THE LEES FAMILY
by
Robert H. P. Corley
[Originally prepared around 1941,
corrected by Robert Townsend Corley around 1953]
The earliest known of our ancestors in England was Richard and Mary [Martin] Lees, probably living in Worcestershire. This couple were our great, great Grandfather and Grandmother.
They were the parents of 16 children as shown on chart 1.
Our great Grandfather was the 13th child of this union. Born on January 14, 1789, by tradition, he was christened and married in the same church in Tipton, in Worcestershire and this would indicate that the family roots extended for some time in this county. Other records, especially his indenture papers, chart 2, indicates he was a native of the county of Shropshire, abbreviated by local custom and termed Salop.
James was apprenticed on July 9, 1803 to Thomas William and Berial Botfield of Old Park Iron Works of the Parish of Dawley in the county of Salop. His home in the indenture is noted as of Old Park in the Parish of Dawley, late of Caynton in the said county. The term of apprenticeship was for 5 years and the text of the indenture contains many quaint clauses. He was to receive 9 shillings per week for the first and second years, ten shillings for the fifth year. That James faithfully fulfilled this indenture is attested on the back of the paper by the owners. This release is dated July 10th, 1808, at Old Park Iron Works, and each year of service has been noted singly and a total of 5 years at the bottom.
This period was in a time of the active war operations of England against Napoleon and at least one and probably more of James' brothers saw service in the fleet during the conflict. One brother, Thomas, was wounded during a battle on the ship, Romulus and carried to a hospital at Bermuda, died there after a short period. [Breure Hospital]
There are letters, recording his death, and notification of it, by the War Office in London, to his parents. There are also letters, asking for information regarding prize money credited to his name and replies from the war office.
James, our great Grandfather, after serving his apprenticeship, was married at Tipton in Worcestershire, on October 16, 1814, at Dudley Upper Church, to Mary Ann Mansfield Merrick, who was born on January 20, 1785.
The christian name of Mansfield was to honor Lady Mansfield, wife of Lord Mansfield, the Chief Justice of England, as she was the Godmother of our Great Grandmother.
Lord Mansfield was Chief Justice of England during the Lord George Gordon riots and the mob in London burned his house and contents containing a library of priceless books.
Our Great Grandfather in his work at Old Park Iron Works, probably helped produce the iron for the bridges, designed and constructed by Thomas Telford, the Father of Modern Civil Engineering.
The children of James Lees and Mary Anne Mansfield Merrick are recorded as follows:
Emma Born October 6, 1816 at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and christened at Tipton Church.
Thomas (Our Grandfather) Born January 17, 1819 at a quarter past 12 and christened at Tipton Church in Dudley, Worchestershire. Died at Allentown, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1865.
James Born August 8, 1821, at 4 o'clock in the morning and christened at Tipton Church as above. Killed in action at Antietam, Maryland, in the Civil War.
Mary Ann Mansfield Born February 16, 1824 at 11 o'clock at night and christened at Tipton Church in Dudley, Worchestershire.
John Born June 9, [1826] at a quarter to 1 o'clock in the morning and christened in the above church in the year 1826. Died at Danville, Pennsylvania, October 21, 1878.
At this time there was great unrest among the industrial sections of England and due to various reasons, James left Old Park and emigrated to Sunderland, a seaport of Durham. Although a town as early as 1311, it was a small place until about 1815 when owing the growth of the coal trade it grew fast and this was probably one of the reasons for the removal of James and his family to this town.
James had 3 sons who grew to manhood, Thomas, our grandfather, James and John. Thomas was born on January 17, 1819, at Tipton, in Worcestershire.
He probably served a term of apprenticeship here, similar to his father at Old Park, although there is no record existing of it. In early manhood, January 1844, he journeyed to Scotland to take charge of a rolling mill at New Glasgow.
A vivid account of his journey by water from Sunderland to Leith, is contained in a letter sent after his arrival. The ship was in peril of being driven on the rocks, during a blinding snowstorm.
In his letter to his parents, he tells of the simple and poor houses of the Scotch people. The houses having few windows, only turf or stone floor and thatched roofs.
During the following year, he returned to Sunderland and emigrated shortly afterward to America with his father and two brothers. At that time, English iron masters were in such demand that their thru transportation was arranged for them form their home town to Danville, Penns.
James, the brother of grandfather, married Annie Parton and after staying in Danville for a short time, removed to Pittsburgh with his two children. While there, a yellow fever epidemic broke out and caused the death of James' wife. He returned East to Pottsville while Grandfather was there and afterward went with him to Reading. Here he was married a second time to the widow of John Burnish, who had been in Pottsville.
By this marriage he had other children. John, one of the two children by his first wife was adopted by his brother John at Danville. Annie, the daughter was adopted by the relatives of his first wife. James enlisted during the Civil War, in Co. F, 34d Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps, and was killed in the Battle of Antietem, where he is buried in the National Cemetery.
