Prepared by Anne Broomall Wiegle

The mystery of who the Broomall girls married has plagued us. There is only a marriage record for the youngest daughter Jane. The other girls presumeably married Quakers and did so before consistant records were kept. The following information is circumstantial, yet there are so many independent tidbits that are consistant with my theory that I cannot dismiss it. Perhaps some day new evidence will come to light which will prove or disprove the following descendancy.

We have a record in Chester Monthly Meeting of Mary Broomall, the widow of John 1, requesting a certificate to Goshen MM. In the records of Chester MM, 28th da, 3rd mo (May) 1733: Mary Broomer granted a certificate to Goshen. [In the 18th century the Broomall and Broomhall surnames were frequently written as Broomer.] In the records of Goshen, we find that Mary is received on certificate from Chester on 12th da, 4th mo (June) 1733. Then on 15th da, 9th mo (Nov) 1738, Mary is granted a certificate back to Chester MM. Chester MM records show that on 26th da, 1st mo (March) 1739, Mary Broomer produced a certificate from Goshen. That is the last we hear anything of Mary. This move to Goshen is tied in with the insolvency of her son John 2. In his will, John 1 Broomall provided for his wife Mary to live at, and to have a share of its proceeds, plantation left to his son, as long as she lived. We have disproved the old family story that John 2 died in 1730 "from a fall from a load of hay." We find that in 1733, John 2 is in jail for debt, and petitions for insolvancy.

"To the Honourable Justices now Setting at Chester at Our Court of Common Pleas their to be held for the said county the 24th Day of February 1732/33.

"The Petition of John Broomall Humbly Sheweth that your Poor Petitioner now Lying in Gaol Under Execution at the Suit of Jonathan Mifflin as Well as had Arrests at the Suit of Evan Morgan & James Sill for Near two Months foe Which time I have undergone a Great Deal of hardships with my Imprisonment, not having wherewith, to Satisfie my Creditors they Being Between Twenty and Thirty [I] Am willing to surrender all my Effects up to them to pay as farr as they will Go; I pray your Honours to take it into Consideration how hard it is for me to be here Confined in Gaol upon Charges having a Wife and Six Small Children at home which hath not any thing to Subsist upon But by the Charity of their Neighbors for a Living. Preys the Honourable Court to Suffer me the Beneffit of the Actt of Insolvin + Debters that I May be Released from my Imprisonment and your Petitioner as in dutey Bound Shall Ever pray

John Broomall"

Now this petition does not mention Mary his mother, but presumeably she also was in hardship due to her son's imprisonment. We don't know when the farm was sold, but presumeably it had already been sold at the time of this petition.

June 9 & 10, 1731: According to the Sharpless Genealogy, John Broomall, wife Ann and Mary Broomall convey a house and 100 acres to David Regester. Presumably they continue to live on the other 25 acres of the original tract. This was expanded to 28 3/4 acres probably by a resurvey. This was by an unrecorded deed, and the information must have been taken from a subsequent deed for the same tract. The deed finally is recorded in Media in the 1840's. By the time of this petition in 1733, the other 28 3/4 acres must have been sold. This is the portion which is on Providence Road, and which contained the house. We don't know where Anne and the children went, but Mary went to Goshen MM.

Now, I asked myself, why would a widow go to a different area? The only answer I could come up with, was to live with a married daughter. We know she had four daughters, and it is too bad that John1 did not name them by their married names in his will. We know that Jane married out of Friends two days after her father's will was proved. This leaves Mary, Lydia and Ellen unaccounted for. So I searched the records of Goshen Monthly Meeting, and there was no mention of a marriage to any Broomall girl. They must have married before the records were kept, or the records did not survive. So then I searched among the members of Goshen MM for any man married to a Mary, Lydia or Ellen, who did not have a surname recorded. The Maries and Lydias were too numerous to pin down, but I did come up with a records of children being born to Lawrence Cox, and his wife Ellen. This is the only Ellen I could find in the records of any meeting at that time.

"Cox, Lawrence, and Ellen, and their children Mary, b.1726, 10, 9; and John b. 1729, 9, 3." While there are lots of Johns and Maries around, I do think the choice of names adds just a little bit to our pile of circumstantial evidence. More compelling are the dates. John is born just a few days after the death of John 1 Broomall. In May of 1733, Mary the mother plans to go to Goshen, probably to live with her daughter and family, and in June she actually arrives.

Then the Goshen records state, "Cox, Lawrence, and Sarah,and their child Jane, b. 1739, 11, 29." I found more clues from Chester MM records: "Lawrence Cox of Willlistown Twp. Chester Co., Yeoman, and Sarah Edge, dau. of John Edge, late of Upper Providence Twp, same county, dec'd, m. 5/2/1739. The Chester MM records further state that Sarah Edge was b. 19th da, 9th mo, 1719. Now sometime between the birth of Ellen's son John on 1729, 9, 3 and the marriage of Lawrence Cox to Sarah Edge, Ellen must have died. Presumeably Mary would have stayed on to care for her grandchildren, but with a new wife coming into the house, a wise woman would have moved aside. I am thinking that if the marriage took place 5th (July) mo 2nd day of 1739, that they declared their marriage intentions in May and June of that year. In 1st mo (March) of 1739 is when Mary returns to Chester MM. It all fits together too neatly to be coincidence. I further infer that Ellen must have died before May of 1738, since the Quakers insisted on a 1 year interval before remarriage.

