George Edward Maris, II

• Is shown on the 1687 Thomas Holmes map in the key at the upper left, position number 23 Geo. Mearis . A document shows the parcel on Darby Creek
"Jane Levis Carter, wrote The Paper Makers, tells the history of the Quakers who left the Midlands of England for the freedom of religion and potential along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. on page 16-17 there is a Map of Nether Providence & Springfield showing Early grants On this map is the land of George Maris, 400 acres, purchased from Robert Toomer on May 14, 1683. It shows Home House being right on State Road. the 400 acres stretched on both sides of the road and edged Darby Creek"

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rice/master2-o/p5.htm#i242 George Maris was born in 1632 at Worcester, England. He was the son of George Maris and Alice ? George Maris married Alice Wilsmith in 1659 at England. George Maris died on 15 February 1704/5 at Springfield, Pennsylvania.

Child of George Maris and Alice Wilsmith Elizabeth Maris+ b. 3 Apr 1665, d. 1708

"Inkborough [Parish?]; called "near Stratford-on-Avon"; They sailed from Kingroad Bristol on the ship "Bristol Comfort" 25 Jul 1683, reached Phila in two months 28 Sep 1683. Geo Maris purchased 1000 acres.

"I had no reason to think that I had any Huguenot ancestors and therefore have barely skimmed all the wonderful posts on that ancestry. Suddenly I find a paper from my family that mentions George MARIS, born in England in 1632, it is thought that his forbears emigrated from France to England at the time of the Edict of Nantes. The name MARIS is said to be latin in origin. Can any of our researchers tell me if MARIS is indeed a Huguenot name?"

"Inkborough [Parish?]; called "near Stratford-on-Avon"; They sailed from Kingroad Bristol on the ship "Bristol Comfort" 25 Jul 1683, reached Phila in two months 28 Sep 1683. Geo Maris purchased 1000 acres.

"I had no reason to think that I had any Huguenot ancestors and therefore have barely skimmed all the wonderful posts on that ancestry. Suddenly I find a paper from my family that mentions George MARIS, born in England in 1632, it is thought that his forbears emigrated from France to England at the time of the Edict of Nantes. The name MARIS is said to be latin in origin. Can any of our researchers tell me if MARIS is indeed a Huguenot name?"

He was from Worcestershire, England.

George's life in England had been rendered oppressive. He was active in the English Society of Friends, letting meetings be held in his house. Because he could not conform to the customs of the established church and for having a religious meeting at his house without having the services conducted by a priest of the State Church, he was called before the Court and fined £20. Unable to pay that princely sum (which today amounts to about $400), his goods were seized and sold to pay the fine. Afterwards "he was taken by an assize process and sent to prison on the 7/23/1670 and was held there more than 8 months, but never knew for what cause he was so long imprisoned."

As persecutions in England continued there seemed to be no way left but to emigrate, and as the Colony of Pennsylvania had been founded a year or two before, and William Penn, whom all Friends so much admired, had himself already sailed for the shores of the Delaware, George and Alice, as was customary, laid their intentions before the Monthly Meeting to which they belonged, and in response thereto received a testimonial, of which the following is a copy, taken from the 3d page of the oldest records of the Darby (PA) Monthly Meeting:

His Certificate of Removal was signed by 14 Fellow Friends in England and was first presented to the Darby Monthly Meeting in Chester Co., PA. It read : "From out meeting at Hadswell in ye parish of Inkborough and County of Worcester in Old England and to which meeting our friends hereafter mentioned did belong the 6th day of 3rd mo., 1683 To friends in Penn. Dear Friends wee whose names are heare subscribed thought good to give you this short testimony concerning our Friend George Maries with his wife and children of ye parish of Grafton Flyford in ye co. and nation aforesaid. Whereas our dear friend before mentioned hath laid before us his intentions of transporting himselfe and family into your country hee being free to leave our country, we have nothing against his gaoing etc."

And so George Maris, and his wife Alice, with their six children, of Grafton Flyford, Worcestershire, left their native land to escape its cruel and unjust laws. GEORGE MARIS emigrated from the parish of Inkborough, in the County of Worcester, England.

Before leaving England, George purchased from Robert Toomer of Worcester 1000 acres of land in PA however the exact location is not recorded. An account of a Maris Family Bicentennial Reunion in 1883, described "the old George Maris homestead as about 3 miles N. of Morton station and 1 mi. east of the old Springfield Meeting House on a tract of land which originally comprised 400 acres.

