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Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 11 |
Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society |
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Source: October 1960 Volume 11 Number 2, Pages 24–30 William C. Latch On January 17th, 1876, the village of Berwyn was blanketed with snow. The sound of sleigh bells could be heard as the local folk came to the village for supplies or went to visit a neighbor. About a mile to the north of the village, in the fertile reaches of the Great Valley, lay a beautiful big farm. The farmhouse had been enlarged twice since the original had been built. The large barn on the west side of the house held a fine herd of cattle, some farm horses and carriage horses. The cats were in the barn where it was warm, waiting for their morning milk, and the dogs were frisking around in the new-fallen snow. In the house, another son had just been born to Emma V. and Abraham S. Latch. They named him William Clavius Latch. Just a hundred years before, General Howe had used this same farmhouse as his headquarters. For some twenty-five years, this was Clav's home. From here he walked some three miles to the Fairview School every morning after helping with the farm chores, and walked home in the evening to help again with the work at the barn or in the fields. Then there was also homework to do in the evening the "copy books" had to be done neatly and accurately, the "Figures" had to be ciphered with care and the history studied diligently, as in those days the teachers were much more strict than they are today. So, by evening, Clav was ready to tumble into bed and fall into a deep sleep. On Sundays the whole family would go in the carriage to the Great Valley Baptist Church for Sunday School and Church. The pastor would preach for an hour or more and even the tiniest tot had to sit still and listen. Probably not too much theology was assimilated by the children from these long sermons, but they did learn patience and obedience. Grandfather Latch was apparently fond of cats. My father used to tell several cat stories. One was that they had a cat that could open doors. The houses in those days had thumb-latches instead of door knobs and the cat would stand up on her hind feet and push down on the thumb-latch with her front paw. The other story Father told was that one moonlit summer night his father was showing a neighbor the fine field of corn that he had. He felt a "cat" rubbing against the side of his leg as they stood talking. Without looking he stooped down and picked the "cat" up and held it in his arms and petted it. After a few moments, he looked to see which "cat" he had. It was a nice young black-and-white polecat. He gently lowered it to the ground and the "cat" trotted off about its business. In spite of all he had to do, Grandfather Latch served the community well for many years as Assessor and Tax Collector. He also took the school census. I am still in possession of some of his old record books and they contain a great deal of very interesting information and maps of the township. In his summary for 1904 we find the following information: Dogs - 348, Horses - 662, Cows - 640, Residents - 773, Non-residents - 240. He also listed each person who died and the cause of their death. The most common cause listed was pneumonia, but there were also heart disease, old age, blood poison, and fits. Grandfather Latch was the son of Francis Higgins Latch who was the son of Jacob and Jane Rose Latch. Jacob Latch was born October 31, 1758, and died at the age of 87 on June 29th, 1845.
Headquarters of Sir William Howe, later home of W.C. Latch, from photo taken in 1899 "Jacob Latch volunteered to cut, and did cut under fire, the rope across the Schuylkill River at Middle Ferry, now Market Street, by which the boat was operated that brought supplies into Philadelphia for the British Army. Later he became a messenger, or what was known as "Washington's runner". In 1807, he was commissioned Captain 5th Company, 36th Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia."* The sword he used in the war used to be at Valley Forge Museum and the one that was presented to him by Montgomery County for his services to Washington is still in my possession. I also have a fine painting of him and his wife. Tracing still further back, we find that his ancestors came to America from England in 1699 with William Penn. Commodore Edward Biddle Latch, grandson of Jacob Latch, also served his country long and well in the United States Navy. For several years he served as Chief Engineer on the "Hartford" which was the flagship of the West Gulf Squadron. He was also an instructor in the engineering department at Annapolis 1869 - 1870. In 1870, he was promoted to Chief Engineer and his commission bore the signature of President U. S. Grant. In 1878 he asked for and was granted permission to retire from the Navy in order to work on his "Review of the Holy Bible" which was published in 1884. "The Mosaic System of Chronology was originated and developed from these writings, and afterward, through many years, was used to elucidate the Scriptures and ancient relics of many kinds in their relation to and bearing on universal history. The first great application of the Mosaic system was to unfold the mystery surrounding the Great Pyramid of Egypt....This solution proved to be harmonious, and brought out many facts that had heretofore not been touched on by the many writers on Egypt's great monument.** Another article of interest in my home is a painting done on glass by Stephen A. Decatur. The history of it as written by my father is as follows; "This picture was drawn and painted by Stephen A. Decature (sic) about 1798, at Roxborough, at Great Grandfather Levering's cabinet maker's shop. He and his brother Jim would come from Philadelphia to spend their vacations. The frame was made at the same time and place. Stephen Decatur became a Commodore in the United States Navy and distinguished himself in the war with Tripoli. He was killed in a duel by Commodore Baron in 1820. * From a biographical sketch of Jacob Latch. ** "Historical sketch of the life of Edward Biddle Latch," by William D. Ashworth, 1911. This picture was given to Abraham Sterne Latch in 1870 and has defended (sic) in the following way: Anna Leveling Stearne to Abraham Levering Stearne to Abraham Stearne Latch to William C. Latch to Josephine S. Latch." When I first Registered to vote, I wanted to register as belonging to a certain political party but the Registrar, a kindly neighbor, looked up at me and said, "But Josephine, you are a Republican because your father, your grandfather and all the rest of your family have always been Republicans." So he registered me Republican! My father served the Republican Party and the Community well for twenty-one and a half years as a member of the Tredyffrin School Board. For twelve and a half years he was Vice President of the Tredyffrin Board and President of the Tredyffrin-Easttown Joint Board.
