RALSTON Family History; Philadelphia & Chester Counties, Pennsylvania Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Vince Summers ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** Old Philadelphia Families By Frank Willing Leach The North American [Newspaper], Philadelphia, Sunday, July 7, 1912 THE lure of the cities was as strong a century and more ago as it is at the present time. The trend toward urban life, on the part of the suburbanite, is no modern custom. Thus, as in many similar instances, the Ralstons originally came to Philadelphia from Chester County. This was early in the Revolutionary period. The first of the name to settle in the county in question was John Ralston, who, it is said, was a native of the north of Ireland, and had, when a young man, according to tradition, been a participant in the battle of the Boyne, July 12, 1690. Originally the family was of Scottish origin. It was in the year of 1728, in the month of August, to be more precise, that Ralston established himself in Pikeland (afterwards West Pikeland) township, Chester County, according to local chroniclers. As a matter of fact, however, in the list of taxables in Chester County we find the name of John Ralston as then, 1730, of East Caln township, his tax being £1. The record is the same for 1732, but, in 1737, we find him taxed in Vincent township. In the tax-list for 1739 and 1740 is found the name of John Ralston as paying taxes in both Vincent and Concord townships. His name appears for the last time in the tax list of Vincent township for 1749, and it is to be presumed that his death occurred shortly after that. The name of his wife is unknown to us, nor is it clear how many children he had. It is altogether safe to conclude that he had a number of sons, and possibly one or more daughters. He was certainly the father of Robert and John Ralston, and very likely of William Ralston, the latter the father of Robert Ralston, the eminent Philadelphia merchant, founder of the family in the Quaker City. John Ralston was probably the eldest son of John Ralston, the emigrant ancestor, and accompanied his father to America when a youth. We first encounter his name in the Chester taxables in 1749, when John Ralston, "single freeman," paid a tax of £9. He was then living in Vincent township, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred between July 29, 1771, and August 26, 1771, respectively the dates of execution and probate of his will. In this instrument he mentions his brother, Robert Ralston; the latter's wife, Elizabeth, to whom the sum of £30 is bequeathed; his sister, Margaret Fitzsimmons, and two nephews, John and James Ralston, sons of his brother Robert. The latter is appointed one of the executors and Aaron Watkin is named as another. Watkin had probably [yes!- VES] married a sister of Ralston. Certain it is he was a brother-in-law of Robert Ralston, as in his will, dated August 24, 1769, and proved October 1, 1774, Watkin so designated him, and named him as executor, John Ralston being one of the subscribing witnesses. Robert Ralston, the other son of John Ralston, the emigrant ancestor, was born in the north of Ireland, October 2, 1722, and was a mere lad when he accompanied his father to America. His name as a Chester county freeholder appears for the first time in the list of taxables of Vincent township in 1750, which is about the time of his father's death. His tax was £4.6. He seems to have been a prosperous farmer and to have acquired quite a fortune. He was, moreover, a leading man in his section of Pennsylvania, one to whom his neighbors frequently went for advice, in such matters as developed from time to time in the colonial period. He was evidently a man of affairs, and possessed of business acumen unusual at that time. An evidence of his standing in the community is gained from an examination of the books of the Register of Wills of Chester County, which show his selection as Executor, etc., in quite a number of instances. He was a witness to the will of John Evan, alias Jenkin, July 16, 1760; one of the guardians and assistants in the will of Roger Martin, June 1, 1770; was executor of Aaron Watkin's will, August 24, 1769; of the will of William Morgan, January 24, 1775; of the will of William Evans, in 1783; of that of Love Hancock, in 1784; was named as guardian in the will of Lettice Evans, in 1786, etc., etc. In those days, when lawyers were practically unknown, the duties of scrivener and general adviser for the neighborhood generally fell upon some popular layman possessing unusual common sense, and a readiness in the use of the pen. This role fell largely to the lot of Robert Ralston, and after him, to his son, John Ralston. AIDED THE COLONISTS During the Revolution, Ralston's sympathies and energies were given to the popular cause. His position is evidence in the Pennsylvania Archives and other publications. One instance is illustrative: On August 13, 1776, he was named by the Chester County Committee as a member of a Committee "to provide for the distressed families of Associators when they are in actual service." He was also appointed a Justice of the Peace, but refused to accept the post, as we learn from a letter of May 28, 1779, written by Caleb Davis, to Timothy Matlack, Secretary of the Supreme Executive Council in Philadelphia. A further evidence of Robert Ralston's prominence is shown in his selection, in 1784, as a member of the Assembly. Altogether he served four terms, having been re-elected in 1785, 1786 and 1787. His death occurred February 19, 1814, he being then aged ninety-one years, four months and five days. His wife, Elizabeth, had predeceased him, dying in December, 1797, aged seventy-five years, two months and nine days. Both were buried in the burial-ground of St. Peter's Church, Great Valley, East Whiteland, Chester County. Robert and Elizabeth Ralston were the parents of John Ralston, who was born November 4, 1744. Like his father, he was a leader among his neighbors, and was consulted by them frequently in the adjustment of their business affairs, particularly in the disposal of their estates. An early mention of him in this connection is as a witness to the will of his uncle, Aaron Watkin, August 24, 1769. We find him, later, executor of the wills of Paul Bernard, in 1778; of John Young, in 1781; of Morris Evans, in 1783; of Love Hancock, in 1784; of Lettice Evans, in 1786; of Sarah Thomas, 1795, etc. The above citations demonstrate Ralston's capacity for business affairs, and also show the confidence entertained by his neighbors concerning his integrity in the handling of financial matters. Concerning his activity in this direction a local historian has written: "All the law transactions of his neighborhood passed in a manner through his hands." He was commissioned a Justice of the Peace October 1, 1784, and was re-commissioned August 26, 1791, under the new law conferring the power of appointment upon the Governor. He held this post until his selection, April 7, 1802, by Governor McKean, as an Associate Judge of the Chester County Court. Judge Ralston continued to occupy his seat on the bench until his death, September 1, 1825. At that time he had discharged the functions of the judicial office for a period of forty-one years, sitting, for the last twenty-three years of that period, as an Associate Judge. During the