On his first arrival he appears to have tarried for a short time with the Friends that had arrived the year before and settled at Darby, but he soon located a large tract of land in Springfield township. He was among the most eminent of the public Friends that came over with the first settlers, and was so esteemed in his native country, where meetings had been held in his house, and where he had suffered by fines and imprisonment. His certificate, which is recorded at Darby, says, "He hath adorned the Gospel of Christ."

Copy of the patent from WM. PENN to GEORGE MARIS. WILLIAM PENN by the providence of God & the king's authority Proprietary & Governor of the province of Pennsylvania and the territories thereunto belonging, To all to whom these presents shall come sendeth greeting-- WHEREAS, there is a certain tract of land in the County of Chester Beginning at a corner marked post from thence North by a line of Marked trees three hundred & eighty perches to a corner marked white oak being the corner tree of the land of Bartholomew Coppock from thence South West by West by the sd land five hundred & seventy-five perches to a corner marked post from thence North by West by a line of marked trees three hundred and fifteen perches to a corner marked Maple tree standing by Darby creek from thence downe the severall courses of the creek to a corner marked post standing by ye sd creek from thence South by West by a line of marked trees two hundred & ninety-seven perches to a corner marked post being the corner post of the land of George Simcock from thence North West by a line of marked trees one hundred & sixty perches to the first mentioned corner post containing four hundred Acres of land granted by a warrant from myself bearing date the sixth day of the eighth month one thousand six hundred and eighty-three, and laid out by the surveyor general's order ye twenty-fifth of ye sd month and year unto George Maris purchaser & ye sd George Maris requesting me to confirm the same by patent KNOW YE that I have given granted & confirmed & by these presents for me my heirs & successors do give grant and confirm unto the sd George Maris his heirs and assigns forever the said four hundred Acres of land. TO HAVE HOLD AND ENJOY ye sd land to ye only use and behoof of ye said George Maris his heirs and assigns forever to be holden of me my heirs & successors proprietarys of Pennsylvania & the territories thereunto belonging as of our mannor of Spring Town in the county aforesaid in free and common Socage by fealty it being seated planted and improved yielding and paying therefore to me my heirs and successors at or upon the first day of the first month in every year at the town of Chester one silver English shilling for every hundred Acres or value thereof in coyn currency to such persons as shall from time to time be appointed for ye purpose. In Witness hereof I have caused these my letters to be made patent. Witness myself at Philadelphia the thirtieth day of the fifth month one thousand six hundred and eighty-four being the thirty-fifth year of the king's reign and the fourth of my government. WM. PENN.

The house which George built, and in which he lived and died, has long since passed away, and on its site is a quiet, quaint and staunch stone structure of two and a-half stories, erected by his grandson George, in 1722. The pioneer with his wife and family left England in 1683, and settled in Pennsylvania. Soon after his arrival he took up his abode in Chester county, (now Springfield township, Delaware county), and named his residence the "Home House," and a spring on his farm is supposed by many to have given the name to the township--Springfield [The Maris Family in the United States, p. vi].

