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Catherine (Haupt) Evans |
Catherine (Haupt) Evans was born in April 1788 in Bucks County, PA, the daughter of John "Henry" Sebastian and Maria Catharina (Youngken) Haupt Jr.
She was united in holy matrimony with clockmaker Septimus Evans ( ? - ? ), son of Capt. Nathan Evans, a Welshman and officer during the Revolutionary War who fought in the battles of Germantown and Brandywine.
They lived in Doylestown and moved to Jenkintown, PA where Catherine was a school teacher.
Nine children produced in this family were Jacob Evans, Henry S. Evans, Palmeral Evans, Samuel Evans, Jemima Carruthers, Eliza Evans, Sarah Newton, Columbus Penn Evans and Mary Baker Pennock.
Circa 1811, he contracted with John Dungan and James Wigton to deliver 100 perches of stone to be "quarried and perched on the bank at his quarry by his house," said J.H. Battle's 1887 History of Bucks County. Using stone materials, Septimus "built the house of Mrs. A.J. LaRue, Broad and Main, where he carried on watchmaking," said the 1876 History of Bucks County by William Watts Hart Davis. "This house was kept as a tavern many years."
Sadly, he died at a relatively young age, leaving a widow with eight small children "to battle with the world almost without means," said the 1872 book, History of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Their descendants were "well represented in Chester and Delaware counties" in the 1930s, wrote genealogist Anita (Smith) Eyster.
~ Son Jacob Evans ~
Son Jacob Evans ( ? - ? ).
He learned the gunsmith's trade and migrated south.
Nothing more about him is known.
~ Son Henry Sebastian Evans ~
Son Henry Sebastian Evans (1813-1872) was born on April 1, 1813 in Doylestown, Bucks County.
In 1841, he wed Jane Darlington (Feb. 28, 1817- ? ), daughter of Dr. William Darlington, a celebrated botanist.
The Evanses resided in West Chester, PA. They bore seven children, of whom five are known -- Barton Darlington Evans, William Darlington Evans, Catherine Lacey Evans, Henrietta Sebastian Borden and Septimus Lacey Evans.
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| Pennsylvania lawmaker Henry Sebastian Evans and his profile in the History of Chester County. - Courtesy Google Books |
He was profiled in the History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, by J. Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope (Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881).
At the early age of thirteen. Henry was apprenticed to Hon. Charles Miner, who then published the Village Record at West Chester, to learn the printing trade. Mr. Miner was one of the leading public men of the State at that time, had served in Congress, and was a most polished man, -- a master calculated to awaken all the ambition of the youthful Evans and fit him for a public career. The life of an apprentice fifty years ago was very different from that of to-day, and a boy was expected to perform any task his master set. Newspaper publishers then delivered their papers to their country subscribers, and three days in the week, winter and summer, found young Evans astride the saddle-bags "riding post" over the county. Evenings found him poring over books, and he soon began to contribute to the Record articles which won the favorable criticism of so polished a writer as Mr. Miner. Newspaper writing in those days was modeled after the style of essays, hence we find the Village Record fifty years ago quite different from the newsy paper that it afterwards became under its whilom apprentice. Young Evans' apprenticeship ended when he was nineteen, and May 11, 1833, he started forth to battle with the world with little money, but much courage. Six pages of diary kept by him at that time give so well the story of his experiences that we will quote his own words. After some weeks spent in visiting his relatives, he says,
"Went to Philadelphia and obtained work at Howe's type-foundry, and remained three weeks and three days, when the business of the office began to fail. Being now obliged to 'stand' or change situation, I took the latter alternative, and took my passage for New York at 6 A.M. Friday, June 22, 1833. Took my lodgings in New York at Tammany Hall; the terms were $2 per week for a room and bed; board of course was not included. The rain caused me to add a new article of expense, -this was an umbrella, for which I paid $3.50, a pretty heavy sum in these times. Having frequently felt the want of such an article, I determined to avoid the inconvenience in the future; but even these reflections were not sufficient, after I had purchased it, to reconcile my mind until I resorted to the old saying, I think of Pope, that what is, is right;' this idea has more than once poured comfort into my tortured mind. Business dull in New York. Called at several printing-offices but found no work. Remained three days, and resolved to return to Philadelphia. Found myself without money to return; steamboat fare was $3. Was obliged to sell my umbrella at the place where bought it. The merchant would only allow $2. Heavy loss. No work in Philadelphia. Returned to West Chester; saw an advertisement in Telegraph, Germantown, for jour. Set off on foot for that place; engaged it at $6 per week. Found employment five or six weeks with Mr. Freas. Despairing of journey-work, issued a prospectus for Waynesburg Press, in Chester County. Set out for Waynesburg on foot; made known my intentions to the people, and went around and solicited subscribers. Obtained 500 and started the Press."
