three pre-revolutionary war houses with a family connection

THREE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY WAR HOUSES
WITH A FAMILY CONNECTION
The Tenure of the Havard Family in Tredyffrin Valley
Nancy Pusey
INTRODUCTION
Three local houses played an important role
during the Valley Forge encampment when
they were used as Lafayette's headquarters,
Duportail's headquarters, and the Lee/
Bradford headquarters. To put a more human
face on these three historic buildings, it is of
interest that all three were owned by the Havard family long before and long after the
Revolutionary War. The Lafayette headquarters farm was held by the family for 112 years,
the Duportail headquarters farm for 196
years, and the Lee/Bradford farm was in their
possession for 174 years.
WELSH QUAKERS
These three farms were part of the Welsh
Tract, home of a large group of Welsh Quakers who immigrated from Wales in the latter
part of the 17th and early part of the 18th centuries. These Quakers had been sorely persecuted in Wales; fined or jailed for meeting together to worship, for not attending their parish church, or for not taking the oath of allegiance to the King. When William Penn received his land grant in America, the Quakers
perceived this would be a haven where they
would be free to worship as they chose.
These Welsh were not paupers, but selfreliant men with ample means and considerable influence within their communities.
Many of them were freeholders of estates. The
plans for their migration were thoroughly
worked out in a very well-organized manner.
In 1681 a group of leaders met with William
Penn in Wales and laid out their ideas for settlement in Pennsylvania. They wanted to create blocks of land so neighborhoods could
stay together. And they wanted to manage
their own affairs within these neighborhoods
by creating Baronies whereby a number of
justices would be appointed to settle minor
disputes and levy taxes. William Penn gave
them what they wanted when he issued a
Deed of Warranty in 1684 designating 40,000
acres as the Welsh Tract and creating townships of 5,000 acres. The Surveyor General
appointed David Powell as the surveyor and
agent for the Tract.
HAVARD FAMILY
The story begins with John Havard, Sr., born
in 1674 to David and Mary Havard, who
around 1690 at the age of 16, emigrated from
Pembrokeshire, Wales with his recently widowed mother. Tax records show John Havard
owned 100 acres in Haverford in the early
1700s. In 1706, at the age of 32, he married
his first wife, Margaret Lewis. This marriage
produced 2 daughters: Mary, born in 1709,
and Margaret, born in 1711.
In 1707 three events occurred that showed
there was a close relationship between John
Havard, Sr. and David Powell. On April 16,
92
HAVARD FAMILY
(Those involved with property ownership)
David Havard m. Mary
m. (2) David Powell 1707
John Havard, Sr, m. (1) Margaret Lewis
1674-1769
(2 daughters)
m. (2) Sarah Evans
(8 children)
David Havard
1724-1802
m. Susanna Malin
Owned homestead
Lee/Bradford HQ
John Havard, Jr.
1714-1797
m. Miriam Thomas
Built Duportail HQ
ca 1740
Mary Havard
1770-1848
m. Wm Davis (7 children
Samuel Havard
1726-1808
unmarried
Built Lafayette HQ
1763
Benjamin Havard
1780-1823
m. Mary Jones
i
Susanna Havard
David Havard (II)
•m. (1) Mary Rinehart m, Wm Roberts
Dr. John Havard Davis
m. Eliza
Cyrus Davis9
William Davis
unmarried
Rebecca Davis
d. 1893
Mary Davis
d. 1880
1707 David Powell bought 800 acres of a 1500 THE SAMUEL HAVARD FARM
acre tract from David Meredith. On the same LAYFAYETTE'S HEADQUARTERS
date John Havard, Sr. bought the same 800
According to an archaeological study by the
acres from David Powell for £200. And on
University of Pennsylvania, the first house
July 16,1707 David Powell married John Ha- built on Samuel's 200 acres was probably built
vard, Sr.'s mother, Mary, at the Haverford
by John Havard, Sr. as a tenant farmer's house
Meeting.
in the early 1700s. It had 1-1/2 stories, and was
What a buy John Havard, Sr. made. The top one room deep with two rooms on the second
soil was sweet and sat on a layer of
limestone, there were clear streams
abounding in fish, and it was within
walking distance of the Schuylkill
River which was clear and had large
numbers of shad. The Welsh Quakers who settled in this area had all
the advantages necessary for prosperous farming. In a presentation
at the dedication of the Chimney
Picket Post on the western part of
this tract, Conrad Wilson made the
following remarks: "It was a huge
tract, the most fertile tract in the
center of the valley." It was bordered by present day Baptist Road
on the east, the Paoli exit on Route
202 on the west, Swedesford Road
on the south, and Yellow Springs
Road on the north.