Scarcely had he time to begin the work of clearing the timber from his farm before he was commissioned Justice of the Peace, and, empowered with six others, Christopher Taylor, Wm. Wood, Robert Wade, John Blunstone, James Saunderlaine and John Warding, to hold the Courts of Chester for the County of Chester. The oldest official Court records of Chester county (now at West Chester, Pa.), dating back to 1681, show that he took his seat on the Bench on the "1st of 5th mo., 1684," and from that time until the year 1690 he attended every sitting of the Court, when he was allowed a rest for one year; but from the beginning of 1691 till the close of 1693 he was just as assiduous in his attention to his judicial duties. Though the sessions of the Court occupied much of his time, his public service did not end with this duty, but the demands of the State were laid upon him, and he was chosen a member of the Assembly in 1684, and annually elected thereafter till the year 1693, with the exception of the year 1689; and I might state in passing that throughout this long period there is no record of his absence from a single sitting of the Court or from one session of the Assembly--a faithful attention to duty of which we may all feel proud. While he was thus busily engaged with affairs of justice and State, and he and his family were occupied in making a home in the wilds of a new country, he was not unmindful of his duty to his Maker, who had so blest his faithfulness to conscience and right. He was an acknowledged minister in the Society of Friends, in regular attendance at its meetings for business and worship. In those early days the cases that came before the Court were not what we, in these times, would call heavy or important, yet when we consider that all transactions in real estate, that all brands and marks on cattle, all proceedings in the laying out of roads, as well as the ordinary civil and criminal cases, had to be passed upon by the Court, we can easily imagine that his duties in this direction were by no means light. It would be useless to give in detail many of the cases passed upon by our honored ancestor, yet I have deemed it not improper to give one or two from the records of those times. "9th of 12th mo., 1687. By virtue of an order from ye last County Court given unto us whose names are hereunto subscribed, being of the Grand Jury, for to lay out a road way that should serve for Newtown, Marple, Springfield and ye Inhabitants that way to ye landing Place at Amosland, did upon ye day above written Begin att a Road way in ye lands of George Maris which road goeth from Chester through Marple to Newtown, and from that road through Bartholomew Coppock's land, near to his house, his house being on ye left hand. Soo on through Robert Taylor's land, straight on through more land of George Maris his land, leaving his Plantation on ye right hand, through George Simcock's land, leaving his plantation on ye left hand, soo on straight through land Joining to Amosland unto ye King's road from Darby, marking ye trees as we came, soo on to ye landing place by Maine creek's side, beyond Morton Morton's son's house. Signed, William Garrett," and others. 1-16-1687. "This Court being informed that Richard Crosby was Drunk on this 6th instant last, he was upon ye same called to ye Barr, and upon his submission was amerced tenne shillings to the Governor's use to be levied upon his goods and chattles, this being his second offence." 2-18-1693. "George Maris the elder acknowledged a deed in open court, unto his son George Maris the younger for one hundred acres of land in Springfield, bearing date the seventeenth day of ye second-mo., 1693." The sessions of the Legislature during the eight years George Maris was a member were short, occupying on an average nine days each. They began at 7 o'clock in the morning and continued till noon, and, after a recess of two hours, extended late into the afternoon, every day in the week, except the Sabbath. The pay was six shillings a day. I shall quote a very few of the bills acted upon while our ancestor was a member of Assembly.--"It was put to vote whether a Bill relating to corporal punishment by stripes might be passed into a law; this was carried in the affirmative." "The Bill relating to the Grant of Liberty for selling Rum to the Indians, upon condition, etc.; this was answered in the negative." "Proposed to a vote, as a Rule, in the House, That whatsoever member shall not attend the House, but shall wilfully absent himself therefrom without lawful and satisfactory Reason given, shall be expelled from the House; this was carried in the affirmative." "Put to a vote whether any member that doth not appear in due Time, according to Adjournment, shall be fined one shilling."--Carried. "By vote Simon Irons was fined 1 shilling, 6d, for absence, and 5 shillings for being disordered with Drink." "Carried that Custom of the Country to servants shall be two suits of apparel, ten Bushels of Wheat or fifteen Bushels of Indian Corn, one Axe and two Hoes." This applied to apprentices who had completed their term of service. The session of Assembly in 1692, the last attended by the pioneer, George Maris, was the longest and much the most exciting up to this time. The opponents of William Penn, who were assiduous in their efforts to prejudice the new King and Queen, William and Mary, against Penn, succeeded in their purpose in the year 1692, whereby Benjamin Fletcher, Governor of New York, received a commission giving him authority over Pennsylvania, and superseding the authority of Penn. I shall give an outline of this controversy, because George Maris took an active part in the proceedings. At the opening of the session of the Assembly in 1693, Queen Mary's letter to Gov. Fletcher was read as follows: "Trusty and well beloved, we greet you well. Whereas, it has been represented unto us in Council in Behalf of our province of New York in America, that the same having been at great expense for the Preservation and Defense of Albany, its Frontier against the French (by the Loss of which Province the Inhabitants of Maryland and Virginia would not be able to live only in Garrison) and having hitherto preserved that Post, the Burden whereof is intolerable to the inhabitants there, we think it reasonable and necessary that our several Colonies and Provinces of New England, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania should be aiding and assisting from Time to Time the Governor or Commander-in-Chief of our said Province of New York in the Maintenance and Defense of it during the present War; and accordingly our Will and Pleasureis that upon the Application of the said Governor or Commander-in-Chief, you do immediatcly send him such Aid or Assistance, in men or otherwise, for the security of our said Province from the Attempts of the French or Indians, as the conditions of the said plantations under your government shall permit, &c., and that you return a Speedy Account of your Proceeding herein to the End that such further Directions may be given as shall be necessary for Securing the Fort at Albany from the Attempts of our Enemies in those Parts. And so we bid you farewell. "Given at our Court at Whitehall, the seventh day of October, 1692, in the fourth year of our Reign. By Her Majesty's command. "NOTTINGHAM." In reply to Governor Fletcher's request that Supplies be voted to equip eighty (80) soldiers for the defense of Albany, etc., the Assembly replied: "We earnestly beseech that our Procedure in Legislature may be according to the usual method and Laws of this Government founded upon the late King's Letters Patent which we humbly conceive to be yet in Force, and therefore we desire the same may be confirmed unto us as our Rights and Liberties.