y^: o>:o^:0 »^:^:e^:Q»:®:»:o;^:®»:e»:o»:@»:Ql^^a WARREN COi * PENNSYLVANIA * ^WtTH ILLUSTRATIONS)] ^IF 18^87 F 151 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1 89 1 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library F 157W2 S32 + History of Warren County. Pennsylvania; 3 1924 028 854 937 olin Overs The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/details/cu31924028854937 HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS EDITED BY J. S. SCHENCK ASSISTED BY W. S . R A N N SYRACUSE, N. Y. D. MASON & CO., PUBLISHERS 1887 T (1 K N i- I i ^ \muu PRESS OF D. MASON &, CO. 63 WEST WATER ST., SYRACUSE, N. Y. PREFACE WHILE it may seem to the uninitiated a task involving but little difficulty to prepare for publication a work no more comprehensive in character than this volume and containing the history merely of a single county, still it is not out of place here to assure all such readers that the work is one demand- ing a vast amount of labor and research, watchful care, untiring patience, and great discrimination. This need not be said to any person who has had ex- perience in similar work. In attempting the production of a creditable history of Warren County, the publishers and the editor did not underestimate the difficulties of their task, and came to it fully imbued with a clear idea of its magnitude, and a determination to execute it in such a manner that it should receive the commendation of all into whose hands it should fall. It is believed that this purpose has been substantially carried out, and that, while a perfect historical work has never yet been published, this one will be found to contain so few imperfections that the most critical reader will be satisfied. It has been a part of the plans of the publishers in the production of this history to secure, as far as possible, assistance from parties resident in the county, either as writers, or in the revision of all manuscripts ; the consequence being that the work bears a local character which could not otherwise be secured, and, moreover, comes from the press far more complete and perfect than could possibly be the case were it intrusted wholly to the efforts of com- parative strangers to the locality in hand. In carrying out this plan, the editor has been tendered such generous co-operation and assistance of various kinds, that to merely mention all who have thus aided is impossible ; the satisfaction Preface. of having assisted in the production of a commendable public enterprise must be their present reward. Those who have aided and encouraged in this work have been almost " legion " ; and to all such the writer extends his grateful thanks, and hopes his efforts to present a truthful history will not prove fruitless, but that it may- be a mile-stone of events reared upon our county's century course, and read by our youth and posterity with such profit that they, by their true patriotism, industry and frugality, may be enabled to add as worthy a record of their day and generation as the fathers of the county have here transcribed. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. OUR SUBJECT SOMEWHAT EXPLAINED. The Beginning of Warren County's History — Date of Organization — Its Boundaries — Its Area and Streams — Origin of its Name — The System to be Pursued in Succeed- ing Chapters 13 CHAPTER II. NATURAL FEATURES, ETC. Topography — Character of Forests — The Soil — Its Products — Minerals — The Animal Kingdom — The Eries — The Kahquahs, or Neuter Nation — The Hurons — The Iroquois — Earlier Occupants — Inferences 15 CHAPTER III. EUROPEAN DISCOVERIES, ETC., 1534-1655. The French in New France — The Puritans in New England — The Dutch in New Nether- lands — Activity of the French — -Dutch Progress — The Jesuits — The Company of a Hundred Partners — Capture and Restoration of New France — Great Extent of the Province of Massachusetts Bay — Brgboeuf and Chaumonot — Destruction of the Kahquahs and Eries — Seneca Tradition — French Account — Indian Hatchets 21 CHAPTER IV. THE IROQUOIS. ' Their Name as Applied by Themselves — System of Clans — Its Importance — Its Probable Origin — The Grand Council — Sachems and War-chiefs — Line of Descent — Choice of Sachems — Religious Belief — Natural Attributes — Family Relations, etc 28 CHAPTER V. FROM 1655 TO £1680. The Iroquois Triumphant — Obliteration of Dutch Power — French Progress — La Salle Visits the Senecas — Greenhalgh's Estimates — La Salle on the Niagara — Building of the Griffin — Its First and Last Voyage — La Salle's Subsequent Career Contents. CHAPTER VI. THE PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA. Europeans Struggle for Supremacy Along the Atlantic Coast — Quakers Settle in New- Jersey — William Perm Appointed a Trustee — His Labors in Their Behalf — An Early Description of the New Country — Admiral Penn — A Province Granted to His Son — It is Named Pennsylvania — Its Extent — A Miscalculation — Penn Pur- chases the Lower Counties — Outlines His Policy — Sends Governor Markham to Take Possession — Names Commissioners — Their Duties — An Address to the Indians — The Site for a New City Selected 38 CHAPTER VII. PENN IN PENNSYLVANIA. William Penn Sails for America — His Advice to His Family — The Voyage — Warmly Received at New Castle — The First Assembly — Penn Visits New York and Mary- land — Unsatisfactory Conference with Lord Baltimore — The Great Treaty with the Indians — The Walking Purchase — Great Influx of Colonists — Counties Formed — Meeting of the First General Assembly — Sitting of the First Grand Jury — First Conviction — Another Fruitless Interview with Lord Baltimore — Baltimore's Demand — Penn's Anxiety — His Liberal Offer — Baltimore's Adherents Invade the Lower Counties — Penn Determines to Return to England — His Farewell to His Colonists. . 49 CHAPTER VIII. FRENCH DOMINION. A Slight Ascendency — De Nonville Attacks the Senecas — Origin of Fort Niagara — Count Frontenac in the Field — Treaty of Ryswick — Queen Anne's War — The Iroquois Neutral — The Tuscaroras — Joncaire — Fort Niagara Rebuilt- — French Power Increasing — Conflicting Claims — Secret Instructions — De Celeron Takes Possession of the Allegheny Valley — Buries a Lead Plate at Mouth of the Cone- wango — The Six Nations Alarmed — French Establish a Line of Forts — The Ohio Company — Virginia's Claim — Washington as an Envoy — French Build Fort Du Quesne — Washington and his Virginians Captured — Braddock's Disastrous Campaign — The Final Struggle — French Defeated all Along the Line — Their Surrender of Power in the New World 56 CHAPTER IX. ENGLISH DOMINION. Pontiac's Conspiracy — The Devil's Hole — A Fight at Black Rock — Bradstreet's Expedi- tion — Sulky Senecas — The Troops Composing Bradstreet's Command — Israel Put- nam — The Revolution — Four Iroquois Tribes Hostile — The Treaty at Oswego — A Price for American Scalps — Brant, the Mohawk — Principal Seneca Chiefs — Wyom- ing — Cornplanter Conspicuous — His Many Names, etc. — Cherry Valley — Ameri- cans Retaliate — Brodhead's Expedition — Sullivan's Indian Campaign — Results — Close of the War, and of English Rule 72 CHAPTER X. FROM 1783 TO 1790. Forlorn Condition of the Senecas at the Close of the Revolutionary War — Willing to Cede the Remainder of their Lands in Pennsylvania — Commissioners Appointed to Treat Contents. with Them — A Sum Appropriated to Purchase Indian Goods — Quantity and Kind "of Goods with which Purchase was Made — Treaty of Port Stanwix — Boundaries of the Tract Acquired by Pennsylvania — Cornplanter the Friend of the Whites — Subsequent Indignation of His Tribe — General Irvine Explores the New Purchase — Extracts from His Report — Running the Boundary Line Between New York and Pennsylvania — Interesting Details — Early Names of Warren County Streams — In- dian Villages — Pertinent Suggestions — A Tract of Land Granted to Cornplanter — Survey of Lands of the Mouth of the Conewango — An Account of the First Official Exploration of the Head Waters of the Allegheny 83 CHAPTER XL CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS— 1790-91. The Seneca Chieftain Invited to Visit Philadelphia — Letter from Thomas Mifflin — Ensign Jeffers's Letter — The Journey — Arrival in the Quaker City — Subsequent Proceed- ings — Cornplanter's Speech to the Supreme Executive Council — President Mifflin's Reply — Cornplanter^ Meets President Washington — Returns to His Forest Home with Gifts and Various Supplies — Attempts on the Part of Pittsburgh Thieves to Steal the Same — Colonel Brodhead's Opinion of Early Pittsburgh Residents — Corn- planter Makes Choice of the Lands Granted Him — Their Location, etc. — Sketch of His Life 96 CHAPTER XII. FROM 1791 TO 1800. Troublous Times on the Border — Baneful British Influence — Uneasy Iroquois — Colonel Proctor Visits Them — Interesting Details Gathered From His Journal — His Mission a Failure — St. Clair Defeated — The Iroquois Become Insolent — Their Arrogant Demands — Cornplanter Joins the Malcontents — Extracts from Letters Written by Andrew Ellicott, Brant the Mohawk, and John Adlum — Wayne's Victory — Salutary Effects — Iroquois Ardor Cooled — The Treaty at Canandaigua — The British Retire from American Territory — Cornplanter's Speech at Franklin — 'The Holland Land Company — Town of Warren Laid Out by State Commissioners — Survey of Lands West of the Allegheny River — Advent of the First Settlers — A Block-house at Warren — Navigable Waters — Origin of the Reserve Tracts and Academy Lands.. . . 110 CHAPTER XIII. THE ERA OF FORMATION, EARLY SETTLEMENTS, ETC., FROM 1800 TO 1819. Formation of Warren County — Its Original Boundaries — Temporarily Attached to Craw- ford County — Crawford County Organized — Erection of Brokenstraw Township — It Becomes the First Election District of Crawford — Warren County Annexed to Venango in 1805 — Brokenstraw Still Continues as the Sole Township of Warren County — Its Taxable Inhabitants in 1806 — Who were the First Settlers — A Mooted Question — An Order to Erect New Townships — Early Inn-Keepers — Division of the County into Two Townships — Their Names and Boundaries — Their Taxable In- habitants in 1808 — Visited by Western Indians — A Want of Confidence — Council Held with Cornplanter — Veterans of the War of 1812-15 — A Transfer of Lands by the Holland Land Company — Cornplanter as He Appeared in 1816 — The Taxables of the County During the Same Year — Subsequent Rapid Increase in Population 125 Contents. CHAPTER XIV. FROM THE ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY UNTIL 1830. Onerous Duties Imposed Upon Early Inhabitants — Passage of the Act of Organization — Its Provisions — Initial Proceedings of County Commissioners — The First Term of Court —Its Officers — Jurors — Attorneys — Early Inn-keepers — Reminiscences Con- cerning the First Term of Court — Population of the County in 1820 — New Town- ships formed in 1821 — The Attempts to Collect Taxes from Cornplanter — The Old Chief Victorious — The Hook Murder Trial — Incidents Connected Therewith — Re- sults — Other Early Events 1*1 CHAPTER XV. FROM 1830 TO 1861. The First Steamboat on the Upper Waters of the Allegheny — An Account of the Trip — Cornplanter a Passenger — Merchants and Inn-keepers in 1830 — National Character of Early Settlers — The Scotch-Irish at First in the Ascendency — Origin of the Term Scotch-Irish — Those of English Descent in Final Control — Early Routes of Travel — A Remarkable Journey — Barefooted in Midwinter — An Influx of Alsatians — Death of Cornplanter — Incorporators of Various Associations — Lumbering — River Navigation — Store Goods — Prices — Routes Pursued in Transit — Part of McKean County Annexed to Warren — The Whigs and Democrats — The First Telegraph Line — Merchants of the County in 1850 — The Whigs Disband — Organization of the American Party — Temporary Success — Causes Leading to the Formation of the Republican Party — An Incident in the Career of Jeff. Davis — Republicans Gain Con- trol of the County in 1856 — New County Scheme — Petroleum Discoveries — Titus- ville to the Front — Warren Men Also — Railroad Completed from Erie to Warren — Tidioute Oil Field — Election in 1860 149 CHAPTER XVI. DURING AND SINCE THE LATE WAR. Mutterings of the Coming Storm — The Outbreak — Call for Troops — Citizens of Warren in Council — Their Proceedings — The First Two Companies of Volunteers — Others in Readiness — Leaving Home for the Front — Brief Allusion to Other Organizations — Number of Warren County Men in the Field to November 1, 1862 — Events of 1863 — Tribulations of the Stay-at-Homes in 1864 — Relieved by Rebel Recruits — The Draft of 1865 — Probable Total Number of Troops Furnished — Victorious Re- joicings — Ladies' Aid Society — Dedication of Cornplanter's Monument — An Influx of Scandinavians — Another New County Project Defeated — Gradual Development of Oil Interests — Conclusion of Continuous History 161 CHAPTER XVII. THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT — TENTH RESERVE. Where Recruited — The Warren Guards — Regimental Rendezvous — Organization of the Regiment — It Proceeds to Harrisburg — Thence to Washington — Brigade Assign- ment — General Ord in Command — The Fight at Dranesville — A Weary March to Fredericksburg — Transferred to the Peninsula — In Fitz John Porter's Command — Battle of Mechanicsville — Gaines's Mill — Gallant Behavior of the Tenth Reserve — It Sustains Heavy Loss — White Oak Swamp — Men Completely Exhausted — Close of the "Seven Days' Fight" — The Reserves at Second Bull Run — South Contents. Mountain — Antietam — Fredericksburg — Gettysburg — Winter Quarters 1863-64 — In the Wilderness — On Hand at Spottsylvania Court-House — Bethesda Church the Tenth Reserve's Last Battle-Field — Muster Out — Roster of its Members from Warren County 169 CHAPTER XVIII. FORTY-SECOND REGIMENT — BTJCKT AIL RIFLES. Manner of Recruiting Its First Companies — The Unique Material of Which It Was Com- posed — Woodsmen to the Front — Floating Down the Susquehanna — Captain Stone's Raftmen — The First Company to Leave Warren — To Pittsburgh in Boats of Their Own Make — By Rail to Harrisburg — Regimental Organization — Captain Stone Promoted — The First March — On the Upper Potomac — The Bucktails Join the Pennsylvania Reserves — Gallant Conduct at Dranesville — Captain McNeil of Warren Chosen as Colonel — A Temporary Division of the Regiment — Major Stone's Battalion in the '• Seven Days' Fight " — Winning Imperishable Honors — But at Great Loss of Life — Wonderful Bridge Building Feat • — The Rifles of the Bucktails Again in Use at Second Bull Run — Services Rendered by Lieutenant-Colonel Kane's Battalion in the Shenandoah — The Regiment Again United — Its Services at South Mountain — Antietam — Death of Colonel McNeil — An Incident in His Military Career — Freder- icksburg — Gettysburg — Death of Colonel Taylor, McNeil's Successor — In the Wilder- ness — At Spottsylvania — Bethesda Church — Expiration of Term of Service — Roster of the Warren County Men 179 CHAPTER XIX. FIFTY-EIGHTH AND EIGHTY-THIRD REGIMENTS. ■Colonel Curtis, of Warren, Authorized to Raise a Regiment — Is but Partially Successful — Its Consolidation with Another Fractional Command — The Field Officers — Regiment Proceeds to Fortress Monroe — Its Services in that Department — Ordered to Beau- fort, N. C. — Transferred to the Army of the James — Charging Fort Harrison — Subsequent Services — Muster Out — Eighty-Third Regiment — Where Recruited — Becomes Part of the Fifth Corps — Hotly Engaged During the Peninsula Campaign — Its Losses — Second Bull Run — Fredericksburg — Holding Little Round Top at Gettysburg — Worthless Substitutes and Drafted Men — Final Movements 192 CHAPTER XX. ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVENTH REGIMENT. In What Counties Recruited — Its Warren County Companies — Regimental Rendezvous Original Field Officers — Equipped at Harrisburg — Proceeds to Baltimore — Thence to Harper's Ferry — Assigned to Banks's Second Corps — In Action at Cedar Mountain — Heroic Daring Displayed at Antietam — Assigned to the Twelfth Corps Winter Quarters 1862-63 — At Chancellorsville — Gettysburg — Transferred to the Army of the Cumberland — Attacked at Midnight in the Wauhatchie Valley — Rebels Defeated — Lookout Mountain — Re-enlisting for a Second Term — Eleventh and Twelfth Corps Consolidated as the Twentieth — The Atlanta Campaign — Hard Marching and Fighting of Daily Occurrence — Before Atlanta — Death of Colonel Cobham — Atlanta Occupied — The March Through Georgia — Savannah Falls — .Sweeping Northward Through the Carolinas — The Round-up at Washington, D. C — Final Duties — Muster Out — Names and Record of Its Warren County Members 196 Contents. CHAPTER XXI. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH AND ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIFTH REGIMENTS. The One Hundred and Thirteenth Regiment of the Line or Twelfth Cavalry — Organized Near Philadelphia — Joins Pope in Virginia— Subsequent Services in the Shenandoah Valley — The First Command to Discover Lee's Northward Movement in 1863 Nearly Surrounded at Winchester — Cutting its Way Out— On the Upper Potomac — In Pursuit of Early —Its Last Battle — Muster Out— Roster of Company K — One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment— Company F Recruited at Tidioute — The Regi- ment is Ordered to the Front Without Adequate Equipments — In Line at Antietam — Assigned to the Second Corps — Its Desperate Struggle at Fredericksburg — Great Losses — Chancellorsville — With Hancock at Gettysburg — In the Wilderness with Grant— Charging the Enemy's Works at Spottsylvania— Cold Harbor — Petersburg — Part of the Regiment Captured — Other Movements and Battles — Names, Etc., of Its Warren County Members "*" CHAPTER XXII. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIRST AND ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINTH REGIMENTS. One Hundred and Fifty-first Regiment— Company F Recruited in Warren County — Regimental Organization — Colonel Harrison Allen, of Warren, in Command — Joins the Army of the Potomac — Assigned to the First Corps — The Chancellorsville Cam- paign — The Weary March to Gettysburg — The Battle — Heroic Conduct During the First Day's Fight — Frightful Losses — Retiring through the Town to a New Position — Continuance of the Battle — Victory, Though at a Fearful Cost — The Regiment Highly Complimented by General Doubleday — Its Warren County Men — One Hun- dred and Fifty-ninth Regiment, Otherwise Fourteenth Cavalry — Names of Its War- ren County Members — Regiment Organized at Pittsburg — Its Field Officers — Ordered to Harper's Ferry — Campaigning in the Shenandoah Valley — Attached to General Averell's Command — A Series of Raids and Battles — Brilliant Success Attending the Raid on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad — Great Destruction of Rebel Prop- erty — A March over the Alleghenies in Midwinter — Swimming Icy Torrents and Swollen Rivers — Co-operating with General Crook — Hunter's Lynchburg Campaign — Another Terrible March Accomplished — Details of Other Feats Performed and Battles Fought — Close of the War — Transferred to Fort Leavenworth — Muster Out 227" CHAPTER XXIII. ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SECOND REGIMENT AND OTHER COMMANDS. One Hundred and Eighty-second of the Line, Otherwise -the Twenty-first Cavalry — Its Warren County Contingent — Serves a Six Months' Term — Reorganized to Serve for Three Years — For Four Months Renders Gallant Service as an Infantry Regiment of the Fifth Corps — Its Battles — Remounted and Assigned to Gregg's Division — Subsequent Marches and Engagements — Names, Etc., of the Warren County Men — One Hundred and Ninety-third Regiment — Part of Company I Recruited in Warren County — Regiment Serves One Hundred Days — Two Hundred and Eleventh Regi- ment — Term One Year — Contains a Full Warren County Company — In Virginia — Makes a Brilliant Record — Roster of Company G — Captain James's Independent Company — An Account of Its Services — Names of Members — Captain Baldwin's Company of Militia of 1862 — List of members 238 Contents. CHAPTER XXIV. COUNTY BUILDINGS, ETC. Utilizing the Rooms of Private Dwellings for Public Purposes — The First Jail — The Village School-House Used as a Court-Room — Reminiscences Concerning Jail Breakers • — The First Court-House — The Second Jail — Stone Office Building — Destruction of Same by Fire — Another Erected of Brick — The Third or Present Jail — The New Court-House — County Farm 253 CHAPTER XXV. TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATIONS. Brokenstraw the Original Township of the County — Conewango Organized in 1808 — Spring Creek, Sugar Grove, Pine Grove, Kinzua, and Deerfield in 1821 — Columbus in 1825 — Limestone in 1829 — Elk in 1830 — Sheffield and Freehold in 1833 — Pleasant in 1834 — Southwest in 1838 — Eldred in 1843 — Glade in 1844 — Corydon in 1846 — Mead, Cherry Grove, and Pittsfield in 1847 — Farmington in 1853 — Triumph in 1878 — Watson in 1880 — Borough Incorporations 259 CHAPTER XXVI. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. The First " Agricultural Show " — Organization of the Warren County Agricultural Society — Its Officers — First Annual Fair — Names of Those to Whom were Awarded Pre- miums — Extract from Judge Wetmore's Address — Subsequent Fairs, Officers, etc. — Organization of the Union Agricultural Society — Sugar Grove its Headquarters — The Warren County Agricultural Fair Association Organized — Its Officers — Annual Exhibitions — Remarks 269 CHAPTER XXVII. THE PRESS. A Description of Warren's First Printer and Publisher — The Conewango Emigrant — Its First Editor — Interesting Details — The Warren Gazette — Its Editors, Publishers, etc. — Voice of the People — The Union — Warren Bulletin — Democratic Advocate — Warren Standard — Warren Ledger — People's Monitor — Warren Mail — Toungsville Express — Tidioute Publications — Warren Mirror — Clarendon Record — Evening Paragraph — Sugar Grove News — Bear Lake Record 276 CHAPTER XXVIII. PETROLEUM. The " Fontaine de Bitume " — The Earliest French Missionaries Aware of its Existence — Also the English — Early References to the Same — Washington and Jefferson Speak of "Bituminous Oil" in Virginia — Evidences that the French Gathered the Oil at Titus- v iU e n is Known to Early Inhabitants as " Seneca Oil " — An Account of the First Producer and Refiner of Petroleum in Pennsylvania— He Terms it "Carbon Oil" — Colonel Drake's Discovery — Descriptions by Correspondents— Great Excitement at Titusville Warren Men as Pioneer Operators — Subsequent Developments of Oil Pro- ducing Territory— Handsome Profits— Tidioute Field Opened— Squatters— Early Man- ner of Shipments— Annual Production of Pennsylvania and New York Fields Since 1859 285 io Contents. CHAPTER XXIX. CIVIL LIST. Members of the United States House of Representatives — Judge United States Court of Claims — United States Consul — Lieutenant-Governor — Auditor-General — Member of State Constitutional Convention — State Senators — Members of Assembly — Presi- dent Judges — Sheriffs — County Commissioners — Prothonotaries — County Treas- urers — Registers and Recorders — County Commissioners' Clerks — Jury Commission- ers — Coroners — Justices of the Peace 294 CHAPTER XXX. RIVER NAVIGATION, ETC., WAGON ROADS, RAILROADS. Source of the Conewango — Navigable Waters of the County-- Asking Aid for Their Im- provement — Survey of the Allegheny by U. S. Engineers — Its Length and Fall from Olean to Pittsburgh — Early Manner of Transporting Freight and Passengers — Keel- boats — Their Great Usefulness — Shipping Lumber to New Orleans — Names of Steam- boats Engaged in the Warren and Pittsburgh Trade — An Immense Raft — Description of Rafting — Nathan 1 Brown's Ventures — Wagon Roads Laid Out by the Pioneers — Present Condition of Highways — Railroads — Celebrating the Opening of Railway Communication with Erie — Date of Completing Other Railroads 302 CHAPTER XXXI. THE BENCH AND BAR. Interesting Memoirs of the President Judges now Deceased — Full Mention of Those Who Survive — The Bar — A Complete Roll of Attorneys Admitted Since the Organization of the County — Remarks Concerning Some of the Earliest Resident Attorneys — Notes Relating to Present Attorneys in Active Practice 311 CHAPTER XXXII. HISTORY OF THE BOROUGH OF WARREN 324 CHAPTER XXXIII. HISTORY OF CONEWANGO TOWNSHIP 394 CHAPTER XXXIV. HISTORY OF BROKENSTRAW TOWNSHIP 401 CHAPTER XXXV. HISTORY OF SUGAR GROVE TOWNSHIP 420 CHAPTER XXXVI. HISTORY OF PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP 443 CHAPTER XXXVII. HISTORY OF DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP 453 CHAPTER XXXVIII. HISTORY OF SPRING CREEK TOWNSHIP 467 CHAPTER XXXIX HISTORY OF KINZUA TOWNSHIP 475 Contents. i i CHAPTER XL. HISTORY OF COLUMBUS TOWNSHIP 483 CHAPTER XLI. HISTORY OP LIMESTONE TOWNSHIP 493 CHAPTER XLII. HISTORY OP ELK TOWNSHIP 498 CHAPTER XLIII. HISTORY OP SHEFFIELD TOWNSHIP 511 CHAPTER XLIV. HISTORY OF FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP 523 CHAPTER XLV. HISTORY OF PLEASANT TOWNSHIP 532 CHAPTER XLVI. HISTORY OF SOUTHWEST TOWNSHIP 537 CHAPTER XLVII. HISTORY OF ELDRED TOWNSHIP 545 CHAPTER XLVIII. HISTORY OF GLADE TOWNSHIP 550 CHAPTER XLIX. HISTORY OF CORYDON TOWNSHIP 559 CHAPTER L. HISTORY OP PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP 566 CHAPTER LI. HISTORY OP MEAD TOWNSHIP 576 CHAPTER LII. HISTORY OF CHERRY GROVE TOWNSHIP 583 , CHAPTER LIII. * HISTORY OF FARMINGTON TOWNSHIP 586 CHAPTER LIV. HISTORY OF TRIUMPH TOWNSHIP 593 CHAPTER LV. HISTORY OF WATSON TOWNSHIP 597 CHAPTER LVI. BIOGRAPHICAL 5 " BRIEF PERSONALS 691 12 Contents. ILLUSTRATIONS. Allen, Orren C, facing 354 Barnes, Erastus facing 512 Beaty, David facing 554 Benedict, W. B., facing 538 Blodget, A. C, M.D facing 414 Brown, Judge Easselas, facing 312 Currie, Joshua T., facing 410 Curwen, John, M.D facing 604 Davis, Alpheus J., facing 628 Dunham, M. B., facing 644 Eldred, N. B facing 638 Graham, Samuel M facing 684 Gray, Robert M facing 420 Grandin, Samuel facing 462 Grossenburg, Samuel, facing 576 Hall, Orris facing 338 Hall, Chapin facing 660 Harmon, Hosea, facing 430 Hertzel, Andrew facing 334 Hunter, O. H., facing 362 Irvine, William A., M.D., facing 402 Jackson, William M., facing 468 Jamieson, H. A facing 346 Johnson, S. P., facing 316 McKinney, Peter facing 572 McGraw, Michael, facing 594 Marsh, William S facing 586 Miles, Robert ■ • • • facing 324 Merritt, C. C facing 542 Nesmith, Benjamin facing 358 Rogers, Alson facing 632 Roy, James, facing 504 Rouse, Hon. Henry R., facing 256 Sanford, J. G facing 546 Scofield, Glenni W facing 616 Sechriest, J. C, facing 688 Shortt, W. H, facing 406 Stone, C. W facing 294 Struthers, Thomas facing 310 Tanner, Archibald facing 148 Thompson, Robert facing 416 Watson, Lewis Findlay, facing 290 Walton, John, facing 674 Wetmore, C. C, facing 658 Wetmore, Hon. Lansing, facing 146 Wetmore, Hon. L. D facing 610 White, Jay, facing 564 Whitman, John facing 668 BIOGRAPHICAL. Allen, Orren C, 683 Barnes. Erastus 635 Beaty, David 609 Benedict, Willis B 629 Blodget, A. C, M.D 634 Brown, Judge Rasselas, 647 Currie, Joshua T., 627 Curwen. John, M.D 605 Davis, Alpheus J 628 Dinsmoor, Charles 650 Dunham. M. B., 644 Eldred, N. B., 639 Graham, Samuel M 685 Gray, Robert M 664 Grandin, Samuel, 638 Grossenburg, Samuel 663 Hall, Orris 649 Hall, Chapin 659 Harmon, Hosea 666 Hertzel, Andrew 652 Hunter, O. H., 646 Irvine, Doctor William A 671 Jackson, William M., 672 Jamieson, Hugh A 660 Johnson, 'S. P 686 McKinney, Peter 626 McGraw, Michael 643 Marsh, William S., 632 Miles, Robert 636 Merritt, Hon. Charles C 624 Nesmith, Benjamin, 681 Orr, Richard S 678 Rogers, Alson 633 Roy, James 637 Rouse, Hon. Henry R 679 Sanford, Joel Gr., 676 Scofield, Glenni W 616 Sechriest, John C 688 Shortt, W. H 690 Stone, Charles W 613 Struthers, Thomas, 599 Tanner, Archibald 621 Thompson, Robert 689 Watson, Lewis Findlay 606 Walton, John, 673 Wetmore, C. C, 658 Wetmore, Hon. Lansing 656 Wetmore, Hon. L. D., 610 White, Jay 655 Whitman, John 669 HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY CHAPTER I. OUR SUBJECT SOMEWHAT EXPLAINED. The Beginning of Warren County's History — Date of Organization — Its Boundaries — Its Area and Streams — Origin of its Name — The System to be Pursued in Succeeding Chapters. ON that eventful mid-summer's day in 1749 when Captain Bienville de Celeron, " Knight of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis," in com- mand of two hundred and fifteen French soldiers arid fifty-five Indians, appeared on the south bank of the Allegheny River, opposite the mouth of Conewango Creek, there buried an engraved leaden plate, and, with the dis- play of much pomp and ceremony, formally assumed possession of this and adjoining regions vast in extent, in the name of the reigning king of France, a stand-point was reached ; a beginning, as it were, was made in the real, well- authenticated history of Warren county, Pennsylvania. But, in the endeavor to explain the long and interesting chain of events which led up to this occu- pation by the French, to describe the conflicting claims of the English and their various operations, civil as well as military, in the effort to obtain posses- sion of the same territory, and to briefly outline the history of the primordial inhabitants of " these cantons," it is found necessary to go delving back in the past, two centuries or more before the advent of Celeron upon these shores, to gather up the threads of an historic narrative which, upon perusal, it is believed will not prove uninteresting to the reader. Warren county was not organized as a separate shire until the year 18 19. Hence, as foreshadowed in the preceding paragraph, a large — and by far the 2 14 History of Warren County. most interesting — part of its history had at that time already taken place. It is deemed necessary, therefore, to point out that the subject of this work is the territory comprised within the present boundaries of the county of Warren, together with its inhabitants, no matter whether the events recorded occurred before or after the beginning of the independent existence of the county. The county of Warren, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is bounded on the north by the State of New York, or, in other words, by the line of the forty-second degree of north latitude ; on the east by McKean county, on the south by Forest and Venango counties, and on the west by the counties of Crawford and Erie. In extent it is about thirty-two miles in length from east to west, by twenty-six miles in width, and contains fully eight hundred square miles of territory, or five hundred and twelve thousand acres of land. Its most important stream, the historic Allegheny, entering near the northeast corner and flowing southwesterly, divides its territory into two distinct parts, leaving about three-eighths of it on the southeast side. The tributaries of the Allegheny, of sufficient size to be useful for propelling machinery or floating rafts, are Willow Creek, Sugar Run, and Kinzua Creek, entering from the east, and Cornplanter and Hemlock Runs, and Conewango, Brokenstraw, Tidioute, and West Hickory Creeks, entering from the west ; the Kinzua, Conewango, and Brokenstraw being navigable from ten to twenty miles, for rafts of timber and manufactured lumber. The county seat, and subsequently the county, were named after Joseph Warren, the distinguished American patriot who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, and who was but eight years of age at the time Celeron made his appearance at the mouth of the Conewango. We have been thus particular in designating the location and the limits of the county in the beginning in order to place the subject of this history clearly before the reader. Whatever has existed or occurred within those limits, or has been done by the residents of the territory in question, comes within the scope of this work and, if considered of sufficient consequence, will be duly noticed. It will be necessary, also, to frequently refer to outside matters, in order to make plain the early annals of the county and to show the succession of events. Such extraneous references, however, will be very brief and will be confined chiefly to a few of the earlier chapters. Further, when "Warren county " is spoken of previous to the naming of that county, it will be under- stood that the words are used to avoid indirect expression, and mean the terri- tory now included within its boundaries. So, too, for convenience, the lands now comprised in a township or village will sometimes be mentioned by its present name, before any such township, etc., was in existence. Natural Features, Etc. is CHAPTER II. NATURAL FEATURES, ETC. Topography — Character of Forests — The Soil — Its Products — Minerals — The Animal Kingdom — The Eries — The Kahquahs, or Neuter Nation — The Hurons — The Iroquois — Earlier Occupants — Inferences. IT is deemed fitting, before beginning the record of events, to give a brief description of the natural features of Warren county, together with its occu- pants, its neighbors, and its relations with the rest of the world, as these existed when the first European came into this vicinity. The configuration of the surface of the country is the same now as then, and may be described in the present tense. Generally speaking, it is a region of rough and broken superficies. At one time in the world's history, without a doubt, it was a comparatively smooth table-land, sloping somewhat sharply from the east to west-southwest ; but time's erosions, and the action of the ele- ments during a period beyond the record of man, have so changed its exterior that it is now, and for many centuries has been, a land varied with hills, plains, and narrow bottoms. The Kinzua hills, the highest elevations in the county, attain an altitude of nearly two thousand two hundred feet above tide-water. From thence as we proceed westward the hills decrease in height until the western border of the county is reached, where the highest points are only a little more than three-fourths as high as the hills or mountains towering above the valley formed by the waters of Kinzua Creek. As already indicated, the county is well watered and drained by numerous streams which have played no unimportant part in its settlement and subse- quent development. These, together with the minor runs and rivulets, have cut the surface into the irregularly shaped hills and valleys seen to-day, and have fashioned the bold, precipitous bluffs and hillsides so noticeable along the chief water-courses, more especially in the eastern part. West of the Allegheny and Conewango, however, at some distance back from those streams, the sur- face assumes a less rugged appearance, and contains a greater number of ara- ble acres per square mile. The county is singularly free from swamps of any extent, and, besides its limpid, swift-flowing streams, springs of pure, soft water generally abound, and frequently are to be found on the highest lands. Thus far the natural characteristics of Warren county are the same now that they were two centuries ago and had been for unknown ages before, save that less water flows along the streams in summer than when their banks were shaded by the primeval forests. Some new names have been applied by the white man, but in many cases even the names remain unchanged. 1 6 History of Warren County. The outward dress, however, of these hills and valleys is widely different from what it was during the French occupation. The land originally — except- ing, perhaps, the crests and precipitous sides of the highest hills and the few acres of bottom land devoted to the culture of corn, etc., by the Indians — was heavily timbered with pine, hemlock, cherry, whitewood, oak, chestnut, hick- ory, maple, beech, ash, butternut, and all other varieties indigenous to this por- tion of America. As fine forests of pine, without a doubt, as ever grew on this continent then occupied the lands along the Brokenstraw, the Conewango, the Tionesta, and the Kinzua. Large bodies of the same species of timber were also to be seen in many other localities ; but in the vicinity of the four streams named was centered the bulk of Warren's timber of commerce. The beech woods of Farmington and the hard-wood uplands of Sugar Grove were also noted as early landmarks. The soil of the county was — and is — of mold, clay, and loam, variously intermixed, and, as time has proven, is easily cultivated and well adapted to the culture of wheat, corn, oats, barley, buckwheat, rye, etc. Vegetables and the hardier varieties of fruits also do well. In speaking further of the original forest growth and the soil's fitness for the production of farm products, we will for convenience of description divide the lands of the county into three classes : First, oak and chestnut mainly comprised the timber of the hilly parts, the soil of which has been found well adapted to the growth of the cereals. Second, on the more level lands and those bordering the streams grew a mixture of timber, such as whitewood, cucumber, maple, cherry, beech, butternut, hick- ory, and occasionally oak and chestnut. This class has proved suitable for the cultivation of the coarser grains, corn, etc., and produces grass in abun- dance. Third, the pine and hemlock lands, once considered valuable only for their timber; but time and experience have shown that, when cleared and intelligently cultivated, valuable farm lands are the results. Iron ore and bituminous coal are found in various localities, and quarries of sandstone abound in most parts of the county. These stones are of a supe- rior quality for building purposes, making nearly as good an appearance as granite and other varieties brought from a distance. In the long ago the animal kingdom was amply represented. The deer strayed in great numbers through the forest. In the thickest retreats the gray wolf made his lair. The huge black bear often rolled his unwieldy form beneath the nut- bearing trees, and frequently the wild scream of the panther, the fiercest of American beasts, startled the Indian hunter into even more than usual vigilance. The porcupine and the raccoon were common, as well as the wildcat and the Canada lynx, and squirrels of various kinds leaped gayly from tree to tree. Here the wild turkey and the partridge often furnished food for the family of the red hunter, pigeons in enormous quantities yearly made their sum- mer home, numerous smaller birds fluttered among the trees ; the eagle, hawk, Natural Features, Etc. 17 and crow occasionally swept through space just above the tree tops ; the streams of pure, sparkling water teemed with America's choicest fish — the speckled brook-trout; and, besides some varieties of harmless reptiles, thousands of deadly rattlesnakes hissed and writhed among the rocks, on the hillsides, and in the valleys of every portion of the county. Of all these there is no question. Indeed, of all the living things enumer- ated in the foregoing paragraph, all yet exist here, with the exception, per- haps, of the gray wolf, the wild turkey, and the panther. But whether or not the buffalo ever honored the upper Allegheny valley with his lordly presence has been a matter of considerable speculation and debate. We think that he did. It is well authenticated that when the French first appeared on the stream, flowing but a few miles westward from the western boundary of War- ren county — by the Indians known as the " Wenango," by the French as the "River Le Bceuf," and by the English and Americans as French Creek — great numbers of buffalo were found there. For that reason the river was named Le Bceuf, or Beef River, by the exploring French missionaries, and many years subsequently the fort built on or near the site of Waterford by the French was given the same appellation — Le Bceuf. The buffalo is an animal of great endurance, ever on the move by day and frequently at night, and capable of traversing many miles in each twenty-four hours. There was none to molest or make him afraid other than small parties of Indian hunters. He was free to roam in any and all directions. Hence we infer and conclude that, at a time when these animals frequented French Creek valley in such large numbers, they also at intervals visited the Allegheny and disported in its cool, clear waters. At the time of which we are now speaking, the date of the coming of the first French missionaries and traders to these regions, the country bordering the southern shores of Lake Erie, and for a great but unknown distance to the south of it, was in the possession of two strong tribes or nations, known as the Errieronons or Erie or Cat nation, and the Andestiquerons or Kahquah nation. As Eries and Kahquahs they were generally known, and these are the names we have adopted in speaking of them. The French also called the Kahquahs (who occupied territory to the east- ward of the Eries) the Neuter nation, because they lived at peace with the fierce tribes which dwelt on either side of them. They were reported by their first European visitors to number twelve thousand souls. This, however, was doubtless a very great exaggeration, as that number was greater than was to be found among all the Six Nations of the Iroquois in the day of their greatest glory. It is a universal habit to exaggerate the number of barbarians, who cover much ground and make a large show in comparison with their real strength. They were undoubtedly, however, a large and powerful nation, as size and power were estimated among Indian tribes. Their chief village was History of Warren County. located on or near the site of the city of Buffalo, N. Y., though others were found throughout the wide territory occupied by them. The greater part of the shore of Lake Erie, however, was occupied by the tribe from which the lake derives its name, the Eries. This name is always mentioned by the early French writers as meaning "cat." On Sauson s map, published in 1651, Lake Erie is called "Lac du Chat," Lake of the Cat. There were certainly no domestic cats among the Indians until introduced by the whites, and the name must be attributed to the wildcat or panther. It may have been assumed by this tribe because its warriors thought themselves as ferocious as these animals, or may have been assigned to them by their neighbors because of the abundance of wildcats and panthers in the territory inhabited by the Eries. To the northwest of the Neuter nation dwelt the Algonquins, or Hurons, reaching to the shores of the great lake which perpetuates their name, while to the eastward of the former was the home of those powerful confederates whose fame has extended throughout the world, whose civil polity has been the wonder of sages, whose warlike achievements have compelled the admira- tion of soldiers, whose eloquence has thrilled the hearts of the most cultivated hearers — the brave, the sagacious and far-dreaded Iroquois ! They then con- sisted of but five nations, and their " Long House," as they termed their con- federacy, extended from east to west through all the rich central portion of the State of New York. The Mohawks were in the fertile valley of the Mo- hawk River ; the Oneidas, the most peaceful of the confederates, were beside the lake, the name of which still keeps their memory green ; then, as now, the territory of the Onondagas was the gathering- place of leaders, though State and other conventions have taken the place of the council fires which once blazed near the site of Syracuse ; the Cayugas kept guard over the beautiful lake which now bears their name, while westward from Seneca Lake ranged the fierce, untamable "men of the hills," better known as the Senecas, the warriors par excellence of the confederacy. Their villages reached westward to within thirty or forty miles of the Niagara, or to the vicinity of the present village of Batavia, N. Y. For many years deadly war prevailed between the Iroquois and the Hurons, and the hostility between the former and the Eries was scarcely less fervent. Betwixt these contending foemen the peaceful Kahquahs long maintained their neutrality, and the warriors of the East, of the Northwest, and of the South- west suppressed their hatred for the time, as they met by the council fires of these aboriginal peace-makers. Like other Indian tribes, the Kahquahs guarded against surprise by plac- ing their villages a short distance back from any navigable water — in this case from the Niagara River and Lake Erie. One of those villages was named Onguiaahra, after the mighty torrent which they designated by that name — a Natural Features, Etc. 19 name which has since been shortened and transformed into Niagara. In dress, food, and customs the Kahquahs do not appear to have differed much from the other savages around them : wearing the same scanty covering of skins, living chiefly on meat killed in the chase, but raising patches of Indian corn, beans, and gourds. Such were the inhabitants of a region which was then crossed by no imag- inary lines of latitude and longitude, State, county, or township, and such their surroundings, when first visited by the French. Of the still earlier occupants of this territory but little will be said, for there is really very little from which one can draw a. reasonable inference. The Iro- quois and the Hurons had been in New York and Canada for many genera- tions before the advent of the white man. Their earliest European visitors heard no story of their having recently migrated from other lands, and they certainly would have heard it had any such assertion been made. True, there were some vague traditions among the Iroquois tending to show that they originally came from Canada, but at a period long before their discovery by the whites. The Eries and Kahquahs must also have been for a goodly time in the localities occupied by them, to have acquired the strength in numbers, and the power necessarily required to maintain- their positions — the first, as the deadly enemies of the Iroquois; the second, as a great neutral nation standing between these opponents. Says Crisfield Johnson, in his interesting " History of Erie County, N. Y." — whose views on this topic coincide with our own — " All or any of these tribes might have been on the ground they occupied in 1620 any time from a hundred to a thousand years, for all that can be learned from any reliable source. Much has been written of mounds, fortifications, bones, relics, etc., usually supposed to have belonged to some half-civilized people of gigantic size, who lived here before the Indians, but there is very little evidence to jus- tify the supposition. " It is true that numerous earthworks, evidently intended for fortifications, have been found in this county, as in other parts of Western New York, inclosing from two to ten acres each and covered with forest trees, the concen- tric circles of which indicate an age of from two hundred to five hundred years, with other evidences of a still earlier growth. These prove with reasonable certainty that there were human inhabitants here several hundred years ago, and that they found it necessary thus to defend themselves against their ene- mies, but not that those inhabitants were of an essentially different race from the Indians who were discovered here by the earliest Europeans. " It has been suggested that the Indians never built breastworks, and that these fortifications were beyond their patience and skill. But they certainly did build palisades, frequently requiring much labor and ingenuity. When the French first came to Montreal they discovered an Indian town of fifty huts, 20 History of Warren County. which was encompassed by three lines of palisades some thirty feet high, with one well-secured entrance. On the inside was a rampart of timber, ascended by ladders and supplied with heaps of stones ready to be cast at an enemy. When Samuel de Champlain, the founder of Canada, at the head of a large body of Hurons and accompanied by ten Frenchmen, attacked the principal village of the Onondagas, near Onondaga Lake, in October, 1615, he found it defended by four rows of interlaced palisades, so strong that, notwithstanding the number of his followers, the firearms of his Frenchmen, and his own gal- lant leadership, he was unable to overcome the resistance of the Onondagas, and was compelled to retreat across Lake Ontario. " Certainly those who had the necessary patience, skill, and industry to build such works as those were quite capable of building intrenchments of earth. In fact, one of the largest fortresses of Western New York, known as Fort Hill, in the town of Le Roy, Genesee county, contained, when first discovered, great piles of round stones, evidently intended for use against assailants, and showing about the same progress in the art of war as was evinced by the pali- sade builders. " True, the Iroquois when first discovered did not build forts of earth ; but it is much more likely that they had adandoned them, in the course of improve- ment, for the more convenient palisades, than that a whole race of half- civilized men had disappeared from the country, leaving no other trace than these earth- works. Considering the light weapons then in vogue, the palisade was an improvement on the earth-work, offering equal resistance to missiles and much greater resistance to escalades. " Men are apt to display a superfluity of wisdom in dealing with such prob- lems, and to reject simple explanations merely because they are simple. The Indians were here when the country was discovered, and so were the earth- works ; and what evidence there is, goes to show that the former constructed the latter. " It has been claimed that human bones of gigantic size have been discov- ered ; but when the evidence is sifted and the constant tendency to exaggerate is taken into account, there will be found no reason to believe that they were relics of any other race than the American Indians. " The numerous small axes or hatchets which have been found throughout Western New York were unquestionably of French origin, and so, too, doubt- less, were the few other utensils of metal which have been discovered in this vicinity. " On the whole, we may safely conclude that, while it is by no means impos- sible that some race altogether different from the Indians existed here before them, there is no good evidence that such was the case, and the strong proba- bilities are that if there was any such race it was inferior, rather than superior, to the people discovered here by the Europeans." European Discoveries, Etc., 1534-1655. 21 CHAPTER III. EUROPEAN DISCOVERIES, ETC., 1534-1655. The French in New France— The Puritans in New England— The Dutch in New Nether- lands—Activity of the French— Dutch Progress— The Jesuits— The Company of a Hundred Partners — Capture and Restoration of New France— Great Extent of the Province of Massa- chusetts Bay — Brebceuf and Chaumonot— Destruction of the Kahquahs and Eries— Seneca Tradition — French Account — Indian Hatchets. IN 1534, only forty-two years after the discovery of America by Columbus, Jacques Cartier, a skilled French navigator, discovered the broad, beauti- ful river connecting Lake Ontario with the ocean. He sailed up that river to the future site of Montreal and formally took possession of all the country round about, on behalf of Francis I, the reigning sovereign of France. He named the newly-discovered region New France. The following year he made a second voyage, with the object in view of finding a direct route to India, and on reaching the mouth of that magnificent stream named it the St. Lawrence, in honor of the day of its discovery. He passed up the river a con- siderable distance, finding many Indian villages, but, not knowing the climate or heeding the flight of time, the rigors of a northern winter were upon him ere he realized their terrors ; and amid untold sufferings his hardy but unpre- pared seamen were compelled to remain on the St. Lawrence, their ship being ice-bound, until spring opened, when the survivors returned to France. Six years later Cartier made another voyage across the Atlantic, for the purpose of founding a permanent colony of French on the St. Lawrence; but in 1543 all was abandoned, and for more than a half century the disturbed condition of France prevented further progress in America. On the 3d of July, 1603, Samuel de Champlain planted the white flag of France on the site of Quebec, and three years later on that of Montreal. From this time forward for many years the devoted missionaries and fearless explor- ers of France were unremitting in their efforts to spread the Catholic faith and extend the French dominions throughout the vast region bordering upon the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes. In 1606 James I, king of England, granted to an association of English- men, called the Plymouth Company, the territory of New England ; but no permanent settlement was made until the 9th day of November, 1620, when from the historic Mayflower the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock. The English settlements were expected to stretch westward, between north latitude 48 and 34 , from the Atlantic Ocean to the " South Sea," or Pacific Ocean, and patents were granted to accommodate this liberal expansion. In 1609 the English navigator Henry Hudson, while in the employ of the 22 History of Warren County. Dutch East India Company, discovered the river which still bears his name, and soon after the Hollanders established fortified trading posts at its mouth and at Fort Orange, now Albany, and opened a commerce in furs, etc. They, too, made an indefinite claim of territory to the westward. All European nations at that time recognized the right of discovery as constituting a valid claim to lands occupied only by scattered bands of sav- ages ; but there were numerous disputes as to application, and especially as to the amount of surrounding country which each discoverer could claim on behalf of his sovereign. Thus during the first quarter of the seventeenth century three distinct streams of emigration, with three attendant claims of sovereignty, were con- verging toward the region of the Great Lakes. For the time being, however, the French had the best opportunity and the Dutch next, while the English, apparently, were third in the race. The French were the first white men to make explorations in the vicinity of Lake Erie. As early as 1611-12 Champlain ascended the chain of lakes as far as Lake Huron, and from that time forward the Indians were visited by numerous French priests, on the double mission of spreading the gospel and promoting the interests of their king and nation. In r623 permanent Dutch emigration, as distinguished from mere fur-trad- ing expeditions, first began upon the Hudson. The colony was named New Netherlands, and the first governor was sent thither by the Batavian Republic. Two years later a few Jesuits arrived on the banks of the St. Lawrence, the advance guard of a host of representatives of that remarkable order, which was in time to crowd out almost all other Catholic missionaries from Canada and the whole lake region, and substantially monopolize the ground them- selves. In 1626 Father de la Roche Daillon, a Recollet missionary, visited the Kahquahs, or Neuter nation, and passed the winter preaching the gospel among them. This active, keen-sighted missionary also found time during his winter's sojourn in the wilderness to visit and describe the oil springs in New York and Western Pennsylvania. In 1627 Cardinal Richelieu organized the company of New France, other- wise known as the Company of a Hundred Partners. The three chief objects of this association were to extend the fur trade, to convert the Indians to Christianity, and to discover a new route to China by way of the Great Lakes of North America. The company succeeded in extending the fur trade, but not in going to China by way of Lake Erie, and not to any great extent in converting the Indians. By the terms of their charter they were to transport six thousand emigrants to New France and to furnish them with an ample supply of both priests and artisans. Champlain was made governor. His first two years' experience was bitter in the extreme. The British men-of- war captured his supplies at sea, the Iroquois warriors, whose enmity he had European Discoveries, Etc., 1534-1655. 23 incurred, tomahawked his hunters on land, and in 1629 an English fleet sailed up the St. Lawrence and captured Quebec. Soon afterward, however, peace was concluded, New France was restored to King Louis, and Champlain resumed his gubernatorial duties. In 1628 Charles I of England granted a charter for the government of Massachusetts Bay. It included the territory between latitude 40 2' and 44 15' north, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, making a province two hundred and fifty-four miles wide and about four thousand miles long. The present county of Warren was included within its limits, as well as the greater part of the State of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile the Jesuit missionaries, fired with unbounded zeal and unsur- passed courage, traversed the wilderness, holding up the cross before the bewil- dered savages. They naturally had much better success with the Hurons, afterward known as the Wyandots, than with the Iroquois, whom Champlain had wantonly and foolishly attacked in order to please the Hurons (and to show the effectiveness of his firearms), and who afterward remained, with the exception of the Senecas, the almost unvarying enemies of the French. Flourishing stations were soon afterward established by the Jesuits as far west as Lake Huron. One of these was Ste. Marie, near the eastern extremity of that lake, and it was from this station that Fathers Brebceuf and Chaumonot set forth in November, 1640, to visit the Neuter nation. They returned the next spring, having visited eighteen Kahquah villages, but having met with very little encouragement among them. They reported the Neuter Indians to be stronger and finer-looking than any other savages with whom they were acquainted. In 1 64 1 Father l'Allemant wrote to the Jesuit provincial in France, describ- ing the expedition of Breboeuf and Chaumonot, and one of his expressions goes far to settle the question whether or not the buffalo ever inhabited the country bordering upon and to the southward of Lake Erie. He says of the Neuter nation, repeating the information just obtained from the two mission- aries : " They are much employed in hunting deer, buffalo, 1 wild-cats, wolves, beaver, and other animals." Down to this time the Kahquahs had succeeded in maintaining their neu- trality between the fierce belligerents on either side, though the Jesuit mission- aries reported them as being more friendly to the Iroquois than to the Hurons. What caused the quarrel between the Iroquois and the tribes immediately to the westward of them on the south shore of Lake Erie is not known ; but some time during the next fifteen years the Iroquois fell upon both the Kah- quahs and the Eries, and exterminated them as nations from the face of the earth. The precise years in which these events occurred are uncertain, nor is 1 A French memoir, written in 1714, says : "Buffalo are found on the south shore of Lake Erie, but not on the north shore." 24 History of Warren County. it known whether the Kahquahs or the Eries first felt the deadly anger of the Five Nations. French accounts favor the view that the Neuter nation were first destroyed, while according to Seneca tradition the Kahquahs still dwelt at the foot of Lake Erie, and southward to the head waters of the Allegheny, when the Eries were annihilated by the Iroquois. This tradition has been repeated about as follows : The Eries had been jealous of the Iroquois from the time the latter formed their confederacy. About the time under consideration the Eries challenged their rivals to a grand game of ball, a hundred men on a side, for a heavy stake of furs and wampum. For two successive years the challenge was declined ; but when it was again repeated it was accepted by the confederates, and their chosen hundred met their opponents near the head of the Niagara River. They defeated the Eries in ball-playing, and then the latter proposed a foot-race between ten of the fleetest young men on each side. Again the ath- letic Iroquois were victorious. Then the Kahquahs, who had a large village near by, invited the contestants to their home. While there the chief of the Eries proposed a wrestling match between the champions on each side, the victor in each match to have the pleasing privilege of knocking out his adver- sary's brains with his tomahawk. This challenge too was accepted, though, as the veracious Iroquois historians assert, with no intention of claiming the forfeit if successful. In the first bout the Iroquois wrestler threw his antagonist, but declined to play the part of executioner. The chief of the Eries, infuriated by his cham- pion's defeat, himself struck the vanquished wrestler dead, as he lay supine where the victor had thrown him. Another and another of the Eries was in the same way conquered by the Iroquois, and in the same way dispatched by the wrathful chief. By this time the Eries were in a terrific state of excite- ment, and the leader of the victorious confederates, fearing an outbreak, ordered his followers to take up their march toward home, which they did, with no further collision. But the jealousy and hatred of the Eries was still more inflamed by defeat, and they soon laid a plan to surprise and, if possible, destroy the Iroquois. A Seneca woman, who had married among the Eries but was then a widow, fled to her own people and gave notice of the attack. Runners were at once sent out, and all the Iroquois were assembled and led forth to meet the invaders. The two bodies met near Honeoye Lake, about half way between Canandaigua and the Genesee, in New York. After a terrible conflict the Eries were totally defeated, the flying remnants pursued to their homes by the victorious confed- erates, and the whole nation almost completely destroyed. It was five months before the Iroquois warriors returned from the deadly pursuit. Subsequently a large force composed of the descendants of the Eries came European Discoveries, Etc., 1534-1655. 25 from the Far West to attack the Iroquois, but were utterly routed and slain to a man, near the site of the great city now seen at the foot of Lake Erie, their bodies burned, and the ashes buried in a mound lately visible, near the old Indian church on the Buffalo Creek Reservation. Such is the tradition. It is a very nice story — for the Iroquois ; since, according to their account, their opponents were the aggressors throughout, that the young men of the Five Nations were invariably victorious in the athletic games, and nothing but self-preservation induced them to destroy their enemies. On the other hand, scattered French accounts go to show that the Kah- quahs were destroyed first. They had been visited by French Catholic mis- sionaries as early as 1626. They were found to be living on terms of amity with the surrounding warlike tribes, and were governed by a queen, termed in their own language Yagowania, and in the Seneca tongue Gegosasa, who was regarded as the " mother of nations," and whose office was that of "Keeper of the house of peace." The chief warrior of the tribe or nation was Ragnotha, whose residence was at Teosahwa, or " Place of Basswood," the site of the city of Buffalo of to-day. About 1645 a bloody dissension broke out between the several branches of the Iroquois family. During its progress two Seneca war- riors appeared at Gegosasa's lodge and were hospitably received. They were preparing to smoke the pipe of peace when a deputation of Massassaugas (a tribe which occupied the region immediately to the westward of the Eries, or at the western extremity of Lake Erie) was announced, who demanded venge- ance, for the murder of their chief's son, at the hands of the Seneca tribe. This the queen, in her mediatorial capacity, was prompt to grant. She even set out with a large body of warriors to enforce her decree, and dispatched messengers to Ragnotha to command his assistance. The visiting Senecas hastened back to their friends to notify them of the queen's course, and a body of fighting men was hastily gathered in ambush on the broad trail over which her army was passing. The Kahquahs had no anticipation of trouble at that point, and the first they knew of the presence of the Senecas was when they heard their dreadful war-whoop. The contest that ensued was one of desper- ation. At first the Kahquahs gained the advantage ; but the Senecas rallied and finally compelled their enemy to flee, leaving six hundred dead upon the field of battle. This success was followed up and the defeated Kahquahs pur- sued and hunted relentlessly, until they were as a nation exterminated. The war of extermination between the Eries and the Iroquois occurred about 1650-55, and was one of the most cruel in aboriginal history. From the beginning it was understood by both sides to mean the utter ruin of one tribe or the other. The - Eries organized a powerful body of warriors and sought to surprise their enemies in their own country. Their plans were thwarted, however, by a faithless woman, who secretly gave the Iroquois warning. The latter at once raised a force and marched out to meet the 26 History of Warren County. invaders. The engagement resulted in a complete victory for the Iroquois. Seven times the Eries crossed the stream dividing the hostile lines, and they were as often driven back with terrible loss. On another occasion several hundred Iroquois attacked nearly three times their number of Eries, encamped on the Allegheny River 1 not far from the southern boundary of Warren county, dispersed them, killed a great many, and compelled the balance to fly to remote regions. In another battle, fought near the site of the Cattaraugus Indian mission house, on the upper waters of the Allegheny, the loss of the Eries was enormous. Finally a pestilence broke out among the Eries, "which," says an early writer, "swept away greater numbers even than the club and arrow." 2 The Iroquois then took advantage of their opportunity to end all fear of future trouble from the ill-fated Eries. Those who had been taken captive were, with rare exceptions, tortured and remorselessly butchered, and their wives and children were distributed among the Iroquois villages, never again to be restored to their relatives and friends. The few survivors fled to distant regions in the West and South, and were followed by the undy- ing hatred of the Iroquois. Amid these conflicting statements it is only certain that between 1640 and 1655 the fierce confederates of Central New York "put out the fires" of the Kahquahs and the Eries. Traces of these tribes, however, were occasionally found by the French missionaries during their labors in the Far West. An early French writer, in describing the Christian village of La Prairie, says a portion of the settlement was made up of fugitive Eries. A number were also found living as slaves among the Onondagas, in Central New York, and appealed to the missionaries to aid them in securing their freedom, but aban- doned all hope on finding that these zealous priests were powerless to help them. Taking a retrospective view, it is possible, as some have claimed, " that the numerous iron hatchets which have been picked up in Western New York and the northwestern counties of Pennsylvania belonged at one time to the unfort- unate Eries and Kahquahs. They are undoubtedly of French manufacture, and similar ones are used in Normandy to this day. They are all made after substantially the same pattern, the blade being three or four inches wide on the edge, running back and narrowing slightly for about six inches, when the eye is formed, by beating the metal out thin, rolling it over, and welding it. lit is probable that this fight took place at the point mentioned by General Irvine in 1785 as the "Burying Ground," which was about fourteen miles below the mouth of the Brokenstraw. 2 It is our opinion that the bows and arrows in the hands of the confederates were considered by them of but secondary importance during the wars of extermination referred to. The Iroquois for nearly forty years had maintained peaceful relations with the Dutch upon the Hudson River, and in exchange for valuable furs, had obtained fire-arms and learned how to use them. Thus armed they were more than a match for any of their savage adversaries, who depended upon Indian weapons alone • and here we think is explained the secret of their successes and easy victories over the Eries the Kah- quahs, and other nations. European Discoveries, Etc., 1534-1655. 27 Each is marked with the same device, namely, three small circles something less than an inch in diameter, each divided into compartments, like a wheel with four spokes. These hatchets would be convenient articles to trade for furs, and were doubtless- used for that purpose. It is extremely improbable that any Indian would have thrown away such valuable instruments in the numbers which have since been found, except from compulsion ; and the dis- aster which befell the Kahquahs and Eries at the hands of the Iroquois readily accounts for the abandonment of these weapons." Thus reasons a recent writer, who but re-echoes the opinions of earlier annalists. Yet when we turn to another period in the history of French occu- pation — a hundred years later, too (1747) — we find that the French were then deeply intent on securing firm possession of the Mississippi valley and the entire basin, even to the summits of the Alleghenies in Pennsylvania, and were busy establishing trading-posts along the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers. They employed the most artful means to win the simple natives to their interests, giving showy presents and laboring to convince them of their great value. Pennsylvania, as compared with other provinces, had then won a reputation among the Indians of making presents of substantial worth. The natives, not knowing the difference between steel and iron, the French distributed immense numbers of worthless iron hatchets, which the savages supposed were the equal of the best English steel axes. The Indians, however, soon came to distin- guish between the good and the valueless ; and, understanding the Pennsyl- vania methods of securing peace and friendship, they became very artful in drawing out vast quantities of presents. The provincial government at this time was alive to the dangers which threatened from the insinuating methods of the French. A trusty messenger, Conrad Weiser, was sent among the Indians in the western part of the prov- ince to observe the plans of the French and to ascertain the temper of the natives ; and especially to magnify the power of the English, and the disposi- tion of Pennsylvania to give great presents. This latter policy had the desired effect, and worthless and wandering bands, which had no right to speak for the tribe, came teeming in, desirous of scouring the chain of friendship, inti- mating that the French were making great offers, in order to induce the gov- ernment to large liberality, until this " brightening the chain " became an intol- erable nuisance. Indeed, at a single council held at Albany, N. Y., in that year (1747) Pennsylvania distributed goods to the Indians to the value of ;£ 1,000, and of such a character as would be most serviceable and valuable to the recipients ; not worthless gew-gaws, but steel hatchets, blankets, and the many articles which would contribute to their lasting comfort and well-being, a protection to the person against the bitter frosts of winter, and sustenance that would minister to the continued wants of the body and alleviation of pain in time of sickness. Can it not be presumed, therefore, that the many iron 28 History of Warren County. hatchets found in the localities mentioned were not the last tokens or relics of the exterminated Eries and Kahquahs, but, rather, that they were the worth- less implements of French manufacture, thrown away as valueless by the Sen- ecas and other Indians, after obtaining possession of the steel hatchets so lib- erally and widely distributed by the English colonists ? For many years after the signal defeat and extermination of the Kahquahs and Eries the territory bordering the southern shore of Lake Erie, and for many miles to the eastward and southward of the same, was regarded as a kind of neutral ground between the eastern and western tribes of Indians. True, the victorious Iroquois claimed the country by right of conquest, and their claims were recognized and respected ; yet nomadic bands of Delawares, Munseys, and other tribes, who were vassals of, or at peace with, the Iroquois, frequented it from time to time in quest of the game and fish with which it teemed. CHAPTER IV. THE IROQUOIS. Their Name as Applied by Themselves— System of Clans— Its Importance — Its Probable Origin— The Grand Council— Sachems and War-chiefs— Line of Descent— Choice of Sachems —Religious Belief — Natural Attributes — Family Relations, etc. FROM the destruction of the unfortunate Eries and Kahquahs down to the last great sale of land by the Iroquois to Pennsylvania those confederates were the actual possessors of the territory of Warren county, and, a few years before making that sale, the strongest nation of the confederacy (the Senecas) had some of their important towns within the county. Within its borders,- too, are still to be found a considerable number of their descendants. During all these one hundred and thirty years the Iroquois were closely identified with the history of Warren county, and this is deemed a proper place in which to introduce an account of the interior structure of that remarkable Indian confederacy, at which we have before taken but an outside glance. First, it should be said that the name " Iroquois " was never applied by the confederates to themselves. It was first used by the French, and was written and printed by them " Hiro Couis." The men of the Five Nations (afterward the Six Nations) called themselves *' Hedonosaunee," which means literally, "They form a cabin," or a wigwam ; describing in this expressive manner the close union existing among them. The Indian name just quoted, however, is more commonly rendered "The People of the Long House," which is more fully descriptive of the confederacy, though not quite so accurate a translation. The Iroquois. 29 The central and unique characteristic of the Iroquois league was not the mere fact of five separate tribes being confederated together ; for such unions have been frequent among civilized and half-civilized peoples, though little known among the savages of America. The feature that distinguished the people of the Long House from all other confederacies, and which at the same time bound together all of these ferocious warriors as with a living chain, was the system of clans extending through all the different tribes. Although this clan-system has been treated of in many works, there are doubtless thousands of readers who have often heard of the warlike success and outward greatness of the Iroquois confederacy, but are unacquainted with the inner league which was its chief characteristic, and without which it would in all probability have met, at an early period, with the fate of numerous similar alliances. The word " clan " has been adopted as the most convenient one to desig- nate the peculiar artificial families about to be described ; but the Iroquois clan was widely different from the Scottish one, all the members of which owed undivided allegiance to a single chief, for whom they were ready to fight against other clans or all the world. Yet " clan " is deemed a much better word for our purpose than " tribe," which is sometimes used, since that is the term ordinarily applied to an entire Indian nation. The people of the Iroquois confederacy were divided into eight clans, the names of which were as follows: Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Turtle, Deer, Snipe, Heron, and Hawk. Early accounts and traditions differ, however ; some declaring that every clan extended through all the tribes, while others assert that only the Wolf, Bear, and Turtle clans did so, the rest being restricted to a lesser number of tribes. It is certain, nevertheless, that each tribe — the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas — contained parts of the three clans last named and of several of the others. Each clan formed a large artificial family, modeled on the natural family. All the members of the clan, no matter how widely separated among the tribes, were considered as brothers and sisters to each other, and were forbid- den to intermarry. This prohibition, too, was strictly enforced by public opin- ion. All the clan being thus taught from earliest infancy that they belonged to the same family, a bond of the strongest kind was created and perpetuated throughout the confederacy. The Oneida of the Wolf clan would no sooner appear 'among the Cayugas, than those of the same clan would claim him as their special guest and admit him to the most confidential intimacy. The Sen- eca of the Bear clan might wander away eastward to the country of the Mo- hawks, at the farthest extremity of the Long House, and he had a claim upon his brother Bear of that tribe which the latter would not dream of repudiating. Thus the whole confederacy was linked together. If at any time there appeared a tendency toward conflict between the different tribes, it was instantly checked by the thought that, if persisted in, the hand of the Turtle 3o History of Warren County. must be lifted against his brother Turtle ; the tomahawk of the Beaver might be buried in the brain of his kinsman Beaver. And so potent was the feeling that for at least two hundred years, and until the power of the league was broken by the overwhelming outside force of the whites, there was no serious dissension between the tribes of the Iroquois. Other Indian tribes had similar clans, having similar names, notably the Hurons, or Wyandots, as they have been termed during the last hundred years ; but these were confined each to its own nation, and had therefore very little political value. The Scotch, as has been said, had their clans, but, though all the members of each clan were supposed to be more or less related, yet, instead of marriage being forbidden within their own clannish limits, they rarely married outside of them. All the loyalty of the clansmen was concentrated on their chief, and instead of being a bond of union and strength, so far as the nation at large was concerned, the clans were nurseries of faction. Iroquois tradition ascribes the founding of the league to an Onondaga chief- tain named Tadodahoh. Such traditions, however, are of very little value, historically speaking. A chief of that name may or may not have founded the confederacy. It is extremely probable that the league began with the union of two or three tribes, being subsequently increased by the addition of others. That such additions might be made may be seen in the case of the Tuscaroras, whose union with the confederacy long after the advent of the Europeans changed the Five Nations into the Six Nations. Whether the Hedonosaunee were originally superior in valor and eloquence to their neighbors cannot now be ascertained. Probably they were not. But their talent for practical statesmanship gave them the advantage in war, and success made them self-confident and fearless. The business of the league was necessarily transacted in a grand council of sachems, and this fostered oratori- cal powers, until at length the Iroquois became famous among scores of rival nations for wisdom, courage, and eloquence, and were justly denominated by Volney, "The Romans of the New World." Aside from the clan-system just described, the Iroquois league had some resemblance to the great American Union which succeeded and overwhelmed it. The central authority was supreme on questions of peace and war, and on all others relating to the general welfare of the confederacy, while the tribes, like the States, reserved to themselves the management of their ordinary affairs. In peace all power was confined to "sachems"; in war, to "chiefs." The sachems of each tribe acted as its rulers in the few matters which required the exercise of civil authority. The same rulers also met in council to direct the affairs of the confederacy. There were fifty in all, of whom the Mohawks had nine, the Oneidas nine, the Onondagas fourteen, the Cayugas ten, and the Senecas eight. These numbers, however, did not give proportionate power 'in the councils of the league, for all the nations were equal there. There was in The Iroquois. 31 each tribe, too, the same number of war-chiefs as sachems, and these had abso- lute authority in time of war. When a council assembled, each sachem had a war-chief near him to execute his orders. But in a war party the war-chief commanded, and the sachem took his place in the ranks. This was the system in its simplicity. Some time after the arrival of the Europeans they seem to have fallen into the habit of electing chiefs — not war-chiefs — as counsellors to the sachems, who in time acquired equality of power with them, and were considered as their equals by the whites in the making of treaties. It is difficult to learn the truth regarding a political and social system a description of which was not preserved by any written record. As near, however, as can be ascertained, the Onondagas had a certain pre-eminence in the councils of the league, at least to the extent of always furnishing a grand sachem, whose authority, nevertheless, was of a very shadowy description. It is not certain that he ever presided in the council of nations. That council, however, always met at the council-house of the Onondagas. This was the natural result of their central position, the Mohawks and Oneidas being to the east of them, the Cayugas and Senecas to the west. The Senecas unquestionably were the most powerful of all the tribes ; and as they were located at the western end 1 of the confederacy, they had to bear the brunt of war when it was assailed by its most formidable foes who dwelt in that quarter. It would naturally follow, therefore, that the principal war- chief of the league should be of the Seneca nation, and such is said to have been the case ; though over this, too, hangs a shade of doubt. The right of heirship, as among many other of the North American tribes of Indians, was in the female line. A man's heirs were his brother — that is to say, his mother's son and his sister's son — never his own son, nor his brother's son. The few articles which constituted an Indian's personal property — even his bow and tomahawk — never descended to the son of him who had wielded them. Titles, so far as they were hereditary at all, followed the same law of descent. The child also followed the clan and tribe of the mother. The object was evidently to secure greater certainty that the heir would be of the blood of his deceased kinsman. The result of the application of this rule to the Iro- quois system of clans was that if a particular sachemship or chieftaincy was once established in a certain clan of a certain tribe, in that clan and tribe it was expected to remain forever. Exactly how it was filled when it became vacant is a matter of some doubt; but, as near as can be learned, the new offi- 1 When the Five Nations were first visited by Europeans the Senecas chiefly dwelt among the hills south of the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes in New York, and along the Genesee River, though at the same time they had villages on the upper waters of the Allegheny and the West Branch of the Susquehanna Rivers in Pennsylvania. Thus they guarded a line extending from Lake Ontario to the navigable waters of the Allegheny. They called themselves Nunduwawgauh, or the " Men of the Hills," and had many traditions of the prowess and exploits of their ancestors. 32 History of Warren County. cial was elected by the warriors of the clan, and was then inaugurated by the council of sachems. If, for instance, a sachemship belonging to the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe became vacant, it could only be filled by some one of the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe. A clan council was called and, as a general rule, the heir of the deceased was chosen to his place ; to wit, one of his brothers — reckon- ing only on the mother's side — or one of his sister's sons, or even some more distant male relative in the female line. But there was no positive law, and the warriors might discard all these and elect some one entirely unconnected with the deceased, though, as before stated, he must be of the same clan and tribe. While there was no unchangeable custom compelling the clan council to select one of the heirs of the deceased as his successor, yet the tendency was so strong in that direction that an infant was frequently chosen, a guardian being appointed to perform the functions of the office till the youth should reach the proper age to do so. All offices were held for life, unless the incum- bent was solemnly deposed by a council, an event which very seldom occurred. Notwithstanding the modified system of hereditary power in vogue, the constitution of every tribe was essentially republican. Warriors, old men, and women attended the various councils and made their influence felt. Neither in the government of the confederacy nor of the tribes was there any such thing as tyranny over the people, though there was a great deal of tyranny by the league over conquered nations. In fact, there was very little government of any kind, and very little need of any. There were substantially no property interests to guard, all land being in common and each man's personal property being limited to a bow, a tomahawk, and a few deer skins. Liquor had not yet lent its disturbing influence, and few quarrels were to be traced to the influence of women, for the American Indian is singularly free from the warmer passions. His principal vice is an easily aroused and unlimited hatred ; but the tribes were so small and enemies so convenient that there was no difficulty in gratifying this feeling (and attaining to the rank of a warrior) outside of his own nation. The consequence was that although the war-parties of the Iro- quois were continually shedding the blood of their foes, there was very little quarreling at home. Their religious creed was limited to a somewhat vague belief in the exist- ence of a Great Spirit and several inferior but very potent evil spirits. They had a few simple ceremonies, consisting largely of dances — one called the " green corn dance," performed at the time indicated by its name, and others at other seasons of the year. From a very early date their most important religious ceremony has been the "burning of the white dog," when an unfort- unate canine of the requisite color is sacrificed by one of the chiefs. To this day the pagans among them still perform this rite. In common with their fellow savages on this continent, the Iroquois have The Iroquois. 33 been termed " fast friends and bitter enemies." Events have proved, however, that they were a great deal stronger enemies than friends. Revenge was the ruling passion of their nature, and cruelty was their abiding characteristic. Revenge and cruelty are the worst attributes of human nature, and it is idle to talk of the goodness of men who roasted their captives at the stake. All Indi- ans were faithful to their own tribes, and the Iroquois were faithful to their confederacy ; but outside of these limits their friendship could not be counted on, and treachery was always to be apprehended in dealing with them. In their family relations they were not harsh to their children and not wan- tonly so to their wives ; but the men were invariably indolent, and all labor was contemptuously abandoned to their weaker sex. They were not an amor- ous race, but could hardly be called a moral one. They were in that respect merely apathetic. Their passions rarely led them into adultery, and mercenary prostitution was entirely unknown ; but they were not sensitive on the ques- tion of purity, and readily permitted their maidens to form the most fleeting alliances with those considered distinguished visitors. Polygamy, too, was practiced, though in what might be called moderation. Chiefs and eminent warriors usually had two or three wives — rarely more. They could be dis- carded at will by their husbands, but the latter seldom availed themselves of their privilege. These latter characteristics the Iroquois had in common with the other Indians of North America ; but their wonderful politico-social league and their extraordinary success in war were the especial attributes of the peo- ple of the Long House, a people so long the owners and occupants of Warren county. In the " Historical Collections of Pennsylvania " we find the following trib- ute to the prowess, etc., of the Iroquois nations : " The peculiar location of the Iroquois gave them an immense advantage. On the great channels of water communication to which their territories were contiguous, they were enabled in all directions to carry war and devastation to the neighboring or to the more distant nations. Nature had endowed them with height, strength, and sym-. metry of person which distinguished them at a glance among the individuals of other tribes. They were brave as they were strong, but ferocious and cruel when excited in savage warfare ; crafty, treacherous, and overreaching when these qualities best suited their purposes. The proceedings of their grand council were marked with great decorum and solemnity. In eloquence, in dignity, and profound policy their speakers might well bear comparison with the statesmen of civilized assemblies. By an early alliance with the Dutch on the Hudson they secured fire-arms, and were thus enabled not only to repel the encroachments of the French, but also to exterminate or reduce to a state of vassalage many Indian nations. From these they exacted an annual trib- ute' or acknowledgment of fealty, permitting them, however, on that condition to occupy their former hunting-grounds. The humiliation of tributary nations 34 History of Warren County. was, however, tempered with a paternal regard for their interests in all nego- tiations with the whites, and care was taken that no trespass should be com- mitted on their rights, and that they should be justly dealt with." CHAPTER V. FROM 1655 TO 1680. The Iroquois Triumphant— Obliteration of Dutch Power— French Progress — La Salle Visits the Senecas— Greenhalgh's Estimates — La Salle on the Niagara — Building of the Griffin— Its First and Last Voyage— La Salle's Subsequent Career. THE overthrow of the Kahquahs and Eries accomplished, the Iroquois, lords of all this vast region, went forth conquering and to conquer. This was probably the day of their greatest glory. Stimulated, but not yet crushed by contact with the white man, they stayed the progress of the French into their territories, they negotiated on equal terms with the Dutch and English, and, having supplied themselves with the terrible arms of the pale-faces, they smote with direst vengeance whomsoever of their own race were so unfortu- nate as to provoke their wrath. On the Susquehanna, on the Allegheny, on the Ohio, even to the Missis- sippi in the west and the Savannah in the south, the Iroquois bore their con- quering arms, filling with terror the dwellers alike on the prairies of Illinois and in the glades of the Carolinas. They strode over the bones of the slaugh- tered Eries to new conquests on the Great Lakes beyond, even to the foaming cascades of Michillimacinac and the shores of the mighty Superior. They inflicted such terrible defeat upon the Hurons, despite the alliance of the latter with the French, that many of the panic-stricken refugees sought safety for a time on the frozen borders of Hudson's Bay. In short, they triumphed on every side, save only where the white man came ; and even the latter was for years held at bay by these fierce confederates. Of the three distinct and rival bands of European colonists already men- tioned, the French and Dutch opened a thriving fur-trade with the Indians, while the New Englanders devoted themselves principally to agriculture. In 1664, however, the English seized New Amsterdam (now termed New York city), and in 1674 their conquest of New Netherlands was made permanent. Thus the Hollanders as a governing power in the New World were disposed of, and thenceforth the contest for supremacy was to be between the English and the French. Charles II, then king of England, granted the conquered Dutch province From 1655 to 1680. 35 to his brother James, duke of York, from whom it was called New York. This grant comprised all the lands along the Hudson, with an indefinite amount westward, thus overlapping the previous grant of James I to the Plymouth Company, and the boundaries of Massachusetts under the charter of Charles I, and laying the foundation for a conflict of jurisdiction which was afterwards to have an important effect on the destinies of the country lying immediately to the northward of Warren county. The French, meanwhile, if poor farmers, were indefatigable fur-traders and missionaries ; but their priests and Indian traders mostly pursued a route west- ward, through the region now known as Canada. There were good reasons for taking such a route. The fierce Senecas guarded the southern shores of the Niagara, and they, like the rest of the Iroquois, were unfriendly, if not actively hostile, to the French. By 1665 trading-posts had been established at Michillimacinac, Green Bay, on the site of Chicago, and St. Joseph, Mich. But a new era was approaching. Louis XIV was now king of France, and his great minister, Colbert, was anxious to extend the power of his royal mas- ter over the unknown regions of North America. Under his instructions small exploring parties were sent forward into regions not visited heretofore by his countrymen. Accordingly, in 1669 La Salle, whose name was soon, and for- ever after, to be indissolubly connected with the history of America, visited the Senecas with only two companions, and found four of their principal vil- lages, from ten to twenty miles south from the present city of Rochester. In 1673 the missionaries Marquette and Joliet pushed on beyond the farthest French posts, and erected the emblem of Christian salvation on the shore of the Father of Waters. And in 1676-77 Father Hennepin visited the Indian villages along the Allegheny, traveling as far south as the mouth of the Ve- nango River or French Creek. During the year last mentioned — 1677 — Wentworth Greenhalgh, an En- glishman, visited all of the Five Nations, finding the same four towns of the Senecas described by the companions of La Salle. Greenhalgh made very minute observations, counted the houses of the Indians, and reported the Mo- hawks as having three hundred warriors, the Oneidas two hundred, the Onon- dagas three hundred and fifty, the Cayugas three hundred, and the Senecas a thousand. It will thus be seen that the Senecas, the guardians of the western door of the Long House, numbered, according to Greenhalgh's computation, nearly as many as all the other tribes of the confederacy combined, and other accounts show that he was not far from correct. In the month of January, 1679, La Salle — his full name being Robert Cav- alier de la Salle, appeared at the mouth of the Niagara River. He was a Frenchman of good family, thirty years of age, and one of the most gallant, devoted, and adventurous of all the bold explorers who, under many different banners, opened the New World to the knowledge of the Old. Leaving his 36 History of Warren County. native Rouen at the age of twenty-two, he had ever since been leading a life of adventure in America, having in 1669, as already mentioned, penetrated almost alone to the strongholds of the Senecas. In 1678 he had received from King Louis a commission to discover the western part of New France. He was authorized to build such forts and trading-posts as might be deemed nec- essary, but at his own expense, being granted certain privileges in return, the principal of which appears to have been the right to trade in buffalo skins. The same year he had made some preparations, and in the fall had sent the Sieur de la Motte and Father Hennepin (the priest and historian of his expe- dition) in advance to the mouth of the Niagara. La Motte, however, soon returned. When La Salle arrived he went two leagues above the falls, built a rude dock, and laid the keel of a vessel with which to navigate the upper lakes. Strangely enough, Hennepin does not state on which bank of the river this dock was situated ; but the question has been carefully investigated, especially by Francis Parkman, the historian of French power in Canada, and by other eminent writers on early history in Western New York, who have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that it was on the east side, at the mouth of Ca- yuga Creek, in Niagara county, N. Y.; and, in accordance with that view, the little village which has been laid out there has received the appellation of " La Salle." Hennepin distinctly mentions a small village of Senecas situated at the mouth of the Niagara ; and it is plain from his whole narrative that the Iro- quois were in possession of the entire country along the river, though few of them resided there, and watched the movements of the French with unceasing jealousy. The work of construction was carried on through the winter, two Indians of the Wolf clan of the Senecas being employed to hunt deer for the French party, and in the spring the vessel was launched, " after having," in the words of Father Hennepin, " been blessed according to the rites of our Church of Rome." The new ship was named Le Griffon (the Griffin), in compliment to the Count de Frontenac, minister of the French colonies, whose coat of arms was ornamented with representations of that mythical beast. It was a diminu- tive vessel compared with the leviathans of the deep which now navigate these inland seas, but was a marvel in view of the difficulties under which it had been built. It was of sixty tons burden, completely furnished with anchors and other equipments, and armed with seven small cannon, all of which had been transported by h#nd around the great cataract. The Griffin remained in the Niagara River below the rapids for several months. Meanwhile Father Hennepin returned to Fort Frontenac (now Kingston, Canada), where he obtained two priestly assistants, and La Salle superintended the removal of the stores and armament from below the falls. From 1655 to 1680. 37 When all was ready the attempt was made, and several times repeated, to ascend the rapids above Black Rock, but without success. At length, on the 7th of August, 1679, a favorable wind sprang up from the northeast, all the Griffin's sails were set, and again it approached the troublesome rapids. There were thirty-four men on board, all Frenchmen with the exception of Tonti, an Italian, who had been chosen by La Salle as second in command. As the little vessel approached the rapids a dozen stalwart sailors were sent on shore with a tow-line, and aided with all their strength the breeze which blew toward Lake Erie. Those efforts were soon successful. By the aid of sails and tow-line the Griffin surmounted the rapids, all the crew went on board, and the pioneer vessel of the Great Lakes swept out on the bosom of Lake Erie. As it did so the priests led in singing a joyous Te Deum, all the cannon and arquebuses were fired in a grand salute, and even the stoical Iroquois, watching with suspicious eyes from the shore, gave evidence of their admiration by repeated cries of " Gannoron ! Gannoron!" Wonderful! Won- derful ! This was the beginning of the commerce of the upper lakes ; but, like many another first venture, it resulted only in disaster to its projectors, though it was the harbinger of unbounded success by others. The Griffin was navigated to Green Bay, where La Salle and Hennepin left it, started on its return with a cargo of furs, and was never heard of more. It is supposed that it sank in a storm and that all on board perished. La Salle was not afterward identified with the history of the lower lake region ; but his chivalric achievements and tragic fate have still such power to stir the pulse and enlist sympathetic feelings, that one can hardly refrain from a brief mention of his subsequent career : After the Griffin had sailed on her return voyage, La Salle and Hennepin proceeded in canoes to the head of Lake Michigan. Thence, after building a trading-post and waiting many weary months for the return of his vessel, he went with thirty followers to Lake Pe- oria, on the Illinois River, where he built a fort and gave it the expressive name of "Creve'Cceur" — Broken Heart. But, notwithstanding this expres- sion of despair, his courage was far from being exhausted, and, after sending Hennepin to explore the Mississippi, he, with three comrades, performed the remarkable feat of returning to Fort Frontenac on foot, depending on their guns for support. From Fort Frontenac he returned to Creve Cceur, the garrison of which had in the mean time been driven away by the Indians. Again the indomit- able La Salle gathered his followers, and early in 1682 descended the Missis- sippi to the Gulf of Mexico, being the first European to explore any consider- able portion of that mighty stream. He took possession of the country, and of all lands drained by waters tributary to the Mississippi, in the name of King Louis XIV, and called it Louisiana. 38 History of Warren County. Upon his return to France he astonished and gratified the court with the stories of his discoveries, and in 1684 was furnished with a fleet and several hundred men, to colonize the new domain. Then everything went wrong. The fleet, through the blunders of its naval commander, went to Matagorda Bay, in Texas. The principal store-ship was wrecked, the fleet returned, and La Salle failed to find the mouth of the Mississippi. His colony dwindled away, through desertion and death, to forty men ; and at length he started with sixteen of these, on foot, to return to Canada for assistance. Even in this little band there were those who hated him (he was undoubtedly a man of somewhat imperious nature), and ere he had reached the Sabine he was mur- dered by two of his followers, and his body left unburied upon the prairie. Thus ended the life of the man who was the first white navigator of the upper lakes and the first explorer of the Mississippi River ; who added Louisi- ana and other vast regions to the French empire, and upon whose discoveries the latter power laid claim to territory extending from the Allegheny Mount- ains westward to the western limits of the Mississippi basin, including, of course, the present county of Warren. CHAPTER VI. THE PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA. Europeans Struggle for Supremacy Along the Atlantic Coast — Quakers Settle in New Jer- sey — William Penn Appointed a Trustee' — His Labors in Their Behalf — An Early Description of the New Country — Admiral Penn — A Province Granted to His Son — It is Named Pennsyl- vania — Its Extent — A Miscalculation' — Penn Purchases the Lower Counties — Outlines His Pol- icy — Sends Governor Markham to Take Possession — Names Commissioners — Their Duties — An Address to the Indians — The Site for a New City Selected. WHILE events of so much importance and of such a startling character were taking place in the interior of the New World, others equally im- portant, in their bearing upon the future of America, were being enacted along the Atlantic sea-board. The English, in a manner characteristic of that nation, had claimed the entire coast-line, from the frozen regions of the North to the Gulf of Mexico, and westward to the " South Sea " ; but, as we have shown, during the years of active colonization in America, in the early part of the sev- enteenth century, the French had managed to secure a firm foothold in Can- ada, the Dutch along the Hudson River, and still later was established a small though thriving colony of Swedes on the lower waters of the Delaware, while the English were rapidly gaining strength in New England, in Maryland, and The Province of Pennsylvania. 39 in Virginia. All were eager, all were grasping for more territory, and all were ready to fight at a moment's notice in vindication of their claims. The Swedes were regarded as interlopers by the Dutch. Disputes arose, which resulted in the Swedes being overpowered by their more powerful neighbors. The Dutch were in turn conquered by the English, thus leaving the latter and the French alone to contend for supremacy in the temperate regions of North America. Subsequently the conquered Dutch province was granted to the Duke of York, New Jersey to a syndicate of English Quakers, and Maryland to Lord Bal- timore. At this time the hand of the English government bore heavily upon the denomination of Christians called Friends, or Quakers, and the earnest-minded, conscientious worshipers, uncompromising in their faith, were eager for homes in a land where they should be absolutely free to worship the Supreme Being in their own way. Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, to whom the Duke of York had granted New Jersey, were Friends, and the settlements made in their territory were largely of that faith. In 1675 Lord Berkeley sold his undivided half of the province to John Fenwicke, in trust for Edward Byllinge, also Quakers, and Fenwicke sailed in the Griffith with a company of Friends, who settled at Salem, in West Jersey. Byllinge, having become involved in debt, made an assignment of his interest for the benefit of his creditors, and William Penn was induced to become trustee jointly with Gowen Lawrie and Nicholas Lucas. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, had felt the heavy hand of per- secution for religious opinion's sake. As a gentleman commoner at Oxford he had been fined, and finally expelled from that venerable seat of learning for non-conformity to the established form of worship. At home he was whipped and turned out of doors by. a father who thought to reclaim the son to the more certain path of advancement at court. He was sent to prison by the mayor of Cork. For seven months he languished in the Tower of London, and finally, to complete his disgrace, he was cast into Newgate with common felons. Upon the accession of James II to the throne of England, over four- teen hundred persons of the Quaker faith were immured in prisons for a con- scientious adherence to their religious convictions. To escape this harassing persecution and find peace and quietude from this sore proscription was, as already stated, the moving cause which led these people to emigrate to America. Penn became zealous in promoting the welfare of the New Jersey colony. For its orderly government, and that settlers might have assurance of stability in the management of affairs, he drew up " Concessions and agreements of the proprietors, free holders and inhabitants of West New Jersey in America," in forty-four chapters. Foreseeing difficulty from divided authority, he had man- aged to secure a division of the province by "a line of partition from the east , 40 History of Warren County. side of Little Egg Harbor, straight North, through the country to the utmost branch of the Delaware River." Penn's half was termed New West Jersey, along the Delaware side, Carteret's, New East Jersey, along the ocean shore. Penn's purposes and disposition toward the settlers, as the founder of a state, are disclosed by a letter which he wrote at this time to Richard Hartshorn, a Friend, then in America : " We lay a foundation for after ages to understand their liberty, as men and Christians ; that they may not be brought into bond- age, but by their own consent ; for we put the power in the people. ... So every man is capable to choose or to be chosen ; no man to be arrested, con- demned, or molested, in his estate, or liberty, but by twelve men of the neigh- borhood ; no man to lie in prison for debt, but that his estate satisfy, as far as it will go, and he be set at liberty to work ; no man to be called in question, or molested for his conscience." Lest any should be induced to leave home and embark in the enterprise of emigration unadvisedly, Penn wrote and pub- lished in a letter of caution the following : " That in whomsoever a desire to be concerned in this intended plantation, such should weigh the thing before the Lord, and not headily, or rashly conclude on any such remove, and that they do not offer violence to the tender love of their near kindred and relations, but soberly, and conscientiously endeavor to obtain their good wills ; that whether they go or stay, it may be of good savor before the Lord and good people." As trustee, and finally as part owner of New Jersey, William Penn became much interested in the subject of colonization in America. Many of his peo- ple had gone thither, and he had given much study and meditation to the amelioration of their condition, by securing just laws for their government. His imagination pictured the fortunate condition of a country where those in authority should alone study the well-being of the people, and the people should be chiefly intent on rendering implicit obedience to just laws. From his experience in the management of the Jerseys he had doubtless discovered that if he would carry out his ideas of government successfully he must have a province where his voice would be potential and his will almost supreme. He accordingly began looking about him for the acquirement of such a land in the New World. He had doubtless been stimulated in his desires by the very roseate accounts of the beauty and excellence of the country, its salubrity of climate, its balmy atmosphere, the great fertility of its soil, and the abundance of native fruit, fish,, flesh, and fowl. In 1680 one Mahlon Stacy wrote a letter which was exten- sively circulated in England, in which he said : " It is a country that produc- eth all things for the support and furtherance of man, in a plentiful manner. ... I have seen orchards laden with fruit to admiration ; their very limbs torn to pieces with weight, most delicious to the taste and lovely to behold. I have seen an apple tree, from a pippin-kernel yield a barrel of curious cider ;. and peaches in such plenty that some people took their carts a peach gather- The Province of Pennsylvania. 