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Elizabeth Acton

Female 1690 - Abt 1760  (69 years)


Generations:      Standard    |    Compact    |    Text    |    Register    |    PDF

Generation: 1

  1. 1.  Elizabeth Acton was born 26 Apr 1690, Salem MM, Salem County, New Jersey; died Abt 1760, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

    Notes:

    http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/stagser/s1400/s1437/html/1437ch.html
    Maryland State Archives
    Charles Co., Maryland
    1783 Land Deeds
    Further Research Underway:
    Henry Acton, Sr. 100 acres. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47
    Henry Acton, Jr. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47
    Henry Acton. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47
    John Acton. 374 acres. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47
    John Acton, Jr. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47
    John Roby Acton. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47
    Osborn Acton. 100 acres. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47
    Smallwood Acton. CH 4th District, General p. 1. MSA S 1161-4-12 1/4/5/47

    Elizabeth married Francis Reynolds 10 Sep 1712, Pennsylvania . Francis (son of Henry Reynolds and Prudence Clayton) was born 15 Aug 1684, Chester, Pennsylvania; died 1760, Chichester, Chester Co., Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 2. Samuel Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 31 Jan 1735, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 26 Feb 1786, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
    2. 3. Prudence Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 16 Jan 1713; died Yes, date unknown.
    3. 4. Lydia Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 24 Feb 1716, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died Yes, date unknown.
    4. 5. Christian Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 22 Apr 1718, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died Yes, date unknown.
    5. 6. Henry Reynolds, Jr.  Descendancy chart to this point was born 12 Jun 1720, Delaware Co., PA; died 17 Nov 1765, Chichester, Chester County, Pennsylvania; was buried , Friends Burial Ground, Chichester, Chester Co., Pennsylvania.
    6. 7. Benjamin Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 26 Aug 1722, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died 26 Jul 1798, Delaware County, Pennsylvania; was buried , Chichester Friends Meeting Burial Ground, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
    7. 8. John Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 13 Dec 1725, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died Yes, date unknown.


Generation: 2

  1. 2.  Samuel Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (1.Elizabeth1) was born 31 Jan 1735, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 26 Feb 1786, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

    Samuel married Jane Jones Abt 1758. Jane was born Abt. 1736, Delaware; died 17 Nov 1779, New Castle County, Delaware; was buried , White Clay Creek Church Cemetery, New Castle County, Delaware. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 9. Thomas Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 2 Jan 1759; died 7 Jul 1837, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
    2. 10. Margaret Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 9 Sep 1760, Wilmington, Delaware.
    3. 11. Abraham Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 4 Sep 1762, New Castle County, Delaware; died Yes, date unknown.
    4. 12. Samuel Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 23 Apr 1769, New Castle County, Delaware.

  2. 3.  Prudence Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (1.Elizabeth1) was born 16 Jan 1713; died Yes, date unknown.

    Prudence married John Dutton 4 Aug 1733. John was born Est 1710, Chester Co., Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]


  3. 4.  Lydia Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (1.Elizabeth1) was born 24 Feb 1716, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died Yes, date unknown.

    Notes:


    Name:
    Lydia Reynolds

    Birth Date:
    24 Apr 1716

    Birth Date on Image:
    24 Second 1716

    Birth Place:
    Chichester

    Father:
    Francis Reynolds

    Mother:
    Elizabeth Reynolds

    Event Type:
    Birth

    Monthly Meeting:
    Concord Monthly Meeting

    Historical Meeting Data:
    Search for this monthly meeting in the 'Quaker Monthly Meetings Index'

    Yearly Meeting:
    Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

    Title:
    Births and Marriages, 1693-1808

    Meeting State:
    Pennsylvania

    Meeting County:
    Delaware


    Name:
    Lydia Reynolds married Joseph Townsend, 17 May 1739

    Lydia married Joseph Townsend 17 May 1739 (Quaker Meeting), Chester County, Pennsylvania. Joseph (son of Joseph Townsend, Sr. and Martha Wooderson) was born 8 Jun 1715, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 3 Dec 1749, East Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]


  4. 5.  Christian Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (1.Elizabeth1) was born 22 Apr 1718, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died Yes, date unknown.

