Edward Bezer (1641 - 1688)

Born 1 Jan 1641 in Rowde, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Ann Fry — married 28 Aug 1664 in Bishops Canning, Rowde, Wiltshire, England

Descendants

Died 1688 at about age 47 in Chichester, Chester, Pennsylvania,

Problems/Questions Profile manager: X Gorby [send private message]

Biography

Edward Bezer was a part of William Penn's Pennsylvania Settlers community.

Edward was a Friend (Quaker)

Edward Bezer was born in Wiltshire, England. He and his two brothers, John and William Bezer, all immigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 1680's. William Penn chose the eldest, John Bezer, as one of his Commissioner's. ^[1] Edward Bezer (c1650-1688) was perhaps the earliest settler of Bethel, Pennsylvania. He was born in Wiltshire, England, and came to America with his brothers, John and William, who purchased tracts in adjacent Chichester and Concord.

Edward purchased 500 acres at the Chelsea end of the township, and his tract may have determined the odd boundaries of the township.

On the 27th of the 12th month 1683 (i.e., 8 Mar 1684 by the modern calendar) Edward Bezer served on the petit jury in the case of Margaret Matson who was charged with being a witch. William Penn presided at the trial. The jury decided she had the "fame of a witch but not guilty of having the manner and form of a witch as she stands indicted." ^[2].

He was a leader in the Society of Friends, and the first recorded meeting of the group was held at his log home in 1686. The record of that meeting tells us that Meetings of Friends were already being held at "Edward Bezer's in Bethel"and at "Robert Pile's in Bethel".

That same year, he was appointed Constable for "Bethel Liberty".

In March of 1690, he was bondsman for a young neighbor boy named George Chandler, who at nineteen years old was to spend two years and five months apprenticed to Edward. George wound up marrying Edward's daughter Ruth. ^[3]

The family has long since disappeared from Bethel record, but the "Bezer's Run" is found in maps to this day.^[4] Edward Bezer, who took up 500 acres in the extreme northeast corners of Bethel in a Lease and Release Agreement, must have built a home in the Chelsea area, near or on what is now the Chelsea Tank Farm, the boundaries of his tract apparently determined the boundaries of Bethel with her neighbors of Concord, Aston, and Chichester.

Sources

1. ↑ "John Bezer a Commissioner of William Penn," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine (Philadelphia Pa., 1982), vol. 32, No. 4
2. ↑ Minutes of the Provincial Council Vol. 1 1683-1700, p. 190
3. ↑ Futhey, J. Smith, and Cope, Gilbert. History of Chichester County. Philadelphia, PA: Louis H. Everts. 1881. p. 171. Last accessed 14 October 2018 at https://archive.org/details/cu31924005813518/page/n233.
4. ↑ Bethel Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania through Three Centuries)...written by George Walter Goodley, published 1987.

• A Record of the Descendants of George and Jane Chandler Who Emigrated to Pennsylvania from Wiltshire, England In 1687. Published by Chandler Family Reunion, 1937. at http://tinyurl.com/lnxg6uf
• Genealogy.com Discussion Forum http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/r/o/z/Janis-C-Rozich/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0070.html