41 ing ; I could not but smile at the conceit of it ; they are very delicious fruit, and hang almost like our onions, that are tied on ropes. I have seen and know, this summer, forty bushels of bold wheat of one bushel sown. From May till Michaelmas, great store of very good wild fruits as strawberries, cran- berries, and hurtleberries, which are like our billberries in England, only far sweeter ; the cranberries, much like cherries for color and bigness, which may be kept till fruit comes again ; an excellent sauce is made of them for venison, turkeys, and other great fowl, and they are better to make tarts of than either gooseberries or cherries ; we have them brought to our houses by the Indians in great plenty. My brother Robert had as many cherries this year as would have loaded several carts. As for venison and fowls, we have great plenty ; we have brought home to our countries by the Indians seven or eight fat bucks in a day. We went into the river to catch herrings after the Indian fashion. . . . We could have filled a three-bushel sack of as good large her- rings as I ever saw. And as to beef and pork, there is great plenty of it, and good sheep. The common grass of this country feeds beef very fat. Indeed, the country, take it as a wilderness, is a brave country." Admiral Penn, the father of William, was one of the most distinguished officers in the British navy. In Cromwell's time he was sent with a consider- able naval and land force to the West Indies, where he gained possession of the island of Jamaica and placed it under English rule. At the restoration of a monarchical government, he promptly gave in his adhesion to the royal cause. Under James, duke of York, he commanded the English fleet which descended upon the Dutch coast, and gained a great victory over the com- bined naval forces led by Van Opdam. For this great service to his country Admiral Penn was knighted, and became a favorite at court, the king and his brother, the duke, holding him in cherished remembrance. At his death there was due him from the crown the sum of £16,000, a portion of which he him- self had advanced for the naval service. Filled with the romantic idea of colonization, and enamored with the sacred cause of his sect, William Penn, who had come to be regarded with favor because of his distinguished father's services, petitioned King Charles II to grant him, in liquidation of this debt, " a tract of land in America, lying north of Maryland, bounded east by the Delaware River, on the west limited as Maryland, and northward to extend as far as plantable." There were con- flicting interests at this time, however, which were being closely watched at court. The petition was submitted to the privy council, and afterward to the Lords of the Committee of Plantations. The duke of York already held the counties of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. Lord Baltimore held a grant upon the south, with an undefined northern limit, and the agents of both these prov- inces viewed with jealousy any new grant that should trench in any way upon their rights. 42 History of Warren County. These claims were fully debated and heard by the lords, and, being a mat- ter in which the king manifested special interest, the lord chief-justice, North, and the attorney-general, Sir William Jones, were consulted both as to the grant itself and the form, or manner, of making it. Finally, after a careful study of the whole subject, it was determined by the highest authority in the government to grant to Penn a larger tract than he had asked for, and the charter was drawn up with unexampled liberality, in unequivocal terms of gift and perpetuity of holding, and with remarkable minuteness of detail ; and that Penn should have the advantage of any double meaning conveyed in the instru- ment, the last section provides — " And, if perchance hereafter any doubt or question should arise concerning the true sense and meaning of any word, clause or sentence contained in this our present charter, we will ordain and command that at all times and in all things such interpretation be made there- of, and allowed in any of our courts whatsoever as shall be adjudged most advantageous and favorable unto the said William Penn, his heirs and assigns." Doubtless it was a joyful day for Penn when he finally reached the consum- mation of his wishes, and found himself invested with almost dictatorial power over a province as large as England itself. But his exultation was tempered with the most devout Christian spirit, fearful lest in the exercise of his great power he might be led to do something that would be displeasing to God. At this time, in a letter to his friend Robert Turner, he wrote as follows : " My true love in the Lord salutes thee and dear friends that love the Lord's precious truth in those parts. Thine I have, and for my business here know that after many waitings, watchings, solicitings and disputes in council, this day my country was confirmed to me under the great seal of England, with large powers and privileges, by the name of Pennsylvania, a name the King will give it in honor of my father. I chose New Wales, being, as this, a pretty hilly country ; but Penn being Welsh for a head, as Penmanmoire in Wales, and Penrith in Cumberland, and Penn in Buckinghamshire, the highest land in England, called this Pennsylvania, which is the high or head wood- lands ; for I proposed, when the Secretary, a Welshman, refused to have it called New Wales, Sylvania, and they added Penn to it ; and though I much opposed it, and went to the King to have it struck out and altered, he said it was past, and would take it upon him ; nor could twenty guineas move the Under Secretary to vary the name; for I feared lest it should be looked on as a vanity in me, and not as a respect in the King" as it truly was to my father, whom he often mentions with praise. Thou mayest communicate my grant to Friends, and expect shortly my proposals. It is a clear and just thing, and my God, that has given it me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care to the govern- ment, that it be well laid at first." Penn had asked that the western boundary of his grant should be the same The Province of Pennsylvania. 43 as that of Maryland ; but the king made the width from east to west five full degrees. The charter limits were " all that tract, or part of land, in America, with the islands therein contained as the same is bounded, on the east by Del- aware River, from twelve miles distance northwards of New Castle town, unto the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude. . . . The said land to extend westward five degrees in longitude, to be computed from the said east- ern bounds ; and the said lands to be bounded on the north by the beginning of the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, and, on the south, by a circle drawn at twelve miles distance from New Castle northward and west- ward unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude ; and then by a straight line westward to the limits of longitude above mentioned." It is very evident that the royal secretaries did not well understand the geography of the New World (nor do they seem to have cared, since in nearly all early English grants the latest usually overlapped those granted at an ear- lier date) ; for by reference to the maps it will be seen that the beginning of the fortieth degree — that is, the end of the thirty-ninth — cuts the District of Columbia, and hence Baltimore, and the greater part of Maryland and a good slice of Virginia, would have been included in the chartered limits of Pennsyl- vania. But the charters of Maryland and Virginia antedated this of Pennsyl- vania. Still, the terms of the Penn charter were distinct — the beginning of the fortieth degree — whereas those of Maryland were ambiguous, the northern limit being fixed at the fortieth degree ; but whether at the beginning or at the ending of the fortieth was not stated. Penn claimed three full degrees of latitude, and when it was found that a controversy was likely to ensue, the king, by the hand of his royal minister Conway, issued a further declaration, in which the wording of the original chartered limits fixed for Pennsylvania were quoted verbatim, and his royal highness declared that these limits should be respected, "as they tender his majesty's displeasure." This was supposed to be a settlement of the matter. But Lord Baltimore still pressed his claim, and the question of southern boundary remained an open one, causing much disquietude to Penn during his life, and was not finally settled until more than three-quarters of a century later, when Mason and Dixon established the line. Indeed, since the French already claimed all that portion of the province granted to Penn lying west of the Allegheny Mountains, and as Virginia and Connecticut subsequently made claim to other portions of the present common- wealth, besides the claims of the Indians as original occupants and owners, a clear title was not obtained, and the true boundaries of Pennsylvania were not known and plainly defined until the war for independence had closed, or long after the territory granted to Penn had passed from the control of his heirs. From the terms of the charter it is evident that the king, in making the grant, was influenced " by the commendable desire of Penn to enlarge our British Empire, and promote such useful commodities as may be of benefit to- 44 History of Warren County. us and our dominions, as also to reduce savage nations by just and gentle man- ners, to the love of civil society and Christian religion," and " out of regard to the memory and merits of his late father, in divers services, and particularly to his conduct, courage and discretion, under our dearest brother, James, Duke of York, in the signal battle and victory, fought and obtained, against the Dutch fleet, commanded by the Herr Van Opdam in 1665." The charter of King Charles II, granting Pennsylvania to William Penn, was dated March 4, 1681. But lest any trouble might arise in the future from claims founded on the grant previously made to the duke of York, of " Long Island and adjacent territories occupied by the Dutch," the prudent fore- thought of Penn soon after induced him to obtain a deed of the duke, for Penn- sylvania, substantially in the terms of the royal charter. Yet still Penn was not satisfied. He was cut off from the ocean except by the uncertain naviga- tion of one narrow stream. He therefore obtained from the duke a grant of New Castle and a district of twelve miles around it, dated August 24, 1682, and on the same day a further grant from the duke of a tract extending to Cape Henlopen, embracing the two counties of Kent and Sussex, the two grants comprising what were known at an early day as the three " lower coun- ties," and which for many years were part of Pennsylvania, but subsequently became the State of Delaware. Being now eminently well pleased with his province, and that his titles were secure, the proprietor drew up such a description of the country as from his limited knowledge of it he was able to give, which, together with the royal charter and proclamation, terms of settlement, and other papers pertain- ing thereto, he published and spread broadcast through the kingdom, taking special pains to have these documents reach the Friends. The terms of sale of lands were forty shillings for one hundred acres, and one shilling per acre rental. The question has been asked, why exact the annual payment of one shilling per acre ? and answered, that the terms of the grant by the royal charter to Penn were made absolute on the " payment therefor to us, our heirs and suc- cessors, two beaver skins, to be delivered at our castle in Windsor, on the first day of January in every year," and contingent payment of " one-fifth part of all gold and silver which shall from time to time happen to be found clear of all charges." Penn, therefore, held his title only upon the payment of quit-rents. He could, consequently, give a valid title only by the exacting of quit-rents. With a great province of his own to manage, Penn was now obliged to re- linquish his interest in West New Jersey. He had devoted much of his time and energies to its settlement ; he had sent fourteen hundred emigrants, many of them people of high character ; and under his control farms were improved and the town of Burlington was founded, meeting-houses were erected, good government was established, and the savage Indians were turned to peaceful ways. With satisfaction, therefore, he could now give himself to reclaiming and settling his own province. The Province of Pennsylvania. 45 The publication of the royal charter and his description of the country at- tracted much attention, and many purchases of land were made of Penn before leaving England. That these purchasers might have something binding to rely upon, he drew up what he termed " conditions or concessions " between him- self as proprietor, and the purchasers of lands in the province. These related to the settling of the country, laying out towns, and especially to the treat- ment of the Indians, who were to have the same rights and privileges, and care- ful regard as the Europeans. And, what may be considered a remarkable in- stance of provident forethought, the eighteenth article provided, "That, in clearing the ground, care be taken to leave one acre of trees for every five acres cleared, especially to preserve oak and mulberries for silk and shipping." He also drew up a frame of government, consisting of twenty- four articles and forty laws. These were drawn in a spirit of unexampled fairness and lib- erality, introduced by an elaborate essay on the just rights of government and governed, and with such conditions and concessions that it should never be in the power of an unjust governor to take advantage of the people and practice injustice. Said he : " For the matter of liberty and privilege, I purpose that which is extraordinary, and leave myself and successors no power of doing mis- chief, that the will of one man may not hinder that of a whole country." This frame gave impress to the character of the early government. It implanted in the breasts of the people a deep sense of duty, of right, and of obligation in all public affairs, and the relations of man with man, and formed a framework for the future State constitution. He had felt the tyranical hand of government for opinion's sake, and was determined, in the matter of religion, to leave all free to hold such opinions as they might elect, and hence enacted for his prov- ince that all who " hold themselves obliged in conscience, to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall, in no ways, be molested, nor prejudiced, for their religious persuasion, or practice, in matters of faith and worship, nor shall they be compelled at any time, to frequent, or maintain, any religious worship, place, or ministry whatever." Such governmental liberality in matters of religion was at that time almost unknown, though Roger Williams, in the colony of Rhode Island, had previously under similar circumstances, and having just es- caped a like persecution, proclaimed it, as had likewise Lord Baltimore in the Catholic colony of Maryland. Not being in readiness to go to his province during the first year, Penn dis- patched three ship loads of settlers, and with them sent his cousin, William Markham, to take formal possession of the country and act as deputy governor. The latter sailed for New York, and upon his arrival there exhibited his com- mission, and the king's charter and proclamation, to Captain Anthony Brock- holls, acting governor (in the absence of Govenor Andros), who gave him a letter addressed to the civil officers on the Delaware, informing them that Markham's authority as governor was unquestionable, and requesting them to i 46 History of Warren County. submit quietly to the new government. Armed with this letter, which was dated June 21, 168 1, Markham continued his voyage to the Delaware, where he was kindly received. As the chief officer in the province, Markham was empowered to call a council of nine citizens to assist him in the government, and over whom he was to preside. He also brought a letter addressed to Lord Baltimore, relating to the boundary between the two grants, and showing the terms of the charter for Pennsylvania. On receipt of this letter, Lord Baltimore came to Upland to confer with Markham. An observation fixing the exact latitude of Upland showed that it was twelve miles south of the forty-first degree, to which degree Baltimore claimed, and that the beginning of the fortieth degree, which the royal charter explicitly fixed for the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, would include nearly the entire province of Maryland. " If this be allowed," was sig- nificantly asked by Lord Baltimore, " where is my province ? " He returned to his colony, and from this time an active contention was waged for many years for possession of the disputed territory. Four commissioners — William Crispin, John Bezer, William Haige, and Nathaniel Allen — appointed by Penn, accompanied Markham. The first named had been designated as surveyor- general, but he died en route, when Thomas Holme was appointed to succeed him. These commissioners, in conjunction with the governor, had two important duties assigned them. The first was to meet and preserve friendly relations with the Indians and acquire lands of them by actual purchase, and the second was to select the site of a maritime city and make the necessary surveys. That they might have a suitable introduction to the natives from him, Penn supplied them with a declaration of his purposes, conceived in a spirit of brotherly love, and expressed in such simple terms that it was supposed the children of the forest would have no difficulty in appre- hending his meaning. Said Penn in this declaration : "There is a great God and power that hath made the world, and all things therein, to whom you and I, and all my people owe their being, and well being ; and to whom you and I must one day give an account for all that we do in the world. This great God hath written His law in our hearts, by which we are taught and commanded to love, and help, and do good to one another. Now this great God hath been pleased to make me concerned in your part of the world, and the King of the country where I live hath given me a great province therein ; but I desire to enjoy it with your love and consent, that we may always live together, as neighbors and friends ; else what would the great God do to us, who hath made us, not to devour and destroy one another, but to live soberly and kindly together in the world ? Now I would have you well observe that I am very sensible of the unkindness and injustice that have been too much exercised toward you by the people of these parts of the world, who have sought themselves, and to make great ad- The Province of Pennsylvania. 47 vantages by you, rather than to be examples of goodness and patience unto you, which I hear hath been a matter of trouble to you, and caused great grudg- ing and animosities, sometimes to the shedding of blood, which hath made the great God angry. But I am not such a man, as is well known in my own country. I have great love and regard toward you, and desire to gain your love and friendship by a kind, just and peaceable life, and the people I send are of the same mind, and shall in all things behave themselves accordingly ; and if anything shall offend you or your people, you shall have a full and speedy satisfaction for the same by an equal number of just men on both sides that by no means you may have just occasion of being offended against them. I shall shortly come to you myself, at which time we may more freely confer and dis- course of these matters. In the mean time, I have sent my Commissioners to treat with you about land, and form a league of peace. Let me desire you to be kind to them and their people, and receive these presents and tokens which I have sent you as a testimony of my good will to you, and my resolution to live justly, peaceably and friendly with you." Although this address, or explanation, is clothed with plain and simple words, it is not probable that the savages understood its true intents and pur- poses, nor cared any more than that mythical dignitary, the Indian " Emperor of Canada," for whose enlightenment Penn at about this time had drawn up an elaborate address, which was subsequently beautifully engrossed on parch- ment. In substance this message to the aforesaid " Emperor " was a notifica- tion that he, Penn, had purchased a province in America and intended to occupy it, and wished to live upon terms of peace and amity with his neigh- bors. Certainly this was a novel proceeding on the part of Penn, since he must have been aware that the French had been in actual and almost undisturbed possession of Canada for considerably more than fifty years, and who besides him ever supposed there then existed such a personage as a savage "Emperor of Canada?" If there were such we have never read or heard of them. But the Indians found inhabiting the wilds of Pennsylvania could appre- ciate kind treatment, and, like all other savages, were always promptly on hand when presents were to be distributed. As a result they became very friendly with Penn's colonists, and were protected in their rights. When Penn came to propose his laws, one was adopted which forbade private trade with the na- tives in which they might be cheated ; instead, it was required that the valua- ble skins and furs they had to sell should be exposed in the market place where all could see them and enter into competition for their purchase. He was offered £6,000 for a monopoly of trade in his province. But he well knew the injustice to which this would subject the simple-minded natives, and he refused it, saying : " As the Lord gave it to me over all amid great opposition, I would not abuse His love, nor act unworthy of His providence, and so defile what came to me clean." To his commissioners he gave a letter of instructions in which he says: "Be impartially just to all; that is both pleasingto the Lord, and 48 History of Warren County. wise in itself. Be tender of offending the Indians, and let them know that you come to sit down lovingly among them. Let my letter and conditions be read in their tongue, that they may see we have their good in our eye. Be grave, they love not to be smiled on." Acting upon these suggestions, and by a judi- cious distribution of presents, the commissioners soon succeeded in making large purchases of lands from the Indians, situated on the right bank of the Delaware and above the mouth of the Schuylkill. Markham and the commissioners, however, found considerable difficulty in determining upon the site for the new city. Penn had given very particular instructions about this, and it was not easy to find a tract which answered all the conditions. Their search was kept up for seven weeks. The proprietor had written, " be sure to make your choice where it is most navigable, high, dry and healthy ; that is, where most ships may best ride, of deepest draught of water, if possible to load and unload at the bank or Key's side without boating and lightening of it. It would do well if the river coming into that creek be navigable, at least for boats up into the country, and that the sit- uation be high, at least dry and sound, and not swampy, which is best known by digging up two or three earths and seeing the bottom." Further instruc- tions were that the site of the city be between two navigable streams, and em- brace at least ten thousand acres in one block. " Be sure," said Penn, "to set- tle the figure of the town so that the streets hereafter may be uniform down to the water from the country bounds. Let every house be placed, if the person pleases, in the middle of its plat, as to the breadth way of it, so that there may be ground on each side for gardens or orchards or fields, that it may be a green country town, which will never be burnt and always wholesome." The soil was examined, the streams were sounded, and deep pits were dug, that a location might be found which would gratify the desires of the proprie- tor. All the eligible sites were inspected from the ocean far up into the coun- try. Penn himself had anticipated that Chester or Upland would be adopted J from all that he had learned of the new county ; but these grounds were re- jected as unsuitable, as was also the territory upon Poquessing Creek and that at Pennsbury Manor above Bristol, which had been carefully considered; and the present site of Philadelphia was adopted as coming nearest to the require- ments of the proprietor. It did not embrace ten thousand acres in a solid block or square, but it was between two navigable streams, and the land was high and dry, being for the most part a vast bed of gravel, excellent for drain- age and likely to prove healthful. The streets were laid out regularly, and crossed each other at right angles. As the ground was only gently rolling, the grading was easily accomplished. One wide street, Market, extends from river to river through the center of it, which is crossed at right angles at its middle point by Broad street, of equal width. The name Philadelphia, mean- ing brotherly love, had been selected by the proprietor before his first colonists sailed from England. Penn in Pennsylvania. 49 CHAPTER VII. PENN IN PENNSYLVANIA. William Penn Sails for America — His Advice to His Family — The Voyage — Warmly Re- ceived at New Castle — The First Assembly — Penn Visits New York and Maryland — Unsat- isfactory Conference with Lord Baltimore — The Great Treaty with the Indians — The Walk- ing Purchase — Great Influx of Colonists — Counties Formed — Meeting of the First General Assembly — Sitting of the First Grand Jury — First Conviction — Another Fruitless Interview with Lord Baltimore — Baltimore's Demand — Penn's Anxiety — His Liberal Offer — Balti- more's Adherents Invade the Lower Counties — Penn Determines to Return to England — His Farewell to His Colonists. MEANTIME Penn had settled his affairs in England, and in August, 1682, in company with about a hundred planters, chiefly from his native town of Sussex, he embarked on board the ship Welcome and began the voyage across the Atlantic. Before leaving the Downs he addressed a farewell letter to his friends whom he left behind, and another to his wife and children, giv- ing them much excellent advice, and sketching the way he wished them to live. With remarkable care he pointed out to his wife how he wished his children to be educated, married, etc. " Be sure," said he, " to observe their genius, and do not cross it as to learning ; let them not dwell too long on one thing ; but let their change be agreeable, and let all their diversions have some little bod- ily labor in them. When grown big, have most care for them ; for then there are more snares both within and without. When marriageable, see that they have worthy persons in their eyes ; of good life and good fame for piety and understanding. I need no wealth but sufficiency ; and be sure their love be dear, fervent and mutual, that it may be happy for them." To his children he said : " Betake yourselves to some honest, industrious course of life, and that not of sordid covetousness, but for example and to avoid idleness. . . . Love not money nor the world ; use them only, and they will serve you ; but if you love them you serve them, which will debase your spirits as well as offend the Lord. • Watch against anger, neither speak nor act in it ; for like drunkenness, it makes a man a beast, and throws people into desperate inconveniences." It required nearly six weeks to comeplete the voyage, and the weather was pleasant ; but the voyagers had not been long at sea ere that loathsome disease, the small-pox, broke out among them, of which thirty died, or nearly one-third of the whole company. This, added to the usual discomforts and terrors of the ocean, to most of whom this was their first experience, made the voyage a dismal one. Here again was seen the true nobility of Penn. He contributed to the necessities of those less fortunate than himself. He moved about fre- quently among the sick, and cheered them with his presence and kind woads. 50 History of Warren County. His arrival upon the coast and passage up the river was hailed with joyous demonstrations by all classes, including the Swede, Dutch, and English set- tlers, and especially by his own devoted followers, the Friends. He landed at New Castle on the 24th of October, 1682, and on the following day summoned the people to the court-house, where possession of the country was formally tendered to him ; and he renewed the commissions of the magistrates, to whom and the assembled people he announced the purpose of his coming, explained the nature of good government, assured them that their civil and religious rights should be respected, and recommended that they live in sobriety and peace. He then proceeded to Upland, henceforward to be known as Chester, where, on the fourth of the following month, he called a meeting of the people, at which an equal number of votes was allowed to the province and the terri- tories. Here Nicholas Moore, president of the Free Society of Traders, was speaker. As at New Castle, Penn addressed the assembly, giving those as- sembled assurances of his beneficent intentions, for which they returned their grateful acknowledgments, the Swedes being especially demonstrative, deput- ing one of their number, Lacy Cock, to say " that they would love, serve and obey him with all they had, and that this was the best day they ever saw." One can well understand with what satisfaction the first settlers upon the Del- aware hailed the prospect of a stable government established in their own midst, after having been so long at the mercy of the government in New York, orig- inally termed New Amsterdam, with allegiance trembling between the courts of Sweden, Holland, and England. This first assembly was conducted with great decorum, and after the usages of the British Parliament. On the 7th of December, ' 1682, the three lower counties (now the State of Delaware), which had previously been under the gov- ernment of the Duke of York's representative in America, the governor of New York, were formally annexed to the province of Pennsylvania. The frame of government, which had been drawn with much deliberation, was submitted to the assembly, and after some alterations and amendments was adopted, and be- came the fundamental law. The assembly was in session only three days, but the work accomplished was vast and far-reaching in its influence. Soon after his arrival in the colony Penn made a visit to New York, and subsequently he journeyed to Maryland, where he was entertained by Lord Baltimore with great ceremony. The settlement of the disputed boundaries was made the subject of formal conference. But after two days spent in fruit- less discussion, the weather becoming severely cold, and thus rendering it im- possible to take observations or make the necessary surveys, it was agreed to adjourn further consideration of the subject until the milder weather of spring again returned. During his journeyings Penn did not forget to preach the gospel wherever there were people to hear him. On his return from Maryland he said : " I Penn in Pennsylvania. 51 have been also at New York, Long Island, East Jersey, and Maryland, in which I have had good and eminent service for the Lord." And again he says : " As to outward things we are satisfied — the land good, the air clear and sweet, the springs plentiful, and provisions good and easy to come at, an innumerable quantity of wild fowl and fish ; in fine, here is what an Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be well contented with, and service enough for God, for the fields are here white for the harvest. Oh, how sweet is the quiet of these parts, freed from the anxious and troublesome solicitations, hurries, and perplexities of woeful Europe ! . . . . Blessed be the Lord, that of twen- ty-three ships, none miscarried ; only two or three had the small-pox ; else healthy and swift passages, generally such as have not been known ; some but twenty-eight days, and few longer than six weeks." Early in November, during the season known in this latitude as the Indian summer, Penn determined to visit the site of the proposed new city chosen by his commissioners. Accordingly he embarked in an open barge with a number of his friends and was rowed up the Delaware to the present site of Philadel- phia, which the natives called Coaquannock. The scattered settlers had gath- ered to see and welcome the proprietor, and when he stepped upon the shore they extended a helping hand in assisting him up the rugged bluff. Three Swedes had already taken up tracts within the limits of the boundaries chosen for the city, but they were given other valuable lands in exchange, and readily relinquished their claims. Still Penn did not consider that he had as yet any just title to the soil, holding that the Indians were its rightful possessors, and until it was fairly acquired by purchase from them his own title was entirely void. Hence he sought an early opportunity to meet the chiefs of. the tribes claiming possession, and cultivate friendly relations with them. Tradition fixes the first great treaty, or confer- ence, at about this time — November, 1682 — and the place under the elm tree known as "Treaty Tree," 1 at Kensington. The letter which Penn had sent by the hands of his commissioners had prepared the minds of these simple-hearted inhabitants of the forest to regard him with awe and reverence. His coming, doubtless, had for a long time been awaited, and when at length the day came, the bands from far around had all assembled. It is known that at least three tribes, or nations, were represented — the Delawares, the Shawanese, who were mostly located along the Lower Susquehanna, and the Mingos, who claimed relationship with the Five Nations. !The memory of the " Great Treaty" was long preserved by the Indians, and the novel spectacle was reproduced on canvas by the genius of Benjamin West. In this picture Penn is represented as a corpulent old man clad in Quaker garb, whereas he was at this time but thirty-eight years of age, tall and active, and not at all inclined to corpulency. The " Treaty Tree " was preserved and guarded from injury with almost superstitious care. During the Revolutionary War, when Philadelphia was occu- pied by the British troops, and their details were scouring the country for fire wood. General Simcoe had a sentinel posted at this tree to protect it from mutilation. It stood until 1810, when it was blown down, and it was then ascertained, by its annual concentric accretions, to be two hundred and eighty- three years old. The Penn Society erected a substantial monument on the spot where it stood. 52 History of Warren County. In making his purchases from the Indians Penn drew up his deeds for land in legal form, and had them duly executed and recorded, so that in case dis- putes should arise in the future, his proofs of purchase would be definite and positive. Of these purchases there are two deeds on record executed in 1683. One is for land near Neshaminy Creek, and thence to Pennypack, and the other for lands lying between the Schuylkill and Chester Rivers, the first bearing the signature of the great chieftain Taminend. In one of these purchases it is pro- vided that the tract "shall extend back as far as a man can walk in three days." Tradition says that Penn himself, with a number of his friends, walked out half of this purchase with the Indians, that no advantage should be taken of them by making a great walk, and to show his consideration, and that he was not above the toils and fatigues of such a duty. They began at the mouth of the Neshaminy and walked up the Delaware. In one day and a half a spruce tree near the mouth of Baker's Creek was reached, when Penn concluded that this would include as much land as he would want for the time being. A line was then run and marked from the spruce tree to Neshaminy, and the remainder left to be walked out when it should be wanted. They proceeded after the In- . dian manner, walking leisurely, sitting down sometimes to smoke their pipes, eat biscuit and cheese, and drink a bottle of wine. In the day and a half they walked a little less than thirty miles. The balance of the purchase was not walked until September 20, 1733, when the then governor of the province offered a prize of five hundred acres of land and £5 sterling to the man who would walk the farthest. As a result a distance of eighty-six miles was cov- ered, in marked contrast with the kind consideration shown by the original proprietor. During the first year of Penn's stay in the province the country along the Delaware from the falls of Trenton to Chester, a distance of nearly sixty miles, was rapidly taken up and peopled. They were for the most part Friends, and devotedly attached to their religion and its proper observances. They were, morally, of the best classes, and though they were not generally of the aris- tocracy, yet many were in comfortable circumstances, had valuable properties, were of good families, educated, and had the resources within themselves to ■ live contented and happy. They built meeting-houses, established schools, were provident and industrious, and had come hither with no fickle purpose. Many brought servants with them, and well-supplied wardrobes, and all nec- essary articles which they wisely judged could not be procured in a new coun- try. In a brief period ships with colonists from London, Bristol, Ireland, Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, Holland, and Germany came, to the number of about fifty. Among those who were particularly conspicuous at the time was a com- pany of German Friends from the Palatinate, and a sufficient number of the descendants of the ancient Britons from Wales to people four townships. The Penn in Pennsylvania. S3 latter were also Friends, and to-day their descendants are among the most worthy and respected citizens in Philadelphia and vicinity. Such a large in- crease in population caused a scarcity in many kinds of food, especially of meats. More time was required for bringing forward flocks and herds than for producing grains ; but Providence seems to have provided for them, in a measure, for it is recorded that the ".wild pigeons came in such great numbers that the sky was sometimes darkened by their flight, and, flying low, they were frequently knocked down as they flew, in great quantities by those who had no other means to take them, whereby they supplied themselves, and having salted those which they could not immediately use, they preserved them, both for bread and meat." The Indians, too, often furnished them with game, for which they would accept no compensation. In 1682 the counties of Bucks, Chester, and Philadelphia were organized, also the three lower counties, or, as they were then termed, the " territories " of New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. Sheriffs were appointed and writs issued for the election of members of a General Assembly — three from each county for .the Council or Upper House, and nine from each county for the Assembly or Lower House. The members elected convened and organized for business at Philadelphia, on the 10th of January, 1683. As an example of the crude and impracticable propositions brought forward by some of these newly-fledged law-makers, the following may be cited as specimens : That young men shall 'be obliged to marry at or before a certain age ; that two sorts of clothes only shall be worn — one for winter and the other for summer. The session lasted twenty-two days. On the 2d of February, 1683, was summoned the first grand jury to sit in Pennsylvania, to inquire into the cases of some persons accused of issuing coun- terfeit money. The Governor and Council sat as a court. One Pickering was convicted, and sentenced as follows : " That he shall make full satisfaction, in good and current pay, to every person who shall within the space of one month, bring in any of this false, base, and counterfeit coin, and that the money brought in shall be melted down before it is returned to him, and that he pay a fine of forty pounds towards the building a court-house, stand committed till the same be paid, and afterward find security for his good behavior." During the early part of 1683 there was great activity throughout the col- ony, and especially in the new city, in selecting lots and erecting dwellings, the surveyor-general, Thomas Holme, laying out and marking the streets. In the center of the city was established a public square of ten acres, and in each of the four quarters one of eight acres. A large mansion, which had been un- dertaken befcre his arrival, was built for Penn, at a point twenty-six miles up the river, called Pennsbury Manor, where he sometimes resided, and where he often met the Indian sachems. His plans of government and settlement were now fairly in operation, but 54 History of Warren County. there was another matter which caused him unceasing anxiety. As we have seen, the visit of Penn to Lord Baltimore, soon after his arrival in America, for the purpose of settling the boundaries of the two provinces, after two days' conference proved fruitless, and an adjournment was had for the winter, when the efforts for a settlement were to be resumed. Accordingly in May, 1683, the proprietors again met at New Castle. Penn proposed to confer by the aid •of counselors and in writing. But to this Baltimore objected, and, complain- ing of the sultriness of the weather, the conference was broken up. In the mean time it had come to the knowledge of Penn that Lord Baltimore had issued a. proclamation offering settlers more land, and at cheaper rates than Penn had done, in portions of the lower counties which Penn had purchased from the Duke of York, but which Baltimore now claimed. Besides, it was ascertained that an agent of his had taken an observation and determined the latitude with- out the knowledge of Penn, and had secretly made an ex parte statement of the case before the Lords of the Committee of Plantations in England, and was pressing for arbitrament. This condition of affairs caused much uneasiness in the mind of Penn, especially as the proclamation of Lord Baltimore was likely to bring the two governments into conflict on territory mutually claimed. Lord Baltimore, it appears, was not disposed to be content even with di- plomacy. He determined to pursue an aggressive policy. He accordingly commissioned his agent, Colonel George Talbot, under date of September 17, 1683, to go to Schuylkill, at Delaware, and demand of William Penn " all that part of the land on the west side of the said river, that lyeth to the southward of the fortieth degree." This bold demand would have embraced the entire colony, both the lower counties, and the three counties in the province, as the fortieth degree reaches a considerable distance north of Philadelphia. Penn was in New York at the time Talbot arrived, and the latter made his demand upon Nicholas Moore, Penn's deputy. Upon his return, the proprietor made a dignified but earnest rejoinder. While he felt that the demand could not be justly sustained, yet the fact that a controversy for the settlement of the bound- ary was likely to arise gave him disquietude, and he plainly foresaw that his skill and tact would be taxed to the utmost to defend and hold his claim before the English court. If the demand of Lord Baltimore was to prevail, all that he had done would be lost, as his entire colony would be swallowed up by Maryland. Penn's anxiety to hold from the beginning of the fortieth degree of latitude was not founded upon a desire for a vast amount of territory, for the two de- grees which he held unquestioned, so far as amount of land was concerned, would have entirely satisfied him ; but he wanted this degree chiefly that he might have the free navigation of Delaware Bay and River, and thus have un- trammeled communication with the ocean. He desired also to hold the lower counties, which were now well settled, as well as his own counties rapidly be- Penn in Pennsylvania. 55 ing peopled, and his new city of Philadelphia, which he regarded with especial fondness. So anxious was he to settle the controversy, and to hold the land on the right bank of the Delaware to the open ocean, that at the second meet- ing he asked Lord Baltimore to set a price per square mile on this disputed ground ; and, though he had purchased it once of the crown and held the king's charter for it and the Duke of York's deed, yet rather than have any further wrangle over it he was willing to pay for it again. But this Lord Baltimore refused to do. The year 1684 opened favorably for the continued prosperity of the young colony. The cultivation of the soil was being prosecuted with grand success. Goodly flocks and herds gladdened the eyes of the settlers. An intelligent, moral, and industrious yeomanry was [rapidly being welded as a symmetrical body or community, where all were warmly interested in the welfare of each other. Emigrants were pouring in from different European countries. The government was becoming settled in its operations and popular with the people, and the proprietor had leisure to attend to the interests of his religious society, not only in his own province, but in the Jerseys and New York. Baltimore, however, was bent upon bringing matters to a crisis; hence, early in the same year (1684), a party of his adherents from Maryland made forcible entry upon the plantations in the lower counties and drove off the owners. Thereupon the Governor and Council at Philadelphia sent thither a copy of the answer of Penn to Baltimore's demand for the land south of the Delaware, with orders to William Welch, sheriff at New Castle, to use his authority to rein- state the lawful owners, and issued a declaration plainly stating the claim of Penn, for the purpose of preventing such unlawful incursions in the future. Feeling assured, nevertheless, that the controversy between himself and Lord Baltimore could be settled only by the crown, Penn decided to return to England and defend his imperiled interests. Without a doubt he took this step with much regret, as he was contented and happy in his new country and was most usefully employed. He empowered the Provincial Council, of which Thomas Lloyd was president, to act in his stead; commissioned Nicholas Moore, William Welch, William Wood, Robert Turner, and John Eckley pro- vincial judges for two years ; appointed Thomas Lloyd, James Claypole, and Robert Turner to sign land patents and warrants, and William Clark as justice of the peace for all the counties, and on the 6th of June, 1684, sailed for En- gland. His feelings on leaving his colony are exhibited by a farewell address which he issued from on board the vessel to his people, of which the following are brief extracts : " My love and my life is to you, and with you, and no water can quench it, nor distance wear it out, nor bring it to an end. I have been with you, cared over you and served over you with unfeigned love, and you are beloved of me, and near me beyond utterance. I bless you in the name and 56 History of Warren County. power of the Lord, and may God bless you with His righteousness, peace and plenty all the land over. . Oh ! now you are come to a quiet land ; provoke not the Lord to trouble it. And now liberty and authority are with you, and in your hands. Let the government be upon His shoulders, in all your spirits, that you may rule for him under whom the princes of this world will, one day, esteem it their honor to govern and serve in their places. And thou, Philadelphia, the virgin settlement of this province, named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what service, and what travail has there been to bring thee forth, and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee ! . So, dear friends, my love again salutes you all, wishing that grace, mercy, and peace, with all temporal blessings, may abound richly among you — so says, so prays, your friend and lover in the truth, "William Penn." Having thus shown in this and the preceding chapter how and when the province of Pennsylvania was granted and settled, its extent, natural advan- tages, etc., besides the narration of many other interesting incidents connected with its early history, the reader's attention is again directed in the following chapters to the operations of the French, the Iroquois, and the English in their struggle for control in Canada and New York, in the lake region, and finally in that part of Penn's province lying west of the Allegheny Mountains, including the Conewango and Allegheny valleys. CHAPTER VIII. FRENCH DOMINION. A Slight Ascendency — De Nonville Attacks the Senecas — Origin of Fort Niagara — Count Frontenac in the Field — Treaty of Ryswick — Queen Anne's War — The Iroquois Neutral — The Tusearoras — Joncaire — Fort Niagara Rebuilt — French Power Increasing — Conflicting Claims — Secret Instructions — De Celeron Takes Possession of the Allegheny Valley Buries a Lead Plate at Mouth of the Conewango — The Six Nations Alarmed — French Establish a Line of Forts — The Ohio Company — Virginia's Claim — Washington as an Envoy — French Build Fort Du Quesne — Washington and his Virginians Captured — Braddock's Disastrous Campaign — The Final Struggle — French Defeated all Along the Line — Their Surrender of Power in the New World. FOR many years after the adventures of La Salle, the French maintained a general but not very substantial ascendency in the lake region. Their voya- geurs traded, their missionaries labored, and their soldiers sometimes made in- cursions, but they had no permanent fortress beyond or west of Fort Fronte- nac (Kingston, Canada), and they were constantly in danger from their enemies French Dominion. 57 the Iroquois. Yet the French sovereigns and ministers considered the whole lake region, besides the territory drained by the Allegheny, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, as being unquestionably a part of "New France." Their maps so described it, and they looked forward with entire assurance to the time when French troops and French colonists should hold undisputed possession of all that vast domain. In 1687 the Marquis de Nonville, governor of New France, arrived at Iron- dequoit Bay, a few miles east of the site of the city of Rochester, N. Y., with nearly two thousand French soldiers and some five hundred Indians, and marched at once against the Seneca villages, situated, as has been stated, in the vicinity of Victor and Avon, N. Y., or from ten to twenty miles south of Roch- ester's site. The Senecas attacked him on his way and were defeated, as well they might be, considering that the largest estimate gives them but eight hun- dred warriors, the rest of the confederates not having arrived. The Senecas hastened back to their villages, burned them, and with their women and children fled to the Cayugas. De Nonville destroyed their stores of corn, etc., and retired, after going through the ceremony of taking posses- sion of the country. The supplies thus destroyed were immediately replen- ished by the other confederates, and the French accomplished little except still further to enrage the Iroquois. The Senecas, however, determined to seek a home less accessible from the waters of Lake Ontario, and accordingly located their principal village at the foot of Seneca Lake, and others on the Genesee River above Avon. The French commander, after defeating the Senecas, sailed to the mouth of the Niagara River, where he erected a small fort on the east side. This was the origin of Fort Niagara, one of the most celebrated strongholds in America, which, though for a time abandoned, was afterwards during more than half a century considered the key of the whole upper lake country, and the vast domain stretching southward to the head waters of the Ohio. From the new fortress De Nonville sent the Baron La Hontan with a small detach- ment of French to escort the Indian allies to their northwestern homes. They made the necessary portage around the falls, rowed up the Niagara to Lake Erie, and thence coasted along the northern shore of the lake in their canoes All along the river they were closely watched by the enraged Iroquois, but were too strong and too vigilant to be attacked. Ere long the governor re- turned to Montreal, leaving a small garrison at Fort Niagara. These suffered so severely from sickness that the fort was soon abandoned, and it does not appear to have been again occupied for nearly forty years. In fact, at this period the fortunes of France in North America were brought very low. The Iroquois ravaged a part of the island of Montreal, compelled the abandonment of Forts Frontenac and Niagara, and alone proved almost sufficient to overthrow the French dominion in Canada. 58 History of Warren County. The English revolution of 1688, by which James II was driven from the throne, chiefly on account of his friendship for William Penn and his liberal views regarding all religious sects, was speedily followed by open war with France. In 1689 the Count de Frontenac, the same energetic old peer who had encouraged La Salle in his brilliant discoveries, and whose name was for a while borne by Lake Ontario, was sent out as governor of New France. This vigorous but cruel leader partially retrieved the desperate condition of the French. He, too, by way of retaliation, invaded the Iroquois country, but ac- complished no more than De Nonville. This war continued with varying for- tunes until 1697, the Five Nations being all that while the friends of the Eng- lish, and most of the time engaged in active hostilities against the French. Their authority over the whole west bank of the Niagara and far up the south side of Lake Erie was unbroken, save when a detachment of French troops was actually marching along the shore. At the treaty of Ryswick in 1697, while the ownership of certain lands in America was definitely conceded to France and England respectively, those formerly occupied by the exterminated tribes — the Eries and Kahquahs — were left undecided. The English claimed sovereignty over all the lands of the Five Nations, the French with equal energy asserted the authority of King Louis over territory discovered by their explorers, while the Iroquois them- selves, whenever they heard of the controversy, repudiated alike the pretensions of Yonnondio and Corlear, as they denominated the governors respectively of Canada and New York. So far as Warren county was concerned, they could base their claim on the good old plea that they had killed or driven away all its previous occupants ; and as neither the English nor the French had succeeded in killing the Iro- quois, the title of the latter still held good. However, scarcely had the echoes of battle died away after the treaty of Ryswick, when, in 1702, the rival nations plunged into the long, desolating conflict known as "Queen Anne's War." But by this time the Iroquois had grown wiser, and prudently maintained their neutrality, thus commanding the respect of both French and English. The former were wary of again provok- ing the powerful confederates, and the governments of the colonies of New York and Pennsylvania were very willing that the Five Nations should remain neutral, as they thus furnished a shield against French and Canadian Indian attacks along their frontiers. Meanwhile, through all the western country the French extended their in- fluence. Detroit was founded in 1 701, and other posts were established far and wide. Notwithstanding their alliance with the Hurons and other foes of the Iroquois, and notwithstanding the enmity aroused by the invasions of Cham- plain, De Nonville, and Frontenac, such was the subtle skill of the French that they rapidly acquired a strong influence among the western tribes of the con- French Dominion. 59 federacy, especially with the Senecas. Even the powerful socio-political sys- tem of the Hedonosaunee weakened under the influence of European intrigue, and while the eastern Iroquois, though preserving their neutrality, were friendly to the English, the Senecas, and perhaps the Cayugas, were almost ready to take up arms for the French. Another important event in the history of the Hedonosaunee occurred about the year 1712, when the Five Nations became the Six Nations. The Tuscaroras, a powerful tribe of North Carolina, had become involved in a war with the whites, originating, as usual, in a dispute about land. The colonists being aided by several other tribes, the Tuscaroras were soon defeated, many of them were killed, and many others were captured and sold as slaves. The greater part of the remainder fled northward to the Iroquois, who immediately adopted them as one of the tribes of the confederacy, assigning them a loca- tion near the Oneidas. The readiness of those haughty warriors to extend the valuable shelter of the Long House over a band of fleeing exiles is prob- ably due to the fact that the latter had been the allies of the Iroquois against other southern Indians, which would also account for the eagerness of the lat- ter to join the whites in the overthrow of the Tuscaroras. Not long after this one Chabert Joncaire, otherwise known as Jean Cceur, a Frenchman who had been captured in youth by the Senecas, who had been adopted into their tribe, and had married a Seneca wife, but who had been released at the treaty of peace, was employed by the French authorities to promote their influence among the Iroquois. Pleading his claims as an adopted child of the nations, he was allowed by the Seneca chiefs to build a cabin and establish a trading-post on the site of Lewiston, on the Niagara, which soon became a center of French influence and activity. All the efforts of the English were impotent either to dislodge him or to obtain a similar privilege for any of their own people. "He is one of our children ; he may build where he will," was the sole reply vouchsafed to every complaint. "Among the public officers of the French," says Bancroft, "who gained influence over the red men by adapting themselves with happy facility to life in the wilderness, was the Indian agent Joncaire. For twenty years he had been successfully negotiating with the Senecas. He had become by adoption one of their own citizens and sons, and to the culture of the French- man added the fluent eloquence of an Iroquois warrior." Though Fort Niag- ara was for the time abandoned, and no regular fort was built at Lewiston, yet Joncaire's trading-post embraced a considerable group of cabins, and at least a part of the time a detachment of French soldiers was stationed there. Jon- caire and his trappers and voyageurs frequently visited Chautauqua Lake, the Conewango River, and the Allegheny, and thus the French maintained at least a slight ascendency over the territory which is the subject of this history. About 1725 they began rebuilding Fort Niagara on the site where De Non- 60 History of Warren County. ville had erected his fortress. They did so without opposition; Joncaire's influ- ence was now potent among the Senecas ; besides, the fact of the French being such poor colonizers worked to their advantage in establishing a certain kind of influence and confidence among the Indians. Few of them being desirous of engaging in agriculture, they made little effort to obtain land, while the English were constantly arousing the jealousy of the natives by obtaining enormous grants from some of the chiefs, often, doubtless, by very dubious meth- ods. Moreover, the French have always possessed a peculiar facility for assim- ilating with savage and half- civilized races, and thus gaining an influence over them. Whatever the cause, the power of the French constantly increased among the Senecas. Fort Niagara became a noted stronghold, and Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania were almost wholly given over to their domin- ion. They established small trading-posts along the streams and did a large trade with the Indians by exchanging beads, brooches, guns, ammunition, and tomahawks for furs, which were shipped to Europe and sold at an immense profit. However, although their possession was as yet undisturbed, it must not be inferred that it was quietly acquiesced in by the English. The latter viewed the projects of the French with mingled jealousy and alarm, sent out numerous agents, 1 and succeeded in some quarters in estranging the Indians from their rivals, but not to any extended degree. The influence of Joncaire, aided by that of his sons Chabert and Clauzonne Joncaire, in the interests of the French, was maintained and increased all through the second quarter of the eighteenth century. In the war between England and France, begun in 1744 and closed by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, the Six Nations generally maintained their neutrality, though the Mohawks gave some aid to the English. During the eight years of nominal peace which succeeded that treaty, both the French and English made numerous efforts to extend their dominion beyond their frontier settlements, the former with most success. To Niagara and Detroit they added other posts, and finally determined to establish a line of forts from the lakes to the Ohio, and thence down that river to the Mississippi. The French claimed that their discovery of the St. Lawrence and the Mis- sissippi entitled them to the ownership of the territory bordering upon those streams and their tributaries. The English claim was based upon a grant by King James I, in 1606, to "divers of his subjects, of all the countries between north latitude 48 and 34 , and westward from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Sea," and also upon purchases of western lands made from the Six Na- 1 English agents or traders were located at Venango (now Franklin) and Le Boeuf (now Waterford), when the advance of the French army reached those points in 1753. John Frazier, a Scotchman, had established himself at the former place about 1745, where he carried on a gunsmith shop, and traded with the Indians until driven away by Joncaire, who also captured at Venango the traders John Trotter and James McLaughlin, and sent them as prisoners to Montreal. French Dominion. 61 tions by commissioners from the provinces of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Vir- ginia, representing the mother country. Hence, although the treaty of Aix- la-Chapelle was supposed to have settled all difficulties between the courts of England and France, it appears that it did not settle anything in the New World, nor had either party relinquished its claims. Therefore, when it was ascertained that the French were actively pushing forward their enterprises with a view of permanently occupying the great territory beyond the Alleghenies, the British embassador at Paris entered complaint before the French court that encroachments were being made by the French upon English soil in America. These charges were politely heard, and promises made of restraining the French in Canada from encroaching upon English territory. Formal orders were sent out by the home government to this effect ; but at the same time secret intima- tions were conveyed to the French Canadians that their conduct in endeavoring to secure and hold the territory in dispute was not displeasing to the govern- ment, and that disobedience of these orders would not incur its displeasure. In the execution of these secret instructions the French deemed it neces- sary, in order to establish a legal claim to the country, to take formal posses- sion of it. Accordingly the Marquis de la Galissonniere, who was at this time captain-general of Canada, dispatched Captain Bienville de Celeron with a party of two hundred and fifteen French and fifty-five Indians, to publicly proclaim possession, and bury at prominent points plates of lead bearing inscrip- tions declaring occupation in the name of the French king. Celeron started on the 15th of June, 1749, from La Chine. He followed the southern shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie until he reached a point opposite Lake Chautau- qua, where the boats were drawn up and taken bodily over the dividing ridge, a distance of ten miles, with all the impedimenta of the expedition, the pioneers having first opened a road. Following on down the lake and the Conewango Creek, they arrived on the site of the present town of Warren. Here the first plate was buried. These plates were eleven inches long, seven and a half inches wide, and one-eighth of an inch thick. A translated account of De Celeron's procedure at this point reads as follows : "In the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, We, Celeron, Knight of the Royal and Military Order of St. Louis, captain commanding a detachment sent by order of the Marquis de la Galissonniere, Captain General in Canada, and the Beautiful River, otherwise called the Ohio, accompanied by the principal officers of our detachment, have buried at the foot of a red oak tree, on the south bank of the River Ohio, 1 and opposite the point of a little island where the two rivers, Ohio and Kanaougou 2 unite, a leaden plate, with the following inscription engraved thereon : 1 During their occupation of this region the French always termed the Allegheny the River Ohio, and it is so printed upon all their early maps. 2 Upon Captain Pouchot's French map, published in 1758, for the purpose of showing the French and English frontiers in America, from the French stand-point, an Indian village called " Kanoagoa" s 62 History of Warren County. " In the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, in the reign of Louis XV, King of France. " We, Celeron, commanding officer of a detachment sent by the Marquis de la Galissonniere, Captain General of New France, to re-establish peace in some Indian villages of these Cantons, have buried this plate at the confluence of the Rivers Ohio and Kanaougou this 29th day of July, as a monument of the renewal of the possession which we have taken of the said River Ohio, and of all the lands on both sides, up to the source of the said rivers, as the pre- ceding Kings of France have enjoyed or ought to enjoy the same, and have maintained themselves there by arms and treaties, and especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix-la-Chappelle. We have, moreover, affixed the King's arms at the same place to a tree. In testimony whereof, we have signed and drawn up this proces verbal. " Done at the mouth of the Beautiful river, 1 this twenty-ninth day of July, one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine. " Signed by all the officers. " Celeron." The burying of this plate was attended with much form and ceremony. All the men and officers of the expedition were drawn up in battle array, while the savages assembled looked on in open-mouthed awe and wonder, when Ce- leron proclaimed, in a loud voice, " Vive le Roi," and declared that possession of the country was now taken in the name of the king. A plate bearing the arms of France was then affixed to the nearest tree. The same formality was observed in planting each of the other plates : the second at the rock known as the " Indian God " — on which are ancient and unknown inscriptions — a few miles below Franklin ; a third at the mouth of Wheeling Creek ; a fourth at the mouth of the Muskingum ; a fifth at the mouth of the Great Kanawha, and the sixth and last at the mouth of the Great. Miami. Toilsomely ascending the Miami to its head waters, the party burned their canoes, and obtained ponies for the march across the portage to the head waters of the Maumee, down which and by Lakes Erie and Ontario they returned to Fort Frontenac, arriving on the 6th of November. It appears that the Indians through whose territory they passed viewed this planting of plates with great suspicion. By some means they got possession of one of them, generally supposed to have been stolen from the party at the very commence- ment of their journey. is located at the mouth of the present Conewango, but the name of the latter stream was then printed " Schatacoin River,'' the French geographer intending, doubtless, to apply to it the same name as that of the lake of which it is an outlet. The name of the same stream has also been written by early English geographers, American officers and surveyors, as the Canawagy, Conewauga, Conewagoo, Canawago, Conawango, and Conewaugo ; but since 1795 it has been considered proper to write it Con- ewango. 1 A mistake of the translator or copyist. It should read mouth of the Kanaougou. French Dominion. 63 Mr. O. H. Marshall, in an excellent monograph upon this expedition, made up from the original journal of Celeron and the diary of Father Bonnecamps, found in the Department de la Marine in Paris, gives the following account of this stolen plate : " The first of the leaden plates was brought to the attention of the public by Gov. George Clinton to the Lords of Trade in London, in a communication dated New York, December 19, 1750, in which he states that he would send to their Lordships in two or three weeks a plate of lead full of writing, which some of the upper nations of Indians stole from Jean Cceur, the French inter- preter at Niagara, on his way to the River Ohio, which river, and all the lands thereabouts, the French claim, as will appear by said writing. He further states ' that the lead plate gave the Indians so much uneasiness that they im- mediately dispatched some of the Cayuga chiefs to him with it, saying that their only reliance was on him, and earnestly begged he would communicate the contents to them, which he had done, much to their satisfaction and the interests of the English.' The Governor concludes„by saying that ' the contents of the plate may be of great importance in clearing up the encroachments which the French have made on the British Empire in America.' The plate, was delivered to Colonel, afterward Sir William Johnson, on the 4th of Decem- ber, 1750, at his residence on the Mohawk, by a Cayuga sachem, who accom- panied it by the following speech : " ' Brother Corlear and War-ragh-i-ya-ghey ! I am sent here by the Six Nations with a piece of writing which the Senecas, our brethren, got by some artifice from Jean Cceur, earnestly beseeching you will let us know what it means, and as we put all confidence in you, we hope you will explain it ingen- iously to us.' , " Col. Johnson replied to the Sachem, and through him to the Six Nations, returning a belt of wampum, and explaining the inscription on the plate. He told them ' it was a matter of the greatest consequence, involving the posses- sion of their lands and hunting grounds, and that Jean Cceur and the French ought immediately to be expelled from the Ohio and Niagara.' In reply, the Sachem said that 'he had heard with great attention and surprise the sub- stance of the "devilish writing" he had brought, and that Col. Johnson's remarks were fully approved. ' He promised that belts from each of the Six Nations should be sent from the Seneca's castle to the Indians at the Ohio, to warn and strengthen them against the French encroachments in that direction." On the 29th of January, 175 1, Clinton sent a copy of this inscription to Gov- ernor Hamilton, of Pennsylvania. The French followed up this formal act of possession by laying out a chain of military posts, on substantially the same line as that pursued by the Celeron expedition ; but instead of crossing over to Lake Chautauqua, as had been the custom of their traders for many years, they kept on down to Presque Isle 64 History of Warren County. (now Erie), where was a good harbor, and where a fort was established, and thence up to Le Bceuf 1 (now Waterford) ; thence down the Venango (French Creek) to its mouth at Franklin, establishing Fort Venango there ; thence by the Allegheny to Pittsburgh, where Fort Du Quesne was afterwards seated, and so on down the Ohio. To counteract this activity on the. part of the French, the Ohio Company was chartered, and a half million of acres was granted by the crown, to be selected mainly on the south side of the Ohio, between the Monongahela and Kanawha Rivers, and the condition made that settlements (one hundred fami- lies within seven years), protected by a fort, should be made. The company consisted of Maryland and Virginia gentlemen, among whom were Lawrence, a brother of George Washington. In 1752 a treaty was entered into with the Indians, securing the right of occupancy, and twelve families, under the leadership of Captain Gist, estab- lished themselves upon the Monongahela, and subsequently began the erection of a fort at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. Apprised of this intrusion into the very heart of the territory which they were claiming, the French at once built a fort at Le Bceuf, and strengthened their post at Venango. These proceedings having been promptly reported to Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, where the greater number of the stockholders resided, and which province, by the way, claimed jurisdiction over all of the region lying west of Laurel Hill 2 and northward to the junction of the two rivers just named, he determined to send an official communication to the French commandant at Le Bceuf, protesting against the forcible interference with their chartered rights, granted by the crown of Great Britain, and pointing to the late treaties of peace entered into between the English and French, whereby it was agreed that each should respect the colonial possessions of the other. But who should be the messenger to execute this delicate and responsible trust ? Winter was approaching, and the distance to be traversed — some five hundred miles — led through a wild wilderness, cut by rugged mountain chains and deep, rapid streams. It was proposed to several, who declined, and was finally accepted by George Washington, then a youth barely twenty-one years old. On the last day of November, 1753, he bade adieu to civilization, and pushed on through the forest to the settlements on the Monongahela, where he was joined by Captain Gist. He then followed up the Allegheny to Fort Venango ; thence up the Venango or French Creek to its head waters at Fort Le Bceuf, where he held formal conference with the French commandant, St. Pierre. 1 So called because when the locality was first visited by Europeans — the French — it seemed a favorite haunt for vast herds of buffalo. 2 It was believed by many at that time that the western boundary of Pennsylvania would not fall to the westward of Laurel Hill. French Dominion. 65 The French officer had been ordered to hold this territory on the claim of the discovery of the Mississippi by La Salle, and the subsequent occupation of all this region for many years by the French, and he had no discretion but to execute his orders, and referred Washington to his superior, the governor- general of Canada. Making careful notes of the location and strength of the post and those encountered on the way, the young embassador returned, being twice fired at on his journey by hostile Indians, and came near losing his life by being thrown into the freezing waters of the Allegheny while effecting a crossing on a hastily improvised raft. Upon his arrival he made a full report of the embassage, which was widely published throughout the English colonies and in England, and doubtless was the basis upon which action was taken that eventuated in a long and sanguinary war — the Old French and Indian War — which resulted in the collapse of French dominion upon this continent. Governor Dinwiddie being satisfied that the French were determined to hold the territory upon the Ohio by force of arms, a body of one hundred and fifty Virginia provincials, of which Washington as lieutenant-colonel was in com- mand, was sent to the support of the small garrison at the mouth of the Alle- gheny. But the French, having this river as a means of transportation and the Virginians a very rugged and mountainous country to overcome, the former first reached the goal or vantage ground for which each was striving. Con- tracceur, the French commander, with one thousand men, and well-equipped batteries of artillery, having provided himself with a sufficient number of bateaux and canoes, glided swiftly down the Allegheny and easily seized the unfinished work of defense of the Ohio Company, and at once began the con- struction of an elaborate work which was named Fort Du Quesne, in honor of the governor-general of Canada. Informed of this proceeding, Washington pushed forward and, finding that a detachment of the French was in his immediate neighborhood, he made a forced march by night, and coming upon them unawares killed and captured the entire party save one. Ten of the French, including their commander, Jumonville, were killed and twenty-one made prisoners. Though reinforce- ments had been dispatched from the several colonies in response to the urgent appeals of Washington, none reached him but one company of one hundred men, under the command of the insubordinate Captain Mackay, from South Carolina. Knowing that he was confronting a vastly superior force of the French, well supplied with artillery, he threw up defensive works at a point called the Great Meadows, in the present county of Fayette, Pa., and named his hastily built fortification Fort Necessity. Stung by the loss of Jumonville and his command, the French came on in strong force and soon invested the place. Washington informs us that he had chosen a " charming field for an encounter," but unfortunately for him one part of his position was easily com- manded by the artillery of the French, which they were not slow in taking 66 History of Warren County. advantage of. The action opened on the 3d of July, and was continued till late at night. A capitulation was then proposed by the French commander, which Washington reluctantly accepted, seeing all hope of reinforcements reaching him cut off, and on the 4th of July marched out with the honors of war and fell back to Will's Creek, now Cumberland, Md. The French were now in complete possession of the country claimed by them from the mouth of the St. Lawrence via the Great Lakes and the head waters of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers to the Mississippi. Along this line gayly- dressed French officers sped backward and forward, attended by the fierce warriors of their allied tribes, and not unfrequently by the Senecas, who seemed more friendly to them than to the English. Dark-gowned Jesuits also hastened to and fro, everywhere receiving the respect of the red men, even when their creed was rejected, and using all their art to magnify the power of both Rome and France. Possession and victory counted heavily in the balance. Many of the Sen- ecas, and nearly all of the Indian tribes in the Canadas and the great North- west, east of the Mississippi, were the friends and allies of the French, and it is probable that the whole Iroquois confederacy would have been induced to become active partisans of the French had it not been for one man, the skillful English superintendent of Indian affairs, soon to be known as Sir William Johnson. He, having in 1734 been sent to America as the agent of his uncle, a great landholder in the valley of the Mohawk, had gained almost unbounded influence over the Mohawks by integrity in dealing and native shrewdness, combined with a certain coarseness of nature which readily affiliated with them. He had made his power felt throughout the whole confederacy, and had been intrusted by the British government with the management of its relations with the Six Nations. The English, meanwhile, were not idle spectators of the enterprise and activity displayed by their ancient enemy, the French, in their efforts to occupy, hold, and possess the greater and best portions of North America. Hence, determined to push military operations, the British government had called, early in the year of 1755, upon the provinces of New York, Pennsyl- vania, and Virginia for several thousand volunteers, and had sent two regi- ments of its standing army, under General Braddock, from Cork, Ireland. Landing at Alexandria, Va., he marched to Frederick, Md., and thence by a circuitous route to Will's Creek, or Fort Cumberland, Md., where all of the troops under his command were concentrated. It seems that he had formed extravagant plans for his campaign. He would march forward and reduce Fort Du Quesne, thence proceed against Fort Niagara, which having conquered, he would close a season of triumphs by the capture of Fort Frontenac. But this was not the first nor the last time in war- fare that the result of a campaign had failed to realize the promises of the mani- French Dominion. 67 festo. The orders brought by Braddock giving officers of the line precedence over those who commanded the provincial forces gave great offense, and Washington, among others, because of this, as well as the cutting criticisms indulged in regarding his brief campaign in the Monongahela valley during the previous year, threw up his commission ; but, enamored of the profes- sion of arms, he accepted the position offered him by General Braddock as volunteer aid-de-camp. Accustomed to the discipline of military establish- ments in old, long-settled countries, Braddock had little conception of making war in a wilderness with only Indian paths, or " trails," to move upon, against wily savages. He was advised by Washington and other provincial officers to push forward with pack-horses, and by rapidity of movement forestall ample preparations on the part of his enemy. But the English general knew of but one way of soldiering, and, where roads did not exist sufficient to pass his cum- brous wagon trains and artillery, he stopped to fell the forest and bridge the streams. The French, who were kept advised of his every movement by their Indian scouts and runners, made ample preparations to receive him, though they were much less in numbers. In the mean time Washington fell sick ; but intent on being up for the bat- tle, he hastened forward as soon as sufficiently recovered, and only joined the army on the day before the fatal engagement. He had never seen much of the pride and circumstance of war, and when, on the morning of the 9th of July, the army of Braddock marched on across the Monongahela, with gay colors flying and martial music awakening the echoes of the forest, he was accustomed in subsequent years to speak of it as the " most magnificent spec- tacle " he had ever beheld. But the gay pageant was destined to be of but short duration, for the army had only marched a little distance before it fell into an ambuscade skillfully laid by the French and Indians at a point within a few miles of Fort Du Quesne, and the forest resounded with the unearthly whoop of the Indians and the continuous roar of musketry. The advance was checked and thrown into confusion by the French from their well-chosen position, and every tree upon the flanks of the long drawn out line concealed a murderous foe, who, with unerring aim, picked off the officers. A resolute stand was made, and the battle raged with great fury for three hours ; but the fire of the English regulars, who were held in close ranks, was of little effect because directed against an invisible foe. The few Virginia provincials, how- ever, fighting in their own way, made it exceedingly warm for some, at least, of the French and Indians. Finally, the English mounted officers having all fallen killed or wounded, panic seized the survivors, and they fled from the field in dismay, leaving their dead, their baggage, artillery, etc., and nearly all of their wounded in the hands of an inferior force of the French and their sav- age allies. Of the fourteen hundred and sixty officers and men of Braddock's army 68 History of Warren County. engaged in this battle, four hundred and fifty-six were killed and four hun- dred and twenty-one wounded, a greater loss, in proportion to the number engaged, than has ever occurred in the annals of modern warfare. The sur- prising statement that more men were killed than wounded, is accounted for from the fact that when the English fled from the field, the Indians bounded forth from their coverts and tomahawked and scalped many of the wounded ere the more humane of the Frenchmen could put a stop to the slaughter. Sir Peter Halkert, the second in rank of the British forces, was killed, and Brad- dock, mortally wounded, was brought off the field by Washington, assisted by less than a score of other subalterns and soldiers, with the greatest difficulty. The panic-stricken survivors fled back to the reserve forces commanded by Colonel Dunbar, who, it appears, was also seized with fright, though his re- serves more than outnumbered the combined French and Indians at Du Quesne ; and without attempting to halt the fugitives, to renew the campaign and return to the encounter, he abandoned his trains, destroyed his stores and artillery, and joined in a disgraceful flight, which was not stayed until Fort Cumber- land was reached. The French remained at Fort Du Quesne anticipating a renewal of the struggle ; but when they found that the English had fled, leav- ing the frontier all unprotected, they left no stone unturned in whetting the minds of the savages for the work of plunder and blood, and in organizing relentless bands to range at will along all the wide border. The Indians could not be induced to pursue, the retreating English, but fell to plundering the field. Nearly everything was lost, even to the camp-chest of Braddock. The wounded general was taken back to the summit of Laurel Hill, where, after four days, he breathed his last. He was buried in the middle of the road, and the army marched over his grave that it might not be discovered or molested by the Indians. This easy victory, won chiefly by the savages, served to encourage them in their fell work, in which, when their passions were aroused, no known people on earth were less touched by pity. The unprotected settler in his wilderness home was the easy prey of the torch and the scalping-knife, and the burning cabins lit up the somber forests by their continuous blaze, and the shrieks of women and children resounded from the Hudson to the Potomac. Before the defeat of Braddock there were three thousand men capable of bearing arms residing in that part of Pennsylvania lying west of the Susquehanna. Six months later there were scarcely one hundred. The ferment in the wilderness daily grew more earnest, and in this hour of extremity the Indians for the most part showed themselves a treacherous race, ever ready to take up on the stronger side. Even the Shawanese and Dela- wares, who had been loudest in their protestations of friendship for the English and readiness to fight for them, no sooner saw the French victorious than they gave ready ear to their advice to strike for the recovery of the lands which French Dominion. 69 they had voluntarily sold to the English. As days passed the gay officers and soldiers of King Louis of France more frequently sped from Quebec, and Fron- tenac, and Niagara, now in bateaux, now on foot, through and along the bor- ders of the present county of Warren, to Fort Du Quesne ; staying a few hours, perchance to hold a council with the Seneca sachems, then hurrying forward to strengthen the feeble line of posts on which so much depended. In 1756, after two years of open hostilities in America, and several impor- tant conflicts, war was again declared between England and France, being their last great struggle for supremacy in the New World. In this war the Mohawks were persuaded by Sir William Johnson to take the field in favor of the En- glish. But the Senecas, as before mentioned, were quite friendly to the French, and were only restrained from taking up arms for them as a nation by an unwillingness to fight against their Iroquois brethren farther east. A few of them, without a doubt, did assist the French to defeat Braddock. Indeed, it has frequently been asserted that " Cornplanter," an Indian chieftain whose name is indissolubly connected with the history of Warren county, then a young half-breed warrior of about the age of Washington, was one of the fierce young Seneca braves who were with the French at Fort Du Quesne; but this statement is not well authenticated. For a time, as we have shown, the French were everywhere victorious. Braddock, almost at the gates of Fort Du Quesne, was slain, and his army cut in pieces by a force utterly contemptible in comparison with his own. Mont- calm had captured Oswego, and the French lines up the Great Lakes and across the country to Fort Du Quesne were stronger than ever. But in 1758- William Pitt entered the councils of George II, as nominal though not actual chief of the ministry, and then England flung herself in deadly earnest into the contest. That year Fort Du Quesne was captured by an English and Provin- cial army under General Forbes, and Fort Pitt erected upon its ruins, the French garrison having destroyed their fort, etc., and retreated while the En- glish were thundering at their gates. To the northward Fort Frontenac was seized by Colonel Bradstreet, and other victories prepared the way for the grand success in 1759. The Gallic cordon was broken, but Fort Niagara still held out for France ; still the messengers ran forward and backward, to and from Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, Venango, and the upper valley of the Allegheny, and still the Senecas strongly declared their friendship, and in many instances their undying fealty for Yonnondio and Yonnondio's royal master. Yet heavier blows were struck in 1759. Wolf assailed Quebec, the strongest of all the French strongholds. Almost at the same time General Prideaux with two thousand British and Provincials, accompanied by Sir William John- son with one thousand of his faithful Iroquois, sailed up Lake Ontario and laid siege to Fort Niagara. Defended by only six hundred men, its capture was certain unless speedy relief could be obtained. jo History of Warren County. Its commander, however, was not idle. Once again along the Niagara and up Lake Erie, and away through the forests to the south and westward, sped his lithe, red-skinned messengers to summon the sons and the dusky allies of France. D'Aubrey, at Venango, heard the call and responded with his most zealous endeavors. Gathering all the troops he could muster from far and near, stripping bare with desperate energy the little French posts of the West, and mustering every red man he could persuade to follow his banners, he set forth to the relief of Niagara. Thus it was that in July, 1759, while the English army was still encamped around the walls of Quebec, while Wolf and Montcalm were approaching that common grave to which the path of military glory was soon to lead them, a stirring scene was being enacted along the southeastern shores of Lake Erie and its outlet. At that time the largest European force which had yet been seen in this region at any one time came coasting down the lake from Presque Isle, past the portage which led to Lake Chautauqua and the Conewango, and along the beach skirting the present counties of Chautauqua and Erie, N. Y., to the mouth of the limpid Buffalo. Fifty or sixty bateaux bore nearly a thousand hardy Frenchmen on their mission of relief, while a long line of slippery-bottomed canoes were freighted with four hundred or more of the -dusky warriors of the West. A motley yet gallant band it was which then hastened along on the des- perate service of sustaining the fast-failing fortunes of France. Gay young officers, fresh from the court of the French monarch, sat side by side with sun- burned trappers and voyageurs, whose feet had trodden every mountain and prairie from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi. Veterans who had won lau- rels under the marshals of France were here comrades of those who knew no other foe than the Iroquois, the Delawares, and the scowling Sioux. One boat was filled with soldiers trained to obey with unquestioning fidelity every word of their leaders ; another contained only wild savages who scarcely acknowledged any other law than their own fierce will. Here flashed swords and bayonets and brave attire, there appeared the dark long rifles and buckskin garments of the hardy scouts and hunters, while still further on the tomahawks and scalping-knives and partly naked bodies of the savage contingent glistened in the July sun. There were some, too, among the younger men, who might fairly have taken their places in either bateau or canoe ; whose features bore unmistakable evidence of the commingling of diverse races; who might per- chance have justly claimed kindred with barons and chevaliers then resplen- dent in the salons of Paris, but who had drawn their infant nourishment from the breasts of dusky mothers, as they rested from hoeing corn and other drudgery on the banks of streams flowing into the Allegheny and Ohio. History has preserved but a slight record of this last struggle of the French for dominion in these regions, but it has rescued from oblivion the names of French Dominion. 7 l D'Aubrey, the commander, and De Lignery, his chief lieutenant ; of Marin, the leader of the Indians, and of the captains, De Villiers, Repentini, Martini, and Basonc. These men were by no means despondent. Their commands con- tained many of the same men, both white and red, who had slaughtered the unlucky battalions of Braddock only two years before, and they might well hope that some similar turn of fortune would give them another victory over the foes of France. The Seneca warriors, snuffing the battle from their homes on the Genesee and the head waters of the Allegheny, were roaming restlessly through the lake regions and along the shores of the Niagara River, quite uncertain how to act ; more friendly to the French than the English, and yet unwilling to engage in conflict with their brethren of the Six Nations. Hardly pausing, however, to communicate with his doubtful friends, DAubrey led his flotilla past the pleasant groves whose place is now occupied by a great commercial emporium (the city of Buffalo), hurried by the tall bluff now crowned by the battlements of Fort Porter, and only halted on reaching the shores of Navy Island. After staying here a day or two to communicate with the fort, he passed over to the mainland and confidently marched forward to battle. But Sir William Johnson, who had succeeded to the command of the Brit- ish forces on the death of Prideaux, was not the kind of man likely to meet the fate of Braddock. Apprised of the approach of the French, he posted men enough before the fort to prevent an outbreak or sortie of the beleaguered gar- rison, and stationed the rest in an advantageous position on the east side of the Niagara, just below the whirlpool. After a sanguinary contest of an hour's duration the French were utterly routed, several hundred being slain on the field and a large number of the remainder being captured, including the wounded D'Aubrey. On the receipt of this disastrous news the garrison at once surrendered. And thus the control of the Niagara River, which for more than a hundred years had been in the hands of the French, passed into those of the En- glish. For a little while the French held possession of a few minor posts and •fortifications, leading from Niagara to the mouth of French Creek. Becoming satisfied, however, that they could not withstand their powerful foe with any certainty of success, the forts, fortifications, etc., along this line were soon after hastily dismantled, and the garrisons left in bateaux for Detroit. Upon taking their departure they told the Indians that they had been driven away by supe- rior numbers, but would return in sufficient force to hold the country perma- nently. In this, however, they were too sanguine, as they were destined never again to occupy Northwestern Pennsylvania. The English did not take formal possession of these forts until 1760, when Major Robert Rogers was sent out in command of two hundred Provincial rangers for that purpose. He repaired and garrisoned the forts at Presque Isle j2 History of Warren County. and Le Bceuf. Fort Machault, however, the French work at the mouth of French Creek, having been totally destroyed by its garrison at the time of its evacuation, was never rebuilt; but instead, the English in 1760 went about forty rods higher up on the Allegheny and built Fort Venango. The long, desolating war between England and France finally closed with the signing of the treaty of Paris, February 10, 1763, and by its sweeping provisions the Canadas and all the vast regions in the West heretofore claimed by the French were ceded to England. The struggle was over. Forever destroyed was the prospect of a French peasantry inhabiting the hills and valleys of Warren county ; of baronial cas- tles crowning its vine-clad heights, and of gay French villas and towns over- looking the picturesque Allegheny. CHAPTER IX. ENGLISH DOMINION. Pontiac's Conspiracy — Ths Devil's Hole — A Fight at Black Rock — Bradstreet's Expedi- tion — Sulky Senecas — The Troops Composing Bradstreet's Command — Israel Putnam — The Revolution — Four Iroquois Tribes Hostile — The Treaty at Oswego — A Price for American Scalps — Brant, the Mohawk — Principal Seneca Chiefs — Wyoming — Cornplanter Conspic- uous — His Many Names, etc. — Cherry Valley — Americans Retaliate — Brodhead's Expedi- tion — Sullivan's Indian Campaign — Results — Close of the War, and of English Rule. ALTHOUGH the French soldiers had disappeared, the western tribes still remembered them with affection and were still disposed to wage war upon the English. In truth, no sooner were the latter in complete possession of the country, than they began by neglect and ill treatment to excite the worst passions of the red men. The mutterings of the coming storm, therefore, soon began to be heard, and in May, 1763, the great Indian uprising known as " Pontiac's Conspiracy " occurred, resulting in the capture of nine out of twelve English posts, and the relentless massacre of their garrisons. The forts at Venango, Le Bceuf, and Presque Isle were among those which fell before the fierce onslaught of the savages, while those at Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Niagara alone escaped surprise, and each successfully resisted a siege, in which branch of war, indeed, the Indians were almost certain to fail as against white men. There is no positive evidence, but there is little doubt that the Senecas were involved in Pontiac's league, and were active in the attack on Fort Niagara. They had been unwilling to fight their brethren of the Long House, under Sir William Johnson, but had no scruples about killing the English when left alone, as was soon made terribly manifest. English Dominion. 73 In the September following occurred the awful tragedy of the Devil's Hole, when a band of Senecas, of whom Honayewus, afterwards celebrated as Far- mer's Brother, was one, and Cornplanter probably another, ambushed a train of English army- wagons with an escort of soldiers, the whole numbering ninety- six men, three and a half miles below Niagara Falls, and massacred every man with four exceptions. A few weeks later — October 10, 1763 — while six hundred British soldiers under Major Wilkins were on their way in boats to reinforce their comrades at Detroit, and when just upon the point of passing from the Niagara River into Lake Erie, a hundred and sixty of them, who were half a mile astern of the others, were suddenly fired upon by a band of Senecas, ensconced in a thicket on the river shore, probably on the site of Black Rock. Though even the British estimated the enemy at only sixty, yet so close was their aim that thir- teen men were killed and wounded at the first fire. The captain in command of the nearest boats immediately ordered fifty men ashore and attacked the Indians. The latter fell back a short distance, but rallied, and when the Brit- ish pursued them they maintained their ground so well that three more were killed on the spot, and twelve others badly wounded, including two commis- sioned officers. Meanwhile, under the protection of other soldiers, who formed on the beach, the boats made their way into the lake, and the men who had taken part in the fight were enabled to re-embark. It does not appear that the Indians suffered nearly as heavily as the soldiers. This was the last serious attack by the Senecas upon the English. Becom- ing at length convinced that the French had really yielded, and that Pontiac's scheme had failed as to its main purpose, they sullenly agreed to abandon their . Gallic friends and be at peace with the English. Events in the West, however, where Pontiac still maintained an active but unavailing hostility to the British, as well as the massacres previously perpe- trated by the Senecas, determined the English commander-in-chief to send a force up the lakes able to overcome all opposition. Accordingly, in the sum- mer of 1764, General Bradstreet, an able officer, with twelve hundred British and Americans, proceeded by water to Fort Niagara, accompanied by the indefatigable Sir William Johnson and a strong body of his Mohawk warriors. A grand council of friendly Indians was held at the fort, among whom Sir William exercised his customary skill, and satisfactory treaties were made with them. But the Senecas, though repeatedly promising attendance in answer to the baronet's messages, still held aloof and were said to be meditating a renewal of war. At length General Bradstreet ordered their immediate attendance under penalty of the destruction of their settlements. This threat had its desired effect. They came, ratified the treaty, and thereafter adhered to it pretty faithfully, notwithstanding the peremptory manner in which it was 74 History of Warren County. obtained. In the mean time a fort had been erected on the site of Fort Erie, the first ever built there. In August Bradstreet's army, increased to nearly three thousand men, among whom were three hundred Senecas (who seem to have been taken along partly as hostages), proceeded westward along the south shore of Lake Erie, for the purpose of bringing the Western Indians to terms, a task which was successfully accomplished without bloodshed. From the somewhat indefinite accounts which have come down to us, it is evident that the journey was made in open boats, rigged with sails, with which, when the wind was favorable,, excellent speed was made. This army, like D'Aubrey's, was a somewhat mixed one. There were stalwart, red-coated British regulars, who, when they marched, did so as one man; hardy New England provincials, or "minute men," whose dress and discipline and military maneuvers were but a poor imitation of the imported Britons, yet who had faced the legions of France on many a well-fought field ; rude hunters of the border, to whom all discipline was irksome ; faithful Indian allies from the Mohawk valley, trained to admiration of the English by Sir William Johnson ; and finally the three hundred dark, sullen Senecas, their hands red from the massacre of the Devil's Hole, and almost ready to stain them again with English blood. Of the British and Americans, who then in closest friendship and under the same banners passed along the shores of Lake Erie, there were not a few who in twelve years more were destined to seek each other's lives on the bat- tle-fields of the Revolution. Among them was one whose name was a tower of strength to the patriotic dwellers of America, whose voice rallied the falter- ing soldiers at Bunker Hill, and whose fame has come down to us surrounded by a peculiar halo of adventurous valor. This was Israel Putnam, then a loyal soldier of King George, and lieutenant-colonel commanding the Connecticut battalion. For a while after the successful termination of Bradstreet's expedition there was peace, not only between England and France, but between the Indians and the colonists. But this quiet condition of affairs was destined to be of but brief duration. The Senecas, who it seems were chronic grumblers, always in trouble and ever ready for a fight — and a massacre, if they could accomplish it — began to make complaints of depredations committed by whites on some of their number, who had villages on the head waters of the Susque- hanna and Allegheny in Pennsylvania. " Cressap's war," in which the cele- brated Logan was an actor, also contributed to render them uneasy, but they did not break out into open hostilities. They, like the rest of the Six Nations had by this time learned to place explicit confidence in Sir William Johnson and made all their complaints through him. He did his best to redress their grievances, and also sought to have them English Dominion. 