This file has not been completely proofread, nor have the sources been verified, so use this material with caution.
Collected by Jim Jones, David Flogaus, Kelly Kulp-Bosler, Mike Wolford and Bob Gialanella (Spring 1995). Additional information collected by Jim Jones, Christopher Waychunas and John Morrison (Spring 1996). Last edited by Chris Waychunas (April 29, 1996).
1793 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926), 98.
A Roman Catholic congregation was established in West
Chester in 1793.
-----------------------------------------
1800s Source: Frazier, E. Franklin, BLACK BOURGEOISIE: THE
RISE OF A NEW MIDDLE CLASS (New York: The Free Press,
1957), 20.
Negro upper class consisted mostly of northernly educated
former slaves that benefited from northern philanthropy.
This Negro upper class contained a few teachers, doctors,
ministers, and small businessmen.
-----------------------------------------
1800 Source: W. W. Thompson, editor, County Pennsylvania and its
People (Chicago and New York: The Union History Company,
1898), 374.
The Friends School of West Chester was founded in 1800.
-----------------------------------------
1800s/early Source: W. W. Thompson, editor, County
Pennsylvania and its People (Chicago and New York:
The Union History Company, 1898), 376.
Joshua Hoopes (12-2): "at one time principal of a boarding
school at West Chester, and a distinguished authority on
botanical subjects." He was educated at the Friends School
of West Chester.
p385 Joshua Hoopes opened the "Downingtown Boarding School For
Boys" in 1817, moved it to West Chester in 1834 and closed
it in 1862 when he became too old to operate it.
-----------------------------------------
1830 Source: William Darlington, DIRECTORY OF THE BOROUGH OF WEST
CHESTER, FOR 1857: CONTAINING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE
BOROUGH FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME.. .
(West Chester, PA: Wood & James, Publishers, E.F. James,
printer, 1857, 37
The plans to build the West Chester Railroad led to the
construction of Price's Boarding School for young ladies in
1830. By 1857, it was flourishing under Misses Evans. It
-----------------------------------------
1832 Source: William Darlington, DIRECTORY OF THE BOROUGH OF WEST
CHESTER, FOR 1857: CONTAINING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE
BOROUGH FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME.. .
(West Chester, PA: Wood & James, Publishers, E.F. James,
printer, 1857, 37
The plans to build the West Chester Railroad also stimulated
the construction of the spacious Hotel, or Mansion House in
1832 by Wm. Everhart, Esq, at the southeast corner of Market
& Church Streets.
-----------------------------------------
1834 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
106.
The Act of 1834 authorized the construction of public
schools so that the sons of poor men would obtain
preparation for college.
-----------------------------------------
1834 Source: William Darlington, DIRECTORY OF THE BOROUGH OF WEST
CHESTER, FOR 1857: CONTAINING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE
BOROUGH FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME.. .
(West Chester, PA: Wood & James, Publishers, E.F. James,
printer, 1857, 39.
The veteran teacher Joshua Hoopes opened the Boarding and
Day School in West Chester in 1834.
-----------------------------------------
1850s Source: Found on the Internet (THE HACHER FAMILY
LEDGER, MMS 340)
Medical schools were expensive and varied widely in the
quality of instruction. The frontier medical student often
studied with a practicing physician, accompanying him on
cases, mixing the medications, and reading his books.
-----------------------------------------
1850s Source: "Profile Piece On Sharpless M. Paxson" in
"Daily Local News," (West Chester: August 13, 1927)
Paxson's father was a dealer in meats and provisions, as
well as the owner of a slaughterhouse. Young Sharpless
worked there during after school hours. He also worked as a
newsboy.
From his experience in the slaughterhouse, he was able to
learn the trades of buying livestock, and selling "dressed"
meat.
-----------------------------------------
1851 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
103.
Ercildoun Seminary was founded in 1851 by Smedley Darlington
as a boy's school, but it soon changed to an all-girls
school.
-----------------------------------------
1854 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
106.
