Radnor Township.

money than any other district in the county. Mr. Abraham is a stanch Republican, and a firm believer in Republican principles as the sure foundation of the prosperity of this country. He is looked up to by all his acquaintances, and the "Squire's" advice is received and reverenced as being sound and just.

The ancestors of this gentleman were of German origin, though members of the society of Friends, and early settlers in Montgomery County, Pa.

Lawrence Ramey, the grandfather of the present Lawrence Ramey, was born in Montgomery County. Among his children were two sons, Benjamin and Jacob, who, as members of Capt. Holgate's company of Montgomery County volunteers, served at Marcus Hook during the war of 1812-15. Both contracted pulmonary disease in the service, and both died of consumption while still young men.

Benjamin Ramey was but thirty-five years of age at the time of his death. Of three children born to him, Lawrence, the subject of this notice, is the only survivor. The latter was born near the borough of Conshohocken, Montgomery Co., Pa., Sept. 23, 1818. He was but ten years of age at the time of his father's death, and since he attained the age of twelve years has managed his own way through life, almost unaided. His educational advantages were limited to an attendance at the schools of his neighborhood two or three months during each winter until attaining the age of fifteen years. He grew up on a farm, and though disabled in his right arm and shoulder from infancy, has always followed the laborious yet honorable occupation of farming. From his fifteenth year until within a period quite recent he regularly attended the Philadelphia markets with farm products of his own production. As a result, pecuniary success has attended his efforts; honesty, industry, and frugality have met with their reward, and he is now regarded as one of the most successful farmers in the township.

In the autumn of 1843 he was married to Ann Eliza, the daughter of George Stacker, of Radnor, who died July 10, 1847. Their only child, Hannah Emily, was born Oct. 7, 1844, and died Aug. 6, 1864. On the 17th of October, 1854, Mr. Ramey was again married, to Jane English, of the city of Philadelphia, who is still living. No children have resulted from this union.

The valuable farm now owned by Mr. Ramey has been occupied by him continuously since March, 1844. It was purchased for his use in 1843 by his first wife's uncle, John Stacker, then a prosperous ironmaster near Clarksville, Tenn. Stacker afterward became associated in business with Hon. John Bell, of Tennessee, a prominent politician and a Presidential candidate just prior to the late war. During the war their interests suffered terribly, and much of their property, including the Cumberland Iron-Works, was destroyed. After Bell's death, Stacker, by reason of having assumed liabilities not really his own, was financially ruined. As a result the claim upon the farm occupied by Mr. Ramey passed to the control of Stacker's trustees. To them, therefore, Mr. Ramey paid the sum of twelve thousand dollars cash for the farm. Originally it contained about seventy acres. Thirty acres have been added by its present owner. Mr. Ramey has served as township auditor for a period of twenty-one years, and is now one of the oldest residents, in point of residence in the township, in Radnor.

Benjamin Kirk

More than a century ago, Philip Kirk, an English gentleman of considerable wealth, came to America; purchased a large tract of land in the immediate vicinity of the present town of Media, Pa., and there passed the remainder of his days. His weight was about three hundred and seventy-five pounds avoirdupois, and he was widely known for his many eccentricities and the rather extravagant style in which he lived. It is related that he was a pronounced patriot during the Revolutionary war, and for that reason British scouts several times attempted his capture, but always failed, as he had a secure place of hiding. The names of only two of his children are remembered, - Benjamin and John. The latter removed to the State of Virginia, where he prospered and became the father of a large family.

Benjamin, the son of Philip Kirk, married a young and beautiful lady of Irish parentage named Rosanna Carr. The ten children born to them were Esther, Philip, John, George, Benjamin, Mary Ann, Simpson, Washington, Samuel, and Rachel. All lived to be heads of families with the exception of Washington, who died when a child. The survivors at this writing are John, George, Benjamin, and Rachel. It has often been remarked that, as a family, the children of Benjamin and Rosanna Kirk were never excelled as regards physical strength and activity in the county of Delaware.

Esther became the wife of Ezekiel Norman, and passed her days near Media. Philip, a carpenter by trade, also passed the greater part of his life near Media, but died at the Sorrel Horse Hotel, in Radnor township. He married Eliza Worrell, of Upper Providence. Their surviving children are Anderson, Joseph, Rudolph, Jemima (Anderson), and Rachel. John, the second son of Benjamin Kirk, is a blacksmith by trade, and still resides near Media. George, by occupation a farmer, has been known for many years as an auctioneer in the counties of Delaware, Montgomery, and Chester. Benjamin, whose portrait will be seen on one of these pages, is a wheelwright by trade, but is better known as an old-time inn-keeper. He