75, withdraw their villages from those isolated localities in Pennsylvania to their chief seats in New York, so that they would be more completely under his jurisdiction and protection. Ere this could be accomplished, however, all men's attention was drawn to certain mutterings in the political sky, low at first, but growing more and more angry until at length there burst upon the coun- try that long and desolating storm of war known as the Revolution. As the danger of hostilities increased, the Johnsons, at Johnson's Hall,, showed themselves more and more clearly on the side of the king. Sir Will- iam said little and seemed greatly disturbed by the gathering trouble. There is little doubt, however, that had he lived he would have used his power in behalf of his royal master. But in 1774 he suddenly died. Much of his influence over the Six Nations descended to his son, Sir John Johnson, and hi& nephew, Colonel Guy Johnson ; the latter becoming his successor in the office of superintendent of Indian affairs. The Revolution began in 1775, and soon after the new superintendent per- suaded the Mohawks to move westward with him, and made good his influence over all the Six Nations except the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, though it was nearly two years from the breaking out of the war before they committed any serious hostilities. John Butler, however, established himself at Fort Niagara, and organized a regiment of Tories known as Butler's Rangers, and he and the Johnsons used all their influence to induce the Indians to attack the Amer- icans. The prospect of both scalps and pay was too much for the Senecas long to withstand, and in 1777 they, in common with the Cayugas, Onondagas, and Mohawks, made a treaty with the British at Oswego, agreeing to serve the king throughout the war. Mary Jemison, the "white woman" then living among the Senecas on the Genesee, has declared that at that treaty the British agents, after giving the Indians numerous presents, " promised a bounty on every scalp that should be brought in." The question whether a price was actually paid or promised for scalps has. been widely debated. There is not sufficient evidence to prove that it was done, and the probabilities are that it was not. Mary Jemison was usually con- sidered truthful, and had good means of knowing what the Indians understood on the subject, but the latter were very ready to understand that they would be paid for taking scalps. Whether the British paid a bounty for scalps or not, the Indians were certainly employed by them to assail the inhabitants with constant marauding parties, notwithstanding their well-known and inveterate habit of slaughtering and scalping men, women, and children whenever oppor- tunity offered. In fact they were good for very little else, their desultory methods of warfare making them almost entirely useless in assisting the regu- lar operations of an army. As formerly the Senecas, though favorable to the French, hesitated about j6 History of Warren County. attacking their brethren of the Long House, or the combined nations of the confederacy, so now the Oneidas, who were friendly to the Americans, did not go out to battle against the other Iroquois, but remained neutral throughout the contest. The great league was weakened but not destroyed. From the autumn of 1777 forward, the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Mohawks were active in the British interests. Fort Niagara again became, as it had been during the French War, the key of all this region, and to it the Iro- quois constantly looked for support and guidance. Their raids kept the whole frontier for hundreds of miles in a state of terror, and were attended by all the horrors of savage warfare. The most active and most celebrated of the Iroquois chiefs in the Revolu- tion was Joseph Brant, or Thayendenegea, a Mohawk who had received a mod- erate English education under the patronage of Sir William Johnson. He was most frequently intrusted with the command of detached parties by the British officers, but it does not appear that he had authority over all the tribes, and it is almost certain that the haughty Senecas, the most powerful tribe of the con- federacy, to whom, indeed, by ancient custom belonged the right of choosing the principal war-chiefs of the league, would not have submitted and did not submit to the control of a Mohawk. Of the Senecas who became most conspicuous during this period, in carry- ing death and destruction to many American border settlements, were the chiefs "Farmer's Brother," "Cornplanter," and "Governor Blacksnake." The first two, it will be remembered, are credited with the massacre of over ninety British soldiers at the Devil's Hole, and, it has been stated, were half brothers. These three chiefs seem to have been the principal leaders of the Seneca mur- derers during the struggle for American independence, but which one of them was the ranking chieftain has not been learned. It is probable, however, that they acted independently to a certain extent, and that each received his orders directly from the British officers when ready to start forth against the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1778 a force of savages and sour- faced Tories to the number of about twelve hundred — under the leadership of Colonel John Butler, the cruel and inhuman wretch before mentioned — descending from Fort Niag- ara and the Seneca country, appeared in the Wyoming valley, or the present county of Luzerne, Pa., on the 2d of July. The strong men of the valley were serving in Washington's army, and the only defenders were old men, beardless boys, and resolute women. These old men and boys, to the number of about four hundred, under Colonel Zebulon Butler, a brave soldier who had won dis- tinction in the old French War, and who happened to be present, moved reso- lutely out to meet the invaders. Overborne by numbers, the inhabitants were beaten and put to the sword, the few who escaped retreating to Forty Fort whither the helpless, up and down the valley, had sought safety. Here humane English Dominion. 77 terms of surrender were agreed to, and the families returned to their homes, supposing all danger to be past. But the savages had tasted blood, and per- haps captured liquor, and were little mindful of capitulations. The night of the 5th was given to indiscriminate massacre, burning, and pillage. The cries of the wounded and helpless rang out upon the night air, and the heavens all along the valley were lighted up with the flames of burning cottages; "and when the moon arose, the surviving, terrified inhabitants were fleeing to the Wilkesbarre Mountains and the dark morasses of the Pocono Mountain beyond." Most of these were emigrants from Connecticut, and they made their way homeward as fast as their feet would carry them, many of them crossing the Hudson at Poughkeepsie, where they told their tales of woe. Another writer, intending to speak in extenuation of the conduct of the Tories and Indians, says " no quarter was given during the conflict; and after the Americans were routed the Tories and Senecas pursued and killed all they could ;" but that " those who reached the fort and afterward surrendered were not harmed, nor were any of the non-combatants. The whole valley, how- ever, was devastated and the houses burned." We leave it to the impartial reader to decide whether this presentation adds to or detracts from the unen- viable reputation of the Tories and Senecas. W. L. Stone, in his " Life of Brant," says that Brant, the Mohawk, was not present at Wyoming, and that the leader of the Senecas, who formed the main body of the Indian force on that ever memorable occasion, was Gui-eng-wah- tok. Now, as we understand it, Stone was not at all familiar with the multi- plicity of names borne by " the Cornplanter " through life, and, since we find the Indian name of the latter variously written by white men who knew him, as Guiengwako, Gientwadoh, Kientwoughko, Gyantwado, Gyantawanka, Cyen- tookee, Cyentwokee, Gyantwache, Kiendtwoke, Gyantwachia, Gientwakia, and Gyantwahia, we strongly incline to the belief that the " Guiengwahtoh " men- tioned by Brant and Stone was none other than the then blood-stained savage, " Captain John O'Bail," or " the Cornplanter." Equally strange and contradictory are the statements respecting Corn- planter's parentage, and in spelling another of his many names. One says that his father was a Frenchman, another that he was an Irishman, while a third gravely asserts that the Cornplanter and Red Jacket were brothers. Then, too, we find that his reputed father's name has been written and printed Obeal, O'Bail, O'Bayle, Abeil, Obeel, Abeel, Abeal, and O'Bale. The reader can form his own opinion regarding the chief's progenitor, but we will venture to assert that he (Cornplanter) and Red Jacket were not brothers. Returning to the harrowing scenes of the Revolution, we find that at Cherry Valley, N. Y., the same year (1778) the blood-thirsty Senecas were present in force, together with a body of Mohawks .under Brant, and of Tories under Captain Walter Butler, son of Colonel John Butler, and there then was 6 78 History of Warren County. an undoubted massacre. Nearly thirty women and children were killed, besides many men surprised helpless in their homes. These events and similar ones on a smaller scale induced Congress and General Washington, in the spring of 1779, to set on foot movements of strong bodies of Continental troops into the Indian country by way of retaliation. These expeditions against the hostile tribes of the Six Nations were com- manded, respectively, by General Sullivan and Colonel Brodhead. The lat- ter's route led him through the present county of Warren, and his report to the commander-in-chief of the Continental armies, made at the conclusion of the campaign, was as follows : " To 'His Excellency Gen. Washington. "Pittsburg, Sep'r 16th, 1779. " DEAR GENERAL : I returned from the expedition against the Seneca and Muncy nations the 14th inst, and now do myself the honor to inform you how far I have succeeded in prosecuting it. " I left this place the nth of last month with six hundred & five Rank & File, including Militia & Volunteers, & one Month's provision which except the live Cattle was transported by water under the escort of one hundred men to a place called Mahoning, about 15 Miles above Fort Armstrong, 1 where after four days detention by excessive Rains & the straying of some of the Cattle, the stores were loaded on Pack Horses, and the troops proceeded on the march for Canawago 2 on the path leading to Cuscushing ; at ten miles on this side the town, one of the advance guards consisting of fifteen White men, including the spies & Eight Delaware Indians, uoder the command of Lieut. Hardin of the 8th Penn'a Reg't, whom I have before recommended to, your Excellency for his great bravery & skill as a partisan, discovered between thirty and Forty warriors coming down the Allegheny River in seven Canoes. These warriors having likewise discovered some of the Troops, immediately landed, stript off their shirts and prepared for action, and the advanced Guard immediately began the attack. All the troops except one column and Flank- ers being in the narrows between the River and high hill were immediately prepared to receive the enemy, which being done I went forward to discover the Enemy, and saw six of them retreating over the River without arms, at the same time the rest ran away leaving their Canoes, Blankets, Shirts, provisions and eight Guns, besides five dead and by the signs of Blood, several went off wounded ; only two of my men and one of the Delaware Indians (Nanouland) were wounded and so slightly that they are already recovered & fit for action. The next morning the Troops proceeded to Buchloons, 3 where I ordered a ' Fort Armstrong stood on the site of the present town of Kittanning. It had been built and garri- soned, by orders of Colonel Brodhead, a few weeks prior to the beginning of this expedition. 2 Now written Conewango. The Indian village of " Canawago " stood a mile or so below the site of the town of Warren. 3 An Indian town, at the junction of Brokenstraw Creek and the Allegheny River. English Dominion. 79 small Breastwork to be thrown up of felled Timber and fascines, a Capt. and forty men were left to secure our Baggage and Stores, and the Troops imme- diately proceeded to Canawago, which I found had been deserted about eight- een months past. " Here the Troops seemed much mortified because we had no person to serve as a Guide to the upper Towns, but I ordered them to proceed on a path which appeared to have been travelled on by the Enemy some time past, and we continued marching on it about 20 Miles before any discoveries were made except of a few tracks of their spies. But immediately after ascending a high hill we discovered the Allegheny River & a number of Corn Fields, and de- scending several towns 1 which the Enemy had deserted on the approach of the Troops. Some of them fled just before the advanced Guards reached the Towns and left several packs of Deer skins. At the upper Seneca Towns we found a painted image or War post, clothed in Dog skin, and John Montour told me this town was called Yoghroonwago ; besides this we found seven other Towns, consisting in the whole of one hundred and thirty Houses, some of which were large enough for the accommodation of three or four Indian families. The Troops remained on the ground three whole days destroying the Towns and Corn Fields. I never saw finer Corn altho' it was planted much thicker than is common with our Farmers. The quantity of Corn and other vegetables destroyed at the several Towns, from the best accounts I can collect from the officers employed to destroy it, must certainly exceed five hundred acres which is the lowest estimate, and the plunder taken is estimated at 30 m. Dollars ; I have directed a sale to be made of it for the Troops. On my return I preferred the Venango Road, the old towns of Canawago, Buch- loons & Mahusquechikoken, about 20 Miles above Venango on French Creek, consisting of 35 large houses were likewise burnt. The greatest part of the Indian houses were larger than common, and built of square & round logs and frame work. From the great quantity of Corn in new Ground & the number of new houses Built and Building it appears that the whole Seneca & Muncy nations intended to collect to this settlement which extends about eight Miles on the Allegheny River, between one hundred and seventy and two hundred miles from hence. The River at the upper Towns is little if any larger than Kiskamanitis Creek. It is remarkable that neither man or Beast has fallen into the Enemies hands on this expedition, & I have a happy presage, that the counties of Westmoreland, Bedford & Northumberland, if not the whole west- ern Frontiers will experience the good effect of it. " Too much praise cannot be given to both officers and soldiers of every Corps during the whole expedition, their perseverance and zeal during the whole march thro' a Country too inaccessible to be described can scarcely be 1 Cornplanter's towns, the lower one of which was located where the descendants of that chief and his followers still reside. 80 History of Warren County. equalled in history. Notwithstanding many of them returned barefooted ] and naked they disdained to complain, and to my great mortification I have neither Shoes, Shirts, Blankets, Hats, Stockings nor leggins to relieve their necessities. " On my return here I found the Chiefs of the Delawares, the principal Chief of the Hurons [Wyandots] and now the king of the Maquichee tribe of the Shawnese, is likewise come to treat with me ; about 30 Delaware warriors are here likewise ready to go to war, but I have nothing to encourage them with, and without the means of paying them I cannot send them out. The Troops here have at least nine months pay due them and there is neither money nor Pay master to discharge the arrearages. " A majority of my Reg't are now discharged and the term of the two Rang- ing Companies of Westmoreland expired, so that I shall be weak in Troops to prosecute an expedition which by your permission I should be happy to make against Detroit, taking the Shawanese in my way. I should be happy to have your permission to make occasional excursions against any of the In- dian nations who may hereafter prove inimical to us, as sometimes a favorable opportunity may be lost before I can be favored with your particular orders. Likewise to know your pleasure in regard to the Senecas and Muncies should they in their great distress sue for peace. I have before taken the liberty to give you my opinion respecting them, and the pairings of scalps and the hair of our Countrymen found at every Warrior's camp on the path we marched are new inducements for Revenge. "I am informed that Col. Clark who took Post St. Vincent, is making peace and war with the natives. I am not instructed how far your Excellency has authorized him to do so and apprehend the worst consequences to this frontier should either Col. Clark or myself enter into a treaty of peace with one of the Indian nations and the others break it, and by my instructions I am confined to the immediate command of the Troops here, I can take no steps to prevent such a probable [event?] but humbly entreat you to do it. "The Wyandotts and the Maquichee tribe of the Shawanese promise very fair, and I have promised them peace, provided they take as many prisoners and scalps from the Enemy as they have done from us and on every occasion join us against the enemies of America, which they have engaged to do. "A few Indian Goods, Paint and trinkets at this juncture would enable me to engage the Delawares to harrass the enemy frequently. "The bearer, Capt. Mclntire, has some private as well as public Business to transact at Philada. I have therefore ordered him to proceed to Head Quar- ters and he will have the honor to wait on you with this letter. "I have the honor to be with the most perfect regard and esteem, Your Excellency's Most Obed't H'ble Serv't, D. Brodhead." iSaid Colonel Brodhead in describing his lack of supplies, clothing, etc., a few days before this movement began : " My officers begin to be very ragged, and some have worn out and lost their blank- ets, and I have not a single stocking for my men." English Dominion. 8i In a subsequent letter, addressed to the " Hon'ble Major Gen'l Sullivan," Colonel Brodhead said that "Yahrungwago is about forty miles on this side [meaning to the southward] Jenesseo, where I should have gone had I not been disappointed in getting a sufficient number of shoes for my men." This would indicate that Brodhead penetrated as far northward as the southern cen- tral part of Cattaraugus county, New York State, or the vicinity now known as the town of Salamanca. It will also be noticed in the foregoing letter from Colonel Brodhead to General Washington, that the Colonel makes the state- ment, "it is remarkable that neither man or Beast has fallen into the Enemies hands on this expedition." Now, viewed from another stand-point, these results were not at all remarkable. There were no Seneca warriors at home to oppose him. His movement into their country was wholly unexpected. Hence the chief portion of the warlike Senecas, under the leadership of " Corn- planter," "Farmer's Brother," and "Governor Blacksnake," had gone forward to join others of the Six Nations in opposing General Sullivan. Having marched up the Susquehanna to Tioga Point, where he was joined by a brigade under General James Clinton (father of De Witt Clinton), General Sullivan, early in August, 1779, with a total force of some four thousand men, moved up the Chemung to a point a few miles below the site of Elmira. There Colonel John Butler, with a small body of Tories and Indian allies, to the number of about fifteen hundred men, had thrown up intrenchments and a battle was fought. Speedily defeated with considerable loss, Butler hastily retired and made no further opposition. Sullivan advanced and destroyed all the Seneca villages on the Genesee and about Geneva, burning wigwams and log cabins, cutting down orchards, cutting up green corn, and utterly devastating the country. The Senecas fled in great dismay to the British stronghold known as Fort Niagara. The On- ondaga village had in the mean time been destroyed by another force, but it is evident that the Senecas were the ones who were chiefly feared and against whom the vengeance of the Americans was chiefly directed. After thoroughly laying waste their country the Americans under Sullivan returned to the East. Sullivan's and Brodhead's expeditions substantially destroyed the league which bound the Six Nations together. Its form remained, but it had lost its binding power. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras were encouraged to increase their separation from the other confederates. Those tribes whose possessions had been destroyed were thrown into more complete subservience to the Brit- ish power, thereby weakening their intertribal relations, and the spirits of the once haughty Senecas, the most powerful and warlike of them all, were much broken by the double dose of punishment they had received. It was a more serious matter than had been the destruction of their villages in earlier times, as they had adopted a more permanent mode of existence. They had learned to depend more on agriculture and less on the chase, and 82 History of Warren County. possessed not only cornfields, but gardens, orchards, and sometimes comfort- able houses. In fact they had adopted many of the customs of civilized life, though without relinquishing their primitive pleasures, such as tomahawking prisoners and scalping the dead. They fled en masse to Fort Niagara, and during the winter of 1779-80, which was of extraordinary severity, were scantily sustained by rations which the British authorities with difficulty obtained. As spring approached, the En- glish made earnest efforts to reduce the expense by persuading the Indians to make new settlements and plant crops. The red men, however, were naturally anxious to keep as far as practicable from their dreaded foes (the " Long Knives," as they sometimes termed the American soldiery, especially the Vir- ginians) who had inflicted such heavy punishment the year before, and were unwilling to risk their families again at their ancient seats. At this time a considerable body of the Senecas, with a few Cayugas and Onondagas, moved up from Niagara and established themselves near Buffalo Creek, about four miles above its mouth. The same spring another band located themselves at the mouth of the Cattaraugus. The Senecas who set- tled on Buffalo Creek were under the leadership of Sayengaraghta, an aged but influential chief, sometimes called Old King, and said to have been during his life the head sachem of the Seneca nation. Meanwhile the war was continued with varying fortunes. The Johnsons, Colonel Butler, Brant, and prominent Tories kept the Indians as busy as possi- ble, marauding in small parties upon the frontiers of New York and Pennsylva- nia; but they had been so thoroughly broken up by Sullivan and Brodhead that they were unable to produce such devastation as marked their pathway at Wyoming and Cherry Valley. They had learned to fear the Americans, to respect their strength, and to doubt the vaunted invincibility of British armies. Burgoyne had already succumbed to the inevitable. " Cornwallis surrendered in October, 1781, and on the nth of April, 1783, the treaty of peace having been signed and the independence of the United States of America acknowl- edged by Great Britain, Congress sent forth the joyful proclamation ordering the cessation of hostilities. Thus the unquestioned English authority over the territory of which Warren county forms a part, lasted only a little more than twenty years. From 1783 to 1790. 83 CHAPTER X. FROM 1783 TO 1790. Forlorn Condition of the Senecas at the Close of the Revolutionary War — Willing to Cede the Remainder of their Lands in Pennsylvania — Commissioners Appointed to Treat with Them — A Sum Appropriated to Purchase Indian Goods — Quantity and Kind of Goods with which Purchase was Made — Treaty of Fort Stanwix — Boundaries of the Tract Acquired by Penn- sylvania — Cornplanter the Friend of the Whites — Subsequent Indignation of His Tribe — General Irvine Explores the New Purchase — Extracts from His Report — Running the Bound- ary Line Between New York and Pennsylvania — Interesting Details — Early Names of War- ren County Streams — Indian Villages — Pertinent Suggestions — A Tract of Land Granted to Cornplanter — Survey of Lands of the Mouth of the Conewango — An Account of the First Official Exploration of the Head Waters of the Allegheny. WITH the return of peace between the English and Americans, many of the Senecas returned to their old haunts on the upper waters of the Allegheny and Susquehanna. But they were destitute and dejected. The sites of their once thriving villages, orchards and cornfields, were overgrown with rank weeds and briers. They were without the supplies which years of inter- course and trading with the French and English had taught them to consider indispensable, and it was soon ascertained that they, in conjunction with others of the Six Nations, were willing to cede the remainder of their lands in Penn- sylvania for quantities of gunpowder, lead, rum, blankets, beads, flannels, etc., or such goods as invariably delighted the sons and daughters of the forest. Thereupon, permission having first been obtained from Congress allowing the authorities of Pennsylvania to treat for the cession of Indian lands lying within the boundaries of the State, the Supreme Executive Council, on the 25th of September, 1783, appointed Samuel J. Atlee, William Maclay and Francis Johnston as commissioners for the State to hold treaties with the Indians and to purchase the lands above mentioned. However, no further action seems to have been taken until August 28, 1784, when it was ordered by Council that a warrant be issued on the State treasurer in favor of the com- missioners for the sum of £3,375, specie, with which to " negotiate a purchase from the Indians of the unpurchased territory in the State." In addition the commissioners were allowed £1,000, to defray expenses while making a pur- chase of goods with which to pay the Indians, of travel, etc. They were also authorized to employ interpreters, messengers, and such other persons as might be found useful in gaining the object sought, and such expenses were to be an extra claim against the State. Captain Joseph Stiles, commissary of military stores, was ordered to deliver to them five hundred pounds of gunpowder, three horsemen's tents and one soldier's tent, to be used while accomplishing their undertaking, and lastly they were directed by Council to procure immediately 8 4 History of Warren County. 5 clo 5° do 10 do 10 do 12 do the following described articles, being duly cautioned, however, not to expend more in their purchase of goods than the amount placed at their disposal — £3.375: " 20J casks of gunpowder. 1 tonn of barr lead. 2 groce of thimbles. 2 do of jews harps. 50 dozen white ruffled shirts. laced hats. knives. hatchets. pipe tomahawks. looking glasses. 2 M. awl blades. 5 M. needles. 1 C. vermillion. 50 rifles. 60 M. wampum, 30 white, 30 black. 12 dozen silver arm bands. 12 do do wrist bands. 20 do pipes, Moravian. 20 do callicoe shirts. 1 hogshead of tobacco. 500 pounds of brass kettles, in nests, corn- pleat. 100 pounds of small white beads. 2 groce of morrice bells. 5 dozen pieces of yellow, green, and purple ribbon. Thus prepared and equipped the commissioners soon after proceeded from Philadelphia to the site of the present town of Rome, N. Y., and there, on the 23d day of October, 1784, nearly all of the distinguished chieftains of the Six Nations being assembled, completed the negotiations known in American his- tory as the treaty of Fort Stanwix. The boundaries of the lands then ceded to Pennsylvania were described as follows : " Beginning at the South side of the river Ohio, where the western Boundary of the State of Pennsylvania crosses the said River near Shingas Old Town at the mouth of Beaver Creek, and thence by a due north line to the End of the forty-second, and beginning of the forty-third degrees of North Latitude, thence by a due East line separating the forty-second and forty- third degrees of North Latitude, to the East side of the East branch of the River Susquehanna, thence by the Bounds of the late purchase made at Fort Stan- wix the fifth day of November, anno Domini one thousand Seven hundred and Sixty-Eight as follows, down the said East Branch of Susquehanna on the East side thereof, till it comes opposite to the mouth of a creek called by the In- dians Owandae and across the River, and up the said creek on the south side thereof and along the range of Hills called Burnet's Hills by the English and 5 pieces embossed flannels. 60 dozen broaches. 2 do gorgets. 12 do nose bobs. 12 do hair pipes. 12 do rings. 6 pieces scarlet broad cloth. 100 pounds of brass wire. 20 dozen silk handkerchiefs. 2 do pieces of callicoe. 4 do saddles & bridles. 1000 flints, or 1 keg. 1 groce sheers. I do scissars. I do horn combs. I do ivory combs. 50 pounds of thread, sorted. 12 groce scarlet and star gartering. 12 do green and yellow bed lace. hogsheads of rum. pieces best London Stroud. do French match coats. do blankets. do do one half thicks, purple and white nap." 3 3° 30 10 20 From 1783 to 1790. 85 by the Indians , on the north side of them to the head of a creek which runs into the West Branch of the Susquehanna which creek is by the Indians called Tyadaghtan. but by the Pennsylvanians, Pine Creek, and down the said creek on the south side thereof, to the said West Branch of Susquehanna, then Crossing the said River, and running up the same, on the south side thereof the several courses thereof, to the Forks of the same River which lie nearest to a place on the River Ohio, called Kittanning, and from the Forks by a straight line to Kittanning aforesaid, and then down the said River Ohio by the several Courses thereof, to where the Western Bounds of the said State of Pennsyl- vania crosses the same River at the place of beginning." Or, in other words, the vast region now embraced by the counties of Potter, McKean, Warren, Crawford, Mercer, Lawrence, Butler, Venango, Forest, Clarion, Jefferson, Elk, and Cameron, besides, in part, by Bradford, Tioga, Lycoming, Clinton, Center, Clearfield, Indiana, Armstrong, Allegheny, Beaver, and Erie counties. At Fort Stanwix the Seneca chieftain of many names — "Captain John O'Bail," " Gyantwakee " or the " Cornplanter," was the principal speaker on behalf of the Senecas, though "Old King" was then recognized as the chief sachem of the nation. The " Cornplanter," half white by blood, but thoroughly Indian by nature, had been one of the bravest and most successful chiefs of the Senecas during the war. With the rank of captain in the motley forces com- posed of British regulars, Tories and Indians, he had led his band of murderers into many frontier settlements, sparing the lives of but few of those who were so unfortunate as to fall into his hands ; but now he was for peace, a lasting peace, and did his utmost, probably more than any other chieftain to bring about this cession of lands to Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvanians of his day appreciated his efforts, at Fort Stanwix, at Fort Mcintosh, and at Presque Isle ; but with many of his own people his reputation was for a long time clouded because of his assent to the treaty of Fort Stanwix. They asserted in substance that he had been bribed by the white men, who coveted their lands ; and after the trinkets and trumpery they had received in payment were worn out or lost, when with no homes or lands of their own, they realized that their condition was much worse than ever before, they were loud and bitter in their denunciations of him. Indeed, that they were not without something to build their suspi- cions upon the following will show : " We the subscribers, Commissioners appointed to purchase of the Indians the late unpurchased Territory within the acknowledged limits of Pennsylvania do promise, to deliver as soon as conveniently may be, to Cap. Aaron Hill of the Mohawk Tribe, and to Captain O'Bale of the Seneca Tribe two good rifles of neat workmanship, one for each of them, the rifles to be sent to the new store near Tioga, if it should not be convenient for the said Captain Aaron Hill or Captain O'Bale to come themselves the Rifles to be delivered to the Bearer of this obligation. These Rifles given to them in consideration of their serv- 86 History of Warren County. ices at the late purchase. Witness our hands this 25th day of October, 1784." This paper was signed by Atlee, Maclay, and Johnston, and was witnessed by G. Evans and James Dean. The goods received by the Indians in payment for their lands ceded in 1784 were delivered at the junction of the East Branch of the Susquehanna and Chemung Rivers, a place then known as " Tioga Point," but now desig- nated as Athens, Pa. The privilege of occupying, hunting and fishing upon the unimproved lands ceded was reserved by the Indians. From Fort Stan- wix the Pennsylvania commissioners proceeded on horseback to the Muskin- gum country, or Fort Mcintosh, where another treaty was concluded with the Wyandots and Delawares in January, 1785. Thence in the same manner the commissioners journeyed to Fort Pitt, and on eastward to Philadelphia. Soon after the Indian title to lands in the northwestern portion of the State had been extinguished, it was determined by the Supreme Executive Council to set aside and donate "to the late troops of the Pennsylvania Line, of the American Army," a large tract of territory to be located in the western part of the new purchase. With this object in view surveyors and explorers were sent forward in the spring and summer of 1785 to make personal observations of regions as yet but little known. One of the most active and intelligent of those delegated with authority to view the country was General William Irvine, a gentleman who had won distinction during the Revolutionary struggle as an officer of the Pennsylvania line. A soldier himself, it was his wish that those who had periled their lives in the fight for independence should have as good land as the new purchase afforded. During his journeyings he penetrated to the central part of the present county of Warren. His descriptions of this and adjacent regions as they appeared to him then, and his ideas of what were good or inferior lands, make interesting reading at this time, hence we append a considerable portion of his report. " In exploring the donation land, I began on the Line run by Mr. McLane between that and the tracts appropriated for redeeming depreciating certificates which he ascertained by a due North Line to be near thirty miles from Fort Pitt, and by the Common computation along the path leading from Fort Pitt to Ve- nango on the mouth of French Creek, which some affirm was actually measured by the French when they possessed the country, I found it forty miles. East of this part and along Mr. McLane's Line for five or six miles, the land is pretty level, well watered with small springs, and of tolerable quality, but from thence to the Allegheny River which is about Twenty-five miles due East, there is no land worth mentioning fit for cultivation; as far as French Creek all between the Venango Path and the Allegheny there is very little land fit for cultivation, as it is a continued chain of high barren mountains except small breaches for Creeks and Rivulets to disembogue themselves into the River. These have very small bottoms. From 1783 to 1790. 87 " As I proceeded along the path leading to French Creek about five miles to a branch of Beaver or rather in this place called Canaghqunese [now Con- noquenessing], I found the Land of a mixed quailty, some very strong and broken with large quantities of fallen Chestnut interspersed with strips covered with Hickory, lofty oak, and under Wood or Brush, Dogwood, Hazel, &; along the Creek very fine rich and extensive bottoms in general fit for meadows ; from hence to another branch of said Creek called Flat Rock Creek, about ten miles distant, the land is generally thin, stony and broken, loaded, however, with Chestnut Timber, the greatest part of which lies flat on the earth, which renders it difficult travelling — at the usual crossing place on the last named Creek, there is a beautiful fall over a Rock ten or twelve feet high, at the ford- ing immediately above the fall, the bottom is one entire Rock, except some perforations which are capacious enough to receive a horses foot and leg — it is here about forty yards wide and runs extremely rapid. From Flat Rock to Sandy Creek by Hutchins & Scull called, Lycomie, is about twenty-four miles; ■on the first twelve there are a considerable quantity of tolerable level lands tho' much broken with large stony flats, on which grows heavy burthens of Oak, Beech, and Maple, particularly seven or eight miles from the Creek there is a plain or Savannah three or four miles long, and at least two wide, without anything to obstruct the prospect, except here and there a small grove of lofty Oaks or Sugar Tree, on the skirts the ground rises gradually to a moderate height from which many fine springs descend, which water this fine Tract abundantly — along these Rivulets small but fine spots of meadow may be made, from hence the remaining twelve miles to Sandy Creek is a ridge or mountain, which divides the waters of the Allegheny, the Beaver and Ohio, and is from East to West, at least three times as long as it is Broad — on the whole of this there is little fit for cultivation, yet some of it is well calculated for raising stock, But a person must be possessed of very large Tracts to enable him to do even this to purpose. " From Sandy to French Creek is about seven or eight miles from the mouth, but it soon Forks into many small runs, and is but a few miles from the mouth to the source — there are two or three small bottoms only on this Creek — to French Creek is one entire hill, no part of which is by any means fit for cul- tivation. " On the lower side, at the mouth of French Creek, where the Fort called Venango formerly stood, there is three or four hundred acres of what is com- monly called upland or dry bottom, very good land. On the North East side, about one mile from the mouth, another good bottom begins of four or five hundred acres, and on the summits of the hills on the same side, tho' high, there is a few hundred acres of land fit for cultivation — this is all in this neigh- borhood nearer than the first fork of the Creek ; which is about eight miles distant. On the Road leading from French to Oil Creek, within about three 88 History of Warren County. miles and a half of Venango, there is a Bottom of fine land on the bank of the Allegheny, containing four or five hundred acres, there is little beside to Oil Creek fit for cultivation. "French Creek is 150 yards wide. From French to Oil Creek is about eight miles — this is not laid down in any map, notwithstanding it is a large stream not less than eighty, or perhaps a hundred yards wide at the mouth, a considerable depth, both of which it retains to the first fork, which is at leas* twenty miles up, and I am certain is as capable of rafting timber or navigating large boats as French Creek in the same seasons this high. On the northeast or upper side of this creek, at the mouth, is four or five hundred acres of good bottom, and about a mile up there is another small bottom on the southwest side, which is all the good land to the first fork. " Oil Creek has taken its name from an oil or bituminous matter found float- ing on the surface. Many cures are attributed to this oil by the natives, and lately by some whites, particularly rheumatic pains and old ulcers; it has hith- erto been taken for granted that the water of the creek was impregnated with it, as it was found in so many places, but I have found this to be an error, as I examined it carefully and found it issuing out of two places only, these two are about four hundred yards distant from [each] other, and on opposite sides of the creek. It rises in the bed of the creek at very low water, in a dry season I am told it is found without any mixture of water, and is pure oil; it rises, when the creek is high, from the bottom in small globules, when these reach the surface they break and expand to a surprising extent, and the flake varies in color as it expands; at first it appears yellow and purple only, but as the rays of the sun reach it in more directions, the colors appear to multiply into a greater number than can at once be comprehended. " From Oil Creek to Cuskakushing, an old Indian town, is about seventeen miles — the whole of this is barren, high mountains, not fit for cultivation; the mountain presses so close on the river that it is almost impassable, and by no means practicable when the river is high, then travelers either on foot or horse- back are obliged to ascend the mountain and proceed along the summit. "At Cuskushing there is a narrow bottom about two miles long, good land, and a very fine island fifty or sixty acres, where the Indians formerly planted corn. From Cuskushing to another old Indian town, also on the bank of the river, is about six miles; this place is called Canenacai, or Hickory Bottom; here is a few hundred acres of good land and some small islands, from hence to a place named by the natives the Burying Ground, from a tradition they have that some extraordinary man was buried there many hundred years ago, is about thirteen miles; most of this way is also a barren and very high mount- ain, and you have to travel the greatest part of the way in the bed of the river. To Brokenstraw Creek, or Bockaloons, from the last named place is about four- teen miles, here the hills are not so high or barren, and there are sundry good From 1783 to 1790. 89 bottoms along the river. About half way there is a hill called by the Indians, Paint Hill, where they find very good red oker. Brokenstraw is thirty yards wide, there is a fine situation and good bottom near the mouth on both sides, but a little way up the creek large hills covered with pine make their appear- ance. From Brokenstraw to Conewagoo is eight or nine miles — here is a nar- row bottom, interspersed with good dry land and meadow ground all the way, and there is a remarkable fine tract at the mouth of Conewagoo, [Conewango,] of a thousand or perhaps more acres, from the whole of which you command a view up and down the main branch of Allegheny, and also up Conewagoo a considerable distance. Conewagoo is one hundred and fifty yards wide, and is navigable for large boats up to the head of Jadaque Lake, which is upwards of fifty miles from its junction with the east branch of the River. The head of Jadaque Lake is said to be only twelve miles from Lake Erie, where it is said the French formerly had a Fort, and a good Wagon Road from it to the Lake. Conewagoo forks about thirty miles from the mouth of the East Branch, is lost in a morass where the Indians frequently carried their canoes across into a large creek called the Cateraque, which empties into the lake forty or fifty miles above Niagara. "This account of the Branches of Conewagoo I had from my Guide, an In- dian Chief of the Senecas, a native of the place, and an intelligent white man, who traversed all this country repeatedly. I have every reason to believe the facts are so — tho' I do not know them actually to be so, as I went only a small distance up this creek, being informed there is no land fit for cultivation to the first fork or to the lower end of Jadaque Lake, which begins seven miles up the West Branch, except what has already been mentioned at the mouth of the creek, the appearance of the country, in a view taken from the summit of one of the high hills, fully justified this Report, as nothing can be seen but one large chain of mountains towering above another, here, perhaps, it may not be amiss to insert the supposed distances in a collected view — and First from " Fort Pitt to McLanes 4° Miles. To fourth branch of Canaghqunese 5 " Rocky, or Flat Rock Creek 10 " " Sandy Creek 2 4 " French Creek ° " Oil Creek 8 " Cuskakushing '7 " Cananacai u " The Burying Ground x 3 " Brokenstraw '4 " Conewagoo 9 154 Deduct from Fort Pitt to McLanes' line between the depreciation and donation tracts 4° Leaves the donation land to be "4 Miles Long. " Wm. Irvine, agent." go History of Warren County. During the same year (1785) part of the Indian purchase of 1784 was added to Westmoreland county, for judicial and other purposes, including portions of the present county of Warren, and about two years later the Supreme Execu- tive Council, of which Benjamin Franklin was president, granted to one "James Chambers, Esquire," late a colonel in the Revolutianary army, five hundred acres of land, then described as "in the County of Westmoreland," but now embraced by Spring Creek township in the county of Warren. This deed or grant was signed by Franklin August 17, 1787, and is one of the oldest papers of record relating to Warren county. In the summer of 1787, Andrew Ellicott and Andrew Porter commissioners for the State of Pennsylvania, and Abraham Hardenburg and William Morris, commissioners for the State of New York, ran out and marked the boundary line between the two States from the ninetieth mile stone west from the Dela- ware River, on the parallel of forty-two degrees north latitude, westward to a meridian line drawn from the southwestern corner of the State of Pennsyl- vania. On the 29th of August of that year from their "observatory" on the west side of the Conewango, the Pennsylvania commissioners reported to the Supreme Executive Council as follows: " Gentlemen : — We now take the earliest opportunity we have had of acquainting you with the progress we have made in the business which you have intrusted to us. We arrived at the Cawwanishee Flats on the nth day of June, where the 90th mile-stone was set up last season. The Susquehan- nah was remarkably low, which prevented our Boats making the necessary expedition. From the 90th mile-stone we sent our Instruments up the Thy- esa in Canoes about 10 miles; our water-carriage then failed, and we had recourse to our Pack-Horses, but the ruggedness of the country at the Heads of the Susquehannah, Geneseo and Allegheny Rivers, soon killed, and rendered useless about two-thirds, but fortunately for our business, when the Horses- failed we found ourselves on a small branch of the Allegheny River, necessity then pointed out the propriety of using water-carriage as much as possible, we immediately set about making canoes, and by the spirited exertions of our men, with no other implements than three falling axes, two or three Toma- hawks, and a Chisel, 1-5- inch wide, we had completed in six days for the use of our Pennsylvania party 5 excellent Canoes, two of which are between 40 and 50 feet in length. These Canoes with our Stores, Instruments and Bag- gage, we hauled 10 miles down a shallow stream to the main Allegheny River, our progress now began to appear less difficult, and we prepared to proceed down the River to a proper place for correcting the random Line by astro- nomical observation, but the day preceding our intended movement, we were ordered by the Indians [probably some of Cornplanter's band] to discontinue the Line 'till after a treaty should be held. We met them at the time and place appointed, explained the nature and propriety of the business we were From 1783 to 1790. 91 about, and finally were permitted to proceed. We have, notwithstanding these difficulties, completed the Line to the 167 mile-stone from the Delaware, and expect to have 28 miles more finished in a few days, and the fullest expecta- tion of finishing the business this season in good time, if not impeded by some uncommon difficulty or accident." This report was signed by Messrs. Ellicott and Porter. In it, it will be noticed, the commissioners speak of their stores, etc.; and to show that these worthies were not destitute of the comforts and even the luxuries of life, while making their way through the wilderness and along the northern border of what is now Warren county, a hundred years ago, we append Mr. Porter's requisition for animals and supplies, made just before starting forth : 1 box of Prunes. 20 Horses and Pack Saddles. 20 Bells. 10 Bbls of Pork. 30 Bbls of Flour. 200 lbs of Loaf Sugar. 50 lbs of Coffee. 8 lbs of Tea. 15 lbs of Chocolate. 60 lbs of Cheese. 3 doz'n neats Tongues. 3 lbs of Pepper and 6 Bottles Mustard. 3 jars of Pickles. 1 Hhd Spirits. 20 Gall'ns Wine. * 10 Gall'ns F. Brandy. 2 Gall'ns Lime Juce. 30 lbs Soap. 50 ibs Candles. 10 Gall'ns Vinegar. 28 lbs Scotch Barley. 14 lbs Rice. 4 Bushels Salt. Stationery." On the 29th of October of the same year (1787) the commissioners of the two States made their final report, showing that the boundary line had been marked in a satisfactory and permanent manner by mile-stones, or posts sur- rounded by mounds of earth, where stones could not be procured, from the ninetieth mile-stone west from the river Delaware to Lake Erie. Two maps also accompanied their report, showing the route traversed, the location of mile-posts, observatories, etc., the names of streams crossed or flowing near by, and likewise the names and location of a number of Indian towns. From these maps we learn that Conewango Creek was then written " Conawango River;" the Kinzua, "Consua," and the Brokenstraw, "Koshanuadeago." No Indian towns were shown within the present limits of Warren county, but just over the line in New York, upon both the Conewango x and Allegheny, Indian villages were designated, besides another, termed " Hickory Town," at the point now known as Tionesta. In February, 1788, Andrew Ellicott, one of the boundary-line commis- sioners, in writing from Baltimore to Benjamin Franklin, president of the Supreme Executive Council, said : " From the Face of the Map we returned iThe Indian village on or near the Conewango was termed by the commissioners "Cayontona"- but Colonel Proctor, who visited this region in April, 1791, writes it " Cayantha, or the Cornfields." It stood about one mile north of the 195th mile-post on the State line west from the Delaware River and between the forks of a small stream which, here flowing northeasterly, empties into the Cone- wango about a mile and a half north of the State line. 92 History of Warren County. to the Supreme Executive Council last December, of the Country thro' which we passed with the Northern Boundary of the State; it appears plain that the situation of several places demands the attention of the Legislature. The first is the Mouth of the Conewango River; the second at the Mouth of French Creek, where the Old Venango Fort stood, and the third at the head of the Navigable Water of French Creek at Fort Le Bceuf." Thus again was the attention of the authorities directed to the eligible and picturesque site of the town of Warren. The following year Richard Butler and John Gibson, commissioners for and in behalf of the State of Pennsylvania, concluded another treaty with the chiefs, warriors, and others representing the Six Nations, by which treaty the State acquired possession of the territory bounded on the south by the north line of Pennsylvania, on the east by the western boundary of New York, agreeably to the cession of that State and the State of Massachusetts to the United States, and on the north by the margin of Lake Erie, including Presque Isle and other points. At this treaty Cornplanter was again conspicuous as the friend of the whites, and by his speeches and bearing rendered the work of the commission- ers comparatively easy of accomplishment. Feeling grateful, therefore, , Gen- eral Richard' Butler, one of the commissioners above named, on the 22d of March, 1789, addressed the following communication to Thomas Mifflin, then president of the Supreme Executive Council : " I beg leave to mention to your Excellency and Council that Capt'n Abeal, alias the Cornplanter, one of the principal Chiefs of the Seneca Tribe of the Six Nations, has been very useful in all the Treaties since 1784 inclu- sive, and particularly to the State of Pennsylvania, this he has demonstrated very fully, and his attachment at present to the State appears very great. This has induced me to suggest to your Excellency and Council whether it may not be good Policy in the State to fix this attachment by making it to his interest to continue it. This, from the Ideas he possesses of Civilization, induces me to think if the state would be pleased to grant him a small tract of land within the late purchase, it would be very grateful to him, and have that Effect This may be done in a manner that would render him service without lessen- ing his influence with his own people or Exposing him to jealousy. The quan- tity need not be large, perhaps one thousand or fifteen hundred acres. How far your Excellency and Council may concur in this opinion will rest with your Excellency and them. My wishes for the quiet and interest of the State as well as the merits of the man, has induced me to take the liberty to mention this matter and hope the motive will be my appology." This letter having been received and considered in Council March 24, or two days after date, it was resolved that the recommendation to grant Corn- planter one thousand or fifteen hundred acres of land be complied with. As alluded to in a preceding paragraph, the attention of the Executive From 1783 to 1790. 93 Council having frequently been directed to certain choice locations in the ter- ritory recently acquired by purchase (at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie ; at Le Boeuf, at the head of navigation of French Creek ; at the mouth of the Con- ewango, in the county of Allegheny, and at Fort Venango, situated at the mouth of French Creek), it was resolved in Council on Saturday, April 4, 1789, "that the Surveyor General be directed, and he is hereby directed to appoint a proper person to locate, survey, and make return of the several tracts men- tioned in the said resolution of Assembly, for the use of the Commonwealth, in conformity with the said resolution, and that the locations at each place amount to three thousand acres and no more." In compliance with this resolution the surveyor-general soon after appointed John Adlum to perform the work. The latter did so during the following summer, and in September, 1789, reported that he had completed the survey of four reserved tracts of lands, or " State Manors," at the points indicated, at an expense to the State of one hundred and seventy-five pounds eight shillings and two pence. In the year 1790 the General Council of Pennsylvania appointed a commis- sion to survey and explore the West Branch of the Susquehanna and the head waters of the " Alegina," the object being to establish a suitable wagon road from the Susquehanna valley to Lake Erie. This commission consisted of John Adlum, Colonel Matlack, and Hon. Samuel Maclay, who afterward served a term as United States senator from Pennsylvania, from 1803 to 1808. During the time that the commission was acting in the discharge of its duties Mr. Maclay kept a record of each day's events, and it is from this diary, now in the possession of his grandson, ex-State Senator Maclay, of Clarion county, that these notes of the first official exploration of the head waters of the Alle- gheny, by authority of the State of Pennsylvania, are compiled. By the terms of the act creating the commission, the commissioners were to meet at Lebanon on May 1, 1790; but Mr. Adlum and Colonel Matlack did not arrive at that point until May 17. Immediately after their arrival the commission proceeded upon the discharge of its duties, Mr. Maclay having made all necessary preparations while waiting upon the delinquents. The West Branch was explored until the mouth of the Sinnemahoning Creek was reached, which stream was ascended as far as navigable by canoes, when the party proceeded on foot to the head waters of the Clarion River, in what is now Elk county. While Maclay and Matlack made different surveys in this locality, Mr. Adlum ran a line to the " Alegina," the object being to establish a camp on that river and leave some of the attendants there to build canoes for the accommodation of the commissioners when they should be ready to descend. This camp was located about twenty miles above the State line, and from this point the entire party started down the " Alegina " on the 2d day of July. About twelve o'clock they met two Indians, one of whom called himself " Doctor Thomas," who informed them that they had been sent by 7 94 History .of Warren County. their chief to see when the commissioners would arrive at the Indian town below. The State line was reached at three o'clock on the afternoon of the 3d, and here the party encamped for the night. Leaving early the next morn- ing, the Indian camp was reached about nine o'clock, "Dr. Thomas" and his companion having preceded them. As what follows is of the most interesting character, we quote Mr. Maclay's diary in full : " We got to the town at 9 o'clock. Went down below the town a little distance, kindled a fire and got our breakfast. Several of the Indians came to our fire, but the principal man was out of town, and it seems we must wait for him. We waited until the afternoon and were then given to understand that Con-ne-shangom, their chief, was gone to Venango, but a certain Captain John supplyed his place. He made us a speech in the afternoon to the following effect : That he and all their men returned thanks to Almighty God for the opportunity of speaking to his brothers ; that as he now speaks he hopes that you will hear that you are come to poor people that are all suffering. Another thing he hopes that he knew nothing of our coming until he looked up and saw us come down the water. He hopes we will take pity on their women and children and give them something to prevent them from starving. " Monday, July 5th. — Set off in the morning, two Indians going with us in a canoe, viz : Captain John and Ten Days, and the Doctor on horseback. About the middle of the afternoon we came to an Indian camp on shore where they had whisky, which they offered us. At this camp we saw a Dutchman who in the war had been taken prisoner, and, it seemed, choosed to continue with the Indians. We delayed but a short time at this camp, when we put out and left the Indians. After some time the Indians came up with us and the Doctor had got himself a little drunk. Just so much as to put him to showing his horsemanship, and, in attempting to ride up a steep bank, him and his horse tumbled together into the river. We took up our camp a little before sunset. "Tuesday, July 6th. — Took our breakfast and set off, and came to Tuis-in- Guis-an-Gothtaw about 10 o'clock. We soon found that the Doctor, who had reached the town before us, had been doing us ill offices with the people of the town. They looked remarkably sour, and insisted on our stopping until they sent for their chief, the Cornplanter, who lived about seven miles below at a place called In-oh-show-Dego. We said that we could go on and call on the Cornplanter where he lived. They said it was not manly to call about busi- ness at a cabin in the woods, and said that they had a hold of the stern of our canoe, plainly intimating that they could and would make us stay. We thought it best to be as accommodating as we could and told them to send for the Cornplanter, and we would stay until the afternoon. About noon their Chief came and told us that he had sent for the Cornplanter ; that he expected him soon, but that we must not think the time long. His advice had no effect, for we did think the day a very long one. Night came at last but no Cornplanter. From 1783 to 1790. 95 "Wednesday, July 7th. — The Cornplanter came about eight o'clock, and appeared to be friendly disposed. He said he would look for a place where we might meet and speak to each other. We met, told our business and deliv- ered the Cornplanter his letter, which was read and interpreted to the Indians by one Matthews. They then all appeared in a good humor, and the Corn- planter, in a speech, told us he was glad to see us and gave us a welcome to anything we could catch in their country. Then we were addressed by an orator in behalf of the women. They told us that they were glad to see us; that they hoped we were well; that we had come a long, bad road; that they had heard the good news we had brought; that they thought that as the severest part of the labour of living fell to their lot, they had a right to speak and to be heard, and again thanked us for our good news; that they hoped that as soon as the good road we had spoke of was made they would be able to purchase what things they wanted on better terms; that it was true their trade at this time was much worse than formerly, owing to the scarcity of game, but that if a good road was made it would still be worth while for traders to come among them, and that they hoped a good correspondence would still be cultivated between them and us until we should become one people. Their speech was answered very properly by Col. Matlack. As soon as that was ended, though it rained, we got on board of our canoes and pushed down the river, and took up our camp opposite Capt. John Obeales Town, and had the honor of his company for supper. "Thursday, July 7th. — The morning rainy. After breakfast it cleared, and Mr. Adlum went up to the State line to survey the river, and to assist me in making a survey for the Cornplanter. This business kept us employed until about four o'clock. As we were both wet when we came to cam p we concluded to stay where we were for the night. "Friday, July 9th. — Set off after breakfast and proceeded down the river to the mouth of the Kinjua, where we parted with Mr. Adlum. He proceeded up the Kinjua with two of the hands, accompanied with an Indian called Tim T. Tugmutton. We proceeded down the river to the mouth of the Conno- wango, and got up the same about two miles, where we encamped for the night. "Saturday, July 10th. — In the morning we proceeded up the Connowango about two miles further, where we left one of our canoes and all our baggage and provisions that we could spare in the care of Samuel Gibbons, taking with us only provisions for 10 days, and set off for the Jadockque lake, having one Matthews with us to act as an interpreter, as we expected to meet with several Indians. We kept with dilligence at the poles and paddled all day, and got 17 miles as we computed. "Sunday, July 1 ith. — We started in the morning and kept steadily at work all day, and made as we computed, 17 miles further up the Connowango. In 96 History of Warren County. these two days' traveling with our canoes we had not more than 16 miles of strong water, the bed of the river being like a mill pond, and in general so deep that we could not find the bottom with our setting poles. "Monday, July 12th. — Set off in the morning and found it extremely diffi- cult to get up the creek. The water was very low and divided with a great number of small Islands and the channels stopped up with driftwood and tim- ber that had fallen across the creek. In some places we cleared a passage, in others we were obliged to slide our canoe on Scates. We had about five miles of this kind of water; at length we entered the lake, which for about two miles widened gradually — the shore remarkably muddy and covered with splat- terdocks. From there the lake opens at once and has a very pleasing appear- ance. We got about four miles up and encamped." On the morning of the 14th, having found the old French wagon road, Colonel Matlack and Mr. Maclay followed it to Lake Erie, returning to Lake Jadockque (Chautauqua) on the 15 th. Mr. Maclay estimated the distance from the mouth of the Conewango to Lake Erie to be eighty miles "to go by water," and says the "greater part of the distance is through a very rich soil." On the morning of the 17th Maclay and Matlack rejoined Adlum at the camp at the mouth of the Conewango, and the three, with their employees, proceeded down the river to "Fort Frankland." From there another route was surveyed to Lake Erie, by way of French Creek. When this was completed they again continued down the "Alegina" to the mouth of the Kiskiminitis. This stream was explored and its chief tributary, the Conemaugh, was ascended to its source. After a vain attempt to find a passage across the Allegheny Mountains suit- able for a wagon road, they concluded to return home, arriving at Lebanon on September 1 7 of the same year. CHAPTER XI. CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS— 1790-91. The Seneca Chieftain Invited to Visit Philadelphia — Letter from Thomas Mifflin — Ensign Jeffers's Letter — The Journey — Arrival in the Quaker City — Subsequent Proceedings Cornplanter's Speech to the Supreme Executive Council — President Mifflin's Reply Corn- planter Meets President Washington — Returns to His Forest Home with G-ifts and Various Supplies — Attempts on the Part of Pittsburgh Thieves to Steal the Same — Colonel Brodhead's Opinion of Early Pittsburgh Residents — Cornplanter Makes Choice of the Lands Granted Him — Their Location, etc. — Sketch of His Life. MEANWHILE, affairs along the western frontiers were in an unsettled condition, and, apparently, were daily becoming worse — murders of white families by Indians from the Ohio country, and of peaceful Seneca In- CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS — I79O-9I. 97 dians by white men, were of frequent occurrence. Indeed, numbers of Corn- planter's own family had been robbed and killed, and he had repeatedly peti- tioned the authorities of the State for protection and relief. At last, on the 10th of May, 1790, President Thomas Mifflin sent a letter 1 to the Seneca chieftains on the head waters of the Allegheny, wherein he said : " It gives us pain to hear from you that some bad people have plundered your camps and taken your property. Our laws do not permit one man to injure another. We are willing to give you an opportunity of laying before the government of Pennsylvania your grievances, and of explaining your wishes ; and agreeably to your request, we hereby invite three of your chief counsellors and warriors, vizt: Corn- planter, Half- Town, and the New Arrow, to come to Philadelphia, on Wednes- day the first day of September next, when the General Assembly will be in session. We have granted a commission to your particular friend, Joseph Nicholson, to act as the interpreter to your three Chiefs, and will give him directions to conduct them to this city. "To Kientwoughko, or Cornplanter, Guyaugh Shoto, alias the Great Cross, Hachuwoot, or Half Town, Kyendo, Shendeshowa, Wadungueta, Hagungush, Hucheaguough, ' Thomas Mifflin. Chief Counsellors and Warriors of the ' Six Nations of Indians." alias the Dog Barker, Oe-wha-gaw-yo, alias the Oldnews, Candagowa alias Large Tree, Tehewanias, alias the Broken Tree. This letter having been received by Cornplanter July 7 of that year, his preparations for visiting Philadelphia were completed as speedily as circum- stances would permit, and, furnished with the following recommendatory letter by the commandant of Fort Franklin, at the mouth of French Creek, he set out on his journey accompanied by his interpreter, Joseph Nicholson, and six other chiefs and warriors. " My age, rank & situation in the world renders it rather improper for me to say anything on the subject I am about to relate, but I cannot but mention that the Bearer hereof, Cyentwokee, the head Chief of the Senica Nation, is an undoubted friend to the United States. When Indians have stolen Horses & other things from the good people, I have known him with the greatest dig- nity to give orders for them to be returned, & never knew his orders to be disobeyed. " When the people of Cussawanga [now Meadville] were about to flee on 1 See allusion to this letter in Mr. Maclay's diary, preceding chapter. 98 History of Warren County. account of unfavorable accounts about some of the Southern Indians, he sent a Speech to me, & said, ' he wished the people to keep their minds easy, & take care of their Cornfields, that the Six Nations were friends, that should the Southern Indians invade the Settlement he would gather his Warriors & help to drive them to the setting of the Sun.' In consequence of this the people rest intirely easy. On his arrival here, he told me that should I be invaded so that I could not get provision, that he & his warriors would clear the way — he said that at the Council at Muskingum, the great men asked him which side he would die on ? He told them on the side of the Americans, he says he is of the same mind yet. " Sundry other things might be said, but as he is now on his way to attend the Assembly at Philadelphia, I will only recommend him to the particular attention of the good people of Pennsylvania between here & that place. They may depend upon it that they not only entertain a friend, but a consequential friend, for the Senica Nation is so much Governed by him that if he says War, it is war, & if he says peace it is peace — of Course he is a Man worthy of the greatest attention. The other Chiefs with him second him in every thing, & are Men worthy of great attention. " I am, my Dear fellow citizens, with sentiments of the highest esteem, your obedient & humble Servant, "J. JEFFERS, Ensign, " 1st U. S. Reg't. & Commanding Fort Franklin on French Creek. "To the Good people between here & Philadelphia." Thus supplied with a kind of passport through the State, Cornplanter and his party arrived in Philadelphia towards the latter part of October, he having been detained beyond the appointed time by reason of certain untoward cir- cumstances. A day or so later, or on Saturday, October 23, the deputation was introduced to the president and members of Council, when Cornplanter was pleased to make the following speech : " Brothers, We were very happy when we received the answer to our letter sent to the Quaker State ; we are happy to see you. We could not come at the time appointed, it was too soon afterwards. When we were coming we heard of the murder of two of our people. I was obliged to satisfy my peo- ple. After I had satisfied my people, I received a message from the Shawan- ese and other nations that I should not come till we had a Council with them. When the fire was kindled with the Shawanese they brought a Virginia scalp and insisted on our seizing the scalp, or they would treat us the same way as the Big Knife ; 1 we told them the Council was for peace not for war, I sent to all the tribes to be at peace with the Thirteen Fires. 2 " Brothers, I am much fatigued, I want to get a friend to write my speech, !The Indians of that day termed the Virginians " Big Knives," or " Long Knives." 2 The thirteen original States. CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS — 179O-9I. 99 as no interpreter can do it as well as if it was wrote. I will be ready on Tuesday morning." When Tuesday morning came Cornplanter sent a letter to the Council say- ing that he was not ready and requesting further time to prepare the state- ment he wished to make to the Council. His request was granted. Three days later, however, or on Friday, October 29, 1790, the renowned Seneca chieftain with the Indians who accompanied him, attended the sessions of the Supreme Executive Council, " His Excellency Thomas Mifflin, Esquire,'' pre- siding, and spoke as follows concerning his tribe and nation : " The Fathers of the Quaker State, Obeale or Cornplanter, returns thanks to God for the pleasure he has in meeting you this day with six of his people. " FATHERS, Six years ago I had the pleasure of making peace with you, and at that time a hole was dug in the earth, and all contentions between my nation and you ceased and were buried there. "At a treaty then held at Fort Stanwix between the Six Nations of Indians, and the Thirteen Fires, three friends from the Quaker State came to me and treated with me for the purchase of a large tract of land upon the Northern boundary of Pennsylvania, extending from Tioga to Lake Erie for the use of their warriors. I agreed to the sale of the same, and sold it to them for four thousand dollars. I begged of them to take pity on my nation and not buy it forever. They said they would purchase it forever, but that they would give me further one thousand dollars in goods when the leaves were ready to fall, and when I found that they were determined to have it, I agreed that they should have it. I then requested, as they were determined to have the land to permit my people to have the game and hunt upon the same, which request they complied with, and promised me to have it put upon record, that I and my people should have the priviledge. " Fathers, The Six Nations then requested that another talk might be held with the Thirteen Fires, which was agreed to and a talk was afterwards held between them at Muskingum. Myself with three of my chiefs attended punct- ually, and were much fatigued in endeavoring to procure the attendance of the other nations, but none of them came to the Council Fire except the Dela- wares and the Wyandots. " Fathers, At the same treaty the Thirteen Fires asked me on which side I would die, whether on their side, or the side of those nations who did not attend the Council Fire. I replied, 'listen to me fathers of the Thirteen Fires, I hope you will consider how kind your fathers were treated by our fathers, the Six Nations, when they first came into this country, since which time you have become strong, insomuch, that I now call you fathers. In former days when you were young and weak, I used to call you brother, but now I call you father. Father, I hope you will take pity on your children, for now I inform you that I'll die on your side. Now father, I hope you will make my bed strong.' ioo History of Warren County. " Fathers of the Quaker State : — I speak but little now, but will speak more when the Thirteen Fires meet, I will only inform you further, that when I had finished my talk with the Thirteen Fires, General Gibson, who was sent by the Quaker State, came to the fire, and said that the Quaker State had bought of the Thirteen Fires a tract of land extending from the Northern boundary of Pennsylvania to Connewango river, to Buffaloe creek on Lake Erie, and thence along the Said Lake to the Northern boundary of Pennsylvania aforesaid. Hearing this I run to my father, and said to him father have you sold this land to the Quaker State, and he said he did not know, it might have been done since he came there. I then disputed with Gibson and Butler, who was with him about the same, and told them I would be satisfied if the line was run from- Connewango river thro' Chatochque Lake to Lake Erie, for Gibson and Butler had told me that the Quaker State had purchased the land from the Thirteen Fires, but notwithstanding the Quaker State had given to me one thousand dollars in fine prime goods which were ready for me and my people at Fort Pitt, we then agreed that the line should be run from Connewango river thro' Chatochque Lake into Lake Erie, and that one-half of the fish in Chatochque Lake should be mine and one half theirs. They then said as the Quaker State had purchased the whole from the Thirteen Fires, that the Thir- teen Fires must pay back to the Quaker State the value of the remaining land. When I heard this my mind was at ease, and I was satisfied. I then proposed to give a half mile square of land upon the line so agreed upon to a Mr. Hartz- horn who was an Ensign in General Harmer's army, and to a Mr. Britt, a cadet, who acted as clerk upon the occasion, and who I well know fcy the name of Half-Town, for the purpose of their settling there to prevent any mischief being committed in future upon my people's lands, and I hoped that the Quaker State would in addition thereto give them another half mile square on their side of the line so agreed upon for the same purpose, expecting thereby that the line so agreed upon would be known with sufficient certainty, and that no disputes would thereafter arise between my people and the Quaker State concerning it. I then went to my father of the Thirteen Fires and told him I was satisfied, and the coals being covered up I said to my children you must take your course right thro' the woods to Fort Pitt. When I was leaving Muskingum my own son who remained a little while behind to warm himself at the fire was robbed of a rifle by one of the white men, who, I believe, to have been a Yankee. Myself with Mr. Joseph Nicholson and a Mr. Morgan then travelled three days together thro' the wilderness, but the weather being very severe they were obliged to separate from me, and I sent some of my own people along with Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Morgan as guides to con- duct them on to Wheelen [Wheeling]. After I had separated from Mr. Nich- olson and Mr. Morgan, I had under my charge one hundred and seventy per- sons of my own nation consisting of men, women and children, to conduct CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS — I79O-9I. IOI thro' the wilderness, through heaps of briars, and having lost our way, we, with great difficulty reached Wheelen. When I arrived there being out of provisions I requested of a Mr. Zanes to furnish me and my people with beacon and flour to the amount of seventeen dollars, to be paid for out of the goods belonging to me and my people at Fort Pitte. Having obtained my request, I proceeded on my journey for Pittsburg, and about ten miles from Wheelen my party were fired upon by three white people, and one of my people in the rear of my party received two shots thro' his blanket. "Fathers, It was a constant practice with me throughout the whole jour- ney to take great care of my people, and not suffer them to commit any out- rages or drink more than what their necessities required. During the whole of my journey only one accident happened which was owing to the kindness of the people of the town called Catfish [in Washington county, Pa.], in the Quaker State, who, while I was talking with the head men of the town, gave to my people more liquor than was proper, and some of them got drunk, which obliged me to continue there with my people all night, and in the night my people were robbed of three rifles and one shot gun; and though every endeavor was used by the head men of the town upon complaint made to them to dis- cover the perpetrators of the robbery, they could not be found; and on my people's complaining to me I told them it was their own faults by getting drunk. "Fathers, Upon my arrival at Fort Pitt I saw the goods which I had been informed of at Muskingum, and one hundred of the blankets were all moth eaten and good for not'g. I was advised not to take the blankets, but the blankets which I and my people then had being all torn by the briars in our passage thro' the wilderness, we were under the necessity of taking them to keep ourselves warm ; and what most surprised me, was that after I had received the goods they extinguished the fire and swept away the ashes, and having no interpreter there I could talk with no one upon the subject. Feeling myself much hurt upon the occasion, I wrote a letter to you Fathers of the Quaker State, complaining of the injury, but never received any answer. Having waited a considerable time, and having heard that my letter got lost, I wrote a second time to you Fathers of the Quaker State and then I received an answer. "I am very thankfull to have received this answer, and as the answer intreated me to come and speak for myself, I thank God that I have this oppor- tunity, I therefore, speak to you as follows: I hope that you Fathers of the Quaker State, will fix some person at Fort Pitt to take care of me and my people. I wish, and it is the wish of my people if agreeable to you that my present interpreter, Joseph Nicholson, may be the person, as I and my people have a confidence in him, and are satisfied that he will always exert himself to preserve peace and harmony between you and us. My reasons for wish- ing an interpreter to be placed there are that oftentimes when my hunters and io2 History of Warren County. people come there, their canoes and other things are stolen, and they can obtain no redress, not having any person there on whom they can rely to interpret for them and see justice done to them. "Fathers of the Quaker State: — About a year ago a young man one of my Tribe who lived among the Shawanese, was one of a party who had committed some outrages and stolen a quantity of skins, the property of David Duncan, being at Fort Pitt, was seized by the White People there who would have put him in confinement and perhaps to death had not some of the Chiefs of the Seneca Nation, interfered and bound themselves to the said David Duncan, who insisted upon satisfaction for payment of the sum of five hundred and thirty dollars for the said skins so stolen, upon which the young man aforesaid was released and delivered up to them. "Fathers of the Quaker State: — I wish now to acquaint you with what hap- pened to one of my people about four years ago, four miles above Fort Pitt. A young man who was married to my wife's sister, when he was hunting, was murdered by a white man. There were three reasons for his being killed : In the first place he had a very fine riding horse; secondly, he was very richly drest, and had about him a good deal of silver; and thirdly, he had with him a very fine rifle. The white man invited him to his house, to light from his horse, and as he was getting off his horse, his head being rather down, the white man struck him with a tomahawk on the head and killed him, and having plun- dered him dragged him into the river. Upon the discovery of the murder, my people, with Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Duncan, had a great deal of trouble, and took a great deal of pains to find out the person who had committed the murder, and after three days' searching, they discovered him. "Fathers of the Quaker State : — About five years ago, one of my Chiefs, named Half- Town, was sent to Fort Pitt to deliver up into your hands your own flesh and blood who were taken in the war, and before he returned two horses were stolen from him by the white people. Now, Fathers, I will inform you of another accident which happened to my people last winter, fifteen miles below Fort Pitt. My Nephew, with a hunting party, being there, was shot thro' the head in Mr. Nicholson's camp, the particulars of which Mr. Nichol- son, who is here present can inform you. " Well, Fathers, I beg of you once more not to let such bad people be 'longside of me. And, Fathers, you must not think I or any of my people are bad or wish evil to you or yours, nor must you blame us for mischiefs that have been committed by the other nations. Fathers, consider me and my people, and the many injuries we have sustained by the repeated robberies, and in the murder & depredations committed by the whites against us. " Fathers of the Quaker State : — I have now had the pleasure to meet you with six of my people. We have come a great way, by your desire, to talk with you and to shew to you the many injuries my nation has sustained. It CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS— 1790-91. 103 now remains with you to do with me and my people what you please, on account of the present trouble which I and my people have taken for your sat- isfaction, and in compliance with your request. " Fathers, having come this great way at your request, and as it is neces- sary for some of us to remain here to talk with the Thirteen Fires when they meet, I have concluded to send back four of my people, and to remain here myself with Half- Town and my interpreter, Mr. Nicholson, untill that time, which I hope you will approve of. But should you not approve of it, I must be under the necessity of returning with the whole of my people, which will be attended with a considerable expense. " Fathers of the Quaker State : — You have now got the most of our lands, and have taken the game upon the same. We have only the privilege of hunt- ing and fishing thereon. I, therefore, would make this further request, that a store may be established at Fort Pitt for the accommodation of my people and the other nations when they go out to hunt ; and where they may purchase goods at a reasonable price. For, believe me, Fathers, you yourselves would be frightened were you to know the extravagant prices we are obliged to pay for the goods we purchase. "There is a man (Esquire Wilkie) in Pittsburg, who has taken a great deal of pains to serve my people, and has pitied them ; my people, when there, are very kindly treated by him, and give him a great deal of trouble, but he thinks nothing of it ; he is the man my people wish should have charge of the store. " Fathers of the Quaker State : — I have heard that you have been pleased to present me a tract of land, but as yet I have seen no writings for the same ; Well, Fathers, if it is true that you have given me this tract of land, I can only thank you for the same, but I hope you will also give me tools and materials for working the same. " Fathers of the Quaker State : — Five years ago, when I used to be with my present interpreter Joseph Nicholson, he took care of me and my people. Considering his services and the difficulties he underwent in his journey from Muskingum to Fort Pitt, the Six Nations wished to have him seated upon a tract of land of six miles square, lying in the Forks of Allegany river, and Broken Straw creek, and accordingly patented the same to him, this being the place where a battle 1 was fought between my people and yours, and where about thirty of my people were beaten, by him and twenty-five of your people, and where he was shot thro' the thigh. Now, Fathers, it is my wish, and I tell you it is the wish of the whole Six Nations, in behalf of whom and myself, I request that you would grant and confirm to our brother and friend, the before named Joseph Nicholson, the aforesaid tract of land, as described in our patent or grant to him. iThis fight took place in August, 1779, during Colonel Brodhead's march into the Seneca country. ic>4 History of Warren County. " This, Fathers, is all I have to say to the Quaker State, and I hope you will consider well all I have mentioned. "Philadelphia, October, 1790. His " CORNPLANTER X , mark. His "Half x Town, mark. His "Big x Tree, mark. His "James x Hutchins, mark. His "Seneca x Billy, mark. His "John x Deckart." mark. On the following day a draft of a letter, addressed to the Cornplanter and the Indians who accompanied him, in reply to the representations which they had made to the Supreme Executive Council, was laid before the board, read and adopted as follows : "In Council, Philadelphia, Oct. 30, 1790. " BROTHERS : — Council have seriously considered the several matters which you laid before them yesterday morning, and assure you that it is their sincere desire to have all your complaints examined into and satisfactorily and speedily removed. But the change which has been made in the government of the State, puts it out of the power of this Council to give special answers to the most material parts of your speech. " On the first Tuesday of next December, the Legislature of Pennsylvania will meet under the new form of Government, and on the twenty-fourth of the same month the new Governor will commence his administration. " When those events take place, your speech, together with such further representation of a public nature, which you may think proper to make to us, shall be faithfully communicated to the new Government for their considera- tion and decision. " There are, however, two points on which we may with propriety now decide. " The first, the grant to the Cornplanter of one thousand five hundred acres of land by the General Assembly, on the twenty-fourth day of March, 1789. " We would long ago have ordered the survey of the land for the Corn- planter, but being willing to gratify him in his choice of a tract, we instructed General Butler to consult with him on that subject, and have waited to this time for his determination. If he will inform us in what part of the unlocated lands of the State he wishes his survey to be made, we will order the Surveyor General to have the tract laid out without further delay. CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS — 179O-9I. IC>5 " The second point on which we shall decide, is the Cornplanter's request, that Half-Town and Mr. Nicholson may remain with him in Philadelphia untill the meeting of the Legislature of the United States, or untill the President shall arrive here. We cheerfully comply with that request, and approve of his sending back the other Chiefs and Warriors. " And in order to make the residence of the Cornplanter, Half-Town and Mr. Nicholson in Philadelphia, as convenient and agreeable as possible, Coun- cil will instruct their Secretary to provide suitable lodgings for them in a pri- vate family. " Chiefs and Warriors who are to return to the Seneca Nation : — We desire you to inform the Seneca Nation that the Government of Pennsylvania enter- tains sentiments of the most sincere friendship for them, and are anxious to pre- vent injuries being done by its citizens to their persons and property. " But as evil disposed men exist in every society, and as violence may sometimes be committed by such men upon the persons and property of the Indians, the Government will think it their duty upon complaint being made of such violence having been committed, to endeavor to have the offenders apprehended and brought to Justice. " In the instance of the Walkers and Doyle, 1 this Council has done every thing in their power to have them secured and brought to tryal. They have succeeded only with respect to Doyle, but will continue their exertions for the securing of the Walkers. " Doyle will be conveyed next week to Sunbury under a strong guard, to stand his trial ; should he be convicted, there is little doubt of his being capi- tally punished. "We wish you may arrive at your own homes in good health, and find your families in the possession of the same blessings. "Thomas Mifflin." Cornplanter's companions, nevertheless, did not return to their country as early as anticipated. In some way the Chief Big Tree while viewing the sights in the Quaker City received a gun-shot wound in his leg. Thereupon Corn- planter and Half Town, with their interpreter, Joseph Nicholson, attended a subsequent meeting of the Council, and requested that, on account of the wound received by the Big Tree, the chiefs and warriors who were to have returned to the Indian country be permitted to stay in the city until the arrival of the president of the United States. This request was complied with. Subse- quently, after Cornplanter and his friends had met President Washington, and had a " big talk " with him, all returned via Pittsburgh together, well loaded with good substantial presents. Indeed, the supplies, gifts, etc., received by Cornplanter at Philadelphia and sent by wagons to Pittsburgh, filled a large 1 Doyle and two or three brothers by the name of Walker had killed two of the Seneca tribe on Pine Creek, then in the township of Lycoming, Northumberland county, in June, 1790. These were the murders referred to by Cornplanter when he first arrived in Philadelphia. 106 History of Warren County. bateau or keel boat, which, after the voyage up the Allegheny had been com- menced, unprincipled white wretches from Pittsburgh attempted to steal — both boat and cargo. It appears, however, that a certain class of residents of the latter town were only maintaining their former unenviable reputation when they endeavored to steal Cornplanter's boat and contents, since Colonel Brodhead in a letter dated at Pittsburgh, June 27, 1779, says : " The inhabitants of this place are continu- ally encroaching on what I conceive to be the rights of the Garrison and which was always considered as such when the Fort was occupied by the King of Britain's Troops. They have now the assurance to erect their fences within a few yards of the Bastion. I have mentioned the impropriety of their Conduct but without effect, . . . . The Block-houses, likewise, which are part of the strength of the place, are occupied and claimed by private persons to the injury of the service." Again on the 9th of July following the worried Colonel made another complaint as follows : " Whilst I am writing, I am tor- mented by at least a dozen drunken Indians, and I shall be obliged to remove my Quarters from hence on account of a cursed villainous set of inhabitants, who, in spite of every exertion continue to rob the soldiers, or cheat them and the Indians out of everything they are possessed of." Soon after Cornplanter's return to his old home on the upper waters of the Allegheny, he made choice of the lands which suited him best (which, by the way, proved to be at or near the place where he was then living), and promptly notified Governor Mifflin by letter of the location, etc., coupled with the request that a survey of the same be made as early as practicable. In direct- ing the attention of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Common- wealth to this matter the governor said : " Gentlemen : I have directed the Secretary to lay before you a Copy of a Letter from Cornplanter, in which that Chief requests that orders of survey may be issued for three tracts of Land, amounting in quantity to the 1500 acres which were granted to him by a reso- lution of the General Assembly of the 24th March, 1789, but differing in point of situation. 1 From the Information, however, contained in a Letter from the officers of the Land Office, a copy of which will likewise be transmitted to you, I find that the proposed tracts are unappropriated ; and as the resolution referred to describes Lands within the Tract of Country lately purchased from the United States, which Country has not yet been the subject of any Legislative provision, in respect to grants, and confirmations by Patent, permit me to sug- gest the propriety of complying with Cornplanter's request, and of authorizing the officers in the Land office to grant the Warrants, direct the surveys and issue the Patent which may be necessary upon the occasion." This communica- tion properly signed and indorsed was dated Philadelphia, January 22, 1791. 1 It was supposed by General Butler, when he recommended that a grant of land be made to Corn- planter, that the latter would make choice of lands in the " late purchase," meaning the territory bor- dering on Lake Erie. CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS — 1790-91. IO/ The preliminary matters of granting warrants, making surveys, etc., having been attended to early in the year last mentioned, Cornplanter, with his two wives, his children, and a following of many others of his band, 1 including men, women and children, soon after became permanently established upon the site of one of his former towns (that is, the first village destroyed by Colonel Brod- head in 1779, after proceeding up the river above " Canawago "), where, as- sisted by white men sent to him for that purpose, he began the erection of log cabins. Thus he with his followers became the first permanent residents in the county after the acquisition of its territory by Pennsylvania. His grant, or patent, embraced about six hundred and forty acres of land on the west bank of the Allegheny River, sixteen miles above Warren, together with two large adjacent islands, or, in other words, tracts, aggregating about fifteen hundred acres in extent, situated in the present township of Elk. Here he resided until his death, which did not take place until nearly a half century later. According to Rev. Timothy Alden, the founder of Allegheny College, the village established by Cornplanter on the lands granted to him was named Jen-ne-sa-de-go, or Tin-nes-hau-ta-go, which means "burnt houses, since one of the Seneca towns destroyed by Colonel Brodhead in the summer of 1779 was located here." The same gentleman also said that Cornplanter's Indian names were as follows : Ki-end-twoh-ke, or The Planter, and No-nuh, or The Contemplative ; but they (the Indians) usually addressed hhn as Shin- ne-wau-nah, or The Gentleman. From Day's " Historical Collections of Pennsylvania " we select the follow- ing sketch of the distinguished chieftain, whose life was so closely associated with the Indian history of Northwestern Pennsylvania, and particularly that of Warren county : " Few names are more distinguished in the frontier history of Pennsylvania than that of Cornplanter. He was born at Conewaugus, on the Genesee River, being a half-breed, the son of a white man named John O'Bail, a trader from the Mohawk Valley. In a letter written in 1822 [of course by an interpreter] to the Governor of Pennsylvania he thus speaks of his early youth : ' When I was a child I played with the butterfly, the grasshopper and the frogs ; and as I grew up I began to pay some attention and play with the Indian boys in the 1 Soon after the Meads and other pioneers settled at Meadville, Crawford county, Pa., Cornplanter and his band paid them a friendly visit, and such visits were frequently repeated during subsequent years It was then that these white settlers noticed that a number of white men were living with the Indians among whom were Lashley Malone, who was captured in the Bald Eagle valley, Pa.; Peter Krause' a German by birth, who was taken on Duncan's Creek, near the head of the Monongahela, in Virginia- Elijah Mathews, who was captured on Graves's Creek, Ohio; Nicholas Rosencranlz, the son of a minister, and Nicholas Tanewood, who were taken in the Mohawk valley, New York. Krause, Mathews and Rosencrantz were married to Indian women. These men having lived from boyhood with their captors, were thoroughly weaned from the habits of civilization, and preferred to remain with the Indians. Rev. Timothy Alden, of Meadville, while on a visit to Cornplanter in the fall of 1816, stayed over night at the cabin of Peter Krause, on the Allegheny, where he was then living with his Indian wife and family. 108 History of Warren County. neighborhood, and they took notice of my skin being of a different color from theirs, and spoke about it ; I inquired of my mother the cause, and she told me that my father was a resident of Albany, N. Y. I still ate my victuals out of a bark dish. I grew up to be a young man and married me a wife, but I had no kettle or gun. I then knew where my father lived, and went to see him, and found he was a white man and spoke the English language. He gave me victuals while I was at his house, but when I started to return home he gave me no provision to eat on the way. He gave me neither kettle nor gun, neither did he tell me that the United States were about to rebel against the government of England.' .... " Little further is known of his early life beyond the fact that he was allied with the French in the engagement against Gen. Braddock in July, 1 75 5- He was probably at that time at least twenty years old. During the Revolution he was a war chief of high rank, in the full vigor of manhood, active, sagacious, eloquent, brave, and he most probably participated in the principal Indian engagements against the United States during the war. He is supposed to have been present at the cruelties of Wyoming and Cherry Valley, in which the Senecas took a prominent part. He was on the war-path with Brandt during Gen. Sullivan's campaign in 1779; and in the following year, under Brandt and Sir John Johnson, he led the Senecas in sweeping through the Schoharie Kill and the Mohawk. On this occasion he took his father a pris- oner, but with such caution as to avoid an immediate recognition. After marching the old man some ten or twelve miles he stepped before him, faced about and addressed him in the following terms : " ' My name is John O'Bail, commonly called Cornplanter. I am your son ! You are my father! You are now my prisoner, and subject to the customs of Indian warfare, but you shall not be harmed. You need not fear! I am a warrior! Many are the scalps which I have taken! Many prisoners I have tortured to death ! I am your son. I was anxious to see you, and greet you in friendship. I went to your cabin and took you by force; but your life will be spared. Indians love their friends and their kindred, and treat them with kindness. If you now choose to follow the fortunes of your yellow son, and to live with our people, I will cherish your old age with plenty of venison and you shall live easy. But if it is your choice to return to your fields and live with your white children, I will send a party of my trusty young men to con- duct you back in safety. I respect you, my father. You have been friendly to Indians, and they are your friends.' The elder O'Bail preferred his white children and green fields to his yellow offspring and the wild woods, and chose to return. " Notwithstanding his bitter hostility while the war continued, he became the fast friend of the United States when once the hatchet was buried. His sagacious intellect comprehended at a glance the growing power of this coun- Os CORNPLANTER AND OTHER INDIANS — 1790-91. IO9 try and the abandonment with which England had requited the fidelity of the Senecas. He therefore threw all his influence at the treaties of Fort Stanwix and Fort Mcintosh in favor of peace; and notwithstanding the vast conces- sions which he saw his people were necessitated to make, still, by his energy and prudence in the negotiation, he retained for them an ample and beautiful reservation. For the course which he took on those occasions, the State of Pennsylvania granted him the fine reservation upon which he resided on the Allegheny. The Senecas, however, were never well satisfied with his course in relation to these treaties; and Red Jacket, more artful and eloquent than his older rival, but less frank and honest, seized upon this circumstance to pro- mote his own popularity at the expense of Cornplanter. "Having buried the hatchet, Cornplanter sought to make his talents useful to his people by conciliating the good will of the whites, and securing from further encroachments the little remnant of his national domain. On more than one occasion, when some reckless and bloodthirsty whites on the frontier had massacred unoffending Indians in cold blood, did Cornplanter interfere to restrain the vengeance of his people. During all the Indian wars from 1790 to 1794, which terminated with Wayne's victory over the northwestern tribes, Cornplanter 1 pledged himself that the Senecas should remain friendly to the United States. He often gave notice to the garrison at Fort Franklin of intended attacks from hostile parties, and even hazarded his life on a media- torial mission to the Western tribes. He ever entertained a high respect and personal friendship for Washington, 'the great councillor of the Thirteen Fires,' and often visited him during his presidency on the business of his tribe. His speeches on these occasions exhibit both his talent in composition and his adroitness in diplomacy. Washington fully reciprocated his respect and friend- ship. They had fought against each other on the disastrous day of Braddock's field. Both were then young men. More than forty years afterwards, when Washington was about to retire from the presidency, Cornplanter made a special visit to Philadelphia to take an affectionate leave of the great benefactor of the white man and the red. "After peace was permanently established between the Indians and the United States, Cornplanter retired from public life and devoted his labors to his own people. He deplored the evils of intemperance, and exerted himself to suppress it. The benevolent efforts of missionaries among his tribe always received his encouragement, and at one time his own heart seemed to be softened by the words of truth; yet he preserved in his later years many of the peculiar notions of the Indian faith." 1 This statement is incorrect. Cornplanter was unfriendly in 1794, and, without a doubt, if Wayne had been defeated the Senecas would have become generally hostile, with Cornplanter's approval. See next chapter. no History of Warren County. CHAPTER XII. FROM 179] TO 1800. Troublous Times on the Border — Baneful British Influence — Uneasy Iroquois — Colonel Proctor Visits Them — Interesting Details Gathered From His Journal — His Mission a Failure — St. Clair Defeated — The Iroquois Become Insolent — Their Arrogant Demands — Cornplanter Joins the Malcontents — Extracts from Letters Written by Andrew Ellicott, Brant the Mo- hawk, and John Adlum — Wayne's Victory — Salutary Effects — Iroquois Ardor Cooled — The Treaty at Canandaigua — The British Retire from American Territory — Cornplanter's Speech at Franklin — The Holland Land Company — Town of Warren Laid Out by State Commission- ers—Survey of Lands West of the Allegheny River — Advent of the First Settlers — A Block- house at Warren — Navigable Waters — Origin of the Reserve Tracts and Academy Lands. FOR more than a decade of years after England had been forced to acknowl- edge the independence of the United States, British troops held all the forts on the American side of the boundary line, in open violation of the treaty of peace, alleging that the Americans had also failed to comply with its provisions. Embittered by defeat and not without hopes of again becoming masters of the ambitious, yet weak and poverty-stricken, confederated States, their influence over the Six Nations and the Western Indians was most bane- ful. They openly assumed a protectorate over the Iroquois and advised them to resist by force the occupation of lands which had already been ceded by the Indians to the Americans. Hence, as a result of such advice, and the intrigues of the Tory Colonel Butler, and the detestable Mohawk chieftain, Brant, the majority of the Senecas, eight years after the close of the Revolu- tionary War, were almost at the point of marching into Ohio to join the West- ern tribes in their operations against the military forces of the United States. At this critical moment Cornplanter, alone almost, of all those high in author- ity in his nation, remained true to his pledges as the friend of the Americans. For a time he stood as firm as the tall pines which cast their shadows over the waters of his beloved Allegheny. For three or four years after his visit to Philadelphia he counseled peace and moderation ; but before the troubles were over — i. 5553, and 5562, to the Allegheny River, thence down said river to the confluence of the Conewango Creek at the Borough of Warren, thence up the north and west bank of said creek to the place of beginning. Taking from Conewango township that part lying east of the Conewango Creek and north of the Allegheny River, and that part of Elk township lying south of the south lines of lots No. 5333, 5343, 5552, and 5561, and forming said new town- ship, which we would propose to call Point township, a draft of plot whereof is hereunto annexed." Corydon. — This township was erected by order of court confirmed abso- lutely March 20, 1846, from territory then recently set off from McKean county. The report of the commissioners — 1. r illustrate. He worked on in dirt and poverty nearly two years, finally changing the name of his paper to that of the Warren Courier. It was of no use, however, for matters were drawing to a crisis. Of a jealous disposition, he would without any just cause turn against and abuse his best friends. He would publish any thing for money, and for a very small sum too. No matter how scurrillous, if a communication was accompanied with a dollar, or the promise of it, it would appear in his columns. Among other articles of this character was one in the form of an advertisement, signed by " Naper "Tandy." Naper said that he had commenced the business of tanning in Sugar Grove township, about two miles north of John I. Willson's tavern (which would be about a mile north of the State line), where he was ready to tan all kinds of hides on the shortest notice — especially carroty-colored hides from Hibernia's Isle. He directed Hill to insert three times and send his bill. This, with like abusive notices, together with his own editorial work, when he could get no one else to write, brought his paper into contempt and ridicule. As a result it ceased to exist ; died of starvation in fact in less than two years from the date of its establishment. Hill then returned to Mercer county, taking his venerable press (which may have been historic, the veritable Franklin instru- ment of torture) and other material along. Foreseeing the inevitable fate of the Emigrant, and deeming it important for the character and welfare of the county that a reputable newspaper should be published in it, Archibald Tanner and Lansing Wetmore purchased a new press and other requisite material, engaged Morgan Bates to attend to the me- chanical part of the work, and about the time Hill's paper ceased to exist, the Warren Gazette made its appearance. The first number of the Gazette pub- lished by Morgan Bates, for Tanner & Wetmore, proprietors, was dated Febru- ary 18, 1826. It continued under their control about three years — the last number being issued March 4, 1829 — the day that Andrew Jackson took his seat as president of the United States. Thomas Clemons, who was the pub- lisher at this time, thus quaintly announced the event: "This day John Q. Adams and I are both tipped overboard — ' How we apples swim.' " Bates had removed to Jamestown, N. Y., in the spring of 1828, where he published the Chautauqua Republican, which was established to promote the election of Jackson, and had a large circulation in Warren county. The Ga- zette supported Adams, and Mr. Clemons, who had been an assistant in the office under Bates, continued its publication after the departure of the latter, until it passed out of the hands of Tanner & Wetmore. We will here explain, also, that the junior member of the firm (Wetmore) officiated as editor-in-chief • during the three years of their proprietorship. Bates was a genial, good-hearted fellow, always ready for a frolic, generous 280 History of Warren County. to a fault, and impulsive. Money never burdened his pockets a great while at a time. Lacking discretion, however, he would say and do things which fre- quently brought him into trouble. As the editor, and ostensible proprietor of a then large newspaper (the Chautauqua Republican), he seemed to feel the importance of his new position, and to look back on his situation in the Gazette office with disdain. In a political way he commenced upon the Gazette peo- ple, through his paper, in manner and language which was considered indeco- rous, and was told so. This brought forth from him a prompt and rather inso- lent reply. Thus began a war of words (common among editors during those days, however,) which was continued for many weeks, when such epithets as scoundrel, liar, knave, etc., were pretty freely indulged in. The last article in the Gazette was answered by the service of a writ for slander. The suit was continued from term to term until after the election, when it was withdrawn by Bates at his own costs. He also embraced the opportunity at that time, or soon afterward, of resuming friendly relations with his old friends of the Ga- zette. After leaving Jamestown he experienced a variety of fortunes, some prosperous and some adverse. In 1835 he was foreman in the office of the New Yorker, the first paper published by Horace Greeley. He afterwards pub- lished the Detroit Advertiser, in company with that prince of early editors, Dawson, of the Rochester Democrat. They published the Advertiser during the time the Whigs were in power, and did the printing for the State. He vis- ited Warren at about that time and displayed a large amount of Michigan State scrip, which he had received in pay for State printing. He was after- wards a commission merchant in Detroit. The last heard of him he was on his way to California by way of Cape Horn. In March, 1829, the Gazette establishment was transferred to the proprie- torship of Parker C. and Samuel A. Purviance. The former was a printer, the latter a lawyer. They published it about a year together, when Samuel A. withdrew. It was continued by Parker C. for some months after, when, like its predecessor, it suspended for want of support. Both Parker C. and Samuel A. Purviance were men of talent, particularly the latter, and the paper while under their management was conducted with signal ability. Both returned to Butler county, where Samuel attained a high standing at the bar. The course they pursued in politics, for they were zealous, untiring Whig partisans, caused the Democratic party to start a paper of their own. Accordingly, in November, 1829, the first number of the Voice of the Peo- ple was issued by Thomas Clemons and William A. Olney. It continued un- der their control about two years, when Clemons withdrew. Thereafter Olney kept up its publication until his death, which occurred in October, 1835. After Olney's demise Charles B. Cotter assumed control, but he proved to be rather a weak brother of the " art preservative," and after a few more weeks or months of tribulation its voice was hushed forever. The Press. 