After the death of his first wife,
John, Sr. married Sarah Evans and
had an additional 8 children. Three The south facade of the Samuel Havard house around 1900. The
of the male children lived to adult- section in the middle is the Lafayette headquarters. The kitchen
hood, John, Jr., David, and Samuel. section on the right with the chimney was demolished in 1902.
Their births are listed in the Radnor
Meeting records. John Havard, Sr. was on the floor. The first addition, on the east side, was
Haverford Tax List as late as 1722. At some
built by Samuel Havard in 1763. This was a 2point he moved his family to his tract in Tre- story stone addition with a cellar and was two
dyffrin, where the future Lee/Bradford head- rooms deep. Samuel never married and he
quarters would be. There is evidence that there lived there with two unmarried sisters during
were houses on the property as early as 1720. the Revolutionary War. The dwelling house is
These may have been tenant houses.
beautifully situated, sitting on a high bluff
In 1754, at the age of 79, John Havard, Sr.
overlooking Valley Creek.
divested himself of all his ground and distribThe 1798 Federal Direct Tax Assessment deuted his property to his living children. He
scribes this 200 acre property:
gave 250 acres to John, Jr., 300 acres to David
1 stone dwelling house with 11 windows
(this was the home farm), 200 acres to Sam27x21
uel, and 110 acres to 3 daughters, Ann, Han1 stone kitchen 24 x 16
nah, and Sarah. John Havard, Sr. died in 1769
1 addition 26 x 16
at the age of 95.
1 stone springhouse 12 x 10
1 stone springhouse 10 x 8
1 stone barn 47 x 27
94
The evolution of the Samuel Havard house—the Lafayette house—from 1707 to 1964.
95
l stone wagon house 26 x 20
Though the Havards were Quakers, they
owned a few slaves. They slowly freed most of
them when the Society of Friends demanded it
or they would have forfeited their membership. The first United State population census
in 1790 lists the Samuel Havard household as
consisting of 2 white adult males, 2 free white
adult females, 2 people of color, and 1 slave
(out of a total of 144 in Tredyffrin Township).
The second population census in 1800 shows
that Samuel no longer had any slaves. The
household consisted of 3 adult white males, 2
adult white females over age 45,1 white male
child under age 10, and 2 other free people.
Henry Woodman describes Samuel Havard
as a "very wealthy man." Samuel Havard died
in 1808 at the age of 82 and left his farm to his
great-nephew, Dr. John Havard Davis, grandson of his brother, John Havard, Jr. According
to Woodman, "this caused much dissatisfaction among other and nearer relations of his,
and after several years and much money were
spent in litigation, the will was finally established and the legatee placed in peaceable possession of the property." Priscilla Walker
Streets writes, "The same nephew inherited
with the property $30,000 in silver—as much
as 3 men could carry. He soon after relinquished his profession as a physician in which
he was fast rising in eminence and entered
into a career of land speculation which soon
dissipated the property."
By the time of the third population census in
1810, the property was occupied by Dr. John
Havard Davis. It listed his household as consisting of 1 male over 45,1 female in her teens,
3 young children, 2 free people of color, and 1
slave.
In 1819 John Havard Davis lost this farm to
John Sharpless at a Sheriffs sale. It was sold
for $20,000. This farm had been in
the Havard family for 112 years. Dr.
John Havard Davis died in 1821. In
1839,100 acres, including the buildings, were sold to William Ritter. In
1862 it was inherited by his daughter,
Sarah Ritter Wilson, wife of Edward
Wilson, and remained in that family
for 90 years.
THE JOHN HAVARD, JR. FARM
DUPORTAIL'S HEADQUARTERS
In 1740 John Havard, Jr. had built a house on
his father's farm, which would later be known
as the Duportail headquarters. In 1754 John
Havard, Sr. signed a Deed of Gift for 250 acres
to John Havard, Jr., who was 40 years of age
at that time. According to an archaeological
survey by PennDOT, authorized by the developers of Chesterbrook, the original house was
constructed as early as 1720—probably a tenant farmer's house—and long before John Havard, Jr. took possession of the farm. In 1720
John Havard, Jr. was only 6 years old. John,
Jr. married Miriam Thomas and it is likely that
they began living in this house, built around
1740, shortly after their marriage. It is believed
Above: The original Duportail house around 1930. Below: The back, or
west side, of the Duportail house around 1953 showing the original
house in the middle. The section on the right was added around 1810
and the section on the left was enlarged in the 20th century.
that General Louis Duportail, a French engineer who was responsible for the construction
of the fortifications at Valley Forge, used their
house as his headquarters. The basis for this
fact was that the original maps of these fortifications were found hidden in the rafters of the
attic of this house during a renovation in 1928.
