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The Moravian Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Corner
The Amstel House, the home of Henry Hanby Hay, is the oldest of these; it was probably built about 1730. One of its earliest owners was Nicholas Van Dyke, who was a major of militia during the Revolution, and later served six years in the Continental Congress. For three years he was Governor of Delaware. During his residence in this house it was called "The Corner." So, at least, it was referred to by Kensey Johns in a love-letter to comely Anne Van Dyke, written during the cold winter of 1784: "This evening I visited 'the Corner. Soon after I went in Mrs. V. says, 'Well, Mr. Johns, what say you to a ride below with me, and bringing Miss Nancy up?' After an hour passed, I recovered myself and answered in the negative, that my business would not permit of it-Your papa discovered by his countenance the lightest satisfaction at my refusal; this approbation of his afforded me great pleasure. The more I regard your happiness, the more desirous I am by assiduity and attention to business to establish a character which will give me consequence and importance in life. I wish to see you more than words express. "Mrs. B. says she wants you to come up very much; she asked me to use my influence to persuade you. All I can say is, that if your Grand Mama's indisposition will admit of it, and your inclination prompts you to come, it will much contribute to my happiness, even if I should only see you now and then for a few moments. My fingers are so cold I can scarce hold my pen, therefore adieu. Be assured that I never cease to be, "Yours most affectionately, "KENSEY JOHNS."
On a pane of glass in the guest chamber of the old house some one long ago scratched with a diamond a message that sounds as if it came from the heart of the lover: "Around her head ye angels constant Vigil keep, And guard fair innocence her balmy sleep."
Three months after Kensey Johns wrote the ardent letter to Anne Van Dyke, the day after the wedding, April 30, 1784, George Washington came to the Corner, OVER THE MASON AND DIXON LINE 207 and there was a reception in his honor and that of the bride and groom. The Father of his Country received the guests standing before an old fireplace whose hearthstone has been lettered in memory of the event.
A few years later Kensey Johns, then Chief Justice of Maryland, built near by a beautiful colonial mansion where he entertained many of the leading men of the nation.
Kensey Johns' predecessor as Chief Justice was George Read, the Signer. His house, an old record says, stood so near the Delaware, which is here two and a half miles wide, that when the tide was high one wheel of a carriage passing in the street in front of it was in the water, and in violent storms the waves were dashed against the building. The house was in the midst of a wonderfully beautiful garden. This garden is still one of the sights of the town, though the house was destroyed in the fire of 1824.
George Read, the Signer's son, in 1801, built a house in the corner of the garden, which was saved from the fire by a carpet laid on the roof and kept thoroughly wet until the danger was past. This Georgian house is a marvel of beauty, both inside and out. The hand-carved moldings, mantels, and arches bring to the house visitors from far and near. Miss Hatty Smith, the present owner, delights to show the place to all who are interested. In the early days New Castle was on the King's Road from Philadelphia to Baltimore. Washington passed this way when on his journeys. Lafayette visited the town in 1824. The house built by Nicholas Van Dyke, son of the owner of the Corner, received him for the marriage of Charles I. Du Pont and Dorcas M. Van Dyke. It is recorded that on this occasion he gave the bride away.
Cæsar Rodney, too, passed through the town frequently, notably when he made the famous ride in July, 1776, that helped to save the Declaration of Independence; here he rested after the first stage of his historic journey.
The name of George Thomson, secretary of Congress during the Revolution, is also enrolled in the list of the worthies who visited the town. In 1740 his father, when on his way from Ireland to America with his three sons, died on shipboard. The captain appropriated the meagre possessions of the family and set the boys ashore at New Castle, penniless. George was sheltered by a butcher who was so delighted with him that he decided to bring him up to the trade. George was terrified when he overheard the man's plan; he did not intend to be a butcher. So he stole out of the town between dark and daylight and made his way to surroundings where the way was opened that led him to usefulness and fame.