History of West River, (Anne Arundel County) Maryland United States of America

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Biographies:

Benjamin Chew, jurist, was born at West River, Md., Nov. 29, 1722; son of Dr. Samuel and Mary (Galloway) Chew; grandson of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Benson) Chew; great-grandson of Samuel and Anne (Ayres) Chew, and great-great-grandson of John and Sarah Chew. John Chew is said to have been a cadet of the family of Chew of Chewton, Somersetshire, England, and came over from England in 1622; was a member from Jamestown to the Virginia house of assembly in 1623, was afterwards a burgess from Hogg's Island in the assembly until 1643, and had two sons, Samuel and Joseph. Benjamin's father, Dr. Samuel Chew, born Oct. 30, 1693, was at one time chief justice of the three lower counties of Pennsylvania, now included in the state of Delaware. Benjamin Chew read law in Philadelphia and in London, settled on the Delaware river in 1743, and in 1745 removed to Philadelphia. He was recorder of the city from 1756 until 1776, and register of wills and attorney-general until 1776. He represented the three lower counties of the state in the house of delegates and was speaker of the assembly. On April 29, 1774, he became chief justice of Pennsylvania. At the opening of the revolution Justice Chew sided with the Royalists, and when, in 1777, he refused his parole, he, with John Penn, the proprietary of Pennsylvania, was placed under arrest, but they were allowed to retire to Mr. Chew's property, Union Forge, N. J., and were released from arrest the next year. His stately mansion in Germantown, Pa., still standing in 1897, was the resort of Tories and British officers, and before the battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777, the English troops used it as a fort; it was cannonaded by Washington's army as it entered the place, but the stone walls resisted the assault, and the progress of the army was delayed, giving the British forces a decided advantage. From 1791 till 1806 he served as president of the high court of errors and appeals. He died in Germantown, Pa., Jan. 20, 1810.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Kensey Johns, chancellor, was born at West River, Md., June 14, 1759; son of Kensey and Susannah (Galloway) Johns, and a descendant of Richard Johns, of "The Cliffs," Maryland, who was born in Carmarthenshire, Wales, in 1630, and came to America in 1692. He served in the Revolutionary war as a "minuteman;" studied law under Judge Samuel Chase, of Annapolis, Md., and subsequently under George Reade, of New Castle, Del., where he practised his profession for twelve years. He was married to Nancy, daughter of Gov. Nicholas Van Dyke, of New Castle, Del. He was a member of the convention that framed the state constitution in 1792, and was appointed by Governor Clayton U.S. senator to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of George Reade, but was refused admittance to the senate as a session of the legislature had intervened after the vacancy had occurred. He succeeded George Reade as chief justice of Delaware, serving 1798-1828, and was chancellor of the state, 1828-32. He died in New Castle, Del., Dec. 21, 1848.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Joseph Galloway, delegate, was born at West River, Anne Arundel country, Md, about 1729; son of Peter and Elizabeth (Rigbie) Galloway. He became a lawyer in Philadelphia in 1750, and was a friend of Benjamin Franklin and in 1764 became the custodian of his valuable papers during Franklin's absence in Europe. He was a member of the assembly of Pennsylvania, 1757-75, and speaker, 1766-74. He advocated a royal form of government for the province and as the Revolution dawned he placed himself on the Tory side in that movement. His influence in the assembly gained for him election as delegate to the provincial congress and he served, 1774-75. He proposed to congress a government directed by a president-general appointed by the king and a grand council, to be chosen every third year by the respective assemblies of the colonies. After the adjournment of the congress of 1775 he retired to his country-seat, where he was visited in 1776 by Benjamin Franklin, who urged him to join the patriot cause. He joined General Howe in December, 1776, at New York, accompanied him to Philadelphia and was head of the civil government of the city during its occupation by the British army. When Howe evacuated the city Galloway went to England where he testified in 1779 before the house of commons as to the incompetency of Howe in conducting the war in America. The general assembly of Pennsylvania in 1788 convicted him of high treason and confiscated his property, valued at forty thousand pounds. He was married to Grace, a daughter of Lawrence Growden, speaker of the Pennsylvania assembly and justice of the supreme court of the province. She brought to him a considerable fortune and remained in Pennsylvania after the evacuation of Philadelphia to prevent its confiscation. After her death much of the real estate reverted to her daughter. He received the degree of LL.D. from the College of New Jersey in 1769. He published Historical and Political Reflections on the American Rebellion (1780); Brief commentaries on such Parts of the Revelation and other Prophecies as immediately refer to the present times in which the Several Allegorical Types and Expressions of the Prophecies are translated into Their Literal Meanings (1802); and The Prophetic or Anticipated History of the Church of Rome, &c., &c. (1803); the last being an answer to a criticism on his second book by the Dean of Canterbury. He died in Watford, Herts, England, Aug. 29, 1803.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor