HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



69 



izing the great importance of bridging 

 the Delaware River at New Hope, these 

 two men never rested until it was ac- 

 complishd, in 1813-1814. Benjamin Parry 

 headed the subscription list and Mr. Ing- 

 ham signed, as second subscriber. The 

 first public meeting towards organization 

 was held September 25, 181 1, at the Tav- 

 ern of Garret Meldrum in New Hope at 

 which vigorous action was taken towards 

 securing the building of the bridge. Ben- 

 jamin Parry and Mr. Ingham were the 

 commissioners, to superintend its con- 

 struction as noted in the very interesting 

 paper of the Reverend D. K. Turner, 

 upon "Our Bucks County Congressmen" 

 read before the Bucks County Historical 

 Society, January 22, 1895. It was neces- 

 sary to obtain charters from both the 

 states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 

 and charters were granted in both states 

 in 1812 — about fifteen months after the 

 first eventful meeting at "Meldrum's 

 Tavern." The charters gave the bridge 

 company banking privileges and acting 

 imder the same, and the written opinion 

 of their counsel, the Hon. George M. 

 Dallas, once vice-president of the United 

 States, a banking business was conducted 

 and bank bills were issued, for many 

 years and became largely the currency 

 of the country,. both in Pennsylvania and 

 New Jersey. The first president of the 

 New Hope Delaware Bridge Company 

 was the Hon. Samuel D. Ingham and 

 Benjamin Parry was a member of the 

 First Board of Managers in 181 1. It 

 may perhaps be of some interest to note 

 that in 1905, ninety-four years later, the 

 family are still closely connected with 

 this ancient corporation and one of its 

 members (a grandson of Benjamin 

 Parry) has been for a number of years 

 president of the company. Daniel Parry, 

 born April 21, 1774, a younger brothet 

 of Benjamin, was its treasurer in 1814. 

 The present treasurer is John S. Will- 

 iams. From 1784 to about 1815 "Cory- 

 ell's Ferry," (now New Hope) was ad- 

 mittedly the most active and thriving 

 town in Bucks county and the means, 

 liand and influence of Benjamin Parry, 

 were those which mainly guided the 

 helm; so much so was this that in earl> 

 times he was known and styled "the 

 Father of Coryell's Ferry." Besides his 

 linseed oil mills, flour and saw mills in 

 Pennsylvania, Benjamin Parry was 

 owner of flour mills in Amwell town- 

 ship. New Jersey, on the opposite side of 

 the river from New Hope and was inter- 

 ested with his relatives, Timothy Pax- 

 son (one of the executors of the rich. 

 Stephen Girard) in the flour commission 

 business in Philadelphia. A letter from 

 the late Martin Coryell of Lambertville, 

 New Jersey, states as follows, "Benjamin 

 Parry had a very large and profitable 

 trade, for the product of his flour mills 

 ■with the West Indies and other tropical 



countries, having in A. D., 1810, invented 

 a process by which malt, flour, corn 

 meal, etc., would resist the heat and 

 moisture of voyages through tropical 

 climates and remain sweet and whole- 

 some" and "that the amount of produc- 

 tion was the only limit for the demand 

 in foreign ports." This patent from the 

 United States to Benjamin Parry is dated 

 July 10, 1810; and is recorded in both 

 Washington and Philadelphia; the rec- 

 ord in Philadelphia being in Book 25 

 "L. W." of Miscellaneous Records, 

 page 67, etc., Recorder of Deeds Office. 

 It was long known as the "Kiln Drymg 

 Process" and was not superceded by 

 any different method for a period of 

 nearly seventy-five years. Some of the 

 business affairs of Benjamin Parry were 

 conducted under the firm name of Ben- 

 jamin Parry & Co., and others as Parry 

 & Cresson. Some time between 1791 and 

 1794. the name of "Coryell's Ferry" was 

 changed and it became known as New 

 Hope and a private map of the settle- 

 ment, made for Benjamin Parry, bears 

 the name of New Hope and is dated, in 

 printed letters A. D.. 1798. Mr. Parry 

 died as before stated, November 22, 1839, 

 in his eighty-third year at "The Old 

 Parry INIansion,"* New Hope, and he is 

 buried with so many others of his name 

 and race, in the family lot at Solebury 

 Friends' burying ground, Bucks county. 



OLIVER PARRY, GENTLEMAN, of 

 Philadelphia and Bucks county, Penn- 

 sylvania, only son of Benjamin Parry, 

 born 1757, was born at "The Old Parry 

 Mansion," Coryell's Ferry, now New 

 Hope, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, De- 

 cember 20, 1794, and married May I, 

 1827, Rachel Randolph, daughter of Cap- 

 tain Edward F. Randolph, a patriot of 

 1776, who had served in many of the 

 principal battles of the Revolutionary 

 war and who became an eminent citizen 

 of Philadelphia. His portrait in oil, 

 painted by Robert Street, hangs upon the 

 walls of the "Historical Society of Penn- 

 sylvania." at Philadelphia. Oliver and 

 Rachel Randolph Parry had twelve chil- 

 dren, four sons and eight daughters, all 

 born between March 24, 1828, and Au- 

 gust 17, 1848. Of the sons. Oliver Paxson 

 Parry, born June 20, 1846, died in 1852, 

 aged 6 years, and the others will be noted 

 later. Oliver Parry, the elder, born 

 1794, was a large landholder and his name 

 appears upon the records of Philadel- 

 phia county oftener perhaps, than that 

 of any other person of his day. A part 

 of his property was a large tract of the 

 once famous "Bush Hill Estate" long 

 the residence of Governor Andrew Ham- 

 ilton, in colonial days. This property 

 Mr. Parry owned jointly with his 



*An account and description of "The Old Parry 

 Mansion" follows this narrative. 