The diary ends here never to be resumed, for the leisure time of the writer was at an end. The new paper required hard work, and the income was so small that often two meals a day had to suffice the young publisher, because there were no means to buy the third. In 1834, Mr. Miner, who wished to retire from business, offered the Village Record to Mr. Evans, which was gladly accepted, and moving to West Chester, he assumed control. Under his charge the paper grew in circulation and influence, until it became an institution in the county, and the leading country paper of the State. In political and public matters Mr. Evans took an active and influential part, and soon was recognized as a leader. In 1846 the Whigs elected him to represent Chester County in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, and re-elected him in 1847 and 1848. His abilities and energy soon made him one of the leading members of the House, and he exerted much influence on legislation. In the session of 1849 he was the Whig candidate for Speaker, the Democratic candidate being William F. Packer, of Lycoming County, afterwards Governor. The House was composed of 47 Whigs, 50 Democrats, and 3 "Native Americans." Mr. Evans polled the solid Whig and "Native" vote for twenty-one ballots, the result of each ballot being a tie. On the twenty-second ballot the three "Natives" cast their ballots for Mr. Packer and elected him. In 1851, Mr. Evans was elected State Senator from the district composed of Chester and Delaware Counties, and served with so much credit and satisfaction that he was renominated by the Whigs of Chester County at the expiration of his term, but apprehending that unless the "claims" of Delaware County were yielded to his party might lose the district, he withdrew. In 1854, Mr. Evans was a prominent candidate for the Whig nomination for Governor. Mr. Evans' name was withdrawn, as it afterwards proved, unadvisedly, as the Philadelphia delegation had resolved to cast its vote solidly for him on the next ballot, which would have nominated him. Governor Pollock selected Andrew G. Curtin, afterwards Governor, as his Secretary of the Commonwealth, intimating to Mr. Evans that if Mr. Curtin declined he should offer him the place.
While serving in the House and Senate, Mr. Evans distinguished himself as a most painstaking, industrious member. He was a member of several of the most important committees of both Houses, and was chairman of the House Committee on Printing and Education. While in this latter position he originated and framed the act that was passed by both Houses for the regulation of common schools in Pennsylvania. In the legislation for the sale of the public works he took a very prominent part. At the close of his Senatorial term he resumed his editorial work with his usual ardor, but his health, never very robust, began to fail, and in 1869 he took a trip to Europe. Returning much invigorated, he was again elected, in 1870, to the State Senate, this time from the district composed of Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. Before his term was half over he was taken sick, and died Feb. 9, 1872. Henry S. Evans was one of those remarkable men who are the products of American civilization. Like Horace Greeley and other well-known men, he began life a poor boy, gifted with only a slight public-school education, and by his own efforts raised himself to a prominent place as a journalist and as a public man. Like those gifted countrymen who had risen so high by their own exertions, he fell a victim to the demon overwork, dying at an age when English public men have hardly reached their prime. Remembering his own early struggles, Mr. Evans was ever ready to lend a helping hand to young people just starting in life, and a tale of suffering or trouble was sure to attract his sympathy and aid. As a citizen he took a prominent part in every public enterprise, and was called to fill numerous places of minor public trust: chief burgess of West Chester in 1861, guardian, trustee, etc. The high estimation in which he was held by the public made places in his office much sought after by the best class of young men, and he was very proud of his boys... His death came like a sudden blow, and the high regard in which he was held by his neighbors was attested by the universal expressions of sorrow at the news of his departure. No finger of suspicion was ever pointed at any public act of his, and his private life was equally without stain.
Son Barton Darlington Evans (1845- ? ) was born on May 26, 1845. He wed Fannie Bemis ( ? - ? ). One daughter of the pair was Betty Evans, born in 1879.
Son William Darlington Evans (1850- ? ) was born on May 13, 1850. He married Lucy Messersmith ( ? - ? ). Two sons of this union were Henry Sebastian Evans (born in 1883) and George M. Evans (1884).
