History of Chester, (Delaware County) Pennsylvania United States of America

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Biographies:

Gwynn Harris Heap, diplomatist, was born in Chester, Pa., March 23, 1817; son of Samuel Davies and Margaret (Porter) Heap; and grandson of George Heap. His father was appointed consul at Tunis in 1825 and in 1839-40 the son served as vice-and acting-consul there. In 1846-55 he was employed as a government clerk. He was married in Washington, D.C., to Evelina Cora, daughter of Com. David and Evelina (Anderson) Porter. In 1855-57 he was sent by the war department to Turkey to purchase camels. On his return he was made a clerk in the navy department, and at the outbreak of the civil war he volunteered in the U.S. secret service. He was placed in charge of the pilots of Admiral Porter's squadron on the Mississipi river in 1863. In 1866 he was appointed U.S. consul at Belfast, Ireland; was consul at Tunis, 1867-78; and secretary of legation and consul-general at Constantinople, 1878-87. He compiled A Synoptical Index to the Statutes at Large (1849-50); and wrote Exploration of the Central Route to the Pacific (1853); and Itineracy of the Central Route to the Pacific (1854). He died in Constantinople, Turkey, March 6, 1887.

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

Charles Morris, editor and author, was born in Chester, Pa., Oct. 1, 1833; son of Samuel Pearson and Margaret (Burns) Morris; grandson of Jonathan and Rachel (Pearson) Morris and of Joseph and Hannah.(French) Burns, and a descendant probably of Welsh ancestors, who came to Philadelphia at the time of its early settlement. Charles Morris was educated in public and private schools, taught for a few years in Chester and Philadelphia, removing to the latter city in 1856, and was connected with a manufacturing industry there, 1860-78. He wrote much for periodicals during this period, and after 1878 devoted his time to literature. He compiled and edited Half Hours with the Best American Authors and several similar collections (18 vols., 1886-96); edited The New Science Review (1895); The Encyclop?dic Dictionary, American edition (1896); The Imperial Reference Library (1898); the 1900 edition of Lippincott's Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography, and was one of the editors of the American Supplement to the Encyclop?dia Britannica. He is the author of: A Manual of Classical Literature (1880); The Aryan Race (1887); Broken Fetters, a history of the temperance movement (1888); Civilization, an Historical Review of its Elements (1890); King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, being Malory's "Morte D'Arthur" modernized (1891); Tales from the Dramatists (4 vols., 1892); Historical Tales (9 vols., 1893-98); Our Nation's Navy (1898); The War with Spain (1898); Our Island Empire (1899); Famous Men and Great Eyelets of the Nineteenth Century (1899); Man and his Ancestry (1900); Handy Dictionary of Biography (1901), and other works including three graded school histories of the United States.

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