512 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 



paid a religious visit to all the Ameri- 

 can Colonies where people of that de- 

 nomination had settled. Being pleased 

 ■with the country and its prospects, she, 

 with her husband, Richard Webb, emi- 

 grated from Gloucestershire, their for- 

 mer place of residence in England, in 

 1'700 or 1701, and settled on the Bran- 

 dywine, in Birmingham township, just 

 beyond the line that now separates 

 Delaware from Chester County. She 

 was a lady of rare abilities, and by her 

 social intercourse exercised a beneficial 

 influence in her neighborhood. By 

 the death of her husband, in 1719, she 

 was left a widow many years, during 

 which time she managed a large farm 

 with prudence and judgment, and at 

 the same time travelled much in the 

 ministry both in this country and in 

 England. In 1721 she conveyed a lot 

 of ground to the trustees of Birming- 

 ham Friends' Meeting, in which her 

 remains were many years afterwards 

 interred. 



West, William, was a brother of 

 Thomas, who settled in Concord, and 

 also of John, the father of the painter, 

 Benjamin, and doubtless, like them, 

 came from London. He at first settled 

 in Concord township, but had removed 

 to Springfield as earlj' as 1709, when 

 he married Deborah, the daughter of 

 Bartholomew Coppock. In about a 

 year after his marriage, Bartholomew 

 Coppock, his father-in-law, conveyed 

 to him a farm in Springfield, upon 

 which he resided. He was in mem- 

 bership with Friends, and in 1720 

 died without children. 



West, Thomas, emigrated from Lon- 

 don, and purchased a small quantity of 

 land in Concord township in 1712. It 

 has not been ascertained whether he 

 was married before or after his arrival. 

 He was in membership with Friends, 

 and by trade was a cooper. He was 

 brother of John, the father of Benja- 

 min West, the great painter. To him 

 and his wife Mary were born seven 

 children, viz : Thomas, William, Ra- 

 chel, Ellen, Mary, Elizabeth and Jo- 

 seph. He was living in 1736. 



West, John, the father of Benjamin, 

 the painter, immigrated some time after 

 his brothers, Thomas and William. He 

 was not a Friend, as has been repre- 



sented by Gait and others, during the 

 residence of his gifted son in America, 

 and when he became a member of that 

 Society it was near the close of his 

 life. As stated by Mr. Gait, he proba- 

 bly arrived in this country about the 

 year 1714, and that not long afterwards 

 he married Sarah, the daughter of 

 Thomas Pearson, but this marriage was 

 not accomplished according to the good or- 

 der of the Society of Friends. John West 

 probably followed the seas as an occu- 

 pation for some years. In 1722 he was 

 a resident of Upper Providence, and 

 owner of a small tract of land in that 

 township. In 1735 he resided in Ches- 

 ter, probably in the borough. A year 

 or two later we find John West a tax- 

 able in Springfield township, and then 

 it is to be presumed he occupied the 

 farm and dwelling at which his son 

 Benjamin was born; but he did not 

 own this property, and it has not been 

 ascertained that he ever owned land in 

 Chester County, except the small tract 

 in Upper Providence which he first oc- 

 cupied. In a few years after the birth 

 of his son, Benjamin, he removed to 

 Newtown township, and engaged in 

 keeping tavern at Newtown Square, 

 in which township he resided many 

 years, though it is not known how 

 long he continued in the same busi- 

 ness. 



Notwithstanding all that has been 

 said by Gait, in his life of Benjamin 

 West, in respect to the strict Quaker- 

 ism of the parents of the great painter, 

 the records of the Society have been 

 searched in vain for any evidence to 

 conntct his father with the Society of 

 Friends, till the year 1759. In that 

 year "John West, with the approba- 

 tion of Newtown Meeting," made appli- 

 cation to come under the care of Go- 

 shen Monthly Meeting of Friends. The 

 usual committee was appointed to 

 make inquiry in respect to the appli- 

 cant, who report to the next meeting, 

 " that they understand he is at present 

 indisposed in body." This was in the 

 second month, and it was not till the 

 ninth month that he was admitted into 

 membership with Friends. On the 

 11th of the 10th month, 1763, he ob- 

 tained a certificate of removal to Phi- 

 ladelphia Monthly Meeting, which he 

 did not produce to that meeting, but 

 " resided chiefly in Maryland or the 

 lower country" till 8th month 10th. 



