Throwback Thursday: The Cyclopedia of Chester County
Compiled in 1893 by Samuel T. Wiley and Winfield Scott Garner
This week’s Throwback Thursday features another hefty, aged leather-bound book discovered in the Moore Archives library: the Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Do you mean ‘Encyclopedia’?
It’s worth noting that this is a cyclopedia, not an encyclopedia. During the nineteenth century, encyclopedias almost always aimed for the universal: a sweeping summary of all knowledge known to the author.
Cyclopedias, by contrast, are much more narrowed in their scope.
They were often regional or topical, designed to highlight a specific community or subject.
It was quite common for local cyclopedias, such as this one, to feature biographies written by members of the community or even by members of a specific family.
In other words, much of what is featured in this book is how the inhabitants of Chester County at the time would have liked to have been remembered- so we must take their accounts with a grain of salt.
This book is a hybrid: part county history, part genealogical register, part intellectual census.
Its thick leather cover declares itself a “Cyclopedia of Biographies”, and inside it lives up to the promise.
Rows upon rows of names, biographies and genealogies on prominent families, geographical information, the presence of what churches were where, history on Acadian exiles, statistics on population, mentions of productivity and agriculture, even indexes of who published books and in what field are recorded within.
It is, in other words, both comprehensive and selective: a time capsule of who was considered worth recording in Chester County at the end of the nineteenth century.
Chester Springs
Of particular interest to us, Yellow Springs (then called Chester Springs) appears on the record.
Yellow Springs is recorded to have been a tavern in 1722- and while the history of the land before that remains somewhat murky in this record, from that point onwards the ownership of the spa and property are noted.
The role of the village inn the county is also touched on, such as the medicinal uses of the water and the presence of the spa.
The ‘house of entertainment’, silversmith John Bailey, Thomas Ruston Kennedy, the Soldiers’ Orphan School, and Mr. James Bones’s failed vision of the ‘Town of Bath’ all make an appearance in the record.
Isaac Holman and the Holman Line
Among the many biographies included in the cyclopedia is one of Mr. Isaac Holman, born in West Vincent Township on April 16, 1829.
Described as a “prosperous farmer and builder,” Holman was active in local politics and education, raising a family while maintaining a productive dairy farm.
He farmed near Chester Springs for thirty-five years before moving to a larger property in 1870, where he is credited with one hundred and ten acres of improved land.
The biography takes care to note his Jeffersonian politics, his thrift in public expenditures, and his keen interest in education.
Those familiar with the history of Yellow Springs would definitely recognize his surname as well.
One of the most notable owners of the resort was Mrs. Holman, a woman who originally kept the inn and then bought out Bones to maintain the spa.
Notably, Mr. Bones is mentioned much more prominently in the recording in this book than Mrs. Moore was, despite their well-known status as contemporary competing businesses.
Mrs. Holman was known to have been a widow, and it is known that she had several children.
Though if this Isaac Holman is a descendant of Mrs. Holman has yet to be confirmed, it is of note that he is the only person with this spelling of that surname mentioned in the Cyclopedia.
Regardless, his presence here is intriguing.
The cyclopedia anchors him firmly to the landscape we know: Yellow Springs; and he was influential enough in his day to warrant an entry- which was not a guaranteed event.
His farming, politics, and community leadership seemingly left a great impact on those around him.
Recorded Statistics
The cyclopedia contains several records and statistics.
Though this is a brief excerpt of the statistics that were recorded in the book, it is notable that the people recording took time to account for labor, places of origin, and population size in the county.
Above is a list of authors from the county, who are recorded alongside all other production that happened here.
Interestingly, creative and intellectual endeavors are given the same kind of treatment as the reports on agriculture and industry.
A Census of Authors
One of the most fascinating sections of the Cyclopedia is the list of authors from Chester County, spanning ministers, doctors, lawyers, poets, and women, whose inclusion here is especially notable for 1893.
That being said, to those familiar with 19th century gothic authors, one name in particular likely stands out: George Lippard.
Lippard was definitely a celebrity in his day- famous for his eccentric wardrobe choices and the rather lurid, provocative scenes he included in his sensational gothic novels.
He was also very politically active, and often wrote novels that directly highlighted the hypocrisy, social strife, corruption, and injustices that he witnessed around him.
During his day, he was incredibly famous- the bestselling author in the United States, a friend of Edgar Allan Poe, the founder of a secret society, and author of what is widely considered the first muckraking novel: The Quaker City.
A Legacy
However, Lippard died tragically young at thirty-two in Philadelphia, so by the time that this cyclopedia was published, Lippard would have been passed. Tragically, his wife and their infant daughter also proceeded him in death.
In the modern day, Lippard’s legacy and influence on literature in America is often overlooked.
His influence, however, seems to have lingered for a long time in the minds of those in Chester County.
Even almost half a century after his passing, he is still listed as among the most prolific of published authors recorded in the cyclopedia.
Believed to have spent a good portion of his childhood in and around Yellow Springs, Lippard likely absorbed the cultural atmosphere of the area.
Interestingly, a number of his novels touch on Quakers, and he seems to have had an interest in esoteric German pietist traditions, and the Revolutionary War features prominently in much of his writing.
Notably, these influences overlap very strongly in Yellow Springs area as well, especially during this time period.
This connection is currently highly speculative, but it’s very intriguing to see a line drawn between Yellow Springs, Chester County, and American literature at large.
Why This Book Matters
The Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chester County does more than catalog names. It frames memory. It shows who was counted as important in 1893, from spa owners to tavern keepers, from farmers to writers.
We can define this volume not just as a record, but as a mirror of its time. It makes Yellow Springs visible in the county’s story, and more importantly, it tells us what these people thought of themselves.
It tells us what mattered to them, what they wanted to record so that it could be seen in the future.
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