--And we (with all Faithfulness and Sincerity) do give what answer we are capable of, in the present circumstances we are under, to answer the Queen's Letter and thy Request according to our ability. "3-mo. 17, 1693." The same day the Governor replied: "The Constitution of their Majesties' Government and that of Mr. Penn's are in a direct opposition, one to the other. If you will be tenacious in sticking to this, it is a plain Demonstration, use what words you please, that indeed you decline the other. * * * Time is very precious to me. I hope you will desist from all unnecessary Debates, and fall in earnest upon those matters I have already mentioned and shall have to recommend to you, and for which you are principally convened." He also spoke of the Want of Necessary Defense against the Enemy, and the danger of being lost from the Crown. The Assembly replied the same day: "We do not apprehend that the Province is in Danger of being lost from the Crown, although the Government was in the hands of some whose Principles are not for War. And we conceive that the present Governancy hath no direct Opposition (with respect to the King's Government here in General) to our Proprietary's, William Penn, though the exercise of the Authority at present supersedes that of our said Proprietary's." When the Assembly met next day (3-mo. 18, 1693), the following record was made upon the minutes: "Ordered that Samuel Richardson, * * * * George Maris [and others] be a committee to consider that Part of the Governor's speech relating to a supply for the support of the Government and Fortifications of the Province, etc., as also what measures and course may be taken to raise money for the same; and what sum may be thought expedient, and make report thereof to-morrow morning." At the appointed time this committee reported as follows: "The Committee appointed to consider that Part of the Governor's Speech relating to Supplies, &c., report to the House, they believe there is an absolute necessity of raising money to support the Government, and the most expedient way is, viz: By tax on Strong Beer and Ale retailed; by Deer Skins raw and dressed; by the Pole; by Land, per hundred acres, by rent of Houses; upon Wine and Cyder imported; but have not considered how much is needful to be raised, desiring that the house would ascertain the sum." The report was adopted and a protest signed by ten members, our ancestor among them, placed on record. The protest is as follows: PHILADELPHIA, 4th mo. 1st, 1693. "We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, Representatives of the Freemen of this Province in Assembly, do declare, it is the undoubted right of this House to receive back from the Governor and Council, all such bills as are sent up for their approbation or Amendment: and it is necessary to know the Amendments and debate the same as the Body of the Bills: and that the denial of that Right is destructive of the Freedom of making Laws. And we do also declare it is the Right of the Assembly that before any Bill for supplies be presented for the last Sanction of a Law, Aggrievances ought to be redressed: Therefore we with Protestation (Saving our just Rights in Assembly) do declare that the assent of such of us as were in Favor of sending up the Bill for Supply this morning, was merely in consideration of the Governor's Speedy Departure; but that it should not be drawn into example for the Future." This was George Maris's last act in the Assembly. During his term of service therein he was frequently appointed on committees having in charge important subjects, among them one "to draw up a Bill for the erecting of a Post Office, and also a bill against Privateers and Pirates." He was a member of the Council only one year--1695--during which time the controversy in regard to raising troops for the defense of New York was carried on with considerable spirit between Governor Wm. Markham and the Council, the details of which it is not within the purpose of this paper to name. One circumstance, however, is thought worthy of mention in this connection as it illustrates the condition of the people at that time. When the Governor asked the advice of the Council, whether to call another meeting of the Assembly before the 9th of September, which day seems to have been previously appointed, he received the following reply, our ancestor being at the time in the Council: "It was the unanimous opinion of all the members present that it would be of no service to call ym (them) sooner. The Governor having asked them the reason of their opinion, one of the members answered: Because by the great Mortalities of the Cattle and stock of the inhabitants last year, the people have been and still are under great straits for corne and provisions, and the substance of the Province and the Territories consisting altogether in stock, provisions, and corne, if the inhabitants should be called off from getting in their Harvest and Cropts to attend Assemblie, whose number with the Council, are 54 persons, it would tend to their utter ruine." "To which the rest of the members unanimouslie assented." George Maris was a member of Chester Monthly Meeting of Friends, and was an active worker for the cause of Truth; he was also a member of the Yearly Meeting of Ministers, which met at Burlington and Philadelphia in the early days, but afterward only in Philadelphia. During the latter part of his life, and especially after he had retired from the active participation in judicial and legislative duties, he was almost always one of the Committee appointed to represent his Monthly Meeting at the Quarterly Meeting, and was as uniformly appointed a representative to the Yearly Meeting. As early as 1688 he was one to sign "a petition against selling Rum and other Strong Liquors to the Indians." The early records of the Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly Meetings of Friends are very brief, merely naming the subjects treated of and giving the names of persons appointed on committees. It is therefore impossible to give any account of his active work in the Ministry; but his frequent appointment to visit and labor with the erring, where the finest qualities of a loving heart are most effective, bears testimony to his amiable disposition; for the records speak of his being appointed on such visits even after the labors of many others had proven ineffectual; and on the other hand his appointment by the Yearly Meeting to visit George Keith, the leader of a most determined faction in the Society of Friends, and deliver to him the censure of the Meeting for certain of his acts, shows their estimate of his good judgment and courage. George Maris lived in this country twenty-two years (being over fifty years of age when he left England), during the first twelve of which he was constantly occupied with affairs of Church and State; he was not a man of many words, nor did he push himself forward into public place; he was clearly a man of gentle manners and of unswerving integrity and courage, whose purpose was "to serve the Lord and all people in love."

