New Hope History - Student Essays Mike Fenton: A History of New Hope Mike Dillon: The Coryell Family Chris Benonis: A Town Divided - New Hope and the Civil War   A History of New Hope by Mike Fenton The rich history of New Hope is comprised of the lifetimes and achievements of several important men and women. Although it was initially named "Coryell's Ferry," after Emanuel Coryell, the town New Hope earned its name through the goals and aspirations of Benjamin Parry. One of the most influential men in the history of New Hope, Benjamin Parry was born on March 1st, 1757 in Moreland Township, PA. Parry first moved to New Hope subsequently after the Revolutionary War, where he purchased a grist and lumber mill. In 1784, he further established his presence in New Hope by building the now-famous Parry Mansion. This impressive task took him over three years to accomplish. After its completion, Parry married into the locally-prominent Paxson family, further deepening his rooted connections to the small town. In addition to the grist and lumber mills, Parry expanded his operation to include several flaxseed oil and flour mills. He later named these mills the "Hope Mills" to characterize his hopes for the future. In 1790, a tragic fire struck the Hope Mills, burning the majority of them to the ground. Although his mills were gone, Parry's resolve and hope still remained. He rebuilt the mills over the ashes of his misfortune, renaming the mills the "New Hope Mills," logically identifying his new hopes for the future in spite of misfortunes. The name appealed to several other local residents who started to refer to the town as "New Hope." After several years of this, the name New Hope was official. Parry's first and only child was born four years later on December 20th. He continued living a successful business life after the initial disaster, attempting to find new and better ways to sell his products. His success was two-fold, he was able to establish several new trade routes to various local areas as well as "...inventing a means of protecting grain from spoiling during shipping." An example of one of the trade routes he helped to establish was his aid in obtaining a permit to build a bridge into New Jersey in 1809. His success paralleled the success of New Hope: continuously growing and expanding upon itself. Even after his death in 1839, Benjamin Parry's accomplishments have been supplemented. In 1939, one-hundred years after his death, one of the Parry mills was converted into the Bucks County Playhouse. The Parry Mansion remained in the family until 1966, whereupon it was acquired by the New Hope Historical Society in order to preserve the history of New Hope itself from demolition. Today, the Parry house is configured to reflect the various stages of changes that occurred within its walls, each room depicting a different time period from the late 1700's to 1900. Through his lifetime of accomplishments, Benjamin Parry was a truly influential man in the history of New Hope. Possibly his greatest contribution, the name "New Hope" itself represents everything that he believed in as well as the philosophy of the town. Through this, it is clear that Benjamin Parry has been a definitive influence on the history of New Hope. Resources: Author Unknown, A Brief History of Lambertville, (6 June 2003), Lambertville Historical Society http://www.lambertvillehistoricalsociety.org/about.php3 Eugene W. Stark, Benjamin Parry, 1997, http://www.public.asu.edu/~bgertz/family/d0004/g0000010.html#I13454 (6 June 2003). Author Unknown, Masterpiece Galleries, 2003, http://www.drloriv.com/newhopetour/knows.htm (6 June 2003), Masterpiece Technologies Inc. Eugene W. Stark, Jane Paxson, 1997, http://www.public.asu.edu/~bgertz/family/d0005/g0000010.html#I13455 (6 June 2003). Author Unknown, Early History of New Hope, 2003, http://www.newhopepa.com/history.htm (6 June 2003), River Source Inc. Terry A. McNealy and Robert Goodwin, The Parry Mansion, 2003, http://www.antiquesandfineart.com/articles/article.cfm?request=388 (6 June 2003) Author Unknown, "Achievements and Goals of the New Hope Historical Society", 2000, http://www.newhopehistoricalsociety.org/history.html (6 June 2003), New Hope Historical Society. _____________________ The Coryell Family by Michael Dillon The town of New Hope was not always called by the name of "New Hope". Before the 1800's the town was referred to as Coryell's Ferry named after the owner of the main ferry in the region. The first owner of this ferry was Emmanuel Coryell. Emmanuel Coryell was of the second generation of the Coryell family to live in the Americas. Somewhere between the years of 1720 and 1730 Emmanuel Coryell first took up his residence on Delaware River. He first built himself a small house, which he called the "hut". He is thought to have been the only white man residing in the region at this time, having friendly relations with the Native Americans that were still present in the region, until he began to develop the surrounding area and bring in more white men. In 1732 Emmanuel became more ambitious and applied, to King George the Second, for the sole rights for ferry travel along the river in an area encompassing six miles of the coast of the Delaware River, with his house at the center. Since this portion of the river was in an ideal location between New York and Philadelphia it would be a busy transit location. After being granted these rights Emmanuel Coryell quickly began to expand his operation, building a large stone inn and house that same year. While his inn was located on the New Jersey side of the river, the new ferry transit also lead to the building of the Logan Inn. It was the development around this popular transit area that caused the town of Coryell's Ferry to be born. Emmanuel had seven children named, Abram, Cornelius, George, John, William, Nellie, and Sarah. Of the seven children five of them outlived their father, who died fairly young. Abram and John worked together and eventually purchased the Pennsylvania side of the Ferry, giving them complete control over the passage. Of the children