My Genealogy Hound

JONAS WYMAN HALLOWELL, of Moreland township, was a splendid type of the rural citizen. He did honor to the traditions attaching to its early people, and its best traits of character were impressed upon him, and colored his whole life. He was a descendant of John Hallowell, the immigrant, who became the progenitor of a numerous family in that section, and from whom descended most if not all of the Hallowells of Bucks and Montgomery counties.

John Hallowell, the immigrant, was twice married, as appears from the records of Abington meeting. His first wife Sarah bore him one child, John, born in England, 12 mo. 8, 1672. His second wife was Mary, a daughter of Thomas Sharpe, who came with him from Hucknow, in the parish of Sutton, Nottinghamshire, England, bringing a Friends’ certificate dated 12 mo. 19, 1632. Of this marriage there were nine children, the first three born in England and the others in America, as follows: Sarah, born 1677; Thomas, 1679; Mary, 1681; John, 1685; Elizabeth, 1687; Hannah, 1689; Samuel, 1692; Benjamin, 1694; Jane, 1696.

John Hallowell, on first coming to the country, settled near Darby. On 6 mo. 15, 1696, he bought from Silas Crispin, executor of the estate of Thomas Holme, a tract of land containing 630 acres in Abington township, adjoining Upper Dublin, and on the line of the Manor of Moreland for upwards of a mile, paying therefor 58 pounds, 16 shillings. Soon after this purchase John Hallowell removed to his new property, living at first in a rude cabin which he constructed partly in the ground, on the sunny side of a hill, making a habitation which in early days was known as a cave, similar to those constructed by some of the early settlers of Philadelphia. This was at or near what has recently been the residence of the well known horseman, Philip R. Theobald, about a mile and a half southwest of Willow Grove, in one of the finest neighborhoods in Montgomery county. The Theobald farm formed a portion of the original Hallowell tract. Up to the time of the Theobald purchase from Benjamin Hallowell, son of Isaac and Sarah Hallowell, about 1850, the property had remained in the Hallowell family, and the adjoining one hundred acre tract has remained in the family name for considerably more than two centuries. John Hallowell conveyed to his eldest son, Thomas, 8 mo. 1, 1702, 220 acres of his tract with the improvements thereon. The remainder, 408 acres, he divided equally, 4 mo. 11, 1706, between two younger sons, Samuel and Benjamin, as they came of age. Thomas conveyed, 12 mo. 25, 1730, his 220 acre farm derived from his father, to his eldest child William, who in 1730 purchased from William Dunn one hundred acres in Moreland which he conveyed June 3, 1736, to his son Thomas, weaver, who had previously occupied it. This tract was situated a mile northwest of Willow Grove, and is the farm which was owned by Joseph Hallowell, father of Dr. William Hallowell, of Norristown, now long deceased, and on which he was born more than a century ago, he having been the son of Joseph Hallowell, and grandson of Thomas Hallowell Thomas died in 1788, and his son Joseph in 1843, William dying fifty years later, so that the three generations of the same family, represented by these three individuals, owned the property for a time somewhat exceeding a century and a half, being a very remarkable instance of longevity in one family.

Thomas, son of John and Mary Hallowell, born 1679, died 1734, married in 1702, at Darby, in what is now Delaware county, Pennsylvania, Rosamond Till, who survived him, dying in 1745. Both were buried in the old section of the burying ground adjoining the Friends’ meeting house at Abington. Their children were: John, born 1703; Mary, 1705; Thomas, 1706; William, 1707; Rosamond, 1709; Elizabeth, 1711; Sarah, 1714; Thomas, 1715; Samuel, 1717; Joseph, 1719.

William, son of Thomas and Rosamond (Till) Hallowell, resided on his farm in Abington until 8 mo. 23, 1794, when he died at the age of eighty-seven years. He was twice married. His first wife was Margaret, born 1708, died 1753, daughter of Matthias (or Mathew) and Mary Tyson. They were the parents of twelve children: Thomas, born 1730; Rosamond, 1731; Mathew, 1733; William, 1734; John, 1736; Rynear, 1739; David, 1740; Mary, 1742; Isaac, 1744; John, 1746; John (3d), 1749; Joshua, 1751. William Hallowell married (second) Agnes, daughter of Peter Shoemaker, and to them were born four children: Daniel, born 1754; Caleb, 1756; Joseph, 1759; Sarah, 1761.

John Hallowell, son of William and Margaret (Tyson) Hallowell, born in 1749, great-grandfather of the present Henry W. Hallowell, was a resident of Cheltenham township, Montgomery county. He married, 11 mo. 3, 1774, Martha, born 3 mo. 9, 1753, in Milford, Bucks county, daughter of Thomas, Jr. and Letitia Roberts, her father being the son of Thomas Roberts, the immigrant. John and Martha (Roberts) Hallowell lived in Abington township after their marriage, and John died there in 1793, during the prevalence of an epidemic of yellow fever in Philadelphia, he having contracted the disease while engaged in the transaction of business in that city. Their children were: Ann, married Joseph Williams; John R., married Ann Jarrett.

Israel, second son and child of John and Martha (Roberts) Hallowell, and grandfather of Henry W. Hallowell, was born in 1778. He was a large property holder, owning valuable farms in Abington and Moreland townships, and was also a miller, owning a grist mill on the Pennypack creek, which his father had operated prior to the Revolutionary war. He married Mary, daughter of William Jarrett, of Horsham, and their children were: Ann L., who married Isaac Mather, for whose children see sketch of Isaac Mather, elsewhere in this work; Martha, married Samuel Parry; John J., married Rachel Williams; Tacy, married David Eastburn; William Jarrett, married Lydia Ann Lloyd; Israel, Jr., of whom further below; Mary, married George Ely; and Jonas Wyman.

Jonas Wyman Hallowell (deceased) was born on the old Hallowell homestead now occupied by Ellia and Tacy Hallowell, where the old Hallowell mill is located, April 10, 1824. He was the son of Israel and Mary (Jarrett) Hallowell. He spent his entire life in his native township. His early education was obtained at the old log school- house on his father’s farm. In 1840 and 1841 he attended the academy of Benjamin Hallowell, at Alexandria, Virginia. On his return from school he entered into partnership with his brother, W. Jarrett Hallowell, in the old Pennypack mill, where he remained until 1860, when he located on the farm. He was for some years engaged in the milling business, and also in agricultural pursuits a part of his life, but for ten years previous to his death he lived retired. He was a member of the school board for thirteen years. He was an estimable citizen who enjoyed the respect and confidence of the entire community in which he lived, and throughout his entire life fully exemplified the traditions of his forefathers, and his example was well worthy of emulation.

Jonas W. Hallowell married, April 7, 1859, Esther L. Fenton, daughter of James and Ann (Livezey) Fenton. Esther L. Hallowell was born October 3, 1833. The children of Jonas and Esther Hallowell: Israel, born March 31, 1863, married, January 22, 1890, Ruth A., born June 26, 1866, daughter of George and Ann Elizabeth Branin, and had the following children: George B., born July 25, 1891; Alice E., born December 10, 1894; Mary Elizabeth born January 2, 1902: James F., born January 24, 1865, married, October 22, 1890, Emma W., daughter of John Lloyd, and have one daughter, Marion L. Hallowell, born May 14, 1892; John J., born March 2, 1868, married March 10, 1900, Mary E. Howell, daughter of William and Sarah Howell, of Dayton, Ohio, who have one son, John Wyman Hallowell, born December 8, 1800. Jonas Wyman Hallowell, father of the above named children, died December 25, 1899.