Daughter Catherine Lacey Evans ( ? - ? ) died at age five years.
Daughter Henrietta Sebastian Evans (1855- ? ) was born on June 19, 1855. She was united in matrimony with Joseph E. Borden ( ? - ? ).
Son Septimus Lacey Evans (1858-1894) was born on Dec. 11, 1858. The angel of death cleaved him away on Feb. 5, 1894, at the age of 35.
~ Son Palmeral Evans ~
Son Palmeral Evans ( ? - ? ) - nothing is known.
~ Son Samuel W. Evans ~
Son Samuel W. Evans ( ? -1878) was born on (?).
He wed Rebecca Entrekin (Jan. 20, 1820-1908), daughter of William and Hannah (Howard) Entrekin, also spelled "Entrican."
The eight known offspring in this brood were Anna Katherine "Kate" Evans, Howard B. Evans, John Henry Evans, Edward Penn Evans, Sarah Agnes Evans, Samuel Sebastian Evans, William Watson Evans and Ella Rebecca Evans.
Rebecca "belonged to the Sharpless, Carpenteer and other prominent families of Delaware and Chester counties," said the Delaware County Daily Times.
When the federal census enumeration was made in 1850, Samuel earned a living as a merchant, and the family resided in West Chester, Chester County, PA. That year, their 14-year-old nephew Henry Carruthers lived under their roof, as did 18-year-old Irish immigrant Jane Harrison.
Death carried him off, in East Brandywine Township, on Nov. 15, 1878. The remains were lowered under the sod of Oaklands Cemetery in West Goshen Township.
Rebecca outlived Samuel by three decades. Her final address was in Philadelphia at 2031 North 13th Street. Having become senile with dementia, she died in Philadelphia at the age of 88 on June 3, 1908.
Daughter Anna Katherine "Kate" Evans (1845-1924) was born on Jan. 27, 1845. She did not marry and devoted her life to teaching school. Burdened with heart disease, she succumbed to the spectre of death at age 79, in Montgomery Township, Montgomery County, on April 10, 1924. Burial was in Oaklands Cemetery, West Goshen Township. S.S. Adams of Media, PA was the informant for her official Pennsylvania certificate of death.
Son Dr. Howard B. Evans (1846-1917) was born on June 18, 1846 and grew up in Chester, PA. He trained as a physician in young manhood. At the age of 30, still single, he and his brothers John Henry and Samuel boarded together under the roof of Edmond and Martha Hill in Philadelphia. He married Emma Gaston ( ? - ? ), but at the end of his life he was considered "single." Howard's final home was in Montgomery County. Just five days before his 71st birthday, and suffering from angina pectoris, he died in Eureka on June 13, 1917. Providing information for the death certificate was William W. Evans of North Wales, PA. Interment was in Oaklands Cemetery. A short death notice appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Son John Henry Evans (1848-1921) was born on March 30 or 31, 1848. He and his brother Edward both were baptized on March 14, 1852 in the Church of the Holy Trinity in West Chester, PA. He became a druggist in Philadelphia. As of 1880, at age 26, he and his unmarried brothers Samuel and Howard lived together, boarding in the Philadelphia home of Edmond and Martha Hill. In about 1887, he was joined in the bonds of holy wedlock with Sidney Jane Hoopes (Jan. 1853- ? ). They became the parents of an only son, Homer Hoopes Evans (1889-1979). The federal census of 1900 shows the couple in Media, Delaware County, PA with his continuing his profession as a druggist. John's fortunes turned, and by 1910 he was working as a railroad clerk in Media, while their son was employed as a clerk by a trust company. John was spirited away by death's angels at the age of 72 on Jan. 13, 1921. Burial was in Media's Cumberland Cemetery.
Son Edward Penn Evans (1849-1880) was born on May 25, 1849 or 1850 in or near Chester County, PA. He and his older brother John both were baptized on March 14, 1852 in the Church of the Holy Trinity in West Chester, PA. The family was plunged into mourning when Edward died at the age of 30, on July 31, 1880, in East Brandywine Township, Chester County. His ashes sleep for all eternity in Oaklands Cemetery in West Goshen Township.
Daughter Sarah Agnes Evans (1854- ? ) was born on Dec. 15, 1854. She did not marry. Sarah made a career as a bookkeeper. With her health failing due to heart valve insufficiency and chronic kidney disease, death carried her away at the age of 69 on April 8, 1924, in Montgomery County.