He was Justice of the Peace for Chester Co., on 6/19/1684, 4/6/1685 and in 1692. He was a member of the Assembly from Chester Co. The first mention of him in connection with the Chester Monthly Meeting is dated Oct. 3, 1687; on 4/2/1688, George Maris was appointed for Bartholomew Coppock meeting to give notice that all Friends should bring their certificates. On 5/7/1688, George Maris and several others produced their certificates to the satisfaction of the meeting. He was among the signers of the Yearly Meeting testimony against selling rum to the Indians. On 2/24/1695/6, the monthly meeting was held at his home. He was a minister in the Society of Friends.

In 1697, he gave the land now occupied by the Concord Friends Meeting House and graveyard to the Society. He was one of the original shareholders of the Concord Mill [Mendenhall Family in America, p. 2, 22].

Other sources of information cited in the Mendenhall Family in America for the Maris family include :

1. Suffering of the People called Quakers, Vol. I, p. 71. 2. Chester MM Records of 1681-1870 ( deaths pp. 313, 315; Marriages and Certs of Removal pp. 389-390. 3. English Friends Records Marriages and Births of Hertfordshire 4. Darby Friends Meeting Records, p. 263 5. Chester MM Minutes 1681-1721, p. 23, 25, 27, 61, 297. 6. Penn Archives Second Series Vol. IX pp. 624, 275, 676, 682, 283. 7. West Chester PA Local News 8/27/1883 8. Maris Genealogy 9. Society of Colonial Wars 1741

In 1683, George and his wife Alice, with their six children, came from Worchesterchire to America, and settled at "Home House," in Springfield township, Chester (now Delaware) county, Pa. He was one of the Justices holding the Courts for Chester county, during the years 1684-85-86-87-88-89-91-92-93. Member of the Assembly in 1684-85-86-87-88-90-92-93. Member of the Provincial Council, in the year 1695. He was a Minister in the Society of Friends, a member of Chester Monthy Meeting, and took an active part therein.

(Research):"GEORGE MARIS emigrated from the parish of Inkborough, in the County of Worcester, England, in 1683. with his wife Alice and several children. On his first arrival he appears to have tarried for a short time with the Friends that had arrived the year before and settled at Darby, but he soon located a large tract of land in Springfield township, whereon he settled and named it "The Home House." He was among the most eminent of the public Friends that came over with the first settlers, and was so esteemed in his native country, where meetings had been held in his house, and where he had suffered by fines and imprisonment. His certificate, which is recorded at Darby, says, "He hath adorned the Gospel of Christ." He held many public trusts; was a Justice of the Peace, one of the Judges of the Court, and on several occasions was chosen a member of the Provincial Assembly. He was one of those who signed the testimony against the celebrated George Keith. The descendants of this worthy patriarch are numerous; those bearing his name in this County, Chester County and in the city of Philadelphia, are probably all descended from him.

His death occurred in 1705, at the age of seventy-three years; his wife having died nearly four years earlier. His children, so far as is known, were Elizabeth who intermarried with John Mendenhall; George, with Jane Maddock; Ann, with John Worrilow; John, with Susanna Lewis, of Haverford; and Richard, with Elizabeth Hayes, of Marple." [Alice with Jacob Simcock.] - Smith's History of Delaware County, Pa.