281 About 1830 J. B. Hyde, jr., began the publication of a paper termed The Union. It advocated the cause of anti-Masonry. Mr. Hyde was a young man of fair talents, quiet and retiring in his manners, and honorable in his dealings. He published the paper about two years, when he died, a victim to close con- finement and intense application to business. The first number of the Warren Bulletin, the successor of the Voice of the People as a Democratic organ, was issued May n, 1836, by Norris W. Goodrich. It was moderately Democratic — usually candid and respectful in its treat- ment of political opponents. It was continued about three years, when Good- rich, having concluded to apply himself to the practice of law, ceased his labors as a newspaper man and retired. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, and subsequently became a well-known attorney in McKean county. Goodrich's paper was immediately succeeded, from the same office, by the Democratic Advocate, edited by a certain Quincy Adams Johnson, a pretentious fellow who brought good certificates but poor qualifications. He continued the pa- per about eight months, grossly imposed on his party friends, got badly in debt, and finally left both paper and debts to take care of themselves. The Advocate was continued during the exciting campaign of 1840 by Mr. J. B. Wilson, of Cincinnati, procured for that purpose, who left soon after the pres- idential election. Thomas demons, who always stood in readiness to lend a helping hand in case of a Democratic emergency, then took charge of it as editor, and continued its publication until some time in 1842, when he trans- ferred his interests to S. J. Goodrich and T. T. Wilson. In the spring of 1843 Wilson withdrew and left Goodrich sole proprietor. He continued its publi- cation about a year and then sold half his interest to J. Y. James, and the Ad- vocate was continued in charge of James & Goodrich a few months, when the latter transferred the balance of his interest to J. D. James. Under the pilot- age of J. Y. and J. D. James, the Democratic Advocate was continued during the years 1845-46 and until March of 1847, when it ran aground, and the of- fice and material passed again into the hands of S. J. Goodrich. He changed its name to the Warren Standard, which commenced in May, 1847, an d was continued until March 6, 1849, when the office and all materials were burned in the conflagration which destroyed the old " Exchange Row." Books and everything were lost, and no insurance. Goodrich, however, immediately rallied, purchased new material, took into partnership again T. T. Wilson, and on the first day of May, 1849, was issued the first number of the Warren Ledger. They conducted it together about two years, when Goodrich withdrew (he having received an appointment as collector of tolls on the Pennsylvania Canal, at Harrisburg), and it fell into the hands of Wilson alone. At the close of the fifth volume Wilson com- mended his two or three hundred paying subscribers, but complained bitterly of the four hundred who had failed to pay, many of them for the whole five .282 History of Warren County. years, during which the paper had never missed a week nor published a half sheet. On the 14th of March, 1854, S. J. Goodrich announced his return here; and from April 1 to August 8, of that year, the Ledger was carried on by Goodrich & Wilson, when the latter sold his interest to A. W. Stevens. It was then published by Goodrich & Stevens until February 13, 1855, when Goodrich sold his interest to Thomas Clemons, from which time it was con- ducted byClemons & Stevens until March 11, 1856, when Stevens sold out to John Daily. Clemons & Daily commenced April 1, 1856, and continued to- gether one year, when they transferred their interests to, or for the use of, D. W. C. James. Mr. James officiated as its editor and publisher from the spring of 1857 to November 30, i860, when it passed into the hands of W. J. Clem- ons, who managed it alone until May 29, 1861, when Charles Dinsmoor be- came its associate editor. They carried it on until April 22, 1863, when Dins- moor retired, and W. J. Clemons again conducted it alone until November 23, 1863, when he sold out to B. F. Morris, who, for more than twenty- two years, with the exception of a few months, was its sole responsible editor and publisher. On the 9th of November, 1871, J. Hamilton King, jr., purchased an interest in the paper and appeared as joint publisher until the time of his death, September 20, 1875, when his interest fell back into the hands of Mr. Morris. On the 5th of February, 1886, the Ledger was purchased by D. D. and F. E. Reed, who, to the present writing, have retained Mr. Morris as editor. During all the changes here noted the paper never suspended and never missed but very few regular issues. From 1 83 1, the year the Gazette ceased to exist, until 1838 no Whig paper was published in the county. In August of that year, however, a Whig organ, -entitled the People s Monitor, made its appearance under the management of M. Millington. He remained about eight months, but the income of the paper not being sufficient to maintain his extravagant ideas of dress and habits, he returned to Harrisburg, the victim, it is to be presumed, of disappointed hopes. The office and material then passed into the hands of Peleg S. Cole, who soon after took into partnership a young man named Woodward. The firm of Cole & Woodward continued about three years, when the latter retired and J. W. Weaver took his place, holding it, however, but a short period of time, when he withdrew, leaving Mr. Cole to continue alone until the Monitor ceased to be a mentor for the people, for want of support. This event happened during the year 1845. There was then an interval during which no Whig paper was published until July 25, 1848, when the first number of the Allegheny Mail appeared. This paper was established by the efforts of a few leading Whigs, and was continued under the management of J. Warren Fletcher, its first editor, pub- lisher, and proprietor, until March 7, 1849, when E. Cowan, a young man who had been connected with the. office from the beginning, became its owner The Press. 283 by purchase. On the 20th of November of the same year the name was changed to the Warren Mail, a title it has ever since retained. About July 2i, 1852, Mr. Cowan took Lucius Rogers into partnership, and together they continued its publication until September 22, 1853, when Mr. Cowan dissolved his connection with the Mail, temporarily, as it will appear, and was super- seded by L. Rogers and O. C. Bates. Mr. Cowan sought a larger field for his abilities as a journalist at Buffalo and Erie, but, it seems, found the fields some- what barren. Meanwhile the Mail was managed by Rogers & Bates until June 29, 1854, when Mr. Cowan suddenly appeared again as co-editor with Rogers, and Mr. Bates as suddenly disappeared, without any explanation. The paper was then carried on by Cowan & Rogers until the 1 9th of August, 1854, when Mr. Rogers retired. Thereafter Mr. Cowan paddled his own canoe alone until June 1, 1874, when his son Willis became associated with him in the publication of the Mail, a business as well as a family relationship which still continues unbroken. The Warren Mail now enjoys the distinction of being the senior newspaper of the county, and has been known as an unswerving exponent of Republican principles since the formation of that party. The Yoitngsville Express was established by John W. Mason June 30, 1849. Nuetral in politics, its publication was continued until November, 1853, when it retired from view. In Tidioute, after the oil developments had made it pretentious, a number of newspapers, both dailies and weeklies, sprang into existence. The Tidioute Journal, Commercial, and Chronicle all had their birth and demise, and have now been succeeded by the Weekly News, published by Charles E. White, which seems to be established Qn a permanent basis. The Warren Mirror was established as a Sunday paper October 1, 1882, by Walker Bros. It started as a folio, four colmns to a page, of 9 by 14 inches in size; was enlarged to a quarto November 12, 1882. On the 16th of October, 1883, it passed into the hands of E. Walker, the present publisher and proprietor. May 1 1, 1884, it was enlarged to five columns to a page, size of page, 1I7 by I7f inches. A Saturday edition was first issued July 12, 1884, of the same size as the Sunday issue. Another enlargement to six col- umns to a page, and columns increased to 19! inches in length, took place February 14, 1885. The Daily Mirror, a folio, with pages the same size as the Saturday and Sunday editions, was first issued March 24, 1886. The Clarendon Record was started in the spring of 1882, about the time the Cherry Grove oil field was opened. The first four numbers were pub- lished by Dr. D. P. Robbins, and printed at the Times office, Union City, Pa. Northrop & Thomas then purchased the business and moved their material to Clarendon from Bordell and Duke Centre. About three weeks afterward D. D. Reed purchased a half interest, and the paper was conducted by Northrop 19 284 History of Warren County. & Reed about one year. Mr. Reed then became connected with the Warren Sunday Mirror, and C. G. Thomas assumed the proprietorship of the Record. In the fall of 1884 the office was purchased by B. F. Morris, of the Warren Ledger, and for a period of about one year it was leased to Sanborn & Knight, who changed the name to the Clarendon Herald. In the fall of 1885 the entire outfit was moved to Warren and combined with the Ledger office. The paper was then reduced in size, and was sold, with the Ledger, to the Reed Bros. The Evening Paragraph was founded at Warren, September 22, 1884, by E. L. Hempstead, F. W. Truesdell, and J. H. Kelly. On September 3, 1885, the Weekly Paragraph made its appearance. On the 28th of October follow- ing Messrs. Hempstead and Truesdell retired, when J. H. Kelley and T. F. Tuohy became the publishers and proprietors, and still continue as such. The Sugar Grove News was established at Sugar Grove in December, 1884, by J. Warren Fletcher, a veteran journalist, the first editor and pub- lisher of the Allegheny Mail, and appears to have gained a good foothold. A copy of The Bear Lake Record, the latest Warren county claimant for journalistic favors, lies before us. It is No. 7 of vol. I, and dated December 16, 1886, which indicates, barring mishaps, that the first number was issued No- vember 4, 1886, by J. H. and Frank Gardner, its publishers and proprietors. Of the early newspapers published in Warren nearly all were printed on what was known as the Ramage 1 press. As a general thing, also, the early printing establishments, having originally been purchased by the leading men of either political party, and the use of them given to those who would publish a paper, but very little money, and few promises to pay, were passed from the ostensible buyer to the seller. Even then the publishers had a hard time of it until, say thirty years ago. Nevertheless, that the papers herein enumerated have been largely instrumental in promoting the growth, prosperity, intelli- gence, and respectability of town and country, must be obvious to all; and, with one or two exceptions, their editors and publishers, those who have toiled and struggled and spent their time and substance in maintaining them, deserve to be held in grateful remembrance. 1 Adam Ramage, the inventor of the Ramage press, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He came to America in 1794, and soon after located in Philadelphia. He died in 1850. Petroleum. 285 CHAPTER XXVIII. PETROLEUM. The " Fontaine de Bitume " — The Earliest French Missionaries Aware of its Existence — Also the English — Early References to the Same — Washington and Jefferson Speak of " Bitu- minous Oil" in Virginia — Evidences that the French Gathered the Oil at Titusville — It is Known to Early Inhabitants as " Seneca Oil " — An Account of the First Producer and Refiner of Petroleum in Pennsylvania — He Terms it "Carbon Oil" — Colonel Drake's Discovery — Descrip- tions by Correspondents — Great Excitement at Titusville — Warren Men as Pioneer Operators — Subsequent Developments of Oil Producing Territory — Handsome Profits — Tidioute Field Opened — Squatters — Early Manner of Shipments — Annual Production of Pennsylvania and New York Fields Since 1859. BUT little more than a quarter of a century has passed since petroleum was first discovered in large quantities by boring deep into the earth, yet from the earliest occupation of this country by the French it was known to exist. As early as July 18, 1627, a French missionary, Joseph de la Roque Daillon, of the order of Recollets, described it in a letter published in 1632, in Segard's " L'Histoire du Canada," and this description is confirmed by the journal of Charlevoix, 1721. Fathers Dollier and Galinee, missionaries of the order of St. Sulpice, made an early map of this section of the country, which they sent to Jean Talon, intendent of Canada, November 10, 1670, on which was marked at about the point where is now the town of Cuba, New York, " Fontaine de Bitume." On the 3d of November, 1700, the Earl of Belmont, governor of New York, instructed his chief engineer and surveyor, Wolfgang W. Romer, during his visit to the country of the Six Nations, " to go and view a well, or spring, which is eight miles beyond the Seneks' farthest castle, which they have told me blazes up in a flame, when a lighted coale or firebrand is put into it ; you will do well to taste the said water, and give me your opinion thereof, and bring with you some of it." Thomas Chabert de Joncaire, who died in Sep- tember, 1740, is also mentioned in the journal of Charlevoix of 1721 as author- ity for the existence of oil at the place mentioned above, and at points further south, probably on Oil Creek. The following account of an event occurring during the occupancy of this part of the State by the French is given as an example of the religious uses made of the oil by the Indians, as these fire dances are understood to have been annually celebrated : "While descending the Allegheny, fifteen leagues below the mouth of the Connewango, and three above Fort Venango, we were invited by the chief of the Senecas to attend a religious ceremony of his tribe. We landed and drew up our canoes on a point where a small stream entered the river. The tribe appeared unusually solemn. We marched up the stream about half a league, where the company, a large band it appeared, had arrived 286 History of Warren County. some days before us. Gigantic hills begirt us on every side. The scene was really sublime. The great chief then recited the conquests and heroisms of their ancestors. The surface of the stream was covered with a thick scum, which burst into a complete conflagration. The oil had been gathered and lighted with a torch. At sight of the flames, the Indians gave forth a triumph- ant shout, and made the hills and valleys re-echo again." In nearly all geographies and notes of travel published during the early period of settlement, this oil is referred to, and on several old maps, French as well as English, the word " petroleum " appears opposite the mouth of Oil Creek. It was also known many years ago that a similar product existed in West Virginia, since General Washington, in his will, in speaking of his lands on the Great Kanawha, says: "The tract, of which the 125 acres is a moiety, was taken up by General Andrew Lewis and myself, for and on account of a bituminous spring which it contains, of so inflammable a nature as to burn as freely as spirits, and is nearly as difficult to extinguish." Thomas Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia," also describes a burning spring on the lower grounds of the Great Kanawha. Thus, this oil not only seems to have been known, but to have been systematically gathered in very early times. Upon the bottom lands a mile or so below Titusville were many acres of cradle-holes dug out and lined with split logs, evidently constructed for the purpose of gathering it. The fact that the earliest English-speaking inhabitants could never discover any stumps from which these logs were cut, and the further fact that trees of great size were found growing in the midst of these cradles, are evidences that they must have been operated long ago, but by whom, is a question as yet unsolved. Some have suggested that it was the work of the mound-builders ; but the writer indulges in no such belief. It is more reasonable to suppose that the French, who knew of its location, utilized this greasy product to a considerable extent for medicinal and other purposes, and arranged these holes, or pits, as a means of gathering it. They were in possession of this region for more than a hundred years before it was personally known to the English-speaking whites, and during that great period there was ample time for the stumps of trees taken to line these pits to crumble to dust, as well as for small trees to attain great proportions. General Irvine, during his exploring expedition through this country in the summer of 1785, visited Oil Creek, and in his report says: "Oil Creek has taken its name from an oil, or bituminous matter, found floating on the surface. Many cures are attributed to this oil by the natives, and lately by some whites, particularly Rheumatic pains and old Ulcers." For many years the usual means of gathering this product of nature, which finally became known as " Seneca Oil," was by throwing a woolen cloth, or blanket, upon the water, collected in a trough, or pit, and upon which the oil floated, and then wringing the cloth over a tub. The clean wool absorbed the Petroleum. 287 oil and rejected the water, and in this way a considerable quantity was ob- tained. The oil was then bottled in small vials and sold by tramping ped- dlers in many parts of the country, as a sure cure for rheumatism, sore throat, ulcers, and various aches and pains. Coming down to recent years, within the memory of men yet young and active, the name of Colonel E. L. Drake looms up prominently as the pioneer in the oil business in Western Pennsylvania ; yet there was another producer and operator in petroleum, who ante-dated Drake by nearly twenty years, and deserves mention. In 1840 Samuel M. Kier, and his father, Thomas Kier, of Pittsburgh, owned a salt well on the Allegheny River, about one mile above Tarrentum. The well had been worked some months, when oil made its appearance, and mixed in considerable quantities with the salt water. About the same time Lewis Peterson, jr., discovered oil in a well on his farm adjoining the Messrs. Kiers'. The accumulation on Mr. Peterson's premises was so considerable that it became troublesome, and had to be removed by means of surface drains. But Mr. S. M. Kier, with that practical sagacity with which he was distin- guished, could not believe that this (then mysterious) production of nature had been made in vain. He was convinced that there must be a want somewhere which it was intended to supply. As an experiment, the oil was bottled and introduced as a medicine. Chemistry has frequently shown ^that petroleum possesses several valuable medical properties, but in Mr. Kier's early essays the science of advertising was not understood, or at least but little resorted to, and his " patent medicine " speculation failed. Still, fully impressed with the conviction that the oil had its important uses, Mr. Kier submitted samples to Professor J. C. Booth, of Philadelphia, who, after a careful analysis of it, recommended him to offer it to a New York gutta- percha company, who were seeking a proper solvent for this gum. The gutta-percha company's experiments with it were not satisfactory. Mature reflection convinced Professor Booth that, by distillation, an excellent burning oil could be obtained from the crude. He furnished Mr. Kier with drawings for a suitable still. Mr. Kier returned to Pittsburgh, constructed a still, and put it in active operation. The product he named " Carbon Oil," by which designation it was for a a long time generally known. Mr. Kier soon had invented a suitable lamp for its use. He subsequently became largely interested in the manufacture and sale of these oil lamps, and, locally speaking the oil came into general use. The consumption, however, began to exceed the supply of crude, and the want of the raw material seriously interfered with the sales of carbon, or " refined," which had grown to be com- paratively a profitable and important business. Strenuous efforts were made to increase the supply of raw material with indifferent success. Agents were sent out exploring in various directions, and among the localities which con- History of Warren County. tributed an additional supply was the " Land Diggings," on Hughes's River, West Virginia. Five years had now elapsed since Mr. Kier started his sixty gallon still " refinery," when oil was discovered on the Allegheny near his premises. A well which had been dug for and pumped as a salt well for twenty years, had been placed under the severe drain of a new and more powerful pump. The head of salt water became exhausted, and lo ! petroleum appeared and pumped freely. Thus, in the year 1845, was established the first " pumping well " known to the oil world, but years were yet to elapse before human knowledge should attain to a full comprehension of this singular discovery, destined to effect the greatest trade revolution known to modern commerce. The fortun- ate owners of this well, while on their way to Pittsburgh with a stock of their crude oil, sold it to certain druggists, who established a small refinery. But now the stock of petroleum was in excess of the market. After considerable negotiation a Mr. Ferris of New York city contracted for the greater portion of the well's production. About this time the coal oil excitement commenced. Mineral oil as an illuminant came into general use. Cheapness, brilliancy, and safety combined to recommend it. Parties who had purchased a quantity of land just below Titusville, observed oil floating on the surface of its streams. A number of wells were dug in pursuit of oil in quantities, in vain. The owners learned through Mr. Ferris, above mentioned, that oil might probably be obtained by boring. A well was started, and at a moderate depth the drill struck oil. This was no other than the famous " DRAKE WELL," the first one bored for oil ex- clusively. From the facts above given it is clear and indisputable that Mr. Kier was the pioneer and founder of the oil business in Pennsylvania, and that to his sagacity, ingenuity, perseverance, and skill, the whole world is largely in- debted for the knowledge and introduction of one of the most important dis- coveries, conveniences and social blessings of modern times. 1 In 1855 Prof. B. Silliman, jr., tested the rock or petroleum oil obtained in Venango county and found it equal in illuminating power to most fluids and gases in use, and superior to many of them. We now turn to the doings of E. L. Drake, and note what the newspapers had to say in relation to the first developments, etc. Some years after Drake's discovery, at a time when he was sick and penniless, and a handsome purse had been raised for him in Titusville, a newspaper writer spoke of him as fol- lows : "Colonel E. L. Drake was the pioneer in the oil business in this region. At one. time he had a considerable fortune, but during the latter years of his life he was poor and out of health. His derrick, the first one ever erected for 1 What is here said ofj Mr. Kier has been condensed from an article published in the Pittsburgh Oil News, in March, 1865. Petroleum. 289 oil, stood for many years about a mile below Titusville. He made his first appearance in Titusville in 1857. Prior to that time he had been a conductor on a railroad in Connecticut. He came to Oil Creek on business for another person. Calling casually at the office of Brewer & Watson, in Titusville, he there found a bottle of crude oil, and his curiosity being excited concerning it> he learned from Dr. Brewer all facts of interest connected with its production, viz., that it flowed from natural springs on the Watson flats ; and had been known to the Seneca Indians before the white settlements began, and had been sold by them as a liniment or medicine, to white persons, and also to the drug- gists ; and latterly had been gathered by Brewer & Watson and used for light- ing the saw-mills of the firm and for lubricating purposes. Drake visited the oil springs, and conceived the idea of, boring to the sources of the oil. He returned east, obtained the co-operation of some moneyed friends, and the fol- lowing year came back as the agent of an oil firm located at New Haven, Conn." On the 8th of September, 1859, a newspaper correspondent, writing from Titusville, said: "Perhaps you will recollect that in 1854 there was organized in the city of New York a company, under the name of the Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company, which, for some good reasons, passed into the hands of New Haven capitalists, and the office and headquarters was by them removed to New Haven. In 1858 the directors leased the grounds and springs to Mr. E. L. Drake, well-known on the New Haven Railroad. He came out here, and in May last commenced to bore for salt, or to find the source of the oil, which is so common along Oil Creek. Last week, at the depth of seventy-one feet, he struck a fissure in the rock through which he was boring, when, to the surprise and joy of every one, he found he had tapped a vein of water and oil, yielding four hundred gallons of pure oil every twenty-four hours. " The pump now in use throws only five gallons per minute of water and oil into a large vat, where the oil rises to the top and the water runs out from the bottom. In a few days they will have a pump of three times the capacity of the one now in use and then from ten to twelve hundred gallons of oil will be the daily yield. " The springs along the stream, I understand, have been mostly taken up or secured by Brewer & Watson, the parties who formerly owned the one now in operation. The excitement attendant upon the discovery of this vast source of oil was fully equal to what I ever saw in California, when a large lump of gold was accidentally turned out." Another newspaper man, Editor Chase, of the Potter Journal, in October, 1859, informed his readers of what he knew about petroleum and the excite- ment at Titusville, then a town of about three hundred inhabitants, in the fol- lowing lucid manner : " After a brief rest we visited the famous Seneca Oil Spring which has recently created so great an excitement and wonder in the 290 History of Warren County. outside world. ' The sensation of seeing and smelling the oil was nothing new to us — we were born and bred there. The oil has been gathered from surface springs and used in that section of country ever since its settlement; the In- dians and the French having opened and worked a large number of springs near the present site of Titusville, many years before any English settlers found their way there. The oil never had an outside market until now, though the ' Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company ' have, we believe, marketed a quantity of the surface spring product in New Haven, where the office of the company now is. In 1858, as stated in the Journal two weeks since, the company leased the spring (for which they paid Brewer, Williams & Co. $5,000) to E. L. Drake, who was to gather the oil at his own expense and pay them 1 2-5- cents a gallon for it. His lease was for fifteen years, with full privilege of working at his option. " In May last Mr. Drake commenced boring for salt, and after sinking a shaft seventy-one feet, the first of last month struck a fissure in the rock through which he was boring, and the discovery of this subterranean spring of oil was the result. The yield of oil with the pump first used was 400 gallons per day, but when we were there a pump of three times the capacity of that was in operation, and a yield of 1,600 gallons per twenty-four hours, of pure oil, had been obtained. " Other parties along the stream have also bored for oil, and have found it at various depths ; the least of which was six feet, on the farm of Mr. John Watson, in Titusville Borough, three-fourths of a mile from the village. After one foot of soil had been removed, a stratum of three and one-half feet of Pot- ter's clay was bored through — that also being a new discovery. Another spring was tapped about twenty-eight feet from the surface, on the farm of J. Parker, about one-fourth of a mile from the, village center, and opening through one of the old springs worked by the French and Indians, of which there are a large number at that particular point. " As a result consequent upon this discovery real estate and leases, with privilege of boring till oil was found, were each held at great prices. We heard of an instance in which $20,000 was offered and refused for a half interest in a lease of fifteen years on one hundred acres ! and we know of several fourth interests in leases at a distance of two or three miles from the working spring being sold for $2,500 and $3,000. The tract of land on which the large spring has been opened by Mr. Drake was once purchased by the father of the writer of this article for a cow, and previous to that had been sold at treasurer's sale for taxes. Now, we believe, $100,000 would not buy one acre of it. Men until now barely able to get a poor living off poor land are made rich beyond their wildest dreaming. "The properties of this oil (a bottle of which we brought with us and may be seen at this office) are medicinal, for internal as well as external applica- Petroleum. 291 tion ; illuminant, giving a strong light, and is one of the best oils for lubricat- ing machinery ever used, as it never gums." On the 8th of October, 1859, Editor Cowan, of the Warren Mail, in speaking of the recent discovery of petroleum in larger quantities said : " Quite a little excitement exists in town in regard to the late discovery of consider- able quantities of Seneca Oil, on Oil Creek, near Titusville, near the southern boundary of our county. Two or three companies have been formed in which some of our citizens are interested, with a view of boring for the oil. Mr. Boon Mead, we hear, is one of a company who have made some progress in sinking a shaft. Messrs. A. Tanner, L. F. Watson and D. M. Williams, are also engaged in boring for a mine of oily wealth, Mr. Williams having left on Wednesday last with experienced workmen to prosecute the work. The cal- culation is that oil can be reached at about fifty feet below the surface." Thus began the excitement, and the prosecution of this then wonderful industry by Warren county men. Their field of operations gradually widened and extended, until, only a few years later, the greasy fluid was seen exuding from great depths at their very doors. Such names as Tidioute, Enterprise, Fagundus, Clarendon, Kinzua, Glade, Cherry Grove, Sheffield, Grand Valley, etc., etc., which, without the development of their oil products would scarcely have merited a scant notice in a local newspaper, sprang into prominence as oil producing centers, and have been repeated in thousands of households through- out the land. As will be noticed, the ideas and appliances of the early borers for oil were almost as crude as the product they so industriously sought. At first all expected to obtain oil by boring but a few feet, and, in consequence, looked closely for surface indications before beginning at all. Three hundred feet was looked upon as the extreme limit of depth. Several flowing wells were devel- oped on Oil Creek, and near Titusville early in the summer of i860, at com- paratively shallow depths, and among the lucky Warren men were L. F. Watson, D. M. Williams, Archibald Tanner, Boon Mead, H. R. Rouse & Co., and Dennis & Grandin. The well owned by Barnsdall, Mead, Rouse & Co., was then considered a wonderful affair, and from a description of it as published in the Titusville Gazette in July, i860, we extract the following: " Depth of well 116 feet. Pipe driven to the rock, 47 feet. The whole cost of the well, pump, engine, vats, buildings, boarding-house, and other incidentals, $3,000. Five dollars will cover the daily expenses of keeping the works in operation. Average yield per day is six hundred gallons, worth thirty cents per gallon. Commenced pumping on the 1st of February, and has sold up to June 1st, 56,000 gallons, which, if our arithmetic serves us right, figures up the small sum of $16,800; deducting therefrom all expenses and there remains the comfortable income of $13,200, in four months." The "Williams well," owned by Williams, Watson & Tanner, as before 292 History of Warren County. mentioned, was also looked upon as a wonder in its day, yet its daily prod- uct, at a depth of one hundred and forty-three feet, was only twelve barrels. Subsequently it was drilled two feet deeper, when it flowed at the rate of four hundred and eighty barrels per day. Early in i860 the Tidioute field was opened, and in July of that year more than sixty wells were being bored at the same time. A majority of these wells when completed were shallow in depth, and small producers, their productive- ness being rated by gallons, but with oil worth thirty cents per gallon, their owners were eminently well pleased with results. Immediately this rugged, lonely spot was invaded by crowds from all sections of the country, and for a time it seemed to be the chief objective point of the multitude seeking wealth without work. On the river and adjoining hills hundreds of wells were sunk with more or less success, with fewer dry holes and better permanence in pro- duction than were incident to many other developed localities. But as is true of all other fields, the production gradually diminished; and the bright antici- pations of many were blasted. In the excitement Tidioute grew from a hamlet to a large and prosperous borough. Hotels, banks, newspaper offices, saloons, churches, and various mercantile houses appeared upon its streets with magical rapidity, money floated in every breeze like leaves in autumn. But with the diminished supply and low price of oil following the panic of 1873, came a terrible revulsion in its prosperity. The suddenly rich became as suddenly poor, and the inflated prices of property depreciated to the lowest standard of value. In describing scenes and doings at Tidioute in the fall of i860, a local cor- respondent said : " The latest excitement is that caused by the squatters. For a week or more we have had repeated rumors of a collision ; but so far the fights have ended in gas. Since Tidioute Island developed so richly numer- ous parties have tried to get claims on the bar, and in the bed of the river around it. Several weeks ago a company commenced on the bar directly above and near the Island. They were complained of and bound over to court, so the question as to whether they have a right there is to be legally decided soon. Meanwhile, from twenty to thirty have squatted where there is no bar. The water being shallow, they anchor a raft of logs or a float on a spot, put up their derricks and commence driving pipe. The islanders and shore lessees show fight, claiming that they have no right there. Now and then a raft is cut loose, and the " claim ' floats off, consequently most of them have to be watched night and day. The flood this week swept them nearly all away, so they are getting along swimmingly. How this kind of Squatter Sovereignty will end of course no one knows and but few care, except the parties interested." During the same year oil was found at Kinzua; lands for oil purposes were leased all along the river from Tidioute to Warren, and two wells were Petroleum. 293 projected at the last mentioned point — one upon the "Island," and the other on the bank of the Conewango just above the bridge. In 1 861 it cost $7.45 to ship a barrel of oil from the oil regions to New- York city. In seeking ways of cheaper transit a company was incorporated the same year to pipe crude oil from Titusville, Oil City, etc., to some point on the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad. Of this company several prominent War- ren men were members. The usual mode of shipment at that time was by water to Pittsburgh, thence by rail to eastern points. Fifteen steamers and tow- boats were employed in the oil trade on the Allegheny in 1861. Water tight boxes were also utilized to a considerable extent. These were about sixteen feet square and twenty inches deep. When nearly filled with oil, five or six of them were fastened together and run down the creek to the river, where some twenty of them lashed together would compose a fleet ready to be towed or floated to Pittsburgh. Barrels were mainly relied upon, however, as receptacles for the shipment of oil, and a thriving industry sprang up in their manufacture at Warren and at other points along the river. These, too, were floated to the oil-producing centers as rafts. Subsequently teams were kept busy from the first dawn of day until far in the night hauling the crude oil in barrels to points on the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad. As soon as practicable, lines of rail- way were constructed from nearly all the trunk lines to the oil fields. Finally barrels gave place to immense iron tanks riveted upon cars, provided for the escape of the gases, and later great pipe lines were extended from the wells to the seaboard and to the great lakes, through which the fluid is forced by steam power to its distant destinations. In 1866 Roberts's torpedoes first began to be used to increase the produc- tion of small or declining wells, and in most instances with gratifying results. In that year W. B. and E. A. L. Roberts commenced the manufacture of nitro- glycerine near Titusville, having secured patents in relation to its preparation for blasting purposes. To that time little was made in this country except samples prepared in drug stores. At present from five hundred to six hundred tons are annually consumed in oil wells alone, and though the patents of Messrs. Roberts have recently expired, the firm still manufacture a large proportion of this well-known and dangerous compound. Oil has been found in paying quantities in Warren, McKean, Forest, Ve- nango, Crawford, Clarion, Butler, Armstrong, and Washington counties, Penn- sylvania. In Cattaraugus and Allegheny counties, New York. Also in West Virginia, Ohio, California, Canada, South America, Russia, and Northern Africa. But that produced in Pennsylvania is vastly superior in quality to any yet discovered, and commands the highest price in market, whether in a re- fined or crude state. Its principal uses are for illumination and lubricating, though many of its products are employed in the mechanic arts, notably for dyeing, mixing of paints, and in the practice of medicine. Its production has 294 History of Warren County. grown to enormous proportions, and as yet seems to show but little sign of diminution. The following table, compiled from the Derrick's Hand-book, exhibits the annual production of the Pennsylvania oil fields since the opening of Drake's well in 1859 : Year. Barrels. 1859 82,000 1 860 500,000 1 861 2,113,000 1 862 3,056,606 1863 2,611,399 1864 2,116,182 1865 3-497.712 1866 3.597.512 1867 3,347,306 1868 3.7I5.74I 1869 4,186,475 1870 5,308,046 1 87 1 5,278,076 1872 6,505,774 Year. Barrels. 1873 9.849.508 1874 11,102,114 1875 8,948,749 1876 9,142,940 1877 13,052,713 1878 15,011,425 1879 20,085,716 1880 24,788,950 1 881 29,674,458 1882 1 31,789,190 1883 24,385,966 1 884 23, 500,000 1885 20,900,000 r886. . . .'. Not reported CHAPTER XXIX. CIVIL LIST. Members of the United States House of Representatives — Judge United States Court of Claims — United States Consul — Lieutenant-Governor — Auditor-General — Member of State Constitutional Convention — State Senators — Members of Assembly — President Judges — Sheriffs — County Commissioners — Prothonotaries — County Treasurers — Registers and Re- corders — County Commissioners' Clerks — -lury Commissioners — Coroners — Justices of the Peace. THE following list embraces the names of persons who have held prominent civil offices in the National, State, or County government, while residents of Warren county : National Government. Members of the House of Representatives. — Carlton B. Curtis, Thirty-sec- ond Congress, re-elected to the Thirty-third, holding from March 4, 1851, to March 4, 1855. He was afterward elected to the Forty-third Congress while residing in Erie county. Chapin Hall, Thirty-sixth Congress, 1859, '61. 1 These reports include the New Yor,k or Allegany district, which, in 1882, produced 6,450,000 barrels. ■Siyi jy SBSaUs Sans NW "2B VK ' * v I, oviil Civil List. 295 Glenni W. Scofield, Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, Forty-first, For- ty-second, and Forty-third Congress, holding from March 4, 1863, to March 4, 1875. Represented the State at large during his last term. Lewis F. Watson, Forty-fifth and Forty-seventh Congress, or terms ex- tending from March 4, 1877, to March 4, 1879, and from March 4, 1881, to March 4. 1883. Judge United States Court of Claims, Washington, D. C, Glenni W. Sco- field, commissioned May 20, 1881. United States Consul, William H. Shortt, at Cardiff, Wales, during part of the second term of General Grant's administration. State Government. Lieutenant-Governor. — Charles W. Stone, elected for four years in 1878. Auditor General. — Harrison Allen, who served from 1872 to 1875. Members State Constitutional Convention. — Thomas Struthers, and Ras- selas Brown, 1872—73. State Senators. — Glenni W.' Scofield, 1857-59; Harrison Allen, 1870-72; Charles W. Stone, 1877-78; Orrin C. Allen, 1887-88. Members of Assembly } David Brown 1822 Josiah Hall 1836 Carlton B. Curtis 1837-38 Joseph Y. James 1843 Obed Edson 1844 Rasselas Brown .- 1845 Benjamin Bartholomew 1846 Henry P. Kinnear 1847 Glenni W. Scofield 1850-51 Joseph Y. James 1852 Carter V. Kinnear 1853 Lothrop T. Parmelee 1854 Daniel Lott 1855-56 Thomas Struthers 1857-58 Henry R. Rouse 1859-60 Ephraim Cowan 1861-62 William D. Brown 1863-04-65 Harrison Allen 1866-67 Junius R. Clark 1868-69 Charles W. Stone 1870-71 William H. Shortt 1872-73 George W. Allen 1874-75-76 W. M. Lindsey 1877-78 John B. White 1879-80 Willis B. Benedict 1881-82 Charles M. Shortt 1883-84 Henry Brace ■ 1885-86 Henry Brace 1887-88 County Officers. President Judges? Jesse Moore appointed 1819 Henry Shippen 1825 Nathaniel B. Eldred " 1835 Alexander McCalmont " 1839 Nathaniel B. Eldred " 1840 Gaylord Church 184.'.! John Galbraith elected 1851 Rasselas Brown appointed 1860 Samuel P. Johnson elected 1860 Lansing'D. Wetmore " 1870 William D. Brown " 1880 David Derrickson, assistant judge 1856 John P. Vincent, assistant judge 1866 James Thompson, district judge 1840 Glenni W. Scofield appointed to fill vacancy in — district, 1S61. See biographical sketch. 1 Until the adoption of the new constitution in 1873, tne te,In of office was one year. Members were elected the year previous to date shown. 2 Of the above mentioned president judges Nathaniel B. Eldred, Rasselas Brown, Samuel P. John- son, Glenni \Y. Scofield, Lansing D. Wetmore, and William D. Brown were the only ones who re- sided in Warren county, and all are yet living in the town of Warren, Pa., with the exception of the first named, who died years ago. See biographical sketch. 296 History of Warren County. Associate Judges. Isaac Connelly appointed 1819 Joseph Hackney " 1819 Josiah Hall " 1832 Obed Edson " 1836 Gilman Merrill " 1841 William Siggins " 1842 Gilman Merrill. " 1846 John Hamilton " 1847 James A. Alexander "' 1851 Lansing Wetmore elected 1851 John Judson " 1851 Griffin Brown " 1856 James L. Lott " 1856 Lewis Arnett elected 1861 G. V.N. Yates " 1861 James Dennison " 1866 Sidney A. Wetmore " 1866- Isaac H. Hiller " 1871 Carter V. Kinnear " 1871 W.W.Connelly " 1876 W.'B. Acocks " 1876 P. W. Brown " 1881 G. H. Bates (resigned 1884) " 1881 Rufus P. King appointed 1884 Charles C. Merritt elected 1885 J. T. Barker " 1886 Sheriffs. Mark C. Dalrymple commissioned Stephen Littlefield elected Daniel Horn " John King " John McKinney, jr " Thomas Martin " Joseph C. Gordon " Abijah Morrison " Henry P. Kinnear Abijah Morrison " Charles Anderson " James Foreman " George V. N. Yates " 1820 1822 1825 1828 1831 1834 1837 1840 1843 1846 1849 1852 1855 John B. Brown elected 1858 Henry P. Kinnear " 1861 Robert Allen (died) " 1864 John B. Brown (vacancy) '' 1867 John R. Capron,. " 1867 S. V. Davis " 1870 S. H.Davis " 1873 Henry Brace " 1876 Theodore Chase (died 1882). .. . " 1879 0. W. Randall appointed 1882 E. A. Allen elected 1882 Robert Love " 1885 County Commissioners} .... elected a u 1819 1819 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 Joseph Monroe James McGill a u u it 1839 Henry Kinnear Asa Winter 1840 1841 a a u 1842 1843 1844 Erastus Barnes it tt tt tt a 1845- u 1846 Stephen Littlefield a 1847 1848 1849 a u E. G. Benedict Robert Allen (< it it u 185a 1851 1852 1853. (( 1854 a Marshall Jones .1 1855 Erastus Barnes (i 1856 Arthur McGill Robert Campbell a 1857 u a 1858. 1859 Arthur McGill Erastus Barnes tt 1860 tt 1861 1 In a previous chapter, we believe No. 14, it is intimated that probably all of the principal officers of the county at its organization, were appointed ; but since that paragraph was written and printed we have become firm in the belief that the first county commissioners, at least, were elected by the- people. Still, as there stated, no election returns or other evidence have been found to determine the matter. Civil List. 297 Alden Marsh elected 1862 Melancthon Miles appointed 1863 Melancthon Miles elected 1863 William G. Garcelon " 1864 Alden Marsh " 1865 Melancthon Miles " 1866 William G. Garcelon " 1867 Robert H. Morrison " 1868 Henry Babcock " 1869 Nelson Mead " 1870 Robert H. Morrison " 1871 William G. Garcelon " ] 872 E. R. Wheelock " 1873 Myron Dunham elected 1874 James B. Jennings " 1875 Myron Dunham " 1875 E. R. Wheelock " 1877 William H. Maultby " 1878 James Roy " 1878 Benjamin Ellis " 1878 A. 0. Blodgett " 1881 Darius Mead " 1881 Michael Crocker " 1884 Theodore L. Putnam " 1884 Joseph Clinton " 1884 Prothonotaries. Lansing Wetmore commissioned 1819 John Brown " 1821 Henry Dunn " 1823 Lansing Wetmore " 1824 Lansing Wetmore " 1827 Robert Miles " 1830 Walter W. Hodges * " 1833 William P. McDowell .... " 1836 Walter W. Hodges " 1839 Walter W. Hodges " 1842 Thomas Clemons " 1845 Silas L. Axtell " 1848 Rufus P. King " 1851 Rufus P. King, (resigned) commissioned 1584 Thomas Clemons " 1855 Isaac H. Hiller " 1858 Isaac H. Hiller " 1861 Isaac H. Hiller " 1864 William Jagger " 1867 Starling W. Waters " 1870 Starling W. Waters " 1873 Starling W. Waters " 1876 Joseph A. Weible " 1879 Joseph A. Weible " 1882 Delford U. Arird " 1885- County Treasurers. Archibald Tanner appointed 1819 Mathew Young " 1821 Johnson Wilson " 1824 John King " 1827 William Pier " 1829 Walter W Hodges " 1831 Scott W. Sayles " 1833 John Andrews " 1835 Henry Sargent '' 1837 Thomas Clemons " 1839 Galbraith A. Irvine elected 1841 Rufus P. King appointed 1843 Rufus P. King elected 1844 Rufus Olney . Henry L. Church Charles W. Rathbun . Robert K. Russell... 1846 1848 1850 1851 1853 Lucius Rogers elected 1855- Ephraim Cowan " 1857 John Sill " 1859 George H. Ames " 1861 Willis B. Benedict " 1863 Asahel G. Lane ' " 1865 Chase Osgood, (G. H. Ames served) " 1867 John Thomas " 1869 David I. Ball " 1871 George O. Cornelius " 1873 Robert E. Miller " 1875 Timothy E. Barnes " 1877 Frank M. Knapp " 1880- Charles H. McAuley (W. J. Alexander, served in 1886) elected 1883 George P. Yates elected November 1886' Registers and Recorders) John F. McPherson elected 1848 John F. McPherson. John F. McPherson . Robert K. Russell. . Robert K. Russell . . James G. Marsh James G. Marsh 1851 1854 1857 1860 1863 1866 James G. Marsh elected 1869' James G. Marsh " 1872 W. J. Alexander " 1875- A. W. Jackson " 1878- G. W. Kinnear " 1881 W. J. Alexander " 1884 1 During the years prior to 1848 the prothonotar,y served as register and recorder. 298 History of Warren County. County Commissioners' Clerks. John Andrews appointed 1819 Joseph W. Brown " 1834 Andrew H. Ludlow " 1837 Robert K. Russell " 1863 Samuel Lord appointed 1879 M.J.Alexander " 1882 Frank A. Cogswell " 1885 Jury Commissioners. John T. Courson elected 1873 Summerfield Warner '' 1872 G. W. Kinnear " 1876 N.P.Morrison " 1876 A. M. Gillam '■ 1879 John T. Courson elected 1879 A.M. Parker " 1882 Jacob C. Fuller " 1882 George A. Walkley. . . . : " 1884 E.H.French " 1884 Coroners. Edward Jones, commissioned Feb. 16, 1820 Asa Scott, " Nov. 5, 1822 Eben G. Owen, " " 14, 1825 Mathew McKinney, " " 12, 1828 Daniel P. Stanton, " 27, 1834 Thomas Turner, " " 16, 1837 Judah Spencer, " " 5, 1840 David M. Williams, " Feb. 13, 1846 Charles W. Rathbun, " Nov. 29, 1848 John Ditmars, " " 2, 1852 Jason A. Morrison, " " 20, 1858 Charles W. Rathbun, comiss'ned Jan. 20, 1862 John A. Jackson, " George W. Brown, " W. W. Connelly, Theodore Chase, " Sterling Green, '• Henry K. Siggins, " Julius L. Burroughs, " Julius L. Burroughs, " F. W. Whitcomb, " a 11, 1865 Nov. 13, 1867 it 26, 1870 Jan. 5, 1874 u 25, 1875 Dec. 29, 1879 If 11, 1882 IL 29, 1885 1886 Township Officers. Justices of the Peace) Andrews, John, commissioned Alden, Richard, " Akin, Eleazer, Alexander, James A., '' Andruss, Jason, '' Alexander, James A.. " Andruss, Jason, Alden, Richard, " Acocks, William B., " Andruss, Jason, Arnett, Lewis, Acocks, William B., " Andruss. Jason, Allen, Orrin C, Ayer, H. S., Ayer, H. a, Anderton, James, Allison, W. T., Berry, John J., Bowers, Daniel D., " Bates, Francis, Benedict, Elbridge G., " Brown, John 13 , " Blakesley, William A.. ' Berry, John J., Bates, Francis, Bowers, Daniel D., Brown, William D., " March 29 1S21 May 18 1831 Nov. 18 1836 Auir. 13 1838 April 14 1840 March 8 1845 March 7 1846 March 9 1850 March 9 1850 March 8 1851 March 5 1853 March 2 1 1860 Feb. 21 1871 March 14 1874 March 27 1879 April 16 1884 April 23 1S85 May 24 1886 April 14 1840 April 14 1840 March 11 1843 March 8 1845 March S 1845 it arch 7 184G March 7 1846 Mai eh G 1847 March 4 1848 March 10 1849 Brown, James, commissioned March 9 1850 Berry, John J., " March 8 1851 Buell, George W., March 6 1852 Bates, Francis, March 6 1852 Burgett, Peter, " March 10 1854 Bates, Francis, " March 10 1855 Brasington, Samuel C, " March 7 1857 Buell, Geo. W., March 5 1859 Burgett, Peter, " March 5 1859 Bates, Francis, " March 5 1864 Blodgett, W. O., March. 5 1864 Biddle, E. M., March 11 1867 Blakeslev, William A. " April 16 1868 Bates, Francis, " March 6 1869 Baxter, Henry, March 7 1872 Bush, George, " March 26 1873 Buell, Dwight W., March 17 1874 Bates, Francis, " March 28 1874 Barker, Jonathan, " March 13 1876 Buell, D. W., March 27 1879 Bates, Francis, " March 27 1879 Brennan, David W., " March 27 1879 Baxter, Henry, •' April 9 1881 Beeman, Ephraim, " Aug. 20 1S81 Barker, J. T., April 17 1882 Booth, 11. S.. " May 10 1882 Bowers, A. C. " Sept. 15 1882 Bowers, A. C, April 6 1883 1 Until the revision of the State constitution in 1837, justices of the peace were commissioned for an indefinite period, or " during good behavior." Civil List. 299 Booth, M. S., commissioned April 6, 1883 Dalrymple, D. R., commissioned April 9, 1881 Blaokman, D. G., ft April 14, 1886 Dutton, W. A., " April 16, 1884 Camp; John, a March 29, 1821 Dewey, D. S., tt April 23, 1885 Chase, Eleazer W., a March 8, 1845 Dalrymple, D. R., it April 14, 1886 •Combs, William H., tt March 4, 1848 Dibble, M. T., tt April 14, 1886 Chase, Eleazer W., a March 9, 1850 Edson, Obed, tt March 8, 1845 Campbell, Stillman, it March 8, 1851 Eaton, Artemus, a March 8, 1851 Campbell, Robert, a March 8, 1851 Elderkin, Dyer W., it March 10, 1854 Campbell, Stillman, u March 7, 1857 English, Rice H., t( March 30, 1861 Cady, Alfred, a March 5, 1859 English, Rice H., it March 16, 1866 Oobham, George A., tt March 30, 1861 English, Rice H., tt March 2, 1871 Cady, George, a March 8, 1862 English, Rice BL, it March 13, 1876 Chattle, William P., " March 5, 1864 English, Rice H., it April 9, 1881 Case, P. R., tc April 6, 1865 English, Rice H., a April 14, 1886 Clark, Wm. A., it Marcn 16, 1866 Pisher, Sewell, it February 13, 1835 Cady, George, tt March 11, 1867 Fish, Mason, it April 26, 1836 Cornelius, George 0., c March 6, 1869 Parnsworth, Josiah, " March 4, 1848 Case, P. R., if April 9, 1870 Fish, Mason, it April 14, 1840 Coats, B. L., u March 16, 1875 Fisher, Sewell, u April 14, 1840 Case, Prank R„ it March 16, 1875 Pry, Ambrose, it March 9, 1850 Cushing, M. G., a March 27, 1879 Fisk, James B., a March 10, 1856 Case, P. R., tt March 30, 1880 Farnsworth, Josiah, if June 7, 1857 Cornelius, George 0., u April 9, 1881 Pol well, Jonn W., ii March 17, 1877 Cummings, G. D., ft April 9, 1881 Gilman, Hiram, ti December 10, 1823 Coats, B. L., a April 9, 1881 Goodrich, St. John, u March 6, 1847 Covill, Charles, it April 17, 1882 Gilman, Hiram, u April 14, 1840 Clendening, Joseph, ft April 17, 1882 Guignon, L. E., u March 10, 1855 Cooney, John, it April 17, 1882 Gould, T. L., IC March 16, 1868 Clark, A. A., u April 6, 1883 Galligan, L. D., 11 March 14, 1874 Conarrow, Jacob, a May 16, 1884 Gillam, A. M., 11 March 16, 1875 Cornelius, George 0., a April 14, 1886 Gillam, A. M., 11 April 17, 1882 Coats, E. L., a April 14, 1886 Gunning, O. J., 11 April 16, 1884 Case, Prank R., a April 14, 1886 Hamlin, John, 11 November 18, 1836 Dutton, Solomon, it Nov. 14, 1832 Hackney, John, 11 October 24, 1837 Dutton, Solomon, a April 14, 1840 Holcomb, Sterling, jr. (1 March 4, 1848 Dunham, Richard, a March 11, 1843 Hackney, John, 11 April 14, 1840 Dutton, Solomon, a March 8, 1845 Horn, Daniel, " April 14, 1840 Davis, Perdinand, a March 6, 1847 Hull, Samuel, (1 March 16, 1852 Dunham, Richard, a March 4, 1848 Horn, Hiram, It March 7. 1857 Ditmars, John, n May 14, 1851 Hiller, Isaac H, 11 March 7,' 1857 Dalrymple, Joseph, a March 6, 1852 Hunter, John, 11 March 7, 1857 Dunham, Richard, n March 5, 1853 Houser, John P., 11 May 28, 1858 Donaldson, Daniel H a March 5, 1853 Hinton, William, It March 5, 1859 Dutton, Solomon, tt March 10, 1854 Hull, Samuel, If March 8, 18G2 Dalrymple, David R., it March 10, 1855 Hill, B., 11 March 11, 1867 Ditmars, John, a March 10, 1856 Hill, James B., It March 16, 1867 Donaldson, Daniel H it Mav 18, 1858 Hamilton, James C„ 11 March 11, 1867 Dunham, Richard, tt March 5, 1859 Houser, J. P., fl March 11, 1867 Dodge, John R., a March 21, 1860 Hill, James E., It March 7, 1872 Dinsmoor, Charles, u March 30, 1861 Hamilton, James C, If March 7. 1872 Dinsmoor, David, a March 30, 1861 Hankins, N. R., 11 March 7J 1872 Dinsmoor, Charles, tt March 16, 1866 Hodges, D. Jackson, It March 14, 1S74 Dalrymple, David R., a March 16, 1866 Houghwot, J. H., ft March 14, 1874 Dinsmoor, David, tt March 11, 1867 Houser, John P., It March 13, 1876 Dewey, D. A., Dinsmoor, Charles, it April 9, 1870 Hamilton, James C, If March 17, 1877 a March 2, 1871 Hill, James E., 11 March 17, 1877 Dalrymple, D. R., tt March 2, 1871 Hodges, D. J., " March 27, 1879 Davis, W. J., a March 26, 1873 Houghwot, J. H., 11 March 27, 1879 Dinsmoor, David, a March 26, 1873 Hawks, William, fl April 9, 1881 Dalrymple, D. R., tt March 13, 1876 Hazeltine, D. S., If April 9, 1881 Dibble, M. T., a March 13, 1876 Houser, John P., (1 April 9, 1881 Dutton, W. A., a March 17, 1877 Houghwot, J. H., tf April 16, 1884 Dinsmoor, David, a March 25, 1878 Hodges, W. V., 11 April 23. 1885 Dibble, M. T., 20 tt April 9, 1881 Hammond, Orange, 11 April 23j 1885 300 History of Warren County. Houser, John P., com: Irvine, James, Inman, Jacob, Jackson, Daniel, Jones, Isaiah, Johnson, Spencer, Jagger, James, Johnson, William D., Jackson, William M., Jewell, William, James, D. W. 0., Jackson, G. A., Jewell, William, Jackson, G. A., Jones, A. W., Kinnear, Carter V., Knowles, Apollas, Kinnear, Carter V., Kinnear, Carter V., Kelly, Edmund, Kinnear, Carter V., Knapp, Windsor C, Kinnear, Carter V., Knapp, W. C, Knapp, W. C, Kidder, Clement W., Kidder, Clement W., King, John H., King, John H., Kresge, A., Lott, Hewlet, Lane, Asahel G., Lott, Hewlet, Long, Hugh, Lord, IT. W., Lobdell, George, Long, Hugh, Lott, Daniel, Ladow, 0. R., Lobdell, George, Long, William W., Lott, James L., Lord, U. W., Lobdell, George, Lott, Daniel, Lord, U. W., Lilley, H., Langdon, J. B., Lott, Charles B., Leonard, Levi, Livermore, W. S., Miles, Frederick, McGee, Samuel, Martin, James, Monroe, Joseph, Merrill, Gillman, Miller, Linus H., McGill, James, Magee, Henry, Marsh, Andrew, Marsh, Joseph,, Masten, Cornelius, jr. McGill, James, Magee, Alexander, oned April 14, 1886 March 21, 1817 April 6, 1865 May 31 1817 July 4, 1807 April 14, 1840 March 9, 1850 March 21, 1860 March 7, 1863 March 13, 1876 Maroh 13, 1876 March 17, 1877 April 9, 1881 April 17, 1882 April 16, 1884 May 19, 1836 April 14, 1840 March 5, 1842 March 6, 1847 March 10, 1849 February 28, 1852 March 10, 1855 March 2, 1857 March 5, 1864 March 6, 1869 November 16, 1870 March 13, 1876 March 13, 1876 April 9, 1881 April 23, 1885 March 8, 1845 March 4, 1848 April 14. 1840 March 10, 1856 Harelip 1, 1860 March 21, 1860 March 30, 1861 March 14, 1862 March 5, 1864 April 6, 1865 March 16, 1866 March 16, 1868 March 16, 1868 March 4, '1870 March 26, 1873 March 25, 1878 April 17, 1882 April 17, 1882 April 6, 1883 April 16, 1884 April 23, 1885 July 16, 1822 June 26, 1823 April 3, 1828 April 3, 1828 Feb. 1, 1832 Feb. 26, 1834 April 13, 1841 April 13, 1841 April 13, 1841 March 5, 1842 May 13, 1842 March 7, 1846 March 7 1846 Mallory, Eli, Marsh, Joseph, Mead, Philip, 2d, Mintonye, Lewis B., Middleton, James, Magee, Joseph A., Marsh, William S., Magee, Henry, Marsh, Joseph, Mead, Philip, Magee, Joseph A., Mitchell, David H., Marsh, William S., Marsh, Williams S., Magee, Henry, Matson, John, Mead, Philip, Morrison, R. H., Mitchell, J. H., Magee, James T., Mitchell, F. W., Mclntyre, Almiron, Magee, Henry, Marsh, William S., Masten, C, Magee, Henry, Miles M., Morrison, R. H., Magee, James T., Mitchell, D. H., Mead, Philip, McNair, William, Mowris, Peter, Morrison, R. H., Miles, M., McGill, James, Masterson, Peter, McStraw, John, Merritt, C. C, Mead, Philip, Marsh, William S., Moore, F. A., Morrison, R. H., Mandeville, A. R., Marsh, William S. Maltby, John S., Merritt, C. C, Mead, Philip, Morrison, R. H., McKain, D. H., Merritt, C. C. Miller, R. E.. Morrison, R. H., Martin, W. O., McKain, D. H, Maultby, William H. Newman, Hiram S, Nobles, C. B., Olney, Rufus, Osgood, James T., Oviatt, Cyrus S., Osborn, Milo P., Osgood, James T., Osgood, James T., commissioned March 7, 1846 March 6, 1847 March 4, 1848 March 4, 1848 March 4, 1848 March 10, 1849 March 9, 1850 March 8, 1851 March 6, 1852 Feb. 26, 1853 March 8, 1854 March 10, 1855 March 10, 1856 March 7, 1857 March 7, 1857 March 7, 1857 Feb. 27, 1858 March 5, 1859 March 5, 1859 March 5, 1859 March 21, 1860 March 13, 1861 March 14, 1862 April 5, 1862 March 14. 1862 July 30', 1863 March 5, 1864 March 5, 1864 March 5, 1864 March 16, 1866 March 11, 1867 March 16, 1867 March 11, 1867 March 6, 1869 March 6, 1869 March 6, 1869 Nov. 9, 1869 Nov. 9, 1869 Nov. 16, 1870 March 7, 1872 March 7, 1872 March 26, 1873 March 14, 1874 March 17, 1874 March 17, 1874 March 17, 1874 March 13, 1876 March 25, 1878 March 27, 1879 March 30, 1880 April 9, 1881 April 17, 1882 April 16, 1884 April 16, 1884 April 23, 1885 April 23, 1885 March 15, 1825 April 9, 1881 April 14, 1840 March 5, 1853 March 10, 1854 June 1, 1857 March 6, 1858 March 7, 1863 Civil List. 3d Osgood, Jas. T., commissioned March 16, 1868 Stone, Moses B., commissioned March 8, 1845 Osgood, James T., it March 14, 1874 Shearman, Perry, c( March 6, 1847 Osgood, James T., " March 27, 1879 Stacy, Edwin O, a March. 4, 1848 Olney, F. P., ff March 27, 1879 Strang, David, tt March 4, 1848 Osgood, James T., it April 16, 18S4 Sargent, Henry G., a April 14, 1840 Parmlee, Lothrop S., a Jan. 12. 1820 Sprague, Richard B., a April 14, 1840 Pier, William, it May 13, 1830 Smith, Peter, tt April 14, 1840 Perry, Warner, tt March 14, 1833 Shearman, Perry, a March 6, 1852 Pettit, George C, ti March 23, 1839 Sill, Walter G, tt March 5, 1853 Powell, Richard, it March 5, 1842 Stone, Moses B., it March 5, 1853 Perry, Warner, tf March 8, 18^5 Satterlee, Chauncey, a March 5, 1853 Parker, Philander, " March 8, 1845 Summerton, Jos'a D., a March 10, 1855 Powell, Richard, ff March 6, 1847 Sanford, S. W. B., ft March 10, 1855 Perry, Warner, tt April 14, 1840 Smallman, John, tt March 10, 1856 Perry, Warner, it March 9, 1 8 50 Skinner, Ethan, it March 7, 1857 Parker, Philander, tt March 9, 1850 Smith, Jones, tt March 5, 1859 Perkins, F. E., a March 9, 1850 Scott, John £>., " March 5, 1859 Perkins, F. B., it March 10, 1854 Summerton, J. D., ti March 21, 1860 Perry, Warner, a March 10, 1855 Smallman, John, tt March 30, 1861 Palmer, Warren, a March 21, I860 Siggins, William, tt March 8, 1862 Perry, Warner, tt March 21, I860 Slone, William W., " March 14, 1862 Plumb, Asa, it March 21, I860 Shortt, William H., a March 7, 186.3. Porter, A. V., ti March 7, 1863 Skinner, Ethan, a March 14, 1862*, Perry, Hiram S., it March 5, 1864 Smith, Jones, tt March 5, 1864- Parker, Philander, a March 16, 1866 Smith, D. 0., a March 5, 1864- Preston, Lorenzo, a March 16, 1867 Summerton, J. D., ti April 6, 1865,. Plumb, Asa, a March 11, 1867 Stright, W. E., it April 6, 1865. Parker, A. M., a March 6, 1869 Scott, William H., tt March 16, 1866 . Parmlee, L. T., a March 6, 1869 Smallman, John, tt March 16, 1866, Prior, 0., tt March 6, 1869 Stillson, David, it March 16, 1866; Porter, John S., a Nov. 16, 1870 Slone, W. W. tt March 11, 1867 Pettit, George C., it March 2, 1871 Shortt, William H., a March 16, 1868: Parker, Philander, tt March 7, 1872 Smith, Jones, a March 6, 18j69» Plumb, Asa. a March, 7, 1872 Smith, D. 0., tt March 6, 1869 Putnam, T. L., a March 13, 1876 Stright, W. E., C( " r J? March 4, 1870 Parker, A. M., tt March 13, 1876 Slone, W. W., tt ~" "** March 22, 1872 Preston, Nelson, it March 17, 1877 Smith, Jones, u March 14, 1874 Plumb, Asa, ft March 17, 1877 Sutliff, William B., it a March 16, 1875 Phillis, J. W., a March 25, 1878 Stright, W. E., ti March 16, 1875 Parker, Philander, a March 27, 1879 Siggins, H. K. a March 16, 1875 Peck, George W., ti March 30, 1880 Shannon, W. G., tt March 16, 1875 Putnam, T. L., a April 9, 1881 Sanford, J. G., a March 16, 1875 Richardson, Joshua, a Aug. 1, 1831 Slone, W. W., a March 13, 1876 Reese, Martin, ti April 15, 1833 Sutliff, William B., tt March 30, 1880 Richardson, Joshua, a March 7, 1846 Straw, John M., it April 9, 1881 Rouse, Henry R., ft March 9, 1850 Shannon, W. G., u March 30, 1880 Roup, Christian, a March 6, 1852 Schnur, Roman C, a April 17, 1882 Ross, John, ft March 7, 1863 Slone, W. W., a April 17, 1882 Ricker, S. B., it March 5, 1864 Siggins, William F., it July 31, 1882 Ricker, S. B., it March 6, 1869 Spence, David, a April 6, 1883 Race, Alexander, it March 16, 1875 Siggins, William F., a April 6, 1883 Reeves, W. I., a March 30, 1875 Sammons, I. D., tt April 6, 1883 Rowland, John, it March 13, 1876 Shanafelt, J. T., i: Oct. 1, 1884 Reeves, W. I., a March 30, 1880 Shannon W. G, (( April 23, 1885 Richardson, 0. S., a March 30, 1880 Sutliff, Wm. B., tt April 14, 1886 Ray, William, a April 9, 1881 Thompson, Caleb, ft Aug. 1, 1831 Rowland, John, it April 9, 1881 Thompson, Joshua W tt March 9, 1844 Richardson, J. H., a April 14, 1886 Taber, George W., if March 6, 1852 Ray, William, it April 16, 1886 Tuthill, Robert, a March 10, 1855 Siggins, William, it Feb. 15, 1827 Taylor, Charles, a March 10, 1855 Smith, Elijah, ft ■" April 5, 1830 Taylor, John J., it March 10, 1856 Sargent, Henry G., tt Jan. 19, 1837 Thompson, William L u 7 March 5, 1859 Stacy, Edwin O, tt March 11, 1843 Thompson, J. W., tf March 7, 1863 Sanford, Sam'l W. B tt March 9, 1844 Temple, Charles F., It March 16, 1866 302 History of Warren County. Thompson, J.W., commissioned April 16, 1868 Willson, Mark, commissior led March 21, 1860 Terrell, E., U Nov. 9, 1869 West, Charles B., a March 21, 1860 Whitney, Nathan, a Feb. 9, 1831 White, Lucius, u March 28, 1867 Williamson, S., a Nov. 28, 1834 Williams, George H., Li March 26, 1873 White, Mark S., a April 3, 1837 Walz, Frederick, U March 26, 1873 Whitney, Joel, " April 14, 1840 White, Jay, It March 31, 1873 Willson, Mark, it April 14, 1840 White, Lucius, a May 6, 1874 Williams, E. Leroy, a March 9, 1844 Wells, W. B., a March 27, 1879 Wright, Jude, it March 8, 1845 Wood, John, A., a March 27, 1879 Willson, Mark, a March 8, 1845 Wood, George R., n March 30, 1880 White, Orange, a April 14, 1840 White, A. T., a March 30, 1880 Woodin, David, (t April 14, 1840 White, Lucius, " April 17, 1882 White, Mark S., it April 14, 1840 Walz, Frederick, a April 6, 1883 Woodbeck, John E., " March 9, 1850 Wood, John A., u April 23, 1885 Wright, Jude, " March 8, 1851 White, A. T., it April 23, 1885 Warner, John A., a March 10, 1854 Wright, E. 0., it April 23, 1885 Walton, Levi, n March 10, 1855 White, J. E., u April 14, 1886 Woodbeck, J. E., a March 21, 1860 Yates, George V. N., u March 5, 1853 CHAPTER XXX. RIVER NAVIGATION, ETC., WAGON ROADS, RAILROADS. Source of the Conewango —Navigable Waters of the County — Asking Aid for Their Im- provement — Survey of the Allegheny by U. S. Engineers — Its Length and Fall from Olean to Pittsburgh — Early Manner of Transporting Freight and Passengers — Keel-boats — Their Great Usefulness — Shipping Lumber to New Orleans — Names of Steamboats Engaged in the Warren and Pittsburgh Trade — An Immense Raft — Description of Rafting — Nathan Brown's Ventures — Wagon Roads Laid Out by the Pioneers — Present Condition of Highways — Railroads — Celebrating the Opening of Railway Communication with Erie — Date of Completing Other Railroads. River Navigation, Etc. THE waters flowing through the Conewango branch of the Allegheny River take their rise on the borders of Lake Erie at an average elevation of about thirteen hundred feet above the sea, and nearly seven hundred feet above the level of the lake. Hence a small boat can start within seven or eight miles of Lake Erie, in sight of the large sailing vessels and steam propellers which navigate the great lakes, and float down to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of about two thousand five hundred miles. Before the beginning of the present century the Allegheny, Conewango, and Brokenstraw were officially declared navigable waters of the Common- wealth, but, as all well-informed readers know, they were only navigated by canoes, keel-boats, and rafts, until about the year 1 830. For years prior to this date efforts had been made by the people's representatives, both at Har- River Navigation, Etc. 303 risburg and the national capital, to obtain appropriations for the improvement of the streams named. The only response to these appeals, however, in any degree satisfactory, was obtained in the year 1817, when the State Legislature appropriated the munificent sum of one thousand dollars for the improvement of the Allegheny River, and French and Conewango Creeks. During subsequent years, after the steamboat Allegheny had made her his- toric trip to Olean, the questions of slack- water navigation and the building of a canal parallel with the Allegheny River were paramount for a time and vig- orously agitated. As a result of this agitation the river was surveyed from Pittsburgh to Olean, and the distances between points, and altitudes, accurately ascertained. This work was performed by Major Kearney and Major Hughes, topographical engineers of the United States army. The first named surveyed the river from Pittsburgh to Franklin, the latter from Franklin to Olean. According to their report, the distance in miles, and the descent of the river in feet between the towns mentioned, was found to be as follows : From Little Valley, N. Y. (which is twenty-five miles by river below Olean), to State line, twenty miles, and one hundred feet fall. From the State line to Warren, twen- ty-two miles, and one hundred and five feet fall. From Warren to Franklin, sixty-five miles, and two hundred and five feet fall. From Franklin to Pitts- burgh, one hundred and twenty- one and one-half miles, and two hundred and fifty- six feet fall. Prior to the inauguration of steam navigation between Pittsburgh and War- ren, keel-boats and large canoes were mainly relied upon for the transportation of freight and passengers.' The keel-boats would carry from ten to twelve tons each, and among the favorite ones remembered by early residents were the Transport, Mayflower, and Rover. During the very early years boats of this class were poled up the river, a slow and very laborious method of navigation. Afterwards they were towed by attaching a cable and two or three horses to each. By this means the journey from Pittsburgh to Warren could be accom- plished it from ten to twelve days, which was considered quite expeditious. The return down the river, however, could be made in three days. Even after the advent of steam navigation keel-boats had to be depended upon in a great measure, for quite frequently steamers could not ascend above Franklin, and for many weeks in the year they could not navigate the river for any consid- erable distance above Pittsburgh, from lack of depth of water over the shoals. Indeed, the keel-boats continued to make their trips up and down the river until the building of railroads rendered their further use unnecessary and unprofitable. The freight charges between Pittsburgh and Warren during the era of river navigation ranged from fifty cents to one dollar and a quarter per hundred pounds. In other pages of this work frequent allusions have been made regarding the early lumbering operations in this county, and the running of the first rafts 304 History of Warren County. to Pittsburgh. This business began here with the century, and was continued unceasingly for more than fifty years, or until there were no more pine forests of any considerable extent to destroy. Long before the organization of the county Jacob Hook, up the Allegheny, Major Harriot and Colonel Hackney, up the Conewango, and the Meads and McKinneys on the Brokenstraw, were extensively engaged in the manufacture and rafting of lumber. The product of their mills was mostly marketed at Pittsburgh ; but there were other markets where the unexcelled white pine lumber of Warren county was more highly apprciated. To illustrate : " The first foreign traffic in pine lumber from the Brokenstraw " said Judge Johnson in an address delivered at the dedication of the cemetery at Youngsville, " of which I have any authentic account, was a fleet of three boats got together at the mouth of the creek, in the fall and winter of 1805-06, and started on its perilous voyage to New Orleans on the 1st day of April, 1806. The lumber had been gathered from the mills of Long, Andrews, Mead and others, of the best quality, stub- shotted and kiln- dried during the winter, while the boats were building. It was owned by Colonel William McGaw and William B. Foster, and brought in New Orleans $40 per 1000 feet. Daniel Horn and Daniel McQuay were two of the hands on board, and walked back;" the first taking a sailing ves- sel to Baltimore and thence walking home in time to do his summer's work, the latter walking the entire distance from New Orleans. " In the spring of 1807, another fleet of seven boats freighted with seasoned lumber, owned by Joseph Mead, Abram Davis, and John Watt started to the same destination — New Orleans; the owners returning by sailing vessels to Philadelphia, and the pilots and hands finding their way back as best they could. These ventures were several times repeated by the same and other parties, and McQuay and others are said to have made several return trips on foot, a feat that required more time and risk than a journey around the globe at the present day. " This was the morning twilight of the lumber trade, that for half a century thereafter furnished so large a field for the enterprise and industry of the resi- dents of the county. Infant- like at first, boards crept cautiously down the creeks in floats or single platforms, with the aid of halyards and Gregg's hick- ory splint cables. Gradually the markets, mills, and rafts enlarged until they absorbed nearly all the capital, the enterprise, and the energies of the county." The county, as we have shown, was almost inaccessible except through its natural water-ways. Pork, flour, whisky, etc., had to be brought in keel-boats and canoes from Pittsburgh ; salt, nails, glass, etc., from Mayville, by boats passing through Chautauqua Lake and its outlet. Truly, nothing but industry, economy, and indomitable perseverance insured success, or the attainment of even the most common necessaries of life. The pine forests (never to be replaced) were the main reliance of the early settlers, and their destruction River Navigation, Etc. 305 was brought about at first, more particularly for the purpose of supplying the imperative demands of the pioneer stomach, than by any burning desire to supply the demands of trade. For fifteen or twenty years subsequent to 1830 a blank exists in the history of Warren county, which can never be satisfactorily filled, by reason of the gen- eral neglect of people to preserve newspapers, and the loss by fire, in 1 849, of quite complete files of The Voice of the People, Warren Bulletin, Democratic Advocate, and Warren Standard, stored in the Standard office and there burned. The Warren Mail, now the senior newspaper in the county, was es- tablished in 1 848, and from its complete files we have gleaned what little more can be told regarding the river and its traffic. In the spring of 1 848 the freight charges by keel-boatmen, between Pittsburgh and Warren were noted as vary- ing from seventy-five cents to one dollar and a quarter per hundred weight. On the 19th of December, 1848, the Mail chronicles the arrival of the steamer Wave from Pittsburgh, loaded with flour, pig-iron, etc., also about fifty passengers. The editor closes his remarks concerning her trip, etc., as follows: " If she can run from Pittsburgh to the extent of steam navigation on the Alle- gheny, by sleighing, she will deserve, as she will doubtless receive, a liberal share of public patronage." Early in 1849 the following announcement was printed in the newspapers and placarded about the town : "Regular Pittsburgh and Warren Packet. "THE STEAMBOAT WAVE NO. 2. " Wm. H. Gordon, Master. " HAVING been built expressly for the Pittsburgh and Warren trade will run regularly be- tween the above ports during the entire boating season. The Wave No. 2 being the only boat built expressly for the trade referred to, will rely with confidence on the support of the citizens of Warren and surrounding county. '• N. B. — Keel Boats will be furnished for the transportation of freight in low water." On the 20th of March the Mail man was pleased to say : " Two steamers in to-day ; the Arena and the Wave. Oh, how we flourish. This is a great town, notwithstanding one end is burned off. Think of it! Two steamers in one day; two acres of rafts lying in the eddy, and others passing every moment. Crowds of people thronging the streets and room for more. The telegraph flashing intelligence from all points of the Union, and last, but not least, the Allegheny Mail in full blast." These boats made several round trips during the season mentioned, charg- ing fifty cents per hundred pounds for freight. During the month of April of that year was noted the passage down the river of four boats built and owned by Nathan Brown, of Jamestown, N. Y. ; each being seventy feet long and sixteen feet wide, and three of them handsomely painted and finished in a manner superior to any thing before seen on the river. They were loaded with scythe-snaths, grain-cradles, hoes, hay-rakes, pitch-forks, shovels, sash, doors, etc., of the value of $15,000. 306 History of Warren County. The steamer Clara Fisher made her first appearance at Warren in March, 1850; her dimensions being as follows : Length of keel 145 feet; breadth of beam 25 feet, and depth of hull 4 feet 4 inches. She was built by that well- known boat builder, Pringle, of West Brownsville, and cost $1,300. Many of the citizens of Warren accepted an invitation from Captain William H. Gordon, her master, and enjoyed a trip to the mouth of the Brokenstraw and return. By the erection of bridges at Pittsburgh and Franklin, and the building of the Freeport Aqueduct, the free navigation of the Allegheny was seriously obstructed as early as 1851. In denouncing these obstructions the editor of Mail, in February of that year, said : " We ought to have slack water naviga- tion. . . . Either this will at no distant day be done, or a railroad will be constructed along the valley of the Allegheny." In March of the same year was noted the arrival of the Allegheny Belle. Her actual running time from Pittsburgh to Warren was thirty-three hours, yet by reason of her deten- tion at the Freeport Aqueduct, it required five and one-half days to make the trip. The Clara Fisher,' also, made a trip about the same time and was similarly delayed at the same point. In January, 1852, the steamboats Cornplanter, Clara Fisher, and Belle No. 2 were noted as arrivals at the port of Warren with freight and passengers from Pittsburgh. The Fisher and Cornplanter also visited Warren in Decem- ber of the same year. In the spring of 1853 the steamboats mentioned as arriving with freight, etc., from Pittsburgh were the Clarion, Clara Fisher, Cornplanter, Belle, Sam Snowden, and Justice. The Clara Fisher seems to have had a monopoly of the carrying trade in 1855, as sne was the only boat mentioned. The business of rafting, however, was in the aggregate of enormous proportions. Many millions of feet were floated past Warren, and one of its residents alone sent 7,000,000 feet to the lower markets. It was noted also that Captain Hall, of Warren, owned a raft which, when it passed Cincinnati, Ohio, contained 1,500,000 feet of boards. It covered an area of nearly two acres, and, it was asserted, was the largest raft ever seen upon the Ohio River. The Cornplanter and several other boats already mentioned visited War- ren in the spring of 1856. In April of that year the editor of the Mail, who had experienced its vicissitudes and rough pleasures, described life on a raft, as follows : " Let any one stand at the wharf and see the process of * snubbing ' an Allegheny raft on this water, and he will get an inkling of life on the Al- legheny and the labors of a raftsman. " With what a steady, solemn, irresistible force comes the broad, rich fleet, turned this way and that by the quick, nervous strokes of the creaking oar. With what coolness and half-heroism the pilot heads to land, and marks the spot to a foot, while half a mile above, where he will strike, if he is a good River Navigation, Etc. 307 pilot ; and what a silly, laughable, fidgetty splutter if he is a novice. How the boys 'crack 'er to the right' 'crack 'er to the left' and crack 'er up behind.' Then comes the ' snubbing,' — look out for your legs. How the cable uncoils, stretches, sizzles, snaps and jerks. How the cabler hangs like a puppy to a root and bounds for a new hitch when it runs out like lightning, tearing the nails from his fingers, and the slivers and bark from the post or tree. But a big raft, like a big rogue, tires of pulling hemp and swings at the rope's end surely at last. Then how the boys sweat and puff and blow. And what a lusty supper they get in the ' shanty,' and how richly do they relish it, and what a glorious sweet slumber is theirs on the soft side of a plank, or bundle of straw." In December, 1856, great losses were sustained by many lumbermen on the upper Allegheny, in their attempts to run rafts down the river so late in the season. They were caught en route by a blizzard which suddenly closed navigation. The steamers announced as carrying freight and passengers between War- ren and Pittsburgh in 1858-59, were the Venango and Echo. During the lat- ter year mention was made of a raft claimed to have been the largest ever floated down the Allegheny river. It contained 600,000 feet of boards, of which 400,000 feet were " clear stuff," and was rated to be worth not less than $12,000. Captain James Martin was in charge. The lumber was manufac- tured by Joseph Hall at his mills in Mead township, on the Tionesta Creek. In May, i860, the Mail informed its readers that " the steamboat which has been in process of construction for some time past has been completed, and will now ply regularly between this place and Tidioute. She is to be called the J. D. James, after our distinguished townsman." For some reason, how- ever, the James proved to be a failure. The steamer River Queen was built at the yard of C. F. Starkey, on the Sill farm, just below Warren, in the spring of 1865. She was one hundred and fifty feet long, light draught, thirty feet beam, and intended to ply between Warren and Pittsburgh ; but we find no other mention of her. The steamer Annie Lavelle, from Pittsburgh, visited Warren in March, 1 866. During the same year Captain Gardner built a steamboat opposite Warren, which was burned at Tidioute in March, 1867. It was the fate of Tidioute at that time to be " burned up " about three times a year. The last steamboat mentioned as navigating these waters was the W. A. Eddy. Fifty-three feet long and ten feet breadth of beam, she passed W'arren en route from Randolph and Cold Spring, N. Y., to Parker's Landing April 2, 1870. In 1885 Nathan Brown, of Jamestown, N. Y., the most widely-known char- acter along the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, closed his career as a boatman ; the last boat of his fleet making a total of one hundred and fifty-six. From 308 History of Warren County. 1843 his trips had been made annually, with the regularity of the seasons. Start- . ing at Jamestown he floated along the outlet of Chautauqua Lake, then through Cassadaga Creek into the Conewango and Allegheny, jumping several mill- dams, and thence down the Allegheny and Ohio, landing at all towns as far as Evansville and Paducah. His boats usually were seventy-five feet long, sixteen feet wide, and fitted up with separate rooms, pantries, etc. His stock in trade generally consisted of sash, doors, blinds, nails and trimmings, also hoes, rakes, scythes, snaths, axes, grain-cradles, furniture, etc. His wooden wares were manufactured at Jamestown, N. Y.; his cast-steel articles by S. A. Millard, of Clayville, N. Y. After disposing of his goods he generally sold his boats at Louisville, Ky, or below, at a good profit for trading-boats. Wagon Roads. It is probable that the first attempt at road-building in the county of War- ren was performed under the orders of agents of the Holland Land Company during the years 1795-96; but as these avenues of travel, if so they could be called, were simply for the convenience of employees of the. company, and as this region was then without the limits, so to speak, of judicial jurisdiction, the rude highways cut out by the above-mentioned company were never made a matter of record. Under the jurisdiction of Crawford and Venango counties, and before the organization of Warren, the following described roads were laid out by and for the accommodation of Warren's pioneers. From " Marsh's Landing to the Public Square in town of Warren," Daniel Jackson, Robert Miles, Hugh Marsh, Joseph Goodwell, and James Justice, viewers, confirmed July 7, 180 1. From "Marsh's Landing to William McClean's," Robert Miles, James Shipman, James Brown, John Marsh, Hugh Marsh, and Milford Marsh, viewers, con- firmed January 12, 1802. From " the town of Warren to Brokenstraw," Daniel Jackson, Jeremiah Morrison, James Morrison, Joseph Gray, John McKinney, and John Andrews, viewers, confirmed April 7, 1802. From "Marsh's Land- ing to the State Line," Ethan Jackson, Stephen Ross, Jacob Goodwin, William Eagan, Daniel Jackson, Michael McKinney, viewers, confirmed at March ses- sions in 1807. From " McDowell's to Devoe's improvements," Ninian Irvine, Eliel Farr, James Ricketts, Francis McClintock, and Richard Hamilton, view- ers, approved September 19, 1808. From " Giles White's to John Hinds'," Charles McNair, John Watts, Hugh Wilson, Philip Huffman, and John Arthur, viewers, confirmed December 8, 1808. From "the Crawford county line through the western part of Brokenstraw township," confirmed November 8, 1 8 10. From "the State road at Little Brokenstraw Creek to the place where Conewango Path crosses the same"; confirmed February 7, 181 1. From " town of Warren to New York State line near the two hundred and fourth mile-stone " ; Samuel Dale, Alexander Clants, David Brown, Edward Jones, Daniel Jackson, and James Rogers, viewers, confirmed November 6, 181 1. Wagon Roads. — Railroads. 309 " Alteration in State road from Warren to Brokenstraw," Samuel Dale, Daniel Jackson, Robert Arthur, Samuel Morrison, and John Watts, viewers, confirmed November 4, 18 12. From " Conewango Creek to Sackettsburgh," Daniel Horn, Charles McNair, Hugh Marsh, John Brown, William Davis, and Isaiah Jones, viewers, confirmed November 7, 1815. From "Little Broken- straw to William C. White's," Abraham Strickland, Ephraim Miles, Charles McNair, William C. White, Lansing Wetmore, and James Irvine, viewers, ap- proved November 9, 1815. From "Jacob Goodwin's to the two hundred and fourth mile-stone on the New York State line," John Brown, Amos York, Charles McNair, Jacob Goodwin, Richard B. Miller, and William Arthur, view- ers, confirmed December 6, 1816. From " Lottsville to meet a road laid out from John Titus's to the State line, at an angle known by the name of Alexan- der Watts' Cabin," |Harmonius Lott and others, viewers, confirmed February 4, 1 8 17. From " Fleming's Mill, in Venango county, to Shelletto's in Warren county," Edward Fleming, James Miller, David Kidd, Daniel Fleming, and Samuel Fleming, viewers, t confirmed November 4, 18 17. From "the State line to the crossings of the roads," David 'Dalrymple, Thomas Green, John Brown, Richard B. Miller, and John Tuthill, viewers, confirmed May sessions, 18 1 8. From " Youngsville to intersect the road from Jacob Goodwin's to the State line," John Mead, Henry Kinnear, Mathew Young, Hugh Wilson, and William Mead, viewers, confirmed November 24, 181 8. From " Culbertson's Mill to Erie county line," James Culbertson, Alexander Watts, Daniel Horn, Hugh Wilson, Jacob Goodwin, and James Bonner, viewers, confirmed Feb- ruary 22, 1819. From "two hundred and second mile-stone on State line to John Barr's," William Stewart, Garret Burgett, John Marsh, and Hugh Marsh, viewers, whose report was confirmed May 23, 18 19. Since the organization of the county scores of other roads have been laid out and somewhat improved until to-day they are found leading in all direc- tions. They are, however, very, very ordinary dirt roads. Once a year the farmers and others assessed for highway tax turn out and spoil the road here and there within their beat for the ensuing twelvemonth, by throwing upon it loose loam, sods and stones, and the next year the same operation is repeated at other points. As a result of this yearly patch work, "a lick and a promise," highways which have been in use for fifty years are in no better condition than when first opened, other than the disappearance of stumps, roots and some loose bowlders. Railroads. The Sunbury and Erie, now known as the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, was chartered in 1837, mainly through the persistent efforts of Hon. Thomas Struthers, of Warren. This was only eight years after railroads were first used as public thoroughfares in America. Owing to the failure of the United States 3io History of Warren County. Bank, the Sunbury and Erie Railroad enterprise, in which it was the principal stockholder, lay dormant for many years. Its friends, however, were undis- mayed, and one of them, Dr. G. A. Irvine, to save the charter, graded a por- tion of the line near Irvine Station in 1840. In 1856, the towns and counties along the route having subscribed very liberally to the capital stock, work was commenced at the western terminus, and late in the fall of 1859 the western division, from Erie to Warren, was completed. The cars first came into Warren December 10, but did not commence run- ning regularly on schedule time until December 21, 1859. On the 15th of that month occurred the celebration at Warren in honor of so great an event in its history — railroad communication with Erie, and thence by other rail- roads with the chief cities of the Union. Many visitors from Erie, Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York and other places were present. Among the Erie guests present were General Wilson and staff, escorted by the Wayne Guards of Erie and a brass six pounder. They were appropriately received by Gen- eral R. Brown and staff, the Packer Rifles, and a uniformed body of fireman, representing the citizens of Warren. After a street parade a banquet was en- joyed at the Carver House, where Hons. S. P. Johnson, G. W. Scofield, C. B. Curtis, Thos. Struthers, and Rev. C. L. Hequembourg, did the principal speak- ing for Warren ; G. J. Ball, M. B. Lowry, C. W. Kelso, W. A. Galbraith, and ex-Mayor King for Erie, and Chief Engineer Farris for the railroad company. At night a military ball, held at Odd Fellows Hall, closed the festivities of the occasion. The first through passenger train from the eastern terminus reached War- ren August 12, 1864, but the formal opening of this avenue of travel and com- merce did not take place until October 4 of that year. From its inception, twenty- seven years prior to that date, Thomas Struthers had been one of its warmest and most active advocates, and during its building he, together with C. B. Curtis and L. D. Wetmore as contractors, under the firm names of Struthers, Curtis & Co., and Struthers & Wetmore, built thirty or forty miles of the road from Irvineton eastward. At times they had as many as five hun- dred men in their employ at the same moment. The name of the road was changed from the Sunbury and Erie, to the Philadelphia and Erie, in 1861. Other railroads were completed during the years mentioned as follows: The Warren and Franklin from Irvineton to Oil City in 18,66, carrying 65,000 passengers during the first five months after its completion. The Dunkirk and Warren railroad, commenced in the fall of 1867, was finished in 1871, and in 1872 the Warren and Venango road, from Warren to Titusville, was opened for business. In 1883 was completed another railroad, running up the Alle- gheny River through Kinzua and Corydon to Salamanca and Olean, now called the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad, making Warren a center, to and from which trains run in five different directions every day in the week, Sundays excepted. ;fo m . w , The Bench and Bar. 311 CHAPTER XXXI. THE BENCH AND BAR. Interesting Memoirs of the President Judges now Deceased — Full Mention of Those Who Survive — The Bar — A Complete Roll of Attorneys Admitted Since the Organization of the County — Remarks Concerning Some of the Earliest Resident Attorneys — Notes Relating to Present Attorneys in Active Practice. The Bench. IN his address delivered at the dedication of the new court-house, December 3, 1877, Hon. Samuel P. Johnson referred to the president judges who have presided over the courts of Warren county, particularly those deceased, in the following words. And we will add that none living were more compe- tent to speak of the dead worthies than he, since he had been personally acquainted with all of them. " During the fifty-eight years of its existence, twelve president or law judges have presided over the destinies of the people of Warren county in the administration of the laws, seven of whom have closed their records upon earth and been committed without bail or mainprize to the prison of the tomb, while five still remain to claim the benefit of the extension law. "This county has been fortunate in the character of those intrusted with the great responsibilities of presiding judge during its early history. I speak but of the dead. Let posterity write the history of the living. "The Hon. Jesse Moore was the first in the order of time, from 1819 to 1824. He was a gentleman of the old school, dignified but courteous, learned but not brilliant, characterized by stern integrity and freedom from all preju- dice. He was a short, thick-set man, and some still remember his benignant countenance, partially bald head, well-powdered hair, and broad-brimmed, drab-colored hat. He died suddenly, when still in the prime of life and ma- turity of intellect, honored and lamented by all. "Henry Shippen succeeded him from 1825 to 1835. His characteristics were common sense and sound judgment. Many here will remember his inflexible honesty, his fidelity to truth, and his contempt for trickery and fraud. A single instance will suffice to illustrate : In 1834 a notorious person- age of a neighboring county by fraud and false interpretation had procured a judgment note from the venerable old Cornplanter for three thousand dollars, entered judgment, and issued execution on it. Application was made by counsel, in behalf of the old chief, to open the judgment and let him into a defense. As the evidence of the villainy was disclosed, the judge became very nervous. Anger flashed from his eye, and before the counsel got through his 312 History of Warren County. evidence the judge told him to stop, and, leaning over the bench, in a voice hoarse with indignation, said : ' Mr. Clerk, set aside that writ and strike that judgment from the records of this court ! ' "Next came, in 1835, Judge Nathaniel B. Eldred, the accomplished gen- tleman, brimful of honor, honesty, and sympathy. His quick perception, sound judgment, and stern impartiality guided him to the justice of a case, without the aid of much legal learning, so that his decisions were seldom appealed from and were seldom reversed. With but a year of interruption he remained with us until 1843, when he was removed by appointment to the Harrisburg district. His social qualities and public spirit, as well as official conduct, had greatly endeared him to the hearts of the people of this and other counties, who parted with him with much reluctance and regret. "In 1839, after the death of Judge Shippen, Judge Eldred was appointed his successor in the sixth district, out of which this county had been taken in 1835 to form part of the eighteenth, and without our solicitation or knowledge Alexander McCalmont was appointed to fill his place in the eighteenth district, including Warren county. His administration was so short and unsatisfactory that I will be excused for passing it over in silence. The next year, by legis- lative act, this county was restored to the sixth district, and thus again came under the jurisdiction of Judge Eldred. He was the only judge of the first seven that ever resided in Warren. "After Eldred came Judge Gaylord Church, in 1843, young, ardent, am- bitious, industrious, painstaking and prompt. With much ability and no sym- pathy, he exacted a rigid enforcement of the criminal law, and a technical application of both law and practice in civil cases. He was a terror to evil- doers. Withal, his head was a little dizzy by the elevation so suddenly thrust upon him, and he seemed jealous lest it should be supposed there was anything he did not know. "He retired in 1851 under the operation of the amended constitution, and was succeeded by the Hon. John Galbraith, who was elected in the fall of that year. He brought with him age, learning, and experience. His prominent characteristics were honesty, frankness, charity for all, and an abounding sym- pathy for the erring and unfortunate. Mercy tempered all his judgments, and sometimes down to great dilution. He died in June, i860, a year and a half before the expiration of his term. " Last but not least of the dead worthies whose virtues linger in our mem- ories is the Hon. James Thompson. The exigencies of the business in the sixth judicial district in 1839 required the creation of a special court of civil jurisdiction, and Judge Thompson was appointed its sole presiding officer for a term of five years. He brought to the discharge of its duties integrity, learning, and a large ability, flavored with a geniality of disposition, an urban- ity of manner, and a judicial courtesy that made him a favorite with all, and £hp*fy MB Bdtt's Sons. £fe™ ^St7 ^ff **fl The Bench and Bar. 313 especially with the members of the bar. In after years, these same qualities of mind and manners adorned his administration for a full term upon the bench of the Supreme Court of the State. He died at the age of three score and ten, honored and beloved, having spent the half of his adult life in the political and judicial service of his country. " I said this county had been fortunate in the character of its early judges. During the entire time embraced in the official history of those I have named, covering a period of over forty years, no charge of corruption, dishonesty, or malfeasance was ever made with truth against any of the incumbents. The purity of the judicial ermine suffered no tarnish while worn by them." Of Judge Galbraith's successors on the bench as president judges — Hon. Rasselas Brown, appointed in i860; Hon. Samuel P.Johnson, elected in i860; Hon. Lansing D. Wetmore, elected in 1870, and Hon. William D. Brown, elected in 1880 — all are yet living in the town of Warren, esteemed and hon- ored, and in the enjoyment of ample means justly earned. In other pages of this work memoirs relating to Judges R. Brown, Johnson, and Wetmore will be found. Hon. William D. Brown was born at Sugar Grove, Warren county, Pa., September 6, 1823. After availing himself of such educational advantages as the public and private schools of Sugar Grove and the Warren Academy afforded, he studied law in the office of Johnson & Brown, and was admitted to practice December 8, 1847. In 1849 he was elected justice of the peace for the borough of Warren, but after a short time resigned. In the fall of 1850 he was elected district attorney for the county, and held the office for three years. In 1 862 he served as commissioner for Warren county, to superintend the drafting of men for military service. He represented this county in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives during the years 1863-64-65, and in the fall of 1880 was elected president judge of the thirty-seventh judicial dis- trict (composed of Warren and Forest counties), for the term expiring January 1, 1 89 1. Judge Brown has been a life-long resident of this his native county, his youthful days having been passed in Sugar Grove, and the remainder, since his admission to the bar, in the town of Warren. From 1851 to the time of his election as president judge he was actively and quite successfully engaged in the practice of his profession, and gained an enviable reputation as a jurist. He is of Scotch- Irish ancestry — a son of Hon. David Brown, who was the first to represent Warren county in the legislative halls of the State, after the organ- ization' of the county in 18 19. The Bar. Since the organization of the county more than three hundred attorneys at law, a large majority of them non-residents of the county, have been admitted to practice in its various courts. Their names are found scattered through a 314 History of Warren County. dozen volumes or more of dusty records, some of them not indexed, and the work of compiling a list of admissions has required the expenditure of much time and patience — the scanning, in fact, of each volume, page by page. The following roll is the result of such researches. It is believed to be nearly per- fect, and cannot be otherwise than valuable for reference, showing, as it does, the names, places of residence (so far as learned), and date of admission of the more than three hundred men referred to. Present resident attorneys in active practice are designated by italics. Ralph Marlin, Meadville, Pa., Nov., 29, 1819 Thomas H. Sill, Erie, Pa., "" John G-albraith, Franklin, Pa., " " Patrick Farrelly, Meadville, Pa., " Abner Hazeltine, Warren, Pa., March 6, 1820 Robert Bostwick, " " John B. Wallace, Meadville, Pa., Mch. 8, 1820 Anslem Potter, May 30, 1820 Samuel B. Foster, Mercer, Pa., Sept. 4, 1820 Frank Bergher, Dec. 4, 1820 George Selden, Meadville, Pa., June 4, 1821 Harmer Denny, Pittsburgh, Pa., June 5, 1821 Robert L. Potter, Sept. 4, 1821 Richard Bear, " " Horatio N. Waigley, Sept. 2, 1822 Samuel Ladd, " " Thomas R. Peters, Sept. 4, 1822 John J. Pearson, Franklin, Pa., Dec. 3, 1822 Josiah Hall, Warren, Pa., Sept. 3, 1823 David Derrickson, Meadville, Pa., Mch. 3, 1824 Samuel Miles Green, " " Stephen Barlow, Meadville, Pa., " " Henry Baldwin, Meadville, Pa., June 1, 1824 William Ayres, Butler, Pa., John Banks, Mercer, Pa., George J. Elliott, Erie, Pa., '■ " Andrew W. Morrison, Warren, Pa., Sept. 2. 1824 William McKean, May 30, 1825 Moses McClane, jr., " " Don Carlos Barrett, Erie, Pa., Sept. 4, 1826 Elijah Babbitt, Erie, Pa., " " Oilman Merrill, Warren, Pa., March 5, 1827 John S. Riddle, Meadville, Pa., April 3, 1827 Sylvester Dunham, Brookville, Pa., " James L. Crary, May 5, 1828 John W. Farrelly, Meadville, Pa., " " Abram D. Ditmars, Warren, Pa., May 8, 1828 Samuel A. Purviance, Warren, Pa., Sept. 1, 1828 Thomas Struthers, Warren, Pa., Sept. 8, 1828 Michael Gallagher, Warren, Pa., Dec. 1, 1828 John W. Howe, Smethport, Pa., May 4, 1829 John Wilson, " " James Thompson, Franklin, Pa., Mch. 3, 1830 Lansing Wetrnore, Warren, Pa., Dec. 2, 1830 Orlo J. Hamlin, Smethport, Pa., Sept. 3, 1832 James Ross Snowden, Franklin, Pa., " A. C. Ramsay, June 3, 1833 Carlton B. Curtis, Warren, Pa., March 3, 1834 Alexander McCalmont, Franklin, Pa., June 2, 1834 Alfred Huidekoper, Meadville, Pa., June 2, 1834 Samuel P. Johnson, Warren, Pa., " Benjamin Bartholomew, Warren, Pa.. April 15, 1835 William H. Dimmick, March 7, 1837 James Mullett, Mayville, N. Y., " " Abner Lewis, Jamestown, N. Y., " Gaylord Church, Meadville, Pa., June 5, 1837 John W. Maynard, Wellsboro, Pa., Dec. 4, 1837 Hiram Payne, Smethport, Pa., " " Rasselas Brown, Warren, Pa., June 4, 1839 Almon Virgil, Warren, Pa., July 29, 1839 Joseph Y. James, Warren, Pa., " " Quincy A. Johnson, Warren, Pa., Sept. 2, 1839 Joshua Sweet, Oct. 23, 1839 Richard P. Marvin, Jamestown, N. Y., Oct. 23, 1839 Arthur Cullum, Meadville, Pa., June 3, 1840 Norris W. Goodrich, Warren, Pa., Oct. 20,1840 Thomas S. Espy, Franklin, Pa., Dec. 29, 1840 Darius Titus, Warren, Pa., March 2, 1841 Montgomery P. Young, March 3, 1841 William H. Lamberton, Franklin, Pa., Dec. 8, 1841 S. J. Goodrich, Warren, Pa., March 7, 1842 John P. Vincent, Brie, Pa., March 11, 1842 Edwin C. Stacy, Columbus, Pa., Sept. 9, 1842 Lothrop T. Parmlee, Warren, Pa., Dec. 1, 1842 Glenni W. ScoEeld, Warren, Pa., Jan. 5, 1843 Josiah Hall, Warren. Pa., re-admitted Jan. 5, 1843 William H. Davis, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 5, 1843 C. H. S. Williams, Mayville, N. Y., Dec. 5, 1843 Joseph D. James, Warren, Pa., March 5, 1844 William A. Galbraith, Erie, Pa., June 3, 1844 Lansing D. Wetrnore, Warren, Pa., June 4, 1844 Charles Knapp, Warren, Pa., " " Theophilus T. Wilson, Warren, Pa., " " John N. Miles, Warren, Pa., '' Isaac Benson, Warren, Pa., June 21, 1844 E. P. Seely. Dec 1 . 2, 1844 Edwin C. Wilson, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 3, 1845 William D. Brown, Warren, Pa., Dec. 8, 1847 George B. Delamater, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 4, 1849 Jerome W. Wetrnore, Warren, Pa., Dec. 6, 1849 Madison Burnell, Jamestown, N. Y., March 6, 1850 Charles B. Curtis, Warren, Pa., Dec. 4, 1851 The Bench and Bar. 3i5 Henry Souther, Ridgway, Pa., Jan. 19, 1852 George D. Woodin, Warren, Pa., June 9, 1852 James Karr, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 8, 1852 James Sill, Erie, Pa., Deo. 6, 1852 Theodore D. Edwards, Warren, Pa., June 7, 1853 T. C. Spencer, Warren, Pa., " " S. W. Dana, Warren, Pa., " " Isaac S. Alden, Warren, Pa.,' June 8, 1854 Barnett W. Lacy, Warren, Pa., Oct. 11, 1855 Oliver A. Dalrymple, Warren, Pa., Dec. 5, 1855 0. N. Payne, March 3, 1856 Byron D. Hamlin, Smethport, Pa., Feb. 4, 1857 E. B. Eldred, Smethport, Pa., June 3, 1857 Samuel N. Dickinson, Warren, Pa, Aug. 17, 1857 J. A. Chapin, Ridgeway, Pa., Sept. 8, 1857 Junius R. Clark, Warren, Pa., Aug. 17, 1858 D. J. Hodges, Warren, Pa., " " P. B. Guthrie, Warren, Pa., March 8, 1859 William R. Scott, Aug. 17, 1859 Charles Dinsmoor, Warren, Pa., Sept. 6, 1859 T. R. Kennedy, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 7, 1859 J. B. Johnson, Erie, Pa., Sept. 6, 1860 William S. Lane, Erie, Pa., Dec. 4, 1860 William W. Wilbur, Warren, Pa., April 23, 1861 H. A. Jamieson, Warren, Pa., Aug. 19, 1861 N. P. Fetterman, Pittsburgh, Pa., " " George W. De Camp, Erie Co., Pa., Aug. 22, 1861 Charles Taylor, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 3, 1861 J. A. Neill, Warren, Pa., Oct. 23, 1861 James L. Lott, Warren Co., Pa., Dec. 4, 1861 David McKelvy, Warren, Pa., Feb. 10, 1862 Thomas M. Biddle, Phila., Pa. " " Charles E. Baldwin, June 6, 1862 A. D. Wood, Warren, Pa., June 1, 1863 S. E. Woodruff, Erie, Pa., June 2, 1863 Jacob Baker, Titusville, Pa., " " Samuel T. Allen, Warren, Pa., Feb. 9, 1864 Orrin C. Allen, Warren, Pa., " Henry Crawford, New Albany, Ind., March 8, 1864 Joel F. Asper, Erie, Pa., " " Charles E. Baldwin, name stricken from rolls March 8, 1864 O. 0. Trantum Warren, Pa., Sept. 4, 1865 Clark Ewing, Titusville, Pa., " " Thomas McConnell Pittsburgh, Pa., Sept. 6, 1865 William M. Biddle, Erie, Pa., Dec. 4, 1865 Joel Campbell, Corry, Pa., Dec. 6, 1865 C. 0. Bowman, Corry, Pa., " " S. M. Davis, Meadville, Pa., March 5, 1866 Alfred B. McCalmont, Franklin, Pa., March 6, 1865 Abner Hazeltine, jr., Jamestown, N. Y., June 7, 1866 H. T. Beardsley, Lock Haven, Pa., Nov. 17, 1866 Harrison Allen, Warren, Pa., Nov. 17, 1866 Alvin W. Barry, Tidioute, Pa., " 21 L. W. Wilcox, Titusville, Pa., Sept. 3, 1866 C. W. Stone, Warren, Pa., " " James Buchanan, Tidioute, Pa., Sept. 4, 1866 C. D. Longfellow, Titusville, Pa., G. W. Allen, Warren, Pa., Dec. 3, 1866 James D. Mahon, Irvine, Pa., March 5, 1867 Robert C. Beach, Tidioute, Pa., March 7, 1867 W. C. Lathey, Forest Co., Pa., June 4, 1867 F. D. Reeves, Warren, Pa., June 5, 1867 Hugh C. Graham, Oil City, Pa., June 10, 1867 Selden Marvin, Erie, Pa., July 1, 1867 Pearson Church, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 9, 1867 C. W. Gilfillian, Franklin, Pa., Samuel A. Davenport, Erie, Pa., Feb. 21, 1868 Samuel T. Neill, Warren, Pa., June 2, 1868 Isaac Myer, jr., Franklin, Pa., June 4, 1868 J. M. Bonham, Sept. 8, 1868 Joshua Douglass, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 15, 1868 J. B. Brawley, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 16, 1868 Robert Dennison, Warren, Pa., Oct. 6, 1868 A. B. Richmond, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 7, 1868 J. H. Lewis, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 9, 1868 M. C. Beebe, Crawford Co., Pa., March 8, 1869 Warren Cowles, Corry, Pa., June 7, 186& C. F. Eldred, Corry, Pa., Miles W. Tate, Forest Co.. Pa., June 17, 1869". Joshua Byles, Pleasantville, Pa., Sept. 10, 1869" James M. Breden, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 11, 1869- M. Crosby, Corry, Pa., Oct. 26, 1869. William Schnur, Warren, Pa., Nov. 23, 1869# Rufus B. Smith, Warren, Pa., " "■ Wallace W. Brown, McKean Co., Pa., Dec. 7, ises R. Mackwood, Tidioute, Pa., March 7, 1870 S. D. Irwin, Franklin, Pa., " " Caleb C. Thompson, Warren, Pa., May 3, 1870 L. S. Norton, Erie Co., Pa., June 6, 1870 Daniel D. Fassett, Tidioute, Pa., Sept. 6, 1870 Charles R. Saunders, Erie Co., Pa., March 6, 1871 W. P. Mercelliot, Forest Co., Pa., March 7, 1871. M. G. Cushing, Tidioute, Pa., " H. C. Johns, Titusville, Pa., March 17, 1871 James O. Parmlee, Warren, Pa., Sept, 23, 1871 Henry E. Brown, Warren, Pa., Dec. 4, 1871 C. H. Noyes, Warren, Pa., Dec. 12, 1871 W. M. Lindsey, Warren, Pa., March 4, 1872 Alfred S. Moore, Warren, Pa., May 7, 1872 Isaac Ash, Oil City, Pa., June 3, 1872 C. L. Baker, Tidioute, Pa., " " Fred. A. Hooker, Warren, Pa., Aug. 10, 1872 Anthony Wiedman, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 10, 1872 James H. Donly, Venango Co., Pa., Oct. 7, 1872 Samuel S. Smith, Titusville, Pa., Jan. 8, 1873 S. E. Woodruff, Erie Co., Pa., March 6, 1873 Mason, Tionesta, Pa., March 14, 1873 A. W. Coville, Tidioute, Pa., April 28, 1873 C. L. Coville, Corry, Pa., " " D. C. McCoy, Meadville, Pa., June 9, 1873 Roger Sherman, Titusville, Pa., July 23, 1873 George T. Chester, Titusville, Pa., Sept. 1, 1873 3i6 History of Warren County. B. J. Reed, Clarion, Pa., Sept. 6, 1873 Eufus Luoore, Elk Co., Pa., March 3, 1874 R. W. Mackey, Venango Co., Pa., March 3, 1874 P. S. Seely, Crawford Co., Pa., March 4, 1874 W. B. Chapman, Bradford, Pa., " " P. D. Kinnear, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 15, ] 874 Charles B. Guthrie, Titusville, Pa., Sept. 16, 1874 S. C. T. Dodd, Franklin, Pa., Nov. 10, 1874 Otii F Hoffman, Warren, Pa., Dec. 7, 1874 Melancthon Miles, Warren Co., Pa., Jan. 13, 1875 David I. Ball, Warren, Pa., Feb. 10, 1875 John L. Butler, Aug. 5, 1875 Byron Sutherland, Warren, Pa., Nov. 12, 1875 Thomas A. Morrison, Dec. 10, 1875 James Cable, Warren, Pa.. Jan. 20, 1876 P. M. Knapp, Warren, Pa., April 13, 1876 William Swanson, Warren. Pa., July 10, 1877 P! L. Davis, Tionesta, Forest Co., Pa., Sept. 7, 1877 J. V. Brown, Dec. 6, 1877 George H. Cutter, Girard, Erie Co., Pa., March 4, 1878 C. G. Olmstead, Corry, Pa., April 1, 1878 James G. Marsh, Warren, Pa., Sept. 2, 1878 Perry D. Clark, Warren, Pa., " " Samuel Minor, Titusville, Pa., Jan. 7, 1880 W. E. Marsh, Corry, Pa., " " S. F. Hallock, Meadville, Pa., Jan. 9, 1880 R. C. Schnur, Warren, Pa., April 5, 1880 A. C. Bowers, Warren Co., Pa., July 6, 1880 George H. Biggins, Warren, Pa., " " C. H. McCauley, Elk Co., Pa., Sept. 7, 1880 J. W. Lee, Franklin, Pa., Dec. 9, 1880 William M. Boggs, Clarion, Pa., Dec. 10, 1880 Samuel L. McGee, Jan. 6, 1881 H. W. Wier, Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 11, 1881 William D. Christy, Oil City, Pa., April 5, 1881 James D. Hancock, Franklin, Pa., " " R. F. Glenn, Jan. 20, 1882 Frank McClintock. Feb. 6. 