Son Samuel Sebastian Evans Sr. (1857-1931) was born on March 14, 1857 in Chester County. in 1880, at the age of 23, he lived with his bachelor brothers John Henry and Howard in Philadelphia, boarding with Edmond and Martha Hill. From there he moved to Georgia. The federal census enumeration of 1900 shows hin Cedartown, Polk County, GA, renting a room in the house of Joseph Adamson, and working as a civil engineer. In about 1901, at the age of 44, he was married to Elizabeth Haldeman Miller (1869-1954). The bride was a dozen years younger than the groom, and a member of the Society of Friends. Although Samuel was not affiliated with the Friends, Elizabeth wished to retain her membership and her request was granted. Otherwise known as the "Providence Preparative Meeting," the Friends' roots began with early Quaker meetings in Upper and Lower Providence Townships. Two offspring of their union -- both born in Georgia -- were Dorothy Miller Seltzer and Samuel Sebastian Evans Jr. As of 1910, the Evanses' dwelling was in Cedartown, where he was employed as general manager of a cotton mill. They later returned to their home state, with an address of 223 North Monroe at the corner of Third Street in Media, Delaware County, PA. Samuel was considered by the Delaware County Daily Tmes as a "prominent citizen." Samuel then began his own membership in the Friends. For the last six years of his life, he suffered from chronic kidney problems which led to acute uremia, and he was confined to their residence for the last two years of his life. At the age of 73, he died in their home on Jan. 11, 1931. At his funeral service, Society of Friends leaders Emma Lippincott Higgins and Warren Tryon gave glowing eulogies. Burial was in the local Media Cemetery. The Daily Times said in an obituary that "There was a large gathering of relatives and friends in attendance and the floral offerings were numerous." Pallbearers included his son Sebastian Jr., son in law Charles Seltzer, Homer Hoopes Evans, Walter Durnall, William Watson Evans and William Pennock. Their son Samuel Jr. was a 1927 graduate of Cornell University. In 1929, the Seltzers lived in Rose Valley, Moylan and the Evanses in East Orange, NJ before moving to Merion Township near Philadelphia.
Son William Watson Evans (1859-1931) was born on May 8, 1859. He was a lifelong bachelor, and a longtime farmer. In the early 1930s, he dwelled in Eureka, PA. Suffering from chronic heart disease, death swept him away four days after his 72nd birthday on May 12, 1931. A short funeral notice appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer. His sister Ella, also of Eureka, gave key information for the certificate of death.
Daughter Ella Rebecca Evans (1865-1935) was born on Nov. 17, 1865 in Chester County. She remained single. In the mid-1930s, her dwelling-place was in North Wales, Media Borough, Delaware County. She was burdened with an irregular heartbeat toward the end. She suffered a heart attack at the age of 70 and died three days after Christmas 1935. Charles Seltzer of Moylan, PA was the informant for the death certificate.
~ Daughter Jemima (Evans) Carruthers ~
Daughter Jemima Evans ( ? - ? ) was born in Pennsylvania. She is said to have been adopted by her uncle-by-marriage, Abraham Piesch.
She relocated to Illinois, settling in Lawrenceville, Lawrence County. There, she married an up-and-coming lawyer George W. Carruthers ( ? - ? ) of Lawrenceville.
They were the parents of one known son, Henry W. Carruthers, born in 1835.
Circa 1837, George advertised in the Illinois State Register that he was offering legal services at "Flack's" in Vandalia, IL. His last ad appeared on Oct. 27, 1837.
Sadly, about that time, George died in Vandalia.
The widowed Jemima and her young son returned to Pennsylvania. The son resided in the household of her brother Samuel W. Evans in 1850.
Her final fate is not known.
