The Sanders-Currinder Farms Part Two

Ellis Sanders' 150 acre farm

In the last post, we saw how the land roughly bounded by Kirkwood Highway, White Clay Creek, Harmony Road, and Red Mill Road passed through the Bryan, Shields, Saunders (Sanders), and Currinder families. We learned that in 1819, brothers Amos and Ellis Sanders divided the 200 acre farm, previously owned by their father John, which they had purchased jointly in 1792. We followed Amos' western 42 acres through his long lifetime, and then saw it sold to Jacob Currinder, who also added 53 acres on the western end (from miller David Eastburn). However, Currinder didn't just add those 53 acres to land he already owned. Amos' 42 acres also were an addition to an existing Currinder farm -- namely the farm formerly owned by Ellis Sanders. But to get there, we have to back up a bit.

We last left older brother Ellis Sanders after the 1819 division of their father's old farm, in which Amos got the smaller farm with the house, and Ellis got the larger, eastern portion. Ellis' farm, seen above, comprised 150 acres nestled along White Clay Creek, extending east of Harmony Road and north of what was then the Road to Stanton (or Newark), later the Telegraph Road, and finally Capitol Trail/Kirkwood Highway. I should mention that there were two slight road differences in the pre-suburban era. One was the placement of Harmony Road, now Old Harmony Road, just slightly east of the current thoroughfare. The other was the Road to Stanton, which deviated in this stretch from the modern Kirkwood Highway (to Upper Pike Creek/Old Harmony Roads)/Capitol Trail (westward to Newark). Heading west, the road dipped south through today's Green Valley, followed about where Green Valley Drive is now and crossed Pike Creek, headed straight west crossing Old Harmony Road at the bend, went behind Richardson's Garden Center, dipped down a bit again and went in front of where Shue-Medill Middle School is, then angled back up to join the current highway.

In 1789, Ellis married Edith Yarnall (of the Yarnalls living near Brandywine Springs), but she died the following December, only two weeks after the birth (and death) of their only child. Ellis remarried five years later to Hannah Mendenhall, daughter of miller Aaron Mendenhall. They had two children -- Ann (who apparently never married) and Ellis Mendenhall Sanders, who had quite the eventful life. The elder Ellis lived the remainder of his life on his farm, until passing in 1843 at the age of 77. In his will, he gave his farm to his son, but that son would not remain on it. Although born a Quaker, in 1843 Ellis M. was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He travelled to Nauvoo, IL (where the Mormons were settled at the time) in Spring 1844 and met with founder Joseph Smith. He was ordained an Elder by Joseph's brother Hyrum, and returned to Delaware. Both Smith's would die in prison at the hands of a mob in June.

The Saunders-Currinder Farms -- Part One

Nathaniel Bryan's 200 acres, sold in 1776 to Thomas
Shields, later owned by the Saunders and Currinders

Across today's landscape, the features we think most about and use most to describe locations would be our roads. However, throughout most of history and well into the 19th Century the vital features were the waterways. In this post we'll look at farms that today I'd describe as being (mostly) just south of the highway, but in their day would probably be described as being "along the creek" instead. It may not be an area most people think much about -- unless you happen to live there. But this area has taken an interesting journey over the past 300 or more years -- it began as a larger tract, was divided and broken up, then later much of it was re-combined into a large property again, but under a different family.

The property we're looking at this time is located on the south side of Kirkwood Highway (mostly), roughly (although not exactly) bordered by the highway, White Clay Creek, Harmony Road, and Red Mill Road. The earliest deed I have found for this land, then at 200 acres, is a sale in November 1776 from Nathaniel Bryan to Thomas Shields. Unfortunately, this deed does not give any information on when and from whom Nathaniel acquired the land. As best as I can tell, the Bryan family seems to have been primarily from Pencader Hundred, although in 1735 Nathaniel purchased 212 acres from his father John, land which sat just across on the south side of White Clay Creek.

It's unclear if that is in any way related to the 200 acres on the north side. Nathaniel could have acquired the Mill Creek Hundred farm soon after, or not until later. When he sold it in 1776 (about a year before he died) he was described in the deed as being "of Mill Creek Hundred" -- and the sale was for "All that Messuage Plantation and Tract of Land" -- all of which implies that he was living on the property at the time of sale. I'm even more certain that the next owner, Thomas Shields, did not live here. He resided and plied his trade in Philadelphia -- described in the newspapers as a goldsmith, and in these deeds as a silversmith. His shop (and presumably his home) was on Front Street near Dock Street, in the area now known as Penn's Landing.