John and Miriam's only child, Mary, was
born in 1770 and at the time of the Valley
Forge encampment she was 7 years old. She
married William Davis who had served as a
drummer boy during the encampment. Years
after this, William gave information on the encampment that resulted in the DavisArmstrong-Sparks map of 1833. In 1789 Mary
Davis—formerly Havard—acknowledged marrying out of unity. William and Mary Davis
had 7 children, one of whom was Dr. John Havard Davis.
John Havard, Jr. died around 1797. His will
named his grandson, Dr. John Havard Davis,
as his heir. The terms of the will stated that before John Havard Davis became 21 years old,
his mother, Mary, was empowered to rent out
the estate and use the profits for the support of
her other children. William and Mary Davis
continued to live on the farm.
The 1798 Federal Direct Tax Assessment
gives William Davis as the owner and occupant
of this 229 acre property. It is described as
having:
1 2-story stone dwelling house with 12 windows 30 x 18
1 stone kitchen 21 x 18
1 stone barn 55 x 37
1 stone wagon house 15 x 37.
Parts of the old barn on the property dated
back to 1792. In 1979, Tredyffrin Township debated whether to raze the old barn which was
in a dilapidated condition. The barn was
unique because it was "signed" by the stone
masons who built it. Richard Webster, from
the History Department of what was then West
Chester State College, said that to his knowledge it was "...the only 'signed piece' among
Pennsylvania bank barns. Inscribed on the interior plaster of the west gable end in large
script is 'The Federal Barn 1792' and nearby
are the longhand inscriptions 'Jonathan Moor
his work', 'John H. Moor 1792'.... In addition
to these there is a date stone in the western ga-
ble 'WMD 1792'.... The initials stand for William and Mary Davis, occupants of the farm in
1792, and John Havard, owner of the farm and
Mary Davis' father." The barn was not saved.
The stone foundations are all that is left
Dr. John Havard Davis married Eliza
,
by whom he had a son named Cyrus Davis. Dr.
John Havard Davis' debts meant that in 1819
this property was also put on the market. His
father, William Davis, bought it in 1820 for
$6,400.
William Davis died without a will in 1848
and in 1856 his son, William Davis, Jr., was
awarded 170 acres. William Davis, Jr. died unmarried and without a will. The entire estate
was awarded to his sisters, Rebecca and Mary
Davis, and to his nephew, Cyrus Davis.
An exchange was made in 1880 between
Cyrus and his aunts. His aunts, Rebecca and
Mary, received the home farm of 170 acres and
Cyrus received 175 acres the sisters had received from an uncle, Samuel Davis. According
to a story told by Bob Goshorn, the property
that was owned by the Davis sisters was left to
two black servants who held spiritual meetings. A nephew challenged the will. Mary Davis
died in 1880 and Rebecca died in 1893. In
1894 the executors for the sisters sold their 170
acres to the second David Havard. The farm
was sold out of the family in 1903. It had been
held by the Havard-Davis family for 196 years.
THE DAVID HAVARD FARM
LEE/BRADFORD HEADQUARTERS
During the Valley Forge encampment both
General Charles Lee and Colonel Thomas
Bradford used David Havard's house as their
headquarters. General Lee was dismissed from
the army after the Battle of Monmouth. He
was considered to be a cynical and erratic
officer.
The first David Havard, 1724-1802, married
Susanna Malin in 1774 and they lived on the
300 acre farm deeded to him by his father in
1754. It was the homestead of John Havard,
Sr., who died in 1769. At the time of the Valley
Forge encampment Susanna and David had
two small children. Altogether they had four
children, 3 of whom lived to adulthood, Sarah,
Benjamin and Jane.
The Shippen Tax of 1760 lists David Havard
97
The Lee-Bradford house around 1900.
and his assets:
300 acres
50 cleared land
negros - none
cattle 6
sheep 15
There is an interesting story connected with
this property during the Valley Forge encampment. This story was told by both Henry
Woodman and Alden Quimby. There was a
Tory spy from Philadelphia who was caught in
David Havard's springhouse. The spy was the
subject of a search by three groups of soldiers
led by Colonel Hamilton and Colonel Dewees.
A few days after his capture, he was hanged
and later buried in an isolated grave far from
the graves of the American soldiers. If true,
this must have been a very exciting development in the neighborhood.
The 1798 Federal Direct Tax Assessment for
David Havard's 300 acres lists the following
buildings:
1 2-story stone dwelling house with 7 windows 36 x 20
1 stone kitchen 25 x 17
1 stone washhouse 22 x 16
1 stone springhouse 14 x 12
1 stone barn 45 x 20
1 stone wagon house 27 x 20.
