Samuel Levis, Sr.

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Levis-65

Samuel Levis, born 30 September 1649 at Harby, Leicestershire, England, was the son of Christopher Levis of Harby, yeoman, and Mary Need.[1][2]

Marriage and Issue

Samuel was a Maltster and it is believed he trained at the Brewery of Nottingham Castle. It is in Nottinghamshire that he courted Elizabeth Clator (aka Claytor), the daughter of William Clator (wife unknown), and where her brother Samuell approved of her marriage to Samuel at a Friends Nottingham Meeting on 4 March 1680.[3] They were married on 4 May 1680.[2] He was age 29 and she was about 25. They had seven children (the first two born in England):[4][5]

1. Samuel,[1] born 8 February 1681; married Hannah Stretch.[4][5]
2. Alice,[1] born 7 October 1682, died before 31 December 1684.[4][5]
3. Mary, wife of Joseph Pennock,[1] was born 9 October 1685.[4][5]
4. William,[1] born 8 September 1688; married Elizabeth Reed.[4][5]
5. Elizabeth, wife of William Shipley,[1] was born 20 December 1690.[4][5]
6. Christopher,[1] born 27 December 1692, died 3 April 1694.[4][5]
7. Sarah, wife of George Maris,[1] was born 31 August 1694.[4][5]

Settling in Springfield

Samuel was among the early colonists who emigrated to America in 1682, bringing servants and material for building a home for his family before returning to England to get them.[5][6][7] Before leaving England a second time, Samuel, in conjunction with his lifelong friend William Garrett, purchased 1000 acres of the land of William Penn from John Lobe, a Bristol land speculator.[3][4][8][9] Samuel left to permanently settle in Pennsylvania from Bristol, England in August 1684 aboard the ship Bristol Merchant under the command of John Stephens, with his wife Elizabeth, 3 year old son Samuel Jr,[9] and his younger twin sisters Sarah and Hannah. Since Samuel came with only one child, it is believed that his daughter Alice died before or during the trip at about 2 years old.[3][4] Samuel brought a certificate from the Friends Meeting in Harby, Leicestershire which was presented to a meeting of Friends held at "The Governor's house" in Philadelphia 4 November 1684.[2] Their removal certificate from Harby was dated 20 July 1684[1] and can be seen in the Philadelphia, province of Pennsylvania, Friend's records.[5]

Samuel was a man of considerable means and much influence especially within the Society of Friends. He was a minister of that faith and a very devout man in his walk of life. He was among the first settlers in Delaware county[7] and was barely settled when his friends first induced him to represent Chester County in the provincial Assembly in 1686. Samuel would continue to be a member of the provincial Assembly in 1689, 1694, 1698, 1700, 1706-1709. He was appointed justice of the peace for Chester County in 1686 and again on 2 November 1689. In 1692 Samuel was appointed as a member of the Governor's Council.[10] Notwithstanding his many official duties, Samuel, a man of economical and business-like habits, always found time to attend carefully to the religious and charitable duties as a member of the Society of Friends.[11]

Springfield is first mentioned as a governmental entity in 1686 and farming and the grazing of cattle were the principal occupations of the inhabitants of the township. Because of the ample water supply existing in the township every creek and run supported its grist mill and furnished power for the various colonial types of manufacturing.[12] Samuel and his family would eventually settle in Springfield Township, province of Pennsylvania[1] in 1692.[10]

Death and Possible Burial Ground

Samuel Levis died between 4 October 1728 (date of will) and 13 April 1734 (date of probate),[1][2] probably in Springfield Township, Chester County. It is widely believed that he died in March 1734. In his will he left £10 each to his grandchildren; his Negro man Jeffry to his daughter, Elizabeth Shipley, and the remainder of his estate to his wife for life. At her death one half of his estate was to be equally divided between his son, Samuel, and daughter, Elizabeth; the other half between his son, William, and daughter, Mary Pennock. He referred to a marriage settlement, dated 5/6 March 1725, for his wife.[10]

Many of the early settlers are buried in the ancient Quaker Burial Ground, located at the intersection of Old Sproul Road, or as it was known in colonial days Chester Road, and Springfield Road. Given to the Quakers by Bartholomew Coppock, the younger, in 1686, the two-acre tract contains a possible 5,000 burials, and while few of the graves are marked today with headstones, those that are marked bear the names of families appearing on the early land-grant lists.[12] As a prominent and influential Quaker it is possible that this is where Samuel Levis was buried.

