Nathaniel Newlin 1665-1731/32
Nathaniel Newlin was born "18th 10 Mo, 1665", which translates to the modern calendar December 18, 1665. His exact birth place is unknown, but it would either have been in England or Mountmellick, after the family emigrated to Ireland. So far, no documented evidence has come to light to suggest which is correct.
Nathaniel was a young man of 18 when he arrived in the New World in 1683, accompanying his parents, brother John and sister Rachel. After arriving, the family settled in Concord Twp, Chester County, Pennsylvania, where Nathaniel was a devout member of the Quaker Meeting there. In 9th 1st MO, 1685 he announced his intentions of marrying Mary Mendenhall, who had emigrated to Pennsylvania, the same year the Newlins had arrived. The marriage took place in the home of Nicholas Newlin, on 17 April, 1685, and was the union of two families who were to become 2 of the most influential in Pennsylvania's history.
Mary was the daughter of Thomas and Joan Strode Mendenhall, all of Ramsbury Parish, Wiltshire, England. Both parents were dead before the emigration of their children Mary, Benjamin, John and Margery. Another son, Moses, who arrived later didn't find colonial life to his liking and returned to England.
Nathaniel was to become one of the largest landowners in Pennsylvania , and inherited the entire 500 acres belonging to his father, Nicholas, on his father's death in 1699. Nathaniel added to this, and in 1701 had a parcel of 600 acres surveyed and allotted to him which became part of Concord Twp.. He further added to his land with the inheritance of his wife Mary, from her brother Moses who had already returned to England Then, in 1724, Nathaniel purchased an additional 7,700 acres which later became Newlin Twp.
Nathaniel, a prominent member of the community, served in various capacities: Concord's constable in 1687; a member of the Provencal Assembly, (as his father had been) 1698-1722; justice of the peace; Chester court judge; Trustee of the General Loan office of Pennsylvania; and one of the commissioners chosen, in 1701, to draft a new government for the colony.
Nathaniel's business ventures were varied and many. Not only did he have a large and prosperous farm, but had sold 1700 acres to settlers who then owed him annual rents on the land. He build, in 1704, a gristmill on the west branch of the Chester Creek and I'm delighted to report that this mill is again in operation, a member of the National Trust and is used as the wallpaper for this page. He erected a native fieldstone home, in 1722, for the miller he hired to operate the mill, and this home is still standing next to the mill, part of the Newlin Mill Complex, and is open to the public. He also built and operated a retail store, the scope of which is reflected in its huge inventory listed in Nicholas' will, of 1731.
After Mary Mendenhall Newln's death (probably in 1728),
Nathaniel married a second time, to Mary Fincher. This marriage that
took place late in Nathaniel's life, lasted only a few months before his death,
and produced no children. Nathaniel left no will but Mary Fincher Newlin
submitted a renunciation of administration of his estate, in favor of the eldest
son, and died herself the next year.......this is her
will;
MARY Fincher Newlin
May 9, 1730. July 23, 1730. A. 319.
To grandson in law Nathan son of Nathaniel Newlin £5. To Sarah daughter
of John Newlin £5. To Mary daughter of Ellis Lewis £5. To Mary Everson
£5. To granddaughter in law Mary Baily £5. To kinswoman Hannah Shewin
£3 and the remainder of her time to my father. To sisters Rebecca
Bennet and Sarah Swain all wearing apparel. Remainder to father and
brothers Jonathan and John Fincher and sisters Rebecca Bennet and Sarah
Swain and to my sister Elizabeth Cox's 3 children.
Executors: father John Fincher and brother Francis Fincher.
Witnesses: William Swain, Martha Mullin.
Nathaniel and Mary Mendenhall Newlin, his first wife, had 7 children: Nathaniel, Jemima, Elizabeth, Nicholas, Keziah, Mary and John.
Jemima, the eldest, was born in1686, and married, in 1712, Richard Eavenson, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Woodward Eavenson. Jemima and Richard lived in Thornbury on a parcel of 133 acres given them by Nathaniel. Jemima died in 1723, her husband in 1739, and they left 3 children: Richard Jr., Nathaniel, and a 3rd child, whose name I have not discovered.
Elizabeth, the second daughter, was born in 1687, and married Ellis Lewis, born in Wales in about 1680. His father died while he was young, his mother married Owen Roberts, and it appears that they were all Quakers. In about 1698 the family made arrangements to emigrate to Pennsylvania, going so far as to send their possessions on before them. However, illness prevented them from making the trip, and at a later date they moved to Moutmellick, Ireland, where they stayed till 1708, at which time Ellis obtained a certificate from the MM in Ireland and emigrated to Pennsylvania. He settled in Haverford among a large number of other Welshmen who had settled there earlier, some in all probability, his relatives. Ellis and Elizabeth moved to Kennett, Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1716, and there raised their 4 children, Robert, Mary, Nathaniel and Ellis Jr. Elizabeth died in1723, and Ellis married a second time, Mary Baldwin, and they moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where he died in 1750
Nicholas Newlin was born in 1699, and married, in 1715, Edith Pyle, daughter of Nicholas and Abigail Bushell Pyle. Before his marriage, Nicholas lived in London for an undetermined period of time, and his grandmother's will of 1714 refers to him as "late of London." It's possible that he was receiving his education in London, but the exact reason is unknown. Edith died in 1745, at which time Nicholas married Ann Speakman, daughter of Thomas and Ann Speakman. Nicholas only had one child, Thomas. Nicholas died in 1768, and his widow Ann remarried in 1689, a James Moore. *( this Nicholas is often confused with the Nicholas who was the son of Nathaniel and Jane Woodward Newlin. The use and reuse of the same given names makes Newlin genealogy a challenge, to say the least)
John Newlin was born in 1691, and married Mary Woodward, the sister of his brother Nathaniel's wife, Jane Woodard. Both marriage intentions were announced at the same Meeting, in Providence, Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1710. John and Mary had 7 children; Nathaniel, John, Jane, Rebecca, Mary; Abigail, and Sarah. John died in 1753, and wife Mary, in 1790, at the age of 101. Martin, in his book on Chester, says "Died Nov. 24, 1790, Mary Newlin, aged 100 years, 9 months, 15 days. Nine weeks before her death she walked a mile and retained her senses and eyesight to the last. She was born in Thornbury Twp, Chester Co." Mary certainly must have been a remarkable lady!
Keziah was born in 1698, and married William Bailey of Kennett.
Mary Newlin was born in 1699, and married, in 1729, Richard Clayton of Concord. These 2 had no children, and Mary willed her estate to her brother Nicholas.
This
is the miller's house at the Newlin mill complex
Newlin
Mill, Chester Co, PA
The
top marker is located in the Middletown cemetery, commemorating the Newlins,
both Nicholas and his son Nathaniel. The bottom marker was installed on
the Newlin Mill, by the Welcome Society.