Benjamin Havard, 1780-1823, married Mary
Jones and they were the next generation to
live on the farm. They had 2 children: the second David Havard, who first married Mary
Reinhart and then married
Eliza
?, and Susanna,
who married William Roberts. Benjamin's aunts willed
their acreage, given to them
by their father, to Benjamin,
who in turn gave this land to
1
his daughter, Susanna Havard
Roberts. The second David
Havard and his family lived
on the farm until it was sold
• to A. J. Cassatt in 1881 and
comprised part of the 600
acres acquired by Cassatt
known as Chesterbrook Farm.
This farm had been in the Havard family for 174 years. The house is still
standing today on Bradford Road in Chesterbrook. It serves as the clubhouse for the Picket
Post Swim and Tennis Club.
SOURCES
"American Officers' Quarters at Valley Forge." Tredyffrin Easttown History Club Quarterly,
vol. 8, no. 2 (April 1954). pages 28-50.
Ashmead, Henry Graham. History of Delaware
County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L. H.
Everts, 1884.
Chester County Deed Book B2. Page 84.
"Club Again Marks Site of Stone Chimney Picket
Post." Tredyffrin Easttown History Club Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 3 (July 1980). pages 96-100.
Cope, Gilbert and Henry Graham Ashmead. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical
And Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware
Counties, Pennsylvania. N.Y.: Lewis Publishing
Co., 1904. 2 vols.
Documentation and Site Analysis, Duportail
House, Chesterbrook, Tredyffrin Township,
Chester County, Pa. John D. Milner, Project
Director, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate
School of Fine Arts, Program in Historic Preservation. Prepared for Duportail House, Inc.,
297 Adams Drive, Wayne, PA 19087.
May 8,1992.
98
Streets, Priscilla Walker. Lewis Walker of Chester
Valley and his descendants: with some of the
Families with whom they are connected by
marriage, 1686-1896. Philadelphia: A.J. Ferris,
printer, 1896.
Early Church Records of Delaware County. Radnor
Monthly Meeting.
United States. Bureau of the Census. First Census
of the United States, 1790, Pennsylvania. WashFuthey, J. Smith and Gilbert Cope. History of
ington, D.C.: The National Archives.
Chester County, Pennsylvania with Genealogi
cal and Bioigraphical Sketches. Philadelphia:
Louis M. Everts, 1881.
. Second Census of the United States,
Made in the Year 1800. Returns for Tredyffrin
Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Glenn, Thomas Allen. Merion in the Welsh Tract.
Population Schedules. Washington, D.C.:
Norristown, Pa.: Herald Press, 1896.
The National Archives. Transcribed by Robert
L. Ward, 1981.
Goshorn, Bob. "A. J. Cassatt's Chesterbrook Farm."
Tredyffrin Easttown History Club Quarterly,
vol. 19, no. 4 (October 1981). pages 121-128.
. Third Census of the United States,
1810, Pennsylvania. Washington, D.C.: The
Lafayette's Quarters (The Havard-Ritter-Wilson
National Archives.
House). John Bruce Dodd, Architect, Cherry
Dodd, Associate for the United States DepartWoodman, Henry. The History of Valley Forge:
ment of the Interior, National Park Service,
with a Biography of the Author and the
Mid-Atlantic Region. Valley Forge National HisAuthor's Father who was a Soldier with Washtorical Park, 1981. Historic Structure Report.
ington at Valley Forge During the Winters of
Part 4, Architectural Data.
1777 and 1778. Oaks, Pa.: John U. Francis, 1920.
"Duportail Barn Demolition Stay Extended." Tredyffrin Easttoum History Club Quarterly,
vol. 17, no. 4 (October 1979). page 114.
"Old Barn Gets Reprieve." Tredyffrin Easttown
History Club Quarterly, vol. 17, no. 3 (July
1979). page 84.
Phase I/II Archaeological Investigations. S. R.
0202, Section 400, Wilson Tract, Tredyffrin
Township, Chester County. Prepared by Michael
D. Scholl, Principal Investigator and Madeline
Scheerer for Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation, Engineering District 6-0. King
of Prussia, Pa.: Urs. Greiner, Inc., February
1998.
Nancy Pusey's husband is a direct descendant of
David Havard. This was presented at the March
28, 2004 meeting of the Tredyffrin Easttown History
Club.
Quimby, Alden W. Valley Forge: A Tale. New
York: Eaton & Mains, 1906.
1798 Federal Direct Tax Assessment (The Glass
Tax). Returns for the Townships of Tredyffrin
and East Whiteland of the 4th District (Chester
County) in the 2nd Division of the State of Pennsylvania. Schedule A: A Particular List of
Dwelling Houses and Outhouses and their Lots
worth over $100 on 1st October, 1798. Schedule
B: A Particular List of all Lands, Lots, Buildings
and Wharves Except Dwelling Houses worth
over $100 on 1st October, 1798. Transcribed by
Robert L. Ward from the microfilm copy of the
original in the National Archives, 1981
99