Revolution Judge Ralston had been an active participant in the struggle for independence. In 1776, when the Associators were organized in the various counties of Pennsylvania, John Ralston was commissioned one of the eight captains of the Second Battalion, commanded by Colonel Thomas Hockley. In the following year, May 17, 1777, he was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of the Fourth Battalion, of which William Evans was Colonel. This post, he held throughout the war. Futhey and Cope's History of Chester County has this to say of John Ralston: When Gen. Washington was about removing his headquarters from the Yellow Springs to Reading, he sent for Capt. Ralston, who was then at home on a furlough, putting in his crops, and engaged him to pilot him part of the way. This Capt. Ralston did, escorting him as far as the falls of French Creek, when another guide was pressed into the service, and he returned home. On one occasion his dwelling was burned by English Scouts, and he thrice secreted himself in a barn to prevent being arrested by the enemy. John Ralston was married -October 31, 1775, was the date of the license-to Catharine Miller, daughter of John Adam Miller, of Chester County. Her death occurred March 25, 1816, aged sixty-five years and thirteen days, she having been born March 12, 1751. Both she and her husband were buried at St. Peter's, in Chester Valley. They had five sons, Robert, William, John, James and George, and two daughters, one of whom, Catharine, became the wife of Samson Davis, while the other, Mary, married, first, John Bingham, and secondly, Henry Rimby. All the sons of Judge Ralston were prominent men, but never having been identified with Philadelphia, this line will not be carried down further. It may be stated, however, that one of the sons, Robert Ralston, was commissioned, a Captain, May 5, 1813, in the ninety-seventh Regiment, emergency men, during the War of 1812-1814, while his brother, James Ralston, is suggested, by Futhey and Cope's History, to have been the first resident of Chester County who offered his services during the early stages of that war. Located not far from Philadelphia, in the 18th century, was ??? another well-known Ralston family, but how intimately related to the Chester County and Philadelphia Ralstons is not known. James Ralston* born in 1699, married Mary McCummuck in Ireland, and came to America in 1736. They had five children, Mary, John, Samuel, Jean and Lettice. John Ralston, the elder of the two sons, was an active figure in Revolutionary history, he having been a delegate from Northampton County to the Convention of 1776, presided over by Benjamin Franklin. He married Christianna King, who died December 2, 1826, in the 82nd year of her age, and, was buried at Brandywine Manor Presbyterian Church, Chester County. They had a number of children, Robert, James, Samuel and John; the last-named a student in Theology, who died October 5, 1804. James Ralston married Frances Grier, and John Ralston, West Chester, and Mrs. Edwin P. Baugh, nee Ralston, "Rylstone," Overbrook, are grandchildren of theirs. Samuel Ralston, another son of John and Christianna (nee King) Ralston, married Nancy Hay Grier. These were the parents of the Reverend James Grier Ralston, D.D., LL. D., an eminent Presbyterian Clergyman, who was born in Nantmeal township, Chester County, December 28, 1815. The latter graduated from Washington College in 1838, and from the Princeton Theological Seminary in 1841. In 1845 he established the Oakland Female Institute, Norristown, which became one of the most celebrated of the lesser institutions of learning in America. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Lafayette College in 1865, and that of D. D. by Washington and Jefferson College in 1868. Dr. Ralston died November 10, 1880. As set forth at the beginning of this article, it is not entirely clear how many children John Ralston, first of the name in America, had. John and Robert were certainly his sons, and it may be that William Ralston was a son of his, also. As has been shown above, John Ralston's name is found on the list of taxables for East Caln township in 1730, or two years after his arrival from the old world. The name of William Ralston first appears on this list in 1750, as a "single freeman" residing in East Caln township, the amount of his tax being £9. Seven years later we also find Robert Ralston on the list of taxables for East Caln. In other years, however, both previously and subsequently, Robert Ralston appears as a tax-payer in Vincent township; the latter having been the father of Captain John Ralston of the Revolution. It is only reasonable to conclude that the emigrant ancestor continued to own the property in East Caln belonging to him in 1730, and that William Ralston, his son, if he was his son, went to live upon it when he reached maturity. We have no details of the life of William Ralston, aside from the fact that he continued to reside in East Caln, probably engaged in farming, until late in life, when he removed to Philadelphia, where he died November 18, 1808, being buried the following day, at the Second Presbyterian Church - aged seventy-five years. William Ralston married, about 1757, Mrs. Sarah Dean, widow of Rev. William Dean. The latter, who was a native of Ireland, settled in Nantmeal township, Chester County, where he died July 9, 1748. In his will, dated July 7, 1748, he mentions his wife, Sarah, and children, Joseph, William, John, Sarah and Benjamin; also a brother, Alexander Dean, who was expected from Ireland that summer. Mr. Dean's grave is marked by a large tablet containing this inscription: Here lies the Body of the Reverend William Dean Who departed this life July 9, 1743. In Yonder Sacred house I spent my Breath Now silent mouldering here I ly in Death These silent Lips shall wake and yet declare A dread Amen to truths they published there. The sons of the Rev. William and Sarah Dean were prominent men in Chester and Philadelphia Counties, the most noted of them having been Colonel Joseph Dean, who was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland, August 10, 1738. He settled in Philadelphia, where he became a shipping merchant upon a large scale. We find his signature attached to the Non-Importation Agreement of October 25, 1766, and, ten years later, the Assembly placed him upon the Committee of Safety. Subsequently, upon the organization of the Board of War, he was made a member of that body. In January 1781, the Supreme Executive Council appointed him one of the auditors "to settle and adjust the accounts of the books of this state in the service of the United States," and in October, of the same year, he was chosen a Warden of the port of Philadelphia. In 1790 he was selected to fill the post of public auctioneer. The death of Colonel Dean occurred September 9, 1793, during the yellow fever scourge which then devastated Philadelphia. The maiden-name of William Ralston's wife we do not know. She was a native of the north of Ireland, and had accompanied her first husband, Rev. William Dean, from County Antrim to America, about 1740. She died in Philadelphia October 13, 1798, and was buried in the burial-ground belonging to the Second Presbyterian Church, where a tombstone was erected containing this inscription: In Memory of Sarah Ralston Wife of William Ralston Who departed