    Notes:

    Name:
    Christian Reynolds married John Hoops, 12 Oct 1743 in Delaware Co., Pennsylvania John Hoops is the s/o Daniel Hoops.

    Christian married John Hoops 12 Oct 1743 (Quaker Meeting), Delaware County, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]


  5. 6.  Henry Reynolds, Jr. Descendancy chart to this point (1.Elizabeth1) was born 12 Jun 1720, Delaware Co., PA; died 17 Nov 1765, Chichester, Chester County, Pennsylvania; was buried , Friends Burial Ground, Chichester, Chester Co., Pennsylvania.

    Henry married Sarah Davis 25 Sep 1751, Chester County Quaker Marriage Records. Sarah (daughter of John Davis and Rebekah/Rebecca Smith) was born 14 Apr 1734, Maryland; died Yes, date unknown, Prob. Chester Co., Maryland. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 13. Elizabeth Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 13 May 1754, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.
    2. 14. Rebecca Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 21 Jan 1755, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.
    3. 15. Joseph Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 25 Mar 1757, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.
    4. 16. Sarah Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 15 Feb 1758, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 1 Nov 1771, New Castle, Pennsylvania.
    5. 17. James Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 21 Feb 1760, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 1829, Neshannock, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania; was buried , Shenango-Neshannock Cemetery 3144 Wilmington Rd. Neshannock, Pennsylvania.
    6. 18. John Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 17 May 1764, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.

  6. 7.  Benjamin Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (1.Elizabeth1) was born 26 Aug 1722, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died 26 Jul 1798, Delaware County, Pennsylvania; was buried , Chichester Friends Meeting Burial Ground, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

    Benjamin married Sarah Baker 23 Apr 1766, Chester Co., Pennsylvania. Sarah was born 11 Dec 1721; died 26 Aug 1792, Pennsylvania; was buried , Chichester Friends Meeting Burial Ground, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]

    Benjamin married Phoebe White 18 Sep 1794, Chester Co., Pennsylvania. Phoebe was born 1740, Kennett Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 10 Aug 1803, Pennsylvania; was buried , Chichester Friends Meeting Burial Ground, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. [Group Sheet]


  7. 8.  John Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (1.Elizabeth1) was born 13 Dec 1725, Chichester, Chester Co., PA; died Yes, date unknown.

    Notes:

    http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/l/i/n/Sharon-K-Lindley/GENE1-0014.html
    JOHN8 REYNOLDS (FRANCIS7, HENRY6, WILLIAM5, RICHARD4, CHRISTOPHER3, ROBERT2, ROBERT1REINOLDS) was born 1725 in 10mo-13.He married EDITH (?).
    John came to America from England with his father and settled where Philadelphia now is. His father went back to England to get the rest of the family, 2-3 sons and their families.The ship was lost at sea and as far as is known, all were drowned.John then moved to North Carolina, married, and had 2 sons, William and Francis. There is no history of William. Francis married, moved to New Garden, North Carolina and had 9 children.The family history is traced forward from this point.

