The manuscript reprinted here was distributed by Mr. Hall as an introduction to a pedigree chart of the Test family. That chart is not included here because (a) it gives no additional information than can be found in the Database section of this website and (b) no documentation is provided for any of the information.
Genevieve Test Peterson in her manuscript on The Test Family, written in 1951, refers to Nathan Hall of 81 Price Avenue, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania and his "notes". These notes have photocopied many times and widely distributed among family members.
Mrs. Peterson indicates that the "principal source of [Hall's] information has been ... Hinshaw's Encyclopedia of Friends Monthly Meetings", i.e., Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy but it is also clear that he gathered additional and more current data through correspondence with living members of the family and by reading the Record of the Court at Upland.
The 1900 Census for Linn Co., Iowa shows that Mr. Hall was a next door neighbor to Zacheus Test and his 2nd wife May Young Test. Nathan Hall married Elizabeth Drusilla Test the daughter of Zacheus Test and his first wife Drusilla Langstaff.
[Robert W. Test]
In the record of marriages in the Episcopal Church of London in the year 1673 we find this item: "John Test of London, a bachelor, age about twenty-two and Elizabeth Sanders, a spinster, age about twenty-two of Saint Martin's in the Field, consent of her father of Kensington being given."
According to the minutes of Westminster Monthly Meeting there were several Tests and Sanders members of that meeting and in their record of burials in the year 1674, is the item: "Elizabeth twin daughters of John and Elizabeth Test, age three weeks, buried in Friend's burying ground at Longacre."
John was a merchant in London and when they came to America, he opened a store in Upland (now Chester).
John and Elizabeth had a son born in 1677 whom they also named John. I do not find any record of him as a member of the Friends, although when his mother Elizabeth died in 1689, she was buried in the Friend's burying ground in Philadelphia, as a member of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting.
John was quite a land speculator as he bought one thousand acres in West Jersey near Salem before he came to this country. There are also records to show that he bought and sold several tracts in the vicinity of Upland and New Castle. He also bought some lots at or near the corner of Third and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia and built a brick house there.
John served one term as Sheriff of Upland and when William Penn came over in 1682 and made a redivision of his territory, he was appointed the first Sheriff of Philadelphia. He only served as Sheriff one year and sold his Philadelphia properties and moved back to Upland and bought an Inn which he kept for a while and then opened a store in New Castle and lived on his six hundred acre estate call "Hopewell".
About 1691 or about two years after Elizabeth's death, John married Grace (Wooley) Lippincott, and they had eight children as shown on the following page. [This is a reference to a genealogy chart that is not included here--ed.] The two that died early were buried in the Friend's ground in Philadelphia and were marked "not members". It is difficult to find anything about their family life but we do find that John died in 1706, presumably when they were living their Hopewell Home, although some records indicate that they might have lived some time in Salem, New Jersey.
John conducted stores both in Upland and New Castle and we find several instances in the court records where he was trying to collect bills of rather small amounts and occasionally, it was the other way.
John Test's will, dated 7-21-1706 mentions wife, Grace, son John, and other children. Evidently he passed away very soon after, but the will was not recorded until 1-30-1709 in Trenton, N.J. Letters granted to John Bacon who married the widow, as trustee.
From records of New Castle, Delaware: "4-6-1708 Grace Test of New Castle was married to John Bacon in her home by R. DeHas (justice) John Bacon was from West Jersey, Witnesses, Wm. Wade, Elizabeth Test and seven others".
Evidently they settled in Salem, N.J. and Grace and her children joined the Friend's Meeting there as John [Bacon] was already a member.
John Bacon died and under date of 6-25-1718# we find in Salem Monthly Meeting minutes "Grace Bacon and Richard Woodnut published their intentions of marriage. The committee of inquiry was asked that care be taken concerning the child that Grace had by John Bacon." so it seems Grace was married four times.
#Care must be taken with this date. Prior to 1752 the Julian Calendar was in use in which the sixth month was August rather than June.
Thanks to Howard R. Test II who scanned this document and provided a text version of it for publication here.