this life The 13th Day of October Anno Domini 1798 Aged 76 Years. So far as we have knowledge, they were the parents of one child only, Robert Ralston, the founder of the Ralston family in Philadelphia, and a man of the largest possible distinction in his day, as one of the Quaker City's merchant princes, and as a philanthropist of nation-wide celebrity. Robert Ralston was born December18, 1761 in East Caln township, Chester County, in the section known as "Little Brandywine." He came to Philadelphia before attaining his majority, and August 10, 1780, when not yet nineteen years of age, we find him commissioned Ensign in Captain John McCalla's Company of the Second Regiment of Foot, Philadelphia Militia, commanded by Colonel Benjamin G. Eyre. Of his early career as a merchant, Simpson's "Eminent Philadelphians" says: His education was not of an extended character, and probably designed to fit him for the line of life in which he intended to move. He did, however, acquire sufficient knowledge of the Latin language to enable him to translate with facility the quotations which occurred in the course of his reading. His attention appears to have been principally to the English language, the beauties of which he was capable of relishing. He commenced business in this city, probably very soon after he became of age, with very little capital, but with a character, in the leading traits of which, those who had an opportunity of knowing him had confidence, and this, under the Divine blessing, enabled him to progress steadily in the enlargement of his business. Philadelphia's commercial pre-eminence, at this period, among the cities of America, has frequently been animadverted upon in these sketches. The fame of her merchants was world-wide. The ships from the port of Philadelphia were found in all the harbors of the world. Her trade, comparatively speaking, was enormous, in the volume of both her exports and imports, but especially the latter. Vast fortunes were made, a single voyage, in some instance, producing almost phenomenal returns. None of the Quaker City's captains of industry conducted business upon a more extensive scale, or reaped larger profits, than Robert Ralston; and none of them, it is needless to say, enjoyed a better credit, or stood higher in the world of finance, than he. While he sent his ships to nearly all the known ports of the earth, his business relations were largely with the Orient, he being mainly engaged, in the popular parlance of the day, in the "China trade." The location of his place of business is indicated by Abraham Ritter in his "Philadelphia and Her Merchant." Speaking of South Front street, Walnut to Spruce, Ritter says: The mercantile community seemed to rally in this immediate compass, the east and west side of the square; and our eminent merchant and valuable citizen, Robert Ralston, begins the line at No. 90, in 1793; but afterward, in 1805, etc., he was on the east side of Front, at No. 103, above Walnut; but whether here or there, his business duties were seasoned with the life of humanity, benevolence, and active Christian charity, and to do good unto all men, seemed ever to be his practical motto. Robert Ralston's interest in business affairs was by no means confined to the limits of his counting-house. In all the larger movements of the day having in view the commercial progress of the city of his adoption, he was always found at the forefront, displaying all the characteristics of a public-spirited citizen. From 1793 to 1799 he was a director of the Insurance Company of North America, an institution still intact, one of the most reliable of its kind in the United States. In 1816 he was one of the founders of the second Bank of the United States, and was chosen one of its first directors. He was also a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and, in 1808, was one of its committee to raise funds for the relief of the sailors in want on account of the Embargo Act then in force. He was, moreover, a founder and one of the first trustees of the Philadelphia Exchange, and was active in promoting the construction of the building which still stands at Third and Dock streets. In 1793, when the French privateers were inflicting great damage to American commerce, Mr. Ralston was chosen, at a public meeting of merchants, one of the committee to collect information respecting such damage, and to lay the same before the President of the United States. As distinguished as Robert Ralston was in the commercial world, it is safe to assert that he was even more eminent because of his philanthropies, and in his relation to all enterprises having for their object the amelioration of the lot of his fellow men. Probably no man in America, at that time, was so widely known as he by reason of his services to humanity, and the multiplicity of his charities. An attempt to catalogue them would be profitless, so numerous were they, and of such wide scope. The following will indicate the range of his beneficent acts: In 1793 he was a member and Secretary of the Committee of Citizens to make collections for the relief of the Cape Francois sufferers. In 1794 he was secretary of a public meeting of citizens to raise funds for the relief of the families of the soldiers who marched to Western Pennsylvania to suppress the Whisky Insurrection. In 1795 he was chosen by the Legislature one of the trustees to distribute funds appropriated by the state for the benefit of the French refugees. He was also Vice President of the Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons; President of the Fuel Saving Society; a member of the Standing Committee of the Magdalen Society; a manager of the Philadelphia Dispensary; president of the Pennsylvania Society for Prompting Public Economy, etc. In 1819 he was Secretary of a public meeting held at the Mayor's office in aid of the sufferers by the great fire at Wilmington, North Carolina, and was also Secretary of a meeting held at Independence Hall about the same time to consider an application to Congress to resist the extension of slavery "in the new state," and was made a member of the committee of correspondence to further such object. Though possessing no predilection for political office, Mr. Ralston was the kind of man who, at that period, the citizenship of the community called to the front in public affairs. He was chosen a member of the Common Council in 1793, and became President of the body in 1800. In 1796 he was chosen and Alderman of the city. Subsequently he sat in Select Council, and was president of that Chamber in 1806-08. In his relation to the cause of higher education and to the Christian religion, Robert Ralston was one of the foremost men of his day. Indeed, at that time, the Presbyterian Church of America possessed no more distinguished layman. TRUSTEE OF PRINCETON From 1815 to 1819, he was a trustee of the College of New Jersey - the Princeton University of today. From 1812 to 1821 he was a director of the Princeton Theological Seminary. He was ordained a Ruling Elder of the Second Presbyterian Church, December 2, 1802, and held the position until his death, and was also president of the Board of Trustees. I 816 he was a founder of the Religious Historical Society, of which he was elected Vice-President the following year. He was, moreover, an organizer of the Presbyterian Board of Education, and