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| Above, left: Capt. Henry W. Carruthers (History of the Ninety-seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, During the War of the Rebellion, Philadelphia, 1875). Above right: the Fortress Monroe hospital where he died, and below, wounded soldiers arriving at the fort. |
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Son Henry W. Carruthers (1835-1864) was born on Nov. 5, 1835 in Lawrenceville, IL. His father died when Henry was a child, and he and his mother subsequently moved back to her home state of Ohio. In 1850, Henry resided with his uncle and aunt, Samuel W. and Rebecca Evans, in Chester, Chester County, PA. At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to his uncle, newspaper editor Henry Sebastian Evans of West Chester, PA, to learn the printing business. There, said the History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, by John Smith Futhey and Gilbert Cope, "he remained until he attained his twenty-first year, becoming an excellent printer and an efficient assistant in conducting the business of the office. At the end of his apprenticeship he entered upon the study of law with Joseph Hemphill, Esq., in West Chester ; was admitted to the bar of the courts of Chester and Delaware Counties in February, 1858, and practiced the law until the spring of 1861, when, the Rebellion having culminated in the attack upon Fort Sumter, he joined the ardent and patriotic young men of West Chester in raising troops to support the government." Previously a member of the National Guards, led by Henry R. Russ, he entered the Civil War when first joining the 9th Pennsylvania Infantry for a three-month term. He re-enlisted and was placed in the 97th Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers on Sept. 11, 1861 and named adjutant of the regiment. Said the book Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania, by Samuel Penniman Bates, "During the siege of Forts Wagner and Gregg he had charge of the assignment and relief of working parties detailed from the brigade, a position of great peril and hardship, which he performed with singular success... Upon the transfer of the regiment to the Army of the James, his ability was even more apparent and his skill in more constant requisition. While in the Department of the South he had acted at intervals as Assistant Adjutant-General on the staff of Colonel Guss. He was afterwards offered this position on the staff of Colonel Bell; but he steadily declined it, preferring to remain with his old companions in arms. On the 6th of June, 1864, while in front of the enemy's works at Cold Harbor, he received his commission as Captain of Company C of his regiment." He is known to have taken part in battle at Deep Bottom and Malvern Hill, VA on Aug. 14-15, 1864, and at Strawberry Plains, VA on Aug. 16. He was shot at Strawberry Plains, with an enemy minié ball passing through his lumbar vertebras, severing the spinal cord and paralyzing his legs. He was carried off the field and sent to Chesapeake Hospital, at Fortress Monroe, VA. Said the history of his regiment, while in the hospital, "he received every attention which surgical skill could devise, but without avail; after suffering painfully and patiently several days, entirely sensible and resigned to his fate..." Sadly, just six days later, on Aug. 22, 1864, he surrendered to the spectre of death at age 29. Back home, his friends in the Chester County Bar "adopted resolutions lamenting his death," said the History, "and expressive of his great ability and brave loyalty, and added that he was the fifth martyr from its bar, and that it would fondly associate his name with the honored names of Bell, Roberts, Mclntire, and Nields, who had before given their lives to their country on the battle-field." Later, in 1875, he was profiled in an eight-page booklet, Biographical Sketch of Henry W. Carruthers, Esq., by Isaiah Price.
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| Henry's profile in Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania - Courtesy Google Books |
~ Daughter Eliza Evans ~
Daughter Eliza Evans ( ? -1855) was born in (?).
Sadly, she died in 1855. The details seem to be lost to history.
~ Daughter Sarah (Evans) Newton ~
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| The Newtons' graves, West Chester, PA - Courtesy "Carete" |
Daughter Sarah Evans (1821-1897) was born on April 25, 1821.
She was joined in wedlock with widower Rev. Dr. William Newton (1817-1893), an immigrant from Liverpool, England. His first wife, Mary Anne ( ? -1861), had died in 1861.
Sarah and William do not appear to have reproduced.
The pair resided on Union Street in West Chester, PA. At one time, he served as rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Philadelphia.
Later, on Dec. 30, 1877, said the Philadelphia Inquirer, he "startled the Protestant Episcopal world by the announcement of his withdrawal from that communion, followed by his entrance into the Reformed Episcopal Church, to which he had been in its inception an outspoken opponent." He was formally deposed from the ministry of the Protestalt Episcopal Churcy by the late Bishop Stevens, in April 1878." More than half of his former congregation followed him to the new church. Said the Inquirer, "Immediately after leaving the Church of the Nativity he reorganized the Reformed Episcopal Church of the Nativity in a hall at Tenth and Spring Garden streets, Philadelphia, where he remained for some years." This body of worshippers became Philadelphia's Church of the Covenant.
His final charge was the Church of the Sure Foundation. Over the years, he authored books on religious and scientific topics as well as volumes of poems, among them Immortality and Other Poems, Human Life, The Morning Star and Other Poems and Gleanings from a Busy Life.
