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Archiver > PA-OLD-CHESTER > 2005-07 > 1121005425


From: "Sandra Ferguson" <>
Subject: B. Chandler Nottingham clockmaker
Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2005 10:23:45 -0400


As you may imagine, it's sometimes a bit boring to be around the house all
the time, so I"ve been looking around for 'interesting' things to do. Our
house is full of antiques, and in the past I"ve been lucky enough to 'find'
folks with current ties to various things we have...which, has been lots of
fun...(for example, a silhouette, with name, date and place on the
back....the date was a Quaker one....googling I discovered that he had been
a very well known gent, instrumental in coming up with a new process for
iron manufacturing ....there is a museum in the town where he lived (Iron
Bridge), with a section on him and his process. I was able to send them a
copy of the silhouette that they plan to use in the museum)....what fun.
Anyway, last week I was 'looking around' when I came upon a brass clock
pendulum I'd gotten years ago.....no clock, just pendulum, but it had
engraved into it B. Chandler, Nottingham. So, I googled and came up with
the following, from Delaware Co History....it does seem that all roads lead
back to the same place, for us....

"In August and September, 1729, Edward Blake and Jonathan Houston owned the
island and "Bellye," and sold to John Lewden. The latter brought property in
the hundred as early as 1695, but at the time of his death, in 1744, "dwelt
on his plantation on the Island." By will he left five hundred acres of land
to his sons John and Josiah, the tract including the "Fishing Place" on
Christiana Creek. John had the southeast part of the estate and Josiah the
rest. The former built a large brick house in 1770 on his land, opposite
Christiana Bridge, where he lived until his death. Here later lived Jeremiah
Lewden, his son, who died in 1840, and the homestead since that time has
been occupied by his sons, Josiah and John. About two hundred and fifty
acres of the original estate remain in the possession of the family. In the
old mansion, which was enlarged in 1815, is some very ancient and antique
furniture. There are chairs and tables more than one hundred and fifty years
old, and a clock two hundred and fifty years old, which was made at
Nottingham by B. Chandler. The elder Josiah Lewden lived opposite Newport,
where he built a large hip-roof house, which is still standing. This is one
of the very few tracts of land in the hundred in which there has been a
family succession since the seventeenth century."
Does anyone know if this home, above, is still around? I'd love to
see that clock!

(the above was from a book published in 1888), so by my figures, the
clockmaker was in business in the 1638s! I'm amazed!
If any of you have things with names, and especially if you have a
geographic area, I'd suggest you do some 'looking around' with
google.....you never know what you'll find, and it's a ton of fun!
Sandra



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