Abram and John became the proprietors of the ferry service, John running the Pennsylvania side and Abram in charge of the New Jersey half. George and Cornelius both served under Washington in the Revolutionary War and George was a close friend to Washington as well as one of his pallbearers. During Washington's stay in New Hope it was the Coryell family that supplied him and his army, as well as providing some of the boats that were used in the crossing of the river and guiding them along. Their time and supplies were paid for with Continental money, money that was never given value after the war, thereby putting the brothers into a state of poverty. This eventually lead to the downfall of the ferry which was lost by the Coryell's on the Pennsylvania side due to gambling debts and the Lambertville side was sold. The ferry went completely out business after the building of the New Hope Lambertville Free Bridge. The name of the town was changed in 1790 when the Hope Mills, owned by Benjamin Parry, burned down. These mills provided a bulk of the local commerce and their loss was potentially devastating. However the town pulled together and rebuilt the mills that Parry named the New Hope Mills. It was these mills that provided the name, as is it is known as now, for the town. If anyone reading this has any more information on the Coryell family please e-mail me at penguin_god@hotmail.com. _____________________ A Town Divided - New Hope and the Civil War by Chris Benonis The Civil War proved to be perhaps the most important and trying time in the history of the United States. It tested the will of individuals to preserve their ideals as well as the resolve of a nation to maintain them. As with the rest of the nation during the Civil War, New Hope saw its share of fighting. Unlike the battlefields of Gettysburg and Antietam, however, the battles in New Hope were fought with words rather than weapons. From the numerous militia regiments raised in New Hope and the surrounding region to the public condemnation of Republican governor candidates, Unionist activities, and even the actions of the president himself, New Hope was a place of heated contention, with neighbors arguing over patriotic duty and secessionist merit. As with most wars, some of the most violent and embittered fighting did not take place in solitary fields among great armies but in the small towns across the nation between impassioned individuals. By the 1860s the small river hamlet once known as Coryell's Ferry, in honor of the man who first transported passengers and cargo across the river, had grown into a bustling small canal stop full of independent minds and influential people known as New Hope. As with all towns across the state and the rest of the North, New Hope was required to meet a certain quota of men to fight in the preservation of the Union. In addition to these regiments of draftees, numerous area men, with a sense of patriotic obligation and duty to the nation, made the decision to raise volunteer regiments. Among these were some of the more prominent residents of New Hope including Allan B. Stockton, Captain of New Hope's 1862 militia regiment, and Edward Randolph Parry, Major in the 11th U.S. Infantry and member of the Parry family, who gave the town its name. In addition to those who served were at least New Hope men who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the Union including Jonathan Ely, Charles Furman, and John S. Hartley. While no exact record was ever compiled, at least 70 New Hope residents and many more residents of Lambertville and Solebury served in some capacity during the Civil War. Despite the apparent patriotism displayed by the numerous men headed off to war from the streets of New Hope, the town was deeply divided on the issue, with many residents not supporting, and some even condemning the actions of the North in the conflict. New Hope divisions were clearly evident in the poll results of numerous elections over the course of the Civil War. During the presidential election of 1864, Lincoln garnered only 46% of the votes in Bucks County and in New Hope he won even less with nearly 61% of the votes going to the Democratic candidate George B. McClellan. In fact, during a Democratic Party rally for state elections in New Hope in the fall of 1863 some 500 residents, led by New Hope mayor Lewis S. Coryell, adopted a resolution that declared: "…we most solemnly protest against all violations of the Constitution and Laws by the Administration of the Federal Government, in particular as it thereby usurps our State rights…Resolved: We abhor the motive and wicked policy that inaugurated the present and destructive and cruel war…Resolved: that the outrage and unlawful violations of the rights of our citizens by the despotic authority exercised by the General Government has our most unmitigated condemnation." This strong opposition amongst residents persisted for most of the war as the cost, both financial and human, continued to climb. In the end though, the patriotism of the town largely won out and New Hope, like all other towns across the nation welcomed back the members of the community who had served under the flag of the Union in defense of its ideals. New Hope has retained much of its history over the years, the canal still operates, carrying tourists through the town, and the majority of the old buildings still stand more or less intact. The role of the town in the Civil War has largely been lost, however. Unlike surrounding towns such as Doylestown, a memorial dedicated to those who served was never created, and records of the town's involvement are limited. This may be, at least in part due to the strong divisions within the town during the war as New Hope saw its own Civil War in the midst of a national conflict, pitting neighbor against neighbor and friend against friend. By all accounts, New Hope during the Civil War was a town divided. Information courtesy of: "A Hotbed of Secession" New Hope and the Civil War, Joseph F. Dipaolo, 2001 Quote courtesy of: Doylestown Democrat, September 22, 1863 _____________________