Copy of the patent from WM. PENN to GEORGE MARIS. WILLIAM PENN by the providence of God & the king's authority Proprietary & Governor of the province of Pennsylvania and the territories thereunto belonging, To all to whom these presents shall come sendeth greeting- WHEREAS, there is a certain tract of land in the County of Chester Beginning at a corner marked post from thence Nol"th by a line of Marked trees three hundred & eighty perches to a corner marked white oak being the corner tree of the land of Bartholomew Coppock from thence South West by West by the sd land five hundred & seventy-five perches to a corner marked post from thence North by West by a line of marked trees three hundred and fifteen perches to a corner marked Maple tree standing by Darby creek from thence downe the severall courses of the creek to a corner marked post standing by ye sd creek from thence South by West by a line of marked trees two hundred & ninety-seven perches to a corner marked post being the corner post of the land of George Simcock from thence North West by a line of marked trees one hundred & sixty perches to the first mentioned corner post containing four hundred Acres of land granted by a warrant from myself bearing date the sixth day of the eighth month one thousand six hundred and eighty-three, and laid out by the surveyor general's order ye twenty-fifth of ye sd month and year unto George Maris purchaser & ye sd George Maris requesting me to confirm the same by patent KNOW YE that I have given granted & confirmed & by these presents for me my heirs & successors do give grant and confirm unto the Sd George Maris his heirs and assigns forever the said four hundred Acres of land. To HAVE HOLD AND ENJOY ye sd land to ye only use and behoof of ye said George Maris his heirs and assigns forever to be holden of me my heirs & successors proprietarys of Pennsylvania & the territories thereunto belonging as of our mannor of Spring Town in the county aforesaid in free and common Socage by fealty it being seated planted and improved yielding and paying therefore to me my heirs and successors at or upon the first day of the first month in every year at the town of Chester one silver English shilling for every hundred Acres or value thereof in coyn currency to such persons as shall from time to time be appointed for ye purpose. In Witness hereof I have caused these my letters to be made patent. Witness myself at Philadelphia the thirtieth day of the fifth month one thousand six hundred and eighty-four being the thirty-fifth year of the king's reign and the fourth of my government. WM. PENN.

GEDCOM Note

I protected this profile to facilitate merging. Feb. 28, 2014
Category: Chester Monthly Meeting, Pennsylvania Category: Chester County, PennsylvaniaCategory: Darby Monthly Meeting, Lansdowne, PennsylvaniaCategory: Grafton-Flyford, Worcestershire

Biography

George Maris Jr., from Worcestershire England; <ref name ="Pg 649; Cope; Hist. of Chester">Pg 649; History of Chester County Pennsylvania: With Biographical and Genealogical sketches; retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=kt84AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&...</ref>was born there about 1633<ref>Family Group Record for George Maris, b. 1633; Katharine Hutchinsons "One Mans family"in which the Maris and Worrilow families intermarried</ref>the son of Richard Maris and Alice Colliercitation needed George married Alice Wellsmith approx. 1659 in Worcestershire, England.<ref>"The Genealogist" (Volume 13, No.2 - Fall 1999)</ref>

Non-Conformity and Consequences==From 1661-1665 Parliament, under King Charles II; passed four penal codes referred to as Clarendon Code which effectively re-established the supremacy of the Anglican Church after the interlude of Cromwell's Commonwealth, and ended toleration for dissenting religions<ref>http://www.britainexpress.com/History/stuart/clarendon-code.htm</ref>'<ref>Statutes of the Realm; Vol. 5, 1628-50; Charles II, 1662; retrieved from http://www.british-history.ac.uk/statutes-realm/vol5/pp350-351; as cited in History of the Quakers URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Quakers</ref>#: (1) Corporation Act (1661)required all municipal officials to take Anglican communion, and formally reject the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643. The effect of this act was to exclude nonconformists from public office. This legislation was rescinded in 1828.#: (2) The Act of Uniformity 1662 - This second statute made use of the Book of Common Prayer compulsory in religious service. Upwards of 2000 clergy refused to comply with this act, and were forced to resign their livings.#: (3) The Conventicle Act (1664) - This act forbade conventicles (a meeting for unauthorized worship) of more than 5 people who were not members of the samehousehold. The purpose was to prevent dissenting religious groups from meeting.#: (4) The Five MileAct (1665) - This final act of the Clarendon Code was aimed at Nonconformist ministers, who were forbidden from coming within five miles of incorporated towns or the place of their former livings. They were also forbidden to teach in schools. This act was not rescinded until 1812.

George Maris, a shoemaker<ref name ="Pg 649; Cope; Hist. of Chester"/>, was dedicated to the betterment of his country, but not at the pricehe and his family and many others like his, endured over many years. A warrant issued; delivering soldiers of the Band called the Clergy came to a meeting being held at the home of George Maris; he was fined 20 pounds for the meeting being at his house<ref name ="Pg 649; Cope; Hist. of Chester"/>He was afterward taken by an assize process, and sent to prison July 23rd 1670<ref name ="Pg 649; Cope; Hist.of Chester"/>for more then 8 months<ref name ="Pg 649; Cope; Hist. ofChester"/>, "but says the Sufferings", "he never knew for what cause he was so long imprisoned".

