3 minute read
Irish Immigrants: The Courtneys
History Spotlight by Doug Humes
Photos courtesy of Newtown Square Historical Society
While English Quakers first settled Newtown, 19th-century immigrants came from Ireland. An Irish weaver, Joseph Courtney, lived in Marple in 1828. In 1847, he built a stone house set back a bit from what is now Media Line Road. He and his wife Nancy had four children, whom they raised in that house: William, Samuel, Mary and Joseph Jr. In the 1850 census, nine people lived there.
Mother, father and son at Marple Presbyterian Cemetery
Nancy died before the next census was taken in 1860, when the Courtney house was the last house visited in Newtown. The house saw its share of sadness before the Civil War had ended. Joseph Sr. died in 1864; his burial record indicates that he was a veteran. Joseph Jr. went off to fight in the Civil War, and was mustered out before it ended, dying at age 31 in March of 1865. He was perhaps wounded and sent home to recover.
Courtney house with 1847 datestone
The remaining children must have held a family council and agreed on their course of action. The farm was advertised for sale a few days after Christmas of 1864. It was described as follows:
Original Newtown Township historic marker
Sales proceeds in hand, the Courtneys had a few other matters to address. On January 24, 1866, Reverend Hotchkin presided over a double marriage ceremony at the Marple Presbyterian Church: brother William married Esther Ann McClennan of Newtown, while sister Mary Ann married John W. Finnigan, of Jones County, Iowa. By year end, both married couples were living in eastern Iowa, where Mary Ann gave birth to the first granddaughter. Samuel stayed behind to wind up brother Joseph’s affairs. He was married about the same time, and then moved to Iowa to join his siblings, where he had a son, named Joseph, after his father and brother.
Buttonwood tree outside Courtney house (estimated to be over 200 years old)
Two Courtneys remained here, father and son buried side by side in the Marple Presbyterian Church cemetery. While they are long gone, the huge buttonwood tree outside the front door of the old Courtney house that bore witness to the funeral procession for each man still guards the property.
For more history on Newtown Square, Delaware County, and Newtown Square Historical Society (NSHS) membership information and events, please visit www.NSHistory.org.
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