1882 F. H. Davis, Meadville, Pa., March 9, 1882 T. F. Ritchey, Tionesta, Pa., March 11, 1882 John W. Dunkle, Clarendon, Pa., May 1, 1882 Henry W. Blakeslee, McKean Co., Pa., May 4, 1882 N. M. Orr, June 5, 1882 Eugene Mullen, H. J. Muse, Warren, Pa., June 6, 1882 John A. Wilson, Venango Co., Pa., June 8, 1882 Charles Westcott, June 9, 1882 N. B. Smiley, McKean Co., Pa., " " Watson D. Hinckley, Warren, Pa., July 12, 1882 A. F. Bole, Union City, Pa., " " 1882 1882 Li U 1882 1882 1882 1882 1882 1882 1882 1882 Jan. 19; 1883 (I (■( March 5, 1883 a a March 7, 1883 April 28, 1883 June 7, 1883 July 10, 1883 Oct. 3, Oct. 4, Nov. 13, Dec. 4. Dec. 5, William C. Brown, July 12, 1882 L. R, Freeman, Warren, Pa., " " Foster L. Snodgrass, Meadville, Pa., July 31, 1882 F. D. Kinnear, Tidioute, Pa., Aug. 11, 1882 W. R. Bole, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 4, H. L. Richmond, jr., Meadville, Pa., Sept. 4, P. R. Blackmarr, Meadville, Pa., " Thomas Roddy, Meadville, Pa., " J. H. Osmar, Franklin, Pa., Sept. o, Harvey N. Snyder, Sept. 6, William G. Trunkey, Warren, Pa., Sept. 7, S. M. Brainard, Erie, Pa., John McKissick, J. M. McClure, Lewis F. Barger, H. D. Hancock, Samuel Grumbine, H. H. Goucher, Warren, Pa., W. P. Weston, Cornelius Vanhorn, Samuel P. Bingham, George A. Allen, Erie, Pa., John M. Thompson, Lewis Rozenweig, Erie, Pa., George N. Frazine, Warren, Pa., Sept, 3, 1883 A. B. Force, Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 29, 1884 James W. Wiggins, Warren, Pa., March 3, 1884 John C. Sturgeon, Erie, Pa., May 5, 1884 F. W. Hays, Venaneo Co., Pa., June 2, 1884 Waldron M. Dane, " July 28, 1884 H. R. McCalmont, Sept. 29, 1884 A. E. Sisson, Erie, Pa., Oct. 9, 1884 James W. Sproul, Crawford Co., Pa., Feb. 5, 1885 Eugene P. Gillespie, Crawford Co., Pa., Feb. 5, 1885 William K Rice, Warren, Pa., April 6, 1885 Edward S. Wetmore, Warren, Pa., " " George A. Jenks, Jefferson Co., Pa., April 8, 1885 John G. Hall, Elk Co., Pa., " Henry McSweeney, " *' James W. Kinnear, Tidioute, Pa., April 16, 1885 Theodore A. Lamb, Erie Co., Pa., Sept. 8, 1885 G. B. McCalmont, Isaac Ash, Venango Co., Pa., Oct. 7, 1885 A. C. Richards, Busti, N. Y., Dec. 15, 1885 C. Heydrick, Venango Co., Pa., June 28, 1886 F. Elliott, Tioga Co., Pa., " " W. V. N. Yates, Warren, Pa., " " John J. Henderson, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 6, 1886 A. J. Foster, Erie, Pa., Oct. 4, 1886 Charles L. Cooper, Warren, Pa., Oct. 5, 1886 Of some of the early resident practitioners mentioned in the foregoing list, Judge S. P. Johnson has kindly furnished for this chapter the following remin- iscences : 2«y J Jy 2b sijls .Soils lfa> ?&&• The Bench and Bar. 317 Abner Hazeltine, the first located lawyer in the county, came here in 18 18, remained until 1825, then moved to Jamestown; but continued his practice in Warren until the infirmities of age compelled him to withdraw. He was a man of average ability, great industry, unpretentious, but a good lawyer and a man of sterling integrity ; in moral character a model. " Gilman Merrill came to Warren in 1826, bringing with him a certificate of admission to the bar in Ohio, which secured his admission here in 1827. He never made much pretension as a lawyer. Having been a cabinet-maker in life, he worked some at both trades. He was prosecuting attorney for the county, under the administration of Governor Wolf, in 1853-5, and afterwards one of the associate judges for some years. " Samuel A. Purviance, who deserves notice as one of the pioneers of the profession in this county, came here in the summer of 1828; continued in act- ive practice until 1832, when, wishing a larger field for the exercise of his abil- ities, he removed to Butler county. He continued there many years, practic- ing in that and adjoining counties with marked success, and finally removed to Pittsburgh, where he spent the remainder of his natural and professional life. Both as a man and a lawyer he occupied a high position in the estimation of the community and the profession, in whatever locality he lived and practiced. " Carlton B. Curtis came to Warren as a young attorney from Chautauqua county, N. Y., in the spring of 1834. He came without prestige or friends, dependent on his own resources alone for success, and he succeeded. He was not naturally methodical or painstaking. Whatever he did he did well, with- out much regard to the manner of its doing. Naturally indolent, he took the shortest cut to his objective point. His legal documents were usually short, informal, and often slovenly, but clearly to the point. His mind was incisive and analytical. His conclusions were generally logical and correct ; but they were the product of his instinct or good common sense, rather than of his ratio- cination. His memory was good and his judgment first-rate ; but the want of a thorough collegiate education had left his mind undisciplined in the close process of logical reasoning. Yet as a practitioner he was successful and pop- ular. Personally he possessed many amiable qualities. In his domestic rela- tions he was kind and indulgent even to excess. In his social intercourse he was interesting, agreeable, and facetious even to waggery sometimes. He had no malice in his composition, and never indulged in revenge or retaliation. He represented this county in the Legislature during the sessions of 1837-38, and in Congress in the years 1851-52 and 1873-74. He was an earnest and honest politician, and always took an active part in all political campaigns. He enlisted in the service of his country during the late " unpleasantness," as he termed it, and became colonel of the Fifty-eighth Regiment of the Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, and resigned in the summer of 1863. Within the next year or two he removed from Warren to Erie, where he continued to reside and 318 History of Warren County. practice his profession until he died, in 1885. The life and history of Colonel Curtis was so identified with the history of Warren county, for more than thirty years, as to justify a somewhat prolonged obituary notice. " Benjamin Bartholomew came to Warren from Jefferson county in the spring of 1835, with a family, having already had some years' practice. He soon acquired a fair practice. His education and abilities were such as to secure to him permanently a very respectable position at the bar, had his habits been such as to inspire public confidence. Unfortunately they were not, and the natural result followed. He was a zealous Whig politician and a good stumper. He was elected to the Legislature in 1846, and in the following year left Warren and moved to Pottsville, Schuylkill county. " Josiah Hall was the first law student in the county of Warren ; prosecuted his studies in the office of Abner Hazeltine, the only resident lawyer here in those days, and was admitted in September, 1823. The sparseness of the pop- ulation and their poverty made the practice of the law far from remunerative even for two lawyers. Most of the good paying business was done by foreign lawyers from 1820 to '29. With all their economy, Haseltine and Hall both failed of financial success. In 1825 the former moved to Jamestown, and soon after the latter embarked in the lumber business, which he found much more to both his taste and profit. Still he kept his place in the profession until about 1834, when he devoted himself entirely to lumbering and politics. He was that year appointed one of the associate judges of the county, which office he resigned in the fall of 1835, upon his election to the Legislature He was at this time the leader of the Democratic party in the county, but lost caste with it by voting for the charter, or recharter, of the United States Bank, in consideration of getting $ of the bonus or bribe it paid for its charter, in the shape of appropriations for roads and bridges in the county. Anti- bankism was the Jacksonian shibboleth in those days. Hall never resumed the practice, for which he had but little of either taste or talent. The balance of his life was spent in the ups and downs of the lumber and oil business, alter- nately rich and poor, interspersed with several heavy and perplexing lawsuits. " John N. Miles was a native of Warren county ; received a collegiate educa- tion, studied law with Johnson & Brown, and was admitted to practice in the summer of 1844. He soon formed a copartnership with C. B. Curtis, which continued as Curtis & Miles until his death in 1855. He died young, unmar- ried, and without having fully developed his capacity as a lawyer, or indicating the position he would have attained in the profession had his life been spared. His prospects were fair, his acquirements and natural ability were good, and his personal qualities such as to render him a general favorite in the com- munity. " In the early judicial history of the county were certain gentlemen of the bar never residents therein, who for a number of years participated largely in The Bench and Bar. 319 the practice, whose names are still familiar to many of the older citizens. Among these, John Galbraith will be remembered as one of those admitted to this bar at the first court ever held in the county, in November, 18 19. He resided in Franklin, but continued to attend the courts here regularly until his removal to Erie, about the year 1840, and occasionally afterwards, until his election as the president judge of this district in 1851. As a practitioner he was laborious and painstaking, not eloquent, but logical and convincing, fair and courteous, honest and sympathetic, persistent and apt to take his lost cases to the Supreme Court. His infinite good nature prevented his ever giving offense, and every one that knew him liked him. After being three or four times elected to Congress he was at last elected judge of the sixth judicial dis- trict, in which he presided from 1851 to the time of his decease, in June, i860. Neither at the bar nor on the bench was a dishonest or dishonorable act ever attributed to the Hon. John Galbraith. "John J. Pearson was admitted to the bar of Warren county in December, 1822. He was then a fair-complexioned, light-haired stripling, just of age; resided in Franklin, and had been about two years a lawyer. He was well read, professionally ambitious, a ready and rapid speaker, and indefatigably industrious. These elements of character brought him rapidly to the front ranks of the profession. He soon became, and for many years was, the lead- ing practitioner of this, as he was of Venango, county. About the year 1830 he moved from Franklin to Mercer, but continued his long horseback rides to the courts of this county periodically up to 1840, and occasionally thereafter. He was a model practitioner. Well posted in the law, possessed of a quick perception, a ready and discriminating mind and great resources, he was a most formidable antagonist to any opponent. He was first appointed, and afterwards three times elected, president judge in Dauphin and Lebanon coun- ties, equally distinguished for his professional ability, his social virtues, and his untarnished integrity. " James Thompson, having practiced some years in Venango county, entered the profession in Warren county in the spring of 1830. He soon made his mark, and entered largely into the practice of the county. This he kept up, except when absent as a member of the Legislature, until the year 1839, when he was appointed judge of the District Court, created that year for the sixth judicial district, when he removed to Erie and never resumed practice here. In 1857 he was promoted to a seat on the Supreme Bench of the State, the duties of which he discharged, with eminent ability and to the great satisfac- tion of the profession, for fifteen years. His retentive memory and sound judgment supplied the want of a collegiate education, and made him a safe and successful judge." The attorneys now in active practice in the county are about thirty in num- ber. All have been requested to contribute data concerning themselves as 3 2 o History of Warren County. members of the bar. A majority have responded, and of these, not otherwise mentioned at length in other pages, we append the following remarks : Samuel T. Neill was born at Neillsburg, Venango (now Forest) county, on the 16th of July, 1841, and was graduated from Jefferson College in August, 1865. He studied law one year with J. A. Neill, of Warren, and the rest of his term with Lewis C. Cassidy, of Philadelphia, after which, on the 2d of June, 1868, he was admitted to practice. In 1863 he was a high private in the rear rank of the Pennsylvania militia. From December, 1868, to January, 1883, he resided in Titusville, Pa. Besides a gratifying amount of practice in his profession, he has successfully engaged more or less in the oil business, the period of his greatest activity in this business being in 1868 and 1869. He did not begin to confine his energies to his professional duties, indeed, until 1870. Caleb C. Thompson was born in Pine Grove on the 28th day of May, 1846. He was educated in the common schools of his native town, in the Normal School of Edinboro, Pa., at the Jamestown Union School and at the Col- legiate Institute at the same place. He studied law with Brown & Stone, of Warren, and was admitted to practice in the courts of Warren county on the 3d of May, 1870. From that time to 1881 he resided at Tidioute, and at the last-named date came to Warren. He served one term as burgess of Tidioute borough from February, 1878, three years as district attorney of Warren county from November, 1878, school director for Warren borough for three years from February, 1885, and burgess of Warren borough for one year from February, 1885. He is eminently a self- made man. During the time that he at- tended school and followed the study of law before admission, he taught school winters and labored on farms summers to obtain the money necessary to defray his expenses. James O. Parmlee was born in Warren, Pa., on the 10th of July, 1845, and received his education at Allegheny College, in Meadville, Pa. His law studies as a clerk were pursued in the office of Hon. S. P. Johnson, of War- ren, his present partner, and he was admitted to practice on the 23d of Sep- tember, 1 87 1. Mr. Parmlee served nine months in the last war in Company G, Two Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, and as captain of Company I, Sixteenth Regiment, N. G. Pa. (from November 5, 1878, to July 30, 1885). On the latter date he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the last-named regiment, a position which he still holds. He is also United States commis- sioner, having received the appointment on the 27th of May, 1880. He is now a resident of Warren, though in former years he has lived in Erie, Pa. C. H. Noyes entered this life at Marshall, Mich., on the 28th of July, 1849. His educational advantages were limited, and he never attended other than the union school of his native town, nor that after he had reached his twelfth year. He began the study of law in the office of Hon. William D. Brown, The Bench and Bar. 321 of Warren, and afterward continued his researches in the office of Hon. Junius R. Clark. His admission to the bar is dated December 12, 1871. Mr. Noyes was elected burgess of Warren borough in February, 1877, and served one year. In 1886 he was appointed a member of the State Geological Survey Commission, a position which he still fills. Since his admission he has closely confined himself to his practice, not permitting his attention to be distracted from his chosen profession by any Circean avocation whatever. He is now the second partner in the prominent firm of Wetmore, Noyes & Hinckley. Wilton M. Lindsey was born in the township of Pine Grove, this county, June 8, 1 841. His literary studies were completed in the academy at Ran- dolph, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., and the State Normal School at Edinboro, Pa. He studied law in the office of Hon. S. P. Johnson, of Warren, and was admitted on the 4th of March, 1872. He enlisted in Company F, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the last war (August 13, 1862), served until January 27, 1863, when he was discharged on sur- geon's certificate of disability. On the 1st of October, 1865, he was appointed county superintendent of common schools for Warren county ; was elected to the same office on the 4th of June, 1866, and was re-elected exactly three years later. On the 1st of December 1871, he resigned this office. In 1877 and 1878 he represented his native county in the State Legislature. James Cable, son of Thomas Cable, was born in Pine Grove township on the nth of March, 1848, and was educated at Randolph, N. Y., and at the Union School and Collegiate Institute at Jamestown, N. Y. He then studied law in the office of Dinsmoor & Reeves, and was admitted to the bar on the 20th of January, 1876. Although he now limits his avocations to his chosen profession, he occupied a portion of his time for the first three years of his practice in the service of the several most prominent insurance companies in this part of the country. He resided at Pine Grove until 1874, since which time he has been a resident of Warren. Perry D. Clark was born on the 7th of June, 1851, in Ellery township, Chautauqua county, N. Y., and obtained a good education at Forestville, in the county of his birth, and at Cornell University. He studied law in the office of S. D. Halladay, at Ithaca, N. Y., and, before coming to Pennsylvania to live, was admitted to practice in the highest courts of that State. After coming to Warren from Ithaca he continued the study of law in the office of Brown & Stone for eight months, and was admitted to practice in the courts of this county on the 2d of September, 1878. Homer J. Muse was born on the 26th day of November, 1855, at Browns- ville (now Sandy Lake), Mercer county, Pa., and received his education at the New Lebanon Academy, New Lebanon, Pa. His preparatory law studies were pursued in the offices of Hon. Samuel C. T. Dodd and Hon. J. W. Lee, of Franklin, Pa. He was admitted to the bar of Venango county on the 21st 322 History of Warren County. of April, 1879, and at Warren June 6, 1882. On the 3d of March, 1884, by reason of the illness of the district attorney of Warren county, he was ap- pointed by the court assistant district attorney for one term of court. Since attaining years of maturity he has resided successively at New Lebanon, Franklin, and Coleville, Pa., besides Warren, his present place of residence. From June, 1879, to April, 1882, he practiced at the bar of McKean county; was admitted to practice in the courts of Warren county in June, 1882, and in September following took up his residence in his adopted county. George H. Higgins was born in Sparta township, Crawford county, Pa., and acquired his literary education in the common schools of his native place and in the High School in Watertown, N. Y. Preparatory to his career at the bar he studied law in the office of S T. Allen, and was admitted to practice in Warren county on the 6th of July, 1880. On the 9th of May, 1884, he was appointed by the court district attorney, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William Swanson, and in the following November was elected for a term of three years. His term therefore continues until November, 1887. Watson D. Hinckley was born on the 17th day of March, 1854, in Fre- donia, Chautauqua county, N. Y., and in the academic department of the State Normal School at that place prepared for college. He completed his scho- lastic training in the University of Michigan. He studied law with Nelson B. Smiley, and was admitted to practice in Warren county on the 12th day of July, 1882. At first he resided at Bradford, but for several years has lived in Warren. In February, 1880, he was elected one of the aldermen of Bradford city for a term of five years, but on the 1st of July, 1882, he resigned this office. He is the youngest member of the firm of Wetmore, Noyes & Hinckley. John W. Dunkle was born on the 9th of November, 1856, at West Free- dom, Clarion county, Pa. He attended the public schools of Perry township, Clarion county, until 1874, and then passed two years in the State Normal School at Edinboro, Pa., after which he took a thorough course in the law school at Ann Arbor, Mich., from which he was graduated in the spring of 1 88 1. During the summer and fall of 1 881 he read law in the office of Brown & Stone, and was admitted to practice in Warren county on the 1st of May, 1882. Since then he has resided at North Clarendon, in this county. He was elected burgess of Clarendon borough in February, 1883, and served his full term. From the spring of 1882 for three years he was notary public. George N. Frazine was born on the 25th of August, i860, at Sugar Grove, in this county. He attended a full course in the State Normal School of Fredonia, N. Y., from which he was graduated in the class of 1879. In 1884 he was graduated from Yale College with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, cum laude, an honor reserved for those alone who make an exceptionally brill- iant record in that institution. He then removed to Warren, and after a course of study in the offices of Brown & Ball and Brown & Stone, was ad- The Bench and Bar. 323 mitted to practice in the courts of Warren county on the 3d of September, 1883. He is the senior member of the firm of Frazine & Wiggins. James W. Wiggins, junior member of the firm last above named, was born in Sugar Grove on the 17th of June, 1858, and was educated in the common schools of his native town and in Allegheny College. After a full course of study in the law offices of Johnson, Lindsey & Parmlee, he was admitted to the bar of this county on the 3d of March, 1884, since which time he has car- ried on a successful practice in Warren county, residing at Warren. William E. Rice was born on the 19th of December, 1860, at Lottsville, in this county, and was educated at the Chamberlain Institute, at Randolph, N. Y., and at Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pa. His preliminary law stud- ies were pursued under the direction of Wetmore, Noyes & Hinckley, of War- ren, after which course, and on the 6th of April, 1885, he was admitted to practice. J. W. Kinnear, of Tidioute, was born in that village on the 2d day of Au- gust, 1859, and was graduated from Allegheny College in 1882. He began the study of law in the office of Brown & Stone, at Warren, and was admitted to the bar of the county on the 16th of April, 1885. W. V. N. Yates was born at Columbus, Warren county, on the 1st day of August, 1859. He attended the common schools of his native town and of Corry, and took a course in Allegheny College and in Buchtel College, at Akron, Ohio, from which he was graduated in the class of 1882. The first three years of his course as a law student were passed in the office of Brown & Stone, and the last year with Johnson, Lindsey & Parmlee. On the 28th of June, 1886, he was admitted to practice in the courts of this county. On the nth of June, 1885, he was appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania to the office of notary public for a term of four years. He has obtained most of the means for his own education by his own efforts, having at one time been teacher in the High School at Corry and at another principal of the schools at Clymer, N. Y. His studies in Allegheny College extended from the fall of 1876 until (excepting one year) the end of the fall term of 1881, when he went to Buchtel College. From the latter institution he received the de- gree Ph.D. Charles L. Cooper was born in Farmington township, in this county, on the 3d of September, i860. His preparatory law studies were pursued in the office of Ball & Thompson. He was admitted to the bar on the 5th of Octo- ber, 1886, and has begun the practice of his profession in Warren. 324 History of Warren County. CHAPTER XXXII. HISTORY OF THE BOROUGH OP WARREN. UPON the old French and English colonial maps of this part of America, made, of course, before the beginning of the Revolutionary War, a point on the right bank of the Allegheny River, just below its junction with the Cone- wango, is marked by a word variously written " Kanoagoa," " Canawagy," " Canawago," etc., meaning an Indian village, which it seems was chiefly oc- cupied by the Munsey tribe. It is our belief, however, that this Indian settlement was located from one to two miles below the mouth of the Conewango. When Colonel Brodhead led his troops into this region in 1779 and justly retaliated upon Cornplanter (the leader of the Senecas at the Wyoming and Cherry Val- ley massacres), by destroying his towns and cornfields, he reported that Cana- wago "had been deserted about eighteen months past." Again, in 1785, when General William Irvine explored a portion of the Allegheny valley in quest of good lands to be donated to Revolutionary soldiers, he said : " From Broken- straw to Conewagoo is eight or nine miles, here [at Conewagoo] is a narrow bottom, interspersed with good dry land and meadow ground all the way, and there is a remarkable fine tract at the mouth of the Conewagoo, of a thousand or more acres." Thus a distinction, clear and unmistakable, was made between the Indian town of Conewagoo and the mouth of the Conewango. Since the year 1795 the same place — at the junction of the Allegheny and Conewango — has, upon the maps of the Commonwealth, been occupied by the word Warren — the town of Warren. The location is picturesquely beautiful at all seasons ; hence for nearly a hundred years complimentary terms in its praise have been uttered by stranger and resident alike. Nestling at the south- ern foot of a high, precipitous, and wooded ridge — the former shore of the ancient Allegheny, when it was a mighty stream — its residents are protected almost wholly from the chilly northern and northwestern blasts of winter. The Conewango forms its eastern boundary. In front the waters of the Allegheny flow ceaselessly on, around a bend grand and symmetrical in its proportions. Away beyond the river the hills of Pleasant township, which once formed the southern shore of the old Allegheny, stand out in bold relief, while extended views, up and down the stream, of successive ranges of high hills, fading grad- ually away in the distance in a blue mist, completes a picture of rare loveliness. In truth nature has done much, man but very little, in adding to or perpet- uating the beauties of Warren and its surroundings. The men to whom more credit is due than all others in preserving for all time one natural feature, at least, of which the eye never wearies, were General William Irvine and Colonel Andrew Ellicott, the commissioners appointed by Governor Mifflin to lay out m ^ fi^T^^t^tsUy Borough of Warren. 3 2 5 the town. This they accomplished by simply running Water street parallel with and next to the river bank, thus leaving an unobstructed view of river and street for a distance of more than half a mile. Judging from the past, however, residents have but little appreciation of the value and beauty of their inheritance, this magnificent sweep, side by side, of river and avenue. For scores of years — indeed since the first settlement of the town — this bank, rising gradually from fifteen to twenty-five feet above the river's surface — has been a common dumping-ground of all the filth and rubbish which usually finds its way to such places, and each year mother earth, as if ashamed of the desecration, of man's abominable practices, sends up a rank growth of wild grasses, weeds, and briars to cover the forbidding spots. In the future, doubtless, a transformation will be brought about by driving a row of piles, extending from the outer face of the suspension bridge abut- ment to a point on the bank some eight or ten rods below (thus doing away with the dirty little eddy which, while it may have been of value in the past, is now but a summer's nuisance, a depository along the shore of all the sewage, garbage, and trash which comes within its influence), tearing out the unsightly " lock-up," disposing in some way of the old Tanner building, filling up the yawning chasm of filth there to be found, grading an easy slope from the street level to the water's edge, sodding or seeding the same with blue grass, and thence continuing the work of grading and sodding to the railroad bridge ; finishing by cutting down the telegraph poles, building a sidewalk, planting shade trees, and placing park benches along the way. Few towns in America are afforded such a grand opportunity as this for the construction of a magnifi- cent promenade. And when such an improvement is made it will add more to the beauty of the town, to the pride of its inhabitants, to their health and wealth, than the erection of five hundred buildings. In a number of the preceding chapters of this work frequent mention of Warren and its site has been made, during the period beginning with the French occupation of this valley and extending down to the date of its survey and settlement by the Americans. Hence, to avoid unnecessary repetition, this sketch of the history of the town of Warren begins with the year 1795. During that year, " in order to facilitate and promote the progress of settle- ments within the Commonwealth, and to afford additional security to the fron- tiers by the establishment of towns," an act was passed by the State Legislature, April 18, providing for laying out towns at Presque Isle, at the mouth of French Creek, at the mouth of Conewango Creek, and at Fort Le Boeuf. Of the town to be laid out at the mouth of the Conewango, it was ordered that the commissioners to be appointed by the governor " shall survey or cause to be surveyed three hundred acres for town lots, and seven hundred acres of land adjoining thereto for out lots, at the most eligible place within the tract heretofore reserved [in 1789] for public use at the mouth of Conewango Creek ; 326 History of Warren County. and the lands so surveyed shall be respectively laid out and divided into town lots and out lots, in such manner, and with such streets, lanes, alleys, and res- ervations for public uses, as the said commissioners shall direct ; but no town lot shall contain more than one third of an acre, no out lot shall contain more than five acres, nor shall the reservations for public uses exceed in the whole, ten acres ; and the town hereby directed to be laid out, shall be called ' War- ren,' and all the streets, lanes, and alleys thereof, and of the lots thereto adjoin- ing, shall be and remain common highways." As if still doubtful of the friendship of the Indians occupying this part of the country — owing, probably, to the hostile feeling displayed by Cornplanter and his band during the previous year — the act further provided that the troops stationed, or to be stationed, at Fort Le Bceuf should be used to protect and assist the commissioners, surveyors, and others while engaged in executing the provisions of the act. General William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott were the commissioners appointed to lay out town plots at the four points indicated, and it is believed, though we have seen no evidence of the fact, that their task was completed in 1795. Be that as it may, however, the lots in the new towns of Warren, Erie, Franklin, and Waterford were not offered for sale until August, 1796, when they were cried at auction at Carlisle, Pa. The original lots of the town of Warren were five hundred and twenty-four in number, each being 58^- feet in width, street frontage, and 233-7 feet in depth. Water, Market, and High streets are presumed to be 100 feet in width, the others 60 feet. Six streets running nearly east and west, and ten nearly north and south, all crossing at right angles, comprised the highways of the original plot. After the county began to be settled John Andrews, one of the first settlers of the county, was appointed State commissioner, to dispose of the lots at public sale, and during the ten years succeeding 1797 sold all of them. They were purchased by the farmer settlers of this county, Venango, Crawford, and other counties, and some by Indians. The prices ranged from $2.50 to $6 per lot. One-third of the purchase money was required to be paid at once, the balance at the convenience of the purchaser — which with some, it seems, was never convenient. Indeed, but few of the original purchasers ever procured patents for their lots, but suffered them to be sold at county treasur- er's sale for taxes, and the purchasers at such sales, or their assignees, procured patents. Hon. David Brown, the father of the present president-judge, was the original purchaser of more than one hundred lots. Subsequently he trans- ferred them to other persons, and finally these went the way of a majority of the others — were sold at treasurer's sale — and the titles passed to new owners. Until about 1794-95, the site of the town was covered with a luxuriant growth of white, black and red oak of large size. At that time a party of the Holland Land Company's surveyors, under the orders and personal supervision of Andrew Ellicott, the noted surveyor, and his son-in-law, Dr. Kennedy Borough of Warren. 327 (subsequently the builder and owner of Kennedy's mills), were encamped upon the bank of the river near where the old Tanner storehouse now stands. One night a terrific storm of rain, accompanied with thunder, lightning and wind of irresistible force, came sweeping up the valley from the west and prostrated every thing in its path from the western part of the town's site to Glade Run. The inmates of the "camp," or shanty of poles and bark, fled for safety to the small bar or island where Rathbun's grocery was for many years a landmark. It was fortunate for them that they hesitated not upon the order of their going for their shanty was blown down and two of their pack horses were killed by the falling trees. A few years later a fire swept over this windfall, burning the small brush and much of the fallen timber. The remainder furnished dry firewood for the early inhabitants. Then sprung up the growth of scrub oaks remembered by some persons still living. About the year 1796, the surveyors employed by the Holland Land Com- pany erected a building of hewn timbers for the storage of their supplies — tools, provisions, etc. This building, the first permanent structure reared on the site of Warren, stood down on Water street in the near vicinity of Page's blacksmith shop. For two years it had no floor other than the ground, no chimney other than a hole in the center of a leaky roof. It has been related that Daniel McQuay, then in the employment of the land company, occupied this building as a dwelling house during the first or second year after its erec- tion, thus earning the distinction of being the first inhabitant of the town. He then located on the Little Brokenstraw just above its mouth. He was the wit of the valley. A genuine son of Erin, full of recklessness and adventure, fond of fun, fight and whiskey, and the only man who ever made from two to ten trips from the Brokenstraw to New Orleans on boats of lumber and traveled back afoot. This was a perilous undertaking prior to 18 10, which was subse- quent to the first trip or two made by him, for saying nothing of walking nearly two thousand five hundred miles, the few towns along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers were then but insignificant villages, and all else between them tangled thickets, swamps and dense forests infested by Indians, wild ani- mals, and frequently by worse foes — white desperadoes and highwaymen. When James Morrison, jr., accompanied by his brother-in-law, Galen Murdock, arrived on the site of Warren in June, 1798, the only evidences of civilization and improvement to be seen here were the Holland Land Com- pany's unoccupied storehouse, and a small abandoned improvement near Reig's old tannery, made by George Slone, a blacksmith, afterwards a well- known resident of the Beech Woods settlement. Morrison and Murdock came from Lycoming county, and accomplished the journey by pushing a canoe up the Sinnemahoning and the Drift Wood Branch until the immense piles of driftwood prevented their further progress by water. Leaving their canoe, they packed their effects on their backs, and a little more than one day's walk 328 History of Warren County. brought them to the waters of the Allegheny. There they felled a large pine tree, made a commodious canoe, and continued their way to Warren. From that time the place where they embarked on the Allegheny was known as "Canoe Place," and many other early adventurers pursued the same route and plan in journeying from the West Branch of the Susquehanna westward. In 1800 James Morrison, sr., a soldier of the Revolutionary War, his brother Jere- miah, and several others of the Morrison and Murdock families, eight or ten men in all, besides women and children, came on from Lycoming county over the route previously described, and settled on the outlots below Warren. At about that time, too, Martin Reese, sr., and family settled in the same locality. In 1804 James Morrison (whether father or son is not known) built a house of hewn timbers on the site of the pipe line office, below R. P. King's residence. During the same year, however, a majority of that family — perhaps all of them — removed to the Kinzua valley and located there permanently. In the mean time Isaac Buckalew had squatted on the bottoms opposite Warren, and for a number of years enjoyed the distinction of being the only resident in Warren county on the east side of the river south of Kinzua. Zachariah Eddy also tarried at Warren for a brief period as early as 1801, but did not become a permanent resident until some twelve or fifteen years later. John Gilson, who resided in Sheffield for many years and attained an age of nearly ninety, stated, years before his death, that his father, John Gilson, sr., was a native of New England, either Massachusetts or Connecticut, but before removing to Warren had resided for some years at a point on the Delaware river in New York. Gilson's family, accompanied by two other families, reached Warren in May, 1803, floating down from Olean on a raft. John Gilson, jr., was- the youngest of a family of eleven children, all of whom lived to be seventy-five or more years of age. During the first year of their arrival here (1803) his father built a house on the site of Ephraim Cowan's former residence on Water street. This was the second building erected upon the inlots of Warren, counting the Holland Land Company's storehouse as the first. In 1804 James Morrison built his house, previously referred to, and Gideon Gilson, son of John, sr., built a house on C. P. Henry's corner. These three houses were built of pine timbers hewn square. Stephen Gilson, son of Gideon, was born soon after their arrival here, and without doubt he was the first white native of the town. John Gilson, sr., died in March, 181 1, and was buried in a small plot set apart for such purposes on the farm of Daniel Jackson. Daniel Jackson, the pioneer, whose name has been written more frequently, perhaps, in connection with the early history of Warren than that of any other person, was a native of Connecticut, but came here from the vicinity of Ithaca, N. Y., in the spring of 1797, and settled upon a tract of land (since known as the Wetmore farm) bordering the run which still bears his name, and distant about one mile north of the town of Warren. Here, about half a mile above Borough of Warren. 329 the mouth of the run, he built a saw-mill (and subsequently a small grist mill) said to have been the first one erected in the county; at least there was but one other to dispute for the priority, and that was the mill built by the Meads on the Brokenstraw. Jackson's mill was completed about the year 1800, and, it has been related, the sawing of the first board was thought to be an event of sufficient importance to call for some unusual demonstration on the part of those present. Accordingly it was placed on the ground, a bottle of whisky brought out, and two individuals, after partaking of its contents sufficiently to give elasticity to their limbs, went through the primitive performance of danc- ing a jig. From this mill, it has been claimed, the first raft of pine lumber ever known to descend the Allegheny from Warren county was safely landed at Pittsburgh. Some aver that this event took place in the year 1799, others in 1 80 1. The raft contained thirty thousand feet and was guided by sitting- poles instead of oars. In coming to this county Jackson traveled by the way of Buffalo and Erie to Waterford ; thence with canoes down French creek and up the Allegheny and Conewango to his place of settlement. His children were Daniel, jr., Ethan, David, Ebenezer and Sylvia, and another daughter who died when quite young. Being so far away from marts of trade and neighbors, he and his family for a few years suffered many and great privations. At one time he was obliged to make a winter's journey on snow shoes to Waterford, a dis- tance of fifty miles, in quest of salt. Steep hillsides, deep ravines and roaring torrents intervened, and over all were cast the shadows of a dense primeval forest unbroken by a single improvement. In 1805 he built the first frame house, and the fourth for dwelling purposes in the town of Warren on the northeast corner of Water and Hickory streets, the lot now occupied by the dilapidated brick block erected by Archibald Tanner in 1849-50. He was licensed to keep an inn in this house by the courts of Venango county in 1806, and continued to be so engaged for a num- ber of years. Lansing Wetmore, Esq., has said that when he first visited Warren in 1815, "Esq. Jackson" kept a tavern at the place described, "and, what was rare in those times, was a temperate landlord." He died on Sunday, June 20, 1830, in the seventy-ninth year of his age, under circumstances pecul- iarly distressing in their nature. In an obituary notice of his death, published soon after in the Voice of the People, certain incidents connected with his life and last illness are noted as follows : "The deceased was a native of the State of Connecticut and at an early day removed to this county and settled on the banks of the Conewango creek, in the immediate neighborhood of this place. With its earliest history and the settlement of the country he was thoroughly conversant, and with the narrative precision of vigorous old age, could tell of 'times and things gone by.' In his hunting excursions he had explored the forests that environ us, and learned 33Q History of Warren County. the windings of the several streams. Beneath his guidance the first raft of lumber ever sawed in this county was molded into form and conveyed on the bosom of the Allegheny to Pittsburgh. " He was commissioned a justice of the peace under the administration of Governor Snyder, and continued to discharge the duties of the station. It was in the honorable discharge of his official duty as a magistrate that he was assailed by Nehemiah Waters and inhumanly bitten in the thumb of his right hand. So envenomed was the wound that his strength of body and constitu- tion (although superior to that of most men of his age) could not resist its influ- ence, and its baneful effects soon set at naught the sedulous attention and skill of his medical assistance and took entire possession of his system. To the last he retained the entire possession of his faculties, and bore the most agonizing pain with a patience and resignation becoming the dignity of christianized old age. "As a magistrate, an honest zeal for justice characterized the performance of his official duties. As a man and a neighbor he was hospitable, friendly, and benevolent ; honest and punctual in his dealings, and social in his inter- course with his fellow-men. As a parent he was tender and affectionate. His eulogy is that name which poetic language has inscribed upon the noblest work of creation — ' an honest man ' : "By nature honest, by experience wise, Healthy by temperance and by exercise, His life though long, to sickness pass'd unknown, His death was peaceful and without a groan." In the winter of 1 805-6 George W. Fenton, father of the late Hon. Reuben E. Fenton, of New York, taught the first school in a vacant room of Daniel Jackson's new house. While here he became acquainted with Miss Elsey Owen, of Carroll, to whom he was married in November following. She was a niece of John King's wife. The name of John King, a " single man," first appeared upon the rolls of the county as a tax-payer in 1 808. From that time until his death, which occurred October 22, 1842, he continued to reside in the town of Warren, and held several positions of honor and trust. He married Betsey, a daughter of John Gilson, sr., August 15, 181 1, who survived until October 23, 1873. The children born to them were J. H. (now the oldest native of the borough, he having been born May 20, 1812), Rufus P., George W., Mrs. Harmon, of War- ren, J. E. King, M. D., of Buffalo, Mrs. Eveline Mead, of Youngsville, and Mrs. Betsey Hunter and Mrs. Malvina Cowan, of Warren. Although the town had been made the county seat of Warren county in 1 800, it improved but slowly, and few, if any, families were added to its popu- lation, other than those already mentioned, until after the close of the War of 1812-15. During the next four years, however, many changes took place in the appearance of the little town ; and when the county was organized, in Borough of Warren. 331 1 8 19, such men as Archibald Tanner, Colonel Joseph Hackney, Lothrop S. Parmlee, Henry Dunn, Zachariah Eddy, Robert Arthur, James Arthur, James Stewart, Ebenezer Jackson, son of Daniel, sr., Dr. Ayres, the son-in-law of the latter, John Andrews, James Follett, Robert Falconer, William Pier, besides a number of blacksmiths, cordwainers, and tailors, were counted as additional residents. Henry Dunn, who at an early day was connected with Hackney & Harri- ott in their lumbering operations on the Conewango, came here from Meadville and became a permanent resident about the year 181 5. For a number of years he kept tavern in a house said to have been erected by Martin Reese about 18 12. This building, of hewn timbers, stood upon the grounds now occupied by the First National Bank. Dunn's Tavern was a popular resort, and at one time he entertained as a guest the notorious Aaron Burr, who, being storm-bound, was compelled to tarry here several days while en route down the river to the home of Blennerhasset. Subsequently Dunn built quite a pretentious hostelry on the northwest corner of Second and Liberty streets, afterwards known as the Hackney House and the Russell House corner. Robert Falconer was a native of Scotland. For some years prior to the beginning of the War of 18 12 he, in partnership with his bachelor brother Patrick, had been engaged in the mercantile business in the city of New York, having also a branch house at Charleston, S. C. When the war began, Pat- rick, whose sympathies for Great Britain were very strong, determined to remain in this " blarsted country" no longer, and, returning to Scotland, con- tinued there until his death. He never married. After the restoration of peace, Robert, having disposed of his business affairs at New York and Charles- ton, began to look about for a country home for the benefit of his wife, who was in a declining state of health. He had been advised by physicians to find some place where hills or mountains, pine forests, and clear running streams abounded. In some way, probably through his Long Island friend, Abraham D. Ditmars, he heard of this then forlorn, out-of-the-way place, and concluded to make a personal inspection of a region so highly extolled by land agents. Accordingly, he first came here with Ditmars and his family in 18 15. The journey was a memorable one. Ditmars started with two good wagons, well loaded, good teams, etc., and reached Chandler's Valley with one horse and the fore wheels of one wagon only. The route followed led through New Jer- sey to the crossing of the Delaware at Easton, thence to Bellefonte, and on over the mountains to Holman's Ferry on the Allegheny, thence via Titusville and Brokenstraw to Chandler's Valley. It required five weeks to accomplish the journey, and when it was concluded Ditmar's effects, as well as some mem- bers of his family, were scattered along the way from Bellefonte westward. They were finally gathered up, after much trouble and expense. Falconer came through with the advance-guard of the party, including Ditmars. Not- 22 332 History of Warren County. withstanding the difficulties encountered in getting here, he seems to have been favorably impressed with the appearance of things, and purchased quite largely of lands in town and country. Man is a strange, perverse animal, to say the least, and his freaks when migrating are quite aptly illustrated in Falconer's case. It does not appear that he came here with any intention of becoming a farmer, but merely to found a home in a retired, wholesome locality. Hence, unless it was his wish to place a great distance between himself and his former haunts, he could have gone up the Hudson River but a few miles, compara- tively speaking, and there found hills and mountains, umbrageous forests of pine and hemlock, swiftly-flowing streams of pure, sparkling water ; and a region, too, where the health-destroying clouds do not bank upon the ground in the valleys at nightfall, and remain until eight or nine o'clock each morning for seven months in the year. The lands along the Hudson were then equally as cheap as those in Warren county. To-day they are worth so much more, with no oil or gas considered in the prospective, that a comparison would be, in most cases, as one to one hundred. Falconer returned to New York and completed hi% arrangements for a removal to Warren ; but his wife died ere the second trip was commenced, hence he reappeared at Warren alone. He soon became one of its prominent and highly-respected citizens; was elected a county commissioner in 1823, and was numbered as one of the merchants of the town prior to 1830. In 1834 he completed the stone building on High street, known during late years as the " Tanner House," and, when the Lumbermen's Bank (of which he was presi- dent) was organized during the same year, its office was established in that structure. As shown elsewhere, the bank failed in 1838. Being severely and probably unjustly censured by reason of this failure, Mr. Falconer never regained his former exuberance of spirits and business activity, and finally sank into a state of utter helplessness, physically speaking, which only ended with his death. He married a second wife in this county, but left no children. The present Falconers are descendants of Patrick, a son of Patrick the brother of Robert, who, when the last war with England began, would not live longer in a country where dukes and lords and kings and queens were spoken of irrev- erently, and returned to Scotland. Robert Falconer purchased for this nephew a fine farm, now occupied, in whole or in part, by the State Asylum at North Warren. Colonel Joseph Hackney, a leading and highly-respected citizen among the pioneers in both Crawford and Warren counties, was born at the "Little Falls," on the Mohawk River, N. Y., of Holland Dutch parentage, in 1763. The opportunities afforded him of acquiring the most common rudiments of an edu- cation were very meager indeed, and at the early age of seventeen years he entered the American army and served during the remainder of the Revolu- tionary War. Subsequently he served against the Western Indians, during Borough of Warren. 333 the years 1785-90. In 1790 he joined a detachment of troops at Pittsburgh which proposed moving down the Ohio River to Fort Washington (now Cin- cinnati) and there join General Harmer, who was then preparing for a cam- paign against the northwestern tribes. At Pittsburgh supplies for the troops were placed on board of " Durham " boats and started down the river, while the main body of the armed force marched by land. Hackney went in one of the boats commanded by Captain Doughty. At or near the mouth of the Muskingum they were fired upon by a party of Indians lying in ambush on shore. The steersman was mortally wounded and fell. Hackney sprang for- ward to take his place, and ordered the men to pull for the opposite shore. He had scarcely taken the oar in his hand when a rifle ball shattered his arm above the elbow, rendering that member useless. He seized the oar with his other hand and, amid the whistling of bullets, exhorted the men to pull for life. Encouraged by his heroism they did pull, and as fast as one was shot down another took his place, until they were out of reach of the enemy's balls. Of the seven men in the boat five were killed or mortally wounded, and Hack-- ney and Captain Doughty were the only survivors of the party. Wounded. and disabled, Hackney was unable to join the main body of the army and par- ticipate in the battle which followed and resulted in the disastrous defeat of General Harmer's army of about fifteen hundred officers and men. Returning to Pittsburgh, he soon after engaged in the mercantile business" with Oliver Ormsby, and remained there until 1794, when he removed to Meadville. There he erected a small frame building (which is still standing) in 1797, and kept store in it until his removal to Warren county. When Crawford county was organized in 1 800, with four other counties attached to it, including Warren, he was one of the first.county commissioners to be elected, and served as such from 1800 to 1802, also from 181 1 to 1814. In 1815 he, in partnership with Major James Herriott, of Meadville, purchased the saw- mill on the Conewango near Irvineburg, which was in operation and owned by Colt & Marlin (the Col. Ralph Marlin particularly mentioned during the ses- sions of the first term of court held in Warren county) as early as 1 808. In 1 8 17 Colonel Hackney became a permanent resident in the town of Warren, and in 18 18-19 he, together with Jacob Harrington and James Cochran, rep- resented the district composed of Crawford, Erie, Mercer, Venango and War- ren counties in the State Legislature ; thus being in a position to introduce and advocate a bill providing for the organization of Warren county. When this event took place he was one of the two associate judges first commissioned, and served as such until his death, which occurred May 20, 1832. His title of colonel seems to have been honorary, at least it does not appear that he held that rank during his active service as a soldier. Archibald Tanner, Warren's first merchant, and, we believe, its first post- master, was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, February 3, 1786, and re- 334 History of Warren County. moved with his father's family to New Connecticut, Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1802. He came to Warren in 18 16 and at once began a successful business career here by occupying part of Daniel Jackson's bar-room and offering for sale at retail a small stock of merchandise. Jackson's tavern, as before stated, stood on the corner of Water and Hickory streets, now occupied by the Tanner block. During that or the following year, Mr. Tanner built a small store on the river bank nearly opposite the tavern mentioned, and occupied it for the sale of his goods as soon as it was completed. There is quite an interesting story connected with the history of this build- ing which has been related to us in substance about as follows: The ground utilized by Mr. Tanner had not been laid out as a town lot or as a fractional part of one, but was and is yet considered part of the public domain of 3,000 acres reserved in 1789, besides being the natural bank of a navigable stream. Some years subsequent to the building of Tanner's store, a man named Hunter, considering that he had as good a right to occupy the bank in question as Tanner, proposed to erect a building just above Tanner's, or near the north end of the present suspension bridge, and there collected a considerable quan- tity of building material — timbers and lumber. Tanner objected to Hunter's occupancy of the site selected, and a bitter personal quarrel followed. Finally -Hunter desisted from his purpose of building, but had Tanner indicted as a trespasser upon the lands of the Commonwealth. But Tanner seemed to be a man who could easily surmount difficulties, both great and small, and employ- ing counsel (Thomas Struthers, we believe); the latter proceeded to Harrisburg and secured the passage of a legislative act by the provisions of which Tanner was permitted to remain in peaceful possession of the building he had erected, and to repair it from time to time when necessary, but was denied the privilege of rebuilding. With the decay or destruction of the structure the occupancy of its site for private purposes should cease. Need we add the building still stands in a good state of preservation and is now known as the La Pierre res- taurant? Conflagrations have repeatedly swept away rows of buildings in front and to the right of it, yet by reason of its somewhat isolated location it has escaped them all. It has been carefully and systematically repaired at divers times, from foundation walls to roof top, and to-day, probably, is much in the same condition as the famous old United States frigate Constitution was rep- resented to be in when she went out of commission and was broken up — con- taining not a single panel, plank, or timber of the original vessel. It has been related of Mr. Tanner that in the spring of 1817 he descended the Allegheny and Ohio rivers with a raft of pine boards, thence down the Mississippi to New Orleans. After disposing of his lumber he proceeded to New York in a sailing vessel, where he purchased a stock of merchandise, transported the same overland to Olean and floated from that point down the river to Warren in a boat built for the purpose. That stock of goods was the ■ --'v.. f f 'tyy ' « mk k H iMkJ. Borough of Warren. 335 beginning, the nucleus, of the handsome estate which a long life of industry, perseverance and honorable dealing enabled him to accumulate. He served as the first treasurer of the"county, and also held the office of postmaster for years prior to 1829. In building he had no equal in the early history of Warren. The first steamboat to navigate the upper Allegheny was a monument to his enterprise and public spirit. He was an early member of the Presbyterian Church, and when the first church edifice of the society was erected he was much the largest contributor. He died in Warren February 15, 1861, aged seventy-five years. Lothrop S. Parmlee, Archibald Tanner's competitor in the mercantile busi- ness for about twenty years, located here permanently in 1817. He passed some months at Warren as early as 1808. Subsequently he had resided at Marietta, Ohio, and Jamestown, N. Y.; was engaged in merchandising at the latter place just before removing to Warren. A native or former resident of Oneida county, N. Y., he was gentlemanly in his manners, high spirited, im- pulsive and loquacious. Both he and Mr. Tanner were enterprising, fair- dealing business men, and by their example and public spirit did much to mould and shape and give character and stability to the early residents of the town. In 1 8 19 Ebenezer Jackson had nearly completed a building on the Carver House corner. In it the first term of court was held, commencing Monday, November 29 of that year, and here Jackson and his successors kept tavern for many years. It finally became known as the Warren Hotel, but after the lapse of thirty years from its completion gave place to the Carver House. Among others who became residents during the years from 18 19 to 1822 were William Arthur ; Joseph Adams, a carpenter ; Philo Brewer, cordwainer ; John Brown, prothonotary ; Samuel Graham, tailor ; John Hackney, tailor ; Daniel Houghwout, carpenter ; Josiah Hall, a law student with Abner Hazel- tine ; David Jackson ; Abner Hazeltine, attorney at law ; Abel Mansfield, car- penter ; William Olney, carpenter ; Joseph Hall, stone mason ; Asa Scott, blacksmith ; Hezekiah Sawyer, carpenter ; Samuel Saxton ; Lansing Wet- more ; Johnson Wilson ; A. Stebbins, shoemaker ; R. Chipman, shoemaker ; J. Dinnin, tailor ; Adam Deitz, gunsmith ; Miner Curtis, shoemaker. At a later period, yet prior to 1830, some old numbers of the Warren Gazette furnish valuable information concerning the town and its inhabit- ants. Thus, early in the spring of 1826 Archibald Tanner informed the public through the columns of the Gazette that he continued to keep on hand " an extensive assortment of Dry Goods, Hardware, Queen's Ware, Glass Ware, Men's and Women's Shoes, Straw Bonnets, &c. Spades, Shovels, Tongs, Tea kettles, a few barrels of Dried Apples, Old Pittsburgh Whiskey, Tea, Chocolate, Coffee, Pearlash, Pork, Cheese, Codfish, Lard, Flour, Salt, &c, all of which will be sold as low for ready pay as can be purchased in the Western country." 336 History of Warren County. At the time Tanner began his career as a merchant in Warren, flour was worth $15 per barrel; salt, $2.75 per bushel; tobacco, 50 cents per pound; bacon and pork, 25 cents per pound; tea, $3.00 per pound ; black cambric 50 cents per yard ; cotton sheeting, unbleached, 62 cents per yard ; India sheet- ing, 70 cents per yard ; coffee, 37-5- cents per pound ; whisky, $1.75 per gallon ; ginger, $1.00 per pound; pepper, 62 cents per pound ; allspice, 62 cents per pound. On the 6th of May, 1826, the Gazette announced "the arrival in this port, on Tuesday last, of the Transport, 12 tons burthen, D. Jackson of this place master, in 13 days from Pittsburgh, laden with flour, whisky, iron, nails, glass, &c, for A. Tanner and others; " also on the same day two other keel boats with two passengers and more whisky from Freeport. On the 27th of the same month and year, the editor said : " On Wednesday last the citizens of our village [he was more modest than present ones, who term a small borough a city] for the first time were cheered by the arrival in it of a four-horse stage. It will be seen by the advertisement of Edson & Ea- ton [Obed Edson and Harry Eaton] that they have commenced running their line of stages regularly between Dunkirk (on Lake Erie) and this place. This speaks much in favor of the population and improvement of our country." He further remarked that if any one had talked in favor of such an enterprise five years previously he would have been regarded as " visionary and chimerical." Under the management as then announced, stages were run twice a week between Dunkirk and Jamestown, and once a week between Dunkirk and Warren. A few weeks later Uriah Hawks made his bow to the public, and informed the readers of the Gazette that he had " opened a shop on Water street, east of Jackson's Hotel, where he has on hand and will continue to keep spinning- wheels of all kinds, made of the best stuff, which he will sell cheap for cash or country produce." During the latter part of May, 1827, Joseph Hackney advertised that he had " taken the commodious stand in the town of Warren known as the ' Man- sion House,' lately occupied by William Pierpont, and has supplied himself with a stock of liquors and other accommodations suitable for travellers, and all those who please to honor him with their custom." In 1828 Orris Hall gave notice " that he has just received from New York and offers for sale in this village, as cheap for cash as can be purchased in the Western country, a general assortment of Foreign and Domestic goods," etc., etc. " Also Liquors, Loaf and Brown Sugar." L. S. Parmlee likewise an- nounced for sale in the same number " an elegant assortment of Dry Goods, as cheap as the cheapest." There was also noted in the columns of the Gazette, in the summer of 1828, the arrival "from Europe of eighty German and French emigrants, Borough of Warren. 337 who have pitched their tents at the mouth of the Conewango, where they are visited by the citizens of the village old and young, and while looking at their quaint dress and wooden shoes, they can but gaze and wonder." During the same year, too, Thomas Struthers and Samuel A. Purviance, attorneys at law, became residents of the town. On the 22d of January, 1829, in a description of the town, furnished at the solicitation of the publishers of the United States Gazette, the editor of the Warren Gazette said : " The only public buildings we can boast of is a brick court-house and public offices of stone, fire-proof. The court-house is not large, but neat and convenient, substantially built and well finished, with a well-toned bell in it weighing with the yoke 362 pounds. We have a jail, also, although it has once or twice been mistaken for a hirkey pen. Our village con- tains fifty dwelling houses, mostly frame, two stories high, painted white, and tenanted. Five stores (well filled), three taverns, two tanneries, two black- smith shops, five shoemakers, one saddler and harness maker, two chair makers, one wheel wright, one cabinet maker, two carpenters and joiners, one hatter, one wagon maker, six lawyers, two doctors, one baker, two masons, six free- masons, two saw mills, and a grist mill." The chief event of this year (1829) was the celebration of the 4th of July. It had been decided to assemble at " one of the Sisters," a small romantic isl- and in the Allegheny River, about one mile and a half above the village. Ac- cordingly about half-past one P. M. the party embarked on the Warren Packet. A small band struck up Hail Columbia and the boat moved off. But the voy- age up the river suddenly terminated at the " ripples," where the craft stuck fast in the gravel, and the passengers, instead of going up, were only too glad to come down again ; the men of the party being compelled to get out into shallow water and shove the boat off. This done they floated down with the current, and landed at the point formed by the confluence of the Allegheny and Conewango rivers. Here in a beautiful grove " tables were erected and covered with the choicest provisions. After the repast the tables were cleared and the company again took seats, his Honor Judge Hackney, being appointed president, and Thomas Struthers, esq., vice president. Then followed volun- teer toasts by Hon. Joseph Hackney, A. Tanner, esq., Thomas Struthers, esq., W. L. Adams, M. Gallagher, esq., Parker C. Purviance, William P. McDowell, Jefferson Smith, J. H. Shannon, and S. S. Barnes, which were respectively drank amid much good humor. In the evening the party re-embarked on board the boat, and, as the band played several national airs, slowly moved into the current towards the village. ... On landing a procession was formed, and to an appropriate air struck up by the band it proceeded to Mechanics Hall, from which place the company retired to their homes at an early hour, all well pleased with the amusements of the day." In 1830 the merchants doing business in Warren were Archibald Tanner, 338 History of Warren County. Lothrop S. Parmlee, Robert Falconer, Orris Hall, Samuel D. Hall, Daniel Chase, and N. A. Lowry, dealers in general merchandise; O. Stanton & Co., grocers, and Milton Ford, grocer and druggist. The physicians during the same year were Abraham Hazeltine and Thomas Huston. By a legislative enactment approved April 3, 1832, the town was erected into a borough. The first borough election was held at the court-house May 7, 1832, when the following officers were chosen: John Andrews, burgess; Joseph Hackney, Lansing Wetmore, Zachariah Eddy, James Stewart, and Albinus Stebbins, town council. On the 12th of May following the burgess and council appointed Thomas Struthers clerk, and John King street commis- sioner, and June 2, of the same year, Dr. Abraham Hazeltine was appointed borough treasurer. At the time of its incorporation the town contained three hundred and fifty- eight inhabitants. The first separate assessment roll of those residing or owning taxable property within the borough limits — the original in lots comprising three hundred acres — was completed in 1833, and from this list it is ascertained that the names of the taxable inhabitants at that time were as follows : Andrews, John, county commissioners' clerk, Arthur, James, lumberman. [etc. Arthur, Robert, lumberman. Adams, Warren L., cabinet maker. Adams, Joseph, mechanic. Booker, Philip, shoemaker. Brown, Alfred, single man. [nery. Bostwick, Henry, owner of shoe shop and tan- Blackley, John, single man. Bell, William, mechanic. Brown, Henry. Brownell, Silas. Chase, Daniel, merchant. Coe, Ariel. [fice. Clemons, Thomas, proprietor of printing of- Curtis, Asa. Curtis, Miner, shoemaker. Crippen, Daniel. Ditmars, John, single man. Deitz, Adam, gunsmith. Davis, John F., tailor. Eddy, Zachariah. Eddy, Isaac S., single man. Eddy, William. Edgar, John, mechanic. Ferguson, Morgan, mechanic. Farrington, Jesse, shoemaker. Ford, Milton, grocer. Falconer, Robert, merchant. Graham, Samuel. Gray, Simon. Gregory, Porter. Gregory, Asa. Gordon, Joseph C, tavern keeper. Graham, James W., single man. Gordon, Lewis, single man. Geer, Benjamin. Geer, Caleb. Hunter, John. Hodges, Walter W. Hall, Joseph. Hawley, Alpheus, prop'r carding mills. Hall, Samuel D., merchant. Hackney, Joseph W., tavern keeper. Hodge, William. Hall, Josiah, attorney at law. Hackney, John. Hackney, Joseph C. Hawk, Peter. Hazeltine, Abraham, physician. Hackney, Margaret, widow. Houghwout, Daniel, carpenter. Hook, Orrin. Hook, Francis. Hall, Orris, merchant. Hook, Moses. Jackson, David. Jackson, Ebenezer. Jackson, Thomas W. Kidder, Truman. King, John. King, J. Hamilton. 1* '.■{,L>- £na« b^, B. £'.&=,';.■- ^ on , : -_M-, >7: Borough of Warren. 339 Kidder, Nelson. Luther, Jacob, shoemaker. Lilly, Henry. Lane, Asahel, single man. McDowell, William P., merchant. Masten, Cornelius, Morrison, Abijah. Morrison, William, single man. Mead, Darius. Mead, William. Merrill, Gilman, attorney at law. Magee, Dudley. Miles, Robert. Newman, Hiram S., profession. Nugent, James, mechanic. Olney, Rufus, potter. Osmer, John P., mechanic. Olney, William A. Portman, John. Pier, William, justice of the peace. Parmlee, Lothrop S., merchant. Parker, Timothy F., physician. Pierce, Thompson, single man. Ray, Nesbit. Reese, Martin. Russell, Robert. Stewart, James. Struthers, Thomas, attorney at law. Sayles, Scott W. Sands, Alanson. Smith, William. Stebbins, Albinus, mechanic. Snyder, Simon, single man. Scott, Asa, blacksmith. Summerton, J. D., grocer; came here Cayuga county, N. Y., in 1832. Stone, Ellery, shoemaker. Stanton, Daniel, single man. Snyder, George, mechanic. Sargent, 1 Henry, physician. Skinner, Archibald, single man. Stevenson, Simeon G., tin smith. Stevenson, Reuben, mechanic. Steadman, James. Smith, Abel. Turner, Thomas, tavern keeper. Turner, Joshua, burgess. Taylor, Justus, mechanic. Tanner, Cyrus, single man. Tanner, Archibald, merchant. Temple, Stephen, single man. Wetmore, Lansing, attorney at law. from Reed, Samuel, single man. The year 1834 was made memorable in the history of the borough by the building of the academy and the organization of the Lumbermen's Bank, de- tailed accounts of which will be found in succeeding pages. In 1835 the town must have been almost as badly overrun with snarling, snapping hydrophobia breeders as it is at present; hence many of its best citizens attached their signatures to a paper of which the following is a copy : " We whose names are undersigned do hereby agree to indemnify and keep free from all damages that may or shall legally accrue, to any person or per- sons, who shall kill any dog or dogs that shall be found running at large in the streets of the borough of Warren, the property of any citizen or other person residing in said borough for the space of three months from the date hereof, or any dog or dogs found as aforesaid without any owner or person along with them, claiming the ownership of them, for the space of time above men- tioned. Warren, February 2, 1835." This agreement was signed by William Bell, W. E. Griffith, William Sands, T. H. Fenton, Samuel D. Hall, James O. Parmlee, William P. Clark, John A. iDr. Henry Sargent was born at New Chester, N. H., in 1790; was a gradual e of Dartmouth Medical College; became a resident of Warren in 1833, and died here suddenly in August, 1851. His only child, a daughter, became the wife of Hon. C. B. Curtis. Dr. Sargent was highly respected as a citizen, and his great skill as a physician was widely known. 34o History of Warren County. Hall, Harrison French, J. M. Olney, Milton Ford, Robert Falconer, Archibald Tanner, Archibald Skinner, Robert Miles, William P. McDowell, Darius Mead, -Thomas Morton, Joseph W. Hackney, Josiah Hall, James Vanhorn, William Pier, Gilman Merrill, Thomas Struthers, Samuel P. Johnson, George W. Snyder, Francis Everett, Thomas Clemons, Morgan Ferguson, Warren L. Adams, David Jackson, Z. H. Eddy, William Smith, R. McKinney, W. G. Morrison, James Steadman, and Carlton B. Curtis. Of those whose names appear in the above paragraph, only two now reside in the borough ; but what is still more remarkable than the fact that there should be but two survivors after the lapse of fifty-two years, is the coinci- dence that these men were then associated together as members of a law firm, and that their names were affixed to the agreement side by side. We refer to Hon. Thomas Struthers and Hon. Samuel P. Johnson. The Lumbermen's Bank failed in 1838, and, as we are informed by a relic of the past — a copy of the Warren Bulletin published in the early part of that year — Timothy F. Parker, Robert Miles, Cornelius Masten, jr., Archibald Skinner, and Benjamin Bartholomew were the commissioners appointed to investigate its affairs. This paper also announced the arrival of the steamboat New Castle from Pittsburgh, and the presence of a corps of engineers in the employ of the Sunbury and Erie Railroad Company. During the following year (1839) the first bridge across the Allegheny was built. The decade which followed was not marked by any extraordinary events nor an unusual degree of prosperity. The town kept along in the even tenor of its way, slowly increasing in population as a result of being the commercial center of a lumbering region. In the destruction of the pine forests in this part of the county a few of its citizens acquired considerable wealth, but the many — those who did the work, the chopping, sawing, hauling and rafting — barely earned enough to provide shelter and food for their families. A few minor manufacturing industries were established, while about an equal number from time to time suspended, by reason of the migratory habits of their operators. Many changes were likewise noted among mercantile firms, lawyers and doctors, as they came and went in the endeavor to better their financial con- ditions. There were a considerable number of men, however — such as Archi- bald Tanner, N. B. Eldred, C. B. Curtis, Thomas Struthers, Walter W. Hodges, Gilman Merrill, Orris Hall, Lansing Wetmore, Samuel P. Johnson, Henry Sargent, Abraham Hazeltine, Timothy F. Parker, J. D. Summerton, Hiram Gilman, Benjamin Bartholomew, Rasselas Brown, J. Y. James, Thomas Clemons, Andrew H. Ludlow, Joseph Carver, Stephen Carver, Robert Fal- coner, Richard S. Orr, Charles W. Rathbun, Lewis Arnett, Jerome B. Carver, Cornelius Masten, jr., D. V. Stranahan, John H. Hull, G. A. Irvine, G. W. Scofield, and a number of others — who, having become permanently estab- lished here prior to the close of the decade referred to, were active in the pros- Borough of Warren. 341 ecution of their respective professions and occupations, and gave character and stability to the whole community. Until the year 1848 the only brick structures in the town were the court- house and the academy, while up the river a short distance a few Indian wig- wams with tenants were yet to be seen. During the year mentioned, however, an innovation upon the old order of things began, by the erection of the Carver House, upon the corner previously occupied by the old Warren House, •or, in other words, the tavern built by Ebenezer Jackson in 18 19. The new hotel was opened for business in March, 1849, with John H. Hull (the former landlord of the old Warren House) installed as proprietor. In referring to the erection of the new building, the editor of the Mail, under date of August 1, 1 848, said : " Our village — or rather our borough — presents many indications of improvement. Among them we notice a fine block going up on the corner of Front and Hickory streets ; the basement of chiseled stone and the body of brick. It is to be used for a hotel and store, and bids fair to be what might be expected from the energy and enterprise of its proprietors — Messrs. Carver -& Hall. It will greatly improve that part of Front street [an absurd expres- sion, still in vogue, the calling of Water street, Front street], and contribute in making Warren as distinguished for the elegance and convenience of its build- ings as it is for the beauty and romance of its scenery." In the same number of the Mail the editor also said : " The early settlers of this country who still remain among us, can probably discover some improve- ment in the facilities for traveling at the present day. Formerly it required about four days to come from Pittsburgh to this place, though some have come in less time. The roads were bad, carriages could not be procured. Forests, hills, valleys, rocks, brush, and mud greeted the weary footman. Accommo- dations were scarce. Darkness often overtook him on Pennsylvania's hills, while thoughts of home and loved ones there, were all that cheered him on his lonely way. Now, by the new line of stages, recently established by Richard S. Orr and others, the traveller can go from Pittsburgh to Buffalo in less than three days. Stages leave this place for Buffalo every evening (Sundays ex- cepted), arriving at Buffalo the next evening in time to take the Eastern cars. Also for Pittsburgh every morning at seven o'clock, going through in forty- eight hours. Good teams, good carriages, and low fares make this a good route." This is a pen picture of the wonderful traveling facilities afforded the citi- zens of Warren, and other points on the route between Pittsburgh and Buffalo, less than forty years ago. Yet, if the people of to-day had no better way than is here described — the delights of being jolted, thrown forward, backward, to the right or left, without intimation or warning, for twenty-four hours at a time, and still the journey not half over — there can be no doubt that they would consider themselves in even a worse condition than were the first set- tlers who uncomplainingly made their journeys afoot. 342 History of Warren County. In the fall of 1 848 an old building, which stood on the point at the junction of Water and Third streets, was torn down, and it was then first proposed to make the place a " public common. - ' On Tuesday, March 6, 1849, between three and four o'clock A. M., the Ex- change Building — in which were the stores of Taylor & Arnett ; S. L. Axtell, and Baker & Hunter ; S. G. Stevens, tin-shop and store ; Summerton's tin- shop ; the Standard printing office, S. J. Goodrich proprietor ; the shoe-shop of E. N. Rogers, occupied by N. Ford ; the tailor shop of county treasurer H. L. Church, and Benjamin Nesmith's harness shop — was discovered to be on fire, and two hours later was entirely destroyed. Loss from $50,000 to $75,000. In May of the same year a resident, enraptured by his or her surroundings, indulged in a bit of poetic gush as follows : " Warren. " Sweet village of a sweeter vale, Where flows the Allegheny bright. Thy beauteous scenes can never fail To fill this bosom with delight. " Let others talk of Southern climes, Where flowers blossom all the year ; Let poets pour their flood of rhymes, Where brighter lands to them appear ; " But I will sing of thee, my home, For thou hast joys enough for me ; Nor will I breathe a wish to roam, While thus inspired with love for thee. " Yon river, on whose bosom sweet I've often watched, with childish glee, The sunbeams dance with merry feet, Is Nature's loveliest child to me. " Then can I breathe a wish to roam, While thus inspired with love for thee ? No, thou art still my chosen home, Sweet village, and must ever be." In the summer following, the three-story brick block on the northeast cor- ner of Water and Hickory streets, was commenced by Archibald Tanner. It was the second brick structure erected in the town for individual purposes, and to make room for it the old Jackson tavern, built by Daniel Jackson in 1805, was moved back. At this time, too, Warren had other residents possessed of literary ability, as witness the following : "THE END NOT YET. " The subscriber believing that the world will not come to an end in '49, but that '49 will end the last day of December next, and that Gen. Taylor Borough of Warren. 343 cannot ruin the Nation (alone) and that Tom Benton and Calhoun will not be president until after they are elected ; that a National Bank or ' Independent Treasury ' is very convenient in every family (under proper restrictions) properly managed, and having of late embraced the ' one idea ' principle that every man must look out for himself, he has concluded to continue the SHOEMAKING BUSINESS, and spare no effort to please all who may favor him with their custom. You will find him ' armed and equipped ' as St. Crispin directs, in his shop over the Ledger office on Second street. Therefore, in the language of the poet, " All you who dote on a good fitting boot, Whose pockets are filled with the Rhino, Pass ye not by, like an ignorant coot, He'll fit you most finely that / know. "Warren, July 24, 1849. N. FORD." Among the merchants doing business in the town in 1849—50 were Watson & Davis, Summerton & Taylor, Hull & King, Baker & Hunter, Parmlee & Gilman, S. C. Brasington, and John A. Hall, postmaster, dealers in general merchandise ; William & T. S. Messner, grocers ; Charles W. Rathbun, liquors and groceries ; D. M. Williams, grocer, and Hazeltine & Co. (G. W. Hazel- tine and S. P. Johnson) dealers in drugs, books, stationery, etc., at Variety Hall. In 1850 Watson, Davis & Co.'s block at the junction of Second and Water streets was built, being the third brick structure of the borough. In excavat- ing for the foundation walls the bones of a human body were found, supposed to have been the remains of a French hunter or explorer, or of an employee of the Holland Land Company. In the spring of that year the maple trees, now densely shading the little park at the point separating Water and Third streets, were placed in position. Of the traveling "shows," which during that period regularly visited Warren in their rounds, the tent exhibitions of Quick & Co., Levi J. North, Barnum, and Dan Rice, and the hall entertainments of the Baker Family, the Burt Fam- ily, etc., seemed to be the most popular. In the summer of 1851 a form of diarrhcea became epidemic in the town and carried off many of its residents, particularly young adults and children. The Johnson block, on the southeast corner of Second and Liberty streets, was built in 1854, and was then considered to be the most imposing and best building in the county. The year 1859 closed with railroad communication established between Warren and Erie, and great was the rejoicing thereat. The lower railroad bridge was completed in September of the following year, and, resting on rather low abutments or piers, terminated steamboat navigation to points above. The United States census of 1 860 revealed the following facts concerning 344 History of Warren County. the borough and its inhabitants: Total number of inhabitants, 1,742; total number of the same, foreign born, 417 ; total number of deaths during the year, 22 ; total number of persons whose estates exceed $30,000, 9 ; total number of persons whose estates equal or exceed $20,000, 19; total number of persons whose estates equal or exceed $10,000, 29 ; total number of dwelling houses, 308. In July of that year the chief topic of thought and conversation for a short time was in relation to a bold burglary committed in their midst. The office of Hon. Thomas Struthers had been broken into and a safe containing $3,000 in gold and many valuable papers carried off by thieves who left no traces be- hind them. After two or three days, however, the safe was found on James H. Eddy's farm in Glade. It had been broken open and the coin taken away, but the papers were found nearly intact. Suspicion was soon directed upon three Irishmen living near by, who upon being arrested were found to be the guilty parties, and a portion of the money was recovered. During the fall of i860 the marshaling of the ante-bellum militia companies of the district under Brigadier- General R. Brown and staff (the latter composed of George V. N. Yates, judge advocate ; Nelson S. Woodford, quartermaster; Leroy L. Lowry, paymaster ; Harrison Allen, aid, and Samuel W. Brown, surgeon), the parades of the wide-awake marching companies, the great polit- ical campaign then in progress, and last, but not least, the oil excitement — all conspired to make matters exceedingly lively in and around the borough. In the fall of 1864 wood was worth $7 per cord, and coal $12 per ton. For a small inland town literally surrounded by thousands of acres of timber land all in sight, this seems to have been an exorbitant price for common fire wood, even though it was at a time of inflated prices. In March, 1865, occurred the great flood remembered so vividly by many, and still to be seen — as pictured by the photographer. The roily, rushing waters rose to their greatest height on the 18th, when the Irvine bottom opposite the town was one vast lake. The "Island" was covered to the depth of several feet, and all the buildings, lumber, cooperage, etc., near the banks of the Conewango and Allegheny were swept away. Hook's old saw-mill, which for nearly fifty years had been a familiar land-mark on the Allegheny some five miles above Warren, was lifted from its ancient site and transferred to- Morrison's flat, below the town. Among the dealers in various kinds of merchandise at this time (1865) were O. H. Hunter, Beecher & Coleman, E. T Hazeltine & Co., George L. Friday & Co., P. J. Trushel & Co., George Ball, Arnett & Galligan, Pierce & Shafer, William Messner, John Honhart, Schnur & Ruhlman, J. M. Turner, F. A. Randall, S. Burgess, J. B. Brown, D. D. Babcock, Otto Huber, Kelly Weaver, Christian Retterer, Jacob Lesser, C. L. Hassel & Co., George Reig, L. D. Crandall, S. G. Stevens, L. W. Arnett, Adolph Saltsman, brewer, Smith & Messner, Abijah Morrison, A. Kirberger, and Rowan & Converse. Borough of Warren. 345 The years 1867-68 witnessed marked improvements throughout the bor- ough. Many new buildings, both for dwelling and business purposes, were erected, a number of them of a size and ornate style of architecture to this time here unseen. The handsome residences of Hon. R. Brown, Judge Will- iam D. Brown, Boon Mead, and Colonel L. F. Watson were among the num- ber then built. War prices still prevailed, which, in comparison with present rates, were almost frightful. Thus, flour was worth from $12 to $16 per barrel ; butter 60 cents per pound ; potatoes $1.00 per bushel; lard 22 cents per pound ; pork 18 cents per pound, and sugar 15 to 20 cents per pound. All other commodities bought and sold — dry goods, hardware, etc., were equally as high in price, while the laborer and mechanic received but little more pay for his daily toil than he does to-day. About the 1st of November, 1869, the buildings on Water street, occupied by Bennett, Carrie Denison, A. Ruhlman, S. M. Cogswell, P. Bysecker, Mrs. A. Ruhlman, Taylor & Messner, M. Carpenter & Co., O. H. Hunter, F. Fettee, J. F. Wells & Co., and Allen & Reeves, were destroyed by fire. In February, 1870, another conflagration raged, at the corner of Liberty and Water streets. A newspaper writer of that day said: "There were a few men who worked faithfully to subdue the flames and save property, and a very large audience collected to see them do it." By the census enumeration of 1870 it was ascertained that the borough contained two thousand and one inhabitants. The wire foot-bridge across the Conewango was built during the same year, and a stock company organized to build a suspension bridge across the Allegheny, which structure was finished in 1871. During the year 1872 a number of notable events occurred — Decoration Day was formally observed for the first time. The new union school building, which was completed a few months before at a cost of $23,000, was badly damaged by the fire which destroyed the old Germania Hotel. The old pioneer, Zachariah Eddy, died at the age of ninety-four years. A street railway extending from the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad station, via Water street to Glade, was built. Two one-horse, or "bob-tail," cars were brought into use, but it appears that there were then two cars too many. The enterprise proved to be a complete failure, and after about two years the rails were taken up, and all the material shipped to some locality more populous or appreciative. During 1872, also, the Irvine family, of Irvineton, proposed to donate to the borough, for a public park, thirty acres of land, lying on the left bank of the Allegheny, about one mile below the town; but as the proposal was accom- panied by conditions requiring the immediate expenditure of a large sum of money, it was considered that for a town having no gas or water supply, nor fire apparatus worthy of mention, the luxury would prove to be too expensive. 346 History of Warren County. quite out of character; hence the proposition was respectfully declined. Gifts bestowed under conditions are not always acceptable. The building termed the Town Hall, on the southeast corner of Third and Hickory streets, was built in 1877-78, at a cost of about $9,000. In 1884 the substantially-built structure now occupied by the Warren Library Association was completed. For a number of years there had been a chartered public library in the town, but it had neither home nor income. Its destitution excited the sympathy of the Hon. Thomas Struthers, and aroused his beneficence. He therefore proposed to the citizens that if they would fur- nish the grounds he would build and donate to the association a structure of which all might feel proud. The site, a rather costly one, corner of Liberty and Third streets, was purchased with money contributed by L. D. Wetmore, H. A. Jamieson, William D. Brown, S. P. Johnson, F. Henry, Rasselas Brown, Willard White, C. W. Stone, M. B. Dunham, A. J. Hazeltine, O. W. Beatty, L. F. Watson, David Beatty, M. Waters, Benjamin Nesmith, A. Hertzel, H. L. Bartholomew, Robert Dennison, S. T. Allen, O. C. Allen, S. W. Waters, Christian Smith, E. T Hazeltine, Beecher & Copeland, J. H. Eddy, F. H. Rockwell, Thomas H. De Silver, W. H. Pickett, C. H. Noyes, E. B. Frew, J. K. Palmer, Charles P. Henry, E. Cowan, O. H. Hunter & Son, Sol Cohn, J. E. Berkstresser, G. I. Mead, J. W. Jenkins, J. A. Weible, G. G. Mead, F. Barnhart, Albert Kirberger, Alice W. Jefferson, W. A. Rankin, Henry Knupp, James C. Wells, Hazeltine & Baker, George H. Ames, A. J. Davis, Medora I. Mead, H. E. Brown, M. V. Van Etten, P. H. Towle, Manville Bros., L. G. Noyes, Henry Cobham, W. W. Wilbur, William Schnur, Rufus P. King.'M. Shaeffer, S. T. Daggett, George L. Friday, John Kropp, Thomas Keelor, S. P. Schemerhorn, Fred Morck, M. Mead, S. H. Davis, S. V. Davis, George H. Leonhart, J. W. Stearns, Jane Orr, P. Greenlund, S. Keller, A. B. Miller, Rick Donovan, and A. H. McKelvy. Not including the site, the building cost about $90,000. Besides affording spacious and elegant rooms for the books of the association and visitors, it also contains one of the handsomest and best appointed halls for the use of opera and theatrical troupes to be found in Western Pennsylvania. The post-office officials, and the publishers of the Ledger, likewise find commodious quarters within its walls. A glance at the assessment roll of the borough for the year 1885 discloses the following pertinent facts : Value of lots and buildings, $1,5 14,759 ! number of horses and mules, 221 ; number of cows, 37; number of resident taxables, 1,167. The resident taxables for the year 1886 are 1,134 in number, thus showing a decrease of 33 in twelve months. This can be accounted for, how- ever, from the fact that for ten years or more Warren has been the rendez- vous of large numbers of oil men. As residents they are an uncertain quan- tity — birds of passage, coming and going constantly. Hence many former Borough of Warren. 347 short-term Warrenites can now be found in Washington county, Pa., and the Ohio oil fields. Though the town is built upon lands the surface of which is but a few feet above the bed of the Allegheny, it is credited with an elevation of eleven hun- dred and ninety-eight feet above tide water, and six hundred and thirty-three feet above Lake Erie. Its population numbered considerably less than three thousand in 1880. The present inhabitants are estimated to be full five thou- sand in number, or more than the entire county contained in 1830. The last decade has witnessed the introduction of illuminating gas ; water, of the finest quality, from Morrison's Run ; the formation of an efficient fire department ; the inauguration of a system of drainage and sewage, and the utilization of natural gas as a fuel. In the " Warren County Directory," published at the Ledger office in 1886, Judge S. P. Johnson closed a brief article relating to the borough, as follows : "Warren has always kept up even with, and sometimes a little ahead of, the enterprise and progress of the surrounding world of the same age. She had a bell in her court-house, a chartered bank, a public hall, an academy, and a street railroad before Franklin, twenty years her senior in judicial organization, enjoyed these luxuries. . . . For the last twenty-five years it has furnished the bench with m more judges, and the legislative halls, both State and National, with more representatives than any other town of its size in the State. For some years it was the head of steamboat navigation, until bridges obstructed the river's channel. It has now within its limited territory eight churches, well supported, four hotels, four restaurants, and of saloons five too many. It abounds in dry goods, grocery, drug, hardware, shoe, millinery, clothing and fancy goods stores, mostly permanent and successful business houses. In me- chanical and manufacturing establishments Warren is well supplied — of which the iron works of Struthers, Wells & Co., the Wetmore door and sash factory, and the Jamieson pail and tub factory are the largest. Besides these there are four planing-mills, two furniture factories, and other shops and factories in almost every branch of productive industry, including Piso's cure for consump- tion, and the Warren flouring mills. " Outside local history has given Warren the reputation, for some years past, of being a wealthy town, having large capital in proportion to its popu- lation. As an evidence of that it has had, and now has, three banks — the First National, the Citizens' National, and the Warren Savings Banks — owned entirely by her own citizens. For the fact, if it be so, it is indebted to no factious aid or circumstance ; it is the result of intelligent and persevering industry and at- tention to business for a lifetime, for which, notwithstanding the slurs of the ephemeral parasites that have floated into it upon the tide of oil develop- ments, they are entitled to much credit. All the so-called wealthy men of the town commenced life poor, and have acquired what they have, not by gam- 23 348 History of Warren County. bling in an oil exchange or bucket-shop, but in the prosecution of honest and legitimate business. These men came, or were here, before there were any brick buildings in Warren, and by their enterprise have made it what it is — the most permanently prosperous and beautiful little city in the western por- tion of the State." Municipal History. — The following is believed to be a full and correct list of those who have served as burgess, town councilmen, and clerks for the borough, from its incorporation in 1832 to 1886 inclusive. 1832. — John Andrews, burgess ; Thos. Struthers, clerk; council, Joseph Hackney, 1 Lansing Wetmore, Zachariah Eddy, James Stewart, and Albinus Stebbins. 1833. — Joshua Turner, burgess ; Thos. Struthers, clerk ; Robert Arthur, Rufus Olney, Eben Jackson, Thomas Turner, and Scott W. Sayles. 1834. — William Pier, burgess; Thos. Struthers, clerk; Francis Hook, W. W. Hodges, Gilman Merrill, J. C. Gordon, and Warren L. Adams. 1835. — G.Merrill, burgess; C. B. Curtis, clerk; Henry Sargent, Orris Hall, John Edgar, Joshua Turner, and David Jackson. 1836. — G. Merrill, burgess; C. B. Curtis, clerk; Hiram Gilman, N. B. Eldred, Geo. L. Chapel, W. W. Hodges, and J. D. Summerton. 1837. — G. Merrill, burgess; C. B. Curtis, clerk; Geo. L. Chapel, J. D. Summerton, Hiram Gilman, W. W. Hodges, and N. B. Eldred. 1838. — Hiram Gilman, burgess ; C. B.Curtis, clerk; Abraham Hazeltine, Thos. Clemons, A. H. Ludlow, Joseph Carver, and John King. 1839. — Zachariah Eddy, burgess ; C. B. Curtis, clerk; Lansing Wetmore, Abijah Morrison, Stephen Carver, Thos. Clemons, and A. H. Ludlow. 1840. — Robt. Falconer, burgess; C. B. Curtis, clerk; Abijah Morrison, Lansing Wetmore, Richard S. Orr, Stephen Carver, and Zachariah Eddy. 1841. — J. D. Summerton, burgess ; C. B. Curtis, clerk; John Edgar, John H. King, Robert McKinney, S. G. Stevens, and H. L. Towle. 1 842. — Joseph Carver, burgess ; C. B. Curtis, clerk ; J. Y. James, John H. King, Richard Alden, Zachariah Eddy, and A. H. Ludlow. 1843. — John Edgar, burgess; C. B.Curtis, clerk; Henry L. Church, William Bell, S. G. Stevens, Silas Lacy, and Charles W. Rathbun. 1844. — S. L. Axtell, burgess; C. B. Curtis, clerk ; Aaron S. Parmlee, Lewis Arnett, S. J. Page, James H. Eddy, and A. H. Summerton. 1845. — Aaron S. Parmlee, burgess ; C. B. Curtis, clerk; Wm. S. Parmlee, Jerome B. Carver, S. G. Stevens, Geo. Lobdel, and J. H. Eddy. 1846. — Rasselas Brown, burgess ; C. Masten, jr., clerk ; H. T. Baker, R. P. King, Richard S. Orr, John H. Hull, and D. V. Stranahan. 1847. — Carlton B. Curtis, burgess; J. D. James, clerk; Zachariah Eddy, Stephen Carver, Calvin C. Lovell, Thos. Clemons, and J. D. Summerton. 1 June 2, 1832, at a special election, Robt. Miles was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Joseph Hackney. Borough of Warren. 349 1848.— W. W. Hodges, burgess; L. T. Parmlee, clerk; P. R. Bennett, G. W. Scofield, Benj. Nesmith, W. S. Parmlee, and Stephen Carver. 1849. — Richard S. Orr, burgess; L. T. Parmlee, clerk; D. V. Stranahan, John A. Hall, C. W. Rathbun, Rufus P. King, and Philip Bucher. 1850. — G. A. Irvine, burgess ; John F. McPherson, clerk; Thos. Clemons, P. R. Bennett, Geo. L. Chapel, John Edgar, and Wm. Mead. 1851. — R. P. King, burgess; John N. Miles, clerk; John H. Hull, Milo Parks, J. D. James, Benj. Nesmith, and Starling Waters. 1852. — G. Merrill, burgess; J. A. Morrison, clerk; Boon Mead, J. D. James, Richard S. Orr, S. J. Page, and Milo Parks. 1853. — Milton W. Hull, burgess; I. S. Alden, clerk; S. J. Page, Richard S. Orr, Boon Mead, Milo Parks, and Andrew Hertzel. 1854. — Orris Hall, burgess ; F. A. Randall, clerk ; H. L. Church, John H. Hull, Stephen Carver, Rufus P. King, and Wm. S. Parmlee. 1855. — Gilman Merrill, burgess; Theodore C. Spencer, clerk; L. D. Wet- more, Thomas Clemons, J. B. Carver, A. Hertzel, and Peter Somers. Ap- pointed under amended charter — Rufus P. King, John H. Hull, J. Y. James,, and Chester Park. 1856. — G. Merrill, burgess; Theodore C. Spencer, clerk; Rufus P. King*. John H. Hull, L. D. Wetmore, Peter Somers, Andrew Hertzel, M. W. Hull,. A. J. Davis, W. F. Kingsbury, and Thos. Clemons. 1857. — J. D. James, burgess; S. N. Dickinson, clerk; S. D. Hall, John M. Olney, George Offerlee, M. W. Hull, A. J. Davis, W. F. Kingsbury, Rufus P. King, John H. Hull, and L. D. Wetmore. 1858. — J. D. James, burgess ; D. J. Hodges, clerk ; A. J. Davis, John H. Hull, John M. Olney, J. B. Carver, George Offerlee, C. W. H. Verback, S. D. Hall, W. F. Kingsbury, A. Brock. 1859. — Thos. Clemons, burgess; G. Merrill, clerk; C. W. H. Verback, A. Brock, George Offerlee, John M. Olney, S. Burgess, J. B. Carver, John Sill, E. T. F. Valentine, S. D. Hall. i860. — G. N. Parmlee, burgess; H. Allen, clerk; E. T. F. Valentine, A. Brock, C. W. H. Verback, Starling Waters, Christian Keller, John Sill, Chris- tian Smith, S. Burgess, and Andrew Hertzel. 1 861. — J. B. Carver, burgess; J. A. Neill, clerk; L. Arnett, J. H. Hull, C. Smith, John Sill, A. J. Davis, Andrew Hertzel, Christian Keller, Seneca Bur- gess, and E. T. F. Valentine. 1862. — G. N. Parmlee, burgess; S. T. Allen, clerk ; L. Arnett, A. Hertzel, George Offerlee, Christian Keller, John F. Davis, John Honhart, A. J. Davis, J. H. Hull, O. H. Hunter. C. Smith resigned. 1863. — S. J. Page, burgess; Thos. Clemons, clerk; L. Arnett, A. Hertzel, J. H. Hull, J. F. Davis, George Offerlee, O. H. Hunter, Rufus P. King, M. W. Hull, and A. J. Davis. 35° History of Warren County. 1864. — L. Arnett, burgess; Chas. Dinsmoor, clerk; G. N. Parmlee, A. B. McKain, Thos. Clemons, John F. Davis, O. H. Hunter, A. Hertzel, R. P. King, George Offerlee, and M. W. Hull. 1865. — L. Arnett, burgess; Chas. Dinsmoor, clerk; R. P. King, R. D. Eartlett, J. H. Hull, Thos. Clemons, A. B. McKain, P. Bucher, A. Hertzel, G. N. Parmlee, and M. W. Hull. 1866. — L. Arnett, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; J. H. Hull, R K. Rus- sell, A. P. Wetmore, R. D. Bartlett, Philip Bucher, G. N. Parmlee, John B. Brown, Thos. Clemons, and Chas. Dinsmoor. 1867. — J. S. Page, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; Philip Bucher, J. H. Hull, B. F. Morris, M. Schaffer, S. Keller, jr., C. Dinsmoor, R. K. Russell, R. D. Bartlett, and A. P. Wetmore. 1868.— A. Hertzel, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; R. K. Russell, Philip Bucher, C. Dinsmoor, F. A. Randall, S. Keller, jr., B. F. Morris, J. H. Hull, A. P. Wetmore, and M. Schaffer. 1869.— S. J. Page, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; J. H. Hull, S. Keller, B. F. Morris, C. Dinsmoor, John M. Olney, M. Schaffer, L. W. Arnett (died), F. A. Randall, and Philip Bucher. 1870. — E. T. F. Valentine, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; J. H. Hull, John M. Olney, Philip Bucher, George Offerlee, C. Dinsmoor, F. A. Randall, J. H. Eddy, Seneca Burgess, and S. H. Davis. 1 87 1. — E. T. F. Valentine, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk ; J. H. Hull, John M. Olney, J. H. Eddy, Geo. Offerlee, S. Burgess, S. H. Davis, J. H. Mitchell, C. Dinsmoor, F A. Randall. 1872. — Charles Dinsmoor, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; J. H. Mitchell, S. Burgess, J. H. Hull, F. A. Randall, James Nesmith, C. W. Stone, James Clark, jr., S. H. Davis, and J. H. Eddy. 1873. — John Sill, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; Seneca Burgess, Wm. Ryan, H. A. Jamieson, C. W. Stone, James Clark, jr., James Nesmith, F. A. Randall, John M. Davidson (removed), J. H. Hull (died Aug., 1873). D. W. C. James and Geo. Ott elected to fill vacancies. 1874. — John Sill, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; James Clark, jr., A. Hertzel, C. W. Stone, M. B. Dunham, George Ott, Wm. Ryan, S. Burgess, G. H. Ames, and James Nesmith. 1875. — E. B. Eldred, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; James Clark, jr., A. Hertzel, M. B. Dunham, George Ott, Wm. Ryan, W. C. Rowland, G. H. Ames, E. G. Wood, and S. Burgess. 1876. — W. H. Pickett, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk ; James Clark, jr., A. Hertzel, M. Spaulding, W. C. Rowland, M. B. Dunham, P. J. Falconer, G. H. Ames, E. G. Wood, and Geo. L. Friday. 1877. — C. H. Noyes, burgess ; Rufus P. King, clerk ; James Clark, jr., A. J. Davis, M. Spaulding, Geo. L. Friday, E. G. Wood, Peter Greenlund, W. C. Rowland, Wm. L. Lewis, and P. J. Falconer. Borough of Warren. 351 1878. — M. Miles, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; James Clark, jr., A. Hertzel, A.. J. Davis, S. Burgess, Peter Greenlund, M. Spaulding, J. H. Palmer, G. L. Friday, and P. J. Falconer. 1879. — S. T. Allen, burgess; Geo. O. Cornelius, clerk; A. J. Davis, D. S. McNett, S. Burgess, T. J. demons, A. W. Morck, F. Barnhart, W. H. Heck, A. Hertzel, Peter Greenlund. 1880. —S.T. Allen, burgess; Geo. O. Cornelius, clerk ; D. S. McNett, A. Hertzel, A. W. Morck, Robert Dennison, C. A. Waters, W. H. Heck, T. J. Clemons, S. Burgess, and F. Barnhart. 1 88 1. — S. T. Allen, burgess ; Geo. O. Cornelius, clerk ; D. S. McNett, A. W. Morck, C. A. Waters, W. H. Heck, A. Conarro, Robert Dennison, George H. Leonhart, A. J. Hazeltine, F. Barnhart. 1882. — H. A. Jamieson, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; A. J. Hazeltine, Robert Dennison, G. H. Leonhart, L. T. Borchers, A. Conarro, C. A. Waters, J. A. Bell, A. W. Morck, J. H. Eddy. 1883. — Geo. P. Orr, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; S. H. Davis, G. H. Leonhart, J. C. Siechrist, J. A. Bell, S. M. Cogswell, A. J. Hazeltine, L. T. Borchers, A. Conarro, J. H. Eddy. 1884. — Geo. P. Orr, burgess; Rufus P. King, clerk; S. H. Davis, J. A. Bell, S. M. Cogswell, F. M. Knapp, J. H. Eddy, Joseph Walkerman, L. T. Borchers, J. C. Siechrist, August Morck, jr. 1885 — C. C. Thompson, burgess; F. A. Cogswell, clerk; S. H. Davis, S. M. Cogswell, J. C. Siechrist, August Morck, jr., F. M. Knapp, Joseph Walkerman, Robert MacKay, Wm. Schnur, A. A. Davis. 