From Religious Persecution to freedom of Conscience

With continued persecutions continuing in England, George must have felt the strong urge to follow William Penn a Friend; respected and admired; and who himself had just sailed to the waters of Delaware; where freedom of conscience was the law of the land. George laid hisintentions before the Monthly Meeting to which he belonged; "and in "response received a testimonial of which was taken from the 3rd page of the oldest records of the Darby (Pa) Monthly Meeting"<ref>Maris, Pg XII; The Maris Family</ref> (Image attached to profile)caption=Testimonial George Maris, his wife Alice, and their six children, of Grafton Flyford, county of Worcester<ref name="Pg XII; The Maris Family' by George Lewis Maris">Pg XII; The Maris Family' by George Lewis Maris; retrieved from E-Book 3-16-2018 https://books.google.com/books?id=7bn2sZhkbHEC&pg=PR11&lpg=PR11&dq=...</ref>arrived in Pennsylvania on the Bristol Comfort in 1683.<ref>Chapter V, pg 19 of Katharine Hutchinsons "One Mans family" descendants of Thomas Henry Worrilow Pg 90; SHEPPARD, WALTER LEE, JR., compiler and editor. Passengers and Ships prior to 1684; Arrival Year: 1683: Arrival Place: Pennsylvania: Family Members: Wife Alice; Child John; Child Richard; Child Alice; Child Elizabeth; Child George; Child Anna: Source Publication Code: 8370: Primary Immigrant: Maris, George</ref> Previous to leaving England, George purchased from Robert Toomer, of Worcester; 1000 acres of land in Pennsylvania, but unlocated; and shortly after arriving he took up a tract of 400 acres<ref name="Pg XII; The Maris Family' by George Lewis Maris"/>in Springfield where he settled calling his place Home House; A year later, he took up an additional 580 acres of land a little to the west in what became Edgmont township, Chester Co., Pa.<ref name = "One mans family"> A Book written by Katharine Krell Hutchison, about the descendants of Thomas Henry Worrilow.....</ref> George, a "Friend", came very highly recommended by his home parish, his certificate from Friends Meeting 'bore date of 3 Mo., 1683' and wasfrom Att Hadeswell In ye Pish of Inksborrough and County of Worcester<ref>Pg 25; 4th Generation; History and Genealogy of the Harlan Family; retrieved 2018-3-16 from: https://archive.org/stream/historygenealogy00harl#page/24/mode/2up/...</ref>

Civic and Society of Friends

George joined the Darby MM (then part of Chester Monthly Meeting established in 1681). From the Chester Monthly Meeting. came the Darby MM and the Springfield MM, among others. In the Chester MM minutes records for 1686, it was decided to circulate the meeting place among thehomes of George Maris, Caleb Pusey, and Bartholomew Coppock Not long after the Maris family emigrated to Springfield Township, in Chester (now Delaware) Co., Pennsylvania; George became very active incivic duties; and elected a Justice of the Peace holding the Courts for Chester County, during the years 1684-85-86-87-88-89-91-92-93<ref name ="Pg 1; First Generation; Maris Family">Pg 1; First Generation; Maris Family in the United States</ref><ref>See Records of the Courts of Chester; Vol. 1; Index which lists all the pages related to George's civic activity in the Courts; retrieved 2018-3-16 from: https://archive.org/stream/recordofcourtsof01penn#page/420/mode/2up...</ref> Member of Assembly in 1684-85-86-87-88-90-92-93<ref name ="Pg 1; FirstGeneration; Maris Family"/> Member of the Provincial Council in 1695<ref name ="Pg 1; First Generation; Maris Family"/> George Maris was very active with his religious beliefs and was a Minister in the Society of Friends, a member of Chester Monthly Meeting.<ref name ="Pg 1; First Generation; Maris Family"/>

Time-Line for George Maris

<ref name = "One mans family"/>

• 1632/33 George Maris was born in Worcestershire, England.
• 1659, George married Alice Wellsmith, in Worcestershire, England.
• 1670 or earlier, George became a member of the Society of Friends.*1683 He migrated from Inkberrow, Grafton-Flyford, Worcesterhire, England, on the "Bristol Comfort" with his wife Alice and their 6 children, to Springfield, Delaware Co,, Pa.*1683, he purchased 1000 acres of land from Robert Toomer, of Worcester, one of the original purchasers of 5000- acre townships, Maris brought a certificate from the Friends Meeting at Hadswell in his home parish and came very highly recommended to the Darby MM (then part of the Chester MM) in the new world. *1684, he was elected Justice of the peace and the courts, and served years 1684 thru 1689, 91, 92, 93
• In 1684 he was a member of the Assemby thru 1688, 90-92-93
• In 1695 he was a member of the Provincial Council
• Jan (Probably Nov) 15, 1705