He took his work on these boards very seriously and was always available to any member of the faculty or community for consultation, When father resigned from the School Board because of ill health, he was presented with the following Resolution: "Whereas, Mr. William C. Latch resigned from the Board of Education of Tredyffrin Township on June 11, 1953, and Whereas, his service on these Boards has been marked by a deep interest in the education of boys and girls, a high sense of loyalty to the township, and co-operation with his fellow board members, Therefore, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED, that the members of the Board of Education of Tredyffrin Township, individually and collectively, herewith express their esteem for their retired member, William C. Latch, for his 21 1/2 years of service to the boys and girls of Tredyffrin Township as a member of the Board of Education. And, in order that this type of public service, so often taken for granted, be not lightly passed by, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this expression of sentiment be spread upon the minutes as a permanent record for this Board and future Boards and that a copy be presented to Mr. Latch at an appropriate occasion so that he may know of our esteem for him and for his service." Father liked "shoo-fly pie" and so did Mr. Hobson Wagner, the Superintendent of Schools and a good friend to my father. Many times in the evening our telephone would ring and it would be Mr. Wagner wanting to come down to talk with father. Frequently this would happen when I had just baked a "shoo-fly pie," but I never did learn how Mr. Wagner would know of the fresh pie! When Mr. Wagner died, Father felt his loss very keenly as they had worked so closely for so many years. At that time, the township was starting its fantastic growth and the schools faced many difficult problems which these two men had to encounter. The last official act that Father performed as a member of the Board of Education was when he assisted at the laying of the cornerstone for the new joint high school. Not only did Father cope with the problems of the present, but also of the future. Father's supreme devotion was to his Church. It was while he was a member of the First Baptist Church that he met and married my mother, Mary Isabel Sellers, in 1915. Her brother, the Reverend Escol S. Sellers, was then pastor of the First Baptist Church. It was in that little church that Father was ordained a Deacon and remained one for the rest of his life. Later, when he and mother were married, they went to the Great Valley Baptist Church, as the Chapel was just around the corner from their new home. For the rest of his life he was a member of that church and served it faithfully as Deacon, Sunday School Teacher, and Sunday School Superintendent. Perhaps the hardest thing that he had to watch in his later years was the "modernization" of the old church and the changing emphasis from a place of worship to a community center. One of his favorite pastors was the Reverend L. T. Gibson who was a very devout Christian. He and my father spent many happy hours together discussing church problems and religion. Both men were exceptionally fine students of the Bible, and both men, to the best of their ability, lived by its teachings. My father had two big trips which he never forgot. The one was a trip to Brownsville, Texas, to visit his brother and his family. From the stirring tales he told of that trip, I am sure that he fully enjoyed it. Then, in the summer of 1939, he and I went to Europe. He seemed to enjoy every minute of that trip, not missing anything of historical interest. I was always so sorry that, due to the imminent outbreak of war we didn't have the opportunity to go out to see the Catacombs, as I knew he would have liked to see the places where the early Christians hid and worshipped. He did get to see Rome, though, and some of the early churches there. From there, we had to dash up to northern France and then by coal truck across the border into Belgium where we finally caught up with our ship for America. By then war had been declared and things were a bit difficult. For a number of years, Father was also an active member of the Paoli-Berwyn-Malvern Lions' Club and greatly enjoyed its fellowship and activities. One night he also spoke to the Downingtown Lions' Club on local history. They seemed to enjoy his talk. Father always had a keen interest in history and a very wide knowledge of things historical, from early Biblical history to early American history. He was an early member of the Tredyffrin-Easttown History Club and remained active in it until he became ill and was unable to attend its meetings. He knew a great deal about the Revolutionary War and events at Valley Forge as well as interesting folklore of those times. One time when he was a lad he had the measles. It must have been in the springtime, as he walked over to Valley Forge and lay down on one of the embankments. As he was lying there, he noticed a young dogwood tree growing out of the embankment beside him. He cut it off and made a cane from it as he felt dizzy and needed it to help him make it home again! That cane is still here in our cane holder. On May 21st, 1955, in his 79th year, Father slipped quietly out of this life into the next. He had had a long and busy life. In every sense of the word he had lived a good life both as a member of the community and as a husband and father. He was a deeply religious man and the teachings of the Bible were his creed. Although he could neither sing nor play any instrument, he loved good music. When I think of his life, I cannot help but recall David's great Psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want, He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." |