    Children of JOHN REYNOLDS and EDITH (?) are:
    i. WILLIAM9 REYNOLDS, b. North Carolina.
    50. ii. FRANCES REYNOLDS, b. August 27, 1767, New Garden, Randolph Co, North Carolina; d. August 31, 1849, New Garden Twp, Wayne Co, Indiana.
    FRANCES9 REYNOLDS (JOHN8, FRANCIS7, HENRY6, WILLIAM5, RICHARD4, CHRISTOPHER3, ROBERT2, ROBERT1REINOLDS) (Source: Robert Love (RJLove@aol.com).) was born August 27, 1767 in New Garden, Randolph Co, North Carolina (Source: PQGM-09.), and died August 31, 1849 in New Garden Twp, Wayne Co, Indiana.He married (1) RACHEL DAVIS April 04, 1793 in Chester Co., PA.She was born January 24, 1772 in Center MM, Guilford Co, North Carolina (Source: Center Monthly Meeting Notes, FTM CD #192.), and died May 21, 1794 (Source: Center Monthly Meeting Notes, FTM CD #192.).He married (2) MARGARET CHAMNESS 1795 in 9m, 23d; Providence Mtg Hs, Randolph Co, NC (Source: Center Monthly Meeting Notes, FTM CD #192.), daughter of JOSEPH CHAMNESS and MARGARET NORTON.She was born June 13, 1776 in Randolph Co, North Carolina, and died 1849 in Fountain City, Wayne Co, Indiana.
    More About FRANCES REYNOLDS:
    Baptism: August 20, 1836, Francis & w, Margaret, gct New Garden MM, Indiana
    Burial: New Garden MM Cemetery, Wayne Co, IN
    More About RACHEL DAVIS:
    Burial: May 22, 1794, Center MM, Guilford Co, North Carolina
    More About FRANCES REYNOLDS and RACHEL DAVIS:
    Marriage: April 04, 1793, Chester Co., PA
    Notes for MARGARET CHAMNESS:
    She was the second wife of Francis Reynolds.All children were born in NC and then they moved to IN, around Newport, Wayne Co., about 1830.
    More About FRANCES REYNOLDS and MARGARET CHAMNESS:
    Marriage: 1795, 9m, 23d; Providence Mtg Hs, Randolph Co, NC (Source: Center Monthly Meeting Notes, FTM CD #192.)

    Child of FRANCES REYNOLDS and RACHEL DAVIS is:
    72. i. JOB10 REYNOLDS, b. May 14, 1794, Center MM, Guilford Co, North Carolina; d. Raysville-Knightstown, Henry Co, IN.

    Children of FRANCES REYNOLDS and MARGARET CHAMNESS are:
    ii. RACHEL10 REYNOLDS, b. July 26, 1796, Center MM, Guilford Co, North Carolina (Source: Center Monthly Meeting Notes, FTM CD #192.); d. November 12, 1812, Center MM, Guilford Co, North Carolina (Source: Center Monthly Meeting Notes, FTM CD #192.).
    Notes for RACHEL REYNOLDS:
    Born Note:Born 2nd month (or 7th month) 26th day 1796, according to Hinshaw.
    Zimri Hanson, in his History and Genealogy of the American Descendants of John and Ann Chamness gives Rachel's date of birth as the 9th month, 12th day, 1797
    Died Note:Friends records give Rachel's date of death as 11th month, 26th day, 1812. Zimri Hanson, (p.84, The Chamness Family in America) gives is as 11th month, 12th day.



Generation: 3

  1. 9.  Thomas Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 2 Jan 1759; died 7 Jul 1837, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

    Thomas married Nancy Reynolds. Nancy was born Est 1779; died 5 Jan 1845. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 19. Mary Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born Abt 1790; died Yes, date unknown.
    2. 20. Jane Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born Abt 1792; died Yes, date unknown.
    3. 21. Samuel Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born Abt 1797; died Yes, date unknown.
    4. 22. Tilton Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born Abt 1800; died Yes, date unknown.
    5. 23. William Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born Abt 1805, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died Yes, date unknown.
    6. 24. Thomas Reynolds, Jr.  Descendancy chart to this point was born 19 Sep 1807; died 16 May 1881.

  2. 10.  Margaret Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 9 Sep 1760, Wilmington, Delaware.

  3. 11.  Abraham Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 4 Sep 1762, New Castle County, Delaware; died Yes, date unknown.

  4. 12.  Samuel Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 23 Apr 1769, New Castle County, Delaware.

  5. 13.  Elizabeth Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 13 May 1754, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.

  6. 14.  Rebecca Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 21 Jan 1755, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.

  7. 15.  Joseph Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 25 Mar 1757, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.

  8. 16.  Sarah Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 15 Feb 1758, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 1 Nov 1771, New Castle, Pennsylvania.

  9. 17.  James Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 21 Feb 1760, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died 1829, Neshannock, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania; was buried , Shenango-Neshannock Cemetery 3144 Wilmington Rd. Neshannock, Pennsylvania.