Burdened with pneumonia, William died at the age of 75 on Feb. 16, 1893. Obituaries were published throughout the region. His grave marker bears this epitaph and scripture: "He departed this life in the full assurance of a blessed immortality... Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them. Rev. XIV. 13."
Sarah outlived her spouse by four years. She died in West Chester on Feb. 17, 1897. A notice of her death was printed in the Inquirer. Her remains sleep in the Oaklands Cemetery in West Goshen Township, Chester County. Inscribed on the face of her grave marker is the epitaph reading: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with Him."
~ Son Columbus Penn Evans ~
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Profile in the History of Chester County Courtesy Google Books |
His father was of the Celtic race of ancient Britons, his mother of a respectable German family, and his training. from boyhood, among the Anglo-Saxons of Chester County. When about nine years old he lost his father, and while in his eleventh year his widowed mother, with several children, removed to West Chester, where, by her maternal care and excellent management, she raised and educated her younger children. At an early age Columbus was apprenticed to his brother, Henry S. Evans, to learn the printing business in the office of the Village Record, where he had for his associates such hopeful specimens of Young America as Bayard Taylor, Enos Prizer, of the Bucks County Intelligencer; George W. Vernon, of the Delaware Republican; Charles Cook, of the Danville Democrat; Hiram Brower, of the Fairfax (Va.) News; and Frederick E. Foster, of the Pittsburgh Chronicle. In January, 1844, young Evans, then in his twentieth year, aspired to the editorial position, and removed to Wilmington, Del., where, with his friend, G. W. Vernon, as a partner, he took charge of the Republican newspaper. After a residence of two or three years he was recognized as worthy to be grouped with the famous "Blue Hen's Chickens" of the war of independence, and accordingly, in the contest with Mexico, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the spring of 1847, was promoted to a first lieutenantcy in February, 1848, and in the same year received the brevet of captain, to rank from Aug. 20, 1847, "for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battles of Contreras and Cherubusco." He served in the 11th Regiment of U. S. Infantry, in Gen. Cadwallader's brigade. At Molino Del Rey, where the Mexicans were defeated by one-fourth their number of Americans, Lieut. Evans was in the front rank. When the storming-party rushed in to take possession of that dearly-earned position, where so many of his comrades had fallen. he was the second man to enter the work, and received the sword of a Mexican officer. At Chapultepec he led his own and another company, and again received the commendation of his commander. He also held the responsible position of quartermaster of the regiment after the surrender of the city of the Montezumas, and returned, in charge of his company, to New York in August, 1848. He quietly returned to his printing-office in Wilmington, and resumed his editorial employments. Capt. Evans, on Feb. 20, 1849, was presented by the Legislature of his adopted State with a handsome sword, accompanied by a letter from Governor Tharp,-honorable testimonies of his services in the war with Mexico. In 1851 he was elected mayor of the city of Wilmington; but in 1852 he declined a re-election, preferring the quiet of private life to the annoyances of official station. age. In the winter of 1853-54 he was attacked by pulmonary consumption, and died at the residence of his sisters, in West Chester, Feb. 19, 1854, in the thirtieth year of his February 22d he was buried with military honors by the National Guards of Chester County. His remains repose in Oaklands Cemetery, near West Chester, where an appropriate memorial, in the form of a pyramidal column, has been erected by his devoted family.
~ Daughter Mary Baker (Evans) Pennock ~
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Charles' obituary, Iron Age - Courtesy Google Books |
Daughter Mary Baker Evans (1827-1911) was born on July 26, 1827 in Bucks County, near Jenkintown.
When she was 27 or 28 years of age, in 1855, she entered into marriage with Charles E. Pennock (Aug. 30, 1825-1918) of Coatesville, the son of William and Mary Pennock.
Research suggests that they produced five children -- William Pennock, Katharine H. Pennock, Marion Pennock, Florence J. Martin and Charles A. Pennock.
Charles made a living as an iron and steel manufacturer, operating the Valley Iron Works in Coatesville built by his father in 1837. The business also operated the Mainville Force in Columbia County.