1886. — A. W. Morck, burgess; F. A. Cogswell, clerk; F. M. Knapp, Joseph Walkerman, August Morck, jr., Robert MacKay, William Schnur, A. A. Davis, Christian Smith, J. W. Crawford. P. J. Bayer. Since the incorporation of the borough, by the provisions of various acts of the General Assembly, passed from time to time, the corporate limits have been widely extended, and the authority of the town council largely increased. The public grounds on the southeast and southwest corners of Market and High streets, as shown upon the original plot of the town, likewise valuable strips of land along the Allegheny and Conewango not included in the original survey, as well as lands bordering upon Water street east of Market, have been, under such authorization, transferred by the borough to individuals. By scanning the minutes of proceedings of early councils, a few matters of interest, perhaps, to present residents have been ascertained. Thus, at a meet- ing held June 16, 1832, $80 were appropriated to grade and turnpike portions of Fifth, Liberty, and High streets ; but a few weeks later the resolution was rescinded. At the same meeting — June 16, 1832 — ten dollars were voted to improve the road leading from Water street down to the eddy near A. Tan- ner's storehouse on the bank of the Allegheny river} by cutting a ditch on 3S 2 History of Warren County. the upper side, "and prevent the water from running over and across the same, and by filling up the holes already washed next the wall in the lower side thereof." Fifteen dollars were also appropriated to be applied in reducing the grade of hills near John Andrews's office and the house of Lansing Wetmore. On the 4th of August, 1832, council met and "took into consideration the remonstrance of sundry citizens against the improvement of High street — No. 1 5 on the files, and the same being under consideration, adopted the following resolution, viz.: Resolved, That the said Remonstrance is couched in disre- spectful and indecorous [terms] and that therefore the same be discharged from further consideration." On the 8th of June, 1833, council by an unanimous vote directed that the mills of Hawley & Parker — carding-machine works — fronting on the borough, be assessed. On the 6th of July following it was "Resolved that the Eques- trian Company of Mills & Harrison shall receive a license to exhibit and per- form for two evenings within the Borough of Warren, upon paying to the Treasurer Six Dollars. License to issue in like manner as licenses are issued in pursuance of the Ordinance framed 28th May, 1832, any thing in said ordin- ance of 28th May, 1832, to the contrary notwithstanding." The members of this council (1833), after making settlements May 3, 1834, for the year pre- ceding, unanimously resolved that they would make no charge against the borough for services rendered "as councillors." On the 3d of April, 1843, council " Resolved that the Borough of Warren hereby appropriate Two Hundred Dollars for the purpose of Building a Bridge over the Conewango Creek, at the old location, at the foot of Second street, provided a sufficient amount can be raised to build said Bridge at the foot of said street, said amount to be paid to the Contractor as the work pro- gresses." On the 28th of March, 1844, it was enacted "that from and after the first day of May next, it shall not be lawful for any hog or swine of any age to run at large within the limits of the Borough of Warren." To that time it is to be presumed, free and unrestrained, they had rooted and wallowed to their hearts' content. Fire Department. — For many years Warren, in its ability and state of prep- aration to fight fire, was in about the same condition as other country towns at an early day — i, e., it had a small hand engine and a few feet of hose, the whole, usually, being out of repair when a fire occurred. We have ascertained that the borough possessed an engine of the class described in 1848; but there was no organized company to man it. This engine, with apparatus, etc., cost $1,000. During the year 1853 "Vulcan Fire Company No. 1" was organ- ized, of which David Law was mentioned as foreman, and Rufus P. King, Richard S. Orr, M. W. Hull, L. Rogers, Julius B. Hall, G. W. King, C. A. Horton, and M. D. Waters as among the original members. The German residents organized "Rescue Fire Company No. 1" in August, 1859, and an Borough of Warren. 353 engine house was projected during the same year. This company was incor- porated by an order of court March 6, 1861, and they continued to render efficient service until 1869, when, becoming dissatisfied because the citizens seemed disinclined to render assistance either at fires or at any other time, they disbanded. The sum of $258, remaining in their treasury, was donated to the German Lutheran Church to aid in the purchase of a bell. Then followed the organization of " Allegheny Fire Company No. 1," and the "Conewango Hose Company," about the 1st of January, 1870. The steam fire engine "R. P. King" was received at Warren in December, 1873, and the severe trial tests imposed proved to be eminently satisfactory. To the department has since been added the serviceable yet elegant apparatus manned by "Niagara Hose, No. 1," "Watson Hose, No. 2," "Struthers's Inde- pendent Hose, No. 1," and "Exchange Hook and Ladder, No. 1." The mem- bers of the department are handsomely uniformed. Commodious quarters for the storage of apparatus, etc., are afforded by the borough building, known as the Town Hall. It is a fact worthy of remark, perhaps, that of all the conflagrations which have heretofore raged in the business part of the town, the flames almost with- out exception have spent their force upon old buildings, those that could best be spared; and in their places have arisen spacious brick structures, with modern improvements. Warren Academy, and Public Schools, — The famous old academy building, so often referred to in the local annals of Warren, was built during the years 1834—36. It was of brick, and stood upon the southeast corner of High and Market streets — beautiful, spacious grounds, since divided into three large lots, sold to individuals, and now occupied by private residences. The history of the institution briefly told is as follows : By an act of the General Assembly, approved April 11, 1799, the governor was authorized to direct the surveyor-general " to make actual survey of the reserved tract of land adjoining the town of Warren, which has not been laid out in town or out lots," etc., and providing, further, "that five hundred acres of the same be laid off for the use of such schools and academies as may here- after be established by law in said town." Under this act Alexander Mc- Dowell, of Franklin, then deputy surveyor-general, surveyed and marked the boundaries of the academy lands (lying west of the town and bounded on one side by the river), in the summer of 1799. By a legislative enactment, passed in 1822, Joseph Hackney, Lothrop S. Parmlee, and Abner Hazeltine were named as trustees, who, with their successors in office, to be elected, were to assume control of the lands and the academy when built. In 1829 an act was passed authorizing the trustees to lease " said 500 acres " (541 acres by correct measurement) for a period not to exceed ninety years. Thereupon, during the following two or three years, the tract was leased in lots of one hundred acres 354 History of Warren County. each for ninety years, at an annual rental of not much over $100 for the whole. By an act of the State Legislature, passed February 15, 1832, the sum of $2,000 was appropriated to erect an academy building at Warren. This was followed by another act, approved April 8, 1833, which authorized the trustees to erect the building on grounds reserved at the laying out of the town for public build- ings, and directed that the sum of $2,000 already appropriated be used in the construction. This sum was increased to a considerable extent by individual subscriptions before the structure was completed. Hon. Rasselas Brown, the first principal of the academy, commenced teach- ing in the court-house in February, 1836, the academy not yet being ready for occupancy, and continued there until June of the same year, when a transfer was made to the academy, and its doors were opened for the admission of pu- pils for the first time. Judge Brown, then a very young man, continued to preside over the academy until 1838, when he retired to engage in the practice of law, and was succeeded by W. A. McLean. The latter's successors were John Dixon, Cyrus Brown, L. A. Rogers, Charles B. Curtis and a number of others. Meanwhile the new Union School building of the borough having been completed and provided with a corps of very competent teachers, the now old academy fell into disfavor. Free tuition in a fresh, new building, as compared with $3.00 per term for the higher branches, and $2.50 per term for common studies in a somewhat dilapidated structure, left it almost without patronage ; hence its doors were finally closed about the year 1857. ^ was condemned by the grand jury in 1864. An act of Assembly, passed March 22, 1865, author- ized the burgess and town council to sell and convey to the highest bidder at public sale the lands on which the academy stood, the proceeds of sale to go into the borough treasury. Accordingly the square was divided into three lots and sold separately August 17, 1865, the sum realized being $5,785. The building was purchased by Hon. William D. Brown for $300. Of the early history of the common, district, or public schools of Warren but little can be said in the entire absence of data, either traditional or authentic. We have in another place made mention of the fact that the father of the late Hon. Reuben E. Fenton, of New York, taught a school in Warren, in the win- ter of 1805-06. Thereafter no other reference or intimation regarding the schools or school- houses of the town is made until 1820, when the county com- missioners agreed to assist the school committee to " finish building the school- house," to the end that courts might be held in the same until a court-house could be built. This little school-house stood on the site of the first and of the present court-house. It is probable that when the first court-house was com- menced, in 1826, the school-house was removed to some resting-place not far away, and its use continued for educational purposes, until the building of the academy. The latter then became the school-house of the town, for those who were able to pay for the instruction of their children. Borough of Warren. 355 The old part of the present Union School building was built in 1854-56. Stephen Carver was the contractor for the stone and brick work, and J. L. Kappel for the wood work. The first teachers to preside within its walls were Charles Twining, of Lancaster, Pa., principal ; assisted by Miss M. C. Shat- tuck, of Groton, Mass., Miss S. E. A. Stebbins, of Clinton, N. Y., Miss Kate Miller, of Sugar Grove, Pa., and Miss S. O. Randall, of Warren, Pa. Hon. S. P. Johnson stood at the head and front in the movement which led to the erection of the building and the securing of the first very excellent corps of teachers. The first building cost $7,500, and was completed in December, 1856. The new structure, which adjoins the one above described, was built in 1 87 1 at a cost of $23,000. Together they afford room and educational facilities for a large number of bright-faced pupils. Prof. A. B. Miller, a vet- eran instructor, has been in charge some twelve or fifteen years. His assist- ants during the present year are Miss Kate C. Darling, Miss Arline Arnett, Miss Carrie W. Coats, Miss Nannie C. Locke, Miss Libbie M. King, Miss Mary O. King, Miss Jennie Thomas, Miss Ellen Glenn, Miss Berta Thomas, Miss Mary O'Hern, Miss Mary Kopf, Mrs. Blanche Hawkins. At the West End school, also under the supervision of Mr. Miller, the assistant teachers are Miss Bessie Richards, Miss Mary Conrath, and Miss Laura Snyder. BANKS. — The Lumbermen' s Bank of Warren, the first banking institution established in Warren county, was incorporated by an act of the State Legis- lature approved February 28, 1834. Robert Falconer, Josiah Hall, Robert Russell, Guy C. Irvine, Archibald Tanner, and Robert Miles, all of Warren county, were named as commissioners to execute the many provisions of the act. With Robert Falconer as president, and Fitch Shepard cashier, the bank began business during the same year (1834), with a paid-up capital stock of $100,000, divided into shares of $50 each. Subsequently the directors were authorized by a legislative act to increase the capital stock to $200,000. Its notes were widely circulated, and it transacted a large (and as it was supposed very successful) business until 1838, when the financial panic, which swept the whole country at that time, caused its sudden collapse and failure. Much of Mr. Falconer's private fortune went to swell the aggregate of losses ; besides being unjustly censured because of the failure, his proud, honorable, and sensitive nature met with such a shock that it gradually destroyed his mind and hastened his death. The Warren County Bank was chartered by an act of the State Legislature passed during the winter of 1852-53. The officers then mentioned were J. Y. James, president ; Orrin Hook, Rufus P. King, Thomas Clemons, John N. Miles, Myron Waters, and Lewis Arnett, directors. Soon afterwards an installment of $5 on each share of the capital stock of $100,000 was paid in. During the following winter another legislative act was passed providing that the institu- tion should be a bank of issue as well as deposit. All preparations having 356 History of Warren County. been completed, the bank opened its doors for the transaction of business dur- ing the last days of November, 1854, with J. Y. James, of Warren, officiating as president, and Herman Leonard, of the city of New York, as cashier. Said the editor of the Mail under date of November 24, 1854: "To-day (Friday) our bank is in the flood tide of operation. . . Certainly there never was more need of a Bank here, or a more favorable time for one to commence operations, and we hope it may have a long career of usefulness and pros- perity." In 1855 a building for the accommodation of the bank was erected. Under date of July 30, 1859, we find the following mention of this bank in the columns of the Mail : " At the last term of court the Warren County Bank was changed to the North Western Bank, and under that name it re-opened last Monday. The bills of the old bank are redeemed when presented." From this statement it appears that business under the old title had been suspended for a time. In March, i860, the officers of the bank were Rasselas Brown, president ; John F. Davis, Rasselas Brown, F. Hook, J. Y. James, Carter V. Kinnear, Lewis Arnett, Rufus P. King, Carlton B. Curtis, Andrew Hertzel, Joseph Hall, George V. N. Yates, Hosea Harmon, and Lewis F. Watson directors. In December of the same year it was published as a noteworthy fact that all the banks in Western Pennsylvania had suspended, with the exception of the old Bank of Pittsburgh and the North Western Bank of War- ren. The further existence of the latter, however, was destined to be but brief in duration ; for during the latter part of May, 1862, the North Western Bank closed its doors. A day or two later they were reopened and an effort was made to redeem home circulation, but after two days this plan was abandoned. The affairs of the bank were always fairly and honorably conducted in Warren. The trouble originated in New York city, where its finances were really con- trolled, and where they put into circulation more of the bank's issue than could be taken care of at home. Private Bankers. — In 1855 Augustus N. Lowry, of Jamestown, N. Y., established a private banking office in Warren. In December of the same year Chapin Hall, of Warren, also opened a similar establishment in Johnson's building, under the title of " C. Hall's Bank." After the failure of the North Western Bank Messrs. Beecher & Coleman opened a banking house in their hardware store opposite the Carver House, and continued it until the organiza- tion of the First National Bank, when their banking business, which had proved very satisfactory to the people, was transferred to the new institution. The First National Bank of Warren was organized at a meeting of stock- holders held at the Carver House on Saturday, August 6, 1864. At this meeting the following named gentlemen were elected to serve as directors : Chapin Hall, Thomas Struthers, Carlton B. Curtis, William D. Brown, Lewis F. Watson, Rasselas Brown, James H. Eddy, S. J. Page, and M. F. Abel. Subsequently, during the same day, this board of directors elected Chapin Hall Borough of Warren. 357 president, and M. Beecher, jr., cashier. The capital stock of the association was fixed at $100,000, in shares of $100 each. During the two months which immediately followed the date of organization, Messrs. Hall and Beecher were actively engaged in collecting subscriptions to the capital stock, investing the funds thus obtained in United States bonds, and attending to the many and varied details preparatory to opening for business. This event took place on Monday, October 10, 1864, in the middle room of Johnson's Exchange block, Second street, George W. Tew, of Jamestown, N. Y., officiating as teller. The net profits for the first year amounted to $27,022.08, and the total busi- ness aggregated $17,655,749.62, being much larger than any year since, owing to the enormous sale of government bonds on which were allowed a large pre- mium, and the immense purchase and sale of exchange during the great oil excitement of 1864—65. Until 1872 the annual sale of drafts averaged over $1,500,000, and the paper discounted per annum amounted to $1,000,000. In April, 1 871, the lot upon which stood the old building of hewn timbers, known as early as 1815 as Dunn's Tavern, was purchased from John F. Davis and S. Burgess. The old structure (then the oldest building in the borough) was speedily removed, the work of erecting a new bank building commenced, and in October, 1872, the handsome edifice now owned by the association was completed at a cost, including grounds, of $16,000. Of the officers who have been connected with this bank, Mr. Beecher has served as cashier from the very beginning of its existence down to the present time. Chapin Hall, its first president, continued in office until January 2, 1866, when, having sold his stock, he resigned, and was succeeded by L. D. Wet- more, esq. The latter continued until July 22, 1871, when he resigned, deem- ing himself ineligible by reason of holding the office of president judge of this judicial district. Boon Mead was then elected to fill the vacancy and con- tinued as president until his death, which occurred August 19, 1880. His successor, James H. Eddy, was elected September 6, 1880, and held the posi- tion until July 4, 1885, when he resigned. Thereupon Hon. L. D. Wetmore was again elected president and has continued to discharge the duties of that office to the present writing. Other officers of the bank (1886) are as fol- lows : George H. Ames, vice president ; M. Beecher, cashier ; F. K. Russell, teller ; L. D. Wetmore, J. H. Eddy, R. Brown, G. H. Ames, M. Beecher, A. T. Scofield, and Mrs. Medora I. Mead, directors. The Warren Savings Bank was chartered by an act of the State Legis- lature early in 1870. Those named as corporators were Lewis F. Watson, R. Brown, O. C. Allen, W. F. Dalrymple, Patrick Falconer, David Beatty, P. J. Trushel, J. J. Taylor, B. Nesmith, S. J. Page, O. H. Hunter, J. R. Clark, M. Waters, W. W. Wilbur, Richard E. Brown, A. D. Wood, J. H. Nichols, L. B. Hoffman, W. H. Shortt, John A. Jackson, and James Kinnear. On the 12th of March, 1870, an organization was effected by the election of Lewis F. Wat- 358 History of Warren County. son, O. H. Hunter, B. Nesmith, P. Falconer, O. C. Allen, P. J. Trushel, and W. H. Shortt, to serve as directors. Subsequently Lewis F. Watson was chosen president of the association, and he has continued to discharge the duties of that office to the present time. Business was commenced in the Watson & Davis block in April following, George E. Barger officiating as cashier. The latter served until February, 1872, when he resigned and was succeeded by A. J. Hazeltine, the present efficient incumbent of the office. The bank building now occupied was completed in 1876, at a cost of $10,500. The officers serving in 1886 are as follows: Lewis F. Watson, president; Benjamin Nesmith, vice-president ; A.J. Hazeltine, cashier ; George B. Ens- worth, teller ; Lewis F. Watson, Benjamin Nesmith, James Clark, M. B. Dun- ham, O. H. Hunter, A. J. Hazeltine, and L. R. Freeman, directors. The Citizens' Saving Bank was organized March 8, 1870. Among its stockholders were S. P. Johnson, L. L. Lowry, Boon Mead, Orris Hall, J. A. Neill, E. B. Eldred, J. H. Mitchell, R. Brown, L. B. Hoffman, J. R. Clark, R. K. Russell, David McKelvy, G. H. Ames, L. D. Wetmore, F. A. Randall, and William D. Brown. Of the stockholders named Messrs. Johnson, Lowry, Hall, Neill, Clark, McKelvy, and Eldred were chosen directors. L. L. Lowry was elected president and H. R. Crowell cashier. This association was not chartered. Its place of business was one door west of the Carver House; capital $25,000; stockholders individually liable. About the first of May, 1875, a reorganization took place and the title of the institution was changed to the Citizens' National Bank. Its business is transacted in the corner of the building known as the Carver House. Manufacturing Interests. — Although Warren has never been noted as a manufacturing center of unusual importance — indeed, in this respect hardly up to the average of towns peopled chiefly, as this was, by New Englanders, New Yorkers, and their descendants — yet it has always had its quota of artisans skilled in their respective crafts. Among its first residents were blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, stone-masons, millwrights (those who could build, repair, and operate water-power grist-mills, saw-mills, etc.), wheelwrights, or those who made and repaired spinning-wheels, cabinet-makers, etc. In 1829 the only mills within the limits of the town proper were two saw- mills and a grist-mill. One of these saw-mills had been built and operated by James Stewart for ten years or more prior to the date mentioned. The other saw- mill and the grist-mill were more recent acquisitions, having been built about the year 1828. Then followed a small tannery, and in 1833 the wool- carding and fulling-mills of Hawley & Parker were noted as in operation. In the summer of 185 1 the old structure known as Stewart's Mills was remodeled by W. F. Kingsbury, for use as a foundry and machine shop. 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Suupaj 'sjEaX uaa;xis joj qijuisa^j 2§ |ppuEJ3 puE q;iuisaj\j 7§ ;;aujy jo suuy aq; jo 'q^iuisaj^j uiuieC -uag !o98i ui Suupaj '-03 t§ siabq 'uosiEy\\ 'sja§o"g ^ uos;b^\ 'siaeq 25 uosaE^w jo suuy aq; jo jaquiaui b sjBaX auo-X;uaMa joj 'uos^b^ 'd S !M-3T •AXMno3 NaH-avA\ ro ahoxsih z9£ Ch^^^^^L^^P^ Borough of Warren. 363 Henry Sargent, a native of New Hampshire, in 1833. Next in order came Dr. D. V. Stranahan, a native of Columbia, Herkimer county, N. Y. He be- gan the study of medicine with Dr. Sargent in 1833, graduated at the Fairfield Medical Institute in 1835, commenced to practice his profession in Warren in 1840, and died here May 19, 1873. Dr. G. A. Irvine died in Warren in Feb- ruary, 1867. It was then stated that he had resided in the county thirty years and in the borough twenty-five years. He was a skillful physician, an accom- plished gentleman, the possessor of decided abilities, and enjoyed the respect and esteem of all who knew him. 1 Dr. S. A. Robinson, it appears, who came to Warren in the fall of 1858, was its first homoeopathic practitioner. Dr. B. G. Keyes, of the same mode of practice, came in the autumn of 1859. Since that time many changes have occurred ; but the trails of those who have come and gone are considered too intricate to be followed. A County Medical Association was organized at Warren May 31, 1871, and a constitution, by-laws, medical code of ethics, and fee-bill adopted. The offi- cers then elected were D. V. Stranahan, president ; William V. Hazeltine and A. C. Blodget, vice-presidents ; H. L. Bartholomew, recording and correspond- ing secretary ; C. H. Smith, treasurer ; J. L. Burroughs, H. C. Daveny, and R. C Sloan, censors. The physicians now in practice in the borough are William V. Hazeltine, W. M. Baker, H. L. Bartholomew, D. V. Stranahan, Richard B. Stewart, J. M. Davies (homoeopathic), W. S. Pierce, E. D. Preston (homoeopathic), F. C. Stranahan, and F. W. Whitcomb. Hotels, Taverns, etc. — Daniel Jackson, sr., was the first to receive a license to keep an inn in the town of Warren, and when this privilege was granted him, in 1806, he was the only licensed " mine host" in the eastern half of the county. In the western half at the same time Giles White was the only one lawfully entitled to dispense liquors and entertain the public as a tavern-keeper. Jackson had no opposition in town until about 1815, when Henry Dunn opened a tavern on the site of the First National Bank, in a house built of hewn tim- bers. In 1 8 19 the third hostelry was opened by Ebenezer Jackson (son of Daniel), in a frame house which stood on the Carver House corner. Some five or six years later Archibald Tanner, having gained a firm foot- ing here and amassed some surplus capital, erected a row of buildings — small frame houses mainly — extending from Daniel Jackson's tavern to the site of a structure now occupied by F. R. Scott's book- store and G. W. Cogswell's meat market. On the grounds last described Tanner built a frame house intended for the entertainment of the public. It was the famous old " Mansion House," 1 When this paragraph was written we unintentionally omitted mention of Dr. H. S. Newman, who it is believed settled in Warren prior to either Hazeltine or Huston. His wife died and was buried here in July, 1827, and he was still numbered among the resident taxables in 1833. 24 364 History of Warren County. and it was first opened for business about 1826, by William Pierpont. His successor a year or so later was Joseph Hackney. After various changes in its management, this stand finally passed to the control of Richard S. Orr. It was a low, rambling, story-and-a-half structure, with no pretensions to elegance ; but " Dick" Orr, in southern parlance, made a " heap of money " in it, and it is said dispensed more " hard licker " within its walls than the combined output of all his predecessors and contemporaries in the business, from 1806 down to the time of his retirement. Old Guy Irvine, and other coarse-grained and bel- ligerent lumbermen and raftsmen, frequently " made things howl " around the Mansion House; but the able and good-natured proprietor was equal to the emergency, and would soon bring order out of chaos. But few landlords on earth, probably, have ever been bothered with a customer more unreasonable, noisy, bulldozing and murderously inclined than were those of Warren with old Guy Irvine when he was loaded with " Old Monongahela." By his own exertions and the driving of those in his employ he amassed considerable wealth in the lumber business, and his money gave him some standing in the community. Occasionally he was given to generous, commendable acts. Nevertheless he was naturally coarse and brutal, and withal seemed proud of the reputation he had gained — the power to intimidate and terrorize the timid and peacefully inclined when within reach of his arm. He has long since passed beyond the line dividing the known from the unknown ; but his' reputa- tion, traits of character, etc., still linger on this side. The Mansion House was closed as a tavern about 1856, when its lower rooms were utilized as stores, shops, etc. It was finally destroyed in the con- flagration which swept that part of the street in March, 1869 Surmounting its low, broad roof was a quaint-looking bell-tower in which swung a bell. This bell was transferred to the " Tanner House '' — the Falconer stone building nearly opposite the court-house — in 1859, when Editor Cowan indulged in some facetious reminiscences concerning it, as follows : " Who has not heard of the old Mansion House bell of Warren ? For many long years it was the reg- ulator of the town. The sleepy heads couldn't get up in the morning till the bell rung, and sometimes not then. The cook couldn't set the dinner on until she heard its familiar clang. The boys couldn't quit work for meals until the bell turned on its old wooden wheel and told them the glad hour had come. If the clock ran down in the cold night it couldn't be got right until the bell rung. Then it was all right again, for didn't everybody go by the bell, and didn't the bell go by Bennett, and didn't Bennett go by the sun ? Yea, verily, and let him dispute the tell-tale rattle of the old bell who dare ! A watch wasn't good for anything if it didn't agree with the bell. A clock was forth- with dismantled if it varied a hair from that standard. If we had a jollification, felt merry and all got drunk, forthwith the old bell echoed our joy in merry peals from hill to hill. If the shrill, startling cry of fire went up from any part Borough of Warren. 365 of town, forthwith the old Mansion House bell re-echoed the cry in tones that roused us like a signal gun." The building known as the Carver House was commenced in 1848, and was first opened for the entertainment of the public in March, 1849. It has ever since enjoyed the distinction of being termed the leading hotel of the town. John H. Hull, its first proprietor and manager, continued in charge until January 1, 1857, when he leased it or gave way to N. Eddy & Son. In February, 1859, Mr. Hull again assumed control, and remained until Decem- ber, 1864, when M. W. Hull and J. B. Hall made their bows to the public as proprietors. An addition, sixty-five by forty feet, three stories in height, with an entrance on Hickory street, was commenced by Mr. Hull, its owner, in the summer of 1865. In April, 1867, J. B. Hall, having purchased the interest of his partner, M. W. Hull, became sole proprietor. Williams & Scott assumed control in September, 1871, and in September, 1873, Myron Waters became the owner of the property by the payment of $20,000. Of the changes in ownership to this time we have no knowledge ; hence, where the term proprie- tor is used, as above, it refers to those who presided over its management, either as lessees or owners. Mr. Waters improved and enlarged the building to a great extent, and while owned by him it was leased and managed by dif- ferent parties until about 1882, when Mrs. C. W. King, its present proprietress, became the owner by purchase. Under her control, assisted by her son the ever gentlemanly George W., and B. H. Johnson, the active, watchful man- ager, the Carver House has gained an enviable reputation far and near. Its furnishings are first class, and kept scrupulously clean and in order. Its table d'hote is always well spread with tempting viands, game, fruits and veg- etables in season, and last but not least, its employees are quiet, polite, and prompt in the performance of their duties. The Exchange Hotel, under the management of George H. Leonhart, a life-long and highly respected citizen of the county, and the Warren House, H. Buss, proprietor, are the only hotels, other than the Carver House, in the business part of the town. The buildings occupied are of brick, comparatively new, well appointed throughout, and both are extensively patronized. Secret Associations. — North Star Lodge No. 241, F. and A. M., was chartered December 3, 1849. Its first principal officers were Joseph Y. James, W. M.; Henry Sergent, S. W.; Gilman Merrill, J. W. Those now officiating in these positions are James Cable, W. M.; Nelson Moore, S. W.; and Albert W. Ryan, J. W. The lodge has a present membership of about one hundred and fifty. Occidental H. R. A., Chapter No. 235, was instituted August 17, 1871, with the following officers : Henry S. Getz, M. E. H. P. ; D. M. Williams, king ; George Hazeltine, scribe; John H. Hull, treasurer; Stephen Carver, secretary. The present officers are Nelson Moore, M. E. H. P. ; Willis M. Baker, K. ; Al- 366 History of Warren County. bert W. Ryan, scribe ; Andrew Hertzel, treasurer ; Robert W. Teese, secretary. Its members are about one hundred in number. Warren Commandery No. 63, K. T., was organized May 27, 1885. The first officers were Caleb C. Thompson, E. C; Clarence E. Corbett, generalissimo; John M. Clapp, captain-general; O. W. Beatty, treasurer; George L. Friday, recorder. Those now serving are Clarence E. Corbett, E. C. ; Nelson Moore, G. ; George L. Friday, C. G. ; O. W. Beatty, treasurer ; William A. Talbott, recorder. The knights are about seventy in number. Warren Lodge No. 339, I. 0. O. K, was organized in a hall which then included part of the third story of the Carver House, February 27, 1849. The first officers were John A. Hall, N. G. ; J. Warren Fletcher, V. G.; A. J. Davis, secretary, and Stephen Carver, treasurer. The lodge started with a member- ship (including charter members and those initiated during the first meeting) of about twenty-five. Their hall was dedicated June 26, 185 1. In 1852-53 there were nearly two hundred members in good standing. Thereafter for some years many seem to have become lukewarm in Odd Fellowship and gradually dropped out. Of late, however, the membership has increased, and now num- bers about one hundred and forty. To the old steadfast members of this lodge is due the credit of establishing the Oakland Cemetery, and hastening the building of the suspension bridge. The present officers are A. M. Rogers, N. G.; Frank Werey, V..G.; A. S. Dalrymple, secretary; P. E. Sonne, assistant secretary; George H. Ames, treasurer; R. P. King, C. C. Thompson, and J. P. Johnson, trustees. Kossuth Encampment No. 98 was instituted in '1 850. Its present officers are F. K. Johnson, C. P.; J. P. Johnson, H. P.; S. E. Walker, S. M.; Frank Werey, J. W.; D wight Cowan, scribe; George H. Ames, treasurer; R. P. King, W. C. Allan, and C. C. Thompson, trustees. Warren Lodge No. 481, K. of P., was instituted April 21, 1882, by Thomas Pennsylvania." By its provisions the trustees of the church — viz., John Andrews, Albinus Stebbins, Joseph Mead, James Morrison, Robert Arthurs, Martin Reese, and Judah L. Spencer, and their successors — were to have all the care and management of all the property of the church, real and personal. The early history of the church, subsequent to the dedication of the first building in 1833, cannot better be given than in the words of the recent pastor, Rev. W. W. Painter, as they appeared in a ser- mon which he preached upon the occasion of the removal from that church fifty- two years later (May 24, 1885), and with a few introductory remarks in the Warren Mail of the following week. This article reads as follows : "Another old landmark is gone, or is going. The old M. E. Church edifice was vacated last week, and will soon be torn down to give place to a new and larger house of worship. It has done its work, and now goes into the past after a service of half a century. On Sunday of last week, May 24, Rev. W. W. Painter preached the last sermon in the old church and reviewed the his- tory of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Warren, most of which was pub- lished in the Ledger. He showed when this church was dedicated, fifty-two years ago, the M. E. Church in the United States had 2,265 ministers, and 638,787 members. In 1884 it had 12,900 ministers, and 1,800,000 members. Of this church he said : " ' Great are the changes in any church in a period of fifty-two years. Probably not in many churches have the changes been so great as in this church in Warren. Not one of those who were members of this society when this 378 History of Warren County. church edifice was dedicated in 1833 is a member of this society to-day. Mrs. Jane Waters, the oldest member of the society at present, united with it four years subsequent to 1833, when S. Gregg was the pastor. Benjamin Mead, for many years a member of this church, and one of the first members of the M. E. Church in Warren county, at the time this house was built was a mem- ber of a society organized a few miles west of Warren at a place then known by the name of Brokenstraw. E. P. Steadman was the pastor, and Joseph Mead, James Morrison, and Martin Reese were the trustees who superintended the erection of this house of worship. " From what we can learn, the little band who composed this society when this edifice was erected, toiled hard and sacrificed nobly, some of them giving more than one-tenth of what they had of this world's goods. Even then they could not have succeeded had it not been for the liberal assistance of those outside of the church membership. They labored nobly and well, and we have entered into their labors. The time has come for us to show ourselves worthy to be their successors in the erection of a new church edifice ; a house of wor- ship not only for ourselves, but for our children and all who shall come after us to worship within its walls. A precious privilege I trust we shall esteem it, to bring to a speedy and successful completion this now prospective house of worship. May the same spirit of self-sacrifice that actuated that little society fifty-two years ago prompt us to give and work and pray until we shall to- gether rejoice in the success that God gives to every self-sacrificing, believing worker in his vineyard ! " It is a source of regret to me that I have been unable to find the names or the number of members who composed this society in 1833; we trust their names are all written in heaven. In 1833 this region of country was a part of what was known as Pittsburg Conference. In 1836 the Erie Conference was organ- ized. The following is a list of the names of the pastors stationed in the M. E. Church in Warren since the date of the dedication of the church edifice : 1834, A. Plimpton; 1835, S. Ayres; 1836-37, S. Gregg; 1838-39, B. S. Hill; 1839, in part, L. Kendall; 1840, A. Barnes and B. S. Hill; 1 841, A. Barnes; 1841-42, E. J. L. Baker; 1843, John F. Hill; 1844-45, J- E. Chapin, 1946-47, N. Norton; 1848, J. K. Hallock; 1849, J. O. Rich; 1850-51, R.J. Edwards; 1852, R. S. Moran; 1853-54, H. H. Moore; 1855, A. C. Tib- bitts; 1856, E. B. Lane; 1857, D. C. Osborne ; 1858-59, J. Robinson ; 1860- 61, J. S. Lytle; 1862-63, O. L. Mead; 1864-65, P. Pinney; 1866, T. Stubbs; 1867, C. R. Pattee; 1868-69, R- W. Scott; 1870-71, E. J. L. Baker; 1872- 73-74, A. J. Merchant; 1875, O. G. McEntire ; 1876-77-78, R. M. Warren; 1879, W.F Wilson; 1 880-8 1-82, J. M.Thoburn; 1883-84-85, W.W. Painter.'" About five years ago, or more, a project for the building of a new house of worship was set on foot, which culminated in the present structure, the fin- est in this part of the State or country. So successful were the sacrifices and Borough of Warren. 379 labors of those who contributed time and labor and money to the accomplish- ment of this object, that we deem it worth while to describe the movement and the building in nearly the words of a writer in the Mail, in an article which appeared in that sheet on the 21st of September, 1886. 1 " In 1 88 1 it became apparent that the needs of the society, which was rap- idly growing with the prosperity of our town and surrounding towns, required additional room to accommodate the church with its various departments of Sunday-school, social and other work. The official board that year, or in early winter of 1881—82, seriously considered the question. It was finally re- solved to enter upon the work of remodeling the old church by erecting in front an auditorium connecting with the old building, provided a certain sub- scription could be realized. Plans were drafted by Jacob Snyder, of Akron, O., and a canvass made in the church by Rev. J. M. Thoburn, resulting in a handsome amount — over $6,000 being subscribed. After further consider- ation it was proposed to build entirely anew an edifice costing $15,000 — the board rigidly acting in a conservative manner. At that time a church costing $20,000 was deemed to be out of the question. After the change was deter- mined upon, Rev. Mr. Thoburn commenced the canvass anew, increasing the former amount, it all being subscribed within the membership of the church. Owing to local causes and those unaccountable reasons that often occur, the work, after this subscription was raised, was laid aside — not buried, but post- poned. " When Rev. J. M. Thoburn reads these lines in his present home, Calcutta, India, we trust that he will feel, what we believe to be the fact, that the church society to-day have to thank him for really founding the new church project upon a sure basis, and for planting the seed which has richly brought forth fruit. " When Rev. W. W. Painter succeeded Mr. Thoburn, he found the society still quartered in the old church, more crowded than ever, and still firm in the belief that a new church must be provided. The' church records show that on March 25, 1884, it was resolved to tear down the church and erect a new one. The question then of the location of the church was actively discussed. It was generally thought best to build on a larger lot and dispose of the old prop- erty, by which means the society would have a place to worship during the process of building. On April 5, 1884, O. C. Allen was appointed a com- mittee to investigate and report in regard to lots which might be obtained. The school board thought it possible the church lot and building would be profitable and valuable for them, and the society was willing to exchange the building and lot for a lot suited to their purposes. Negotiations during the summer of 1884 toward obtaining a different location for church building were fruitless, and the old church lot was decided upon as location for a new church. 1 This article, we believe, was written by W. H. Hinckley, of the firm of Wetmore, Noyes & Hinckley. 25 380 ' History of Warren County. " Rev. W. W. Painter in the mean time proceeded with the subscriptions and secured the required subscription list of $12,000. Early in 1885, as the list grew, the problem of actual work began to loom up, and the style of church to be erected was the next question to be decided. After consultation with various architects, the plan offered by Aaron Hall, of Jamestown, known as the Akron church plan, was adopted and Mr. Hall instructed to prepare nec- essary plans. On March 25, 1886, the building committee, M. B. Dunham, B. Nesmith, and A. Fisher, was duly elected. " The court-house, through the courtesy of J. Clinton, T. L. Putnam, and M. Crocker, the county commissioners, was secured as the place for holding services. "May 23, 1885, resolutions were passed to commence active operations at once. This was the decisive step toward which all previous efforts had been directed, and this dates the commencement of the work. On May 31, 1885, the last service was conducted in the old church by Rev. W. W. Painter, and on Monday, June 1, 1885, under the direction of A. Fisher, the first blow was struck toward demolishing the old church, which rapidly followed. "The corner-stone was laid August 18, 1885. Rev. John Peate presided at the exercises, delivering an appropriate address and depositing beneath the corner-stone the box of records described at that time. " The burden of the work almost from the beginning fell upon Benjamin Nesmith, of the building committee. He assumed charge with his accus- tomed vigor, and from the date of the commencement, June 1, 1885, down to September 19, 1886, there was no cessation of operations. The debris of the old church was properly cared for and removed, the excavation for found- dation walls dug, and the stone work was contracted to Charles Ott, who laid the foundation walls completely. A. B. McKain superintended the frame work and erection of the trusses, rafters and towers. John Beebe, of James- town, was placed in charge of interior carpenter work when work was com- menced inside. The brick work was contracted to Benjamin Jones, of James- town. " Delays in securing plans carried the work late into the fall and winter of 1885 and 1886, which fortunately proved open long enough for completion of the brick work before frosty weather. The cut-stone work was under direc- tion of Joshua Yerden, and the Ohio sandstone used, the native stone being used for steps and balance of stone work. Brick were furnished by Mecusker, of Jamestown ; the front, including the towers, being finished in pressed brick and the balance in selected brick. The slating and galvanized iron work and spouting were furnished by Machwirth Bros., of Buffalo. The outside painting and sanding was done by N. K. Wendleboe, of Warren. " The method of heating and ventilation is what is known as the Ruttan heating and ventilating process — the same employed in the new school-house Borough of Warren. 381 in the West End, and insures distribution of heat and a constant change of air, which may be regulated to almost any temperature. The windows are made of rolled cathedral glass throughout, and put in by S. S. Marshall & Bro., and are of remarkable beauty in tint and design. The three large circular win- dows, fourteen feet in diameter, being especially attractive when lighted at night. The doors throughout, with the exception of eight hard wood doors, are from the factory of L. D. Wetmore & Co., Warren. The ceiling of the auditorium is of corrugated iron, furnished by A. Northrup & Company, of Pittsburgh. This ceiling is simple, durable, safe and handsome. Beck & Allen, of Warren, have made a lasting record for themselves in the plastering job. Tunstall & Thompson built the elaborate staircases and have also done themselves credit. " No pews are used in the church ; but in both auditorium and gallery chairs will be used, which are constructed with folding seats, provided also with foot- rest, book-rack, number-plate, hat-protector, and umbrella-rack. The wood- work is of deep, rich cherry or mahogany color. They are furnished by A. H. Andrews & Co., of New York. " The inside graining and finishing has been principally done by B. M. Slay- ton, of Warren, and the work speaks for itself. All of the halls and the kitchen are floored in hard woods. The entire building is finished in oak and ash and wainscoated throughout, the natural grain of the wood being left un- touched, except by the polishing, filling and varnishing, making the appearance delightfully substantial and handsome. "The ladies of the church deserve the highest encomiums. They have never faltered a single moment. Their subscription of $1,000, increased to $1,500, was paid promptly, adding another round $800 for carpets and chairs in the Sunday-school rooms. They have sewed all the carpeting from gallery top to kitchen. They have labored in hot and cold, wet and dry, pleasant and unpleas- ant times, and as they have continued to do what they could, have given time, labor, money, everything, for the cause they loved. During the various changes of the church in the past fifteen months the utmost harmony has prevailed, and under the careful and sacrificing attention of Rev. W. W. Painter the congregation has remained intact and all current expenditures of the church provided for. Other churches and the Good Templar Lodge and order of A. O. U. W. kindly tendered them the use of their edifices and halls, and the congregation greatly appreciate their courtesy and interest. Rev. W. W. Painter will ever be held by church, congregation, and the citizens of the community in the highest esteem, for the highest measure of Christian fellow- ship and untiring zeal in promoting, fostering, and at last successfully terminat- ing the work of erecting this building, from which Christian influence will go forth through all the coming generations. He has received no extra compensation, and mere temporal reward would be trivial ; but the affection of his people and the blessing of God will surely attend him. 382 History of Warren County. "The new pipe organ is a fine instrument It was manufactured by John- son & Son, at Westfield, Mass., and cost about $2,000. What is called the great organ has 406 metal pipes. The swell organ has 290 metal pipes, and the pedal organ has twenty-seven wooden pipes, with numerous accessory stops, pedal movements, and wind indicator. The descriptive list of stops, etc., would hardly be interesting to the general reader. " The dedication took place last Sunday, September 19. The sermon of Dr. Sims Sunday morning was a very eloquent and earnest appeal for the Christian Church, from the 137th Psalm, 5th and 6th verses : ' If I forget thee, O Jeru- salem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.' The doctor is a silver-tongued talker, and held the crowded audience in close attention for nearly an hour. When he closed Dr. Boyle, of Pittsburgh, read the treasurer's statement showing the cost of the new struct- ure, including sidewalks, seating, lighting, heating, carpeting, furnishing, and new pipe-organ, is about $35,000. After deducting the amount subscribed and paid they found themselves in debt $20,000; and then commenced a zealous appeal for the money to be pledged then and there. ' The subscriptions were taken, payable in four annual installments. First they called for $500 promises. Mr. Thomas Keelor responded first, quickly followed by B. Nes- mith, M. B. Dunham, and the other heavy men of the church. Mr. Dunham is the largest contributor, having paid nearly $7,000, besides giving his time and attention freely. Then came the $300 call. This dragged a little, but several responded ; then the $200, $100, $50, and $25 subscribers made up the sum of $16,000, before adjournment. At the evening session the whole bal- ance was pledged, making a splendid offering of $20,413.47 in a single day. The Methodist society entertain the deepest feelings of gratitude toward the citizens and friends who generously subscribed. It was a great success, and the members and managers have a right to feel very thankful to the liberal .subscribers, as well as to God from whom all blessings flow. " The formal ceremony of dedication in the evening, after Dr. Boyle's ser- mon, was beautifully impressive. Dr. Sims called up the trustees and solemnly ■charged them to guard carefully the sacred trust placed in their keeping." Rev. W. P. Bignell, the present pastor, succeeded Mr. Painter in the fall of 1886. First Baptist Church of Christ. — On Friday, the 2d day of May, 1834, in response to a request from a number of communicants of the Baptist Church who had previously united in conference, a council representing churches at Pine Grove, Ashville, and Carroll, and partly composed of delegates from the New York Baptist State Convention, convened at the court-house in Warren, for the purpose of organizing a church. The ministers present were Revs. Foot, Fuller, Coleman, and Gildersleve. After being accepted by the confer- Borough of Warren. 383 ence as their council they proceeded to organize, choosing Isaac Fuller, moder- ator, and James McClellen, clerk. This body of believers was then recog- nized as a church — a member of the Baptist denomination. There were six- teen persons who thus composed the first germ of the present Baptist Church in Warren, viz. — Mrs. P. Curtis, Miss F. Curtis, Mrs. H. Gier, Mrs. P. Doty, Mrs. M. Shaw, Miss Elizabeth Morse, Mrs. P. Waters, Mrs. P. Strong, Miss Louisa Wheeler, Mrs. Mary Comstock, Mr. O. W. Shaw, Mr. W. M. Morse, W. M. Gildersleve, Mr. E. Doty, and Mr. Curtis Pond, who was soon after elected deacon. The "articles of faith," though not recorded in the church book, were of that character, at least, that a Baptist council regarded them Baptistic. Hence public exercises were observed as follows : Sermon was preached by Rev. Cole- man, right hand of fellowship by Rev. Fuller, and concluding prayer by Rev. Gildersleve. For eight years this society held services without the aid of a regular pas- tor, and only occasionally listened to sermons from the missionaries, Revs. King, Williams, Gildersleve, Wilson, and Gill. All this time, and afterward, from 1842 to 1857, they worshiped in the old court-house, on the ground now occupied by the new court-house. In 1844 a committee was appointed to con- sider the feasibility of building a church edifice. Ground was purchased and some of the materials were drawn upon it, but unforeseen hindrances prevented the consummation of the project at that time. The pastors through this period were Revs. Handy, Everetts, and Smith, and the deacons were Messrs. Win- chester and William Snyder. At this time the Sabbath-school was organized. In the summer of 1859 the present church edifice was commenced, on the Mi- ner Curtis lot, near the then residence of Chapin Hall. It was completed in the summer of i860. A part of the subsequent history of this church is given in the language of Rev. E. D. Hammond, as reported in the Evening Para- graph on December 1, 1884: " Commencing with 1857, we find this church still worshiping in the court- house. In answer to a pressing call from the little church, Rev. B. C. Wil- loughby became pastor, remaining until i860. As a result of his wise manage- ment and persistent efforts, the church building in which we congregate to-day was built and dedicated to the worship of God in i860. Too much praise can- not be given to the self-sacrificing pastor and little band at that time. During the same pastorate the church improved spiritually and increased in member- ship. It was during this period that two brothers were taken into this church who have proved to be ambassadors for Christ and an honor to the church. I speak now of John S. Hutson, received in April, 1858. Believing himself to be called to the work of the ministry, and the church discerning in him gifts and graces fitting for the work, he was licensed to preach the gospel. He soon afterward took a letter from the church and went to fully prepare himself for 384 History of Warren County. the work. After completing a college course and graduating from the theolog- ical department of Lewisburgh University, he was ordained in 1868 to the reg- ular work of the gospel ministry, and has since served as pastor of the churches at Stockton, N. Y., Allegheny City, Pa., and Warren, O. " Rev. G. W. Snyder was converted during the winter of 1857 an ^ 1858, and at once began active work for the Master at Sheffield, where he was teaching school. A number of his pupils were converted. He united with the church in May, 1858. He pursued his studies in Allegheny College and Crozier The- ological Seminary, graduating from the former in 1863, and from the latter in 1869. After this he became pastor of the church at Columbus, N. J., remov- ing from there to Lock Haven, Pa., where he died in the summer of 1874, and in the summer of his life, being at the age of thirty- seven. He was a devoted minister of the gospel, an earnest student of the gospel, and loved learning for its own sake. His early struggles for a thorough education no doubt aided in taking him away. " The church may well cherish the memory of these two sons. They are noble sons of their mother church, and may the church live to conceive and bear for the gospel many such men ! " In 1864 we find another era in the history of the church. Norman Snyder and Deacon Gerould are deacons. In the fall of 1866 Rev. George Balcom came to hold revival meetings ; he was here four weeks, and as a result several were taken into the church. From 1866 to 1869 Revs. Hastings and Evens were pastors. In 1869 Rev. Trowbridge became pastor, remaining two years, during which time the church worked hard. This baptistry was then put in, the bell was placed in the place where it now is, and some members were added to the church. "In December, 1876, Rev. Mr. Hulbert commenced meetings. A great revival spirit was then seen in the community, and the membership of the church was doubled. "In May, 1877, Rev. E. F. Crane became pastor. In the month of July Brother A. J. Hazeltine, Mr. Waid, and Mr. Lorie were appointed deacons. "In the summer and fall of 1877 the church underwent thorough repairs, costing $3,350, and was rededicated December 20, 1877. Thus we are ena- bled to see from this time a continuous growth along all the lines of church work and spiritual development. "In January, 1879, Rev. H. H. Leamy became pastor, lasting two years, and some members were added to the church during the time. " In the spring of 1881 Rev. Mr. Rea, a graduate from Rochester Theo- logical Seminary, commenced his labors with this church. During his pastor- ate the church had a healthful growth and the membership grew from sixty- five to one hundred and seventeen. His pastorate ended in May, 1884. Within a year or more this church has lost by removal some efficient church workers. Borough of Warren. 385 The Great Shepherd, however, has kept watch over the flock, and has filled the vacancies by others. Let us believe in the providence of God." The following are the names and dates of service of the respective pastors of this church from the beginning to the present : Church served by missionaries, 1834-42 ; Alfred Handy, Nov., 1842-June, 1845; Rev. W. R. Northrop, supply, March, i847-Sept, 1848; Wm. Everet, Sept., 1848-June, 1852; Wm. Smith, April, 1857-Sept, 1857; B. C. Wil- loughly, Oct., 1857-60; A.J. Hastings, Oct., 1865-Oct, 1866; Thos. Evans, Feb., 1867-Oct, 1867; I. Trowbridge, March, 1870-Aug., 1871 ; J. Harring- ton, Oct., 1875-Jan., 1876; E. F. Crane, April, 1877-Oct, 1878; H. H. Leamy, Jan., 1879-March, 1881; James Rea, April, 1881-May, 1884; E. D. Hammond, Sept., 1884-July, 1886; Wm. J. Coulston, Aug., 1886. The present membership of this church is 144, of which number one- third are male members. During the past year $103.63 was expended for benovo- lent objects. The estimated value of the church property is now $6,000. The present officers are Rev. William J. Coulston, pastor ; A. J. Hazeltine, clerk ; D. L. Gerould, treasurer ; and H. E. Davis, secretary of the board of directors. St. Joseph's Church (Roman Catholic). — There is strong probability that the first religious services conducted by civilized men on the site of Warren borough took place more than a hundred and thirty years ago. There is evi- dence that during the progress of the French and Indian War an expedition of French Catholics passed from Canada to Fort Du Quesne and New Or- leans by the way of Lake Erie, Lake Chautauqua, Conewango Creek, and the Allegheny River. From their records it appears that they were accustomed to land at various places on the route for the purpose of holding religious serv- ices under the guidance of priests who accompanied the expedition (which was military in its nature and object), and that they buried at such places leaden plates inscribed with language revealing that they had thus taken pos- session of the country in the name of France. The records show also that they landed for such worship and formality at the junction of the Conewango Creek and Allegheny River. The plates have been discovered at a number of the places described in their records ; but, from vagueness, the spot on which they landed and in which they buried the plate at the mouth of the Cone- wango has never been determined. It has thus become a matter rather of conjecture than sober history, at least until the plate is unearthed and the exact site located. Among the first Roman Catholic families to settle in Warren county were three brothers named Thomas, Patrick, and Joseph Archbold, who came from Philadelphia in the early part of this century and took up about three hundred acres of wild land each, about two and a half miles below Irvineton. They were there previous to 1830. Other early families in the county were the Mc- Graws, of Triumph, the McGuires, of Tidioute, and William and Sylvester 386 History of Warren County. Carlow, brothers, who came from Canada to Warren. The first bishop to visit Warren county was Francis Patrick Kendrick, who came from Philadelphia on horseback between fifty and sixty years ago, and held services at the house of Joseph Archbold. He also held services in the court-house at Warren. From this time the various places in the county were visited two or three times each year by priests from away, generally from Erie. The first Catholic Church edifice in the county was built at Warren about 1850, and has recently been converted into a school-house for that denomination. Rev. Father de la Roque remembers with gratitude the unselfish assistance rendered at that time by Protestants toward completing the house of worship. Orris Hall contrib- uted the lot on which the church now stands, and Mr. Summerton, the mer- chant, gave two hundred dollars, which was increased by other contributions from similar sources. This building has now been used for a school-house about four years. When the first church was building, Warren was attended by Father Deane, of Erie, and also by Father Thomas Smith, of Crawford county, and Father McConnell, of Frenchtown, Crawford county. In 1854 Father John Berbiger, the present assistant rector here, made his first visit to the church at Warren. The first resident priest was Father Thomas Lorna- gen, now rector of the parish at Corry. He was here from about 1858 to 1866. Father Voisar, now in the diocese of Toronto, was rector of this parish in 1 867 and 1868. In 1869 the present rector, Rev. M. A. de la Roque, came here from Meadville, Pa., and remained in charge ever since. His assistant, Father Berbiger, settled here in 1880. The present house of worship was dedicated on the 6th of May, 1880, after a period of building which lasted two years. The cost of the edifice and site was about $20,000. There are now in the neighborhood of 150 families in the parish. The next church in the county was built at Tidioute by Father Lornagen about 1 864. There are there at present some forty or fifty families. The church at Irvineton was erected in 1870, and is attended by Father James Lavery, of Tidioute. At this place there are about fifty Catholic families. A chapel was built on Quaker Hill in 1874, where about six families worship. The church edifice at Clarendon was built in 1876, and is attended by Father Berbiger. At this place are about 100 families. The church in Sheffield township was built in 1878, and is occupied by about fifty families, attended by Father de la Roque. In Garland a church has just been completed, which is under the care of the parish of Corry, and is occupied by some fifteen or twenty families. A lot has been purchased for the erection of a church at Kinzua, and this work will undoubtedly be completed in the near future. The old church edifice at Warren was converted into a school-house in September, 1883, and was divided into two departments. It was soon discovered to be too small, however, and in the summer of 1886 it was sup- plemented by an adjoining structure. The entire average attendance at these Borough of Warren. 387 schools at present is about 150. The school is taught by sisters of the Bene- dictine order, five in number, who came from St. Mary's, in Elk county. They are thoroughly efficient, and give lessons in music in addition to the common branches of learning. Trinity Memorial Church. — The beginnings of the Episcopal Church are faintly indicated by the fact that a church called the Calvary Church, of War- ren, was incorporated by order of the court on the 8th of October, i860, and that the Trinity Memorial Church was incorporated on the 9th of March, 1867, and was undoubtedly the successor of the Calvary. The circumstances attending the organization of this church, and its subsequent history are given in the following extract from the Warren Mail of October 26, 1886. It is taken from an address written by M. Beecher, of Warren, and delivered upon the occasion of the laying of the corner-stone of the St. Saviour's Church at Youngsville, on the 21st of October, 1886. We reprint only so much as seems to be pertinent in this place. " An interesting event for Youngsville was the laying of the corner-stone of its new Episcopal Church last Thursday, October 21, under the direction of Dr. A. W. Ryan, of Warren, who was assisted by Rev. Henry Mitchell, the new assistant to Dr. Ryan, Rev. H. L. Yewens, of Franklin, Rev. S. P. Kelly, of Pittsburgh, and by the choir and vestry of the Warren church. " Among the ceremonies, William Schnur read the following paper prepared by Mr. Beecher, who was unable to be present. It was intended to be a cor- rect history of Trinity Memorial Church, of Warren, and its missions, and is well worthy of being read and preserved. " 'The part which has been assigned to me to-day in the exercises of this in- teresting, and, to the people of Youngsville, memorable occasion, is a very sim- ple and prosaic one. It calls for no flights of fancy, flowers of rhetoric, or well- rounded periods. It will deal simply with the leading events connected with the history of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Warren county, which is in reality but a history of Trinity Memorial Church, Warren ; and may the or- deals through which it has passed stimulate you to encounter and overcome obstacles and difficulties which in the distance may appear unsurmountable, but which grow smaller as you approach, and disappear when grappled with. " ' It is only by earnest, persistent effort in any good work that success is ensured, and that too, oftentimes, in the face of apparent failure. " Be ye there- fore steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord ; foras- much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." " 'Previous to the year 1858 there never had been but one service of the church held in Warren county. But in July of that year Rev. Dr. Egar, now of Rome, N. Y., who married a daughter of the late Judge Merrill, held one or two services in the Presbyterian Church in Warren. In i860 Bishop Bowman made a visitation, accompanied by Rev. Mr. Abercrombie, of St. Paul's church, 388 History of Warren County. Erie, and held services in Johnson's Hall. The only ones to read the responses were Mr Struthers, Judge Johnson, Col. Curtis, Archibald Tanner (father of Mrs. Scofield), Geo. A. Cobham and family, Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins, Miss Mer- rill, Mr. and Mrs. M. Beecher. " 'Although the little band of worshipers there assembled looked somewhat lonesome in that large hall, it was an occasion of deep interest, and when the service was opened with — " The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before Him," there was a feeling of solemnity pervading every heart, and that even there might be realized the promise that " where (even) two or three are gathered together in His name He would grant their re- quests." "'Two years later Bishop Potter, with his son Henry C, now assistant bishop of New York, held services in the Baptist Church. After this Bishop Stevens visited Warren and held services in the Presbyterian Church, and a year later Bishop Lee, of Iowa, in the Methodist Church. " 'On August 3, 1 86 1, about a year after Bishop Bowman's first visitation to Warren, he started from Pittsburgh to visit what was then known as the Oil Regions of Pennsylvania, a region infinitely smaller than what is now embraced in that name. When about twenty miles this side of Pittsburgh a landslide was encountered, which made a walk of about two miles necessary to enable the passengers to take a train awaiting them on the other side. In his then enfeebled condition the bishop was unable to keep up with the rest, and was missed when the train was about ready to start. On going back to look for him he was found dead by the roadside — another example of that mysterious dispensation of divine Providence which passeth man's understanding. So useful a life and so sudden and remarkable a death seemed to demand more at the hands of a bereaved people and diocese than was customary in ordinary cases to bestow. To that end it was suggested that a memorial church should be erected in the region he was about to visit when overtaken by death, and that the whole diocese of Pennsylvania should be asked to contribute for that purpose. " 'Accordingly collections were taken up in all the parishes of the State, and the sum of $5,200 was realized. Then the question arose as to where the money should be expended. Bishop Potter, as one of the trustees of the fund, suggested that the site selected should be at some point on the Allegheny River between Kittanning and Warren — probably at the latter point. To this end he offered $4,000 of the fund, providing Warren would raise a like amount. This was deemed at that time as impossible. "' A delegation of sixteen was sent from Titusville to Philadelphia to repre- sent the church interests there and to pledge a compliance with the conditions imposed. Colonel Curtis was the only champion Warren had to represent her interests, he having business in the Supreme Court, then sitting in Philadelphia- Borough of Warren. • 389 He argued the case of his client ably and eloquently, but the odds were too great against him, and Titusville was awarded the $4,000. But as Bishop Bowman died on the banks of the Allegheny, Bishop Potter was anxious that a church should be erected to his memory immediately upon its bank, and to that end the balance of $1,200 was reserved for Warren whenever that amount would be required to complete a church edifice. This fund was invested in Philadelphia city 6 per cent, bonds, which afterward amounted to $1,800. " ' In the spring of 1864 Bishop Potter made a visitation to Corry with the rector of St. Paul's Church, Erie, Rev. John F. Spaulding, now bishop of Col- orado, fully impressed with the importance of at once occupying this region ; and through his solicitations and those of Bishop Stevens the Rev. C. C- Parker, then a deacon, was sent in June, 1864, to this new and then unculti- vated field. " ' It was arranged that he should hold services at Warren and Corry on alternate Sundays, with his home at Warren. The first regular services were held in Warren in the Presbyterian Church, on the afternoon of June 26, 1864. The next service was held in the Baptist Church, which had been secured until the following December. In September of this year a Sunday-school was organized. It opened with five scholars. During the Sundays Mr. Parker was officiating in Corry the school was held in the dining-room of Mr. Beecher's house on Liberty street. " 'When compelled to vacate the Baptist Church, rector and vestry were in a quandary what to do, as they were again thrown upon the charity of a cold world without an abiding place. Finally they decided to apply to Judge Johnson for the use of the east room in Johnson's Exchange. This application was met in a most liberal and Christian-like spirit. The hall, with the requisite number of settees, was at once set apart for the exclusive use and control of the church, free of charge. It was neatly fitted up for church and Sunday- school purposes, and here services were held until the completion of Trinity Memorial Church, in the summer of 1867. Soon after Mr. Parker's coming to Warren much discussion was had relative to the building of a church edifice, thereby enabling it to claim the Bishop Bowman fund reserved for that pur- pose. After many vexatious delays and hindrances a subscription was finally started. " ' During the winter the rector and his estimable wife taught the Sunday- school scholars an oratorio, with the aid of local talent, from which entertain- ment was realized a sufficient amount to purchase a cabinet organ for the church. '"In the mean time, subscriptions having progressed satisfactorily, the building of a church was decided upon. Matters were pushed as vigorously as possible — some delays occurring as a matter of course — and on the 16th day of July, 1867, the church was finished and furnished complete, at a total cost, 39° ' History of Warren County. including the lot, of $11,375, ready for the first service, which was held that P. M. at five o'clock. " 'The day following, July 17, the time fixed for the consecration of the church, the procession entered, preceded by J. H. Palmer, senior warden ; M. Beecher, junior warden ; C. B. Curtis, L. L. Lowry, John T. McPherson, John Sill, and Lewis F. Watson, and followed by Bishop Kerfoot, Rev. J. F. Spauld- ing, rector of St. Paul's Church, Erie ; Rev. Marison Byllesby, of Christ's Church, Meadville ; Rev. Henry Purdon, D. D., of St. James Memorial Church, Titusville ; Rev. R. D. Nevius, of Christ's Church, Oil City ; Rev. George C. Rafter, of Emmanuel Church, Emporium ; Rev. John T. Protheroe, of Em- manuel Church, Corry, and the rector, Rev. C. C. Parker. The sentence of consecration was read by Rev. Mr. Billesby, and the sermon was preached by the bishop. The services throughout were exceedingly interesting and impressive, and all rejoiced that the labors of years had at last been rewarded with full fruition. Mr. Parker continued his earnest work for nearly a year afterwards, when he resigned his charge and removed to Greenburg, Pa. His resignation took effect Easter Monday, 1868. To his self-sacrificing efforts and untiring zeal, and a faith that though in darkest hours sometimes wavered yet never forsook him, to him more than any one else is Trinity Memorial Church of Warren indebted for its present existence. At this date there were only sixteen names on the list of communicants, of which only three were males ; and of these for a long time the only one present to respond to the invitation " Draw near in faith," was Isaac Ruff, a colored man. " ' The next rector of this parish was the Rev. Henry S. Getz, of Mahonoy City, Pa., now assistant rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Philadel- phia. He was a God-fearing, God-loving, faithful Christian worker, who was beloved not only by his own congregation, but by all others with whom he came in contact, for his many noble qualities of head and heart. He was dean of this convocation until it was merged into the Erie deanery. He was also rector of the church at Tidioute, holding week-day services there. His rector- ship covered a period of upwards of thirteen years, when he resigned, his resig- nation taking effect on the 1st of October, 1882. " 'No special effort was made to secure another rector for several months, although many letters were received on the subject. It was not until the fall of 1883 that matters assumed a definite shape and the Rev. Albert W. Ryan, of Howell, Mich., was secured. Of his work in Warren, Clarendon, Youngs- ville, and other points in the county it would be out of place to dwell upon on this occasion. That he is peculiarly fitted for the work he has undertaken is fully attested by his superior mental [endowments, his sound and varied scho- lastic attainments, and a push and vigor which stop at nothing short of success. His present assistant, Rev. Mr. Mitchell, comes to us as a stranger, but with a good record as an efficient and successful co-worker.'" Borough of Warren. 391 Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church. — This church was organized on the 7th of June, 1871, some of the original members being Axel Carlson, George P. Miller, Herman Greenlund, Lars Hanson, Erik Anderson, and Adolf F. Larson. These with others, numbering in all about thirty-five, constituted the first organization. The meetings both before and after this time were held in the building still occupied, though it then belonged to the German Luth- eran Church. In this same year (1871), however, the Scandinavian Church purchased the church building and lot, and now own it. The work of acquir- ing this property should be accredited chiefly to a Miss Sara Carlson (now Mrs. Larson), who distinguished herself by her Christian zeal at this time not only, but later, when she and her husband removed to Rock Island, 111., they presented $125 to this church, a remarkably unselfish gift, considering that they were and are by no means well to do. The price of the church building was about $800. It has been greatly repaired within and without since the last purchase was completed, and an addition erected in the front, surmounted with a neat steeple. The first Swedish preacher at this place was J. P. Loving, now living at Chandler's Valley. He was not an ordained minister, but came with good recommendations from the old country, and proved himself to be a man of sound doctrine and profound faith. He remained here between three and four years, preaching once or twice a month. J. Vender (who went from here to Rock Island, III, was graduated from the Aug. College and Seminary, was or- dained a minister, and in 1882 died at his post on the Pacific coast), Axel Carlson, Erik Anderson, and others were good members and deacons of the church, who by their unwearied efforts in leading the Sabbath-school and prayer meetings, etc., kept up the interest of the congregation during vacancies in the pulpit. Several ministers of this conference who were stationed in this vicinity gave such time and attention to the welfare of this church during its feeble efforts at learning to walk, as their own congregations would permit. Rev. J. Millander, the first ordained minister who was given charge of this church, began his labors here in July, 1874. He was well liked, and it was a great blow to his flock when about eighteen months later he handed in his resigna- tion. For some time after this the society was under the protection of students from the Aug. College and Seminary of Rock Island, 111., especially under that of L G. Abrahamson. In 1879 Rev. M. U. Norbury was called to take charge of the church; eight calls previous to this one had elicited negative answers, but Mr. Norbury accepted. His stay here was but of a year's duration. Thus far this congregation had been obliged to divide the services of their pastors with several other congregations, as Kane, Titusville, Sheffield, etc. On the 14th of September, 1881, the present pastor, Rev. N. G. Johnson, took charge of his labors here. Although he has had the care also of other charges, he has devoted as much time, or more, as could be expected. In the spring of 1882 392 History of Warren County. he was forced by ill health to visit Sweden During his absence of some five months a Danish minister named P. C. Fronberg, then a recent arrival from Denmark, filled the vacancy. Although he was scholarly and zealous, his ideas did not conform with the preconceived opinions of his congregation, and a division arose in the church, which culminated in the separation from the con- gregation of a number of members. In 1883 a resolution was adopted that the church should build or buy a new parsonage, and subscriptions soon amounted to about $1,100, with which the present suitable and neat dwelling was purchased. The congrega- tion, although necessarily small in numbers, has indeed made wonderful prog- ress, considering the adverse circumstances which have conspired to retard their growth. In 1885 the young people bought a fine pipe organ for the church. The pastor has much to do, for besides his pastoral labors in Warren he has charge over congregations, or missions, at North Warren, Glade Run, Stoneham, Clarendon, Irvineton, Tidioute, Triumph, etc. As a rule the Swedes are a religious people, and have a decided penchant for the Lutheran persuasion. The church is an Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Augustana Synod, which synod has a membership of more than 100,000, and an ordained ministry of about 230 members. There are not far from 140 members be- longing to this church in Warren. The present officers are George P. Miller, Martin Nelson, Charles Peterson, J. Seyser, C. P. Anderson, Peter Holmes, and Otto Marker. The church property is valued at about $3,500, while a small indebtedness rests on the church of about $200. The Evangelical Association, of Warren, was organized in 1833 by Rev. John Seybert. Its original members were H. D. Grunder, Mary E. Grunder, Conrad Gross, Saloma Gross, Adam Knopf, Mary E. Knopf, Jacob Wise, Sal- oma Wise, Magdalene Martin, Philopena Martin, George Weiler, Barbara Wei- ler, Martin Esher, J. J. Esher, George Esher, D. Gross, sr., D. Gross, jr., Jacob Ott, F. L. Arnett. In 1852 a brick church edifice was built on Liberty street. In 1883 this structure was extensively remodeled at a cost of $4,000. During the year 1 876 a frame church was built at Mack's Corners, in Elk township, costing $1,200. The pastors of this association, which extends into Conewango, Glade, and Elk townships, have been, in' the order of their coming, as follows : John Sey- bert, J. K. Kring, E. Staver, J. Brickley, J. Honecker, J. Boas, J. Yambert, H. Bucks, R. Miller, J. Lutz, H. Heis, J. Long, S. Heis, J. Rank, J. Truby, J. C. Link, J. Edgar, J. Dick, A. Stahle, S. B. Kring, A. Niebel, J. G. Pfeuffer, A. Long, C. Lindaman, B. L. Miller, Jacob Honaker, C. G. Koch, R. Mott, J. J. Barnhart, R. Mott, A. Rearick, B. L. Miller, W. Houpt, T. Bach, and L. M. Boyer ; the latter gentleman, a veteran of the late war and a native of Som- erset county, Pa., still being in charge. For many years the Warren congregation was exclusively German, and Borough of Warren. 393 religious exercises were conducted in the language of the Fatherland. By- degrees, however, English was introduced, and in the spring of 1884 it was wholly adopted. The present members are two hundred and forty-seven in number, and the church property owned by them (two churches and a parsonage) is valued at $11,000. We will conclude our remarks on church matters by saying that the first preaching in the county, of which we have authentic data, was rendered by the Rev. Jacob Cram, of Exeter, N. H., a missionary of the Congregational Church. From his journal it appears that in 1805 he journeyed across Ver- mont and New York States to Olean, preaching at many points along the way. From the latter place he proceeded down the river to Warren. He met the Cornplanter, and informs us that the Quakers had a mission near the latter's settlement, which was established by them about 1798. They also operated a small saw and grist-mill located near the mission. Cornplanter was rather cool, and expressed his distrust and dislike of Yankee preachers. He said he had seen and heard them at councils. They would preach and talk very fair to the Indians, but immediately afterwards would be found try- ing to cheat the poor Indians out of their lands. The missionary preached at Kinzua and at the house of Daniel Jackson, on the Conewango. At this place he said the people were very attentive, and he received more money from them for missionary purposes than at any other place in the western country. He also made note of the fact " that Warren had a beautiful situation for a town, though there were but four or five houses in the town plot." From Warren he journeyed northward (stopping to preach at the " Beech Woods Settlement") to Buffalo and into Canada, and thence eastward to his home. The first Methodist quarterly meeting ever held in the county was also convened at the Jackson homestead, on the Conewango, in 18 12. There were present Bishop McKendrie, Rev. Jacob Young, the presiding elder of the Ohio District, Rev. John P. Kent, of Chautauqua county, N. Y., and Rev. William Connelly, of Venango county, Pa. Many people assembled from Kinzua, Brokenstraw, and the Beech Woods, and numbers of them, being compelled to stay all night, slept on the hay mow in the barn. 394 History of Warren County. CHAPTER XXXIII. HISTORY OP CONEWANGO TOWNSHIP. ALTHOUGH Conewango was not the first township to be organized in the county, it is given a place in these pages next to the borough of Warren, by reason of the fact that from 1808, when it became the second township of Warren, until 1832, the town was only part of the township, and the corporate limits of the former are still largely environed by the latter. The term Cone- wango is supposed to be of Indian origin, but as now written and pronounced it bears no more resemblance in form and sound to the name applied one hun- dred and fifty years ago, than do the letters A and Z. From " Kanonogon " it has been changed through a long series of years to " Kanaougou," " Kanoa- goa," " Canawagy," " Conewauga," " Conewagoo," " Canawago," " Conna- wango," until now we have what many simple folk suppose a simon pure Sen- eca term, spelled Conewango. A majority of our so-called Indian names of streams, towns, counties, territories, and States have gone through the same processes of change at the hands of white men. Indeed, they were wholly the work of white men in the first place. The Indians, as we all know, had no writ- ten language, and in the attempt to fashion their gutteral monosyllables into written English, hunters, traders, and interpreters — some of them densely ignorant in letters — have furnished us many wonderful Indian names. The name and original boundaries of this township were established by a commission (appointed by the Venango County Court in 1806), whose report and recommendations were adopted and confirmed by the same authority in 1808. (See Chapter XIII of this work.) The township of Conewango then em- braced the eastern half of the county, and the first township election was held at the house of Daniel Jackson, in the town of Warren, which then consisted of five houses, in the spring of 1808. The first settler within its present limits, probably, was Daniel Jackson, who with his family began a residence on Jackson's Run, just north of Warren, in 1797. Much concerning him will be found in the history of Warren bor- ough, to which place he removed about 1805. Michael McKinney followed closely in the footsteps of Jackson as a settler of Conewango township, and it is believed by his descendants that he settled upon the farm where he lived for more than fifty years as early as 1798. He came here from Southwestern Pennsylvania, the scene of the Whisky Insur- rection — 1790-94. He died at the age of eighty-five years, of injuries received by a kick from a horse. His wife, a sister of Robert Russell, of Pine Grove township, attained the great age of more than one hundred years. Of the children born to them but one is now living — Eliza A., the wife of F. O. Conewango Township. 395 Crocker, of this township. The old McKinney homestead is now embraced in part by the asylum farm at North Warren. Jacob Goodwin also settled in the township about 1798, by squatting upon the premises since known as the Dougherty or Dunn farm. He was McKin- ney's immediate neighbor on the north. Martin Reese, sr., with his two sons Martin, jr., and John, came from Lycom- ing county and settled on the beautiful plateau lying in the bend of the river below Warren, about 1803-04. Here the family resided for many years, the tract occupied being known as part of the outlots of Warren or " Reese's Flats." John Reese, one of the sons above mentioned, married Miss Marcia Owen and settled upon the farm on Conewango Creek, where he resided for more than forty years, or until his death, which occurred in July, 1852. They were the parents of an intelligent and respected family. William Sturdevant, Asa Scott, and Asa Winter were also very early pio- neers in the township. The latter was one of the first three county commis- sioners elected, and as early as 1 8 1 5 he owned and operated a grist-mill on the Conewango. In 1 82 1, by an order of court confirmed March 8 of that year, the two townships of Brokenstraw and Conewango, which to this time from 1808 had embraced the whole county, were divided into twelve townships (see Chapter XXV). By this division the area of Conewango was reduced to but a fraction of its former extent. Still, it was yet a large township, for by the boundaries ■confirmed in 1821 it included the major portion of the present township of Glade, while Tionesta was temporarily attached to it. The first township elec- tion, after the changes above referred to, was held at the house of Daniel Jack- son, in the town of Warren, March 16, 1821. In the mean time, while the town had increased but slowly in population, the township had become quite populous, and a number of well-improved farms were already to be seen. The first assessment under the new condition of affairs was made in 1822, and the following list embraces the names, etc., of the resident taxables in town and township during that year : Andrews, John, J. P., county commissioners' Andrews, Robert. [clerk, etc. Arthur, Boon. Alden, Richard, clothier, operating fulling-mill. Arthur, James, lumberman. Arthur, William. Arthur, Robert, lumberman. Ayres, John W. Ayres, Alfred. Adams, Joseph, carpenter. Ballard, Samuel. Buckalew, Isaac. Brewer, Philo, cordwainer. Brown, Samuel. 26 Brown, John, prothonotary. Brown, David, Esq. Bell, Robert. Chandler, Alvah. Crull, Emanuel. Cranston, Peleg. Chapman, Elijah. Clark, Joseph. Dalrymple, Mark C„ distillery, value $400. Dalrymple, Wm. Dunn, Henry, inn keeper. Doan, Levi. Dougherty, Charles. Derby, Edward. 396 History of Warren County. Davis, Patton. Eddy, Zachariah. Follett, James, Senr. Follett, James, Jr. Foster, Jesse. Foster, David. Gilson, John. Granger, Eli. Geer, Asa. Geer, John. Graham, Saml., tailor, house and lot in town. Gray, Joseph. Green, John. Green, Christopher. Green, Parker. Green, Edmond. Hackney, John, tailor. Hook, Moses. Hunter & Fisher. Hook, Jacob. Houghwout, Dan]., carpenter. Harriot, James, of Meadville, Hackney's part- ner in saw-mill and lumbering business. Houser, John P. Hall, Josiah, house and lots in town. Hackney, Jos., Esq., associate judge. Hall, Joseph, stone mason. Hubbel & McConnell. Hazeltine, Abner, attorney at law. Jackson, David, house and lot in town. Jackson, DanL, Esq., Justice of the Peace. Jones, Harvey. Jordan, Elisha. Jones, Jehu, single man. Kelly, Julius. King, John, house and lots in town. Kidder, Corbin, single man. Kidder, Nathaniel, settled about 1820. Lewis, James B. Littlefield, Stephen, carpenter. Miller, Linus H. Marsh, John, Sr. Marsh, Enoch. Marsh, Joseph. Mansfield, Abel, carpenter. McKinney, Michael. McKinney, John, 2d, single man. Mead, Joseph. When Limestone was organized, in township of Tionesta, it took the latter, ewango ; and by the erection and org Mead, David, Jr. Mead, Benjamin. Owen, Eben. Owen, Barnabas, single man. Olney, Rufus. Olney, Stephen, Senr. Olney, Stephen, Jr. Olney, Wm., carpenter. Owen, Eben, Jr., single man. Owen, Orange. Owen, Ethan. Potter, Jabez. Parmlee, Barrett & Co., merchants in town. Parmlee, L. S. Pier, Wm., cordwainer in town. Portman, John. Reese, John, innkeeper and owner of saw- mill. Reese, Martin, Senr., outlots west of town. Rogers, Levi. Reese, Martin, Jr. Rogers, John. Stewart, James, double saw-mill, lived in town. Stebbins, Elijah. Stebbins, Albinus, cordwainer. Swift, Seth, single man. Sturdevant, James, Jr. Scott, Asa, blacksmith in town. Sawyer, Hezekiah, carpenter. Saxton, Saml., house and lot in town. Shirley, Moses, single man. Simmons, Peter. Sly, Timothy, single man. Shipman, James. Trask, Samuel. Tanner & Dunn. Thompson, Abraham. Thompson, Caleb. Tanner, Arch., merchant. Valentine, Robt., saw-mill. Wetmore, Lansing. Wait, Reuben. Willson, Johnson, single man. Wallace, Caleb. Winter, Asa. Walbridge, , a distiller. Young, Matt., county treasurer. 1829, and absorbed the now obsolete of course, from the jurisdiction of Con- anization of Glade township, in 1844, Conewango Township. 397 Conewango was reduced to about its present limits. It is centrally located in the county, the Conewango Creek forming its eastern boundary. In 1832 the town of Warren was erected into a borough, and at this time the interests of the two — town and township — in civil affairs became separated. Separate assessment rolls were made out in 1833, and from them we learn that Conewango's taxables, including that part across the creek afterwards attached to Glade, were as follows. We will first explain, however, that a considerable number of those owning lands in the township were residents of the village. The names, where positively known to us, will appear in italics : Arthur, Robert, saw-mill and seat. Adams, Warren L., 18 acres. Berry, Sidney, single man. Berry, John M., saw-mill, 288 acres. Buckalew, Isaac. Berry, John J., 94 acres. Babcock, Merritt, 100 acres. Bell, Robert, 357 acres. Babcock, Harley, 200 acres. Babcock, David. Blakesley, Benjamin, 50 acres. Brown, Joseph, 100 acres. Cogswell, Hubbard. Crull, Emanuel. Carter Zoar, 50 acres. Clark, David, 50 acres. Colver, John D„ 50 acres. Chapman, Amos B., 100 acres. Chandler, Josiah. Cole, William, 100 acres. Canon, Gilbert, 120 acres. Connoutt, Harry, 190 acres. Canon, Samuel, 92 acres. Chase, Danl., 100 acres. Clark, Martin. Davis, John S., 124 acres. Dunn, Henry, 204 acres. Doty, Halsey, 100 acres. Doty, Elisha, 1 50 acres, Doty, Isaac, 100 acres. Dailey, Saml., 160 acres. Dalrymple, Corning, 234 acres. Dalrymple, Joseph, 50 acres. Doan, Levi, 34 acres. Follett, James, 3 acres. Follett, James, Jr., 254 acres. Farnsworth, Josiah, 100 acres. Grunder, Henry, 100 acres. Geer.Asa, 50 acres. Gregory, Anson, 50 acres. Gibson, David, 150 acres. Gordon, Joseph C, 95 acres. Green, Parker, 50 acres. Gray, John E., 137 acres. G-reen, Christopher, 250 acres. Gregory, Asa, 113 acres. Graham, Joseph, 50 acres. Gray, Jason, 30 acres. Huntington, Jacob, 100 acres. Hook, Orrin, 11 86 acres. Houghwout, Danl., 74 acres. Herrick, Henry, 50 acres. Hibbard, Luther, 205 acres. Holt, William, 100 acres. Hatch, Dorastus, 84 acres. Hook, Francis, 56 acres. Hall, Saml. £>., 83 acres. Houghton, James, 149 acres. Hamlin, Jacob, 150 acres. Hackney, John, 100 acres. Jackson, David, 100 acres. Joy, John. Jackson, Wm, 100 acres. Irvine, William A., 336 acres. Jennings, Edmond, 100 acres. Knapp, David, 50 acres. Kidder, Nathaniel, 100 acres. King, John, 73 acres. Leonard, Levi, 90 acres. Leonard, Calvin, 40 acres. Leonard, Arnold, 57 acres. Lee, Philip, 96 acres. Littlefield, John, 180 acres. Morrison, Abijah. McKinney, John, Jr., (sheriff) outlot. Morse, Joseph. Morse, William. Morrison, James, 100 acres and outlots. McKinny, John, 50 acres. Mead David, 56 acres. Mead, Joseph, 114 acres. Mead Benjamin, 236 acres. 398 History of Warren County. McKinny, Michael, 1,60 acres. Mair, Hugh, 550 acres. Mallony, John, 100 acres. Mallony, Meredith, 89 acres. Owen, Ethan, 50 acres. Owen, Barney, 100 acres. Owen, Heman, 124 acres. Owen, Mary (widow) 124 acres. Olney, John, 100 acres. Olney, Stephen, 185 acres. Ott, Jacob, 75 acres. Parker, Timothy F., 231 acres. Porter, Abraham B., 156 acres. Parker, Oliver, saw-mill. Perkins, Edson, \ saw-mill. Reese, John, 539 acres. Russell, Robert, 100 acres. Reese, Martin, 56 acres and outlots. Reed, John, single man. Shipman, William, 400 acres. Sturdevant, William, 1 50 acres. Salmon, Amos, 100 acres. Sturdevant, James, 100 acres. Strubler, Andras, 100 acres. Sidler, Jacob, 40 acres. Shaw, Joseph, 83 acres and \ saw-mill. Snapp, George, 100 acres. Spencer, Judah, 92 acres. Spencer, Abner, 250 acres, Spencer, Alfred, 112 acres. Shutt, Adam, 80 acres. Scott, Asa, 119 acres. Sly, Timothy, 50 acres. Turner, Thomas, 99 acres. Taggart, James, 240 acres. Tanner, Archibald, 244 acres. Tanner &-° Falconer, 814 acres. Turner, Luke, 400 acres and tavern stand. Taylor, Charles, 360 acres and saw-mill. Winter, Asa. Williams, Wm. Wilcox, Thomas, 75 acres. Wilcox, Thomas, Jr., 1 10 acres. Wiley, Saml., 4 acres and saw-mill. Whitney, Joel. Wright, Justus B., 40 acres. Simmons, Peter, 586 acres. During the last fifty years many and varied changes have taken place. The township has not increased in population and wealth to an unusual extent, but the names and personal characteristics of its people have undergone al- most a complete transformation. Those of English and Scotch- Irish ancestry have given place to those of Alsatian and German origin to such an extent that at this time the latter seem to be largely in the majority. They are an honest, moral, and industrious class of citizens, of which any country should be proud. The general surface of the township is high and broken. The stranger in driving over its roads in mid-summer, when the foliage by the wayside is dense, is suddenly confronted by an abrupt hillside, or has an opportunity of ^peering down into a deep ravine at frequent and the most unexpected places. The land when brought under cultivation is productive and lasting, and abund- ant crops of hay, potatoes, oats, corn, etc., are annually produced. It is also well adapted to grazing and dairying purposes. In 1886 the assessed valuation of taxable property, etc., was reported as follows : Value of lots and buildings, $80,735 > acres of seated lands, 17,302 ; acres of unseated lands, 281 ; number of horses and mules, 312 ; number of oxen, four; number of cows, 386; number of resident taxables, 443. The little village of North Warren is very pleasantly located on the right bank of the Conewango,. about two or three miles north of the borough of Warren. Besides the great structure known as the State Hospital for the In- Conewango Township. 399 sane, it has a woolen-mill, hotel, post-office, lumber yard, two or three small stores for the sale of groceries, hardware, flour and feed, and a number of blacksmiths, carpenters, etc. The woolen-mills, first known as the " Falconer Woolen Works," were es- tablished about 1848. Their principal work was wool carding, though even at the first some coarse cassimeres, plain cloths, tweeds, etc., were manufactured. In later years they were owned by Judge Wetmore. About twenty years ago George Hazeltine came into possession, and he has since successfully operated them under the firm name of George Hazeltine & Co. In 1873 a State hospital for the insane was located near the village by a commission appointed by the governor. After a personal inspection of several of the northwestern counties, for the location of such an institution, its mem- bers found no place so perfectly adapted to the wants and purposes as this, in the beautiful valley of the Conewango. The corner-stone was laid in the presence of Governor Hartranft and other distinguished visitors, September IO, 1874, and was sufficiently completed in 1880 as to admit patients. From the beginning its construction and management had been under the superin- tendency of Dr. John Curwen. In style, finish, and perfect adaptation to the purposes of its creation it is not surpassed by any similar institution in the State or on the continent. Its great good fortune has been to have the de- signing eye of Dr. Curwen over its architecture and construction, and of his learning and experience as physician-in- chief in its management and care of the unfortunate inmates. During the month of April, 1886, a correspondent of the Bradford (Pa.) Era prepared the following very complete description of this building, its size, cost, appointments, etc., and, believing that we can do no better byway of ex- planation, we insert it : North Warren Asylum. — The building, of brick faced with sandstone, is about 1,200 feet long, practically four stories high, situated about two miles north of the borough of Warren, in a beautiful valley drained by the Cone- wango Creek. It consists of a central building devoted to officers, reception- rooms, quarters for superintendent and medical staff, steward's office and rooms, pharmacy, sewing-room, chapel, and amusement hall. Extending at right angles from the center, and connected with it are a series of three con- necting wings, the north series devoted to male and the south series to female patients. These two series are divided into eleven wards each, making a total of twenty- two wards, capable of accommodating 600 patients according to the original plan, but now containing about 650, owing to the excessive overcrowd- ing of other similar institutions, and can hold without injury to the inmates quite a good many more. These wards connect with each other, those on the same floor by doors leading from one hall to another, and those on different floors by fire-proof stairways. In addition to the large double central stair- 4oo History of Warren County. way there are two exits from each ward by means of the fire-proof stairways referred to. The building is fire-proof throughout, well heated, lighted, and ventilated. Each is classified, patients being assigned to such one as their condition warrants ; No. I being filled with those convalescent or nearly so, while No. 1 1 contains the cases that are most violent and hopeless. The inter- mediate numbers are graded from one to eleven, except No. 4, which, on the north side, is a private and on the south a sick ward. Each ward contains a dining-room, pantry, bath-room, wash-room, clothes closet, an automatic closet, sitting-room, and is supplied with hot and cold water, elevator from the kitchen, dust-shaft, clothes-drop, dry room, and is thoroughly lighted, warmed and aired. There is not in the entire building a single room of any kind, used by patients or attendants, which is not better lighted, heated, ventilated, and kept cleaner than the rooms of the best hotel in your city. Absolute cleanliness of rooms, halls, table service, beds and bedding is the most striking feature about the building. The heat is furnished by four steel boilers, each one hundred horse power, by a system of indirect radiation as simple as it is complete. The cold air is drawn through two towers by means of large fans, and by the same fans driven through underground tunnels arched with brick into the halls or chambers in the cellar, containing the radiators. Above the fans in the towers is a coil of steam pipe, another at the entrance to the tunnel, and still another at the point where the tunnels enter the radiator rooms. Air having an external tempera- ture of zero will thus reach the radiator at about forty-eight above, and then passes through another individual radiator, inclosed and connected with the portion of the building designed to be warmed by it. Each room and hall has separate heating radiators, and can be shut off or opened at pleasure with- out in any way affecting the balance of the house. By means of ventilating flues from each department the foul air is carried into air ducts connected with the towers on the main building, the towers being thus not only an addition to the looks, but also to the utility of the structure. The same boilers also supply hot water, steam for cooking, and the laun- dry, and for running the carpenter and machine shops. The water is pumped from the Conewango into a reservoir back of the house, and from there dis- tributed by gravity. The pumps are of the Worthington duplex make, and the quantity of water for all purposes is about 180 barrels an hour. The pump house and gas works are contained in a handsome brick building near the bank of the creek, about an eighth of a mile from the hospital. The gas is made from coal and is abundant in quantity and of fair quality. Coal (anthra- cite) is used as fuel, although natural gas was used until the gas company wanted the building and some of the rest of the earth, when the trustees con- cluded to fall back on the old standard fuel, and coal was reinstated. All the furniture used in the building is made in the shop, and all repairs, plumbing, Brokenstraw Township. 401 gasfitting, etc., is also done by the regular employees of the State. A fine coach house of brick, in the rear of the house, furnishes ample quarters for the horses used for carrying the mail, airing the patients, and the steward's busi- ness. .The garden supplies all the more common vegetables used, while the farming is perhaps as yet in its infancy. An immense barn, which will hardly bear favorable criticism either as to economy of construction, location, or adapt- ability to the requirements, is under process of erection. The grounds are being gradually laid out and beautified quite as fast as the limited means at the control of the superintendent will allow, and will in time be beautiful. Sixteen millions of brick were used in the building, which cost, including farm and buildings completed, in round numbers $1,000,000, and it can be said, to the credit of the gentlemen who had charge of the building and fitting up, that the money was well and judiciously expended. The work through- out is good, durable, and handsome, the material of the best, and the effect of the whole harmonious and elegant. CHAPTER XXXIV. HISTORY OF BROKENSTRAW TOWNSHIP. BROKENSTRAW township, which was organized as " Number Four," on the 8th of March, 1821, lies near the geographical center of Warren county, and is bounded north by Sugar Grove, east by Conewango and Alle- gheny River, separating it from the township of Pleasant, south by Deerfield, and west by Pittsfield. Although the soil of the town is for the most part well adapted for farming purposes, and is well drained by the Big Brokenstraw Creek, which takes its rise in the township of Columbus, and flows southerly and easterly through the townships of Spring Creek, Pittsfield, and Broken- straw into the Allegheny, and by Mathew's Run and Irvine's Run, which flow into the Brokenstraw, yet the original motive which induced settlement was the unusual facilities afforded by these same streams, and the splendid forests which at first covered the town, for lumbering. The names of these hardy and adventurous pioneers will be given soon. The name Brokenstraw, it seems, is taken from the Indian word of that meaning — Cushanadauga — bestowed upon this region from the fact that the Irvine Flats once bore an annual crop of tall prairie grass, which in the fall would break and fall over. About on the site of the present borough of Youngsville, during the Revolutionary War, the Indians had quite a village, called Buckaloon, from which they descended the river in canoes and commit- 4°2 History of Warren County. ted depredations on the country below. In 1781 Colonel Brodhead, with a detachment from Pittsburgh, attacked, and, after a siege of some days, drove them from their village, and destroyed a large crop of corn then growing on the flats. He then fortified his position by erecting breastworks at the highest: point on the bank of the river, a short distance above the mouth of the creek, traces of which may still be seen. It is stated that Robert Andrews, who is mentioned more at length in the " History of Pittsfield," was the pioneer set- tler on the Brokenstraw ; but he was not long in advance of the first settlers in this township. The first resident settler here was probably John McKinney, who came on in the summer of 1 795, with commissioners appointed by the gov- ernor to survey this part of the country. " McKinney," as the Hon. Samuel P. Johnson has well said, " was then a fresh import from the Emerald Isle, young, vigorous, and adventurous ; had first halted at Lancaster, where his serv- ices were engaged by the commissioners. His visit here had given him a view of this valley, and a knowledge of the fact that there was land here to be had for the taking." Accordingly he returned the next year, and took up what is- still known as the McKinney farm, about one and a half miles east of Youngs- ville, on the road to Irvineton. There he lived two or three years alone, clear- ing the forests and subduing the obstinate wilderness. He then returned to Lancaster and married Miss Arthur, who afterward lived here with him and reared a family which have since become prominent beyond the town limits for energy and integrity. McKinney's house afterward became the hotel of the settlement. He was shrewd, hospitable, genial, and thoroughly democratic. He was one of the most extensive farmers of the neighborhood, and was a heavy dealer in lumber, horses, cattle, etc., etc. He had a large family of boys, and one daughter. The children of his son, Arthur, now occupy the old home- stead. John McKinney, jr., became a very wealthy citizen of Youngsville. He was the fifth sheriff of Warren county, elected in 1831, and it was during his- term of office that his father died. In 1829 he married Loranda, daughter of William Simmons, of Jamestown, N. Y., after which event they always lived on the place now occupied by his widow, in Youngsville. He died in Decem- ber, 1878. He was prominent as a lumberman, who in all his dealing avoided loss. In 1797 Callender Irvine, then a young man, undertook in person, aided only by his servant, " Black Tom," to make the actual settlement then required to perfect the title which his father, the famous Revolutionary general, had pro- cured. The first house stood on the ground now occupied by the railroad station at Irvineton, but this was abandoned for higher ground after the mem- orable " Pumpkin Flood " of 1805. When he came here his nearest neighbors were John McKinney, two miles above him, Mathew Young, on the site of Youngsville, and Robert Andrews, at Pittsfield. The Irvine family are of Scotch descent, some of their ancestors having received a grant of land in Ulster ^nj * iy SB Halls Sons, JieuTSrH /*v^C__ Brokenstraw Township. 