The position of County Superintendent of Schools was created
in 1854 against the opposition of many school masters, and
the first man to hold the position was Robert Agnew Futhey
of Parkesburg. (JJ: J. Smith Futhey wrote a book indexing
biographies of Chester County citizens. It is in the
library.) ...
p107 ... Other superintendents were: Franklin Taylor (1857-1860),
W. W. Woodruff (1860-1869), George L. Maris (1869-1872),
Hiram F. Pierce (1872- 1876, 11 December), Jacob W. Harvey
(1877-1887), Joseph S. Walton (1877-1896 September), Frank
P. Bye (1896-1900), George W. Moore (1900-1914), Thomas A.
Bock (1914-1920 December), and Clyde T. Saylor (1920-).
-----------------------------------------
1857 Source: Darlington, William, DIRECTORY OF THE BOROUGH OF
WEST CHESTER, FOR 1857: CONTAINING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE
BOROUGH FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME ...
(West Chester, PA: Wood & James, Publishers, E.F. James,
printer, 1857), 102.
Under the heading of libraries, Daniel Nields was listed as
vice-president of the Working Men's Institute.
-----------------------------------------
1857 Source: William Darlington, DIRECTORY OF THE BOROUGH OF WEST
CHESTER, FOR 1857: CONTAINING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE
BOROUGH FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME.. .
(West Chester, PA: Wood & James, Publishers, E.F. James,
printer, 1857, 39.
The author expressed the fear that Philadelphia might soon
engulf West Chester as a result of railroad construction.
-----------------------------------------
Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
103.
Smedley Darlington's younger brother, Richard Darlington,
bought the Ercildoun Seminary in 1861 and operated it
successfully until it was destroyed by a tornado in 1877.
-----------------------------------------
1870s? Source: "Obituary of Sharpless M. Paxson" in "Daily
Local News," (West Chester: May 5, 1930)
Sharpless M. Paxson was a member of West Chester Rifle Team,
and a good shot.
-----------------------------------------
1871 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
105.
The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary founded the
Villa Maria Academy in West Chester in 1871.
-----------------------------------------
1871/09/25 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF
CHESTER COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA:
Horace F. Temple, 1926), 104.
The State Normal School opened on 25 September 1871 under
Dr. E. H. Cook (1871-1872), Dr. W. A. Chandler (1872-1873),
...
p105 ... Professor G. L. Maris (1873-1881), Dr. George Morris
Philips (1881-1920), and Dr. Thomas Andrew Smith (1920-? ).
-----------------------------------------
1877 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
104.
In the summer of 1877, after the school was destroyed by a
tornado that struck its original site, Richard Darlington
moved the Ercildoun Seminary to a location just outside of
West Chester and renamed it the Darlington Seminary.
-----------------------------------------
1879 Source: "Obituary of E.L. McKinstry" in "Daily Local News"
(West Chester, March 30, 1951).
E.L. McKinstry attended the Chester Springs Soldiers Orphan
School of Chester County when he was twelve years old.
-----------------------------------------
1880s Source: "Obituary of E.L. McKinstry" in "Daily Local
News" (West Chester, March 30, 1951).
E.L. McKinstry attended the Friends Central High School in
Philadelphia for one year.
-----------------------------------------
1881 Source: "Obituary of E.L. McKinstry" in "Daily Local News"
(West Chester, March 30, 1951).
At the age of 14, E.L. McKinstry entered the newspaper
office at Newtown, Bucks County and began to learn the
printing trade.
-----------------------------------------
1884 Source: Shirley Macauley, "W. Chester's squares failed as
rectangles" in "Daily Local News" (November 13, 1972), 84.
NOTE: Centennial issue nø1 of 5 by the Daily Local News
In 1884, the West Chester Women's Christian Temperance Union
was founded, the first such group in Chesco. They met at
the First Baptist Church. Sixty women attended the first
annual meeting.
-----------------------------------------
1887-1890 Source: "Obituary of Sharpless M. Paxson" in "Daily
Local News," (West Chester: May 5, 1930).
In tribute form: they said of Sharpless M. Paxson,
"filled with credit the office of Recorder of Deeds of
Chester County" particularly his excellent penmanship. He
was a "paragon of neatness and accuracy."
-----------------------------------------
1890 Source: "Obituary for L.S. McKinstry" in "Daily Local News"
(West Chester, March 13, 1940).
