BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES 



445 



Conccivinfr the idea of a botanic gar- 

 (Irn, he, in the year 17'J8, purchased 

 the site of the well known " Bartrams 

 •lardin,'' on the banks of the Schuyl- 

 kill, now the propert\- of Thomas East- 

 wick, Esq. A further notice of John 

 Bartram as a botani:-t would be incom- 

 patible with this work ; his biography 

 in this respect belongs to the State and 

 to the nation. 



He was twice married ; to his first 

 wife in 172:! — to his second in 1729. 

 \\\$Jirist wife was Mary, the daughter of 

 Kichard and Elizabeth Maris of Spring- 

 held township. His second was Ann, 

 the daughter of Benjamin Mendenhall 

 of Concord. By the first marriage he 

 had two children ; by his second nine. 

 He was married both times in accord- 

 ance with the discipline of the Society 

 of Friends, of which Society he was a 

 member till 1758, when he was dis- 

 owned for entertaining opinions sup- 

 jiosed not to be in accordance with 

 the doctrines of that sect. His religious 

 >^elief may be gathered from a distitch 

 consj)icuously engraved with his own 

 hands over the window of an apart- 

 ment in his house devoted to study 

 and retirement; and from its date it 

 may be concluded that he held the 

 same doctrine till the end of his days. 



" Tis God alone, Almighty Lord, 

 The Holy Oue, by me adored." 



" JoH.v Baktram, 1770." 



His death occurred on the 22nd of 

 September, 1777, shortly after the 

 battle of Brandywine, and it was sup- 

 posed to have been hastened by the 

 a[)prehension that " his darling garden, 

 the cherished nursling of almost half a 

 century," might not be spared from the 

 ravages that the approaching British 

 army -were then committing in his 

 vicinity. He had frequently expressed 

 a desire that his last illness might be 

 short, and in this he was especially 

 gratified. His age was seventy-eight 

 years and six months. [For a more 

 particular account of this great man. 

 the reader is refered to " Memorials of 

 Bartram ij- Marshall,'' edited by Dr. 

 William Darlington, and published in 

 1849.] 



Bayxton, Peter, a man of some 

 ability and plausible address, but des- 

 titute of moral principle, came from 

 England, and settled in the town of 

 Chester about the year lt>90. He soon 



gained the confidence of the people, and 

 at the same time secured the allections 

 of a lady, whom he married. There are 

 reasons for believing that the lady who 

 became his dupe, was Ann, the widow 

 of James Sandelandes. His career in 

 America was short, but brilliant. He 

 was appointed a justice of the Chester 

 Court, and presided at its sittings, 

 which were sometimes held at his 

 house. In two or three years, how- 

 ever, he suddenly returned to England, 

 carrying most of his property with him, 

 and leaving his wife without competent 

 means for her support. After his 

 arrival in England, he married another 

 woman, a fact which he had the un- 

 feeling impudence to communicate to 

 his wife here, with an intimation of 

 his intention to send for the balance of 

 the property he had left. This, how- 

 ever, was prevented by a timely appli- 

 cation to the Governor and Council. 



Beal, or Bales, John, was an early 

 settler in the lower part of Aston. He 

 was married to Mary, the daughter of 

 William Clayton. Sr.. in 1682. They 

 were Friends, and so far as known, 

 their children were John. William, 

 Jacob, Mary and Patience. The family, 

 after some time, removed to Notting- 

 ham, where John died in 172G. 



Bennett, John, intermarried with 

 Ann, the eldest daughter of William 

 Brinton, the pioneer immigrant, in 

 1684. at Stower Bridge Frien'ds' Meet- 

 ing, in England, and soon afterwards 

 came to this country and settled near 

 his father-in-law, in Birmingham. He 

 died in 1709, leaving four children to 

 survive him, viz., William. John. Ann 

 and Olive. He became a large land- 

 holder in Birmingham before his death. 

 He was appointed constable of Birming- 

 ham, when first organized as a town- 

 ship, in 1686 



Bennett, Edward, purchased land in 

 Concord, in the year 1686, and doubt- 

 less settled there, as he that year mar- 

 ried Margery Willis. He was probably 

 a brother of John Bennett, and she a 

 sister of John Willis, the son-in-law of 

 the immigrant William Brinton. 



Bethel, John, with his wife Frances 

 and family, came to occupy the mill 

 property of Darby about the year 1693, 