403. county, Ireland, from James VI. For some time before the year 1804 (when his father died) Callender Irvine was in command of the fort at Erie, Pa.; but he then resigned his command to look after the extensive property left to him. He shortly afterward became commissary-general of the United States army, a position which he filled for some thirty-four years and until his death. (For a sketch of this family, especially of Dr. William Irvine, see later pages of this work.) The title to this extended property in the eastern part of Broken- straw has thus never been vested in any hands but of the Irvine family. In the spring of 1796 Mathew Young, a Scotchman and a bachelor, " pitched his tent " on the site of the borough of Youngsville, and began a career which justly entitled him to the distinction of bequeathing his name to the beautiful and prosperous village that sprang up around him. Mr. Johnson relates an incident of him which so tersely illustrates one of his peculiarities that we cannot forbear inserting it in this place : " Late in the spring of that year (1796) Callender Irvine, anxious to cultivate acquaintance with his neigh- bors, and to see how they prospered, walked up to see Mr. Young, and found him engaged in opening out what is now the main street of the borough, and extending it down the creek. He inquired of Young, with real curiosity, what he was about, and why he was not putting in some crops. With the utmost simplicity he replied : 'Why, man, I'm more fond of a beautiful prospect.' To which Mr. Irvine retorted : ' The prospect is, you will either starve or have to leave the country before spring.' Sure enough, when fall came he had no corn and was kept from starvation only by the surplus of provisions Irvine had and generously furnished him, when he went abroad to winter." Young lived for many years the life of a recluse, making his home most of the time with John McKinney, sr., at whose house he often taught children in the evenings. He taught school frequently in town, a calling for which he was well adapted, being well educated, and a friend and general favorite of chil- dren. He was county treasurer from 1821 to 1823, the second to hold that office (Archibald Tanner being the first). In 1807 he built the first saw-mill, on what is called the Siggins water power. He died on the 4th of August, 1825, while on a visit to Charles Smith, in Deerfield township, and was brought back in a canoe and buried in the village cemetery at Youngsville. His remains now lie in the cemetery of the Odd Fellows. He is described, by one who well remembers his appearance, as being tall, slender, and erect, with very light complexion and (in later years) with white hair. " He was simple in his character, earnest in his purposes, and eccentric in his habits, with a kind heart for all, and an integrity that was never tarnished." In 1798 Hugh Wilson emigrated from Northumberland county and set- tled on the place now occupied by the Rouse Hospital. He owned this entire farm of four hundred acres, and became a prominent and influential farmer and lumberman, though he had no mills. He reared a large family, and had one 404 History of Warren County. of the best farms in the county at the time. About 1835, by some misadven- ture in business, he became involved in debt, and was obliged to leave the home to which he had become endeared. He went to Clearfield county, where he died in 1846. He was a man of generous and manly impulses, and an honest purpose. His hospitality was boundless. Contemporary with him, Joseph Gray settled on what was afterward called the McGuire and still later the Horn place, on the Brokenstraw. In 1793 Darius Mead, with his sons David, John, Darius, and Joseph, and two daughters, emigrated from the Susquehanna River in what is now known as Lycoming county, to the tract of land now embracing Meadville, from whom it took its name. By reason of the hostile demonstrations of the Indians they removed to Franklin, where was a fort and United States garrison. The following spring, while the father was plowing in a field in the vicinity, a party of three Indians came stealthily and suddenly upon him, seized and bound him hand and foot. They took him about twenty miles into the woods westerly from Franklin, where they stopped to encamp for the night. While the Indians were cutting wood for their camp fire, Mead succeeded in extricating one of his hands. As one of the Indians came up with an armful of wood, and was bending over in the act of kindling the fire, Mead stepped up, and drawing a large hunting knife from the Indian's belt, plunged it into his heart. The other two came up at that moment, and a desperate encounter at once com- menced. It is supposed that Mead succeeded in mortally wounding one of his antagonists, but he was finally overpowered and brutally murdered, and cut to pieces with a tomahawk. After the subsidence of the Indian troubles, David and John Mead returned to Meadville. In the spring of 1799 Joseph and Darius removed to Warren county with their families, the former settling on the Big Brokenstraw, where Mead's mill now stands, about a mile west of Youngsville. Darius located on the farm more recently owned and occupied by Captain James Bonner. In a year or two, however, he joined his brother, and with him built a grist-mill and two saw-mills. This was the first grist-mill in Warren county, there being at that time no mill within a radius of thirty miles. To the mill at Union, and that belonging to the Holland Land Company at Titusville, many grists were borne from this county on the backs of their owners or of the patient oxen, guided through the trackless forests only by Indian trails. Mead's mill, it has been said, was the Mecca to which the population of a large district made regular pilgrimages for supplies. It is said that in dry times some grists came forty miles. The inhabitants of Columbus brought their grists to this mill in canoes. Darius Mead was an acting justice for several years, and was hospita- ble and social in his habits. It is told of him that once, pending the delivery of a sermon at his house the Rev. Bishop Roberts, Darius Mead and his friend Isaiah Jones went to the cupboard and indulged in a drink of whisky. When Brokenstraw Township. 405 requested to postpone the drinking until after the services were over, he replied: "Bishop, stick to your text; never mind us and we'll not disturb you." Darius Mead died in 1813, and was buried in the cemetery on the original John Andrews farm. In 18 13 Joseph removed to a farm on the Allegheny River, three miles below Warren, including the island which still bears his name, and passed the remainder of his life there, dying in March, 1846. His wife, Hannah, died on the 25th of February, 1856, at the age of seventy- seven years and four months. They were the parents of fourteen children, eleven of whom were living at the time of their mother's death. Many of the descend- ants of these hardy brothers are now living in Brokenstraw township, and are worthy of their ancestry. After the death of Darius Mead the mill came into the hands of his nephew, John Mead, who had labored in them since [807, as a hired man. John Mead, jr., was born near Sunbury, Pa., on the 28th of August, 1786. While he was yet a mere child his father, John, sr., removed to the valley of French Creek at Meadville, as before stated. In the spring of 1807 John, jr., came to the valley of the Brokenstraw, in company with his brother William, to labor in the mills of his uncles, Joseph and Darius. He married Sallie Hoff- man on the 1 2th of October, 1809, and built his house on a piece of land which his father-in-law gave him. In 18 14 he and John Garner bought the Mathew Young tract of 400 acres, for $2,500 — the tract containing nearly all the land now within the limits of the borough of Youngsville. He rebuilt the Mead mills several times. He died on the 4th of November, 1870. Before his death his son Darius operated the mills for some time, and finally sold the saw-mill to Mad. Alger and the grist-mill to H. T. Marshall. In connection with these mills it is well to mention honest and ingenious John Gregg, who came in the early part of this century and settled about two miles north of Youngsville. He ground the corn for the Mead mill, and also preached the gospel according to the Methodist persuasion, made hickory splint cables for the lumbermen at three dollars apiece, and educated two sons for the ministry. His brother, Samuel Gregg, a bachelor, hired out to Judge Siggins and cleared for him the place now occupied by his son, William F. Siggins. Another early settler, whose arrival in Brokenstraw antedates the year 1806, was William Arthur, who lived two miles west of Youngsville on the Brokenstraw, and as late as 1820 owned the mills at Wrightsville. His farm is now occupied by his son, William Callender Arthur. William Carpenter, also here previous to 1806, lived on the Brokenstraw, and is remembered as a lumberman of considerable activity. On one occasion he accompanied John Siggins and Daniel Horn to New Orleans on a raft. On their way back Sig- gins died at Natchez. Carpenter died some time previous to 1830, and has now no descendants in town. Still others who are mentioned in the list of taxables for 1 806 were William Cochran, a single man, who sawed in the mill 406 History of Warren County. of Judge Siggins, and who afterward went to Pithole during the oil excite- ment, and became wealthy ; David Carr, who owned two hundred acres of land at the mouth of the Brokenstraw ; Abraham Davis, brother of Elijah, who (Abraham) lived on the Brokenstraw in the eastern part of the borough of Youngsville, on the place now occupied by his son, William A. Davis, and who farmed and lumbered until his death, something over twenty years ago ; John Davis, brother of Abraham, who lived on what is now East Main street in Youngsville, on the place now occupied by his descendants, who was the father of ex-Sheriffs Sylvester and Sylvanus Davis, now of Warren, and who, though poor, left his children an inheritance of brain and brawn which has secured them a competence and a good position in life ; William Davis, brother of John Davis, and father-in-law of W. H. Shortt, who, until his death about seven years ago, lived in the eastern part of Youngsville borough ; Philip Huff- man, who lived in the western part of the present township of Brokenstraw, and carried on quite a farm there, where he died more than thirty years ago, an old man ; and Barnabas McKinney, who at first lived on a farm near the present Irvinton, until the early death of his wife, after which he came to live with his nephew at Youngsville. Nearly or quite all of the settlers before 1806 have now been mentioned, among them being some of the most prominent men in the history of the town. This chapter would be very incomplete, however, without some men- tion of such men as Judge Siggins and Abraham Davis, and others who arrived between the years 1806 and 1820. Judge William Siggins was born in Center county, Pa., in 1789. His father died in 1801, and two years later he came with his brother George to Pithole, in Venango county, then a wilder- ness almost uninhabited. It is related that the few settlers who were there were holding at that time an old-fashioned revival, that William Siggins was converted from the primrose paths of religious indifference, that he had the power, and that he received a pious impulse which did not forsake him in all the after years of struggle and activity. In 1807 he settled on the Broken- straw, on the site of Youngsville and of the place now occupied by his son, William F. Siggins. There was no house of worship in this neighborhood then, and four years elapsed with little opportunity for Christian converse. In 181 1, however, he had the privilege of going to Meadville to attend the first camp-meeting ever held in this part of the country. He married in 18 12, and at that time built a grist-mill at Pithole. In 1 8 1 5 he returned to Youngsville, where he remained until his death, on the 15th of July, 1875. His wife preceded him in 1855. Judge Siggins was a life-long and fervent Christian, though for reasons best known to himself he severed his connection with the church as early as 1837. He had not only a "sound mind in a sound body," but a powerful mind in a powerful body, and it was a pity that he had not the ad- vantage of a more thorough academic training, which would have made him Aft Brokenstraw Township. 407 more skillful in the use of the weapons that nature had put into his hands. He bore an active part in the War of 1812, and was with Commodore Perry at Erie. His mind was admirably adapted for judicial labors, a fact sufficiently attested by his long service as justice of the peace, and : his long train of deci- sions, not one of which, it is said, was reversed on appeal. He was also asso- ciate judge for the five years following 1842. He was decidedly impulsive in disposition, though his strong sense of justice usually checked him from mak- ing a perverse use of his natural force. The parents of Judge Siggins were both from the north of Ireland, and were of Scotch descent. His wife was Polly Wilson, of Center county, Pa. They had twelve children — eight sons and four daughters — of whom three sons and two daughters are now living. Two of the sons, Nathaniel and Will- iam F., now reside in Youngsville. His youngest son, Porter, served during the late war in the One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol- unteers, and rendered distinguished assistance to the Northern cause — taking part in nineteen engagements. He was killed at Antietam by a bullet, which passed through a pocket Testament to his heart. (For a sketch of William F. Siggins, see biographical notes at the close of the volume.) James Davis, who is now the most aged of the surviving settlers in Bro- kenstraw, came to this township from Columbus with his father, Elijah Davis, in 1809. Elijah came to Columbus from Northumberland county six years previously. In 1809 they settled on the site of Irvinton. In 181 5 they removed to what is now Youngsville, where Elijah Davis died in 1823. James Davis was born in Columbus on the 2d day of October, 1804. On the 7th day of November, 1827, he married Jane Martin, a native of what is now Fulton county, N. Y., who at the present writing (December, 1,886), is. still living with her husband. On the 7th of November, 1886, they were given a party by their numerous friends in Youngsville, and presented with several elegant gifts. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have seven children now living — two sons and five daughters. Mr. Davis says that when he came here in 1809 the "forest primeval" had hardly been broken into. The largest clearing was a five or six- acre plot at Irvinton. On the east side of the Brokenstraw, in what is now Youngsville, Mathew Young had cleared a tract of nearly the same extent, and had built and started a single saw-mill Young then kept bachelor's hall in a small log house on the ground between the present Wade house and the hardware store. John Arthur then lived on the site of the present residence of William F. Siggins, and operated the saw- mill for Young. The two saw-mills and the grist-mill of Joseph and Darius Mead were then in active operation in the western part of the town. One John Crawford lived near the turn of the road leading to Tidioute, at Irvinton, the place being afterward occupied by John Long. Joseph Gray lived near the site of the Irvinton station, where the spring and the oak trees may now be seen. John Andrews had built a saw- 408 History of Warren County. mill below Irvinton, and lived where Dr. William Irvine recently died. There were no hotels or taverns in town, and no mills but those mentioned. The principal business even at that early date was the rafting of lumber to Pitts- burgh and New Orleans. The principal farmers in this neighborhood were Hugh Wilson, on the Rouse farm, and John McKinney, on the next farm below. Settlers Arriving between 1806 and 1820. — Following are brief items concerning the inhabitants of Brokenstraw township, whose arrival dates be- tween the years 1806 and 1820. Joel Barton was a farmer who lived about one and a half miles north of Youngsville, and a number of years after his arrival here removed to Pittsfield. Stephen Crippen lived about one and a half miles south of Youngsville. He was a carpenter by trade. He went west as many as thirty years ago. John Camp, a millwright, and an officer of the Methodist Church, lived on what is now called the Charles Whit- ney place. He was more than an ordinary man. About 1828 or 1830 he went to Missouri. John Crippen took up a farm on York Hill, also about one and a half miles south from Youngsville, but afterward sold his farm and moved to Youngsville, where he died, probably about twenty-five years ago. It seems that he has descendants now in Deerfield township. Judge Isaac Con- nelly settled on the farm which lies on the eastern line of Youngsville borough. He was the first associate judge appointed in Warren county, in 18 19, and held that office for twenty-one consecutive years. His son, W. W. Connelly, who now lives near Tidioute, was also associate for the five years following 1876. Isaac Connelly lived for a number of years in Deerfield township, where he owned and operated a saw- mill, but came back to Brokenstraw, where he died about 1 864. None of his descendants are now in town, though he has two sons and several daughters elsewhere. Isaac Davis lived on Hull's Hill for a number of years, but died in Youngs- ville. He had a large family. John Dougherty was one of the earliest of the school teachers in Youngsville. Between 1825 and 1830 he removed to Buf- falo, where he became a merchant and speculator in lands, and acquired great wealth. Jeremiah Dunn, it is said, gave Dunn's Eddy its name by the prox- imity to that place of his residence. This is two miles below Irvinton, in the Allegheny River. He had an early tavern at that point, but went away years ago, and none of the family remain in the vicinity. Richard Duprey occupied a farm in the northern part of the town, toward Sugar Grove. Although he had a large farm, he also had a large family, and the wants of the one en- croached to such a degree upon the productiveness of the other that poor Duprey was nearly always "hard up." He died at least as early as 1850, leaving descendants which still survive. Andrew or " Andy " Farrely lived below Irvinton, and had a whisky distillery near "Still House Run." He also engaged more or less extensively in the lumber trade. He is described Brokenstraw Township. 409 as a hearty, driving fellow, tall and stout, and withal a good judge of whisky. He moved away at a pretty early day, leaving no descendants hereabouts. Roger Filer was a carpenter and joiner, and lived in Youngsville, where two of his sons, Samuel and Wallace, still reside and carry on the trade of their father. Roger died here of old age only a few years ago. Christopher Green came here in 18 17, and settled about half a mile east of the business part of Youngsville borough. In 1820 he removed to Yankee Bush, in Conewango township. James Green (grandfather of Dorwin Green, now a respected resi- dent of Youngsville) also came here in 18 17, and for some time kept a shoe shop in the western part of the borough. James Sturdevant, also grandfather of Dorwin Green, came in 1817, and brought Dorwin with him, then an in- fant. Sturdevant settled on a farm in what is now the western part of the borough. He died very early, and was one of the first tenants of the old burying-ground. John Garner, who only a few years ago moved to Ohio, was an early settler on a farm about three miles west of the borough. He also owned and operated a saw-mill. Nathan Howard was the first occupant of what is now called Crull's Island, in the Allegheny River, and gave to that isl- and his name for a number of years. He went away, however, at an early day, and little is known about him. Powell Hoffman lived many years on the line between Pittsfield and Brokenstraw. His brother Jacob lived on the adjoining farm. They at last sold out and went to Union City. Descendants of theirs are now residing at Corry. Hull's Hill derived its name from Chester Hull, who was the first settler on its bosom. There he reared a large family and carried on a large farm. Three of his sons became Methodist ministers. Chester Hull died on Hull's Hill as early, probably, as 1825. Miner Noble, a cabinet-maker, lived and moved and had his being and plied his trade in the eastern part of the borough until about fifty years ago, when he and all his house went West. Amasa Ransom, a lumberman and farmer, lived about one mile west of the borough. He went to Beaver, Pa., forty years ago, though his son Adoniram has repurchased the old place and now occupies it. John Siggins was a single man and a brother of William, with whom he abode. He died previous to 1830. Another brother, Alexander, was a black- smith in Youngsville, and the pillar of the Methodist Church. His death oc- curred about twenty-five years ago. Adam Shutt lived and died on the Barney McKinney place, adjoining the Rouse farm. He reared a family of a number of sons and two daughters. One son, Jacob, is now an influential citizen of Covington, Ky., and another, William G., lives in Pittsford. Stephen Littlefield, a carpenter by trade, resided about two miles west of Youngsville until the oil excitement " in the sixties," when he sold out and removed to Kingsville, O. He was a strong Democrat and an influential poli- tician. He was elected the second sheriff of Warren county in 1822. His 410 History of Warren County. •descendants are not living in this neighborhood at the present time. Thomas McGuire had a farm and dwelling house a short distance west of the site of the railroad station at Irvineton, where he died not far from forty years ago. Philip Mead lived in the western part of Brokenstraw township. He had a large family of children, a number of whom are now residents of this vicin- ity. He died about twenty years ago. He was but distantly related to his namesake, who was so long a merchant and justice of the peace in Youngs- ville. Samuel Trask, a farmer, lived in the western part of Youngsville village, where he died ten or twelve years ago. He had quite a family. A grand- daughter, Sigourney by name, is at the head of a mission at Hong Kong, and is also a physician. Alfred Van Armon will be mentioned again in connection with the early taverns of the town. He was accustomed, when his guests were treating each other, to invite himself to join them with the remark, " What have I done that I shouldn't have a drink ? " and thus receive pay for drinking his own liquor. Charles Whitney, who died about twenty years ago at his home in the western part of Youngsville borough, was one of the wealthiest and most extensive lumbermen of early times. None of his chil- dren are now living. Nehemiah York, who has the distinction of giving his name to York Hill, acquired his possessions in part by taking up 400 acres of State land. He died at his home but a few years ago, leaving " him surviv- ing," according to legal phrase, a number of sons and daughters. Henry Kinnear, son of Robert, was born in Ireland on Easter Sunday in 1764. He came to this country about the year 1790. After passing a short time in the eastern part of Pennsylvania, he settled in Center county, where he remained a number of years. He married in 1797. Thence he went to Venango county, near Titusville, and came to Youngsville in 181 5." During this season he purchased a part of the Mathew Young tract, built and occu- pied a small log house, and in the following summer erected a small framed storehouse. These buildings stood about on the site of the present Odd Fel- lows' Hall. Henry Kinnear was the first merchant in Youngsville. On the 6th day of August, 1816, he was appointed and commissioned a justice of the peace by Simon Snyder, then governor of the State. His commission was recorded in Franklin, Venango county, on the 27th of August, 1816, and again in Warren county on the 19th of December, 1820. In 18 19 he was appointed one of the first commissioners of Warren county, continuing in that office two terms. Besides clearing his land and cultivating in some measure his farm, he kept a store sufficiently stocked to supply the needs of the community, and continued an acting justice of the peace during his lifetime. 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Saw-mills were therefore numerous. John Garner and Charles Whitney owned and operated the mill which stood farthest up the Brokenstraw within the present limits of the township, on a site_ which now gives forth no sign of former industry of this kind. Next on the way down stream were the saw-mills and the grist- mill of Joseph and Darius Mead. Then, appeared the grist and saw-mill of Judge William Siggins, in the central part of the present borough of Youngs- ville, which their owner kept in operation until 1872. They then ceased run- ning. About forty rods farther down stood another saw-mill, owned also by Judge Siggins, which has not been in operation for many years. Still farther down Judge Siggins owned a grist and saw-mill (about three-fourths of a mile east of Youngsville). He afterwards sold them to Charles Whitney, who allowed the grist-mill to go down, but rebuilt the saw-mill. The last owner of this mill was William Freese, who long ago left it to the mercy of the de- composing elements. At Irvineton were the grist and saw-mill of Dr. William A. Irvine, which had been erected very early by his predecessor, under the direction, it is said, of his father. The mills are still in operation under the management of Dr. Irvine's estate. Dr. Irvine also erected and started a woolen-factory about thirty years ago, and a short time later set in operation a foundry which had been erected under his management. Both have been quiet for a number of years. The first tannery in town was built .and operated by John McKee, on the site of the present stave-mill in Youngsville borough, as many as fifty years ago. After successfully operating it for a number of years McKee allowed it to fall into inocuous desuetude. Since that event Bowman & Culbertson built and operated a tannery in the northern part of Youngsville borough, which continued in operation until ten or twelve years ago. The only distillery in town within the recollection of living men was started by Mark Dalrymple on Still House Run, below the mouth of the Brokenstraw. Andrew Farrely afterward kept it running for a time, but left it early to decay. The Rouse Hospital. — Full details of the manner in which the munificent intentions of Henry R. Rouse were effectuated in part by the erection of this building in war times are given in an earlier chapter of this work. MUNICIPAL HISTORY. Youngsville. — This borough, named from its first permanent settler, who laid out many of its streets, and seemed to have a prophetic vision of the relative importance in the county which the offspring of his somewhat fanciful energy would attain, had grown to be quite a village when it was incorporated, on the 4th day of September, 1849, an d organized on the 15 th of February following, by the election of Archibald Alexander, burgess; William Siggins and John ■pE3j\[ uiBiniyW ^q papaja sbav ajnpnjis ;uasajd aq; puB paujnq ;i 0S8I o; snoiAajd ami; ;joqs y sjaq;o puB uaajf) uiavjoq 'jaujnx SBiuoqx 'uosji^w uiBqBjqy ajaAV sjossaoans siq Suouiy -Xau;iqAA sajjBq;} Xq /eg i ;noqB sasodjnd p;oq joj pasn ;sju sbav asnopj UBOuaiuy aq; jo a;is aqx 'Suoj ;sej ;ou pip ;j -sjaq;o jBjaAas pun 'jBauui}j ijaqo-jj 'jaSunoX aq; siabq qBfqg Xq papaaoons sbav puB ';aaj;s uiBpvT ;sBg uo ajo;s jpuq Avau aq; jo a;is aq; uo ujbab; b pa;jB;s uouijy ub^\ psJJJV zz<%\ } n °qV ■s;sanS s;i jo ;jojuiod aq; o; XqnjajBD sjjooj puB ';daj{ jpM si asnoq aqx 'oSb sjBaX aaaq; ;noqB ajaq auiBD oqAV 'jo; -audojd ;uassjd aq; 'ppyjBg - j - y 'jossaoons siq puB Xbjq tuBiqiyy^ 'L\%\ Jo 9>8 1 ;noqB 'suiSSig uqof tuaq; Suouib 'ami; ;joqs b ;nq psureuiaj oqAV sjaq;o sapisaq 'sjbsX jo jaquinu b pauiBiuaj oqAV 'XauurjpjAj uqof jo avbj-ui-uos 'apBy\^ -g Japj uaaq aABq spjojpuBj aq; jo aulos uaq; aouig asnoj-j ap^M. 1 U3 -sajd aq; 'punoj§ auiBS aq; uo ';jinqaj XpiBipauiun Xauui^ppvi uqof puB 'uAvop ujo; sbav asnoq aq; pouad siq;;y -ijaqo^ jo jaq;ojq 'Xauui^Dj\[ Avaq;Bj^[ 'us 'uqof jo uos 'Xauui^pjvT ;jaqo-jj 'XajAvoq IpjJOjAl 'jnq;jy uiBinjM. 'jaiXBq uqof isavojjoj sb 'pajaquiatuaj aq Xbui sb jpAv sb 'uaaq aABq 'iz%\ ;noqB 'suiSSig aSpnf jo ;uauiaji;aj aq; aouis saassaj jo sjo;audojd aqx 'ujoq sbav suiSSig 'j UJB HI!A\ uaq^ 1 '2Z8I u ! ajaq} SBAvpuB 'paAvojjoj suiSSig uiBqnj\\ UBaX b ;noqB ;jnqpmpj SBqda^ o; ;i pa;uaj oqAV 'Xauurjppvj uqof o; 'a;;s aq; SuiuiojpB puBj jo sajDB ua; q;iAV 'X;jadojd aq; pps jauJB*) puB pBaj\[ pauado sbav ;i ja;jB ami; ;joqs b uj 'pBap\[ jo ;i pasBaj oqAV 'uiosub^ BSBUiy sbav pjojpuBj ;sjy aqj, •J3UJB0 uqof puB pB3jy\[ uqof o; ;i pjos puB asnoj-[ ap^M luasajd sq; jo a;is aq; uo p;oq b ;i}nq ;xsu Suno^ A\3q;Bj\[ uijbj ssno-^ sq; Avopq 'Xauui^oj\[ uqof jo Xj[a;soq snopuapjdun ;nq; X^qBqojd sbav uavo; ui ujbab; ;sjg aqx uavo; sq; jo sjbuub sq; ui ;u3uituojd suioasq ;ou SBq auiBu siq puB 'pajrej uoos aq ;nq ! paqsqqB;sa sbav jnauui^; Xjuajj jo ssauisnq aq; ja;jB uoos ajjiAsSuno^ ui ajo;s b pa;jBis aidsaqif) uqof 'Xq;p23Av Xj3a suiBoaq puB apBj; uoji ajBsapqAV aq; ui paSBSua aq ajaqAV 'ffg 1 jo 2^8! SB XjjBa sb q§jnqs;;;,j o; paAouiaj aj-j -suiSSig uiBiqiATV ujojj pasBqojnd pBq aq qoiqAv puBj uo l o1%\ o; snoiAajd jBauui^; ujojj ssojob ajo;s b pa;jB;s oqAV 'qSnoqn^oj^ Xjuaj^ XjqBqojd sbav ;uBqojaui ;xau aqx 'ajaq ;uBqojaui B AVOU SI 'JB3UUI^[ m J^_ J3;JBQ JO UOS B pUB XjU3f^ JO UOSpUBjS B 'JB3UUI^ - Q 'M } Bl fl ^JBUiaj jo Xq;jOA\ si ;j "^881 u ! 'jbsuui^ -j± J3;jbq 'uos siqjo q;B3p sq; jpun psnupuoo XqBDpoBjd sbav qoiqAV '91 g 1 ui pauado 'jBauui^j Xjuaj-j jo ;Bq; sbav diqsuAvo; jo sSbjjia aq; ui ajo;s ;sjy aq; ;Bq; uaas aABq a y^\ - Xjn -;uaa ;uasajd aq; jo apBoap ;sjy aq; ui ';uauiap,;as b auiBDaq ;i sb uoos sb aaBjd aq; o; uaAiS X|jBjn;BU sbav aujAsSuno^ auiBu aqj^ 'da;sjoop b sb pasn sbav puB 'ajo;s ajBAvpjBq ^ouq aq; Xq pajaAoo avou punojS uo sjBaX Xubuj joj poo;s qaiqAV auo;s;Bjj aSjBj b uo u p^ASun^ ,, pjOAV ;uiBnb sq; paAjBD Suno^ Avaq;B]/\[ 0081 sb XjjBa sb ;Bq; ;uauia;B;s aq; joj X;uoq;nB si siabq sauref 'op 'jo;Dajpo 'suiS -Sig uqof I J[jap 'jBauui5[ -J Xjuay ! jsjnsBaj; 'pBaj\[ dqiqj '. uauqpunoo 'n n H £if -jihsnavox MVtfxSNaxoya 4H History of Warren County. The Fairmont House first saw the light about 1851, when John Siggins built it. Siggins had erected one there about three years before, but it had burned in the fall of 1849, and he rebuilt it in 185 1, about as it is at present. After keeping the house for a number of years he rented it to J. S. Trask, of Irvineton. Dorwin Green bought the property afterwards of the estate of John Siggins, and entertained the traveling public hospitably for a period, when he was succeeded, in November, 1879, by the present proprietor, C. H. Gregory, who besides keeping a first-class house deals extensively in horses and other live stock, carriages, wagons, etc. The house will comfortably accommodate thirty guests. Mills. — The early mills having been already mentioned at length, it will be necessary only to say a word concerning the mills now in operation in and about Youngsville. Some ten or twelve years ago R. A. Kinnear built a plan- ing mill near the railroad station, of which he still retains the ownership and active management. J. W. Agrelius, another of Youngsville's most promi- nent business men, in company with Carter V. Kinnear, who had a one-third interest in the concern, built a stave-mill, of which he is now the sole owner. It stands near the site of one of the old mills before mentioned. At the pres- ent writing we have not learned the new owner of the new saw-mill, built about six years ago by Jed. Bartlett, and afterward owned by Henry Woodin. The planing-mill now owned and operated by George Pierson was built about five years ago by himself and W. Filer. Mr. Pierson has been sole proprietor since the spring of 1886. Mercantile Business. — The merchant of longest standing now in Youngs- ville, we believe, is J. G. McKee, who established himself in business here about twenty years ago. Excepting about three years he has occupied the building which is now his store, all this period. He carries a stock of groceries valued at about $2,000. Mad. Alger came to Youngsville and opened a store on West Main street in the fall of 1867. In June, 1885, he removed to the building which he now occupies. He carries stock worth about $3,000. W. J. Mead and B. J. Jackson, who keep on hand a good line of hardware stock, and trade under the firm style of Mead & Jackson, formed their part- nership about eighteen years ago. Their goods are estimated to be worth about $7,000. J. W. Agrelius, who deals in a stock of drugs and medicines valued at some $8,000, began his career as merchant in Youngsville about ten years ago. After dealing in partnership with Carter V. Kinnear one year and with W. A. Mains two years he continued the trade alone, and is now sole proprietor of the business. The dry goods and general mercantile business now conducted by H. L. Mead & Co. was established by J. D. Mead in November, 1877. In Decern- MM ■■.ISC ^f(L,/JW pareripEjS seav '. 9S8I u ! 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U (J J° 3 P un uv 'pa^s si ;i 'seav aj_[ '^udpp^I'qd o; paujn;aj sjEaX ua; jo ;qSp auios ajaq; SmpiqE jaijE puE 'zz^i inoqE ui uo; -auiAjj jo Xiiuioia aq; ui pap;as oqAV 'auiAJj 'M. uqof uq sbav AVBj;sua:5iojg jo dppuAvo; aq; ui UEpisXqd ;uapisaj ;sjy aqj, — -jttasMj puv fsvj 'siwpisfyj uaiqsBD si uosjpBf - v uqof puE 'auapisaad-aoiA SupuAv ;uasajd aq; ;e si uosjpEf f g -qreap sp_j p;un aoyjo req; ui paureuiaj puE ;uapisajd sb Xauup^pjAj uj\j papaaoons jEaum^j uj^ -uosj{DEf -y uqof uaiqsBD puE 'jBauui^j g Xjuaj^ 'luapisajd-aoiA SXauui^oj^ uqof sba\ ;uapi -isajd ;sjy aqj, 'S/8 1 u ! psqsiiqBisa sbav quvg sSuiav^ 3tfMs3unoji 3i{£ •aBB jo sjBaX xis sem -q -^v uaqAv '92s 1 u ! X;unoo (aiJg) aApBU siq uiojj ppys;;ij o; pa;Bj§iiua SuiABq 'dEupg Xasujang 'jaq;Bj siq 'Xiunoo uajjE^/Y ui ajq ajnreuj siq passEd SBq aq 'eiujojije^ ui sjbbX aupi puE 'jbav isej aq; Suunp Xuije aq; ui passEd aq qoiqAV sjEaX aajq; Supdaaxg '988 ! uaquiaAO]^ ui ajaq asipuBqojaui p3jaua§ ui SuqBap UB§aq dEupg - q •^ SJEaX oa\; ;noqB ajaq doqs ssaujEq e pEq SBq sdiypq^ - g '^ 'SJEaX aajq; ;noqE ajpAsSuno^ ui sjaAvaf ui ;jEap SBq XBjjnp\[ ^ a§joa£) oSe sjEaX aajq; jopudojd ;uasajd aq; Xq pa;jE;s sem uosueav^ ■ £ y jo ajo;s rejauaS aqj^ ajjiAsSuno^ ui ssau; -snq ui ;sa§uoj seav oqAV ;uEqojaui aq; jo uos e puB 'uavo; aq; ui ;uEqojaui ;sjy aq; jo uospuEj§ e 'pareis uaaq ajojaq SEq se 'si uijij spjj; jo jaquiaui joiunf aq_£ "OOO'SJ auios q;jOAV >po;s SuiXjjed 'spup^ jre jo aJBAvpjBq ui sjajEap aAisua; -xa 3je uijy ;uasajd aqx uauuidg ujEq]i^ Xq Xjsnopajd sq;uoui xis ;noqE paqsqqE;sa sbav ssauisnq aqj^ o§e SJEaX jnoj ;noqE paujjoj seav 'jEauu;^ - q 'M P UE IP M0 Q°H 1 J° pasoduioo 'jBauui^ t§ qaAVOQDj\j jo ujjy aqx ■ooo'8$ o; ooo'/J ;noqB uiojj anreA ui saijEA j^do;s jpqx 'pauuoj seav 'pEajyyj -g •3 puB q 11 jo SupsisuoD 'uijy ;uasajd aq; uaqAv '988 1 'X"inf p;un SumupuoD uopEpj aq; 'pEaj\[ q n uos sp^[ uiiq q;iM. dp^sjau;jEd o;u; ^00; aq '£88 1 ' J3 q iif •aiHSNA\oj j AvvaiSNaxcag 416 History of Warren County. from the medical department of Western Reserve University at Cleveland, O., in February, 1883 ; and after a brief period of practice at Evansburg, Craw- ford county, came to Youngsville. Dr. S. C. Diefendorf, born in Jefferson county, N. Y., on the 21st day of May, 1847, was graduated from the Geneva Medical College in the class of 1868-69. He practiced for a time with a preceptor at Syracuse, N. Y., and removed to Youngsville two years ago. Hugh Addison Davenny, M. D., is also a native of Mercer county, Pa., where he was born in 1 849. He has been engaged in practice about twenty- one years. In 1869-70 he took a course in the Buffalo Medical and Surgical College. He first practiced seven years in Youngsville, then four years in Oil City, seven years in Fredonia, Mercer county, Pa., three years in Mercer, the county seat of that county, and on the 28th of July, 1886, came back to his old home in Youngsville. Lawyers. — The only regular legal practitioner acknowledged by all the courts of the State who practiced in Youngsville was J. B. Delamater, who made Youngsville his home for a short time about thirty-five years ago. He afterward became prominent as an oil dealer and politician, and is now wealthy. The Post-office. — Until about the year 1 8 1 9 the inhabitants of all this vicinity used to obtain their mail matter from the earlier office at Pittsfield. At that time Henry Kinnear was appointed postmaster, and opened an office in Youngsville, which was named Brokenstraw. Alfred Van Orman succeeded Kinnear in two or three years, and during his brief term the present name of the office was adopted, an office having been given to Dr. William Irvine at Irvineton, with the name of Brokenstraw. Other postmasters at Youngsville, nearly in their order, have been F. W. Brigham, W. F. Siggins, Andrew Alex- ander, Henry P. Kinnear, Frank Kinnear, Erasmus Foreman, A. M. Belknap, about twenty- one years, J. W. Agrelius, and the present incumbent, W. J. Davis (2d), who received his appointment from President Cleveland on the 9th of November, 188s. 1 Irvineton. — Twenty-five years ago the site of Irvineton village presented to the traveler no signs of life beyond the quiet industries of the farmer, or the occasional shouts of lumbermen rafting their timbers down the river. Soon after that period, however, the intense oil excitement that agitated the entire region embraced within the limits of the several northwestern counties of Penn- sylvania served to develop the resources which were given to this place by its natural position, and a lively village grew up. The name of Irvineton had been given to the vicinity previous to this time, and it now centered at this village. The post-office had been kept during all the previous years across the river, by Dr. Irvine and Edward Biddle. The first settler, strictly speak- 1 W. J. Davis is a grandson of Abraham and a son of Elijah L. Davis, the latter of whom is now a resident of Cincinnati, whither he removed in 1838. Robert Thompson. Brokenstraw Township. 417 ing, on the site of the present village, was John Cooney, who is now a mer- chant of thrift, and the postmaster at this place. Mr. Cooney came here in in 1866 and "pitched his tent in a field;" the nearest neighbors being the Irvine family across the creek. Mr. Cooney built a house a few rods west of his present residence, opened a store in the front, and slept in the rear. At this time the oil excitement was very high, and there was also considerable lum- bering. Besides his business as a merchant, Mr. Cooney boarded a number of men for several years, and thus deserves the credit of opening the first tav- ern in Irvineton. During his second year here he built another house, and during the third year still another. Three years ago he removed one of these old buildings to the site of his present store, and removed to it. He lumbered extensively when he first came, and acted also as a contractor for the building of railroads. There were then no mills in this part of the township except the mills of Dr. Irvine, at the mouth of the creek. The first regular hotel at Irvine- ton was built by Michael Swing in the latter part of the year 1866, and opened in the spring of 1867. It stood just north of the present railroad station. It burned about eleven years ago, while kept by R. Donovan. Donovan rebuilt it and kept it until another fire consumed it, in the spring of 1886. The only hotel now in the village was built by R. A. Kinnear in the fall of 1886, and is kept by T. C. Nuttall. The first mill built in the village was erected by Perry Patch and Henry Walters about eight years ago. It is now operated by Patch & Arnold. H. and F. Walters are also now engaged in the manufacture of staves, etc., at Irvineton. After Mr. Cooney, the next merchant in Irvineton was William Singleton, who opened trade in 1867. There are now three stores in the village besides that of Mr. Cooney, viz., the drug and general store of George W. Shannon, which has been open for fifteen or sixteen years ; the general store of William H. Metzgar, who has traded here also about fifteen years ; and the general and feed store of George W. Kolfrat, which has been open a shorter time. The Post-office. — In 1867 the post-office was removed from "across the creek " for the convenience of the greatest number. Frank Metzgar was ap- pointed postmaster, and since then he and his two brothers, William H. and G. W., have held the office for eighteen years. John Cooney was appointed to the position in November, 1885, and is the present incumbent. Schools of Brokenstraw Township. — The first school taught in this town- ship was under the management and instruction of Mathew Young. The next teacher was probably Edward Jones. One of the earliest school-houses stood on the brink of the hill in Irvineton, near the site of the present union school at that place. Another early teacher was John Lee Williams. After the organ- ization of Youngsville borough in 1850, two school-houses were built in the borough, and for eight or ten years these seemed to answer every purpose, 4i 8 History of Warren County. though one of them was enlarged in 1854, at an expense of $281. The next year a new building was erected on the east side of the creek, at a cost of $476. The schools were first graded in 1858, and W. F. Siggins took charge of the higher department, at one dollar a day and his dinner. Elizabeth Siggins took charge of the primary department, at four dollars a week, and boarded herself. The union school building was erected in 1871 at a cost of something more than $8,000. Its rooms are all spacious and well lighted and ventilated, besides being well furnished with modern furniture and all the equipments necessary to a school of the present day. It has four departments. The first principal was J. M. Hantz. The present one is W. W. Fell. At Irvineton the stone school-house built by the Irvine family was used until about fourteen years ago, when the present union school was built. It has three departments and is well prepared for the purposes of its erection. The principal is H. H. Weber. Besides these schools there are four others in the township. Ecclesiastical. — The first church organized in Brokenstraw township was. the Methodist Episcopal, though there were services held here for years before the permanent organization was effected. Rev. William McConnelly, the first preacher on the Brokenstraw, preached near the site of Youngsville in the year 1809. At this time (from 1800 to 18 16) the salary of an itinerant preacher was eighty dollars a year and traveling expenses ; an additional eighty dollars being allowed for the care of the wife, unless she was otherwise provided for, and sixteen dollars for each child. In 18 12 Jacob Young and Bishop McKen- dree passed through the valley of the Brokenstraw, stayed over night at the house of Darius Mead, and on the following day the bishop preached, after which Jacob Young formed a class consisting of the following members : John Gregg and wife, Jacob Goodwin and wife, William Arthur and wife, Anna Mead and her son Philip, Betsey Ford, Polly Arthur and Polly Campbell — eleven in all. That was previous to the formation of a circuit. In 1 8 1 3 the Chautauqua Circuit was formed, and was in the bounds of the Ohio Conference and the Ohio District. Youngsville was then one of the appointments. The circuit then had a membership of 150, and the entire conference, 1,690. John McMahon was preacher of the circuit, and Jacob Young was presiding elder of the district. From that time to the present there has been regular preach- ing at Youngsville. The list of preachers is as follows, it being borne in mind that they were not resident preachers before about 185 1 : 18 14, Burrows West- lake ; 1815, Lemuel Lane; 18 16, Daniel Davidson; 18 17, Curtis Goddard; 18 1 8, John Summerville; 18 19, John Summerville; 1820 (this year the Chau- tauqua Circuit was taken into the Genesee Conference and Genesee District, Gideon R. Draper presiding elder), Philetus Parker and David Smith; 1821, Parker Buell and Sylvester Cary; 1822, Parker Buell and Benjamin Hill; 1823, Asa Abell and John W. Hill; 1824, Nathaniel Reader and John Scott; 1825 (Chautauqua Circuit and Erie District taken into Pittsburgh Conference), Brokenstraw Township. 419 Peter D. Horton and Joseph S. Barris; 1826, Joseph S. Barris and Dow Pros- ser ; 1827, John Chandler and John Johnson ; 1828 (Youngsville Circuit taken from Chautauqua Circuit), Hiram Kinsley and John Johnson ; 1829, John P. Kent and L. L. Hamlin ; 1830, James Gilmore and John J. Swazy ; 183 1, John C. Ayers, Samuel E. Babcock, and G. D. Kinnear; 1832, A. Young and Thomas Jennings; 1833, Hiram Luce and D. Pritchard ; 1834 (Jamestown District), David Preston and H. N. Sterns; 1835, William Todd and James E. Chapin ; 1836, J. H. Tocket and Theodore Stone ; 1837, Josiah Flower and John Deming; 1838, C. C. Best and John Scott; 1839, B. S. Hill and Luther Kendall ; 1 840 (for this year only, this was named Youngsville, Warren, and Smethport District), B. S. Hill, A. Barris, and S. Henderson; 1841, Alexan- der Barris ; 1842, John F. Hill; 1843, Martin Hineback ; 1844, Horace Hitch- cock; 1845-46, O. P. Brown; 1847, D. Vorce and D. King; 1848, D. Vorce and R. L. Blackner ; 1849, S. Henderson and O. D. Parker; 1850, Samuel Sullivan (this year the circuit was divided by cutting off Wrightsville and Lotts- ville) ; 1851, Albert Norton; 1852, J. N. Henry and M. Hineback; 1853, James B. Hammond; 1854, Samuel S. Warren; 1855-56, A. R. Hammond; 1857, Samuel Holland; 1858, Samuel Holland; 1859, H. M. Bettis ; i860, George F. Reese; 1861-62, David Mizenn ; 1863, A. H. Dome; 1864-65, C. M. Heard; 1866-67-68, James C. Sullivan; 1869-70, B. F. Delo ; 1871, A. H. Bowen ; 1872-73, Joseph F. Hill; 1874, S. S. Burton (Garland added to the charge and the parsonage built); 1875-77, L. W. Riley; 1878, W. B. Holt; 1879-81, A. S. Goodrich ; 1882, I. N. Clover; 1883-86, H. G. Hall; 1886 and at present, T. W. Douglas. From the beginning until 1 8 1 8 the meetings were held for the most part in private houses or barns, and occasionally the school-house. In 1817 a house of worship was begun on the site now occupied by the Swedish church, and was completed and first used in 18 18. It was a small, cheap, structure, and in 1827 was replaced by a second edifice, which is now occupied for pur- poses of worship by the members of the Swedish Lutheran Church. This house the Methodists were satisfied with until about 1882. In that year their present convenient and commodious church edifice was built. A Sabbath- school was started about sixty years ago, and has been kept up ever since ; the average attendance upon the Sabbath-school is now said to be about fifty. The present trustees of the church and parsonage are Willard J. Davis, John Agrelius, Erastus A. Davis, G. A. Jackson, John Jackson, J. I. Sanford, M. D. Whitney, John Black, Henry Mead. The Sabbath-school superintendent is J. I. Sanford. The other church officers are, stewards, John Agrelius, Sarah Agrelius, Erastus A. Davis, Adelia Davis, W. H. Shortt, Willard J. Davis, Miss Florence Chipman, and Mrs. Jane Thatcher. J. I. Sandford is class leader. There is now a membership in the church of about 125. In the first half of this century, at the same time that she displayed her 420 History of Warren County. unselfish interest in the town by building the stone school-house at Irvineton, Mrs. William Irvine showed her devotion to her spiritual faith by also con- structing, or causing to be constructed, a church in the same community, in which the Presbyterians for some time worshiped, but which is now occupied in common by the Presbyterians and Methodists. The services of the former denomination are conducted by the Presbyterian clergyman from Sugar Grove, and of the latter by the pastors of the Methodist Church of Youngsville. There is also at Irvineton a Roman Catholic Church, which was erected in 1 87 1. It is attended by Father Lavery, of Tidioute, and has a membership of about forty families. At Youngsville also the Swedes have established a Lutheran Church, and have since their organization, some three years ago, occupied the old Methodist Church, though at the present writing they are engaged in building a neat and commodious edifice of their own. CHAPTER XXXV. HISTORY OF SUGAR GROYE TOWNSHIP. THIS township was formed, as will be seen by reference to the general chapter devoted to the history of township organization, on the 8th of March, 1821, and was called, for immediate convenience, " Number Three." Its northern boundary line is coincident with the southern limit of the State of New York (Chautauqua county). It is bounded on the east by the town- ship of Farmington, south by Brokenstraw and parts of Conewango and Pitts- field, and west by Freehold. The southeastern part of this town is drained by Jackson Run, which flows thence southeasterly through the southern part of Farmington and the northeastern part of Conewango, into Conewango Creek just south of North Warren. Stillwater Creek rises in the western portion of Sugar Grove township and flows easterly through Sugar Grove village, and thence northerly into the State of New York. The soil in the valleys is prin- cipally a gravelly loam, and on the highlands chestnut. The surface was originally covered with a dense growth of forest — on the ridge in the south part with chestnut, to the north with beech and maple, and in the valleys with pine, maple, cherry, and black cherry. The remarkable predominance of maple timber afterward gave to the township its present significant name. For its agricultural wealth Sugar Grove is not surpassed by any region in this part of the State. While dairying is profitable here, it is not the exclusive interest, as the fruits and cereals are easily produced in great abundance. At the time of the formation of the township a conisderable population had St?* fey HB BaXl h ■■■■ Sugar Grove Township. 4 21 congregated here, composed, for the most part, of the most intelligent and industrious elements of the older societies of the Mohawk valley and New- England. A number of the early inhabitants of the town were also natives of Ireland and Scotland. The first permanent settler was undoubtedly Robert Miles, whose son and namesake afterward became prominent in Warren. He came up the river from Pittsburgh in June, 1797, with his family, in the first keel-boat that found its way to Warren. His farm at first embraced an area of nearly three miles square, though it was not rectangular in form. His dwelling house stood about one and one-half miles directly east of the site of Sugar Grove village. (See sketch in later pages of his son Robert.) Soon after his arrival Major Howe, Brigham Howe, and John Dickinson came from Long Island, though none of them was here long enough to become promi- nently identified with the business interests of this part of the county. About 1800 came William Lopsley, the ever-to-be-remembered John Barr, and John Hood; in 1802 John Stuart, and in 1803 James Stuart, all from Ireland. Lopsley made a clearing about two miles east of the village, but moved away at an early day. John Barr was born in Ireland in 1766. Being of the ardent temperament peculiar to his race, he bore too conspicuous a part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and was forced to flee his native country. His wanderings soon brought him to Sugar Grove, which he decided to make his home. He settled on the summit of the hill, in what is now the village, erecting his dwelling house near the site of the Congregational Church, as it now stands. He is described by those who remember him as an ingenious man, capable of turning his hand at any kind of work, besides engaging in his chosen vocations of agriculture and shoemaking. Many of his descendants are in town at the present day, and are numbered among the most respectable class. Mr. Barr was a born wit, and innumerable amusing anecdotes related to-day attribute their paternity to him. Among his personal possessions was an old-fashioned " bull's-eye " watch, more weighty than accurate. He was, for some reason, perpetually annoyed by questions as to the time of day, to which he invariably replied : " Sex past nine, and be d dtoye! Keep a time o' your own." In later life Mr. Barr became extremely convivial. He died on the 9th day of January, 1839, and was buried — not with his fathers, but in the village cemetery. David Brown, who deserves prominent mention by reason of the fact that he probably did more to build up the village of Sugar Grove than any other man, was another pioneer of the county. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, on September 7, 1777, and came to the United States in 1802. He resided in Franklin, Venango county, for a short time, at which place, on the 7th of No- vember, 1803, he married Jennet Broadfoot. Soon after his marriage he removed to Warren, and was for a time in the employ of the Holland Land Company, living in the block-house built by that company on the bank of the 422 History of Warren County. Conewango Creek, a short distance above the site of the present grist-mill. He was the purchaser from the Commonwealth of a large number of the town lots in Warren borough. He owned land in what is now Sugar Grove village as early as 1806, as the list of taxables of that year sufficiently attests, and moved thither in 1807, or 1808, or possibly as late as 1809. Here he made his permanent home. He erected one of the first framed dwelling houses (by some said to be the first) in Warren county, on the north side of the road from the village to Lottsville, a few rods west of Stillwater Creek, and upon the site of the present residence of James C. Hamilton. His farm had already been partly cleared by John Dickinson. In this house all his children, with the exception of his eldest daughter, were born. The old house has been moved a short distance from its original location, and at this writing (Novem- ber, 1886) still stands, one of the few relics of the early settlement of the vil- lage. Near to the house may still be seen the spring noted among the early settlers for its abundant supply of clear, cold water. Near to his dwelling house Mr. Brown erected, and, to the time of his death, in connection with a farm, carried on a tannery, said to be the first started in the county. He died November 26, 1825, and is buried in the village cemetery at Sugar Grove. In a lecture on the early history of Warren county, one who knew David Brown well, said : " He was well educated, wrote an elegant hand, and had an easy and flowing style of composition. He possessed the impulsive feelings peculiar to his nation ; was hospitable and generous to a fault. The needy never sought aid of him in vain when it was in his power to relieve them, and he frequently did so to his own pecuniary injury. These estimable qualities were concealed beneath a stern, sedate exterior. He was retiring and diffident, and seldom smiled." Jennet Broadfoot, who became the wife of David Brown, was born at Wig- ton, Scotland, November 4, 1781. She had the solidity of character, the energy, the quiet resoluteness of purpose, and the tenacious adherence to religious convictions that characterize Scotch Presbyterianism. Attacked by disease that baffled the skill of local physicians, she sought medical treatment at Philadelphia, going the entire distance on horseback, and returning to her home after a few months restored to health. A few years later her husband died, leaving her with limited means to care for a family of seven children, the eldest eighteen years of age. With Christian fidelity, with patient, self-deny- ing love, she met the responsibilities cast upon her. She gave her children such education as was possible with the scanty means at her command, and by precept and example she sought to lead them in the way of Christian liv- ing. She was a friend to the poor, she sympathized with the sorrowing, and her ministrations of love to the sick and the dying were so universal, so con- stant, and so cheerfully rendered, that the benediction of all who knew her rested upon her. She died June 4, 1841, and lies buried by the side of her husband. Sugar Grove Township. 423 The children of David and Jennet Brown were Mary, now living at Sugar Grove, and the widow of James Jagger ; Barbara, who died at Sugar Grove in 1840, the wife of N. B. Langdon; Catharine, now living at Warren; John B., who died and was buried at Warren in 1883 ; Agnes H., now living at Jackson, Mich., and the widow of Walter Fish; James, who died and was buried at Sugar Grove in 1851 ; and William D., living at Warren, and now the president judge of the thirty-seventh judicial district of Pennsylvania. About the time of the settlement in Sugar Grove of David Brown, two of his brothers, James and John, also came here to live. The former settled on the farm afterward owned and occupied by Henry Catlin, and went down the river not far from 1820. John was a single man, kept one of the first schools opened in town, and lived with his brother David. He was nineteen years an inhabitant of Pennsylvania, and was prothonotary of Warren county at the time of his death, which happened suddenly at Warren on January 25, 1823, when he was in his thirty-sixth year. He was buried at Sugar Grove with Masonic honors. > Other names found in the tax-list of the county for 1806, belonging to Sugar Grove inhabitants, are those of Charles Byles, William Evans, John Hood, John Portman, and John, James, and William Stuart. The first-named married a daughter of Robert Miles, and resided in town for a number of years. William Evans settled in the south part of the township, in the vicin- ity of Chandler's Valley, where he remained until his death, not long previous to 1840, and where some of his descendants are now living. John Hood was one of the very earliest of the pioneers in this vicinity, being a contemporary arrival with Robert Miles, about 1797 or 1798. He cleared, and occupied all his life after, a farm in the extreme north portion of the township, adjoining the New York State line, on the Jamestown road, and there operated a small grist-mill. He died in the decade of years which closed with 1830. John Portman lived here but a short time, and removed to Pine Grove township. He was still a young man in 1820, and married Pamelia, daughter of Alexan- der Clantz, who was probably the first man on the farm afterward owned by James Brown, and later still by Henry Catlin. Clantz then bought the old Robert Falconer place, and soon went away, giving place to Mr. Falconer himself. % John, James, and William Stuart, three brothers of Irish nativity, settled here between the years 1802 and 1806, residing in the eastern part of the township until their deaths. James died August 3, 1825, aged sixty-eight years eight months and twenty-two days. His wife, Catharine, a sister of John Hood, survived her husband until March 26, 1847, when she followed him, aged eighty- seven years and twenty-eight days. They landed in the United States on the 13th of June, 1795. John Stuart, who was born in Antrim county, Ireland, on the 28th of May, 1780, died in Sugar Grove on 424 History of Warren County. the 30th of June, 1862, being the last survivor of the three brothers. He had two sons, James L. and John, the former of whom was born in this town on the 1 2th of November, 1807, and died in the village on the 24th of May, 1873, leaving a number of descendants in the town. John early went to Clarion county, where he preached the gospel, and ministered as physician, to the ne- cessities of the sick in body. Clark Dalrymple, who, at the time of his death in July, 1869, was the eldest of the surviving early settlers in Sugar Grove, came here from Massachusetts, his native State, in 181 1, when he was but sixteen years of age. In the spring of the next year he was followed by his father, David, who was born in Massa- chusetts in about 1765, and four brothers — David, Mark, Oliver, and Chauncey. The father settled just opposite and about ten rods east of the site of the pres- ent residence of his grandson, Noah Dalrymple (son of Clark), where he remained until about the time of his death in 1840. He also had three daugh- ters, and his descendants now comprise in part a numerous and respectable portion of the population of Warren county. Abraham D. Ditmars came here from Long Island in the spring of 18 14, upon the advertisement and personal importunities of Agent Sacket, of the Holland Land Company, exchanging a farm in Long Island valued at $15,000 for three thousand acres of wild land in this vicinity (and something was given him " to boot " ). He selected every alternate tract between what is now Sugar Grove village and Lottsville, after viewing the country in 1813, and established his residence on the top of the hill immediately west of the village. The hardships which he suffered in making the long and perilous journey from Long Island were akin to those that all the pioneers were forced to brave. He brought his family across the Delaware from New Jersey at Easton, traveled thence to Belfonte, and by a rough road to a point opposite Holman's Ferry, on Allegheny River. There he crossed the river and went to the site of Titusville, thence through a trackless wilderness to the rude house of James White, on the Big Brokenstraw ; thence to the Widow Mead's, and, by an un- frequented and almost impassable road through Chandler's Valley, to his desti- nation. His family consisted of his wife, two sons, and five daughters (one of whom afterward became the wife of Darius Mead, of Brokenstraw). They were on the road from the 10th of May to the 19th of June, and stayed two nights in the woods on the Allegheny Mountains, and one night between Titusville and Brokenstraw. At the beginning of the journey they had two good teams and wagons. At the termination they had the fore wheels of one wagon only, and those were nearly a wreck, the family having to travel on foot most of the distance from Brokenstraw. The personal effects were after- ward gathered up with great cost and difficulty. Mr. Ditmars has been described as a large, athletic man, six feet in height, erect and well proportioned, of gentlemanly bearing, an open countenance, Sugar Grove Township. 425 large, dark-blue eyes, heavy jutting eyebrows, and a heavy voice. He was convivial to a fault. Another daughter was married to Lansing Wetmore, of Warren. His son, Abraham, jr., taught school in Sugar Grove some time after the year 1820. After living in this town a number of years, Abraham Ditmars returned to Long Island. David Stilson came to Sugar Grove from Westmoreland, Oneida county, N. Y. (whence many of the early settlers of this town emigrated), in March, 1 8 14, and settled on what has ever since been known as Stilson Hill, in the southwest part of the town. He brought his wife and five children with him, and was obliged to cut his way through the woods. Four children were born to him after his arrival in Sugar Grove. His descendants are still numerous here. He carried on his farm successfully until the time of his death, June 6, 1852, when he had almost reached his seventy-fourth year of life. In the month of January, 18 14, Richard B. Miller, then a young man nearly twenty-three years of age, made his way from Whitestown, N. Y., through Buffalo, up the lake to Mayville, thence through Jamestown and across the country to Sugar Grove, making his home on a piece of land which he had purchased from the Holland Land Company, on which his son Frank R. Miller now resides. He had married on the preceding month. He passed through Buffalo only two weeks after the destruction of that village by the British and Indians, when the whole site of the present city contained but one little log house, then occupied by a widow. Richard B. Miller died in Kentucky on the 10th of June, 1832. Frank R. Miller, who now owns the place, was born upon it on the 6th of July, 1827. James Jagger, a native of Suffolk county, L. I., settled in this township in 1815. A brother, Stephen, bought the old John Hood place about the same time, and continued the operation of the old grist-mill. He was in all respects an exemplary man. Among his several descendants now in town is his son Sylvester Jagger. Stephen Jagger died on the 8th of March, 1874, aged eighty-one years six months and eleven days. By this time (about 1818) the country began to display here and there the traces of advancing civilization. The empire of nature showed symptoms of yielding to the dominion of the rude arts of the woodsmen. There were three or four families in Sugar Grove village, a few settlers in the beech woods be- tween Sugar Grove and Pine Grove, besides the men already mentioned, and a few others. After the passage of the act of 1792 to induce the settlement of pioneers in Western Pennsylvania, and the subsidence of the Indian diffi- culties in 1795, immigration turned its tide in this direction. As already no- ticed, a number of the settlers came to this county by the way of Susquehan- na River and Pittsburgh. During the years 181 5-16 about thirty families came from Oneida county, N. Y., and settled principally in Pine Grove, Freehold, and Sugar Grove. Among those who settled in this town were David Stilson 426 History of Warren County. and Richard B. Miller, already mentioned, and John Tuttle, Joseph Langdon, and Henry Catlin. Mr. Tuttle resided until his death, some forty years ago, in the western part of the town. Joseph Langdon cleared a place about a mile from the village, on the Ashville road, and during the later years of his life operated a grist-mill. He was born in Berkshire, Mass., on the 13th of January, 1780, and died here on the 27th of April, 1857. His wife, Survina, died June 8, 1833, aged thirty-seven years. A number of their descendants still make Sugar Grove their home. Henry Catlin, a brother of Mrs. Richard B. Miller, came here about 18 16, and settled on the farm next north of that owned by his brother-in-law. He was born in Conway, Mass., on the 15th of January, 1785, and died in Sugar Grove on the 30th of July, 1845. His daughter Julia, now Mrs. L. H. Pratt, was born in what is now Rushville, N. Y., on the 31st of December, 1814, and was consequently but two years of age when her father removed to Sugar Grove. Her retentive and accurate memory, stretching over a period of nearly seventy years, has been of great assistance to the compiler of this chapter. At this place should be inserted a sketch of one of the most noteworty of the pioneers of Sugar Grove, Robert P'alconer. He was born in Inveraven, Banffshire, Scotland, on the 22d of December, 1780. He was descended from a wealthy and ancient family, who could never forget that they were " lairds " in the days of Monteith and Wallace and McDoogh, and bravely fought with Bruce at Brannockburn. Yet Robert was thoroughly republican in opinion and practice. He was graduated from old Aberdeen in 1808, and soon after emigrated to America, not only to increase his wealth, but to enjoy its free republican institutions, to which he was a convert. In this country he married Eliza, a sister of Henry Catlin and Mrs. Richard B. Miller, who was born at New Haven, N. Y., on the 15th of October, 1802, and affectionately per- formed the duties of wifehood until her death, on the 20th of January, 1850. For several years after his arrival in the United States Mr. Falconer was en- gaged in the purchase and sale of cotton in New York and Charleston, S. C, sending large invoices to Glasgow, and other parts of Scotland. In 18 16 a brother in Scotland, who never was in the United States, desired to join him in the purchase of lands, with the intention of making a Scotch settlement, for which the brother at home was to select and send over an extra class of emigrants. Accordingly, Mr. Falconer came to Jamestown, N. Y., in 18 17, and passed the summer in examining the surrounding county. He was an excellent surveyor, and many of our early roads were afterward surveyed by him. During this visit he would frequently make long trips into the wilder- ness, always on foot, and sometimes remaining away for a week. His favorite resort was along the valleys of the Stillwater and the Brokenstraw. Finally he selected lands just east of the village of Sugar Grove, which he declared should be his future home. He returned to New York for his family (by his Sugar Grove Township. 427 first wife) in the winter of 1 8 1 8, and in the following spring was established in Sugar. Grove. He was at that time deemed to be the most wealthy man in this part of the country. He loaned considerable money, and was very active in laying out roads, effecting improvements, and in all ways aiding in the set- tlement of the town. In 1829 he removed to Warren, and became interested in the Lumbermen's Bank, of which he was made president. Through the rascality of those who were supposed to be its friends and supporters, the bank was broken, and in his attempts to save it Mr. Falconer lost largely of his wealth, and suffered a permanent impairment of health. He returned to Sugar Grove in 1840 a mental ruin, where he died on the 20th of October, 1851. Yet another prominent pioneer of this town and county was Captain John I. Willson. He was born at Pleasant Valley, Dutchess county, N. Y., on the 15 th of August, 1781. His wife, Mary Elliott, whom he mar- ried in New York city in 1807, was born in that metropolis on the 29th of August, 1789. Captain Willson's ancestors were from Ireland; Mrs. Willson's were Scotch. Inclined to a seafaring life, he engaged on board a vessel sailing from New York when he was about eighteen years of age. Commencing as a cabin boy, he rose to the command of the brig Franklin, sailing from New York to the Bermudas, of which he also became part owner. After the enact- ment of the embargo on commerce and navigation under Jefferson, he left the ocean, and with his young wife removed to Upper Canada, where his elder brother, David Willson, had preceded him, and where he cultivated a small farm, and taught school winters. In 18 19 he removed with his family to Sugar Grove. About 1821 he there opened a public house (which he purchased of Robert Miles, and which still forms a part of the present hotel), and made it for many years the most popular resort for travelers in that section of the country. Having retained his fondness for navigation, in 1825 he bought an interest in the schooner Milan, of Buffalo, and took charge of her as master in the lake trade. When the steamer Chautauqua, on Chautauqua Lake, was built he took charge of her for one or two seasons. Then, having purchased an in- terest in the schooner Nucleus, on Lake Erie, he was made master. As this was before the era of steamboats on Lake Erie, the Nucleus participated largely in carrying passengers, and was fitted up specially for that business. In 1836 he disposed of his interest in the vessel, abandoned navigation, and returned to his family and home at Sugar Grove. He was a moral and an upright citi- zen, temperate in all his habits, and enjoyed the fullest confidence of the com- munity. He had been educated in the Society of Friends, but was tolerant and friendly towards other societies. He read much and was a man of intelli- gence and culture. The children of Captain Willson were Catharine Elliott, married to Charles Doane, of Aurora, Ontario, and residing there ; Martha Clinger, who died 28 428 History of Warren County. in 1869, unmarried ; Mark Willson, and Eliza Willson, who resides at Winona, unmarried. John I. Willson died on February 16, 1859; his wife died on the 9th of June, 1854. Both are buried in the village cemetery at Sugar Grove. Mark Willson, only son of John I. Willson, was born in 18 18. In early life he engaged in the mercantile business at Sugar Grove, and was successful as a merchant. He possessed the confidence of the community in which he resided, and was regarded as a man of strict integrity and good judgment. He was elected to the office of justice of the peace when he was only twenty- one years old, and was continued in the office by re-election for a period of twenty-five years or over. He also filled the office of postmaster several years, and was often called to fill various other local offices, which was always done with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. Mr. Willson was a public-spirited citizen, and always ready and willing to aid in every public en- terprise, contributing his full share in both time and money. He did much to improve the village by the erection of buildings of his own, and by aiding and encouraging others to do the same. Although not a member of any church organization, he was ever ready to aid in the support of all when called upon. In politics he was a Republican, and often represented his town and village in the county conventions of his party ; and while firm in his political opinions, he was always courteous toward those whose politics differed from his. In 1853 he married Elizabeth T. Hallock of Milton, Ulster county, N. Y. He has four children — two sons and two daughters — all of whom are married ex- cept the youngestson, John I. Willson, who is employed in the Merchants' Bank. Disposing of his property in Sugar Grove in 1863, Mark Willson removed with his family to Hastings, Minn., and continued in the mercantile busi- ness for three years, during a part of the time filling the office of mayor of that thriving city, and in 1866 removed to Winona, Minn., where he has been since continuously successfully engaged in the banking business, and has for many years filled the position of president of the Merchants' Bank of Winona. James Elliott, brother of Mrs. John I. Willson, was the first person buried in the village cemetery at Sugar Grove — not far from the year 1820. John Hamilton, father of James C. Hamilton, now a respected citizen of Sugar Grove, was sheriff of Venango county before the division was effected that set off Warren county, and frequently came through this part of his dis- trict on a bridle-path. The intimate knowledge of the resources of the country which thus came to him in the performance of his official duties attracted his attention to Sugar Grove, and in 1827 he removed hither, where he married a daughter of David Brown, and where many of his descendants now reside. He was born in York county, Pa., June 22, 1782, and died October 27, 1857. Catharine, his wife, was born in Belfast, Ireland, March 13, 1789, and died September 29, 1862. Sugar Grove Township. 429 Not all of the early settlers have received mention yet, however, it being the object of the writer to give a running account of those who bore a more conspicuous part in public affairs before locating the several members of the steady and sturdy yeomanry who performed so useful a part in the settlement of the country by clearing away the forests and tilling the ground. Some time between the years 1 806 and 1 8 1 6, as shown by the lists of tax- ables in the county, the population of Sugar Grove was increased by the ar- rival of Amos York, who gave to York Hill in the eastern part of the town its name ; Alexander Clantz, already mentioned ; Thomas Duprey, a blacksmith, who settled on the road between Sugar Grove village and Chandler's Valley ; David Mathews, who built his dwelling on Mathew's Run, between Sugar Grove and Youngsville; Thomas Page, who established a settlement near the farm of the Dalrymple family, and James Sturdevant, at Chandler's Valley. It was also about this time that John Chandler brought his family to the val- ley which has ever since borne his name. Stephen Sweet, a carpenter and joiner, about this time settled just east of the old Falconer house, near the vil- lage of Sugar Grove. He married a daughter of John Barr and left numerous descendants in Sugar Grove, several of whom are yet residing there. He was born on the 6th of September, 1786, and died on the 1 ith of November, 1865. His wife, Mary, was born February 26th, 1806, and died June 13, 1863. Between the years 18 10 or 1812 and 1820 quite a number of the settlers moved away from this part of the country, probably discouraged by the ex- treme and unprofitable hardships of pioneer life. But new forces were con- tinually arriving in such numbers as to counterbalance this efflux, and at the time of the formation of the township in 1821, the population was in excess of that at any previous period. Among the new arrivals were the following : James C. Austin, who taught winter school here for a time, and during the remainder of the year worked in the tan-yard of David Brown. At a later date he married a lady of Youngsville and removed in that direction. Nathan Abbott, who cleared a farm, still called the Abbott place, a little way west of Wrightsville. He was a good man and citizen, and died quite early. His descendants are numerous in this town now. David Allen, who married a daughter of Nathan Abbott, lived in the same neighborhood, and died there many years ago. Ezra Basset, a cooper, resided with his daughter, Mrs. Silas Hazen, at the village of Grove ; Mrs. Samuel Hall was also his daughter. He was a very pious man. His death occurred many years ago. Samuel Hall was one of the early tavern-keepers here. He came about 1820, and lived for a short time in a small bark-roofed shanty on the site of the house now occupied by Emri Davis, while his hotel was building. This hostelry stood on the site of the present bank, and was two stories high. Hall kept tavern there many years, and died on the 2d of February, 1854, aged seventy-six years. His wife, Polly W., died on the nth of December, 1848, aged sixty eight years. 430 History of Warren County. For some time before his death Mr. Hall operated a grist and saw-mill, which he had built. Smith Burlingame, who is also mentioned in the list of taxables, was an employee of Samuel Hall. Simon Brooks settled about this time at Chandler's Valley. Joseph Berlin was an early settler — an Englishman — right on the ground now occupied by the village of Sugar Grove. He was a farmer. He died about 1835. Cor- nelius Bassett (not related to Ezra Basset), lived thus early on the farm next west to that occupied by Joseph Berlin, towards Watt's Flats. After a few years he removed from the county. Asa Curtis was a shoemaker, and built the house just east of the village of Sugar Grove, now occupied by Charles Temple. Curtis afterward went to Warren. John Chambers came from Eng- land, it is said, with Joseph Berlin, a fellow-bachelor, and lived for a number of years with him. Chambers then married and worked his farm until he died. Randall Evans settled at Chandler's Valley and cultivated a large farm there until his death. His descendants are numerous in that part of the township now. Samuel Foster, a gunsmith and blacksmith, married a daughter of Alexander Clantz, and lived near the bridge in the village of Sugar Grove. He was a good and an active citizen, and came to his death in 1837, while acting as constable, by being thrown from a horse. Thomas Fox, a farmer, lived on the place owned by Robert Falconer, and left descendants which are yet in town. His brother David lived on Stilson Hill, and died there many years ago. Annum Gregory settled at first at Chandler's Valley, and afterwards removed to a place about a mile east of Sugar Grove village. Mrs. Putnam Bugby, of Chandler's Valley, is his daughter. Thomas Green came from Gorham, N. Y., in 18 16, with Henry Catlin, and settled near Cornelius Bassett, where he died a number of years ago. His descendants reside in the same neighborhood now. Otis Green, brother of Thomas, came from the same place a few years later, and after living near his brother for some time, settled on the place just off that now owned and occupied by L. H. Pratt, where his death occurred. He was born in Massachusetts December 26, 1799, and died May n, 1877. Silas Hazen, whose name has been before mentioned, dwelt in a house, still standing, opposite the residence of Emri Davis. Hazen was a farmer and brickmaker, >but did not remain in town longer than about ten years, when he removed to Michigan. Moses Harmon, grandfather of Hosea Harmon, resided in the east- ern part of the township. For information concerning this family the reader is referred to the sketch of Hosea Harmon, in later pages of this book. James and John Lowther, with two of their sisters, came from Ireland and settled in the northeastern part of the town. John married a daughter of John Hood. They were successful and industrious. Marcus Leonard, mentioned in the list, is not known to have been a freeholder here, but to have taught school in this town, and to have " boarded 'round." Isaac Lopus, a pensioner of the War of 18 12, is still living in Sugar Grove, on the way to Watt's Flats. His chil- En g* Taj ~B.M.M£0!* Sims. Ml* j /KM ofsrvy^rrx^ Sugar Grove Township. 431 dren have by dint of economy and industry secured themselves a competence. Ambrose Pratt is another member of that honorable but much-abused class who earn a livelihood by teaching school. Stephen Smith was for a time a resident of the village of Sugar Grove, working the Richard Miller farm for three years. He died at Chandler's Valley. Bemsley Rowley lived about a mile and a half east of Sugar Grove village, and has descendants in town now. He died more than twenty yearsago. Abraham Strickland lived withhis parents near the New York line, and died suddenly at Willson's Hotel about 1824 or 1825. Valentine Tiffany was a carpenter and joiner and lived in a house of his own construction, still standing, about one mile northwest of the village of Sugar Grove. His wife was a daughter of Samuel Hall. Mr. Tiffany removed to Michigan at a comparatively early date. Lodowick Wright was a mill- wright and the builder of Samuel Hall's mills. He lived near the home of Henry Catlin. He died on the 14th of June, 1828, in the sixty-second year of his age. At this period, about 1820, the roads in this part of the country were in a rough, unfinished condition, mere bridle-paths. The face of the country was still covered for the most part with thick forests. Chandler's Valley had a name, but was not yet large enough to deserve the dignity of being called a village. The village of Sugar Grove was very small. There was a small, un- painted school building on the site of the present union school-house. An acre of land had been donated to the " Utica school district" (as it was called, from the number of families herein from the vicinity of Utica, N. Y.) by John Barr, for the purposes of erecting upon it a good building for school purposes. The village had until about this time been known as Brownsville, after David Brown, the name giving place to that of Sugar Grove about 1821. The inhabitants of the village during this period have been already mentioned, among the most prom- inent being David Brown, Captain Willson, Samuel Hall, John Barr, Silas Hazen, Samuel Foster, Asa Curtis ; and the nearest neighbor outside of the vil- lage was Robert Falconer. The road between Sugar Grove and Jamestown was extremely rough — at times almost impassable — and was not in a line with the present road, but lay over the hill. A few years after this the present Jamestown road was laid out by Robert Falconer, Stephen Jagger, and Hulett Lott. The principal roads hereabouts were all laid out about 1830. Sugar Grove has a well-known inhabitant who has gone through experiences worthy of a permanent record. James G. Brookmire was born in Antrim county, near Belfast, Ireland, on the 2d of June, 18 10, and was the fourth of nine children. His ancestors were inhabitants of Ulster county, Ireland, whither they had come from England, probably at a time when war and massacre had nearly depopulated that part of the country and the home government was en- couraging the immigration thereto of Protestant settlers. His father was a cotton-spinner and worked in a cotton-mill in Antrim county from about 1 790 43 2 History of Warren County. until old age compelled him to relinquish active business. The son of whom we write was apprenticed to learn the art of making calico prints, etc., at the age of fourteen years, and at the termination of his necessary seven years, and when he was of age, he removed to Philadelphia, in this country, where he landed on the 4th of July, 1831. After working two years and nine months at his chosen trade he returned to Ireland to see the girl who was waiting for him there, and whom he brought back very soon as his wife. At that time the recent destruction of the United States Bank had produced a panic in bus- iness and he felt the hard times sorely. He moved three times in as many years, the last time being to Bergen county, N. J. He soon started for Sugar ■Grove with his family — a wife and two children — and settled in the unbroken forest about three miles from the present village. Here he held three hundred acres nearly. The gold fever of California took hold upon him in 1850 and he sold fifty acres of his farm to aid him in reaching California. He went by public conveyance to what is now Kansas City, where he bought in with a company from Kentucky, and started into the wilderness on the 27th of June. There were then no white settlements on their way except Forts Kearney and Laramie. After the party reached Fort Kearney Mr. Brookmire resolved to break with his companions, whom he did not fancy, although to leave them was to incur great peril. They refunded, with unusual fairness, all he had paid in, and permitted him to take as company a well-trained dog. It was a fatal year — the year of an unexampled inundation of emigrants for the Far West, who were overtaken with all forms of disease, that decimated their numbers with pitiless regularity. On his route Mr. Brookmire witnessed wolves digging up the graves of those who had died and been buried in a shallow trench. He did not molest them, and was happily surprised to find that they did not seem eager to disturb him. He fell in with Indians — not the starved and half- clothed substitute for native grandeur which the government professes to pro- vide for free of cost at the present day, but the genuine, naked, rifled, mounted and painted savage. His good fortune did not desert him, however, and he was well treated by his savage hosts, in consideration of his giving them a por- tion of his ammunition. He was nearly drowned in Utah ; encountered a thunder storm on the Rocky Mountain ridge — a bolt of which tore up the ground at his feet and stunned him for a moment — and at last reached his destination, where in a few months he was doing well. At this time he heard from home of a legacy left his family from the old country, and was forced rather reluctantly to return home. He returned by way of Nicaragua to New York. Since then several other legacies have come into his possession, and he is now in more than comfortable circumstances, which he and his wife are worthy to enjoy. Early and Present Mills. — The first mill in the present limits of Sugar Grove township was undoubtedly, as has been stated, the grist-mill of John Sugar Grove Township. 433 Hood, in the northern part of the town. The first grist-mill in the village was that built by Samuel Hall, as before stated, and which stood near the site of the present mill of G. Clark. Mr. Hall also operated a saw- mill with the same water power that impelled his grist-mill. These mills were afterward owned and operated by Joseph Langdon. The present steam mill on that site was built in 1856 at a cost of some $8,000, by S. P. Fuller, Russell Clark soon after purchasing a half interest. Another saw- mill was erected soon after 1835 below the village, and was known as Watkins's mill, from its builder, Horace Watkins. Another saw- mill stood above the village, its builder being an En- glishman named John Sellers. These were all water mills excepting that erected by S. P. Fuller ; but the diminished volume of the streams which followed the clearing of the forests have expelled them all from existence. The only tan- nery of consequence ever operated in Sugar Grove is that previously mentioned, belonging to David Brown. Samuel Hall at one time had a small distillery, but it was short lived. The grist and saw-mill now owned and operated by M. W. Curtiss and P. Davis, under the firm name of Curtiss & Davis, was built about fourteen years ago by W. M. Haggerty and E. R. Wheelock under the style of Haggerty & Wheelock. In a few months Mr. Wheelock sold his interest to his partner. In January, 1876, Mr. Davis purchased a half interest in the business. The relation thus established continued until October, 1885, when Mr. Haggerty was superseded by Mr. Curtiss. The capacity of the grist- mill is estimated at about 400 bushels of grain a day. That of the saw-mill is stated at 3,000 feet of lumber in every ten hours. Connected with the saw- mill is also a stave and shingle-mill of good capacity. The mills are operated separately by steam, one engine for the grist-mill and the other engine running the saw, stave, and shingle- mills. George Haupin has recently started a cider and jelly-mill in Sugar Grove village, his fir6t supply of apples for reduction arriving September 23, 1886. Mr. Haupin has been manufacturer of cider since 1874, during which year he began the business in Freehold. He has all the appointments of a first-class mill, and will undoubtedly build up a large business. The other manufacturing interests of Sugar Grove village are included in the carriage shop of W. W. Jones, who has been in business here about eight years, and the harness shop of J. J. Smutz, who came in June, 1883. Early and Present Mercantile Business. — If we exclude the manufacture and sale of brick, carried on by Silas Hazen, opposite the old framed house of David Brown, the first store in town was that kept on the site of the pres- ent residence of C. F. Temple, by John Brown, brother of David Brown. The next merchant was Henry Higby, who kept store in Sugar Grove village about 1823 or 1824, and was soon followed by Charles Butler. This store was on the ground now covered by the bakery. Subsequently, in this same building were Joshua Van Duzen, Pier & Co., and George Mosher. The oldest busi- 434 History of Warren County. ness now in progress in town is the business of H. N. Frazine, dealer in har- nesses, etc., which was established by his father, Newton Frazine, in 1853, in the same building now occupied by the present proprietor, who succeeded the founder about fifteen years ago. Mr. Frazine carries from a thousand to twelve hundred dollars' worth of stock. The general store of A. G. Mclntyre was founded, in 1867, by C. P. Har- ris. The firm of Harris & Mclntyre was formed in 1881 — and the senior partner withdrew from the business in 1885. Mr. Mclntyre carries a stock which he appraises at about $15,000. Next in chronological order of establishment is the drug store of L. H. Darling, which was begun about 1869 by Dr. C. J. Phillips. Since he retired the several proprietors have been M. W. Lenox, Lenox & Smilie, George M. Burroughs, and the present owner, who succeeded Mr. Burroughs on the 1st of January, 1886. In 1 87 1 Theodore Van Duzen established the furniture business now under the proprietorship of his successor, M. W. Harrington, whose connection with the concern dates from 1873. Mr. Harrington carries stock valued at about $3,SOO. W. H. Mix purchased the old brick store in 1872, that being then, accord- ing to his statement, the only brick building in town. From the first he dealt in drugs, groceries, boots and shoes, glassware, etc. He moved into his pres- ent quarters in 1878. He values his stock at from $6,000 to $8,000. The firm of Smith, Wheelock & Co. began to deal in hardware, and built a store for that purpose in the summer of 1873. Successive changes since then have taken place, and now the sign reads " E. R. Wheelock & Son." Their stock is estimated at about $8,000 or $9,000. Augustus Scott, merchant tailor at Sugar Grove village, came about twelve years ago. The tin-shop and hardware store of John Barlow was started the same year. Mr. Barlow now carries stock worth $4,000 or $5,000. J. G, A. M. and A. D. McDonald, under the firm style of McDonald Brothers, established a general store in Sugar Grove village in 1877, and now carry stock valued at about $12,000. Wellman Brothers & Co., drugs and general merchandise. — This estab- lishment was founded in 1881 by W. D. and D. E. Wellman, who, in the sum- mer of 1886, formed copartnership relations with the present junior member of the firm, R. S. Cummings. They have been in their present building two years at this writing. They carry about $3,000 worth of goods. The general mercantile business now conducted in the name of Mrs. R. D. McDougal was started in 1881 by Hardin Hazeltine, her father. Her husband had charge of the store for about a year, ending in March, 1885, when the present proprietress assumed the management. S. G. Stuart began to deal in groceries in Sugar Grove village, on the 4th of September, 1886. Sugar Grove Township. 435 Physicians, Past and Present. — In the earliest days of the township med- ical aid was obtainable no nearer than Jamestown. About the year 1820 Dr. Hiram Newman came to reside in a house next to the old school-house in Sugar Grove village. His wife was a sister of Abraham Ditmars. After a brief stay here of two or three years Dr. Newman sold out to Dr. Hiram Alden, who lived about three years in the same house. His successor was Dr. Jona- than Pratt, a single man, who boarded with Henry Catlin three years and then returned to Ontario county, N. Y. Then arrived another bachelor physician, Dr. Marcus Whitman, who boarded at Willson's Hotel. Several years after- ward he was followed by Dr. Noah Weld, who lived on the edge of the village toward Jamestown. He practiced in Sugar Grove a number of years and until his death, only a few years previous to the last great war. His son, Des- cartes Weld, afterward practiced here some time, finally removing to California for his health, where he died. Dr. Samuel Rogers and Dr. C. H. Smith also practiced in Sugar Grove a number of years. Of the physicians at present in practice in Sugar Grove village Dr. W. W. Seabury is the one of longest standing. He was born in this town on the 17th of August, 1851, and received his medical education at the University of Wooster, at Cleveland, O. He also took a degree from the Western Reserve University of Cleveland. The date of his diploma from the first-named insti- tution is February, 1875. He practiced in Sugar Grove two years under Dr. C. H. Smith (who is now in Mason City, Iowa), and since then has continued for himself. Dr. W. D. Wellman was born in Harmony, Chautauqua county, N. Y., February 15, 1855, and received his medical education at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, O., from which he was graduated in June, 1881. He came to Sugar Grove in the following fall. Dr. W. M. Page received his medical education in the medical department of the Western Reserve University of Cleveland, being graduated from it on the 3d of March, 1886. In August following he settled in Sugar Grove. Dr. Fred A. Morrell was born in Strong, Me., on the 26th of October, 1857, and obtained his professional education at the Long Island College Hos- pital in Brooklyn, N. Y., from which he was graduated in June, 1885. He practiced for some time on the resident staff of physicians of that institution, and came to Sugar Grove on the 1st of October, 1886. The only dentist in active practice at the village of Sugar Grove is Dr. H. B. Arnold, who practiced dentistry in New York State nearly forty years, the last thirteen of which, before his arrival in Sugar Grove, were passed in James- town. He came here in the summer of 1884. The Sugar Grove 'News is the only newspaper ever published in Sugar Grove, is apparently established on a sound basis, and is published by a veteran newspaper man, who " cannot remember when he couldn't set type." His father, 436 History of Warren County. Adolphus Fletcher, established the Jamestown Journal about 1825 or 1826. The proprietor of the News is also the founder of the Warren Mail. He was in Southern Illinois fifteen or twenty years, and came here from Washington, D. C, where he had been in the employ of the government. The News is a clean, crisp, well-edited paper, Republican in politics and interesting in matter. It dates its origin to December, 1 884. Sugar Grove Savings Bank was organized in April, 1877, with a capital of $25,000. The first officers were W. H. Shortt, president ; J. H. Nichols, vice-president; J. B. Hamilton, cashier ; and J. H. Spencer, assistant cashier. Mr. Shortt is still president, and his son, C. M. Shortt, is the present cashier, having succeeded Mr. Hamilton in 1878. Hotels. — The only hotels of any prominence in the village of Sugar Grove have been that of John I. Willson and his successors, and that of Samuel Hall — the last building having been destroyed by fire about thirteen years ago, though it had not been kept as a hotel for some time previous to that date. As stated in the sketch of Captain Willson, he purchased the hotel (of Robert Miles) about 1821, and retained the property until about the year 1857, when he sold out to James Patterson. In the summer of 1859 Aaron Smith suc- ceeded Patterson, and in one year was followed by James Dennison one year. Henry Sylvester, now of Sinclairville, N. Y., then came here and remained about one year. Since his withdrawal the successive proprietors have been Fred Alvord, William D. Edgerton, H. Harmon, Fred Alvord, George Owen, Porter Pemberton, David Crull, Jacob Wiggins, and the present proprietor, Charles Ricker, who assumed charge on the 4th of July, 1886. Agricultural Society. — The unquestioned pre-eminence of this township in agricultural matters has occasioned several attempts toward the organization of societies looking to the advancement of this art, the basis of a country's pros- perity. In the fall of 1857 an agricultural society was formed as a township organization auxiliary to the county society. It was officered as follows : L. H. Pratt, president; F. R. Miller, secretary; Dwight Buell, treasurer. It was decided that fairs should be held in or near the village of Sugar Grove, and one or two such fairs were so held. The society now in operation in this town- ship, however, dates its origin to the year 1874, when it was organized and soon after chartered. The first president was Darwin Wentworth ; the first secretary, David Jagger, and the first treasurer, E. R. Wheelock. Its pur- pose is the advancement of the agricultural, horticultural, and mechanical arts. No premiums are offered at its fairs to fast horses, no gambling is allowed on the grounds, nor is any liquor sold. Grounds of about twenty or twenty- five acres are leased of three parties, and are a pattern of convenience and beauty. According to its charter, any person purchasing a family ticket be- comes ipso facto a member of the organization, the membership varying from 1,000 to 1,500 in numbers. Once in three years the society elect a member Sugar Grove Township. 437 of the State Board of Agriculture. The present officers are Hon. Emry Davis, president ; David Jagger, secretary, and J. B. Hamilton, treasurer. G. A. R. Post. — This organization, which was named after James P. Younie, a brave soldier killed during the last war, was mustered in on the 21st of Jan- uary, 1885, by post commander J. W. Brighton, of Bear Lake Post. Follow- ing is a list of its officers : Commander, Samuel Lord ; senior vice-commander, W. G. Peckham ; junior vice-commander, B. F. Darling ; surgeon. J. L. Bur- roughs ; chaplain, N. J. Cooper ; officer of the day, A. D. Frank ; adjutant, William A. Stuart; quartermaster, D. Fulkerson ; sergeant-major, H. Arters; quartermaster-sergeant, William A. Younie. The Post-office. — It is not known exactly when a regular post-office was established in the village of Sugar Grove, though it seems probable that the first appointee under the general government was Jeremiah Jolls, who, about 1830, had an office a little to the west of Willson's Hotel. It is stated on good authority that John Brown, of Harper's Ferry fame, was at one time a mail carrier through this township, when he resided in Crawford county. Jere- miah Jolls was followed in his federal office by Joshua Van Duzen, whose office was in the same building. Since the expiration of his term the following have basked in presidential favor for more or less brief periods : W. O. Blodgett, Mark Willson, G. W. Buell, James Patterson, Jacob Horton, C. J. Phillips, James Stuart. The present incumbent, J. M. Martin, was appointed in May, 1885. Chandler' s Valley. — This is a small village in the southeastern part of the township, containing two general stores, one which is kept by H. Wilson, and the other by F. A. Sagerdahl ; besides the drug store of F. N. Chapin. At this place Baker & Anderson operate a successful planing, matching, and shingle-mill ; N. W. Dupree manufactures lumber, lath, and shingles ; C. P. Quilliam carries on a cheese-factory ; C. J. Sagerdahl and Charles Sundell are severally engaged in selling and manufacturing wagons and carriages. There is one hotel, the Ellis House, kept by Benjamin Ellis. H. Wilson is post- master, and until recently the only physician here was F. W. Whitcomb. Dr. Whitcomb was born in Sugar Grove, and remained in his native township until July 1, 1886, when he removed to Warren. He was graduated from the med- ical department of the University of Buffalo, on the 21st of February, 1882, and at once began to practice in Chandler's Valley. He was the first resident physician of this village. Chandler's Valley received its name before 1820 from John Chandler, who came hither from Connecticut about the year 1815, and settled on the flats in the valley, his house standing on a little rise of ground immediately west of the flats. The country was then noted for its maple sugar, great numbers of maple trees covering the surface of this part of the town. Josiah Chandler, the father of John, came with him, an old man, but died in a few years. John 438 History of Warren County. Chandler had twelve children, four of whom were sons, and of the latter only one now lives, while but four of the daughters are living. John Chandler was a hard-working man, was conscientious in the performance of his duty, and just toward others. He died in the early part of July, 1867. The other early settlers, most of them, have been mentioned in former pages. About 1859 this portion of the town received a considerable influx of Swedish immigrants,, who now form an important and law-abiding element of its society. Schools. — The first school kept in Sugar Grove was in 18 1 5, in what was then known as the Utica school district, embracing the present village of Sugar Grove. The first schools were supported by individual subscription, the tuition being valued at from two to five dollars per pupil. The first school was taught by Betsy Wetmore, who was succeeded by James Brown. Other early teachers were J. Q. Wilson and Corbin Kidder. As before stated, John Barr donated an acre of ground to the district for school purposes, which is still used as a site for the union school. About 1869 Frederick Miles be- queathed $3,000 to his wife in trust, to be used as a school fund. The present union school building was erected about this time at a cost of nearly $7,000, F. R. Miller, James Catlin, and James Younie being the commissioners who worked in conjunction with the school directors. Besides this union school and the district schools of the township, there is an educational institution in the village of Sugar Grove which reflects honor upon the place, and will, undoubtedly, redound to the elevation of public morals and opinions. The Sugar Grove Seminary was erected through the efforts of the Erie Conference of the United Brethren of Christ. The confer- ence resolved to establish the school (the only one in the conference) at that point from which the best inducement was offered. The citizens of Sugar Grove with characteristic liberality subscribed the sum of $8,000 for the pur- pose, which, being the largest offer, was accepted, and the building erected in 1883. The first board of trustees was elected two years previously, and was composed of Rev. J. Hill, who was foremost in his zealous efforts to secure the establishment of the school, Rev. A. Holeman, Rev. N. R. Luce, Rev. R. J. White, H. Frick, C. H. Partridge, and Joel Carr. The cost of the building, an elegant and modern structure, was $20,000, and of the furniture $3,000 more. The school was opened in September, 1 884, with an attendance of about 130. The institution, though under the management of the United Brethren, is entirely non-sectarian, and makes a specialty of music, having a corps of excellent teachers. The other branches are not, however, neglected. The first and present principal is Rev. R. J. White. The attendance in the 1885 was 215. The religious organization of the United Brethren connected with the school was effected in 1884, the membership of which now numbers about seventy. The pastor from the beginning has been and now is Rev. J. Hill. The Sab- Sugar Grove Township. 439 bath-school superintendent is Professor E. H. Hill ; class leader, P. Smith ; steward, J. P. Atkins. The average attendance at the Sabbath-school is about sixty. The congregations at the church meetings are much larger than is in- dicated by the statement of membership, there being usually in attendance upon divine service at the chapel no fewer than 125 persons. The present board of trustees of the institution is composed as follows : Rev. J. Hill, Rev. R. J. White, Rev. I. Bennehoff, Rev. N. R. Luce, Rev. A. Holeman, H. Frick, J. D. Christ. The members of the prudential committee are Rev. J. Hill, J. P. Miller, T. Fulkerson. Rev. J. Hill is the general agent. Ecclesiastical. — The first regularly organized church in Sugar Grove town- ship was the Presbyterian, which was formed in the parlor of David Brown's dwelling house in 1821 by Rev. Amos Chase. Previous to that, however, meetings were irregularly held three or four times a year, without regard to denomination, in the school-house usually. The original members of this church were David Fox, I. Fitch, Nathan Abbott, W. C. White, Samuel White, David Stilson, Hannah Tuttle, Matilda Fox, Anna Abbott, Aurelia Wetmore, Cynthia Fitch, Betsey White, Catharine Stuart, William Stuart, Betsey Stuart, Robert Stuart, Polly Stuart, James Lowther, Barbara Lowther, Jennet Brown, Joseph Langdon, Frederick Miles, Catherine Miles, Sally Smith, and Francis Smith. The first meetings were held in the dwellings of members and in school-houses. During the year 1834, however, a house of worship was com- pleted at a cost of about $1,000. This building was of wood and stood out- side of the village proper. Some time between 1865 and 1870 it was moved within the village limits and repaired at an additional cost of $1,200. Pastors and stated supplies, in the order of their coming by years, have been as follows : Amos Chase, 1821 ; Nathan Harnod, 1825; W. F. Huston, 1831 ; John McNair, 1832; A. McCready, 1836; Daniel Washburn, "1838 ; M. T. Merwin, 1846; N. M. Crane, 1849 to l8 54; J- H - Gra Y, ^62; Samuel Graham, 1865; William Elliott, 1875 to 1884. The number of present mem- bers is twenty-six, and the present value of church property is $1,500. In 1838, through the influence, it is said, of a division of the Presbyterian Church of Jamestown into two organizations, one retaining the Presbyterian form of government and the other assuming that of the Congregational Church, a like division was effected in the Presbyterian Church of Sugar Grove. Dea- con Joseph Langdon had originally united with this church with the express understanding that whenever the vicinity should have Congregationalists suf- ficient for the formation of a separate organization, he should be at liberty to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church, and organize a separate body. In the above-mentioned year, Deacon Langdon, deeming the time ripe for the performance of his condition, moved in the church that the organization with- draw from the Presbyterian and assume the Congregational form of govern- ment. Among the Congregationalists were, besides Deacon Langdon, Henry 44° History of Warren County. Catlin, Amos Wright, L. H. Pratt, Clark Dalrymple, Stephen Jagger, Mrs. Stephen Jagger, Miss Julia A. Catlin (now Mrs. L. H. Pratt), David and Mrs. Stilson, David and Mrs. Fox, Betsey Stilson, Polly Stilson (afterward Mrs. Hardin Hazeltine), James Gray, Lydia King (afterward Mrs. Amos Wright), and Europa Fay. Miss Catherine Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Hazeltine Spencer, and James Jagger were left almost alone in the Presbyterian Church for a time. This division subsequently led to a protracted litigation for the possession and own- ership of the church property, which resulted in favor of the Presbyterians. After the division the Congregationalists held meetings usually in the ball- room of Samuel Hall's tavern, and also in the ball-room of a small tavern built by Samuel Foster, but then owned by Samuel Brown. No church edifice was erected until January, 1 849, when the present one was reared. The pastor of the Congregational Church at the time of the division was Rev. Emery, who was soon followed by Rev. Hiram Kellogg. The pastors since his departure have been many, among the last few being D. L. Gear, O. A. Thomas, J. B. Davison, and W. W. Pringle, the last pastor. The church has at present no pastor. ' The present officers of the Congregational Church are as follows : Edwin Hazeltine, S. O. Smith, Noah H. Dalrymple, deacons ; Miss Sarah Stoolfire, treasurer ; Noah H. Dalrymple clerk ; De Forrest Temple, Sabbath-school superintendent. A Sabbath- school was organized before the separation from the Presbyterian Church, under Rev. Harnod, and has since been continued in both organizations. The property of the Congregational Church is now valued at about $2,000, including the parsonage. The first knowledge we have of Methodism in Sugar Grove places the date of its origin here at about the period between 1825 and 1830. Previous to that time Sugar Grove had had the misfortune to be counted, as one of the leading members of that church has said, merely one of the picket posts of some circuit, and, indeed, practically continued to be so counted until 1855. Until the last-mentioned date the members were few and scattering, and held at irregular periods such services as they could in the log house of some set- tler. Occasionally also prayer meetings and class meetings were called to keep up the interest of those who adhered to that faith. Among these pioneers of Methodism in Sugar Grove are found the names of Gregg, Warner, Carter, Thorp, Crouch, Andrews, Mahan, Pero, and others. Among the preachers who conducted meetings previous to 1855, are found the following: Revs. Todd, Flowers, Demming, Norton, Forrest, Chapman, Graham, Edwards, Lloyd, Forrest, Blin, Peate, More, Hineball, Holland, and Jones. In 1840 the first Methodist class was formed in Sugar Grove by Rev. T. J. McClellan and Rev. E. J. S. Baker, preacher in charge. J. Andrews was class leader. The circuit at that time was called Harmony circuit. During these years revivals were not uncommon, and were undoubtedly productive of much Sugar Grove Township. 