Edward Jr. and Sarah Sharples Woodward
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| Edward Woodward, Jr. born 10/28/1707 Chester Co, Pa died before 10/1746 |
Sarah Sharples born 3/27/1710 died bet 2/1793 and 2/1800 Delaware Co, Pa |
| Married: 1/21/1733 at Providence Monthly Meeting, Chester County, Pennsylvania Children: Abigail Woodward born 8/20/1738; married Vince Gilpin 11/29/1762 (more below) Edward Woodward, III married Mary (Unknown surname) (more below) Mary Woodward married Samuel Crosley Lydia Woodward married Porter Hannah Woodward died before 1793, possibly married Jonathan Dawes Orphan�s Court Record: Sarah Woodward having petitioned the Court in Behalf of Mary, Abigail, Lydia, Hannah, and Edward Woodward the children of Edward Woodward Jur deced for the Court to appoint proper persons to be their Guardians which was allowed of and the Court appoints Abram Vernon and John Fairlamb to be their Guardians. (n.d.) |
Land and Probate RecordsThere are several deeds in Chester County referencing Edward Woodward but it is impossible to tell if they refer to Edward, Jr. or his father. A mortgage on 2 February 1752 from Mordecai Vernon to Sarah Woodward, widow, of Middletown, tells us that Edward Woodward, Jr. died prior to that date. Letters of administration granted to Sarah Woodward on October 18, 1746 tell us that Edward died before that date and that he died without a will.Sarah Sharples Woodward married again on 4/9/1760 to George Gilpin. George Gilpin's nephew then married Sarah's daughter, Abigail Woodward. Sarah Sharples Woodward Gilpin wrote her will February 12, 1793 as Sarah Gilpin of Upper Providence. The will names daughters Mary Crosley, Abigail Gilpin and Lydia Porter; daughter-in-law Mary Woodward, wife of son Edward Woodward and grandchildren Sarah Woodward, Alice Woodward, and Edward Woodward. All real estate was left to son Edward Woodward, he to be executor (abstracts of Delaware County wills). Witnesses were David Pratt and Thomas Calverte and the will was probated 2/17/1800. The real estate probably included land where Edward Woodward is said to have run a grist-mill (History of Delaware County. More on Children of Edward and Sarah Sharples WoodwardEdward III and Mary WoodwardSon Edward III of Middletown wrote his will September 6, 1805. He apparently died soon after as his wife Mary Woodward elected to take her dower of the estate on October 14, 1805. Edward III left land to son Edward IV, a minor, on the East side of Edgmont Road on the lines of Frederick Fairlamb, Ridley Creek, Abraham Seyer and Patrick Mulvany. He left land "West of same" to daughters Sarah, Alice, Jean, Mary and Betty, the last three minors. Executors were Joseph Engle and Frederick James (perhaps sons-in-law?). Witnesses were Isaac G. Gilpin and Jonthan Bonsall, Jr.The reference to Frederick Fairlamb in the above land description may be a clue to sorting out the deeds of the various Edward Woodwards, as some of the deeds mention land being next to the widow Fairlamb. We believe that another Edward Woodward, mentioned in Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania (Gilpin Family), may have been a descendant of Edward III and Mary (probably grandson). Trying to do arithmetic on this part of the family gets confusing - we know from Sarah Gilpin's will that Edward IV was born before 1793, and from Edward III's will that he was still a minor in 1805. Young men generally did not marry until well into their twenties in that day and age, but there were exceptions, and it might be possible that Edward IV was father of the following: "Edward Woodward, born July 13, 1803, died April 29, 1876, admitted to Delaware bar, 1828; appointed Attorney General of Del., Feb 12, 1840, and held that position ten years; appointed Chief Justice of Del., May 6, 1857, and filled that position until his death at Dover in 1876, while holding Court; married March 15, 1842, Eleanora Adelaide, b. in Phila., May 2, 1813, d. at Wilmington, Nov. 16, 1874, dau. of Daniel and Susan (Beck)Lamott;..." If Edward IV was a minor in 1805 it is highly unlikely that he is the father, however. Vincent and Abigail Woodward GilpinColonial Families of Philadelphia has an interesting story about Vincent Gilpin, husband of Abigail Woodward: "Vincent Gilpin was in the habit of exchanging a portion of his flour in the West Indies for products of those islands, which he disposed of in this country. When the British forces were on their march from the Chesapeake to Philadephia, 1778, he had a large amount of molasses and rum stored at Wilmington, and fearing it would be seized or destroyed by the British, he sent it up to the old Gilpin homestead in Birmingham, then occupied by his brother Israel, and thereby, to use the old and homely phrase, transferred it 'from the frying pan into the fire,' as the old homestead became the headquarters of Gen. Howe, after the battle of Brandywine. He [Vince Gilpin] died at Wilmington, August 5, 1815, and his wife Abigail, five years later, November 10, 1815." "Issue of Vincent and Abigail (Woodward) Gilpin: Edward, born April 27, 1760, died April 15, 1844, married Lydia Grubb...; Ann, born Aug 13, 1762, died June 18, 1822, married John Ferris of Wilmington, Del...; Hannah, born Dec 27, 1764, d.unm; William, born April 3, 1767, died August 23, 1773; James, born Jan 11, 1769, died Oct 1, 1798, married April 26, 1792, Sarah Littler; was a miller near Wilmington...; Aratus, born Feb 29, 1772, died Sept 25, 1773; William, born Aug 18, 1775, died Dec 2, 1843, at Byberry, Philadelphia Co, m Nov 21, 1796 Ann Dunwoody of Wilmington, both buried Friends' Burial-Ground at Wilmington, they had issue...; Gertrude, born Aug 13, 1778, married Oct 23, 1799, John Smith of Wilmington, and after a residence of some years in Wilmington, where eleven children were born to them, removed to the West."Colonial Families also tells us of Edward Gilpin, eldest son of Vincent and Abigail (Woodward ) Gilpin..."was born near Wilmington, Delaware, April 27, 1760. He was reared to the mercantile branch of his father's business, and as a very young man made voyages to the West Indies, to dispose of flour and other products; on one of these voyages he was captured by a French privateer, carried to Basseterre, Island of Guadaloupe, French west Indies, and kept a prisoner there for some time. After the death of his wife, Edward Gilpin removed to Philadelphia, where two of his sons had located and died there April 15, 1844. He married at Wilmington, Delaware, November 22, 1788, Lydia, born July 21, 1766, died May 3, 1831, daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Baker) Grubb." Lydia, Mary, and Hannah WoodwardThere are various entries on World Family Tree but we have not been able to prove any of the information ourselves. No one has anything for Lydia except the Porter as given in Sarah Woodward Gilpin�s will. There are several indications that Hannah married a Jonathan Dawes and one site gives a marriage date of 4 Oct 1760 at Wilmington Delaware Quaker Meeting. Several sites give Mary as married to Samuel Crosley and at least one site gives the marriage as 17 Oct 1754 at Providence Quaker Meeting. We did not find will records for Dawes, Crosley or Porter but did not have access to Delaware County wills. There is a Samuel Crosley in Birmingham Township in Delaware County and one in Thornbury Township in Delaware County in 1790 but no way to tell which (if either) might be the correct one. There is no listing for Sarah Gilpin in 1790 and we know from her will that she was alive then so she was probably living with one or another of her children. |