented by Darlington and Clyde to Kershaw, Dean & Hill, who operated them until they were sold, March 4, 1832, to Robert Beatty and John O'Neill. At the time of the purchase there was a cotton-factory and tilt-mill on the estate. Beatty & O'Neill began at this place the manufacture of edge tools; but O'Neill soon withdrew from the firm, and rented from Beatty, who had bought the cotton-mill at Knowlton. On Jan. 7, 1834, the factory was, with contents, entirely consumed by fire. On Oct. 26, 1835, John P. Crozer bought the property, containing the four tracts of land conveyed in 1822 to Samuel Love, a tilt-mill, saw-mill, new building for factory, twenty-five by thirty-five feet, one brick and seven stone houses. After the sale Mr. Beatty continued the business at the place for a year or two, when Mr. Crozer erected a stone cotton-mill, thirty-two by seventy-six feet, three stories in height. This mill building was washed away in 1843,¹ and the next year a stone building, thirty-three by eighty-five feet, three stories in height, was erected.

In 1846, Phineas Lownes and Abraham Blakeley commenced manufacturing at that place and continued until 1853, when it was operated by Mr. Crozer until about 1869. At the latter date the mill was leased by John B. Rhodes, who now operates it. "Near the headgates of the mill there was formerly the marks of a grave, the occupant of which tradition named Moggey, and from that circumstance the crossing of the creek was named Moggey's Ford. As Moggey had the reputation of making her appearance ocsionally, it required no little courage in the traveler in early times to cross the ford at night."² The incident on which the tradition was based was that about sixty years ago an English girl disappeared from that locality, and although suspicion pointed its finger at a wealthy resident in the neighborhood as being interested in her disappearance, no action was taken. The marks of a grave at the headgates when in subsequent years human bones were discovered near the spot, and long after the suspected man had removed to a distant country, were spoken of in confirmation of the truth of the tradition of Moggey's ghostly appearances.

The Bottomley Woolen-Mill. - On a little run known in early days as Clark's Run, later as Chrome Run, a feeder of Chester Creek, which empties into the latter a short distance above Presbyterian Ford, about 1810, a small stone woolen-factory, fifteen by thirty feet, was erected by Jesse Grissell for James and John Bottomley. The latter were Englishmen, and accompanied to America by their mother, a brother, Samuel, and a sister, Elizabeth, who subsequently was married to ------- Groves. The males of the family worked in the factory, and John died at that place. Samuel, after the war of 1812, went to Baltimore, where he died. The Bottomleys continued the woolen-mill until 1832, the land being owned by Jesse Grissel (Griswold), who had purchased it in 1806 of Morris Trueman, when James Miller and Robert Boyd rented the property. Miller made edge tools; the latter turned axe-handles, bobbins, and manufactured paper there in a small way. The mill was burned in 1848.

The Morris Trueman Saw-Mill. - Above the Bottomley Mill on Chrome Run an old race is still to be seen on the land of John Scofield. The breast of the dam has been plowed down with recent years, and is on land of Bernard McArron. This was the site of Morris Trueman's saw-mill, erected there prior to 1777. In that year he removed to Darby Creek and built a paper-mill, which was afterwards generally known as the Matthews paper-mill, and is now owned by Samel Lewis. The mill was used until about 1812.

The Old Sable Nail-Works. - The story of the old iron-works which, prior to 1785, were established on the opposite side of Chester Creek from the nail-works, has been related in the history of Aston township. In 1809, Capt. Henry Moore, who was then in charge of the forge and rolling-mills on the other side of the creek, owned by his brother-in-law, Thomas Odiorne, erected on the island in the creek at Rockdale a nail-factory, and placed therein nine nail-machines. In 1810 one hundred tons of iron were manufactured into nails at this factory, which were sold