Nether Providence Township.
to be paid to Joshua Harrison, his heirs or assigns." This lease gave "full right to raise, repair, alter, or rebuild" a new dam on the site of the present one. It is evident that soon after the lease, in 1791, the snuff-mill was erected. It was owned and operated by Jacob Benninghove till his death, which occurred before 1811.
The residence now owned and occupied by Samuel Bancroft was built by Jacob Benninghove. For a few years after the death of Benninghove the mill was operated by James Crowley, and from 1816 by Elizabeth Benninghove, widow of Jacob, till her death. On the 5th of April, 1831, Samuel Bancroft purchased one hundred and sixty-two acres of land, and the snuff- and saw-mill then on the property, the land lying in Chester, Middletown, and Nether Providence. In the next year, 1832, Samuel Bancroft erected a stone woolen-mill, eighty-six by forty-six feet, three stories and an attic in height, in which he placed two thousand four hundred spindles and thirty looms. In 1842 the property passed to William T. Crook, who remained there twelve years. During that time he built a stone mill, one hundred by fifty feet, four stories high, for the manufacture of blankets. Ten sets of cards were put in. On Dec. 4, 1849, an accident happened at the mills, which made a deep impression on the residents of the county at that time. A young man named Hutchinson, employed by Crook, was in the fourth story of the mill engaged in hoisting cotton from a wagon. In leaning out the door to catch the tackle the bar gave way and he fell, striking on the wbeel of the wagon, causing instant death. About 1854 the property was again purchased by Samuel Bancroft, who has operated it to the present time. There are three thousand spindles, thirty-five looms, and seven sets of cards in the mill.
John Bancroft, the grandfather of Samuel, was by birth an Englishman, and resided in Manchester, England, where he was a chair manufacturer. On retiring from business he removed to Penketh, near Warrington, England, where the remainder of his life was spent. He married Jane Fielding, of Todmorden Hall, to whom were born children, - John, David, and Sarah. John, whose birth ocourred in Manchester, pursued the business of his father, to which was added that of a lumber merchant. He married Elizabeth Wood, of Bolton, Lancashire, England, whose children were John, Joseph, Samuel, Rebecca, Margaret, Sarah, Thomas, William, Edward, Esther, Martha, and Harvey. Mr. Bancroft, with his family, emigrated to America in 1822, and settled at Wilmington, Del., where he established mills for the manufacture of flannel goods. His son, Samuel, was born on the 25th of July, 1804, in Manchester, England. His youth was spent in Wales, where, after being educated at a Friends' school in Ackworth, Yorkshire, he engaged in farming, and continued thus employed until his emigration, with his father, to America in 1822. He at once became identified with his father's pursuits, and in 1827 repaired, with the family, to the township of Upper Providence. Here, having rented a mill, he became interested in the manufacture of flannels. In 1831, Mr. Bancroft removed to his present location, in Nether Providence, and, in conjunction with his father, erected mills in the vicinity, which he continues to operate, residing meanwhile at his attractive home - known as "Todmorden" - in the same township. He was married, June 3, 1828, to Miss Mary W., daughter of William Hallowell, of Philadelphia. Their only child was Elizabeth H. (Mrs. Thomas H. Rice), deceased. He was a second time married, on the 13th of January, 1859, to Sarah, daughter of John Patrick Hare, of Philadelphia. Mr. Bancroft affiliates with the Republican party in politics, but rarely interests himself in the political issues of the day further than by the casting of his ballot. He is identified with the First National Bank of Media as a director. In his religious belief he is a member of the society of Friends.
Rose Valley Mills. - Nicholas Stimmel, in 1789, purchased of Joseph Dicks one hundred and sixty-five acres of land on Ridley Creek, in Nether Providence. Soon after be sold eighty-two and one-half acres to James Reese, and in 1789 purchased a right for nine hundred and ninety-nine years of abutting a dam on the other side of the creek, with sufficient land to keep it in repair. In the same year Nicholas Stimmel built a snuff-mill on this property. His son, Philip, kept a tobacco-store in Philadelphia, and in 1794 the snuff-mill came into the latter's possession. He continued to operate it until April 12, 1814, when he conveyed the mill property and fifty-three acres to William Smith. On July 29, 1818, Smith sold the property to John White, by whom the place was named Rose Valley. The snuff-mill was carried on under his ownership until 1821, when he conveyed the property to William Yardley, a son-in-law, in trust for two of his children, Catharine Fields and John White. At that time it was operated by Charles Fields, who employed the mill for grinding bark used as a medicine for fevers. The introduction of quinine destroyed the business, and on April 4, 1826, the property was sold to Park Shee, and Charles Fields removed to Philadelphia, where he became a leading coffee broker. Park Shee changed the old bark into a paper-mill, and erected other buildings. The structures were part stone and part frame, two stories in height; one was thirty by forty feet, and the other forty by fifty feet. Three engines, a drying-machine, and other necessary machinery was added for the manufacture of paper. Park Shee continued the business until after 1850, when the buildings fell into disuse. On Aug. 27, 1861, the property was purchased by Antrim Osborne, and was at that time in ruins, and, as then stated, was "inhabited only by bats and owls." The next year Osborne repaired the dam and race, and built a three-story stone building, seventy-five by fifty-five feet, in which was placed twelve hundred and twenty-four