L.S. McKinstry attended Unionville Academy High School. In
1890, she graduated from West Chester State Normal School
(WCU). She first taught in Bucks county, and then in West
Coatesville and then Valley Twshp.
-----------------------------------------
1890 Source: "Obituary of E.L. McKinstry" in "Daily Local News"
(West Chester, March 30, 1951).
E.L. McKinstry graduated from West Chester Normal School in
1890 (now WCU). He was chosen historian of his class.
-----------------------------------------
1890 Source: "W. Chester is biggest district" in "Daily Local
News" (November 15, 1972), 60. NOTE: Centennial issue nø3
of 5 by the Daily Local News
The first black graduate of a West Chester school was
William Moore in 1890. "Moore wasn't able to gain
apprenticeship in any of the trades in West Chester, and
went on to Howard University. He later became a teacher and
principal of an all-black school in Cape May, N.J."
-----------------------------------------
1890?-1892? Source: "Obituary of E.L. McKinstry" in "Daily
Local News" (West Chester, March 30, 1951).
E.L. McKinstry taught school for 2 years. He served for one
year at Newportville and one year at Rockville, Bucks
County.
-----------------------------------------
1890s Source: Gerald R. Fuller, June Markus Hoopes & Lillian
Fredsall Webster, compilers and editors, THE HOOPES
FAMILY RECORD, Vol. I, The First Six Generations
(Houston, Texas: The Hoopes Family Organization, Inc.,
1979), 574.
Josiah was a trustee of the West Chester State Normal
School. He was listed in "Who's Who, 1897-1942. He was the
author of BOOK OF EVERGREENS (New York: Orange Judd Co.,
1868).
-----------------------------------------
1891/09/17 Source: Source: County Historical Society,
Clipping File.
R. E. Monaghan was a Trustee of West Chester State Normal
School.
-----------------------------------------
1893/01/16.fam.educ. Source: County Historical Society,
Clipping File.
Jonathan J. Monaghan (the brother of R. Jones Monaghan)
attended Lafayette.
-----------------------------------------
1894 Source: "W. Chester is biggest district" in "Daily Local
News" (November 15, 1972), 60. NOTE: Centennial issue nø3
of 5 by the Daily Local News
The Gay Street School (later Fugett School) was built in
1894 for $25,000. It had seven teachers and a principal.
It was renovated in 1910 and rebuilt in 1956.
-----------------------------------------
1894/08/20 Source: Daily Local News (August 20, 1894)
The workers at the PRR station made preparations for "the
handling of trunks next Monday when the Normalites return."
(Normalites were the students and faculty at the West
Chester Normal School.)
-----------------------------------------
1894/06/29 Source: notes, not dated, not signed
Robert E. Monaghan born 1822/07/24 died 1894.06/29. He was
the uncle of R. Jones Monaghan and son of James Monaghan by
his
second wife, Catherine Streeper. Robert E. Monaghan was
born
in West Fallowfield. His father was from County Fermagh and
came
to America about 1799. R. E. Monaghan taught school,
represented
Chester County in state legislature, and was one of the
original
promoters of Public School System. He also ran for US
Congress
in 1868, but lost to Washington Townsend. Finally, R. E.
Monaghan
Invented a machine called the "Vox Populi."
-----------------------------------------
1898 Source: "W. Chester is biggest district" in "Daily Local
News" (November 15, 1972), 60. NOTE: Centennial issue nø3
of 5 by the Daily Local News
The Model school (later the "Demonstration School") opened
on the West Chester Normal School campus in 1898.
-----------------------------------------
1901 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
104.
Richard Darlington he sold the Darlington Seminary (former
Ercildoun Seminary) to Frank P. Bye, one-time Superintendent
of Schools in Chester County, who continued to operate the
school up to the time of publication of this book.
-----------------------------------------
1905/11/23 Source: Daily Local News, in Chester County
Historical Society
J. Preston Thomas died of illness. During his lifetime, he
was elected to the Directors of the Poor in 1887. He was
also
a graduate of Haverford College, and in 1870, he was elected
director of National Bank of Chester County. He became the
vice
president of the bank on 1895/01/11, and on 1901/11/01 he
became
president of the bank. He served on the Board of Trustees
of
the
West Chester Normal School, helped found the Chester County
Hospital,
served on their Board of Managers, and was a member of the
Downingtown Friends Meeting.