    Notes:

    Died:
    I believe this to be the death of James Reynolds

    James married Hannah Webster 20 May 1784, Maybe Delaware. (daughter of John Webster) [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 25. Henry Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1786, Wilmington, Delaware.
    2. 26. Sarah Way Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 18 Dec 1787, Wilmington, Delaware; died 1 Nov 1871, New Castle, Pennsylvania.

  10. 18.  John Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 17 May 1764, Chester County, Pennsylvania; died Yes, date unknown.


Generation: 4

  1. 19.  Mary Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (9.Thomas3, 2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born Abt 1790; died Yes, date unknown.

  2. 20.  Jane Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (9.Thomas3, 2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born Abt 1792; died Yes, date unknown.

  3. 21.  Samuel Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (9.Thomas3, 2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born Abt 1797; died Yes, date unknown.

  4. 22.  Tilton Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (9.Thomas3, 2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born Abt 1800; died Yes, date unknown.

  5. 23.  William Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (9.Thomas3, 2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born Abt 1805, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died Yes, date unknown.

  6. 24.  Thomas Reynolds, Jr. Descendancy chart to this point (9.Thomas3, 2.Samuel2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 19 Sep 1807; died 16 May 1881.

    Notes:


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    Thomas Reynolds Sr.


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    REYNOLDS, THOMAS, SR. Family nomenclature has lost its significance in cosmopolitan and democratic America, and whether the descendants of patricial houses on the other side of the sea have degenerated in the unrolling of genealogical lines by intermarriage, is a question that does not much concern a person of worth. Only the weak and indolent rest upon the ostentatious support of ancestral prestige. Yet there is a conventional usage among the people, of retrospectively glancing toward Plymouth Rock, though here and there a plebeian acre depreciates the view. Then, in the year 1676, after a voyage of twenty-two weeks, one Henry Reynolds, a member of an old Chichester (England) family, landed on the shores of the New World. This was forty-seven years prior to the birth of Joshua Reynolds, the most noted painter of his day, and the "bright particular star" of the family connection. Henry located at Burlington, New Jersey, and finally in Chester, Pennsylvania, and he and his immediate descendants were extensive freeholders in and about Philadelphia, many acres of the present city then having rested in their title. To him and his wife Prudence, ten children were born. Henry Reynolds died in 1724, and Prudence in 1728.

    Francis Reynolds, the third in order of birth of the ten children above mentioned, was born August 15, 1684. Of him it is only recorded that his wife?s name was Elizabeth, and that he was the father of Samuel Reynolds.

    This link of the lineal chain was forged January 31, 1755, and perished February 26, 1786. The spouse?s name was Jane Jones, and the nuptials were solemnized at Salem, Delaware. Seven children were the issue of this union. The said Jane Jones, whose years extended from 1734 to 1779, was the daughter of John and Mary (Goodwin) Jones, but there is no further trace of the ancestral line on the maternal side. Then, as now, women did not seem to enjoy the equality and respect to which they were entitled, and this prejudice was carried to a ridiculous excess in family records that appeared to show that women had very little, if any, part in the propagation of the race.

    Thomas Reynolds, the eldest, son of Samuel and Mary Reynolds, was born January 2, 1759, and died July 7, 1837. He consorted Nancy Reynolds, of an independent Reynolds family, among whose immediate ancestors the name Bird occurs. This probably points to a Mesozoic origin. Her death occurred January 5, 1845. Seven seems to have been a lucky (or, according to the pessimist, an unlucky) number with the house of Reynolds in regard to its offspring. Each abstract family, it is a remarked coincidence, aggregates seven members. Seven were born to Thomas and Nancy Reynolds, and these were named, consecutively, Mary, Jane, Abraham, Samuel, Tilton William and Thomas of whom the last is the subject of this biography. Mary (Parke) lived till 1868, and was the only consanguineous tie of the youngest brother at the time of her death. There remains of this generation only two beings within the knowledge of the writer. These are Margaret Jane (Reynolds) Myers and Ruth Reynolds, sisters, who reside in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and who were the daughters of Abram, a brother of Thomas, whose common father was Samuel.