its first President, and one of the founders of the Philadelphia Bible Society, which is said to have been the first of its kind on this continent. Subsequently to Mr. Ralston's death, which occurred August 11, 1836, the following action was taken by the Board of Trustees of the Second Presbyterian Church, September 1, 1836: The Board of Trustees of the Second Presbyterian Church now statedly assembled for the first time since the decease of their president, Robert Ralston, direct this minute to be made, expressive of their feeling on the occasion of his loss. Fully sharing as members of the community in the grief which pervades it, and having Testimony with their fellow citizens to the daily beauty of his life and to the admirable model of civil character which he has left behind in his example, they feel themselves particularly called on to record his worth as a member and officer of this Board. With devout thankfulness they desire to acknowledge his long continued and effective services to the corporation of this church; the sound judgment and discriminating zeal by which they were directed; the liberality with which he applied his means to its wants, and his assiduous and vigilant supervision of its interests; his unvarying amenity and forbearance in council; his accuracy and promptness in the duty of the chair and the excellent combination of modesty with firmness and Christian meekness with personal dignity, which distinguished all his intercourse with them. Happy, if from the memory of their past association with one so much venerated and beloved, the members of this Board may still derive something of that spirit with which he animated and guided their labors. The foregoing minute having been unanimously adopted, the Secretary was directed to transmit a copy thereof to Mr. Ralston's family and to tender them the sincere condolence of the members of the Board. Robert Ralston married, November 24, 1785, Sarah Clarkson, daughter of Matthew Clarkson, Mayor of Philadelphia, 1792-94, by his wife, Mary Boude. Mrs. Clarkson's distinguished ancestry will be set forth in another article of this series, devoted to the Clarkson family. She was born April 1, 1766, and died December 29, 1820. Mrs. Ralston was, in all particulars, a worth helpmeet for her husband. She not only possessed, like him, a vigorous mentality, but she was also actuated by the same benevolent impulses, and she furthered his charitable purposes upon all occasions. She is mentioned in Scharf and Westcott's History of Philadelphia as first directress of the Philadelphia Orphan Society, founded in 1816, of which organization, likewise, one of her daughters was Secretary, and another a manager. After Mrs. Ralston's decease, the following eulogy appeared in one of the newspapers of the day: DIED, on Thursday evening, the 26th inst. Mrs. SARAH RALSTON, wife of Mr. ROBERT RALSTON, Esq. When an infant dies, we mourn over its dust, and regret its premature departure, but as futurity is hid from us, we know not whether we ought not rather to rejoice, for perhaps if it had been spared, its life would have been a scene of guilt. For the same reasons our grief is alleviated when death snatches from us persons in when death snatches from us persons in the prime of youth, and beginning to tread in the path of usefulness. But perhaps, these early and propitious auspices would not have long continued, and the youth whose death we mourn'd, whose grave was watered with tears of sincere grief, might, if he had been spared longer, have died unlamented. But our grief is more poignant when those die whose lives have been spent in the full exercise of love to God and Man, and who have been snatched away in the midst of usefulness. The latter remarks are applicable to the recent bereavement our city has suffered, in the death of Mrs. RALSTON. This amiable lady lived in the exercise of those estimable qualities, which endeared her to the affections of all. Be witness ye multitude of Widows and Orphans, ye sick and distressed, ye children of sorrow, by whose attentions your losses have been made up, your maladies cured, and your distresses alleviated or removed. Many can say of her "I was an hungered and she gave me meat, thirsty and she gave me drink, sick and she visited me, naked and she clothed me." But her charity did not consist merely in BESTOWING ALMS, her HEART was charitable, 'twas the dwelling of Piety and all its attendant virtues. There are so few of her character, that the loss is a double one, for there is no one to supply her place. By her decease Religion has lost a firm defender and zealous advancer-society a valuable member-the poor and afflicted a constant friend-her husband and numerous offspring an affectionate wife and mother. Matrons! Follow her example. Go and do likewise and your reward will be great! The children of Robert and Sarah (nee Clarkson) Ralston were fourteen in number, two, twin daughters, born August 2, 1792, who died in infancy, and twelve who reached maturity, as follows: William Cox, Maria, Matthew Clarkson, Rebecca, Elizabeth Ann, Robert, Ashbel Green, Gerardus, Sarah, Abigail, Hazard, Samuel Finley and Henry. Disposition will first be made of the five daughters, all of whom contracted notable matrimonial alliances. To the Misses Ralston an interesting reference is made in a poetic effusion, written by an anonymous Philadelphian, in 1825, and published, with other matter, under the title of "Microcosmus Philadelphicus; in Two Epistles to My Cousin Tom in New York. By Notus Nulli, Esq., M. R. T. A. and Other Poems." The writer, in verse, portrays the leading Quaker City belles of his day, not exactly calling them by name, but indicating their identity with perfect clearness, nevertheless. After references to Miss Markoe, Miss Cox and Miss Chapman, the versifier presents the Misses Ralston, as follows: The Miss R-l-tons are here, whose minds a rich treasure, Of Excellence, knowing no limit or measure; Not mere negative virtues, their high name exalt; Though no slight praise it is, to be free of all fault. Pure as light, like the spirits celestial above, Breathing kindness, benignity, charity, love. If to seek out the wretched, their woes to assuage, If to succour the helpless-to comfort old age, If the widow to cheer, with a tender address, If to dry up the tears of poignant distress, If the hungry to feed, if the orphan protect, Are the labours of love which claim all our respect: If these be the dictates of Heaven, allowed, And of which all mankind, but the doer, is proud; By example and precept, this lesson is taught, By their sire, whose benevolent heart is full fraught With love to his Maker, most remarkably shown, In a love for his creatures, almost like His own. In such sentiments nurtured, Miss R-l-tons I see, What your hearts, and your lives, and your actions must be. Maria Ralston, the eldest daughter, born December 25, 1787, became the wife, April 30, 1807, of John Syng Dorsey, M. D., a celebrated Quaker City physician, who was born December 23, 1783. He was a son of Leonard Dorsey, by his wife, Elizabeth Physick; was educated at the Friends' Academy, Philadelphia; graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1802; spent a year or more abroad, at the medical schools of London and Paris, for a portion of the time attending the lectures of the distinguished chemist, Humphry