AREA HISTORY:  The Township of Lower Chanceford, York County, PA

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Kathy Francis

Copyright 2006.  All rights reserved.
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History of York County, Pennsylvania.  John Gibson, Historical Editor.
Chicago: F. A. Battey Publishing Co., 1886.
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THE TOWNSHIP OF LOWER CHANCEFORD – Page 738

THE name “Chanceford” is a compound word meaning a chance ford.  The word was first know to 
history in 1745, when, by the division of Lower Hellam Township, the upper section of it, upon 
petition to the court, was called by the early Scotch-Irish settlers “Chanceford,” and the 
lower section “Fawn,” after which event Lower Hellam disappears as a name of a township west of 
the Susquehanna.  It would seem that in neither history nor geography is the work Chanceford 
elsewhere used to designate a place.  Chanceford Township was organized under the authority of 
the provincial court at Lancaster.  The following copy of an official document contains some 
facts relating to the early local history of this section, and is signed by the first settlers:

TO THE WORSHIPFUL JUSTICES OF THE COUNTY OF LANCASTER:

The petition of the Inhabitants of Chanceford in the County Shewith – That ye said Township 
together with ye Township of Faun was formerly Included in one Township under ye name of Lower 
Hallam, But upon ye Unanimous Petition of ye Inhabitants of ye s’d Township in General, ye same 
was by your Worships Divided into two Townships is and was to ye Satisfaction of ye Inhabitants 
in General and of Equal Ease and Conveniency to all Persons in Each Township that are Liable to 
Execute any Publick Office &c.  Yett notwithstanding, a Certain number of ye Inhabitants of 
Faun at Last May Sessions Petitioned your worships to allter ye said Devision and allow of a 
Division of ye s’d Township by a South West Line from Ashmore’s ferry which would make s’d 
Township of Chanceford to Consist only in about Eighteen or Twenty Poor Families Liveing mostly 
four or five miles asunder and some further amongst s’d Hilley and Remote Parts of ye s’d 
Townships thereby making ye same near Thirty miles Long and about six wide, which would Render 
ye same Insufficient for a Township and be an Unreasonable Piece of Cruelty upon any of ye 
Inhabitants to Execute any Office which of course according to their number and ye Several 
Services Incumbent on them must fall to Each Man’s Lott, once in Three years, and if any Poor 
to maintain it will be only one Poor maintaining another, for which Reasons and many others-we 
Humbly Pray your worships in your wisdom to Consider and Prevent ye Unequalness and 
disagreeableness of such an attempt of makeing a new Devision of ye s’d Township whereby one 
will Consist only of some Poor Scattered familys about one fourth of ye Inhabitants in ye whole 
and ye other near Three fourth of ye Best in Substance when ye first Disivion Equally Devides 
ye Inhabitants and ye s’d Ill conveniency, &c.

and your petitioners as in Duty Bound shall Pray &c.

Chanceford, June 12, 1747.
Alx’r McCall          John Cmapbell
Hugh Ross             John Bokanan
Moses Wallace         Robert Morton
David McCarthy        James Smith
Robert Howard         David McKinly
Wm. Smart             Nathaniel Morgan
Wm. Anderson          Thomas Johnson
James Anderson        Charles Callwell
Charles Carson        Patrick McGee
Adam McMachan         Wm. McCome
Finley Gray.