What other evidence do we have to imply that Lawrence Cox was the husband of Ellen Broomall? In John 2's insolvancy petition, he names his creditors. Among them is Lawrence Cox. The number of creditors makes one believe he borrowed every bit of money he could, from everyone he knew. Many of them are neighbors of his in both Edgmont and Nether Providence Townships. If Ellen indeed did marry Lawrence Cox, she may have some descendants alive today. We will try to trace them, and perhaps some new evidence will arise. Also, the mystery of what became of John 2 Broomall, and Anne Lewis Broomall, his wife, and their other children remains a mysery.

1. ELLEN (ELIN) 2 BROOMALL (JOHN 1) was born Bet. 1700 - 1708 , and died Bet. 1733 - 1738. She married LAWRENCE COX Abt. 1725, son of PETER COX and ELISABETH _____. Cox was originally Cock or Kok, of Dutch origin. Lawrence was originally Lasse or Lars.
After ELLEN'S death, LAWRENCE married (2) SARAH EDGE, daughter of JOHN EDGE and SARAH SMEDLEY of Upper Providence Twp. The EDGE family were close neighbor's of ELLEN'S father JOHN 1 BROOMALL. LAWRENCE died about Dec. 1760 or Jan.1761.

Children of ELLEN BROOMALL and LAWRENCE COX are:
2. i. MARY COX, b. 10th mo (Dec) 29, 1726; d. Bef. 1801.
3. ii. JOHN COX, b. 9th mo (Nov.) 03, 1729; d. 27 da 6th mo (Aug.)1771 age 41.

2. MARY 3 COX (ELLEN 2 BROOMALL, JOHN 1) was born 10th mo (Dec.) 29, 1726, and died Bef. 1801. She married ISAAC HAINES October 05, 1744 in Chester MM & Goshen MM records, son of ISAAC HAINES and CATHERINE _____.

Children of MARY COX and ISAAC HAINES are:
i. ELEANOR HAINES, m. (1) JACOB BUTLER; m. (2) THOMAS FRAME.
ii. ELISHA HAINES.
4. iii. ISAAC HAINES.
5. iv. JACOB HAINES, b. August 17, 1754.
v. CALEB HAINES.
vi. JESSE HAINES, b. November 04, 1756.
vii. JOHN HAINES, b. May 08, 1766.
viii. JOSEPH HAINES, b. September 13, 1768.

3. JOHN 3 COX (ELLEN 2 BROOMALL, JOHN 1) was born 9th mo (Nov.) 03, 1729, and died 27 da 6th mo (Aug.) 1771, age 41. He married MARY FARR March 01, 1750/51 in Newtown.

Children of JOHN COX and MARY FARR are:
i. JANE COX, b. 3rd da 3rd mo 1752 Chester MM; m. (1) THOMAS EVANS, June 14, 1770, Chester MM; m. (2) CALEB CRESSON, February 07, 1795, Chester MM.
ii. ELLEN COX, b. 1753, (or Eleanor) 14th da 6th mo 1753 Chester MM; m. SLATER LOWNES, Bef. August 31, 1778, Reported to Chester MM for marrying out.
iii. JOHN COX, b. Abt. 1754; On August 28, 1775, Chester MM- reported for being concerned in military preperations.
iv. ISRAEL COX, b. 1756, 16th da 10th mo 1756 Chester MM. In 1779 he went to Uwchlan.
v. SARAH COX, b. 1758, 7th da 10th mo, Chester MM; m. CADWALADER EVANS. On January 25, 1779, Cadwalader & wife Sarah reported for marrying by a priest- Chester MM
vi. MARY COX, b. 1760, 1st da 12th mo 1760 Chester MM.. March 26, 1790, Mary req certif to Kingwood- Chester MM
vii. LAWRENCE COX, b. 1st da 9th mo 1762 Chester MM. On 7 8mo 1781 Chester MM: Mary Cox requested a certificate to Concord for son Lawrence Cox. On 26 4mo 1784 Chester MM: Lawrence Cox reported for removing from this area some time ago without requesting a certificate. 31 1mo 1785 Chester MM: Lawrence Cox has for some considerable time removed without a certificate and has taken great liberty in dress. [disowned]
viii. AMY COX, b. 1764, 2nd da 5th mo 1764 Chester MM.On January 27, 1783, requested a certif to Exeter from Chester MM

4. ISAAC 4 HAINES (MARY 3 COX, ELLEN 2 BROOMALL, JOHN 1). He married LYDIA DAVIS Abt. 1772.

Children of ISAAC HAINES and LYDIA DAVIS are:
i. DAVID HAINES, b. June 18, 1773.
ii. EZRA HAINES, b. February 12, 1774.
iii. MARY HAINES, b. February 22, 1776.
iv. ISAAC HAINES, b. November 12, 1779.
v. LYDIA HAINES, b. 1784.
vi. GEORGE HAINES, b. July 10, 1788.
vii. WILLIAM D. HAINES, b. April 18, 1790.

5. JACOB 4 HAINES (MARY 3 COX, ELLEN 2 BROOMALL, JOHN 1) was born August 17, 1754. He married his 2nd cousin LYDIA THOMSON May 14, 1801 in Birmingham Mtg, daughter of DANIEL THOMSON and ANN BAKER. DANIEL was the son of AARON THOMSON and JANE BROOMALL, daughter of JOHN 1 BROOMALL. They had one child.