Davy; returned to America, and became adjunct professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. He was subsequently transferred to the chair of Materia Medica, Dr. Caspar Wistar. On the evening, however, of the delivery of his introductory lecture, he was attacked by a fever and died at the end of a week, November 12, 1818. Of Dr. Dorsey it has been said: "He had the reputation of being on of the first surgeons of America." He contributed papers to the "Portfolio" and to various medical journals, and published an edition of "Cooper's Surgery" and "Elements of Surgery." The last-mentioned work was adopted as a text-book by the University of Edinburg, and was long a favorite among American medical men. Dr. Dorsey's widow, nee Ralston, survived her husband fifteen years, dying October 19, 1833. They had issue as follows: Robert Ralston, Edmund Physick, Philip Syng, Elizabeth Physick, and Maria Ridgely, of which number the second and third died in infancy. The eldest son, Robert Ralston Dorsey, born March 17, 1808, graduated from Princeton University in 1824, receiving the degree of A. M. in 1827, and from the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1869. Dr. Dorsey died May 5, 1869, and was buried at St. James the Less. He never seriously practiced his profession, and for the last ten or fifteen years of his life was a paralytic. He was unmarried. The eldest daughter, Elizabeth Physick Dorsey, born September 18, 1813, married, April 20, 1831, James Cox, she being his second wife, his first having been her aunt, Sarah Ralston, hereafter referred to. James Cox, a son of James S. Cox, by his wife, Charlotte Sitgreaves, was born January 20, 1798, and died December 30, 1862. He graduated from the College of New Jersey, in 1816, and later became an active factor in the business world of Philadelphia, and a man of influence in the community, having held, among other posts, the presidency of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company for eighteen years. Further particulars will be presented hereafter in a special article devoted to the Cox family. The Cox branch is now represented by the following: Miss Elisabeth Helmsley, The Warwick, 1906 Sansom street, and Mrs. William Halsey Wood, Kent, Connecticut. Maria Ridgely Dorsey, the other daughter of John Syng and Maria (nee Ralston) Dorsey, was born April 23. 1816. She was twice married, first, August 4, 1840, to Charles Cazenove Gardner, son of William Collins and Eliza Francis (nee Cazenove) Gardner. He was born April 17, 1817, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1836, was a civil engineer, and, later, a merchant, being engaged in business to Savannah, Georgia, and, subsequently, in Philadelphia, in which city he died May 30, 1844. They had one child only, Dorsey Gardner, who was born August 1, 1842, spent some time at Yale University, and, having embarked in journalism and kindred pursuits, became a well-known figure in the literary world of America. In 1864-65 he published the Daily Monitor, at Trenton, New Jersey; in 1866-68 was one of the editors and proprietors of the Round Table, published in New York; was on the editorial staffs of the Commercial Advertiser and the Christian Union, of the city last mentioned, etc. In 1872 he returned to Philadelphia, the city of his nativity, and, during the International Exposition of 1876, was one of the Secretaries of the United States Centennial Commission, and supervised the publication of all documents relative to the exhibition, including its catalogue and eleven volumes of final reports. He published "Quatre Bras, Ligny, and Waterloo: a Narrative of the Campaign in Belgium, 1815," and "A Condensed Etymological Dictionary of the English Language," a rearrangement, on an etymological basis, of Webster's Dictionary, both works being published in England as well as in America. Mr. Gardner died November 30, 1894, having been twice married, first, to Margaretta Sherman Potts, and, secondly, to Jean Douglas. The latter survives, being now Mrs. James C. House, 3419 Michigan avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, with whom resides her son, Douglas Dorsey Gardner. By his first wife, Margaretta Sherman Potts, Dorsey Gardner had two children, Mrs. B. G. du Pont, Wilmington, and Charles Cazenove Gardner, recently deceased. Following the death of Charles Cazenove Gardner, the elder, his widow, Maria Ridgely Dorsey, married, secondly, Horace Alexander Buttolph, M. D., LL. D., an eminent physician, son of Warren and Mary (nee McAllister) Buttolph. Dr. Buttolph was born April 6, 1815, graduated from the Berkshire Medical College, Massachusetts, in 1836, and practiced his profession for a number of years in New York State and in Connecticut. He made a specialty of the treatment of insane patients, and in time became one of the most noted alienists of America. After a service of five years, 1842-47, as assistant superintendent of the Utica Asylum, at Utica, New York, he was called, in 1847, to the superintendency of the New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum, at Trenton, which post he held for nearly twenty-nine years. In April 1876, he relinquished this position to take charge of the State Asylum for the Insane at Morristown, now known as "The New Jersey State Hospital at Morris Plains." Here he remained until 1885, developing to perfection one of the most notable institutions of its kind in the United States. He was a scholar of wide attainments, and an extensive contributor to various medical journals and general magazines upon the subjects of mental science, phrenology, and the care, treatment and management of the insane. Dr. Buttolph died May 21, 1898; his wife, nee Dorsey, December 30, 1900. They had one child only, Frank Dix Buttolph, also a physician, who was born June 27, 1855, and died July 21, 1890. The latter's widow-maiden name, Fannie Jones-resides at Duarte, California, as do, also, two sons, Howard Duane Buttolph and Frank Ralston McAllister Buttolph. Rebecca Ralston, the second daughter of Robert and Sarah (nee Clarkson) Ralston, was born March 3, 1791, and married, June 1, 1818, Rev. John Chester, son of John and Elizabeth (nee Huntington) Chester, who was born August 17, 1785. His father, Col. John Chester, was a graduate of Yale; sat in the Connecticut Legislature, being speaker at one time; served with distinction as a Captain at the Battle of Bunker's Hill; was afterwards, June 20, 1776, commissioned Colonel of the Connecticut State Regiment, Continental Line; was a member of the Council of Connecticut, 1788-91, and again in 1803; served as Supervisor of the district of Connecticut for ten years, 1791-1801, and was for some time County Judge of Probate. The son, Rev. John Chester, graduated from Yale in 1804; studied theology under Rev. Joseph Lyman, D. D.; was licensed to preach in 1807, and was ordained and installed pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Hudson, New York, November 21, 1810, where he remained until November 3, 1815, at which time he became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church, in Albany. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Union College in 1821. