William Groom was a Quaker, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Groom. He grew up in Byberry, Philadelphia County, with his two sisters Elizabeth and Mary. Around 1716 William married a woman named Margaret. Her last name is unknown, but she was probably not a Friend, since in 1716 Abington Meeting drew up a paper of condemnation against him.1

Around 1718, William settled in Southampton, Bucks County, where he erected a grist mill on 112 acres of land.2  It had been sold to him by Joseph Jones, in two parcels, a tract of 50 acres in 1718 and another 62 acres two years later.3 The land lay on the line of Bensalem Township.

William died in 1732,  leaving a widow and several children. Letters of administration were issued to Margaret Groom, Thomas Groom (William’s father), and Thomas Walton. The inventory of William’s estate was taken by Benjamin Scott and William Walton; it included eight acres of wheat, farm implements, livestock, clothing and other personal items. He owned a lot of tools: a whip saw, hand saw, carpenter’s tools, cooper’s tools, axes, adze and chisel, hammer and auger, mill picks, a heading knife, and scythes. He must have been a handy and versatile miller and farmer. He had the assistance of a Negro man, who died soon after William himself.4 In addition to running the mill, William also farmed. He owned several horses, eight cows, thirteen swine and ten sheep. There were seventy bushels of wheat and fourteen well worn mill bags, probably stored in the mill. The appraisers rated his estate at £162.19.2.5

The tax list for Southampton in 1742 shows the ‘widow Grooms’. This must be Margaret, since Thomas’ wife Elizabeth was dead by then. Margaret did not file her account of the estate until March 1757.6 By waiting so long to settle the account, Margaret controlled all of the funds, even as four of her surviving children grew to adulthood and married. There is a stereotype of a grasping miller who cheats his customers; Margaret seems to have been the grasping wife of the miller.7 In her account she followed the usual form, taking the appraised value of the estate and subtracting her expenses and charges to show the total available for the heirs. The more expenses she subtracted the less there would be for her children: Phebe, Thomas and William. In her account she charged for maintaining and schooling the children. The yearly profit of renting the mill and farm for 15 years was £270. During that time she finished the house and repaired the mill and dam race for a cost of £41. When the Orphans’ Court audited her account they disallowed some of the expenses for maintaining the children as well as the value of the Negro man’s service; the court ruled that his life was at her risk and would not allow it. The four children’s share of the estate was £165. She said she had already paid them £105, leaving £60 to be distributed to them.8 The court ruled that this was too little.

In 1760 her son William died, leaving a widow Rachel and four children. Rachel needed money to maintain the children and pay William’s debts. This raised an issue of dividing the mill and land among the heirs. Up until then it was owned jointly by Thomas and William, the two sons.9 The court found that the land could not be divided, and Thomas offered to buy the shares of Rachel’s children so that he could own the mill and land outright. The court valued the property at £800, out of which a yearly payment had to be made for Margaret’s dower, as long as she lived.10

Margaret died in 1773 or 1774.11 Three of her children had died ‘in their minority’—Hester, Phebe and Sarah.12 The other four were alive in 1757. The children were not Quakers and none married in a meeting. In fact Ann’s husband was descended from two Dutch families that moved down to Bucks County from Long Island.

Children of William and Margaret:

Ann, b. ab. 1718, m. 1739 Garret Vansant at Christ Church in Philadelphia13. He was the son of Jacob Vansant and Rebecca Vandegrift. A Garret Vansant, blacksmith, died in October 1779 in Southampton, Bucks County.14 It was probably the same man.15 Children: possibly Jacob and Phebe, probably others.

Thomas, b. ab. 1720, m. 1750 Lydia Goforth, daughter of John and Lydia of Red Lion Hundred, New Castle County, Delaware. They took out the marriage bond on May 1750.16 Thomas initially owned part of a saw mill and grist mill with his brother William, but after William died Thomas bought out the interest of William’s five children in the mill property and settled there in Southampton. Thomas was still alive in 1791 when his son Thomas leased a house to him after Thomas lost the mill property in a sheriff’s sale. Children: Thomas, John, William.

Mary, living in 1761, m. (?) – Halloway.17 No further information.

William, b. ab. 1725, d. 1760, m. about 1748 Rachel Walton, daughter of Joseph and Esther. After William died Rachel married Edmund Briggs, in 1761. At his death William owned part of the saw mill and grist mill with his brother Thomas. There was much litigation over the settlement of his estate and possible mismanagement by Rachel and Edmund.18 Children of William and Rachel: William (died 1773), Esther (died 1773), Thomas (married Hannah Atkinson), Mary (married Joseph Siddell), Mahlon (died without issue).19

Hester, d. young

Phebe, d. young

Sarah, d. young