Children of George Maris and Alice Wellsmith==<ref>Children information came from Pgs 1-2; 2nd Generation; the MarisFamily; George Lewis Maris</ref><ref>Pg 2; Bryan, Jesse. Paxon ancestry: an adjunct to the Moorman-Johnson family (1906)</ref> #Alice, b. 8, 17, 1600; m. 11, 15, 1684, at an appointed meeting at Chester, to Jacob Simcock (Simcox)<ref>Pg 25, Harlan Family</ref>) son of John and Elizabeth Simcock; d. 10-10-1726#George, b. 10-2-1662; m. 1690 to Jane Maddock (Maddox<ref>Pg 25; Harlan family</ref>), daughter of Henry; she died 6-28-1705; he m. 2nd 6-17-1718. Jane Hayes, widow of Jonathan of Merion, and daughter of Edward Rees; he d. 1753

1. Elizabeth, b. 2-3-1665; m. 1685, to John Mendenhall of Concord#Ann, b. 6-18-1667; m. 8-14-1690 to John Worrilow, son of Thomas of Edgemont#John, b. 3-21-1669; m. 9-21-1693, Susanna Lewis of Haverford; he died1-8-1747#Richard, b. 9-20-1672; m. 1698 Elizabeth Hayes, daughter of Jonathan and Ann of Marple; he died 1745; Ann died 8-9-1720 George Maris died; and is buried at Chester Friends Cemetery; Chester, Delaware County Pennsylvania<ref> Find A Grave Memorial no. 34832001: George Maris, Jr; BIRTH:2 Dec 1632; Bromsgrove, Bromsgrove District, Worcestershire, England; DEATH: 15 Jan 1704 [Other sources show 1705-See Note)] (aged 71); Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA; BURIAL: Chester Friends Cemetery, Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA; MEMORIAL ID:34832001; citing Chester Friends Cemetery, Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Chad Nichols (contributor 46813089)</ref>(Note: George Lewis Maris author; in his published book The Maris Family in the United States: A Record of the Descendants of George and Alice Maris. "1683-1885 provides a death date of 11-15-1705<ref>FirstGeneration; Pg 1; Maris Family in the United States; George Lewis Maris</ref>)

Sources

<references />*The Maris Family in the United States: A Record of the Descendants ofGeorge and Alice Maris. 1683-1885; F.S. Hickman, 1885; EBook retrieved from Google Books at https://books.google.com/books?id=7bn2sZhkbHEC&pg=PR11&lpg=PR11&dq=...

• Hutchinson, Katharine Krell. (1997). "One man's family. The story ofthe descendants of Thomas Henry Worrilow of Brasenhill, Staffordshire, England who emigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1680's"
• Harlan, Alpheus H. (Alpheus Hibben), b. 1848; History and genealogy of the Harlan family, and particularly of the descendants of George andMichael Harlan, who settled in Chester County, Pa., 1687; Publicationdate 1914; Publisher Baltimore, The Lord Baltimore press.
• “George Maris of Chester County, Pennsylvania,” The Genealogist,Vol. 13, No. 2, Fall 1999.
• SHEPPARD, WALTER LEE, JR., compiler and editor. Passengers and Ships prior to 1684. (Publications of the Welcome Society of Pennsylvania, 1.) Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970. 245p. Reprinted by Heritage Books, Bowie, MD, 1985. Annotation: This excellent work contains over 3,000 names and an index to vessels. Reprints the following articles with corrections, additions, and new materials: "The Real Welcome Passengers," by Marion Balderston (no. 242) pp. 1-26; "Pennsylvania's 1683 Ships,"
• Bryan, Jesse. Paxon ancestry: an adjunct to the Moorman-Johnson family (1906) Google Books YQh267QeYU0C
• Futhey, John Smith and Gilbert Cope. History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches, Part 1; L.H. Everts (1881), GoogleBooks
• Record of the courts of Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1681-1697; by Pennsylvania. Courts (Chester Co.) Vol. 1; Publication date 1910; Publisher Philadelphia : Colonial Society of Pennsylvania
• 'The Ancestry of Richard Milhous Nixon', Third Edition (1971), NixonPresidential Returned Materials Collection: White House Special Files (WHSF), box 10, folder 12 [George is #826]; cites as source History of Chester Co. PA p 647
• Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 16 March 2018), memorial page for George Maris, Jr (2 Dec 1632–15 Jan 1704),

Also See:*Charles II, 1662: An Act for preventing the Mischiefs and Dangers that may arise by certain Persons called Quakers and others refusing to take lawfull Oaths, Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628–80. 1819. pp. 350, 351. Retrieved 2018-3-16.