BIOGRAPUICAL NOTICES, 



i05 



Jacob, Joseph, Mary and Hannah. 

 William died in 1720. 



Sw.vFFER James, emigrated from 

 Newton, Cheshire, England, as early 

 as 1G84, and settled in Upper Provi- 

 dence. He was unmarried at the time 

 of his arrival, but in 1G8."> he married 

 Elizabeth, the daugiitcr of John Houl- 

 ston, a neighboring colonist; the mar- 

 riage being iiccomplislicd according to 

 the usages of the Society of Friends, of 

 which he was a member. After hav- 

 ing resided for some time in Provi- 

 dence, he removed to Philadelphia, 

 and subsequently to Cain, in Chester 

 County, where he died in 1714. His 

 children, so far as is known, were 

 Elizabeth, Mary, James and William. 

 He was a brother of William Swaffer, 

 the colonist, who probably immigrated 

 with kim. 



Tanten, Hendrick, (sometimes 

 Thaden,) doubtless became a settler at 

 Amesland, under the Dutch Govern- 

 ment. His land ■' on which he re- 

 sided," was surveyed and confirmed to 

 him in 1675. He died in 1703, having 

 in his will, executed shortly before his 

 death, given directions for his burial, 

 "in the burial place at Chester alias 

 Upland." Hence it may be inferred 

 that he was a Dutch Episcopalian, and 

 not a Swede. 



Taylor, Christopher, supposed to 

 have been born near Skipton, in York- 

 shire — officiated for a time as a Puritan 

 preacher until in 1G52, he was con- 

 vinced of the truth of Quaker doctrine, 

 by George Fox. Soon after his con- 

 vincement, he became eminent as a 

 ministeramong Friends ; traveled much 

 as a preacher, and was subjected to a 

 full share of the persecution against 

 Quakers that was usual in that age of 

 bigotry ; was imprisoned several times, 

 and on one occasion, under much cruel 

 treatment, for the space of two years. 

 In the exercise of his profession, as 

 the teacher of a classical school, he 

 met with much opposition, and was 

 obliged to remove from place to place; 

 his last school being at Edmonton, in 

 Middlesex. On leaving this school, in 

 1682, to emigrate to Pennsylvania, he 

 was succeeded b}- the noted George 

 Keith. Upon his arrival here he first 

 settled in Bucks County, which he re- 



presented in the first Assembly at 

 Chester. He was likewise a member 

 of the first Provincial Council after the 

 arrival of Penn. and was continued in 

 that office till his death, in 1G3G. He 

 also held the office of Register-general 

 of the Province for some time, and was 

 one of the commissioners appointed by 

 William Penn to treat with the govern- 

 ment of West Jersey. 



In July, 1684, he appears as one of 

 the Justices of Chester Court, when he 

 had probabl}' established himself on 

 Tinicum Island, which was conveyed 

 to him shortly afterwards. He had a 

 son Israel, who was a surgeon, (chir- 

 urgeon,) and to whom, in 1685, he 

 granted 500 acres of land at Neshaminy 

 and 1000 acres elsewhere. In this 

 grant he speaks of himself as a school- 

 master, and of his residence as being 

 on ''Tinicum, alias College Island." 



" His literary qualifications were con- 

 siderable, and he frequently exercised 

 his pen in the cause of truth." He 

 was well acquainted with Latin, Greek 

 and Hebrew, and in 1679 published his 

 " Compendium Trium Linguarum" of 

 those languages. He was unquestion- 

 ably one of the best scholars who 

 arrived with the first settlers. Besides 

 his son 'Israel he had a son Joseph and 

 a daughter Marj-, who, in 1690, mar- 

 ried John Buzby, of Philadelphia. 

 Israel succeeded his father on Tinicum, 

 and continued to own and occupy the 

 whole island till his death, in 17liG. 

 He had eleven children, but devised 

 the island to his three sons, Christo- 

 pher, Benjamin and Israel. 



Taylor, John. Soon after the settle- 

 ment of Christopher Taylor on Tinicum, 

 we find him concerned in leasing a 

 small piece of land on that island to 

 John Taylor, to be used as a garden 

 or nursery. After the death of Chris- 

 topher Taylor, the famili/ of John Tay- 

 lor, with Hugh Durborow, removed to 

 Thornbury, and in 1G87 presented a 

 joint certificate to Concord Monthly 

 Meeting, which was accepted. The 

 name of this John Taylor does not ap- 

 pear afterwards, and it is presumed 

 that he was deceased at the time the 

 certificate was presented to the meet- 

 ing. The family mentioned doubtless 

 consisted, at least in part, of his two 

 sons, Jacob and Isaac. Two certificates 

 from Wiltshire, England, were present- 