    Thomas Reynolds, Sr., was born on the 19th day of September, 1807, on the parental homestead, near Parkesburg, Chester county. In his youth only such educational advantages were enjoyed as were to be had outside of a university; but these, although not comparable to the excellent facilities of today, were not to be despised, as the lack of variation in studies was, in a great degree, compensated by the thorough manner in which the few were taught. Then, too, his call for solid learning found a responsive voice in his father, who was not only a competent teacher and profound philosopher, but a companion and friend as well. The education thus acquired by Thomas Reynolds qualified him as an instructor to others, and in this section of Pennsylvania he was one of the pioneer teachers under the present school system. His language in conversation and in his limited literary products gave evidence of pure philological training, consisting, as they did, in well-chosen words, pregnant of meaning and elegant in phraseology.

    Early in life he became apprenticed to the currying and shoemaking trades, in both of which he made himself master, as was his want in whatever was undertaken. Franklin and Washington counties, in New York, were the scenes of his primitive operations, and his topography of those communities was very graphic, associated, as it was, with rich reminiscences of hunting life, colored by racy and startling anecdotes. In 1876 he revisited the hallowed grounds made sacred by youthful adventure, but civilization had crept in and obliterated nearly all the familiar landmarks, except the outline of mountain and vale, and the metamorphosis illy gratified the heart of one who once chased the deer through the far reaching fastnesses.
    He visited New York city with the purpose of making it a place of permanent residence, encouraged in the project by a millionaire uncle and other resident relatives of Manhattan Island. But "man made the town," and the roving spirit of Thomas Reynolds was antagonistic to a" pent up Utica." "The streets were too narrow," he explained to the writer; and so, in 1835, he came to Western Pennsylvania, when the country was rich in primeval forests and undisturbed minerals.
    Tilton and William Reynolds, his brothers, had preceded him hither, and were comfortably domiciled on the lands now occupied by the mining village of Rathmel. Tilton was married, his wife having been Sarah Sprague, of a Vermont family. The first fall of their hermitage life they captured fourteen swarms of bees, and these, together with an extensive sugar industry, were exchanged for other necessary products, such as grain and salt, and with bear meat and venison, supplied by the brothers, the pioneer community flourished.
    Tilton, in 1839, located on the summit of the mountain above Rathmel, and associated with William, inaugurated a mercantile enterprise and established a post-office. The name of the village was suitably called Prospect, for from its lofty altitude the view was picturesque and widely extended. The title was in poetic contrast to the postal name given the place at a later period?that of Dolingville.

    Tilton Reynolds was the Columbus of the great coal vein of this region, which has since gained a world-wide ce1ebrity, and has become one of the most extensive bituminous industries of the continent. The fuel of the widely separated inhabitants of the country was wood, but a little coal was added to increase the heat and longevity of the fire. For blacksmithing purposes John Fuller, who was here when the Reynoldses came, used coal procured out of the bottom of Sandy Creek.

    William Reynolds in 1839 married Elizabeth Kyle, and in their offspring the magic number seven again turned up. He was a man of polished erudition and affable address, and his death in 1854 was mourned by a host of genuine admirers and friends.

    Samuel Reynolds, another brother, sojourned awhile in this community, and Abram, the eldest, made a pilgrimage to the remote settlement. The latter was seven feet in stature, and weighed four hundred and fifty pounds.

    Thomas, while not engaged in other communities at school teaching, shoemaking, or hunting, lived with his brother William, for whom he had the warmest fraternal feeling. At this period of his life he was yet under thirty years of age, over six feet in height, and as straight as an arrow. He was of gentlemanly and attractive manners, and of a superb and seemingly tireless physique.

    His first commercial adventure was the building of a tannery on the site now occupied by James A. Cathers, but this was soon abandoned for more pretentious enterprises.