John, the other brother of Grandfather was married to Sallie, or Sarah Porter in 1855, and never left Danville and had the following children:
Mary Born January 12, 1861
James
Thomas
Emma
Susie Born March 19, 1869. Susie was still living in 1941 [died May 28, 1955] and resides in Danville, married to Edward L. Ranck. [Son Porter L. Ranck: July 7, 1895 to Dec. 3, 1976]
Mary married John Hurley, July 25, 1883. He was the son of Thomas Hurley (born May 21, 1826 in London) and Agnes B. Patterson who were married April 1, 1856, (died Feb. 2, 1892).
The children of Mary and John Hurley were:
Susie Hurley Born March 28, 1884
Mary Sarah Born Sept. 14, 1896
Fred John Born Mar. 1, 1893
James Porter Born May 19, 1899 - died January 3, 1906.
Our Grandfather had contracted with his two brothers and his father to work for the Montour Iron Company together with William Hancock and John Foley. The former was a rail straightner and the latter a clerk. J. Whitemore, a New York lawyer, came to England to sign the contract. The family sailed for New York in 1845, coming by train to Philadelphia and Harrisburgh and by packet to Danville.
After Grandfather had been at Danville for a short time, he made arrangements for Grandmother to join him. They were married in New York.
Grandmother was born in or near Sunderland, in the County of Durham and her maiden name was Lavrock, being the daughter of Valentine and Anne Woodruff [or Linton] Lavrock. (One brother was Peter Gordon Lavrock).
Our Grandparents [Thomas and Mary (Laverick) Lees] had the following children:
Mary Ann Allentown [Danville - Married to Charles Stevenagle of Swiss descent. Born July 4, 1848. Died Allentown Dec. 16, 1917]
Valentine Allentown [died young]
Lillie Allentown [Born Danville, Jan. 14, 1853. Died Somers Point, N.J., Sept. 14, 1938]
James Allentown [Born Danville or Reading, Dec. 27, 1854. Died Allentown, Sept. 28, 1883]
Emma Louisa Allentown [died young]
Thomas Allentown [Married Emily Schlouch]
William Paul &
John Peter (twins) [Twins died young]
John Walter [Married twice]
Of these children only Mary, Lillie, James, Thomas and John survived childhood.
Major Brevoort [Brevcort] was manager of the Montour Iron Co. (Chambers Biddle and Company)
Prices were so high and demand was so great for iron that Grandfather, Hancock, and Foley saw possibilities in a mill of their own and each bought stock to finance it. This mill was the Rough and Ready, which Grandfather laid out, at the lower end of Danville. No remains are to be seen today of the mill but the site is easily determined.
In a short while the tariff was taken off and English iron began to flood the country, necessitating a shut down. Grandfather became discouraged and sold out to Hancock and Foley and removed to Pottsville.
Pottsville Fishbach Mill - at this mill were William and Thomas Harris, who had been at Boonton (Reading) with Major Brevoort . William Harris was manager, Thomas Harris was Roller, Jim Talbot, Bricklayer, and others were Joe Downey, John Burnish and Benjamin Heywood.
Due to friction, between the officials gradually the plant's production declined and it was forced to close. Grandfather went to Reading and worked for the Reading Iron Company.
From Reading, Grandfather removed to Allentown, where he worked for the Allentown Rolling Mill.
His death occurred November 11, (or 2nd) 1865, and Grandmother died [in Joliet, Ill.] Sept. 12, 1895 and both were buried in Union Cemetery in Allentown.
Their daughter, Lillie LEES [born Jan. 14, 1853] married Peter Aloysius Corley on [June 27, 1874] he having been born in Bridgeton, Glasgow, Scotland on the 30th of October, 1850. On Saturday, March 25, 1871, Peter A. Corley sailed from Glasgow for the United States on the S. S. Iowa, having parted from "Mother, Father, Sisters and Brothers". Evidently his sister Eliza accompanied him to this country, arriving in New York, April 15, 1871. Arrived in Bethlehem, Penna. on November 14, 1871, and went to work for Lehman on that data and then went to work for a man named Gough on February 15, 1872, then for Lehman on May 21, 1873. Went to housekeeping August 1, 1874, in Bethlehem. Eliza (or Lizzie) arrived in Glasgow on July 14, 1874 and died on December 31, 1874. Peter left Bethlehem on April 20, 1875, for Allentown.
In addition to Eliza, Peter A. Corley had a sister Kate and a brother, James, the latter having planned to come to America but probably never did.
To Peter A. and Lillie Lees Corley were born the following children:
Thomas R. Corley
James Lees Corley
Mary Corley
Robert Hare Powell Corley Born October 19, 1885
Died December 8, 1941
Paul Kirby Corley Born September 25, 1896
William Cuthbert Corley
Margaret Corley