Charles was acknowledged as having produced the steel plate used on the famed ironclad ship, the Monitor, which defeated the enemy Merrimac in battle during the Civil War. His career was summarized by Iron Age, the bible of the industry:
He was the last of the pioneer ironmasters of Chester County, Pa. He began his business career with his father, William Pennock, at the old Pine Grove Works on the Octoraro Creek, in Lancaster county, was employed later at the Laurel Iron Works, and in 1853 with his brother, Joseph, purchased the Falley Iron Works property on the Brandywine Creek, one mile north of Coatesville, a small mill operated by water power. There they continued the manufacture of iron plates under the firm name of C. E. Pennock & Co., until 1887, making a special grade of charcoal flange iron, well known in the trade as the "Eureka" brand. In that mill were rolled the iron plates which clad the U. S. gunboat Monitor for the famous fight with the Merrimac at Hampton Roads in the Civil War. This mill was later rebuilt and enlarged for steam power, also three other mills constructed, one having rolls 110 in. wide, being the largest mill in the country at that time for the rolling of iron plates. These works are at present part of the extensive plant of the Midvale Steel & Ordnance Co., Coatesville. He was a staunch Republican all his life. He possessed to a remarkable degree at the time of his death his mental qualities and took deep interest in the vast development of the iron and steel industry of the present day.
Above: ironclad deck and gun turret of the Civil War gunship 'Monitor' built of steel rolled by Charles E. Pennock's firm in Coatesville, PA. Below: in its epic battle with the Confederate 'Merrimac.' Library of Congress.
The Pennock firm continued to operate all through the nation's financial panic of 1873 and ran continuously for another 14 years, churning out tons of steel plate used for the construction of boilers. As of 1876, the Valley works contained four double puddling furnaces, four heating furnaces, a four-ton steam hammer, and four trains of rolls (one 18, one 24, and two 30-inch), with an annual capacity of producing 7,000 net tons of plate steel. The Mainville works produced charcoal blooms, utilizing one hammer, three forge fires and one runout, with an annual capacity of 800 net tons.
By the 1880s, the company fell on hard times as it sruggled to continue operating. In 1886, the Valley works puddlers went on strike seeking a 20 percent wage hike. They stayed out for five weeks before the company agreed to a compromise increase of 10 percent. Other of the company laborers struck that fall.
A year later, in May 1887, facing large debts to a number of creditors, the business shut down for an indefinite period of time. Company president John Pennock told news reporters that the closure "was entirely due to want of orders and attributed it to the workings of the new law." Among them were commission merchant A.R. McHenry & Co., of Philadelphia, which held a note of nearly $3,500 and Robert Hare Powell & Co., a pig-iron manufacturer and bituminous coal ming and shipping concern, for more than $200,000.
The Powell company responded by assigning the debt to the Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company. Pennock appears to have remained close for good, and bankruptcy declared, and headlines blared "The Big Iron Failure" in the Lancaster newspapers.
In December 1887, Guarantee Trust tried to sell the Pennock assets, but were prevented by a court injunction brought by Provident Life and Trust Company of Philadelphia. At some point, the sale of property proceeded. The Lancaster Semi-Weekly New Era summarized in June 1888 that the "Pennocks got in heavily on a number of banks and claimed that they had been extensively trading paper with Powell & Co. Powell & Co. denied this and claimed they had been carrying Pennock & Co.'s paper for three years out of pure friendship. Previous to their failure the Pennocks were highly respected. They had been in business at Coatesville for thirty years and did a business of over a half-million dollars yearly. Their weekly pay-roll was $1,900."
The auditor working through the bankruptcy in July 1889 tallied assets of $88,650 and debts of $420,798. The old Valley works were dormant until about 1901, when a Philadelphia-based investor group applied to charter the Coatesville Iron and Steel Company, with plans to rebuild and operate the mills. The group included William W. Kurtz, William B. Kurtz, Henry K. Kurtz, Elwood W. Porter and William Drost.
How Mary and Charles got through this crisis is not known. Their home address in their later years was 78 South First Avenue.
At the age of 83, suffering from fatty degeneration of the heart and kidney problems, Mary died on Jan. 31, 1911 in Coatesville. The Philadelphia Inquirer printed a short funeral notice. Burial was in Fairview Cemetery, with H.C. Ford of Coatesville providing details for the Pennsylvania certificate of death.