The Samuel Levis “Checkerboard" House

The Samuel Levis House or "Checkerboard" House is one of the county's oldest and best preserved historical homes. Levis came to Springfield in the 1680's - having a land grant of 1,000 acres - and soon built his home and developed a complete colonial plantation. The Levis Home remained in the family until 1925, passing through eight generations of Levises. It is believed that the hearth in the cellar of the house was one of William Penn's favorite places to relax when he visited his good friend Samuel Levis. The bricks used created a checkerboard effect using the Flemish bond design, a popular pattern found in many historic houses in Philadelphia. The original random width flooring and the uneven winding stairs with the carved finial on the newel post remain undisturbed. Several important features in the original basement kitchen include the great wooden bolt on the door, the walkin fireplace and the great root vaults. There was once a smokehouse in the attic. Most of the woodwork and floors are original in this Georgian style house of true museum quality. The original kitchen is in the basement where there are huge storage cellars and a tunnel said to be used by the Underground Railroad. The Carriage house dates to the earliest years and remnants of other farm buildings exist. In the first quarter of the 20th century it was home to The Addingham Country Club.

References

• https://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00396932&tree=LEO Immigration Gateway England - USA Charlemagne Royal Pennsylvania in 1684

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Levis-65
   1. Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume I, page xviii "List of Colonial Immigrants" #150, volume IV, pages 205-206 NEED 21.ii.a. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
   2. Mahler, Leslie: "Samuel Levis, Quaker Immigrant to Pennsylvania", in The Genealogist, Spring 1999, Vol 13, No 1, p. 30-36 (PDF download)
   3. Carter, Jane Levis. The paper makers : early Pennsylvanians and their water mills. Kennett Square, PA: KNA Press, 1982. Pg 1, 2, 20, 28, 41.
   4. Cope, Gilbert. Genealogy of the Smedley family descended from George and Sarah Smedley, settlers in Chester Co., Penna., Wickersham Printing Co., 1901. Pg 142, 172, 224. (See also: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t9571gp5s;vie...) Note: Dates from this book are Quaker. For more about dates, see Sue Roe's The Problem of Dates.
   5. Comly, George Norwood. Comly Family in America. Privately published under supervision of J.B. Lippincott. Philadelphia, Pa, 1939. Pg 921-925. (See also: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066037615;view=1up;seq=5) Note: Dates from this book are Quaker. For more about dates, see Sue Roe's The Problem of Dates.
   6. Cope, Gilbert; Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Chester and Delaware counties, Pennsylvania. V.1. Salem, Mass. :Higginson Book Co.,[1993]. Pages 250-251. Note: Dates from this book are Quaker. For more about dates, see Sue Roe's The Problem of Dates.
   7. Levis Family early ancestors from Genealogical and memorial history of the State of New Jersey : a book of achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1910. Vol II, Pg 469. (See also: https://archive.org/details/genealogicalmemo06leef/page/469)
   8. Heacock, Roger Lee. The ancestors of Charles Clement Heacock, 1851-1914. With an account of the descendants of Joel and Huldah Gaskill Heacock., Heacock, Roger Lee, b. 1906. Baldwin Park (Calif.) Bulletin,1950. Pg 25, 67. (See also: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062876784;view=1up;seq=7). Note: Dates from this book are Quaker. For more about dates, see Sue Roe's The Problem of Dates.
   9. Ashmead, Henry Graham, 1838-1920. History of Delaware county, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 1884. Pg 272-273, 714. (See also: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t3mw35068;vie...) Note: Dates from this book are Quaker. For more about dates, see Sue Roe's The Problem of Dates.
   10. Massey, George Valentine. The Pennocks of Primitive Hall : written for the Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, Pennsylvania, West Chester, PA, Pg 25, 26, 28, 30. (See also : https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066250283;view=1up;seq=15). Note: Dates from this book are Quaker. For more about dates, see Sue Roe's The Problem of Dates.
   11. Biographical and genealogical history of the state of Delaware, containing biographical and genealogical sketches of prominate and representative citizans, and many of the early settlers, v.1, Chambersburg, PA,1899. Pg 333. (See also: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951002055171f;view=1up...)
   12. _Springfield Historical Society - Early History. (http://www.springfieldhistoricalsociety.org/the-early-history-of-sp...)
   13. The Springfield Historical Society - Historic Houses. (http://www.springfieldhistoricalsociety.org/historic-springfield-ho...)
   14. Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume V, page 481 Appendix Line B and C. 8th great grandfather of Maud of Flanders, wife of William The Conqueror
   15. Great grandfather of Henry II (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror)
   16. Great grandfather of Edward I (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_England)
   17. Maternal grandfather of Edward III of England (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_IV_of_France)
   18. Grandfather of Edward III (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_I_of_England) See also:
   19. Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
   20. Notes on Samuel Levis (PDF download).
   21. http://www.maierassociates.com/Genie/gplev010.html