-----------------------------------------
1911 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
106.
In 1911, Dr. George M. Philips of the State Normal School
played a large part in drawing up the School Code to
standardize public education in the county.
-----------------------------------------
1914 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
105.
In 1914, the Villa Maria Academy moved from West Chester to
its present location at Immaculata and was chartered by the
state of Pennsylvania in 1921.
-----------------------------------------
1918 Source: Shirley Macauley, "W. Chester's squares failed as
rectangles" in "Daily Local News" (November 13, 1972), 84.
NOTE: Centennial issue nø1 of 5 by the Daily Local News
The Boy Scouts were chartered in Chester County. Their
headquarters was located in the Farmers and Mechanics
Building in West Chester.
-----------------------------------------
1920s Source: Gerald R. Fuller, June Markus Hoopes & Lillian
Fredsall Webster, compilers and editors, THE HOOPES
FAMILY RECORD, Vol. II, The Seventh and Eighth
Generations (Houston, Texas: The Hoopes Family
Organization, Inc., 1979), 250.
Josiah Morgan Hoopes, son of Joshua Hoopes, graduated from
St.
Agnes High School in West Chester and attended Villanova
University. He became a landscape architect and the West
Chester borough Tree Commissioner.
-----------------------------------------
1921 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
105.
The Villa Maria Academy at Immaculata was chartered by the
state of Pennsylvania in 1921.
-----------------------------------------
1926 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
104.
The Darlington Seminary operated in West Chester under
Superintendent Frank B. Bye, since 1901.
-----------------------------------------
1926 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926),
105.
The State Normal School originally possessed ten acres of
land, but by 1926 it had about sixty acres. Construction
costs of the buildings was around $1,000,000.
-----------------------------------------
1926 Source: Charles William Heathcote, HISTORY OF CHESTER COUNTY
PENNSYLVANIA (West Chester, PA: Horace F. Temple, 1926), 31.
There is an excellent public school system, one of the best
in the state. The Friends maintain well-organized schools.
There is also a fine parochial school system organized from
the grades to the high school inclusive. One of the best
State Normal Schools in the United States is located here,
having a student body of twelve hundred.
-----------------------------------------
1927 Source: Shirley Macauley, "W. Chester's squares failed as
rectangles" in "Daily Local News" (November 13, 1972), 84.
NOTE: Centennial issue nø1 of 5 by the Daily Local News
The Girl Scouts were chartered in Chester County at the
suggestion of Mrs. Herbert Hoover following a "tea" held at
the home (named "Greystone") of Mrs. P. M. Sharples.
-----------------------------------------
1927/05/20 Source: "Eightieth Birthday piece on Justice
Paxson" in "Daily Local News,"(West Chester: May
20, 1927)
Paxson enjoyed fishing, even in his old age. However, he
thought that the Brandywine River had become polluted since
he was a boy. "When I was a kid, let me tell you there were
some whoppers taken from it".
-----------------------------------------
1927/08/13 Source: "Profile Piece On Sharpless M. Paxson" in
"Daily Local News," (West Chester: August 13,
1927)
Sharpless M. Paxson considered the money given to him by his
father (when he worked in the meat shop) as more of a gift
than compensation for the work performed. The newspaper
business, he said, was different. He was working for his
own wage, and came to understand the value of his labors.
The Philadelphia papers he distributed were the Bulletin,
and the "Press."
-----------------------------------------
1940 Source: "Obituary for L.S. McKinstry" in "Daily Local News"
(West Chester, March 13, 1940).
Loraine Stone McKinstry's son was Hugh Exton McKinstry. He
was an alumnus of West Chester High School, Haverford
College, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute
of
Technology.
-----------------------------------------
1951 Source: "Obituary of E.L. McKinstry" in "Daily Local News,"
(West Chester, March 30, 1951).
E.L. McKinstry's son was Dr. Hugh Exton McKinstry. In
1951, he was a geologist and member of faculty of Harvard
University.
-----------------------------------------