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 1823. Dr. Chester died in Philadelphia, January 12, 1829; his widow, nee Ralston, at Dedham, Massachusetts, October 28, 1856. Six children resulted from this union, all daughters, as follows: Sarah Ralston, Elizabeth Huntington, Hannah Chauncey, Mary Wells, Rebecca Ralston and Maria Dorsey, of whom the last-named died in infancy. The others all married. The eldest of the five, Sarah Ralston Chester, was born June 27, 1819, and died March 20, 1891, having married, June 26, 1838, Rev. Samuel Beach Jones, D. D., a noted Presbyterian clergyman, who graduated from Yale in 1831, and from Princeton Theological Seminary of Bridgeton, New Jersey, twenty-four years, 1839-63; Director Princeton Theological Seminary, 1847-64; Trustee of the College of New Jersey, 1861-66; received the degree of D. D. from the last-mentioned institution in 1851, etc. Dr. Jones, who was born November 23, 1811, died March 19, 1883. SURVIVING SONS Their children were eight in number, of whom the only survivors are John Chester Jones-a graduate of Princeton University, 18??-The Tuxedo, 65 West 70th street, New York, and Robert Ralston Jones, 349 Bryant avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. Another son, now deceased, Paul Townsend Jones, Captain of Company L Second Pennsylvania Artillery, was wounded at the battle of Petersburg, June 18, 1864. Another son, Samuel Beach Jones, M. D., also deceased, graduated from Princeton University in 1861, and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1872. His widow-maiden-name, Gertrude Ralston Crosby-and three sons reside at 550 Park avenue, New York. Elizabeth Huntington Chester, second daughter of Rev. John and Rebecca (nee Ralston) Chester, born September 29, 1820, became the wife, July 10, 1862, of Jacob Lansing Van Schoonhoven, of Troy, a member of an old Knickerbocker family of New York, who was born September 12, 1807, and died April 3, 1882. Mrs. Van Schoonhoven, who was without issue, died December 22, 1891. Her next younger sister, Hannah Chauncey Chester, was born August 28, 1822, and died February 7, 1895, having, May 9, 1843, married Jonathan Howard Hasbrouck, of Kingston, New York, a representative of another well-known Knickerbocker family of the Empire State. Mr. Hasbrouck was born April 19, 1820, graduated from Rutgers College in 1837, was admitted to the New York bar in 1841, and died February 7, 1889. They had issue seven children, the six survivors being: Mrs. Frederick H. Rand, Longwood, Orange County, Florida; A. Bruyn Hasbrouck, San Luis Obispo, California; Mrs. John Denny, Boston, Mass; Mrs. George B. Inches, North Grafton, Mass.; John Chester Hasbrouck, Union League Club, New York, and Mrs. James Buchan, Wellesley Hills, Mass. Mary Wells Chester, the fourth daughter of Rev. John and Rebecca (nee Ralston) Chester, was born April 8, 1825, married, April 25, 1850, Martin Brimmer Inches, and died January 5, 1893. Mr. Inches, who was a native and resident of Boston, was born April 13, 1820, and died April 28, 1893. They had two children, of whom the eldest, John Chester Inches, is now deceased. The younger of the two sons, George Brimmer Inches, resides at North Grafton, Mass. The other daughter of Rev. John and Rebecca (nee Ralston) Chester, Rebecca Ralston Chester, born August 16, 1826, became the wife, June 3, 1847, of Abraham Suydam Meseir, who was born in 1809, and died September 13, 1882. Mrs. Meseir died without issue December 9, 1890. Elizabeth Ann Ralston, third daughter of Robert and Sarah (nee Clarkson) Ralston, was born November 9, 1793, and died without issue, May 27, 1862, having married Henry Banning Chew, son of Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chew was born December 11, 1800; graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1815; engaged in mercantile pursuits, in Philadelphia, but eventually removed to Epsom, Baltimore County, Maryland, and died December 12, 1866. The next younger daughter of Robert and Sarah (nee Clarkson) Ralston, namely, Sarah Ralston, was born February 10, 1800, and died January 23, 1830, having, January 17, 1822, married, as his first wife, James Cox, already referred to, who subsequently married his first wife's niece, Elizabeth Physick Dorsey. James and Sarah (nee Ralston) Cox had issue four children, namely, Robert Ralston, Maria Dorsey, Sarah Clarkson and James Chester. The elder of the two son, Robert Ralston Cox, born October 20, 1822, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1841, and from the General Theological Seminary, New York, in 1848. Owing to his extreme High Church views, he was never ordained. He was one of the founders of the Ecclesiastical Association, and publisher of the Ecclesiologist. He died unmarried, May 23, 1851, having been drowned in the Ohio river. The elder of his two sisters, Maria Dorsey Cox, born in June, 1824, married, July 3, 1849, her cousin, William Markoe, son of John Markoe, by his wife, Mehitable Cox. Mr. Markoe was born July 25, 1820. The death of Mrs. Markoe occurred August 15, 1898. They removed from Philadelphia many years ago, and settled at White Bear Lake, Minnesota. They had four sons, William Francis, Ralston Joshua, James Cox and Lorenzo Joseph. The youngest son, Lorenzo Joseph Markoe, still resides at White Bear Lake, Minnesota. The other daughter of James and Sarah (nee Ralston) Cox, Sarah Clarkson Cox, born March 31, 1826, is described as "a very fascinating, talented woman who renounced the world and entered a convent." She is still living, at the Convent of the Visitation, Wilmington, Delaware. The fourth child, James Chester Cox, was born January 12, 1830, and died March 23, 1885, having been twice married. His surviving children are Mrs. George Sharp Taylor, Washington street, Portland, Oregon; Miss Fannie Diana Cox, 676 Hancock street, same city; James Chester Cox, Whitewater, Wisconsin, and Mr. Albert A. Courtenay. There were three other children, now deceased, Elizabeth Chester Cox, Isabella Chester Cox, and Philip Chester Cox. Abigail Hazard Ralston, youngest of the five daughters of Robert and Sarah (nee Clarkson) Ralston, was born July 31, 1801, and, May 11, 1830, married Rev. John Williams Proudfit, D. D., being the second of the Ralston sisters to become the wife of an eminent clergyman. Dr. Proudfit, who was born September 22, 1803, was a son of Rev. Alexander Monerief Proudfit, D. D., by his wife, Susan Williams. The elder Dr. Proudfit was a distinguished theologian who, after graduating from Columbia College in 1792, studied for the ministry under the Rev. Dr. John Henry Livingston, and, for forty-one years, 1794-1835, filled the pulpit of the Associate Reformed Church, Salem, New York. From 1835 to 1841 he was Secretary of the New York Colonization Society. For a short period, during his pastorate at Salem, he was Professor of Pastoral Theology in the Associate Reformed Seminary, at Newburgh, New York. Besides numerous sermons and addresses published by him, he was the author of "Theological Works," in four volumes, issued in 1815, and of a work on the "Parable," published in 1820. He was born November 10, 1770, and died November 23, 1843. The younger Dr. Proudfit graduated from Union College in 1823, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1824. From 1827 to 1838 he was pastor of the Reformed Church at Newburyport, Massachusetts. From 1838 to 1840 he was professor of Latin at the University of New York. From 1840 to 1864 he occupied the chair of Greek, at Rutgers College. He was appointed Hospital Chaplain