Nether Providence Township.
Shee. In the division of the Leiper estate, in 1843, this property was awarded to William J. Leiper, who shortly after that date rented it to James Riddle, and a cotton-factory was erected thereon. In 1845, Simeon Lord leased the estate, and remained there until his removal to Darby Mills, in 1861. Previous to the termination of the tenancy of Simeon Lord, on March 5, 1859, Mrs. Helen H. Patterson, a daughter of Thomas Leiper, purchased the property and now owns it. At that date there were four acres of land, a stone cotton-factory, and five tenement-houses. The factory and other buildings are now in ruins. The former, on Nov. 13, 1865, when in the tenancy of Mr. Tomlinson, was destroyed by fire, involving a loss of fifty thousand dollars.
The Lewis Paper-Mills. - On Crum Creek, in the year 1826, John Pancoast erected a two-vat stone paper-mill, on lands which he had purchased June 16, 1825. The mill was owned and operated by him until April 1, 1833, when the estate was purchased by Elizabeth Lewis, whose husband, John Lewis, operated the mill until July 30, 1868, when it was sold to John Howard Lewis, the present owner. On April 9, 1882, the mill was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt, and on Aug. 21, 1883, was again burned. Thomas Morrison, one of the employés, was killed by the bursting of the rag boiler, and several others assisting to save the buildings and personal estate were severely hurt. Immediately the work of rebuilding was begun, and on March 10, 1884, work was resumed in the third paper-mill erected on this site. The present buildings are all of stone, the main mill, thirty-five by one hundred and twenty-five feet, two stories in height; the engine-room, fifty-seven by ninety-seven feet, two stories; rotary-room, thirty-one by fifty-four feet; rag-room, forty-six by sixty feet, three stories and an attic in height. It is a five-engine mill, and manufactures about twenty tons of paper per week.
Spool-Cotton Works. - About 1833, J. & J. Hillditch, in the old yellow house still standing south of Idlewild, were engaged in manufacturing spool and wound cotton.
Other Mills. - In 1766, John Hinkson owned a saw-mill in the township, which, in 1774, was operated by David Bloomer, but it does not appear on the assessment-roll after 1780. In 1774, Job Dicks owned a grist- and saw-mill on Ridley Creek, a short distance below Rose Valley Mills, which were continued by him until subsequent to 1790. William Pennell, in 1764, was assessed on a grist- and saw-mill in Nether Providence. He was also at that date the owner of a grist- and saw-mill in Middletown.
Licensed Houses. - In Lower or Nether Providence the applications for license do not appear, so far as the record discloses, previous to 1746; but at that date Nathaniel Vernon had leave granted him to keep a public-house in the township. The same year he presented his petition for license in the borough of Chester, having leased the house where David Cowpland dwells; and to that petition the court gave a willing assent, showing that Vernon stood well with the justices. He does not appear, however, to have taken out his license for Cowpland's house, for the next year he is again an applicant, and is allowed license in Upper Providence; but subsequent to that date his name disappears, and no petition is on file for Nether Providence until 1763, when John Powell put in an appearance, and continued annually to do so until 1769, when the court allowed him to sell "Beer and Ale." In 1772, William Edwards had license granted to him, and it was so continued until 1776. In 1778, Andrew Linn was given the right, and in 1781, William Beaumont was allowed license, and continued annually to receive it until 1785. In that year the landlord, it seems from Beaumont's petition, had "rented the old house to some one else," and he therefore made application to be permitted to keep a house of entertainment at a place "nearly opposite the old stand;" but the court refused his petition, and granted the right to the "some one else," who appears to have been Nathaniel Sbarpless. The latter annually received license from that date up to and including the year 1789.
When Delaware County was established, Nathaniel Sharpless was licensed to keep a public-house in Nether Providence; but I fail to find any application for a similar privilege in that township until 1792, when Abraham Edwards was landlord of an inn, and continued yearly thereafter until 1795, when it disappeared from the record. Ten years afterwards, in 1806, William Spear filed a petition, asking leave of the court to keep a tavern at the house he then occupied, which he states is commonly known as the Anvil. His application was met with a remonstrance signed by seventy-five persons, among whom were Luke Cassin, Edward Fell, John Worrall, Samuel West, Owen Worrall, Joseph Thatcher, John Hinkson, Moses Palmer, Peter Worrall, Daniel Sharpless, Samuel Pancoast, John Broomall, and other well-known citizens, who objected because an inn at that location was unnecessary; "that where Inns are kept where there is but little Profit arising from Travellers, Landlords are frequently Induced to permit their Neighbors to Resort to them, Spending their precious time in the Crying Sin of Drunkenness and Levity, Whereby many Healthy Constitutions have been Impaired, and many Families Reduced to poverty and want. That there is a Meeting of Friends held very near, twice a week, for the purpose of Divine Worship; and Monthly for Inspecting and Resulting affairs which relate to their Religious Society, it is probable the solemnity of these Occasions may be at times Interrupted by persons of the above description. And lastly, that as we believe if William Spear Could be obliged to decline his Prospect, it might prove a Singular Kindness to him, so many Instances having occurred within the Compass of our