Charles remained in their residence for the balance of his years. After suffering a heat stroke at age 92, and already burdened with "senile exhaustion," he died on Aug. 7, 1918. The Reading (PA) Times said he had passed away at the Pennock homestead, and a brief funeral notice was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Another obituary, in the Camden (NJ) Morning Post, said that "If he retained his faculties he could remember the days in which steam men-of-war were looked on by many excellent seamen as impracticable." There is no evidence to suggest a close family connection with Major League Baseball pitcher Herb Pennock, son of Theodore and Mary Louise (Sharp) Pennock, of Kennett Square, Chester County, who pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees..
Son William Pennock (1856-1935) was born on March 11, 1856. He was employed by his father's firm in young manhood and was intimately involved with managing through its insolvency at the end. In 1887, he wed Clara A. McClure (1858-1943). They resided in the 1930s in Lyndell, East Brandywine Township. At the age of 78, suffering from acute heart degeneration, hypertension and hardening of the arteries, he died on Jan. 16, 1935. Interment was in Brandywine Manor, known today as the Forks of the Brandywine Presbyterian Cemetery in Glenmoore.
Daughter Katharine H. Pennock (1857-1943) was born on June 6, 1857 in Coatesville, Chester County. She did not marry but remained in the community for life. Census records for the year 1900 show her under her parents' roof with no occupation. Her address in 1943 was 78 South First Avenue. Having been stricken with a pulmonary embolism, suddenly, she died at the age of 86 on Oct. 23, 1943. Interment was in Fairview Cemetery, Coatesville. Her funeral notice in the Philadelphia Inquirer asked mourners to omit sending flowers. Her death certificate stated her occupation as ""Lady."
Daughter Marion A. Pennock (1860-1943) was born two days before Christmas 1860. She never married. Marion made her longtime dwelling-place in Coatesville, Chester County. In 1900, when the U.S. Census was taken, she earned a living as a school teacher and dwelled with her parents. For the last 20 years of her life, she was burdened with heart disease, including endocarditis, an inflammatin of the heart's inner lining. Her final address was 78 South First Avenue. After suffering a cerebral embolism, the spectre of death cleaved her away in Coatesville on St. Patrick's Day 1943. The Philadelphia Inquirer printed a brief funeral notice. As with her sister Katharine, who died seven months later, her occupation as listed on the death certificate was "Lady." Her remains were lowered into repose in Fairview Cemetery.
Daughter Florence J. Pennock (1864-1947) was born on Feb. 11, 1864 or 1865 in Coatesville. She entered into marriage with Edwin H. Martin ( ? - ? ). They lived in Coatesville at the address of 349 East Lincoln Highway. She passed into the arms of the angelic host at the age of 82 on Oct. 1, 1947 from the effects of heart disease and hypertension followed by a cerebral embolism. Burial was in Fairview Cemetery, Chester County, with Mrs. Steward L. Huston providing vital details for the Pennsylvania certificate of death.
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William's grave, Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Belgium - courtesy Des Philippet |
Son Charles Augustus Pennock (1869-1930) was born in Aug. 1869 or 1870. When he was 29 years of age, and still a bachelor, he lived with his parents and was a clerk for a rolling mill in Coatesville. During the decade leading up to 1910, he moved to the state capitol of Harrisburg and was employed as a steel mill foreman, boarding in 1910 in the hotel of Albert and Salone Koenig. Then on Nov. 25, 1919, in Chicago, the 49-year-old Charles tied the marital knot with 30-year-old Nellie Rebecca Weber (1889-1974) who was 20 years younger than he. Two sons of this family were Charles Edwin Pennock and William W. Pennock. They moved to Baltimore, MD, where in 1920 he worked as superintendent of a tin plate company. Their home was located at 2711 Elsinore Avenue at the corner of Carlisle Avenue in the city's Forest Park section. Charles died suddenly in Baltimore at the age of 59 on Jan. 27, 1930. Burial was in Woodlawn Cemetery. A brief funeral notice appeared in the Baltimore Sun. Nellie outlived her spouse by 44 years. She married again to Alfred H. Hobson ( ? -1953). Nellie later moved to Oregon where her son Charles was living. She died in Portland on April 20, 1974.
Grandson William W. Pennock, a 1942 graduate of McDonogh School, and private with the 60th Infantry, 9th Division of the U.S. Army, was killed in action in western Germany during World War II on March 10, 1945. His remains were lowered into honored sleep in Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Liège, Belgium. Back home, a memorial service was held in the Augsburg Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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Copyright © 2023-2024 Mark A. Miner |
Research for this page conducted by Della Shafer and the late Donna (Younkin) Logan |