of Volunteers, United States Army, June 20, 1862, and served until honorably mustered out, August 21, 1865 at the close of the war. The degree of D. D. was given him by Union College in 1841. He published several sermons, was the author of "Man's Twofold Life" (1862), and edited "A Comedy of Plautus, with English Notes" (1843). The death of Dr. Proudfit occurred March 9, 1870; that of his widow, nee Ralston, four years later, June 9, 1874. They were the parents of two children, to wit: Robert Ralston and Alexander, both of whom became clergymen. The elder of the two, Robert Ralston Proudfit, was born February 4, 1886, and died February 4, 1897, when exactly sixty-one years of age. He was educated at Rutgers Grammar School and Rutgers College, and, after spending a year at the Reformed Dutch Theological Seminary, graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1861. Immediately thereafter he was commissioned Chaplain of the 2nd Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, and served with that command three years, 1861-64. For the next year, 1864-65, he served as Chaplain of the 10th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. He was under fire repeatedly during the Civil War, and was wounded at Cedar Creek. During the remaining years of his life, he was engaged in missionary, temperance and educational work, at various places in New Jersey. At one time he was Chaplain of the New Jersey Asylum for the Insane, at Trenton. Of Mr. Proudfit it has been said that "his character was remarkably pure and spiritual." He married, April 9, 1872, Elisabeth, daughter of the Comte de St. George, of Geneva, Switzerland, by whom, however, he had no issue. Mrs. Proudfit survives, her home being at Morristown, New Jersey. Alexander Proudfit, the younger of the two sons, was born April 15, 1839, graduated from Rutgers College in 1853, spent two years, 1859-61, at the Theological Seminaries of Princeton and New Brunswick, and was ordained as an evangelist by the Presbytery of New York in 1862. He was appointed a Hospital Chaplain of Volunteers, United States Army, September 16, 1862, and served until the close of the war, being honorably mustered out, August 21, 1865. For twelve years, beginning with 1866, he was pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Clayton, New Jersey; then followed seven years at Hackettstown, the same state; for ten years thereafter he occupied the pulpit of the Second Church, at Baltimore, following which he accepted a call to the First Church, Springfield, Ohio, where he remained until his death, two years later, April 2, 1897. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Lafayette College in 1887. Dr. Proudift married, October 17, 1866, Annie Couper Smith, daughter of James Logan and Mary (nee Couper) Smith, a representative of the celebrated "Burlington Smiths," and a descendant of James Logan, William Penn's Secretary and Agent in America, Governor of Pennsylvania and Colonial Mayor of Philadelphia. Mrs. Proudfit survives, her residence being at Princeton, New Jersey. They had three children, John Williams, Mary Couper and Alexander Couper. The elder of the two sons, John Williams Proudfit, now deceased, graduated from Princeton University in 1889. The other son, Alexander Couper Proudfit, also graduated from the same institution, in 1893, and with the degree of LL. B., from Boston University in 1897, subsequently becoming a member of the New York bar. He has been for years extensively engaged in philanthropic work in the metropolis, etc. His home is in Princeton, New Jersey. His sister is now Mrs. Border Bowman, of Springfield, Ohio. The seven sons of Robert Ralston, the eminent Philadelphia merchant, all reached maturity, and, having inherited the mental vigor of their parents, became men of prominence within their several spheres of usefulness. William Cox Ralston, eldest of the seven, was born October 27, 1786, graduated from Princeton University in 1804, taking the degree of A. M. in 1807. He died unmarried September 18, 1811, thus abruptly terminating a career which gave every promise of proving a brilliant one. The second son, Matthew Clarkson Ralston, was born August 21, 1789. He was actively identified with the larger business interests of Philadelphia for many years, being a promoter of early railroad construction in Pennsylvania. From December 7, 1818, to September 6, 1824, he was a manager of the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society, and, from January 16, 1837, to September 5, 1839, a director of the Pennsylvania Company for Insurance on Lives and Granting Annuities. His place of business-he was a merchant-was at No. 103 South Front street, and his residence at No. 11 Prune street, which ran from Fourth to Sixth street, and is now known as a continuation of Locust street. Mr. Ralston died a day or two prior to December 31, 1840, on which date he was buried in his father's vault, in the burial-ground of the Second Presbyterian Church, Arch street, above Fifth. His remains, however, were transferred to Laurel Hill Cemetery, November 22, 1848. Mr. Ralston married, September 2, 1816, Julia Chester, daughter of Colonel John and Elizabeth (nee Huntington) Chester, and sister of Rev. John Chester, D. D., who married Mr. Ralston's sister. Mrs. Ralston was born March 15, 1792, and died a day or two prior to December 7, 1852, the date of her burial at Laurel Hill. They had issue four children, namely, Sarah Clarkson, born July 16, 1817; Robert, born July 15, 1819; Hannah Chester, born May 20, 1821, and William, born October 8, 1826. All four died without issue, the last survivor being Miss Hannah Chester Ralston, whose death occurred October 24, 1906. Robert Ralston, the third son of Robert Ralston, the noted merchant, and the only one who has descendants still living in Philadelphia, was born March 9, 1795. He graduated from Carlisle College, Pennsylvania, in 1814, and, like his brother, became prominently identified with mercantile interests in Philadelphia, and with other enterprises involving the development of the Quaker City, including the Girard Bank, in which he was a stockholder. Among the larger institutions with which he was officially connected was the University of Pennsylvania, of which he was a trustee from 1838 to 1858. It was Robert Ralston who was largely responsible for the inception and development of the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. James the Less, Falls of Schuylkill, to which he contributed liberally, both of his time and means. He owned and built upon the fine estate, "Mount Peace"-now the cemetery of that name-which adjoins the church last-mentioned, and which had formerly belonged to his father. Robert Ralston was married, in Boston, Massachusetts, by Rev. James Freeman, September 26, 1822, to Anne Boote, of that city, who was born February 19, 1803, and died March 22, 1889. The death of Mr. Ralston occurred thirty-one years previously, March 20, 1858. Both were buried at St. James the Less. They had issue as follows: Mary Love, Anne, Robert, Francis William, Lewis Waln, Elizabeth Ann and Ellen. Of the four daughters, the eldest, Mary Love Ralston, became the second wife of the celebrated Philadelphia lawyer and statesman, William Bradford Reed, Attorney General of Pennsylvania, United States Minister to China, etc. They had four children, all now