Nicholas Newlin 1625-1699
Nicholas Newlin lived for many years prior to his emigration, within the bounds of the Mountmellick Meeting, in Queen's County, Ireland, and it is probable that this was where he married Elizabeth Paggott. It is reasonable to assume her to have been an Englishwoman, for there was little to no intermarriage between the Quaker English and the Irish Catholics. Nicholas and Elizabeth had, at least 5 children; Nicholas, Elizabeth, Nathaniel, John and Rachel.
Not much is know of son Nicholas, and it is to be supposed that he died prior to the families immigration, for he is not mentioned as having accompanying the family to the colonies, nor is he mentioned in his father's will.
Elizabeth married Thomas Burton, a resident of Rosenallis, and with him had 4 children. Their marriage records contain no Newlin signatures, indicating that they wed after the rest of the family had left for Pennsylvania. It must have been difficult to leave a child, about to be married, and depart for the new world. We have no way of knowing why the Burtons chose to remain in Ireland, but do know that her parents always wished Elizabeth and her family to join them in Pennsylvania. In her father's will, Elizabeth has reserved for her the right to occupy for 6 years, the home owned by Nicholas in Concord, one year's free bread and board, and she was given, free and clear, a tract of 250 acres in Birmingham Twp. Apparently Nicholas never gave up the hope that his eldest daughter would join him in Pennsylvania.
John Newlin has no recorded marriage or death date, but it may be assumed that he died before his father and left no family, as neither is mentioned in his father's will.
Rachel was born in 1674,and married Ephraim Jackson, from Cheshire, England, at the Concord Friends Meeting, in 1695. .Ephraim had emigrated in 1684, aboard the ship "Friendship" of Liverpool, as an indentured servant to Jacob. Hall. After serving his indenture, he married Rachel and had 9 children.
Nathaniel was born in 1665, and was 19 years old when he accompanied his father to Pennsylvania. (for more about Nathaniel, please visit his page by clicking here.)
From contemporary accounts of the sufferings caused by the large forced tithes, it is evident that Nicholas was a prosperous farmer with large flocks and herds, and several servants. In 1680 there was taken from him for tithes, 17 "truckle-loads of hey, and 19 sheaves of beans, and 33 sheaves of small barley, all worth 1 lb 1 shilling"; 17 "fleeces of wooll", and 5 lambs valued at 1 lb 7 shillings. The church warden took ,on April 13, 6 lambs worth 15 shillings. On April 25, just a few days later, a church officer "brought a pair of sheep shears and took a sheep and shore it and then said Nicholas caused the pen to be broken, and the sheep to be driven out, as he had done before, to hinder their intent; the person struck many blows with a stick on the back, arms and hands of those that drove out the sheep; afterwards the said persons penned up the sheep again, and shore and carried away with them again 5 fleeces of wooll. With the hope of ending these persecutions Nicholas made ready to remove his family to Pennsylvania." The Mountmellick Meeting signed a certificate for him and his family dated December 25, 1682, stating that he had "worked honestly", but that Friends were "generally dissatisfied with his moving, he being so well settled with his family, and having sufficient substance for food and rainment; but our Godly jelousy is that his chief grounds for removal is fearfulness of suffering here."
Nicholas and family departed in the early part of 1683, aboard the "Levee of Liverpool", with James Kilner, ships master, and Cork their probably port of embarkation. The decision to emigrate had not been made in haste, and shows evidence of considerable planning. The had disposed of their farm and household goods, and had money sufficient to buy large parcels of land in the colonies. It was also evident that Nicholas planned to continue his old lifestyle in the new world, for he brought with him a pack of fox hounds and not less than 20 horses.
A typical voyage of this time took 11 or 12 weeks, and usually had passengers who suffered from ailments ranging from fevers to smallpox, the latter often killed up to half of the passengers. The "Levee", according to contemporary writings, experienced these, and several other hardships; the water supply ran low, the passengers' beer was stolen by the crew, and the master so bad tempered that the passengers protested to the Provincial Council about the treatment they had received at his hands. After their arrival, Nicholas was called to testify in the case where James Kilner, the Capt. of the Levee, was accused of cruelty to his crewmembers. The records contain this entry; "Nick Newlin declareth between both that there was a caske which wanted a pegg, that was almost out, and ye Master spoke to Edward Jones to put a pegg into it, which he did, but still it run out whereupon the Master struck him several blows."
Although the exact date and place of landing is unknown, it seems quite likely that the Levee stopped at Chester, Pennsylvania. This port was 15 miles below Philadelphia and only 10 miles from Concord. The town, then known as Upland, was older and larger than the less important Philadelphia. William Penn is said to have changed the name to Chester during his stop here a year earlier. A tract of land was surveyed for Nicholas Newlin on February 24, 1683, before their arrival, and then on July 24, 1683 Nicholas acquired a second tract of 500 acres in Concord. It is apparent that one of his first concerns was to obtain enough land to allow him to farm on a large scale.
From Nicholas's earliest recorded act in Pennsylvania, the attendance at a meeting of the Chichester Friends, through the rest of his life, he appears to have been a devout Quaker. For several years before the construction of the Concord MM house, the meetings for worship were held at his home, an indication of the esteem with which members of the meeting held him, coupled with the fact that his home was large enough to hold the entire meeting!
Nicholas joined into the political arena along with his leadership in other aspects of colonial society in Pennsylvania. In 1685, 2 years after settling in the New World, he was elected to represent Chester County on the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. This body had a dual capacity; it was the advisory body for the Governor and it served as the upper chamber of the legislature for the colony. Members of the Council were chosen as persons "of best repute for wisdom, virtue, and ability." In 1684 William Penn commissioned Nicholas as a justice in the colonial court, along with 8 others, from Chester County. This commission was renewed 4 times and it seems clear that Nicholas served in this capacity for at least 6 years. On January 30, 1685, Nicholas and 2 other members of the Provincial Council were ''attested to keep secret the debates of the council." This was the 1st reference to him as member of the Council; the last was July 1687. On May 31, 1686, the council appointed Nicholas as a member of a committee to study the laws of Pennsylvania and to recommend changes as needed. At various times he directed the construction of roads, served as constable, tax collector and as even the court appointed guardian of children.
Contemporary and later evaluations of Nicholas consider him a man of integrity and an able public servant. John Hill Martin's character study of the justices who served in the early Pennsylvania courts says; "These Justices were not only Justices of the Courts but of the Peace also; and they were gentlemen of large intelligence and of more weight and influence in the community, and of more dignity of character, than the majority of men who are now elected Justices of the Peace." He also says that they were among "the leading men in the country."
In addition to the 1045 acres that Nicholas farmed, he built a mill in Concord in very early times, but it's exact location and type is no longer known. He had at least one indentured servant, John Fox, and was given another boy whose name was William MacDonald, "adjudged" to be 16 years of age. William served 5 years and 1/2 and was taught to read and write as part of the indenture agreement.
Nicholas died in 1699, and in his will (probate June 5, 1699), took care that his wife, Elizabeth, was well provided for, and, excepting legacies to his remaining children and grand children, left the bulk of his substantial estate to his son, Nathaniel, who was to prove a worthy successor to the Newlin legacy of religious and public service. Nicholas's will contained large amounts of "linnen and wollen cloth", lace, tables and chairs, pewterware, silver and brass, books and a large group of livestock, indicating that he died a rich man. Elizabeth, his wife, died in 1717, and her will was probated the same year.
This wallpaper is the of the old courthouse of Chester County.
