654 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



and among their children was Jennie M., 

 who became the wife of Andrew J. Gib- 

 son, as mentioned above. The Cornell 

 family was founded in Bucks county by 

 Adrian and Matchie (Hagaman) Cornell, 

 who about 1735 purchased a tract of land 

 in Northampton township from Penn- 

 ington, a son-in-law of William Penn. 

 Adrian Cornell and his wife came to 

 Bucks county from Flatbush, Long 

 Island, making the journey on a cart 

 drawn by a team of oxen. The tract of 

 land on which they settled was then 

 known by the name of "Holland." They 

 erected a log cabin and thus began their 

 pioneer life in what was then a wilder- 

 ness. Adrian Cornell was one of a large 

 family, members of which are now to be 

 found in all parts of the United States. 

 The name has suffered many corruptions, 

 being spelled in various ways. Not a 

 few of those to whom it belongs use the 

 form "Cornwall," and from this it is 

 supposed that the family originated in 

 England and was transplanted from 

 Cornwall, in that country, to Amster- 

 dam, Holland, and thence to the shores 

 of the New World. 



WILLIAM MAWSON. The name of 

 William Mawson, of Newtown, is insepar- 

 ably identified ith the manufacturing in- 

 terests of Bucks county. Mr. Mawson is 

 a son of John B. Mawson, who emigrated 

 from Yorkshire,' England, in 1870, and 

 found employment in a wood-working es- 

 tablishment in Philadelphia, where he re- 

 mained until 1884. 



In that year Mr. Mawson removed to 

 Bucks county and settled in Yardley, where 

 he established a factory for the manufacture 

 of bobbins. The enterprise proved success- 

 ful, but in 1891 the factory was destroyed by 

 fire, and Mr. Mawson sold the business to 

 his sons, James, William and Charles, who 

 in 1892' erected a large factory at New- 

 town and began the manufacture of bobbins 

 and spools on an extensive scale, under 

 the firm name of Mawson Brothers. In 

 1900 James Mawson retired from the firm 

 and moved to Binghamton. New York, 

 where he operates a similar factory. Until 

 1904 the business was continued at New- 

 town by William Mawson and his brother 

 Charles, the name of the firm remaining 

 unchanged. The industry steadily increased 

 until the establishment became one of the 

 most prominent among the manufactories 

 of Bucks county. In 1904 a stock combina- 

 tion w^s formed and chartered under the 

 name of The Excelsior Bobbin and Spool 

 Companj% with a capital of sixty thousand 

 dollars. Additional buildings were erected 

 and the latest improved machinery intro- 

 duced, more than doubling the capacity. 

 The wood used is largely a native growth, 

 but hard-wood shipments are also secured 

 from the south and west. The product 

 finds a market in all parts of the United 



States, and shipments are also made to 

 foreign countries. Mr. Mawson and his 

 sons are good citizens, taking a lively in- 

 terest in all that' pertains to the welfare 

 of their town and county. In politics they 

 are Republicans. Charles, the junior mem- 

 ber of the firm, belongs to the town coun- 

 cil of Newtown borough. 



Mr. Mawson married, before leaving 

 England, Eleanor Battye, and their chil- 

 dren are: John, who is employed in the 

 United States arsenal at Frankford ; Mary, 

 who is the wife of Edward Godfrey, of 

 Newark, New Jersey; James, who Hves 

 at Binghamton, New York; Agnes, who 

 is married to Frederick Walker; Isabel, 

 who is the wife of Frank Cassidy, a 

 plumber of Paterson, New Jersey; 'Will- 

 iam, mentioned at length hereinafter; 

 Eleanor, who is married to Frederick 

 Walker; Charles, who was born in 1873, 

 in Philadelphia, married in A^^ril, 1895, 

 Irene Balderston, and has two children, 

 Edna and Clifford; and George, who is 

 employed on the Delaware, Lackawanna & 

 Western Railroad. All these children with 

 the exception of the three last named were 

 born in England. 



William Mawson, son of John B. and 

 Eleanor (Battye) Mawson, was born in 

 1868, in Yorkshire, England, and was two 

 years old when brought by his parents to 

 the United States. He possesses a full 

 share of the rare business qualifications 

 which seem characteristic of the entire fam- 

 ily, and is an active and progressive citi- 

 zen. Mr. Mawson married, in September, 

 1897, Josephine, daughter of Edward Ellis, 

 of Newtow-n. Mr. and Mrs. Mawson are 

 without children. Mr. Mawson and wife 

 are members of the Newtown Episcopal 

 church. He is also a member of the 

 Knights of Pythias. 



EDWARD M. SLACK, of Upper Make- 

 field township, was born at Taylorsville, 

 Upper Makefield township, January 25, 

 1845. and is a son of Cornelius and Sarah 

 (Hull) Slack. Abraham Slack, the grand- 

 father of the -subject of this sketch, was a 

 son of Abraham Slack, one of the pioneer 

 brothers in Makefield referred to in another 

 sketch, and' married (first) Elizabeth Tor- 

 bert, daughter of James and Hannah (Bur- 

 ley) Torbert, of Lower Makefield, by 

 whom he had five children : Esther ; James ; 

 Joseph ; Ann. who married Thomas Cun- 

 ningham ; and Cornelius. His wife Eliza- 

 beth dying, he married (second) about 1810, 

 Ann Mathews, of Dolington, and in 181 1 

 he sold his farm of 140 acres in Upper 

 Makefield and removed to Ann Arundel 

 county, Maryland. 



Cornelius Slack, son of Abraham and 

 Elizabeth (Torbert) Slack, was born in. 

 Makefield in 1793, and was reared on th6 

 old Pfafif farm. He married (first) Elinor 

 Brown, by whom he had eight children, 

 all of whom are now deceased except Mercy 



