Once upon a time, in 1642, a town was established in an area called New Sweeden. The town was called Finlandia and then Upton Later after the Dutch took over this land in 1682, the English conquered it and it was named Chester. Due to its location along the Delaware River, it quickly became a manufacturing port. The population started to grow.

Chester once hosted General Washington on his way to Philadelphia, and probably many other revolutionaries. French General Lafayette had his wounds healed in Chester. He fought along side Washington and the patriots. (Lafayette often visited my mission too. Lafayette, Louisiana is named after him.) Chester was also home to John Morton - the man who cast the deciding vote on the Declaration of Independence.

Pennsylvania was often a battleground of the Civil War in the 1860s. The main school in Chester served as a hospital.

After the Civil War, scores of African-Americans moved to the area. Chester was one stop along the Underground Railroad, so it became a favorite way-station for travelers heading north. Because it was a manufacturing city, many stayed in hopes of a better life and jobs in the industries.

In 1951, Martin Luther King, Jr. received his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester.

Before the Revolutionary War, a couple came to the Pennsylvania area. William France (Sr.) was born in 1748 in Wigan, England. His wife, Mary Ann West France was also from Britain. They settled in Sugarloaf PA. The France couple had a son they named William France Junior. Round about 1806 he married Ann "Fanny" Wale from Chester, Pennsylvania.

Their child, Joseph David France, joined the Church and came to Utah where he married Ellen Harrod from England. Ann, "Fanny" Wale from Chester was your 4th great grandmother on your Father’s mother’s side.