deceased. A grandson is Robert Ralston Reed, M. D., Morristown, New Jersey. The second daughter, Anne Ralston, died in Boston, June 15, 1827, aged one year. The third daughter, Elizabeth Ann Ralston, became the wife of John Welsh, of the well-known family of that name, and their surviving children are Francis Ralston Welsh, Philadelphia Club; Mrs. Latham Gallup Reed, 151 East 56th street, New York, and the Misses Gertrude Clarkson Welsh and Elizabeth Ralston Welsh, 120 East 31st street, New York. Ellen Ralston, the youngest of the four daughters of Robert and Anne (nee Boote) Ralston, died unmarried, May 9, 1874. The eldest of the three sons, Robert Ralston, Jr., was born April 12, 1828, and died unmarried. The second son, Francis William Ralston, who was born May 12, 1830, was long identified with large financial interests in Philadelphia. He joined the Union League, January 27, 1863, shortly after its organization. He married, at Christ Church, October 7, 1858, Elizabeth Caldwell Meredith, daughter of the famous Quaker City lawyer, William Morris Meredith, born May 6, 1837, and died March 30, 1883, having predeceased her husband eight and a half years. His death took place October 8, 1891. The had issue four children, two deceased, Anna and William Meredith, and two surviving, Robert and Francis William. Robert Ralston, the elder of the two sons now living, is one of the present judges of Spruce street. His brother, Francis William Ralston, was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, and served through out the Spanish-American War, as Corporal, Sergeant and First Sergeant of Battery A, Pennsylvania Artillery, his service extending from April 27 to November 19, 1898. He was commissioned and accompanied that command to the Philippines. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, March 17, 1901, and was honorably mustered out, April 3, 1901. He was then commissioned, May 8, 1901, 2nd Lieutenant in the Artillery Corps, United States Army; 1st Lieutenant September 23, 1901, and Captain, January 25, 1907. He is now stationed at Fort Washington, Maryland. Lewis Waln Ralston, youngest of the sons of Robert and Anne (nee Boote) Ralston, was born August 26, 1832-his tombstone says August 29, 1832-spent a year at the University of Pennsylvania, 1848-49, engaged in business as an iron broker, served during the Civil War, 1862-64, as Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel of the 109th Infantry Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, was wounded in the battle of Cedar Mountain, 1868, and died unmarried, February 7, 1873. Ashbel Green Ralston, fourth of the sons of Robert and Sarah (nee Clarkson) Ralston, was born October 11, 1796, graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1815, and actively engaged in business in Philadelphia for some years. From December 21, 1821, to May 29, 1833, he was one of the Managers of the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society; and was also one of the organizers of the Girard Bank, founded December 31, 1831, following the death of Stephen Girard. He had, June 13, 1829, while abroad, at Trinity Church, May-le-bone, London, married Eliza Wiggin, eldest daughter of Timothy Wiggin, of Harley street. Mr. Ralston finally established a permanent residence in England, where he continued to reside until his death, the exact date of which is unknown to the writer. He was without issue. His next younger brother, Gerardus Ralston-usually called Gerard Ralston-was born September 19, 1798. Like his brother, just referred to, he went abroad when a young man, and settled in England, where he died in April, 1873, being the last survivor of the seven sons of Robert Ralston, the celebrated merchant of a century ago. Before going abroad he had been, while a resident of Philadelphia, interested in literary and educational affairs. From 1826 to 1829 he was Curator of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and Councillor of the Society, 1829-32 and 1833-4. In Grace A. Oliver's "Study of Maria Edgeworth," Boston, 1882, it is related that "Miss Edgeworth met Mr. Ralston, of Philadelphia," and in an early letter of hers she wrote: "His father and mother are grand, and what is rather better, most benevolent people in Philadelphia; introduced him to Dr. Holland Mackintosh and others." In 1835 Miss Edgeworth wrote to Mr. Peabody, of Boston: "I wrote orders to a bookseller in London, to forward to you by my friend, Mr. Gerard Ralston, a copy of my father's books." In 1841 it is set forth that "Miss Edgeworth visited her friend Gerard Ralston in Croydon." Gerard Ralston married Isabella Crawshay of Cafafa, Wales, by whom he had two sons, William Crashay and Edgeworth, both now deceased. The elder of the two, William Crashay Ralston, was an officer in the British Army. Samuel Finley Ralston, sixth of the sons of Robert Ralston by his wife, Sarah Clarkson, was born December 14, 1802, graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1822, taking the degree of A. M. in 1825, and that of M. D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1826. He went abroad to perfect his medical education, and died unmarried in Paris, March 30, 1829. Poulson's Daily Advertiser, May 18, 1829, has this obituary notice: Died at Paris, March 30, 1829, Dr. Samuel F. Ralston, of this city. After an absence of three years, this gentleman was about to return to his native country, when he was attacked by a violent disease which, in a few days, destroyed all his earthly prospects, and the fond anticipations of his friends. It is so customary to bestow indiscriminate praise upon the dead, that a true account of departed worth is hardly believed; but those who were well acquainted with Doctor Ralston will bear testimony that he was distinguished for clear, just and manly views-for high and honorable feelings-for nobleness and generosity-for courteous, refined and polished manners-and especially for overflowing kindness and benevolence. Few men have so generally won from others their respect and affection, and very few have deserved them so well. His urbanity, cheerfulness, cordiality, sincerity, frankness and social feeling were irresistible with those who had understandings to perceive and hearts to appreciate excellence, and wherever a rational curiosity or the desire of improvement led him to remain for even a short period, he was encircled by friends whom gratitude or affection had strongly bound to him. To them his departure is an occasion of unfeigned sorrow. Already has he been mourned by many in the old world, and in the land of his birth still more are now lamenting his untimely fate. Henry Ralston, youngest of the seven sons of Robert and Sarah (nee Clarkson) Ralston, was born January 25, 1806, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1825, and was admitted to the Philadelphia bar, June 4, 1827. He was actively engaged in the practice of his profession throughout his life, his residence and office-at that period the two were usually combined-being at No. 5 Boston Row, Chestnut street. Mr. Ralston married, September 6, 1825, Harriet Willing, daughter of George and Rebecca (nee Harrison) Willing, and granddaughter of Thomas Willing Mayor of Philadelphia, Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, delegate to the Continental Congress, etc. Mr. Ralston died without issue, July 26, 1853.