This collection contains patents issued to inventors in Lancaster County. The patents have the technical information about the invention and also drawings and/or blueprints. Some of the patents are for a horse hay rake, pinions, a railroad car brake, and improvements in threshing machines, balancing mill stones, kitchen slicing utensils and a still. Two of the documents are signed by Secretary of State Henry Clay and President Andrew Jackson.
The Brinton Family Collection contains genealogy, estate records, receipts, school workbooks, correspondence, farm records, tax records, bank records, wedding and funeral announcements, invitations, visiting cards, and postcards.
Admin/Biographical History
The Brintons were a prosperous family, owned farms and mills, and participated in other business ventures. They were of English heritage and members of the Quakers, or Society of Friends. In order to escape religious persecution in England, William Brinton purchased 200 acres in Birmingham Twp., Pennsylvania in 1684. His descendants eventually moved further west to eastern Lancaster County.1
Cyrus Brinton (1830-1917), the fourth of six children, was the son of Samuel and Lydia P. Jackson Brinton. In 1813, Samuel purchased 200 acres of land in Christiana (land that was later bounded by the Christiana Machine Shop on the south, Pine St. on the west, Sadsbury Ave. on the north, and Rte. 41 on the east). The land was not ideal for farming, but the property was picturesque and the farm was successful. Cyrus married Rebecca Whitson and they farmed on his father's property for about ten years. At that time they purchased a farm and mill on the road from Cooperville to the Noble Road. The original woolen mill was later turned into a grist mill, then a creamery. Cyrus and Rebecca had five children: Francis, Thomas Luther, William Haslam, Anne Haslam, and Martha Alice.2
Genealogy:3
Thomas Whitson m. Martha Hobson
b. 7 February 1796 b. 10 November 1800
d. 27 November 1864 d. 18 June 1889
(Sadsbury, Chester County) (Sadsbury)
They were married at New Salem Meeting, 17 May 1827. Rebecca was one of their eight children.
Cyrus Brinton m. Rebecca Whitson
b. 28 December 1830 b. 3 February 1832
d. 9 February 1917 d. 29 October 1903
(Sadsbury, Lancaster County) (Lancaster County)
They were married at Christiana, PA, 12 February 1857.
Thomas Whitson m. Hannah Starr
b. 27 September 1760 b. 3 February 1765
d. 1 June 1826 d. 20 April 1836
(Sadsbury)
The parents of Thomas Whitson, they were married 31 October 1787.
Francis Hobson m. Ann Johnson
b. 14 February 1768 b. 15 December 1775
d. 1835 (Lancaster County)
farmer and shoemaker d. 1852
(New Garden) (New Garden)
The parents of Martha Hobson, they were married 14 September 1797.
1 Garrett, Mary. 1979. "Brintons of Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County: Where they originated, what they accomplished, and where they have gone." Octorara Area Historical Society 1:13.
2 Ibid.
3 Whitson Family Chart, August 1951. The Albert Cook Myers Collection. Chester County Historical Society (Pa.)
The Chester County History Center (Pa.) also has information on the Brinton and Whitson families.
Notes
Preferred Citation: Title or description of item, date (day, month, year), Brinton Family Collection (MG0038), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Folder 40 was a gift of Betsey Collins, 5 March 1993.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-38
Classification
MG0038
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Cataloged prior to 1997. Box 1 was recataloged by JB, Fall semester 2006. Added to database 16 June 2021.