    In 1842 he wedded Juliana Smith, and, by some conjugal conjuration, lo! up bobs-the importunate number seven again?five boys and two girls. These were: Tilton, born October 26, 1843; Arthur Parke, December 5, 1845; Clarinda Emeline, April 11, 1848; Margaret Jane, June 19, 1850; William S., April 7, 1853; Thomas, September 25, 1856; John Daugherty, September 1, 1858. Of these, two are dead?the second, whose dissolution occurred on December 12, 1874, and the youngest, a man of fine mind and great promise, on March 19, 1886.

    Thomas Reynolds located permanently on the present site of a portion of Reynoldsville, and built a tannery and saw-mill near where the Reynolds residence now stands, which were the only manufacturing industries of the immediate community in the years between 1840 and 1860. And, indeed, not until 1870 were there any other industries save the great sustaining one of shipping timber. The log house, recently demolished, was erected in 1843, and was a very Brogdingnag in its day. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have changed hands within its walls in lumber transactions, mercantile trade, and postal service. The post-office at Prospect was carried down to the old house one day in 1850, and the following is the authoritative document in the premises:

    "POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, APPOINTMENT OFFICE,

    "February 23, 1850.

    "SIR:?I have the honor to inform you that the postmaster-general has this day changed the name of the post-office at Prospect Hill to Reynoldsville, in the county of Jefferson, and State of Pennsylvania, and continued Thomas Reynolds postmaster thereof.

    Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

    "PETER HENRY WARNER,

    "Second Assistant Postmaster-General.

    "JAMES THOMPSON, House, of Representatives."

    Previous to this Thomas Reynolds had surveyed and named Winslow township, the name having been given in honor of Judge Winslow, of whom he was a friend and admirer. The project of a town, however, was long contemplated before 1850, the dominant reasons being first to induce a physician to locate in the community?for the inhabitants were frequently compelled to call medical advice from Indiana, a distance of forty miles?and, secondly, to secure postal facilities; and Maida, the tutelary genius of Alba Longa, was not more zealous or tireless, touching the welfare of the antique city than was our modern tutelar of Reynoldsville. He acted as postmaster almost unremittingly, and at a pecuniary disadvantage, from the establishment of the office till his death. Although ever greatly interested in public affairs, he was yet unwilling to act as the agent of the people. Possessed of an influence that could at any time have made itself felt, and which even appeared during the early days of the county as almost irresistible, personal aggrandizement never occurred to him; or, if it did, he put it under his feet as a noisome thing.

    In its entirety the character of Thomas Reynolds was essentially a strong one, and in his lineal race he stands out as a type of what a Reynolds should be. He was not a "chip of the old block," but the very block itself. His strong personality and lively sense of independence isolated him from the estimate put upon every consanguineous person, whether of anterior or subsequent birth. To strangers, and sometimes even to those who were intimately acquainted with him, he appeared eccentric in his habits and modes of thought; but these were owing to the mingled threads of sentiment and independence that ran through all the warp and woof alike of his character. Beneath these exterior qualities, there was a deep and strong vein of wit and humor, that brightened each thought, which passed through his mind, making him a rarely pleasant companion.

    But the most conspicuous traits of his nature were a sense of honor incapable of a stain?a probity which was stubborn in its inflexibility?and an abiding, deeply rooted, uncompromising detestation, even horror, of all shams and hypocrisy, whether religious, political, or of any other kind. It is easily seen that such a man, in this day and generation, however deep a reverence he might have for the Author of his being as the great and good God?the Father, Preserver and Protector of all the common brotherhood of man?would rather retire those sentiments and feelings, and keep them sacred within the innermost recesses of his own soul, than to make a parade of them before the world. As firm and unyielding as the eternal hills when his decision was once framed, his was the material of which martyrs were made; as gentle and tender as a woman, every helpless creature found in him a friend and protector when in distress.

    Death occurred to Thomas Reynolds, Sr., on the 16th of May, 1881.

    This biography would by no means be complete should it not embrace a sketch of the wise and faithful wife who was so intimately identified with the life of him whose history is just recorded. "Praise no man while he lives" is an ancient and judicious saying, to which Heloise added, in a letter to Abelard: "Give not commendation at a time when the very act of doing it may make him undeserving of it." But the good common sense of Juliana Reynolds is too lively and practicable to be very susceptible to the suavity of words.

