Marple in the 1850s: Part Two – The People
By Sam Pickard
This is Part Two of an ongoing series on Marple Township in the 1850s.
Part One focuses on the Landscape of Marple in the 1850s.
Part Three focuses on Farming in Marple during the 1850s.
The last post talked about the landscape of Marple Township in the 1850s… but what do we know about the people who lived there? Between April 2010 and April 2020, Marple Township’s population grew from 23,428 to 24,214.[1] Marple in the 1850s was a much more sparsely populated locale. Between 1850 and 1860, the population grew from 876 to 916. Residents were more or less evenly split between men and women in both years, and the average age of a resident was about 26. In 1850, the average age for women was slightly older than that of men (25.4 to 24.86) but in 1860, this had flipped, with the average age for men (27.23) being slightly higher than that of women (26.5).[2]
In 1850, the oldest man in Marple was 89-year-old Levis Maris, and the oldest woman was 83-year-old Rebecca Lobb. Little could be found about these two individuals: Maris lived with 28-year-old teacher Hannah Lewis (possibly a granddaughter) and Lobb appears to have resided with her son George.[3] Ten years later, both had presumably passed away and two 86-year-olds were tied for oldest resident in the township: Hector Brown and Hannah Rhoads.[4] These two individuals serve as an interesting contrast of the extremes (and middle) of the population in Marple. Hector Brown had been enslaved during his early life, possibly by Marple’s wealthy Fawkes family, and had continued to work on their farmland into the 1850s. By 1860, Brown was living with his daughter and another woman, and classified by the census as a pauper.[5]
Little is known about Hannah Rhoads, who had lived alone or with a teenaged boy, possibly her son, since the 1820s. Her surname indicates that she either was born or married into one of the oldest European families in Marple. While Hannah Rhoads herself only had $700 worth of real estate according to the 1860 census (near the bottom of those who owned property), she was likely related to local tanner Joseph Rhoads and his recently-deceased brother George, who were among the wealthiest people in the township.[6]
The township’s population was predominantly white through the 1850s, ranging from 93.61 percent in 1850 to 95.52 percent in 1860 according to the census. Marple had a small African American community during this time, comprised both those who had been locally enslaved, their descendants, and people who had moved into the area. While some of the Black and mixed-race residents lived in the community (later known as Hayti) around the African Union Church, other African Americans were dispersed throughout the township.[7]
Breaking down the residents of Marple between the native-born populace and immigrants, Marple’s population was overwhelmingly native-born. In 1850, 92.81 percent of the population was born in the United States, decreasing to 88.65 percent in 1860—still a very high percentage. Ireland was the largest source of immigrants in both 1850 and 1860, with England coming in a distant second place in both years. Among native-born residents, the vast majority were born in Pennsylvania, with less than 25 of the 810-plus American-born residents hailing from outside of Pennsylvania.[8]
The individuals with the most valuable landholdings remained relatively consistent over the decade: five of the top 10 landholders with the most valuable real estate in 1850 were also in the top 10 in 1860. In 1850, 68-year-old Isaiah Fawkes and 74-year-old Rebecca Fawkes held the top two spots, owning land valued at $42,000 and $29,000, respectively.[9] The 1848 Ash map of Delaware County shows the Fawkes land stretching across the north of the township from Old Cedar Grove Road to Darby Creek at the Haverford Township line. Their land extended north into Newtown Township as well, stretching as far as the Octagon School House (See map).[10]
By 1860, Rebecca Fawkes was dead and Isaiah Fawkes had moved to West Chester.[11] The top two landowners were now John M. Moore, with real estate valued at $40,000 and Joseph Rhoads with $31,800.[12] The 1860 census also recorded an estimated value of individuals’ possessions and cash. By this measure, 36-year-old farmer Milton Lewis was the richest man in Marple, with a personal estate of $64,500. For comparison, the second largest personal estate ($28,000) belonged to 72-year-old Thomas Steele, who appears to have been retired from working.[13]
For those in Marple who did have to work, the more than half were farmers or employed as farm laborers. If one were to include children or spouses who were not listed with their own occupations in the census but who most certainly labored on their family’s farm, the vast majority of people in Marple would be involved in some sort of agricultural work. Otherwise, the censuses usually recorded no more than three or four people employed in any given occupation. These included gardeners, potters, and the township’s one doctor—J. Morris Moore. There were exceptions to this, with the 1860 census listing 30 domestic servants, and professions related to blacksmithing, tanning/currying, whetstone manufacturing, and handloom weaving all having above average numbers for township occupations.[14]
Next time, Part Three of “The 1850s in Marple” will explore the lifeblood of the township’s economy during the 1850s—Farming.
[1] United States Census Bureau, “Marple Township,” Quick facts, 2022, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/marpletownshipdelawarecountypennsylvania,US/PST045221.
[2] 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheets 201A-211A; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, pages 93-116.
[3] 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheet 205B, lines 33-34, and sheet 211A, lines 39-40.
[4] 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, page 99, line 26, and page 110, line 8.
[5] “A Centenarian Gone,” Delaware County American [Media, Pennsylvania], 30 September 1868; “Good Old Age,” Delaware County Republican [Chester, Pennsylvania], 2 October 1868; Henry Graham Ashmead, History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co., 1884), 581; 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheet 204A, lines 13-15; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, page 110, lines 8-10.
[6] 1820 U.S. Census, Population, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, page 76, line 17; 1830 U.S. Census, No. 4.—Schedule of the Whole Number of Persons, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheet 270, line 5; 1840 U.S. Census, No. 4.—Schedule of the Whole Number of Persons, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheet 86, line 20; 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheet 204A, lines 13-15; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheet 210B, line 13; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, page 99, line 26, and page 106, line 7; George Rhoads death notice, Delaware County Republican, 9 April 1858; Doug, Humes, “The Rhoads Tannery, The Oldest Business in the U.S.,” Marple Friends & Neighbors Magazine, April 2020, https://issuu.com/bestversionmedia6/docs/2004-m_2988_marple_friends___neighbors_web_april20/s/10395635.
[7] 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheets 201A-211A; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, pages 93-116.
[8] 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheets 201A-211A; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, pages 93-116.
[9] 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheet 205B, line 1, sheet 205B, line 24, sheet 202B, line 28, sheet 203A, line 28, sheet 201B, line 5, sheet 204B, line 31, sheet 209A, line 41, sheet 209B, line 6, sheet 210A, line 7, and sheet 209B, line 41; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, page 111, line 36, page 106, line 7, page 93, line 22, page 94, lines 6 and 19, page 95, line 3, page 102, lines 10, 17, and 37, page 98, line 19.
[10] Joshua W. Ash, Map of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Robert P. Smith, 1848).
[11] “Notice.—Letters testamentary on the estate of Rebecca Fawkes,” Delaware County Republican [Chester, Pennsylvania], 27 April 1855; “Death of Isaiah Fawkes,” Delaware County Republican, 3 July 1863.
[12] 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, page 106, line 7, and page 111, line 36.
[13] 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, page 95, line 26, page 112, lines 11 and 28, page 102, line 10, page 94, lines 19 and 28, page 106, line 7, page 111, line 3, page 108, line 37, page 101, line 38.
[14] 1850 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, sheets 201A-211A; 1860 U.S. Census, Schedule 1.—Free Inhabitants, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Marple Township, pages 93-116.