    Of her ancestry we have it in genealogical record that one William Smith came to America from Gloucester, England, in 1635. Boston was settled by John Winthrop and others five years earlier, and Smith became a citizen of the embryo New England metropolis. The town records begin about the time of his advent. He was there persecuted for his religious principles. What those principles were the account says not, but this was the period in which the church of Boston was much troubled about Roger Williams and his heresy, and the Anti-nomian controversy, and it is probable that the judicial ban that obtained over Williams also effected Smith, for ostracism drove him to Hempstead, Long Island, in 1639, where he joined forty sympathetic Boston families who had colonized under the flag of Holland. He met his fate at the hands of Indians. Of his offspring, there was one Abraham, who, in turn, had a son Isaac, whose days were between the years of 1657 and 1746. He died at Hempstead Plains. His son, Jacob, 1690-1757, had a son Isaac born, in 1722, who emigrated from Queens county to Dutchess county in 1769. Jacob, son of Isaac, 1746?1810, who married a Peters, was the father of Uriah, born in 1771, and died in 1817. He married a woman named Lester, and his conjugal flock numbered nine, of whom was Valentine Hulet Peters Smith, born 1796, and died on the Smith homestead, near Reynoldsville (now T. B. London?s farm), in 1860. He was the father of Juliana (Smith) Reynolds.

    On the maternal side we have no access to any record save the tradition that Juliana?s great-grandmother was an intemperate tea drinker, and gathered the leaves of the shrub in her apron from the waters of Boston harbor where the irascible subjects of the third George had their famous tea party in 1773. Granville, Bradford and Sprague are the ancestral names, all of English origin and of New England stock. The Spragues lived in Vermont, then emigrated to Chateaugay, New York, where Tilton Reynolds married the daughter of John Sprague, whose name was Sarah, and Valentine H. P. Smith wedded Rebecca, her sister, who became the mother of five children, of whom our present subject is the third.

    Valentine H. P Smith, emigrated to this section of Pennsylvania in the same year with Thomas Reynolds, when Juliana was seven years of age. During the ensuing decade, the girl endured the hardships and meagre advantages of a severe pioneer life, and in early maidenhood took upon herself conjugal responsibilities, and the arduous duties of presiding over a large establishment. Through all the years up to his death, she was the faithful helpmeet of Thomas Reynolds, and a kind and wise maternal guardian. During the civil conflict of 1861?65 no one did better loyal service, not actually engaged at the theatre of war: a patriotic head and heart, to encourage in action, sympathize in distress, and laud in victory. The eldest son, Tilton, a mere boy when he enlisted, was cheerfully, though tearfully given to his country, and the mother enjoyed with pride and delight, his brave and unblemished military career, and his elevation in rank to a captaincy.

    After the demise of her husband the affairs of the estate were vested in Juliana Reynolds, and her management of the diversified business has been markedly economical and sagacious. Her life has been as useful as busy, and full of charity and humanity.

    Apropos of the historical allusions in this sketch, this fragment of family facts is appended: The old manse of the Smith?s, built long before the Revolution, is yet standing, a few miles east of Poughkeepsie, New York, and was, down to 1872, occupied by the successive generations of the family. In provincial days it was regarded as an architectural achievement of considerable merit. It is a two-story structure, with a roof of steep incline, under whose eaves small slide windows afforded loop-holes through which the aggressive Indians were kept at bay. Wooden hooks for gun-rests depended from the rafters, and the house was at once a residence and fortress. The kitchen is the one grand room. The windows are small with massive frames, and the doors are of hard wood and very thick, opening in horizontal sections, and locked with great iron bars. Every feature is impressive of strength and defense, and suggestive of the perils that environed the colonial inhabitants. The broad, deep fire-place is formed of huge boulders, and is of itself a primeval poem.

    The family burying-ground is adjacent, and the numerous gray-stone slabs tell their sepulchral story. Here, with the generations of the Smiths, mingle the bones of those whose loves and lives were mingled in the flesh. There are Elys, Lesters, Peters, Blooms and a relic of early slavery, one old negro named " Deb;" for Jacob Smith, the grandfather of Valentine H. P. Smith, was an extensive slave-owner, and when their freedom was obtained, they were granted a living on the homestead as long as they desired to remain. Everything here shows decadence, save, perhaps, the prestige of honor marked upon the tombstones. Even the very wall, built high and strong as the everlasting adamant, totters and disintegrates, and when the stony epitaphs, telling of one being "a power in the land;" another "Judge of the King?s Bench," etc., crumble into dust, tradition itself will fade and pass away, and time will bury beneath her rubbish the very memory of things that were once majestic and mighty.

    The Smith Bible, "imprinted at London by Robert Barker, printer to the King?s most excellent majestie, 1607," is in the possession of Juliana Smith Reynolds. The version of which it is a copy was prepared in Geneva, and first appeared in 1560. The translators of the version were exiled English Protestants, who had fled, from "Bloody" Mary?s cruelty, and had made Geneva their rendezvous. Of this party, William Whittingham, a brother-in-law of John Calvin, was chief. This version was the first in which the text was broken up into verses, and was, from the rendering of Genesis iii, 7, sometimes known as the "Breeches" Bible, that term being used instead of aprons." Upon a fly leaf; a crude picture and a description of the Smith coat-of-arms are traced.


    Biographies transcribed for this site were gathered from old history books. It's possible that errors may exist in the text of the biography either due to the transcription or the original document. Always refer back to the source document (the book) for questions of accuracy. Compilation, site design, artwork and concept covered by copyright.

    Thomas married Juliana Smith 1842, Pennsylvania U.S.A.. Juliana (daughter of Valentine Halet Peters Smith and Rebecca Sprague) was born Abt 1820, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 27. Tilton Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 26 Oct 1843; died Yes, date unknown.
    2. 28. Arthur Parke Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 5 Dec 1845, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died 12 Dec 1874, Pennsylvania U.S.A..
    3. 29. Clarinda Emeline Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 11 Apr 1848, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died Yes, date unknown.
    4. 30. Margaret Jane Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 19 Jun 1850, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died Yes, date unknown.
    5. 31. William S. Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 7 Apr 1853, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died Yes, date unknown.
    6. 32. Thomas Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 25 Sep 1856, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died Yes, date unknown.
    7. 33. John Daugherty Reynolds  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1 Sep 1858, Pennsylvania U.S.A.; died 19 Mar 1886.

  7. 25.  Henry Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (17.James3, 6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 1786, Wilmington, Delaware.

  8. 26.  Sarah Way Reynolds Descendancy chart to this point (17.James3, 6.Henry2, 1.Elizabeth1) was born 18 Dec 1787, Wilmington, Delaware; died 1 Nov 1871, New Castle, Pennsylvania.

    Sarah married George Pearson, Sr. 6 Apr 1812, New Castle, Pennsylvania. George was born 1 Oct 1779, Delaware. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 34. James Pearson  Descendancy chart to this point was born 29 Mar 1813, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; died 30 Jul 1857.
    2. 35. Thomas Pearson  Descendancy chart to this point was born 8 Dec 1814, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; died 15 Mar 1883.
    3. 36. Charles Pearson  Descendancy chart to this point was born 18 Oct 1816, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; died 1 Jul 1853.
    4. 37. William Johnson Pearson  Descendancy chart to this point was born 10 Jan 1819, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; died 18 Mar 1911, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; was buried , Mercer Citizens Cemetery, Mercer County, Pennsylvania.
    5. 38. George Pearson  Descendancy chart to this point was born 18 Apr 1822, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; died 14 Oct 1900.
    6. 39. Hannah Pearson  Descendancy chart to this point was born 23 Aug 1824, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; died 22 Dec 1895; was buried , Greenwood Cemetery, New Castle, Pennsylvania.
    7. 40. John Pearson  Descendancy chart to this point was born 18 May 1827, Mercer County, Pennsylvania; died 7 Dec 1827.