441 good. On the 5th of October, 1846, a meeting was held at the house of An- drew Gregg to consider the desirability and feasibility of building a house of worship. Rev. E. J. S. Baker was in the chair and Dr. J. Andrews acted as secretary. Resolutions were adopted to the effect that the demands of the denomination in this vicinity required the erection of a church edifice, and Dr. J. Andrews, A. D. Jackson, and Stephen Crouch were appointed a committee, which in accordance of their duty reported at the next meeting, December 28, 1 846, in favor of the immediate erection of a house of worship. At this meeting trustees and also a building committee were elected. The people, however, were very poor, and considering their circumstances and small number the undertaking was serious, and reflects credit upon their zeal. Farms were not cleared, and many were not paid for; money was scarce and the prices of products were ex- tremely low. Notwithstanding these untoward conditions the contract was let on the 28th of March, 1848, to Stephen Crouch. After slow and toilsome prog- ress the edifice was completed, and on the 31st of August, 1852, was dedicated , to the worship of the Most High by Rev. H. Whallon, assisted by Revs. T. D. Blin, J. Chesbrough, and others. It is truthfully related that when the people met to cut down and prepare the timber for the building, two women of the society, Mrs. Dunbar and Mrs. Abigail Fox, sawed off the first log amidst great shouting and applause. They both died long ago. It is also due to the memory of Stephen Crouch, who was soundly converted at one of the log cab- in meetings, as he said from a very sinful life, that he rendered indispensable aid in the building of this church. Until this edifice was completed services were held in the school-house on the village green. A Sunday-school was at this time also organized, and has continued in active and successful operation to the present day. In 1855 the conference set Sugar Grove off from what was called the Ash- ville Circuit, and the new circuit was called Sugar Grove. Rev. E. M. Nowland was pastor. The following official members were found on the bounds of the new circuit at the time of its erection : Local preachers, Comfort Hamline, Chris- topher McManus ; exhorters, David Blodgett, Artemas Woodard, Griffin Sweet ; stewards, John Mahan, Sylvester Howd, Peter Fretts ; class leaders, H. Cooper, S. Howd, J. Andrews, A. Gregg, J. Whitely, A. Woodard, and J. Walker. Since the year 1855 the influence of the church upon the people has not been without its good effect. Many of the ministers have been men of force and usefulness. Revivals of religion have been of frequent occurrence, and the community have thus been benefited by the elevating influences shed upon them. Few of the official members of 1855 remain at the present day, most of them having gone to the other world. In conclusion it may be truthfully said that the Methodist Episcopal Church of Sugar Grove has been aggressive in its warfare against sin, and its altar fires have never been permitted to be 442 History of Warren County. for a moment extinguished. Through the years of the Rebellion it occupied no doubtful position, but was loyal to the Union, and patriotic to the cause. It has ever been found on the side of right and sobriety. Its ministers have ever been ready and present to administer the consolations of the gospel to all classes and conditions of men, to visit and comfort the sorrowing, and dispense the last rites to the dying and the dead. The pastors since 1855 have been as follows: 1855-56, E. M. Nowland; 1856-57, M. Colgrove; 1857-58, A. Barras; 1858-59, S. S. Burton; 1859-61, E.A.Anderson; 1861-63, J. Marsh ; 1863-65, D. Mizner; 1865-67, Stocker and Bush; 1867-69, L. J. Merrill; 1869-72, A. A. Horton; 1872-73, J. P. Storey; 1873-74, J. P. Hicks; 1874-75, D. H. Snowden ; 1875-77, E. K. Creed; 1877-78, S. S. Bennett; 1878-81, W. O. Allen; 1881-83, C. O. Mead ; 1883-85, D. R. Palmer; 1885-86, V. Corneule ; 1886-87, Rev. Lindsey. The value of the church property is at present estimated at $3,700. The Sabbath-school superintendent is G. Horton. The other officers are as follows : stewards, W. W. Jones, S. Jones, Mrs. F. Bixford, Mrs. G. Horton ; trustees, Thomas Stuart, A. Shaw, C. Dole, G. Horton, B. H. Wiggins ; number of Sabbath-school teachers and officers, 15 ; number of scholars of all ages, in. The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Hessel Valley Church of Chandler's Valley. — This church was organized in 1856 by Rev. Jonas Swenson. The first meetings were held in private houses in different parts of the town, and were conducted by missionary ministers. Among the original members were prominent Magnus Hultberg, Lars Samuelson, S. F. Anderson, A. J. Hult- berg, J. P. Swanson, A. P. Morris, and others. The first house of worship was built even before the permanent organization of the society was effected, namely, in 1854. It was a framed building, erected at an expenditure of about $2,000, and stood one mile north from Chandler's Valley village. It was superseded in 1884 by the present edifice, of brick, which is situated in the village of Chandler's Valley, and which cost about $6,000. The pastors of this church in order are as follows: Rev. Jonas Swenson, 1856-58 ; John Person, 1859-62; C. O. Hultgruen, 1864-70; Henry O. Lindeblad, 1871-79; C. A. Johnson, 1880-85 ; and the present pastor, A. P. Lindstrom, who came in 1886. At present there are 250 communicants of this church, and a total membership of 433. The church property is valued at $10,000. A division of the old church took place upon the erection of the new church edifice at the Valley, which resulted in a total separation of a part of the congregation and the formation of a new independent church, which built a new edifice near the site of the old church. Pine Grove Township. 443 CHAPTER XXXVI. HISTORY OF PINE GROVE TOWNSHIP. PINE GROVE township is a tract of land nearly six miles square, lying somewhat in the northeasterly part of Warren county, and is bounded north by Cattaraugus county in the State of New York, east by Elk township, Warren county, south by Glade and Conewango, and west by Farmington. Its surface is diversified by hill and valley, though this feature is not so prom- inent a characteristic of Pine Grove as of those towns lying farther south. Neither does it contain so much wild land as most of the other towns in the county, the soil of which it is composed being admirably adapted for agricult- ural uses. Natural irrigation is afforded by the Conewango Creek and its trib- utaries. This stream takes its rise in Chautauqua county, N. Y., flows south- erly through Pine Grove township — a little west of the center — forms the boundary line between Conewango and Glade townships, and unites with Alle- gheny River just east of Warren borough. The Dunkirk, Allegheny Valley and Pittsburgh Railroad intersects the town along the east bank of this creek, making access easy to the bounteous resources of nature here provided. The township was formed on the 8th of March, 1821, and its area diminished by the formation of Farmington, 7th of October, 1853. It was first called " Num- ber Six." Early Settlements. — As has been written by one of Pine Grove's best informed local historians, "The history of Pine Grove township from its first settlement would necessarily include a recital of the sufferings, hardships, and privations of the early settlers, of which the present generation can form no adequate idea. A densely wooded country, inhabited by wild beasts, and wild men who had recently surrendered the title to their lands under compulsion," were the conditions which confronted the unfaltering and fearless pioneers of this neighborhood, which they accepted with a readiness born of intrepidity. It was in circumstances thus inauspicious that, as early as 1795, and while the reports of savage atrocity were yet distinct and vivid, John Frew, John Rus- sell, Robert Miles, and soon after Isaiah Jones, starting from Philadelphia, ascending the Susquehanna and Sinnemahoning, and penetrating the wilder- ness in what is now McKean county, found the Allegheny at " Canoe Place," where they provided themselves with means of transportation, floated down the river to the mouth of the Conewango, and made the first permanent settle- ment of Warren county in the beech woods of Pine Grove and Farmington. It has been claimed that this event occurred previous to Wayne's treaty of 1795, but we have been unable to discover any evidence sufficiently strong to confute the presumption, which " will not down," that it was impossible for 29 444 History of Warren County. white men to make a settlement in the heart of the hostile Indian's battle- ground, so far away from the protection of the government. They would not have lived to see the last faint glimmer of their first camp-fire, or to have cleared a space sufficient for their final resting-place. As soon, however, as Wayne's treaty had laid open these rich lands to the settler, came the settler. The smoothest and most available lands for agricultural purposes are found upon the wide flats and low, broad hills of the central and northwestern por- tion of the township. In the eastern and southern parts high elevations and a surface roughly corrugated by fierce water courses have rendered large areas unfit for cultivation. Originally these hills were covered with pine of a supe- rior quality, as well as other valuable timber. It was this more than anything else that invited the early settlers to make this region their home. " We find," says our author, "that as early as 1801 there was at least one saw-mill; and in 1803 Mulford Marsh built a mill near the Irvine mill site, Daniel McGinty and Ethan Jackson built another at Russellburg, near where now is the bridge. Water power was eagerly sought after, to drive the machinery for sawing lum- ber. But little attention was given to improving the land for agricultural pur- poses. There were a few attempts made here and there at actual settlement. Z. H. Eddy commenced in 1801 on what is now the Phillips farm, but soon after moved to Warren, where he lived until his death, at an advanced age. One Charles Biles settled on the farm now owned by S. P. Allen. A man by the name of Davis settled on the Sloan farm, but transferred his claim to Gar- field, Garfield to S. W. Green, and he to Sloan, who retained it for many years. John McClain settled on the John Daley farm, and Neal McClain es- tablished himself on the Cook or Wittsie farm. Samuel Anderson was the first settler on the John Arnold farm. These attempts were made under the settlement act of 1792, which required five years to give title. But few of the first arrivals perfected the title in their own names, as a subsequent assessment mentioned only Samuel Anderson and Isaiah Jones as owning land, of those before named. The population increased slowly until after the War of 1812, when there seemed to be a more rapid increase, principally from the Eastern States. Many located in New York, while others wound their devious way into Penn- sylvania. Pine Grove obtained a portion of this influx. Thomas Martin came from Venango county in 181 3, Joseph Akely in 1815, while E. L. Derby, Robert Russell, Robert Miles, Adam Aker, David C. Bowman, John Rogers, John Russell, Caleb Thompson, Joseph and Orrin Hook, Major James Herriot, Robert Valentine, Thomas Slone, John and Marshall Jones, and many others were named in the assessment roll of 1822. Up to this time, and long after, there were no roads on the east side of the creek, and but two houses, one built and occupied by Major Herriot, near Akely Station, the other on the estate of William and Danford Hale, near the Pine Grove Township. 445 mouth of Store House Run, where there was also a saw-mill. There had been several cabins built a little above the present site of the water tank of the D., A. V. & P. Railroad, by a number of men, who obtained the timber for the first bridge across the Allegheny River, at Pittsburgh, where now stretches the iron bridge at the foot of St. Clair street. This was in 1817, and the place was long known hereabouts as " Shanty Hill Landing." There were but thirteen persons assessed in Pine Grove, as now constituted, in 1806. Isaiah Jones, who has been before mentioned as one of the first of the pioneers, lived on the land he selected when he first visited this township until the time of his death. The farm is now occupied by Messrs. Pitts and Way. He was appointed a justice of the peace, and acted as such until the adoption of the Constitution that made the office elective. Edward Jones, his brother, will be remembered by the older inhabitants as court crier for many years. George Slone, father of Thomas Slone, came to this township in 1799 from Cumberland county, Pa. He was by trade a blacksmith. In 1817 he emigrated to Ohio. Robert Russell, who appears in this early list, afterward became an extensive lumberman, and will again be referred to in speaking of the village. Thomas Martin and Garrett Woodworth owned and operated the mills at Russellburg, but low prices for lumber and other adverse circumstances, induced them, after a brief period, to sell. Lumber, such as was manufactured here, was sold for $2.50 per thousand in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1820. Mar- tin afterward moved to the mill on Store House Run, which he operated until it burned, about 1825 or 1826. He at the same time took up the farm now owned by Daniel Harrington, and owned it at his death. The Warren Ledger said this of him: "Thomas Martin, of this county, died the 15th of February, 1869, aged eighty- three. Mr. Martin was one of the oldest settlers of Warren county, having emigrated to this county more than fifty years ago from Kent county, in Delaware, where he was born in 1786. He was once sheriff of Warren county for three years, and county commissioner for the same length of time, and his faithful discharge of his public duties received universal com- mendation. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, his advice was often sought, and his counsels accepted. A good man has left us." The D., A. V. & P. Railroad was completed in 1871, which made an out- let for certain kinds of lumber and bark that had hitherto been unmarketable and comparatively -valueless, besides cheapening the expense of freight for supplies. The village of Pine Grove, now called Russellburg, was named after Rob- ert Russell, son of that John Russell who emigrated into this township as be- fore related, and lies buried in Pine Grove cemetery, having died 23d of March, 18 19, aged seventy-eight years. Robert Russell died August 17, 1847, aged sixty-five years. The village was not regularly laid out until 1843, but had been inhabited by different families from the earliest occupation of the 446 History of Warren County. township. That the ground upon which the village stands had been used by the Indians and French from time immemorial, there are many evidences. Being at the head of the Seven-mile Rapids, at the^foot of the deep and slack water extending into New York, it seemed to be a natural stopping place on the route from the lakes to the Ohio River, before it was abandoned for the Presque Isle portage. The first white inhabitant must have been one John Houghy, who, with his wife Betsey, lived in a cabin near those large apple trees in the field of R. Chapman, and doubtless planted them. But soon after other people came, and Mr. and Mrs. Houghy, fearing that they were liable to be too crowded, left here and commenced again near the Irvine brick house, where they lived for a time. The island opposite their last place of residence has ever since been known as Houghy's Island. But people again becoming too thickly settled, they went down the river, and probably settled where they would not be molested by impertinent or inquisitive neighbors. The first house erected in the village stood near the present residence of R. Chapman. Soon after, another one was built of planks, where now is the store of A. A. Clark, and in this tenement D. M. Martin was born 15 th of January, 1821. The first public house was built by Lansing Wetmore, father of Judge L. D. Wetmore, now of Warren, who afterward sold to Rob- ert Miles. After passing through various hands, it came into the possession of A. G. Lane. This was on the same ground now occupied by the hotel. Thomas Slone commenced on the opposite corner to build a public house, but sold to Marshall Jones before completion, who, after finishing it, kept tavern in it until 1824. It then burned, and was at once rebuilt by Jones. This property also went through various permutations until the winter of i84i,when both hotels were burned at once. During the time that Jones was keeping public house he and his brother John commenced building a saw-mill across the creek on Akely Run, but soon sold to Joseph Akely, who came from Brattleboro, Vt, in 181 5, and took up 600 acres of land, embracing the site of this mill. Here he manufactured lumber, cleared and cultivated land until his death, 14th of October, 1875, at the age of eighty-six years, leaving an untarnished name as an example and a heritage to his many children. As the country filled up, and saw-mills increased in number far up the Conewango in the State of New York; Pine Grove, or Russellburg, in the rafting season became a busy place, located, as it is, at the head of the rapids, where pilots were procured to pilot the rafts into the Allegheny. The Cone- wango seemed to afford more water than now, or at least a rafting stage of water lasted much longer. Sometimes for nearly a month the village would be thronged with raftmen engaged in transporting their lumber to a lower mar- ket. All this has passed away forever. The timber has nearly all been taken away, and probably the last raft of sawn lumber has passed out of the Cone- wango. With the extinguishment of this business the occupation of many of Pine Grove Township. 447 the citizens of Pine Grove has gone likewise. The whole male population seemed to depend upon going down the river as often as possible — and many thereby became intimately acquainted with the rivers, their windings and in- tricate channels, from here to the falls of the Ohio. That knowledge, so highly prized at one time, is useless now, except as affording an interesting and never- failing subject of conversation between old river men when they meet and tell minutely every circumstance connected with a trip made fifty or sixty years ago. Thomas Slone, who has previously been mentioned, and who died in this village 3d of October, 1886, at the age of ninety-nine years, was never so happy as when relating the rafting experiences which occurred in his boyhood. In relation to him the following is copied from the "Historical Atlas of Warren County": "Thomas Slone was born in Cumberland county, Pa., in 1796. He came with his father to Pine Grove in 1799, and has been a resident of this township ever since. He has been one of the most active and energetic busi- ness men in Pine Grove, and always took an active interest in everything per- taining to the welfare of the township or county. He was county commis- sioner from 1837 to 1840. He is now in his eighty-third year, living in Rus- sellburg, surrounded by his friends and relations, enjoying the calm reflections incident to a busy life. His wife, a few years younger, is also living" (1878 — died 1883). The following in reference to her is copied from the "Warren Cen- tennial Business Directory": " Jane Slone, born in 1800 in Pine Grove, is be- lieved to be the first white child born in the county now living. " Richard Alden came to the county in 1827 from Oneida, and built a card- ing-mill and cloth-dressing establishment at the head of the island at Russell- burg soon after he came. This business was carried on by him until about 1835 or 1836, when he emigrated to Louisiana on the Red River. Henry Gray took his place in the mill until it was washed away, not long after, by a flood and a break in the dam. The business was again undertaken by T Drummond, of Denver, Col., who later removed his machinery to Brookville, Pa. Woolen-factories having been established at Jamestown and eleswhere in the vicinity, the business was abandoned as unremunerative, and such machin- ery became useless for the reason that the women had forgotton how to spin and weave as their ancestors had been forced to do. Dr. Newman was the first physician that resided in the village, and it has been said of him that none who have since practiced here have filled his place. He went away with Richard Alden and died in Louisiana. He was succeeded by Dr. Wheeler, a young man who read medicine with Newman, and died young of consumption. Since then the village has been blessed with many practitioners, 1 who have made this the halting-place, until they had learned enough to go elsewhere. Pine Grove, like most villages of its size and age, has been imposed upon by quacks. 1 Says our author. 448 History of Warren County. Luke Turner came to Russellburg in 1827, kept a public house here for many years, and in 1839 moved to Limestone. His widow, now nearly eighty- eight years old, resides with R. Chapman, who married one of her daughters. She has been blind for many years, but her mind is as clear and her memory as correct as most of those who are younger. The first bridge across the Conewango at Russellburg was built in 1827 or 1828, and was again built in 1840, and replaced by the present structure in 1853 by F. E. Perkins. The main building now occupied as a grist-mill was built for a pail-factory in 1834, and was before long abandoned. The old grist-mill was then removed, in 1838, from the present site of Thompson's mill to this new building. In 1 868 it was furnished with new machinery, and the additional portions of the building by D. M. Martin and J. S. Briggs, from whom it was purchased by A. G. Lane. The first planing-mill was started by I. W. Briggs, who has continued the business unto the present time, and now has a steam mill at the foot of East street. E. W. Thompson also carries on that kind of business in connection with his saw-mill. The first elementary school in the township was kept in a private house in the village by a man named Stephen Rodger, who was drowned in 18 15 or 1816. About the same time a school was kept in Marsh town by Hugh Marsh. (See Farmington.) The first school-house erected in Pine Grove was also in the village in the year 18 18, and the first teacher in the same was named Mur- dick ; he emigrated hither from some of the Eastern States. These schools were supported by their patrons alone, per capita. Indeed, all the schools in the township were kept up in this manner until after 1834. There are eleven school-houses in the township with 331 pupils. There are three schools in the village with an attendance of about 100 pupils. The foregoing mosaic of interesting facts concerning the early history of Pine Grove is the work of one the best-informed of her citizens. So much has been said already that little is left for the writer but to fill up with the results of his own research a few of the fissures left by our generous contributor. The remarks made by him in respect to the busy appearance of the village dur- ing the height of lumber traffic in the spring, will apply to nearly every town in the county which is bordered or penetrated by a stream of any size. Forty or fifty years ago, in Russellburg, from nine o'clock in the morning, during the rafting seasons, the creek would be filled with rafts, and the roads would be crowded with men going and coming in every direction. This condition of things lasted until about the time of the last war, though a decline had then already begun. Men still living remember having seen the ball-room, dining- room, bar-room, halls, and even barn floors belonging to the tavern of Thomas Slone, completely covered with lumbermen who were glad to get any place of shelter for the night. The eccentric Guy C. Irvine used to cut, it is stated, about 3,000,000 feet of pine lumber a year, and Robert Russell turned out about the same amount. Pine Grove Township. 449 Such additional information concerning the early settlers as has come to the writer he here gives as a supplement to the first part of this chapter. The farm of Isaiah Jones was in the north part of the town, adjoining the State line. Jones was found dead by the roadside not far from the brewery in War- ren, and it was supposed that he had been thrown from his wagon and killed. His brother Edward was here as early as Isaiah himself, and was a near neigh- bor. Job Damon, who is mentioned in the list of 1822, was an eccentric sort of man, who had fifty acres of land near the New York State line, and is said to have carried his eccentricity to insanity. He was found dead near his house about twenty years ago. His life was very secluded. About 1830 Robert Russell built the brick building now occupied by Patrick Wetherby, and re- sided therein until his death. Previous to that time he dwelt in a framed house opposite his mills on the creek. His descendants are numerous in town, the postmaster, Harvey Russell, being one of his grandsons. Following is the list of taxables of Pine Grove the first year after its forma- tion (1822). It will be borne in mind that it frequently happens that many were taxed who were not residents, but merely property owners in the town : Samuel Anderson, 200 acres; Robert Anderson; Enoch Alden, 75 acres; Hiram Alden, 75 acres; John M. Berry; Adam Acker, 100 acres; Garrett Burget, 297 acres; Peter Burget, 100 acres; David C. Bowman; Daniel Chapin ; Levi Chappie, 70 acres ; Andrew Chappie, 70 acres ; Alanson Chap- pie, 70 acres ; Eademus Comstock, 200 acres ; Eleazer Chase ; Alexander Chesney ; Samuel Cowen, 200 acres ; Edward Derby, carpenter ; Nathan Davis; Samuel Daley; Job Damon, carpenter; Joseph Fitch, 150 acres; Josiah Gibbs ; Seth W. Creen, 300 acres ; Joseph Hook ; Orrin Hook ; Major James Herriot, 1,965 acres and a double saw-mill; William Hearns; William Heaton, 102 acres; Joseph G. Heaton, carpenter, 80 acres; Stephen Hadley, 200 acres; Isaiah Jones, "Esq.," 329 acres ; Silas Rowland, 50 acres ; Benja- min L. Raymond, 50 acres; David Root; Stephen Rowland, 188 acres; John Roger, 376 acres; Joel Rathbun (heirs), 650 acres; John Russell, 300 acres; Mary Russell, widow, 78 acres ; Thomas Russell, 100 acres ; William C. Shel- don, 1 30 acres ; William Sheldon, 1 80 acres ; Arthur N. Smith ; William Tan- ner ; Edward Treadway ; Caleb Thompson, 300 acres ; Jonathan Thompson, 150 acres; Spencer Johnston, 200 acres; Jehu Jones, 150 acres; Marshall Jones ; Edward Jones, 450 acres ; Joseph Jenkin, blacksmith ; Ozam Kibbey, 50 acres ; McConnell & Hubbell ; Thomas Martin, 98 acres and two saw-mills ; James Martin ; John Marsh ; Hugh Marsh, 300 acres ; Thomas Marsh ; Ross Marsh, 100 acres ; Joseph Hugh Marsh, 100 acres ; John Marsh, sr., 366 acres ; Joseph Marsh, 50 acres; Joshua Marsh; Robert Miles, 100 acres, a tavern and one-half of an acre; John Mahon ; Medad Northrop, 35 acres; Gideon M. Northrop, 100 acres; Jesse Northrop, 93 acres; Merritt Northrop, 93 acres; Joseph Northrop, 100 acres; Jeremiah C. Newman, 147 acres; Enos 45° History of Warren County. Northrop, 30 acres; Joseph B. Overton, 150 acres; Lewis Osborn, 100 acres; Zebulon Peterson, 50 acres ; Robert Russell, 623 acres and two saw-mills ; Anthony Thamer, 50 acres; Samuel Treadway; Robert Valentine, 200 acres and a saw-mill; Joseph Akely, 550 acres; Thomas Slone, one-half acre and a tavern ; James G. Staunton, 200 acres ; Jeremiah Sanford, 24 acres ; Esquire Phillips, 85 acres; Levi Phillips, 100 acres. Present Business. — The hotel now kept by E. Dean was built in 1870 by A. G. Lane, who had burned out on the opposite side of the street. Mr. Lane will long be remembered by the people of Russellburg as a man who has done as much to build up the village as any one who has ever lived in the town. He died suddenly in August, 1 876. He was born on the 20th of February, 1 8 1 2, and came to Warren from Camden, Oneida county, N. Y., when he was about four years of age. He removed to Russellburg in 1832, and made that place his home until the time of his death. He was elected treasurer of Warren county in 1865, and served the term with satisfaction to the people. He afterward filled the same office another term, in place of Chase Osgood, who failed to qualify. Mr. Lane always held a good character among his fellowmen, and has bequeathed his good qualities to his son, Hiram W. Lane. The hotel was first kept, after Mr. Lane had opened it to the public, by Dwight Hayward for four years. J. M. Martin was then proprietor for four years. His successors are Theodore Chase, L. Harrison, Mrs. Mary Miller, E. Dean, A. J. Marsh, and in May, 1886, the present proprietor, E. Dean, took possession. The house is well kept and will accommodate about twenty-five or thirty guests. Mr. Dean has been a resident of Pine Grove for forty years. He came here from Chautauqua county, N. Y. Among the merchants now in Russellburg, H. T. Russell is of the longest standing, having engaged in mercantile business in this village for fourteen years. He has occupied the building, in which he now transacts his business, about six years. He carries a general stock valued at about $4,000. He is also postmaster, having retained the office about thirteen years. The store which he occupies was built by A. G. Lane in the summer of 1867. A. A. Clark, who began his mercantile career in this village in 1876, now carries stock worth about $5,000. A. V. Mott, who deals in general merchan- dise in a building which has been used for mercantile purposes for nearly fifty years, began here in May, 1880, though he did not occupy the present building until 1883, when it was vacated by A. A. Clark. He estimates the value of his stock at about $4,000. E. H. French, a resident of this township since 1832. has been proprietor of a feed store in Russellburg since 1883. He was in the mercantile business here during the war, but sold out in 1868, and from that time to 1883 was engaged in lumbering. Before the war he was for years a practical shoemaker in Russellburg. He came in 1832 from Massachusetts with his father, Harrison French. He was born in Lowell, on the 8th of July, Pine Grove Township. 451 1829. P. F. Lewis, the only hardware merchant in town, came from Frews- burg, N. Y., in the winter of 1885-6 and established the business which he is now successfully conducting. The harness store of M. A. Lockwood was established here in September, 1886, by the present proprietor. After serving a sort of apprenticeship with R. Chapman, John Moll started making boots and shoes in town in 1852. C. Moll also worked with Mr. Chapman as jour- neyman from 1850 to 1853, when he started for himself. Excepting two terms, when he lived in Corydon (1857 to 1S62 and 1867 to 1871), he has passed his business life in Russellburg. The principal blacksmithing shop now in town is that of E. D. and W. R. Johnson, who, under the style of Johnson Brothers, have done blacksmithing here for six years. In the same building J. C. Hatton carries on the business of wagon-making, and has done so for twelve or fifteen years. The grist-mill has been mentioned in an earlier page of this chapter. The present owner and proprietor, Hiram W. Lane, bought the property of D. M. Martin in March, 1872, and has operated it with good success to the present, having considerably enlarged it and increased its facilities. Besides his cus- tom work, he keeps well-stocked with feed and meal. The capacity of his mill is stated to be about 500 bushels of grain in twenty-four hours. The other manufacturing interests in the township are represented by a number of saw, planing-mills, etc. E. W. Thompson, who operates perhaps the most ex- tensive mill in this part of the county, is on the site originally occupied by Rob- ert Russell. He built his saw-mill in 1874, and first set it in operation in May, 1875. In January, 1886, he added the planing, matching, and house furnish- ing department, and now has practically all the facilities for providing from his own mill a complete outfit for buildings and furniture. He has the largest wheel and power in the county, operating his mill entirely by water. He now cuts about 500,000 feet of lumber annually, but expects soon to run the amount up to about 12,000,000. Mr. Thompson deserves well at the hands of his townsmen, not only by his honesty and diligence, but because he is a native of the adjoining town of Farmington, where he was born in 1835. His father, William Thompson, came from Long Island to Farmington in 1829. Since he was old enough to engage in business on his own account Mr. Thompson has transacted successful business in this town and vicinity. He bought his pres- ent mill property of D. M. Martin and Joseph Briggs. J. H. Dickinson has a steam saw-mill in the northeast part of the town, which he built some fifteen years ago. Near him is the mill of Lacox & Son, of Buffalo, which was erected in 1884. More than thirty years ago Chapin Hall built the mill now operated and owned by Gilbert Turner & Son. A. G. Lane acquired the property from Hall, and sold to John Schnor, the grantor to the present proprietors. It is a well appointed steam saw and lath-mill. Near the railroad station is the stave-factory, operated by steam, owned by J. 452 History of Warren County. H. Fry, and built some ten or twelve years ago by E. W. Thompson. Mr. Fry purchased the property of G. W. Slone. In the east part of the township is the steam saw-mill of Robert Parish & Co., which has also a shingle and planing department. This mill was erected in March, 1886. J. H. Martindale is manufacturer of grape baskets, shingles, etc., and transacts a good business in a steam mill which he erected in June, 1886. The stone grist-mill in the south part of the township, by the railroad, was erected by Guy C. Irvine in 1836, and is now in the hands of his executors. Near the railroad station at Russellburg is the steam cider-mill and jelly- factory of John Allen, which he built some four or five years ago, and which does a large business every season. At Ackley Station is a thrifty creamery owned and operated by Young & Clark, which has been in operation about three years. The old mill site occupied by Thomas Slone years ago is now occupied by the saw-mill of Charles Van Arsdale. It is a good mill and manufactures a goodly amount of lumber. About a mile east of the railroad station at Russellburg is the chemical laboratory of R. B. Day, of Dunkirk. Including his wood- choppers, Mr. Day employs some thirty men. He manufactures a wood alcohol and an acetate of lime. The works have been in operation there about six or seven years. At Ackley Station there are two general stores, kept by W. C. Hale & Co., and Bennett & Co., respectively. There are only two physicians at present practicing in Pine Grove town- ship. Dr. William A. Clark is a physician of signal ability, who has been in practice here for many years. Dr. Otis G. Brown, a more recent arrival, was born at Farmington on the 3d of August, 1863, received his medical educa- tion at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Md., from which he was graduated in March, 1886. After practicing five months in East War- ren, he opened an office at Russellburg. Ecclesiastical. — The oldest ecclesiastical organization in the township is the Methodist Episcopal, which was formed, it is said, about 1830. Among the first members were E. W. Chase, Almira Chase, Joseph Lindsey and Cath- arine Lindsey, and Richard Alden. James Gilmore seems to have been the first pastor, and was followed successively by Revs. Todd and Luce, Tacket and Stowe, Preston and Stearns, Flower and Demmon, Best and Pritchard, Bryan S. Hill, Alexander Barris and Samuel Henderson, E. I. L. Baker, John Hill, Butts, Norton, Peate and Ware, Burgess, Bush and Stocker. This brings the record down to December, 1852, at which time the following were members of this organization : Joseph Lindsey and wife, Joseph Jones and wife, H. B. Herrick and wife, F. H. Herrick and wife, John Allen and wife, J. W. Akely and wife, H. Demmon, J. W. Demmon, Ira Badger, Harriet Badger, Nancy Vansile, Mary Moll, Mary Hodges, and L. Akely. Deerfield Township. 453 The pastors, since 1852 and including that year, have been as follows: 1852-53, C. Irons; 1854-55, S. S. Burton; 1856, James Gilfillan; 1857-58, E. A. Anderson; 1859-60, J. C. Scofield; 1861, S. N. Warner; 1862-63, P. Burroughs; 1864-65, Z. W. Shadduck ; 1866, W. Bush; 1867, S. Hollen; 1868, C. W. Reeves; 1869-70, H. W. Leslie; 1871, J. F. Hill; 1872-73, F. A. Archibald; 1874-75, E - Brown; 1876-77, A. H. Bowers; 1878-79, L". J. Bennett; 1880-81, L. F. Merritt; 1882-83, C. W. Miner; 1884-85, C. C. Hunt ; Mr. Hunt is the present pastor. From the beginning until the summer of 1854, meetings were held in private houses and in the school-house on the east side of Conewango Creek. But at that time the present house of worship was erected at a cost of about two thousand dollars, and was dedicated by J. H. Whalen, S. S. Burton, and others. The church has a membership at the present writing of about forty- eight, and the church property is valued at about $1,700. CHAPTER XXXVII. HISTORY OF DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP.* DEERFIELD township was organized by the Court of Warren county on the 8th day of March, 1821, and first called "Number Eleven." The whole township was then a vast wilderness, very little land having been cleared. A few venturous pioneers had wandered this far into the wilderness and taken up claims along the river years before. The Allegheny River, winding in and out among the hills, divided the township as it was then into about equal parts. The Allegheny has always been noted for its beauty, but it was far more beautiful at that early day, with the great forests still growing in their natural state from the hilltops down to the river's brink, than it is now, with most of the forests cut away, and many refineries scattered along its banks, giving it a continuous coating of filth. The river was narrower and deeper than it is now, and full of fish. It never became so high in the spring and fall, nor did it become so low in the summer, as it does now. The vast forests along the river and its tributaries protected it from sudden rise, and prolonged the flow of the springs in the dry seasons. The river banks were also kept from washing away by the growing timber. The river was the main thorough- fare for travel and the transportation of burdens — in the summer by means of the canoe, and in the winter by means of the ice. Driving on the ice at this 1 The beginning of this chapter, to the asterisk, a few pages further on, was compiled and written by James Kinnear. 454 History of Warren County. early period was much more common than it is now. Nearly every winter the river afforded a splendid road-bed from Franklin to Deerfield and Warren, and it was utilized by the few travelers of that day ; for there was no other road that would compare with it. There was a rough road cut through from Deerfield northward to Brokenstraw, and from Deerfield southward to Franklin, but it was hardly more than a trail. Along this road or trail, which left the river valley at Deerfield and went over the hills, a distance of thirty-three miles, to Franklin, there were only four or five families scattered along the whole dis- tance. The following are about all the families that lived at that time along this road from Deerfield to Franklin : William Neal, Henry McCalmont, and Mr. Renn. Could we look back at Deerfield township as it was then, we would certainly consider it well named ; for deer were in abundance here, and all kinds of game peculiar to this climate and region held undisputed sway over about the whole township. In 1 82 1, when the township was organized, those settled here were a sturdy class of men and women, honest, and, of necessity, hard working. They came in here with their families and came to stay; for it was too difficult a matter to move, to get away easily. But their wants were simple, and, with an inex- haustible fund of contentedness, that stands in contrast to the nervous and restless spirit of the present day, they were happy. Their log cabins were scattered along the river valley, a mile or so apart; they were all on an equal- ity, and so there was a oneness in life's burdens and pleasures. There were living in Deerfield, when the township was organized, Thomas Arters, Sam- uel McGuire, Michael Gorman, sr., Charles Smith, John Thompson, Caleb Richardson, Arthur Magill, sr., Robert Hunter, sr., and some others. Brief sketches of the early history of these old pioneers will be found below. They, and those who came during the next ten years, deserve the honor and credit of first opening and settling this part of the Allegheny valley, which years later was the scene of the greatest activity. They felled the trees, built their log cabins, tilled their little clearings in summer, and in winter put in a few logs, which in early spring were run to Pittsburgh, and with the proceeds thereof they purchased the necessary articles of food and clothing which they could not raise or make. This merchandise was not shipped home by means of the express train which now rolls every few hours from Pittsburgh up the valley, but was placed in a canoe and towed or poled the whole distance, one hundred and fifty miles. The canoe soon gave way to the keel-boat, and years later the steamboat took up the task and conveyed the merchandise part way up the river, and often all the way. Deerfield township was well timbered. Pine and hemlock in enormous quantities covered nearly every valley and ridge. At first the lumbering con- sisted in felling trees and cutting them into logs, and in splitting lath. The choice pine tree was selected for lath, cut by hand four feet long, and packed Deerfield Township. 455 in bunches of one hundred each. This lumber was placed on the river to await the spring freshet. In 1826 William Kinnear, sr., built the first saw-mill in Deerfield town- ship. It was run by water power. Later other mills were erected, and soon the class of lumber changed to boards and shingles. In 1829 all that part of Deerfield township lying on the east side of the Allegheny River was organized into a separate township called Limestone. This took away fully half of Deerfield's fine forests, but still there were remain- ing broad tracts of fine timber, far more than the inhabitants of that day could handle with their upright saws and water-power saw-mills. There is, in fact, at the present day, some pine and a large quantity of hemlock remaining in Deerfield, and lumbering is still an important factor in the business of our township. In early years piloting rafts down the river to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati became quite a trade, and many of the early settlers of Deerfield became expert pilots. About the year 18 1 8 the first school in the township was held in a log house belonging to John Thompson, situated about two miles above the mouth of Tidioute Creek. John Elder and a Mr. Smith taught here at different times. In 1824 John Elder kept school in a log house near McGuire Run, and from that time there was school nearly every winter in some place in the township. In 1832 a building, standing in upper Tidioute, used for holding elections, was used for school purposes. In 1849 the first school-house in Deerfield was built. This was a framed building, and was supported by subscriptions. This school was located on the east side of McGuire Run. Another framed school- house was erected in 1851 near Tidioute Creek. In 1867 a two-story build- ing containing four rooms was erected near the central part of the borough, and the school thoroughly graded. In 1877 two large rooms were added to the building, and since that time an addition of five or six rooms has been made several new lots added to the grounds, and a complete steam heating system placed in the building, making the school building second to none in this part ■of the State as regards convenience. These additions were made under the direction of H. H. Cumings. A. W. Couse, John Hunter, J. L. Grandin, M. Ross, and W. W. Hague, school directors. When the repairs were finished, and the school buildings in proper shape, there was a bonded debt upon the school of $5,000. This debt was canceled by Mr. Samuel Grandin, who drew his check for the whole amount and gave the same to the borough of Tidioute. An industrial school building and other property have been added to the school possessions through other benefactors residing in the borough of Tidioute. The first post-office in Deerfield was opened in 1828 and kept by Samuel Parshall at his residence. It was called Deerfield Post-office. G. W. Turner was second postmaster. The first store in the township was opened in 1832 456 History of Warren County. by Joshua Turner and son. It was a general store, for furnishing provisions and dry goods. The first framed house was erected in Deerfield township in the year 1824, ; it is the same house, with the exception of frequent repairs, that is now the property of L. D. Galligan. The first grist-mill was erected by Michael Gorman, sr. Religious services were held occasionally at different houses, whenever a wandering itinerant chanced along. There were no regular services held here until years after the township was organized. The framed house of Thomas Arters was used after its erection for nearly all religious meetings. The following is a list of the ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church who have labored along this part of the Allegheny valley since the formation of Deerfield township, and their respective years of labor : Ira Eddy, Charles Elliot, 1820; Z. Paddock, 1821 ; Josiah Keyes, 1822; S. Cary, 1823; Robt. C. Hatton, 1825 ; John W. Hill, 1825 ; I. H. Tackitt, 1826; John Leach, J. H. Tackitt, 1826; Job Wilson, W. R. Babcock, 1828; N. Callender, A. Callander, 1829; A. Callander, A. Plimpton, 1830; A. Young, B. Preston, 1831 ; H. Kingsley, J. E. Lee, 1832; D. Richey, S. W. Ingraham, 1833 ; Jacob Jenks, 1834; J. Robinson, D. Richey, 1835 ; H. Luce, 1836; J. O. Rich, W. Todd, 1837 ; v - Lake, 1838 ; J. E. Chapin, D. Rolland, 1839; D. Rolland, 1840; John Scott, C. R. Chapman, 1841 ; E. Bull, 1842; A. P. Brown, 1843; D. Pritchard, 1844; J. W. Wilson, 1845 ; J. W. Wilson, M. Himeburgh, 1846; M. Himeburgh, A. Barnes, 1847; A. Barnes, J. B. Hammond, 1848. The first Methodist society was organized in Deerfield about the year 1826. Joseph Lindsey, Susan Middleton, and Dorcas Hunter, members of that early day, are still members of the church militant, awaiting the time when they shall be relieved from their long service, and called to the church triumphant. The first church in the township was a Presbyterian Church, built of logs, about the year 1828, and situated near the old Tidioute cemetery, one-half acre having been donated for a church and one-half for a public cemetery, by Alex. McCalmont. The first Presbyterian minister was the Rev. Mr. Chase ; Thomas McGee and Joseph McCauley were deacons. Rev. Chase was fol- lowed by the Rev. Mr. Hamson. The Presbyterians built a new church on the above-mentioned lot about the year 1841, which was afterwards sold and the present church built in 1867. The following is a list of the Presbyterian ministers who have labored in Tidioute since 1867: D. M. Rankin, J. J. Marks, D. D., 1867 ; W. B. Cullis, 1868 ; A. B. Lomes, 1869; J. H. Edwards, 1871 ; W. L. Findley, 1873; Theodore Crowl, 1874; L. M. Gilliland, 1877; J. C. Olliver, 1885. The first M. E. Church was built about the year 1836, where the Grandin brick block now stands. This church was sold in 1854 to Samuel Grandin, Deerfield Township. 457 and a new one built in the eastern part of Tidioute. This edifice was sold to the Lutherans in 1872, and a new one built where the present church now stands; this church was burned in the fall of 1872, before its completion. The present brick structure was commenced in the spring of 1873, and dedicated in September, 1874. The following named M. E. ministers were appointed to labor in Tidioute the years opposite their respective names : T. G. McCreary, 1849-50; J. T Boyle, P. Burroughs, 185 1 ; J. Wriggles- worth, 1852; S. Hollen, 1853; J. Gilfillen, J. B. Hammond, 1854; J. Gilfillen. 1855 ; James Gillmore, Edwin Hall, 1856; M. Colegrove, 1857; G. F. Reeser, W. W. Warner, 1858-59; J. K. Mendenhall, i860; W. Hayes, J. F. Stacker, 1 86 1 ; N. W. Jones, J. F. Stocker, 1862 ; John Crum, Z. W. Shadduck, 1863 ; A. H. Domer, 1864; D. Smith, 1865-66; W. Sampson, 1867-68; E. A. Squier, 1869-70; W. H. Mossman, 1871-72; Francis Brown, 1873-74 ; A.J. Merchant, 1875-76; J. M. Bray, 1877-79; M. Martin, 1880-82; W. P. Gra- ham, 1883; S. H. Prather, 1884-85 ; D. S. Steadman, 1886. The Universalist Church was erected in 1868. Rev. S. J. Dickson was the first pastor. The Episcopal society erected their present structure in 1872, and called Rev. G. W. Dunbar to the pulpit. The Catholic Church was built in 1866. A school building was erected by and under the charge of the Catholic society in the year 1875. Biographical. — Arters, Thomas, was born of English parentage in 1787. He came with his father, Richard Arters, from Lewistown, Pa., in the year 1 806, and settled at the mouth of Tidioute Creek, on the Allegheny River, on a tract of land containing four hundred acres, surveyed by John Spangler. He afterwards received one hundred acres of said tract for making a settlement thereon, from Alexander McCalmont, who was their agent for eastern parties. Thomas Arters also had a claim of four hundred acres of land on the south side of the river, on tract number 5278, now in Limestone township. He built the first framed house in Deerfield, in 1824. The house, having been often repaired, is still standing in the central part of the borou gh, and is the prop- erty of L. D. Galligan. Of his family of nine children, one, Jackson Arters, was killed while in the army, in the battle before Fredericksburg. All the rest are still living, and four of his children — W. M., Mary, Washington, and Thomas — are still living in Tidioute and vicinity. To Thomas Arters is given the credit of having made the first permanent settlement in this part of Warren county. He died at his home in Tidioute in 1858, and his wife survived him until 1869. McGuire, Samuel, of Irish descent, was born in Huntington county, Pa., in 1788. In 1808 he came to Deerfield and settled on the John Keller tract, of 458 History of Warren County. which he owned two hundred and fifty acres. His land joined Thomas Arters's land on the east. He was married the same year, to Charity Gilson, and made his permanent home on this tract. They had a family often children born unto them, all of whom grew to be men and women, and were all married. Father McGuire died in the year 1865, at the age of seventy-seven years, and Mother McGuire survived him until . 1 869. Of their family five have passed away. Those still living are Elsie, born in 18 10, and married to John Parshall; Patience; McCray, born in 1820; William, born in 1822, married Mary Stu- art, and still lives in the borough of Tidioute ; and Charity, born in 1827, mar- ried Henry Lott, and still resides in Tidioute. Parshall, Samuel, of English descent, came to Deerfield in the year 1824 and settled on a claim of three hundred acres, at the mouth of Gordon Run. Mr. Parshall was born in 1781, and came originally from Massachusetts to Trum- bull county, Ohio, where he married Elizabeth Goutcher in 1806, and lived there for some years before he removed to Deerfield. He kept the first post- office in the township, and the first elections were held at his place. They had a family of eight children. All grew to maturity, and married. Many of them are still living in this vicinity, while their children and grandchildren are many. Samuel Parshall died in the year 1839 ; his wife, born in 1783, died in 1865. Six of their children still survive. John Parshall, born in 1809, married Elsie McGuire, and raised a family of nine children. He now lives in Crawford county, Pa. Eliza Parshall, born in 18 12, married Robert Henry. She still lives in Tidioute, Pa. Nancy Parshall, born in 1817, married Joseph Richard- son. She now resides in McKean county, this State, with her daughter. Samuel Parshall, born in 1814, married Lucy Henderson. They now live in Venango county, Pa. Jennette Parshall, born in 1822, married James Kin- near, and they still reside in Tidioute. James Parshall, born in 1827, married Henrietta Shugert, and now lives in Titusville. Gorman, sr., Michael, of Irish descent, was born in 1761, and came from Center county, Pa., to Deerfield, in the year 18 18. He settled three miles west of Tidioute, where he claimed four hundred acres of land and made a permanent settlement. He built the first grist-mill in Deerfield township and in this part of Warren county. He married Sarah Gilson, and they had thir- teen children. He died in the year 1859, and left three sons living: Michael Gorman, jr., lives in Ohio; J. Benjamin Gorman lives in Tidioute; and Peter Gorman lives on the old homestead. Smith, sr., Charles, of Irish descent, came to Deerfield in 1807 and settled five miles northeast of Tidioute, on the Allegheny River, where he made his home. He had five children : James Smith, Peter Smith, Charles Smith, Nancy (Smith) Magee, and Luke Smith, all now deceased. Smith, James, eldest son of Charles Smith, sr.,was born in 1800, and came to Deerfield with his father in 1807. He married Margaret Magee, and passed Deerfield Township. 459 most of his life in Deerfield as a farmer. During the first oil excitement he sold his possessions here and went West, where he died in 1884. His children still live in Deerfield and vicinity. Smith, Peter, second son of Charles Smith, sr., was born in 1802. His whole life was passed in Deerfield and vicinity. He became a man of consid- erable importance, and had good business ability ; was in early days a suc- cessful lumberman. He married Matilda McGuire, and they had three chil- dren — Hugh, John, and Nancy — who are all still living. Thompson, John, moved to Deerfield about the year 18 17 and settled two miles east of Tidioute, on the Allegheny River, where he cleared his farm and made his permanent home. He kept the first tavern in Deerfield, and became quite well off" for those days. He had three children. His death took place about the year 1830. Courson, Anthony, was born in Centercounty, Pa., in 1788, and cameto Deer- field with his family of seven children in 1825. He settled upon four hundred acres of" land fronting upon the Allegheny River. Here he kept a tavern for many years, affording the weary raftman returning on foot from Pittsburgh a shelter. He was a lumberman and farmer. He married Elizabeth Gates and they had a family of nine children, some of them still living in Tidioute and vicinity. His children are : Nancy Courson married John Hazeltine and is now deceased; Margaret married D. N. Richardson and now lives in the West; Sarah married Charles Magill and is now living in the West; Jane married Arthur Magill and is still living in Tidioute ; Hannah married William Church and resides in the West ; Benjamin Courson married Elizabeth Morrison, now deceased ; his widow and children still live in Tidioute ; Samuel Courson married Rachael Thompson and lives in Wisconsin ; John Courson married Martha Brown and is still living in Tidioute. In 1842 Father Courson lost his wife, and after disposing of his farm he moved west, where he died in 1883. His remains were brought east and interred in the cemetery in Tidioute. A portion of the borough of Tidioute is* now located on part of Anthony Cour- son's farm. Kinnear, William, was born in the northern part of Ireland in 1783. He came with his father and mothe'r, Alexander Kinnear and Jane (Ganley) Kinnear, to America in 1790. They were descendants of Huguenots. William Kinnear married Rebecca McElvain in the year 1806, and moved from Cen- ter county, where his father had settled, to Venango county, in 18 19. He bought a tract of two hundred acres of land at the mouth of Oil Creek, of Cornplanter, chief of the Seneca Indians. Here he cleared about thirty- five acres of land, where the business part of Oil City is located, and ten acres on Cottage Hill, as it is now called. He also erected a furnace at this place. In 1826 he sold his property in Venango county and moved to Warren county, settling in Deerfield township at the mouth of Tidioute Creek. Here he pur- chased two hundred acres of the John Spangler tract of Alex. McCalmont, 30 460 History of Warren County. agent. This purchase included the Tidioute Creek for about one mile from its mouth. On this creek he erected a saw-mill in 1827, the first one in Deer- field township. He had a family of seven children. Father Kinnear died in the year 1851, and Mother Kinnear survived him two years. Roup, Christian, was born in 1809 and came to Deerfield with his father in 1829. In 1833 he married Rebecca Richardson, and they have had a family of six children born to them ; some of them now live in the Far West. He held the position of justice of the peace for many years, and he and his wife still re- side in Tidioute. James Magill, the eldest son of Arthur Magill, was born in 1804 and came to Deerfield with his father in 18 12. He was the first constable in Deerfield township, and held the position of justice of the peace for many years. He married Rhoda Parshall and had a family of eight children. The mother and four of the children are now deceased. James Magill resides with his daugh- ter in Tidioute. Of his family now living are Elizabeth (Magill) Walker, Irvin Magill, James Magill, and William Magill. William Magill, third son of Arthur Magill, was born in 18 10, and was married to Margaret Hartnes in 1835. They have no children. He was a farmer and a lumberman, and still lives in Tidioute, but has long since retired from business. Magill, Arthur, was born in Deerfield in 18 16; he married Jane Courson and had a family of nine children. He settled on a part of the Anthony Cour- son tract. He was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church ; was constable of Deerfield for some years, and was commissioner of Warren county for 1857 and i860. He was a farmer and a man of the strictest integrity. He died in 1862. His widow and four of his children reside in Tidioute. Magee, Samuel, the oldest son of James Magee, sr., settled four miles up the river from Tidioute, at the mouth of Magee Run, about the year 1821. He married Anna Allender, and they had a family of eight children born unto them. He was the first justice of the peace in Deerfield township. Two of his sons, Joseph Magee and Perry Magee, were prominent men in their day, but have passed away. Morrison, R. H., esq., a son of Thomas Morrison, was born in 1821. He was elected justice of the peace in 1858, and has been continued in that position ever since. He has resided in the borough of Tidioute since its organization, and has been one of its prominent and influential citizens. He has a family of four children and still resides in Tidioute. The Oil Development. — In the year i860 Deerfield township and the whole western part of Warren county underwent a great change. The little village of Tidioute, nestling quietly among the hills, was transformed suddenly to a booming oil town of thousands of inhabitants. Years before oil had been no- ticed in different springs in this locality, and had been gathered by the use of Deerfield Township. 461 blankets. It was used for many purposes and was considered a good remedy for many diseases. The success of Mr. Drake on Oil Creek encouraged Henry Dennis and J. L. Grandin to commence a well in 1859, on the Gordon Run, near a spring where oil had been gathered. This, for some reason, proved a failure. The next year King & Ferris started a well below the mouth of Gor- don Run, on the bank of the river. This was a success, and oil in abundance was found. How to save it was then a great question to be solved ; barrels were in demand, but a sufficient number could not be had. Coopers were brought in and set to work ; but for immediate use a tank was proposed and built in the form of a rectangle, 16 by 24 feet, and eight feet high. The suc- cess of this and other wells brought people and prospectors by the score to our township. There was no available railroad for shipping the oil at that time, as neither the Sunbury and Erie nor the Oil Creek and Allegheny Valley Railroads were then completed, and the only outlet was the river. Boats of all kinds were immediately pressed into service, and many barges of all descriptions built for the purpose. They were towed up stream by horses, and after being loaded with oil were floated to Pittsburgh. The river was alive with these craft. About this time Captain Amasa Dingley built a steamboat to run on the river between Oil City and Warren, and applied to the Legislature of Pennsylvania for the exclusive right to navigate the Allegheny River between these two points. This was defeated, much to the relief of the inhabitants of this section of the country. Organization of the Borough. — In 1862 the borough of Tidioute was or- ganized, and on the 27th day of June of that year the first election under the new charter was held. The following were the officers elected : Burgess, Luther Green; council, Samuel Culbertson, W. S. Cohill, Thomas Goodwin, R. Christy, and J. Hunter. Isaac Scott was appointed clerk ; constable, R. Magill. At this time the inhabitants of the town were doubling and trebling in number every year, houses and shanties sprang up as if by magic, and still there were not accommodations for the incoming throng. All classes of men, from the speculator and honest workman to the blackleg and knave, came with this great rush. The prices of lands in various parts of the township be- came fabulous. Speculation in real estate became at once a great business. Lands were bought or contracted for, stock companies formed for operating and controlling the same, and the stock sold in many of the eastern cities, chiefly New York. The throng of all classes became so great that it soon be- came necessary to have a change in the municipal control. The government necessary for the quiet village of Tidioute would not answer for the booming oil town. In response to a call of the citizens, a small hall was crowded ; many men of rank and ability were present, and after the object of the meeting was stated by one of the old citizens, a judge from Buffalo was elected chairman. A 462 History of Warren County. police force was appointed at this meeting and two hundred dollars raised for the purpose of erecting a lock-up. Within three days the lock-up was built, and in less time it was filled with the worst kind of roughs. Some of the pris- oners, being assisted by parties without, escaped, and it was found necessary to guard the lock-up day and night. Different citizens were detailed for this duty, and they paced their beats as regularly and faithfully as a sentinel upon an advanced picket line. The parties arrested were tried and fined according as they deserved. By this means good order was soon restored in Tidioute, and has been maintained ever since. At this time Babylon and Triumph, oil towns adjacent to Tidioute in Deer- field, appeared and flourished as business centers for a while; but as the oil was exhausted in their vicinity their prosperity faded out. Babylon, at one time mighty in sin and debauchery, has long since fallen. Triumph clung to life longer than the average oil town on account of the quality of the oil-bearing rock of this section, which has not been excelled in any part of the oil regions. The rock here was often found seventy-five and one hundred feet thick, and it has proved the longest-lived oil territory yet discovered. Many wells in this locality are still yielding a small production. A little later Fagundus loomed up in the extreme southern part of Deer- field township. A small but rich yielding territory was found here, and Fagundus became for a while a flourishing banking town ; but it has met the sad fate of other similar oil towns, and there remains now only a relic of what there once was. All these towns were tributary to Tidioute, and their prosperity only added vigor to its flourishing business of that day. Several ' daily and weekly papers sprang into existence at this time in Tidioute. The Morning Journal and the Evening Commercial both had their day and death. The Weekly News, ably edited by Charles E. White, is the only publication now issued in the borough. Mr. White is not surpassed in this part of the State in neatness and dispatch of job work. The Oil Creek and Allegheny River Railroad was laid through Tidioute in 1866, and was completed in 1867. The first bank in our borough was under the title or Wadsworth, Baum & Co., afterwards changed to Grandin & Baum, and at present Grandin Bros. The Tidioute Savings Bank and the People's Savings Bank were started in 1872 ; the latter was closed some years ago. The present water system was commenced by Luther Green in 1872. In December of the same year a stock company was formed, which purchased the works and completed them. Since that time a supply pipe has been laid four miles up Tidioute Creek, which secures pure spring water and a natural flow into the reservoir. The Tidioute and Economy bridge across the Allegheny River was built in 1873, and the same year the gas works were completed.* Deerfield Township. 463 The early history k of Deerfield having been so fully and thoroughly written by Mr. Kinnear, little is left to write but such mention of the present business and professional interests as is customary in works of this nature. Deerfield town- ship, as now constituted, is of irregular formation, having no fewer than eight or ten sides, and is bounded north by the townships of Pittsfield and Broken- straw, east by Allegheny River, separating it from Pleasant, Watson, and Lime- stone, south by Allegheny River and Triumph, and west by Triumph, Eldred, and Pittsfield. The beginnings of settlement within the limits of the present borough of Tidioute date very early in the century, as has well been shown. About the year 1825 the settlers within these limits, on the north side of the river, were about as follows : Beginning in the extreme western part of the borough, and partly outside of the line, was the place owned and occupied by Samuel Parshall. Next east of him was William Kinnear (1826); Thomas Arters was his adjoining neighbor on the east, the territorial succession east- ward being Samuel Hunter, Anthony Courson, and no others that have not received mention. The history of this township would be indeed incomplete without some mention of one who has done more, probably, than any other one person for the upbuilding and prosperity of Tidioute, viz., Samuel Grandin. A more detailed sketch of Mr. Grandin appears in later pages. As will be seen by reference to that sketch, he came to Tidioute from Pleasantville, Venango county, in 1 840, and began dealing in general merchandise and trading exten- sively in lumber. This business he continued on an ever-increasing scale until his practical retirement from business, about 1 860. His present residence he built in 1867. He has ever had the welfare of Tidioute at heart, and has never been tardy in extending his aid and influence for the furthering and suc- cess of any project looking to its material or moral advancement. He is de- servedly an honored man. His sons have displayed the sagacity and public spirit which might, in the circumstances, have been expected, and have wielded, and do still wield, an influence in affairs which extends far beyond the borders of this township, or county, or State. The banking firm of which they are the members was formed in 1870, and the large brick block which they now occupy was built in 1872. As to'their other interests, and their general repu- tation, no better idea can be gained than by a perusal of the following extract from one of the leading newspapers of the day : " The proneness, as it were, of the oil people as a rule for the concentration of capital in single industrial lines is proverbial. This mode of procedure is, in some instances, attended with the most gratifying results ; and again it is followed by consequences most disastrous to the investor. There are excep- tions, however, to every rule ; among this class may be cited the firm of Grandin Brothers. Everything undertaken by the Grandins is gone about in the most practical and matter-of-fact way, and about everything they take a 464 History of Warren County. hand in turns into money. Their one thousand and one successful oil ventures is a matter of public information in this region, where the gentlemen are widely- known and uniformly respected, and a reiteration of the same here and now would only be to dispense stale news. The Grandin boys have been called lucky, and their luck has been extolled far and wide, while the truth of the mat- ter is, there never has, perhaps, been a business firm in this or any country that depended so little on the deceptive tyrant luck. They have made what the world would call unlucky investments, but by the exercise of good horse sense or shrewd business judgment, as you will, they seldom make large losings. In 1873 the Jay Cook failure cost the firm $93,000; in the final settlement with Cook they accepted Northern Pacific Land scrip for their claim, in lieu of Cook's personal acceptances. This gave them 38,000 acres of land. Being practical men, they set about it at once to develop the soil. In due course they had a wheat production and the annual clean up, showing a handsome profit ; other land purchases followed, and now the boys find themselves in possession of a little garden patch of 86,000 acres of the best wheat lands on the American continent. This small farm has been split up in two smaller farms of unequal proportions. In the Grandin farm there are 38,000 acres, and 26,000 in the Mayville farm. The wheat production of this year for both farms was 315,000 bushels. The Grandin farm produced 215,000 bushels, the balance belongs to the Mayville farm. There is about 18,000 acres under cultivation, leaving 68,000 acres of virgin territory in which the plowshare has never trespassed. The Grandins have their own line of elevators, and a steamer on the Red River, and by means of their own traffic-arrangements d eliver their wheat in Duluth. This comes pretty nearly managing one's own business. Each farm is managed by a superintendent and financial agent. During the harvest season they find employment for 400 men and 350 mules. Their Mayville farm is operated more for stock-breeding purposes than agri- culture. For several years past the profits in wheat production has been greater than oil ; when oil is depressed the Grandins turn their attention to wheat, and vice versa. There has not been a year in the past ten when their Dakota farms' products did not pay a sum equivalent to the $93,000 supposed to have sunk in the Jay Cook collapse. All this shows what pluck and enter- prise will do for those who are wise enough not to carry their eggs in one basket." Present Mercantile Interests. — Of the merchants now in trade in Tidioute, W. D. Bucklin is of the longest standing, as he dates his arrival here in the year 1861. James L. Acomb started his drug store here in 1866, at which time he came from Pithole. His stock is valued at about $2,500. A. Dunn opened a grocery store in Tidioute in 1866, and in the fall of 1886 he put in an additional stock of clothing, and boots and shoes. He carries about $10,000 in stock at his store, besides stock in flour and feed at his grist-mill, worth on Deerfield Township. 465 an average about $2,000. W. R. Dawson has kept a variety store in this place something more than twenty years. He has been postmaster since Jan- uary 5, 1886. The jewelry store of Henry Ewald was opened here by the present proprietor in 1867. The store of C. Kemble & Son (William W. Kemble), containing a full stock of drugs, artists' materials, paints, oils, wall paper, etc., and a general line of holiday goods in season, was first opened by the senior member of the present firm in 1871. The firm was formed in 1878. J. O. Strong has carried a good stock of stoves and hardware in Tidioute for more than fourteen years. The dry goods and general store of John Siggins was started here by the present owner about fourteen years ago. At that time Mr. Siggins came from East Hickory, where he had been in business since 1864. He now carries stock valued at about $15,000. D. M. McCall, dealer in all kinds of furniture, picture frames, pianos, organs, etc., and undertaker, has been in business in this place since February, 1876. He then came from Crawford county, where he had been engaged in the furniture trade since 1857. R. Chaffey, the grocer, who carries stock worth some $2,500, started in Tidioute in 1877, and first occupied his present corner in 188 1. H. F. Head, merchant tailor, has been here more than five years. E. A. Culver, dealer in groceries, provisions, etc., established his present trade about three years ago. The store of C. P. Bucklin, dealer in dry goods, boots and shoes, etc., was opened many years ago by Maybie & Hunter, who were succeeded by the present owner in 1883. His stock is valued at about $10,000. J. A. Ulf, merchant tailor, began here on the 1st of January, 1884. The dry goods and clothing dealers, Hopkins & Co., conduct a business established in April, 1885, by H. J. Hopkins and J. H. Lockwood. Their stock is now valued at about $12,000. The harness shop of A. Allen was started by the present pro- prietor in the fall of 1885, he then succeeding Scott Allen, who had been here several years previously. C. A. Allen, dealer in general furnishing goods, has been in Tidioute in business since January, 1886. H. W. Kunn established his boot and shoe trade here in April, 1886. Other Interests. — The steam grist-mill, now owned and operated by A. Dunn, was built by Kemble & Coleman about 1877. In 1880 Mr. Dunn rented it from the estate of Peter Evans, and in the fall of 1886 purchased it. Others mills are the planing-mill belonging to the estate of Z. M. Jones, who started the mill some fifteen or sixteen years ago ; the machine shop of R. J. Carson, which has been in operation in Tidioute about fifteen years ; the chair factory, operated by the Chair Company (limited), whose general manager is M. Clark. This business was established in September, 1881. The capital is about $50,000. About 500 chairs are manufactured here daily. The hub factory of Martin (Joseph) & Homer (C. S.) was established also in the fall of 1881. Hotels. — The oldest hotel in Tidioute at present is the Shaw House, which 466 History of Warren County. was built by the present proprietor, W. P. Shaw, more than twenty years ago. The National Hotel was built for mercantile purposes by H. Greiner, a num- ber of years ago, and converted by W. D. Bucklin, the present owner, into a hotel some fifteen years ago. The Hanchett House, so named from the pro- prietor, N. N. Hanchett, was built, and for some time kept, by Mr. Wheelock. Mr. Hanchett has owned and kept it now for about twelve years. Physicians, Past and Present. — The first physician to practice in Deerfield township was Dr. Kellogg, of Titusville, who used to come out this way with his horse and saddle-bags about once in three months. This he began as early as 1826, and continued for a number of years. The physician now in prac- tice here who deserves the distinction of belonging to the longest residence is Dr. F. A. Shugart, who was admitted to practice in 1838, and after practicing in Philadelphia and other places came to Deerfield township in 1849, and has continued here ever since. Dr. Charles Kemble came here about ten years later, and also remains here yet. Dr. Freeman, who died a few years ago, had also been here for many years. Dr. J. L. Acomb came here from Pithole about 1866. Dr. A. C. Magill came in March, 1885, immediately after grad- uating from the Detroit Medical College. Dr. N. W. Shugart was admitted to practice from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore on the 13th of March, 1885, and after an experience of a few months in the Bay View Hospital came here and went into practice with his father. Post-office. — We have already seen who was the first postmaster in town, and the date of his service. The present incumbent, W. R. Dawson, owes his appointment to the present administration. He was preceded by James C. Long, who served more than eight years ; Thomas B. Monks, his predecessor, held the position about two years, having succeeded Levi L. McCall. S. H. Evans was postmaster from December 1, 1866, to June 30, 1874. He was preceded by Mr. Hanna, and he by S. H. Evans again. H. H. Evans was postmaster next previous to S. H. Evans. In Deerfield township also is a post-office called Parthenia, which was established through the efforts of the Grandin brothers, in the summer of 1886. Here these gentlemen have a saw and planing-mill, which they have been successfully operating twelve or fifteen years. The members of the Colonel George A. Cobham Post 311, G. A. R., and the citizens of Tidioute and vicinity are justly proud of one of the finest soldiers' monuments in this part of the State. It was erected mainly through the efforts of Major Curtis and others in this neighborhood, in the spring of 1885, and dedicated on Memorial Day of that year. It stands in the center of a plot of ground set apart for the purpose years ago by the projectors, in the cerae- " tery. The circle is about sixty feet in diameter, and is finely graded from the circumference up to the monument. The structure itself is imposing and beautiful. It is from the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Conn., Spring Creek Township. 467 and is built of white bronze, one of the most durable substances known. Its height from base to top is sixteen feet and eight inches, while the base stands about four feet above the surrounding ground. The base is fifty-two inches square. On the several tablets are appropriate inscriptions, among them being the names of the following members of Company F, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers, killed in action, or from the effects of wounds received r O. S. Brown, JohnT. Roberts, Darius W. Hunter, George W. Alcorn, R. J. Ar- ters, Thomas Acocks, Sullivan Baker, J. C. Brennesholz, Shambert Chambers, Stephen Chambers, Philemon Clark, J. Clonay, Thomas Clark, Daniel Cochran, John J. Gorman, Charles W. Grove, Leonard Horn, David E. Jones, Ransom Kendall, Jesse Kightlinger, Samuel C. King, Virgil Libby, Joshua Lloyd, Samuel May, Thomas J. Magee, William Magee, George B. Miller, John M. Pearce, Sim- eon J. Roosa, Jacob Rutledge, George W. Shay, William Shreve, Reuben Swag- gart, Charles Thompson, John Thompson, John Tuttle, Hiram K. Young. On the west base are the following names of soldiers in varrious regiments killed in action : One Hundred and Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers — J. R. Brough- ton, jr., Walker H. Hogue, William M. Jones, Charles Miller, John M. Rich- ardson, Samuel Sturgis ; Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania Volunteers — Samuel Rich- ardson ; Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers — Theodore Barber ; Seventy- fourth New York Volunteers — Zachariah Barber, W. H. Brown, Washington Magee, Grandin Magee, James Magee, Amos Magee, Joshua Richardson ; Regiments Unknown — Solomon Cias, Daniel Henderson, John Russell, Frank West. CHAPTER XXXVIII. HISTORY OF SPRING CREEK TOWNSHIP. SPRING CREEK township was formed from the original town of Broken- straw on the 8th day of March, 1821, and was called "Number Two" until the inhabitants named it as it is now known, from the stream which drains its soil. It is in the western tier of townships in the county, and is bounded north by Columbus, east by Pittsfield, south by Eldred, and west by parts of Craw- ford and Erie counties. Brokenstraw and Spring Creeks are the principal streams in the town. The surface is pleasantly diversified by hill and dale, and the soil is fertile and excellently adapted to agriculture, being especially favor- able to dairying and stock raising. Early Settlements. — The first settlement made within the present boundary lines of Spring Creek was on the Brokenstraw Creek, south of the State road, 468 History of Warren County. by Andrew Evers and Elijah Jackson. These two men came to this then wil- derness together on the ioth day of November, 1797, and built the first cabin in the vicinity, a few rods nearly north of the present dwelling house of Will- iam M. Jackson. They came from what was then called Union Mills, now Union City, Pa. Elijah Jackson settled on the farm now owned and occupied by his son, William M., a sketch of whose life appears in later pages of this book. He (Elijah) was born in Litchfield, Conn., on the 27th of October, 1772. When he was a youth his father removed to Ontario county, N. Y., whence, upon attaining his majority, he went to Marietta, Ohio. There he and his companions were in constant apprehension of attacks from hostile Indians, hav- ing to remain in barracks when their business did not demand their presence elsewhere, and at such times being under the protection of an armed guard. Not liking this kind of life, Mr. Jackson came to this part of the country. In this town he remained — on the farm which he was the first to clear and culti- vate — until his death on the 1st of September, 1845. He was worthy of the esteem in which he was universally held. He was a farmer and lumberman of enterprise and honesty, and a citizen of public spirit and fearless utterances. Soon after their arrival, Andrew Evers removed to the farm now owned and occupied by Clinton Horn, where he remained until his death, some thirty- five or forty years afterward. He was of a quiet disposition, industrious and conservative — a good citizen. None of his descendants are now in Spring Creek. He used to say of himself that he was a citizen of the world, for he was born (of Irish parentage) in mid-ocean, in a vessel bound for America. In 1798 George Long, with his wife and three children, came from the Susquehanna, and lived until 1 80 1 jwith Andrew Evers. Then he removed farther down the creek, built a dwelling house, and in 1802 erected the first saw-mill in town, on the site now occupied by the Horn mill. In that year Elijah Jackson made the first clearing on the site of the present village of West Spring Creek, where he was succeeded by Joshua Whitney. About the year 1 800 James Watt came from Lancaster county and settled west of the Broken- straw, on the line afterward occupied by the State road, and on the farm since in the possession of Jamieson & Co. In 1801 Daniel Horn purchased the property of George Long, now called Horn's Siding, and resided there until his death in 1869, at the ripe old age of ninety years. He was born in New Jer- sey, and served as lieutenant in the War of 18 12. He was the third sheriff of Warren county, receiving the election in 1825 ; and in 1830 and again in 1838 was chosen county commissioner. He was a very active and successful business man. He operated a saw-mill on his place as long as he continued in business. His sons Clinton and Stephen are on the old] homestead. Other children are Mrs. D. S. Prentiss, of Garland, and Irwin, Martha and Ellen, in Illinois. O. D., E. D., and D. D. Horn, of this county, are sons of Hiram and grandsons of Daniel Horn. John Horn, a brother of Daniel, was here at the beginning Spring Creek Township. 469 of the present century and lived with Daniel until the time of his marriage, not far from 1830, when he removed to Missouri and passed the remainder of his days. Andrew Evers, Elijah Jackson, and James Watt were the first settlers on the William Miles, now the Irvine farm. Charles McNair and James Culbert- son, bachelors, came in about the same time. Culbertson settled a few rods east of the place of Elijah Jackson, and McNair lived with him. There they built a saw-mill, which continued in operation until they removed to what was, at the time of their going, Deerfield township, in the second quarter of the cent- ury. Robert Boner settled previous to 1 806 in the northern part of the town 1 and built a log grist-mill. His was the first grist-mill in town. He was a good business man and public spirited, and it was a loss to Spring Creek that he remained here but two or three years. The first list of taxables of the town, made out in 1822, reveals the names of the settlers who had made this town their home previous to that time, and attests that they were men of the right sort to open a new country — men of nerve and courage, who were willing to suffer hardships and privations for the promised reward of a settled habitation, where a competence might with dili- gent application be obtained ; men of enterprise and foresight sufficient to see the benefits of living in a country covered with such valuable timber, and to take advantage of their sagacity. Such of them as remained in town long enough to identify themselves with its history are mentioned in the paragraphs immediately following, in alphabetical order : Horace B. Abbey was something of a lumberman, who settled about the year 1 82 1 a little southwest of the site of West Spring Creek. As early as 1840 he removed southward. James Benson was a farmer and commenced clearing a farm just north of the present place of William M. Jackson. He was there only five or six years, however, after which he went to Waterford, Pa., where a num- ber of his descendants are now living. Daniel Boardman came to Spring Creek in 1 82 1, and lived until about the year 1850 next to the farm settled by Benson. He was a farmer, and did not spend much time or money in the lumber busi- ness. Luther Chase came about the same time and lived in the same neigh- borhood, but went to Columbus soon after this time. He was a farmer and lumberman, and a man of unusual enterprise. Daniel Corbet is mentioned in this list, though all accounts of his settlement agree that he had gone to Co- lumbus before this time. He was the first settler on the farm afterward occu- pied by Benson and Chase. It is probable that he is mentioned at this time as a property owner, not as a resident. Robert Donaldson, also named in this list, did not become a resident until about 1830. He was born in Ireland in 1780, and settled not far from 1820 near Wrightsville, in this county, and soon after moved to Pittsfield. He was largely engaged in the farming and lumbering interests, was a man of great 47° History of Warren County. sagacity and energy, and was furthermore honest and fair in all his dealings. He was an unwavering Democrat. He owned about 900 acres of land, embrac- ing the entire site of the present village of Spring Creek, having purchased the property in about 1830 from Thomas C. Rockhill, jr., of Philadelphia. He died in October, 1868, a short time after he had divided his property among his four sons, Daniel, Irvin, David and Wilson — all but the last of whom are yet living. Robert Donaldson also had two daughters — Eleanor and Cordelia, both of whom are now living ; the former the wife of William H. Deming, the latter Mrs. Levi Leonard. Daniel Donaldson, now a resident of Spring Creek village, was born on what is known as the James Cotton farm, near Wrightsville, on the 2d of October, 1824, and came to Spring Creek with his father. John Jobes was a resident of Spring Creek at an early day and worked in saw-mills. After a number of years he procured a farm about half a mile east of Irvine's Four Corners, where he passed the rest of his life, dying at the ad- vanced age of about ninety years, in 1885. One son, Samuel, and one daugh- ter, Mary, wife of William Patchen, survive him. Harris Lasure was a respect- able factotum of his town, and resided for a time on the western part of the farm occupied at the same time by James Benson. He left town before 1840, and died at Jamestown. His father-in-law, Abner Sherwin, owned a grist- mill on the western part of the William Miles farm at a very early date. Will- iam Miles was never, properly speaking, a resident of Spring Creek, though he was an extensive land owner here. The farms occupied by James Benson, Lu- ther Chase, and his nearest neighbors were all leased of William Miles, who also operated a large saw-mill in town. Eleazer Ogden resided for a short time on the William Miles farm, but left town as early as 1830. James Tubbs married the eldest sister of William M. Jackson ; lived here many years, and died near the center of the town on the 15th of May, 1859. Thomas W. Tubbs, who married another daughter of Elijah Jackson, was a resident of Spring Creek before the formation of the township. After a long residence here he removed to Crawford county, where he died on the 16th of December, 188 1. Marcus Turner was an early settler in the northern part of the town, and was a farmer and lumberman. After a residence here of but a few years he removed in the direction of Fredonia, N. Y., where he died. Alexander Watt, a brother of Mrs. Elijah Jackson, was an early settler on the place next east of Elijah Jackson, where he died on the 2d of February, 1866. One daughter, Mrs. Hannah Mallery, now lives in town. Converse B. White, an eccentric man, engaged in farming and lumbering about one and a half miles east of West Spring Creek. His family are all gone. He emigrated south under peculiar circumstances and there met his death. Joshua Whitney, already mentioned, worked for some time in saw-mills, and left town not far from the year 1835. He afterward married and died in Crawford county. This ends the list of set- lers previous to 1822. Spring Creek Township. 47 l One or two of the most worthy of the early settlers of Spring Creek remain to be mentioned, however. George Yager was a man so invaluable to his town that a chapter would indeed be incomplete that did not give some of the incidents of his life and character. In the year 1825, when he was about twenty-nine years of age, he, with his wife Clarissa, nee Armitage, and only daughter, Sarah, moved from Otsego county in the State of New York to this township, and settled on the place now belonging to the estate of Michael C. Smith. At that time the country was still an almost unbroken wilderness, and luxuries or even conveniences were hardly attainable. His early training had made him conversant with the labors of husbandry, and being a man of tireless industry and perseverance, these were not to him insurmountable obstacles. Both early and late he toiled, his energy seeming to increase by what it fed on. His farm is one of the most fertile tracts in this section of the State. He was the first postmaster in the town. He was a man of rare virtue and moral worth, intelligent, high-minded, patriotic, firm but tolerant in his opinions, honest, devoted to his church and party. He died in 1 881, at the age of eighty- five years. His wife survives him and is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Cummings, at the advanced age of eighty- seven years, in the enjoyment of good health. N. P. Cummings, who married Sarah, daughter of George Yager, in 1837, was born in Bristol county, Mass., in 1813. He came to Spring Creek in 1835. Four children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Cummings, two of whom, George D. and Mary A., are yet living. George D. Cummings was born in Spring Creek on the 17th of August, 1842. He married Sue Woodbury, of Pittsfield township, in September, 1868, and is now a respected resident of West Spring Creek. N. P. Cummings left the old homestead (now belonging to the estate of Michael C. Smith, as before stated) and came to West Spring Creek in 1 869, where he has for a good part of the time since operated the grist-mill. Another prominent factor in the development of the town was Josiah Dem- ing, who was born in Amsterdam, N. Y., on the 17th of November, 1791, and died in Spring Creek on the 8th of January, 1871. He came to Spring Creek from Unadilla, N. Y., in February, 1838, and purchased the farm of Aaron Rose, embracing the present site of West Spring Creek and the farm now owned and occupied by his son, J. O. Deming. This piece of land contained 149 acres, and !at that time there had been but one village lot measured and sold off — the one now occupied by Curtis Johnson. Mr. Deming divided his land into village lots and deliberately started the construction of a village. He was a gunsmith by trade, and he at once opened a gun-shop, a saw-mill, and a grist-mill. This is the same grist-mill now owned and operated by Mr. Cummings. Mr. Deming { r also built the first hotel in town at that place, and was a most liberal contributor toward the building of the Union Church edifice 472 History of Warren County. now owned by the Congregationalists. In 1 866 he resigned his business into the hands of his children. His wife was Asenath Mudge. They had five sons and five daughters, of whom four sons and four daughter are now living. E. L. Deming, the eldest, was born August i, 1813, and died in February, 1885 ; Julia A., now Mrs. Presho, of Yankton, Dak., was born May 10, 1815 ; Will- iam H. was born January 1, 1817, and now resides at Erie; Salgy Amelia, now Mrs. J. P. Mather, of Council Grove, Kan., was born December 24, 1820; Sally Mailla, born March 3, 1819, died April 1, 1819 ; Euphemia J., born March 20, 1823, married Abijah Morrison, of Warren, and died about fifteen years ago; Loton Lamont, born April 17, 1825, is in Charleston, Ark.; Josiah Ogden, born December 10, 1827, now lives on the old homestead in West Spring Creek; Frances Jane, born May 4, 1830, is now Mrs. Harvey Thomp- son, of Charleston, Ark.; Mary Amanda, born December 3, 183 1, is now the wife^of Daniel Donaldson, at Spring Creek village ; and Andrew Jackson, born December 25, 1834, now lives at West Spring Creek. The mother of these children, whose maiden name was Mudge, was descended from an English family who emigrated to this country in Puritan times, the first of the name on the American continent being Joseph Mudge, one of the first and most pow- erful Methodist preachers in the country. At the time that Josiah Deming came to West Spring Creek there was practically no village there. The only buildings on the ground now occupied by the village were a blacksmith shop and three dwelling houses, occupied re- spectively by Charles McGlashen, Eleazer Aken, and Josiah Deming. The village of Spring Creek was still later in birth, no sign of such a place being detectable in 1830, and for years thereafter Robert Donaldson being the only inhabitant of its site. The village did not assume the appearance of its pres- ent thrift until the railroad was opened. The first family to move in after that event was that of Baldwin Willis, who was division boss on this division of the road. His house stood on the site of the present residence of A. W. Jackson. The first station agent here was David Donaldson. The first store in the vil- lage was the grocery of Irvin Donaldson, where the drug store now is. Next was the store of Willis & Jackson, then of David Slasher, now of Erie, and next the store of William G. Garcelon. The first postmaster in Spring Creek village was David Donaldson, who was appointed by President Buchanan. Previous to that time William Garcelon had been postmaster at the mouth of Spring Creek, and when he came to this village, during Lincoln's administra- tion he succeeded Donaldson. At his death in 1876 P. M. Garcelon received the appointment. The present incumbent is Dr. W. O. Gilson. The first tavern in Spring Creek village was opened by James Johnson about i860, who after some five or six years sold the property to its present owner, Warren Fuller. It is now a private house. Present Business Interests. — The oldest saw- mill now in operation in town Spring Creek Township. 475 is that of Curtis Johnson, which is operated by steam. E. B. Hyde also owns a water power mill, which has been busy for more than twenty years. Davis, Jones & White operate a steam saw-mill, which has been in their possession a number of years. It was originally built by William H. Deming on another site, and removed to its present site. Wesley Nichols is the proprietor of a steam shingle-mill, a business with which he has been connected for some fif- teen years. Bates & Phillis started a steam saw- mill about five years ago, which is now owned and operated by the junior partner of the former firm, Jam.es Phillis. The tannery, now so successfully operated by Fred Beck, was built by him some fifteen years ago. The site of the present tannery of J. G. Tyler, at West Spring Creek, was first occupied by a tannery shortly previous to 1870, owned by Yennie & Manzer. It burned in December, 1871, and about twelve years ago the present building was erected by N. P. Cummings and F. A. Butterfield, under the firm name of Cummings & Butterfield. They were suc- ceeded in the ownership of this property by McConnell & Hermens, by Tyler & McConnell, and the last- mentioned firm by the present owner. The first store at West Spring Creek was opened by Charles McGlashen in 1836. There is now but one store in this village. It was started by George Cummings in January, 1877. In February, 1884, Mr. Cummings sold out to Myers & Stanley. M. A. Myers himself now owns the property and conducts the business. The first postmaster in the township was George Yager, who received the appointment in 1828, the office then having the name of Spring Creek. While he was postmaster the mail was distributed at his house. At that time the mail was carried on horseback, one of the routes being from Titusville, through Columbus, and another from Meadville to Jamestown. Previous to the year 1837 the office was removed to the bridge on the State road (which road was opened 18 18-19), and it appears that George F. Eldred was appointed post- master. From there Mr. Garcelon carried the office to the village of Spring Creek, -as before stated. The first postmaster at West Spring Creek was Nathaniel Wood, a native of Vermont, who was appointed by President Pierce about 1854 or 1855. In the mean time the store and mill property which had in 1837 belonged to Charles McGlashen had, about 1842, been sold to Abra- ham Woodin. The present owner of the property, Curtis Johnson, obtained his title about 1862. William H. Deming succeeded Wood as postmaster under Buchanan, and during the first term of President Lincoln gave place to his father, Josiah Deming. The office was kept in their store while it was in their family, the store having been first opened about 1850. This store is now occupied as a dwelling house by N. P. Cummings, who bought it in i860 the same year in which he acquired title to the grist-mill. From the date of his appointment to that of his death, Josiah Deming remained postmaster at 474 History of Warren County. West Spring Creek, when he was succeeded by the present official, W. H. Babcock. There is now no hotel at West Spring Creek, and but one at Spring Creek village, called the Cottage Hotel. It was opened six or seven years ago by Caroline Donaldson, widow of Wilson Donaldson, and was continued by her son, Frederick R. Donaldson, the present proprietor, after the spring of 1884. Of the stores now open in Spring Creek village, that of P. M. Garcelon & Co. (the Co. being J. H. Donaldson) is the oldest. It was started in 1868 by W. G. Garcelon, brother of the senior member of the present firm. Brom 1 87 1 to 1876 W. G. and P. M. Garcelon were partners in the business. From that year until the fall of 1885 P. M. Garcelon was sole proprietor of the trade, the growing demands of the trade, however, then compelling him to take into his business confidence Mr. Donaldson. They carry a general stock valued at about six thousand dollars. William Baker began to deal in general merchandise at West Spring Creek about fifteen years ago. In 1878 he removed to Spring Creek village, and in the fall of 1 88 1 erected his present commodious store building. The trade in drugs and" medicines now controlled by Dr. W. O. Gilson and C. D. Baker, under the firm style of Gilson & Baker, was established by H. P. Hamilton. After a brief period of trade, Hamilton sold out to Dr. S. C. Diefendorf about 1883. In 1884 J. D. Shannon became proprietor of the business, and in the fall of 1885 sold his interests to the present firm. Physicians, Past and Present. — The first physician to exercise the myster- ies of Esculapius in Spring Creek was Dr. Fitch, of Columbus, who was soon assisted without his own consent by Dr. Eaton, of Concord, Pa. One Dr. Cornell was the first resident physician in the township, and dwelt at West Spring Creek for two or three years previous to 1840. About that time Dr. Southard Wood came to West Spring Creek from Crawford county, and after a residence and practice there of many years he removed to Spartansburg, Pa., where he died. His remains, however, were buried in this township, where was, before, the last of earth of his first wife. Dr. Samuel Rogers also re- moved at a comparatively early day from Sugar Grove to West Spring Creek and remained several years. The first physician to reside at the railroad sta- tion was Dr. Elias Baker, who came from Concord, Pa., about 1874, and after a stay of two years returned to Concord. Dr. Diefendorf then sojourned here for a brief time, and was succeeded by the present physician of the place. Dr. W. O. Gilson was born at Titusville, Pa., on the 8th of January, 1858. There he received his education, and he studied medicine there under the guidance of Dr. W. A. Baker. He then attended lectures at the Western Reserve University, of Cleveland, O., and in February, 1883, received his pro- fessional diploma from the medical department of that institution. He came at once to Spring Creek and began to practice. In the fall of 1885 he was Kinzua Township. 475 appointed postmaster at Spring Creek, and at that time began his career as a druggist. He married in June, 1885, Jessie, daughter of William Baker. The only other physician in town is Dr. W. L. Harvey, who practices at East Branch. Schools and Churches. — The first school in this township was taught by Daniel Jones in 1804 and 1805, in a log house at the mouth of Spring Creek. The next was taught by Daniel Horn in 1809 and 18 10. All the schools were supported by subscription until 1834. There are now fourteen schools in the township, those at the two villages each having two departments. The average attendance for the whole township is about 400. The first church organized in town was the Congregational, which was formed at West Spring Creek in 1847, an d the church edifice, the first in town, was then erected. The Methodist Episcopal Church edifice at that place was dedicated in 1875. At Spring Creek village a Congregational house of wor- ship was erected about five years ago, the services therein now being con- ducted by Rev. A. B. Sherk, the pastor at West Spring Creek. The Methodist denomination also erected a house of worship at Spring Creek in 1886, the site being donated by D. H. Donaldson. The pastor of this church is Rev. A. S. M. Hopkins. CHAPTER XXXIX HISTORY OF KINZUA TOWNSHIP. KINZUA township lies on the eastern border of Warren county, and is bounded north by Allegheny River, separating it from the townships of Glade and Elk, east by Corydon and McKean county, south by Sheffield, and west by Mead. It is a good farming town, the soil being composed of a sandy loam along the streams and on Kinzua Flat. The fruits and cereals are raised here in goodly quantities, while a prosperous dairying interest has sprung up in the last few years, which adds much to the agricultural growth of the town- ship. Kinzua was one of the seven towns in Warren county, the organization of which was effected on the 8th of March, 1821, and was first called "Num- ber Eight." Its name, it is said, is of Indian origin, the word meaning fish. This section of the country was in early times one of the favorite resorts of the Indians during the fishing seasons, who bestowed upon it the peculiar title which has been adopted by their civilized successors. Early Settlements. — The original industry here was identical with that of all the towns in Western Pennsylvania, which could find water channels to the 31 476 History of Warren County. great lumber markets of early days — viz., lumbering. About the year 1800 a number of energetic and enterprising men procured the right to strip these lands of their timber for the purpose of rafting it south to Pittsburgh, Cincin- nati, and the other markets on the great rivers that pour their waters into the Gulf of Mexico. Among these men (who came then or later) were John Dick- son, who lived on the west side of Kinzua Creek, a little south of the present residence of William English, our informant. Dickson, though mentioned first, could not have attained prominence until some years after 1800, as he lived in town until within five or six years. He was also a great hunter and fisherman, and cultivated a farm. The first permanent settler in Kinzua, however, was James Morrison, who settled on Morrison's Island in 1801. He was soon followed by Benjamin Marsh, Seaman, Fisher, and others. Jeremiah Morrison, who is mentioned in the list of taxables of Warren county for 1806, lived for a time in Kinzua, removed to Cincinnati, and came again to this town. His was a locomotive disposition. He died a number of years ago in a canoe, on the way to Tidioute from Kinzua. Abijah Maddock came here from Cincinnati at a very early day, and began lumbering on the Indian reservation with John English. Although he was thus identified, in a manner, with the town, he can hardly be deemed a resident. He was always going and coming after and with rafts of lumber for the south. One of his sisters was married to James Morrison. Galen Maddock was a brother of Abijah, and was connected with this town in the same business. He died in McKean about thirty years ago. Between the date of the opening of the country during the first ten years of the present century, and the setting off and formation of this township in 1 82 1, a considerable immigration had poured into this part of the country, and affairs looked favorable for the establishment of a prosperous community. Among those whose names appear in the list of 1822 are the following: George Blacksnake owned property here in some manner, though he was an Indian chief of the Seneca tribe, and resided on the reservation at Cold Spring. In 1 82 1 John Campbell lived on the west side of Allegheny River, but soon after removed to Kinzua and settled on the west side of Kinzua Creek, in the southeast part of the town. He was a farmer, lumberman, etc., and was fond of hunting. He died some ten or twelve years ago. His widow, it is said, still lives at the ripe old age of one hundred years, with her son, in Lud- low, McKean county. Jacob Hook was one of the most influential men of his day. He resided on the strip of land which was part of Kinzua until Mead was formed, when it became a part of that township. Hook was very wealthy, engaging largely in the lumber business, and erecting a number of extensive saw-mills. He died in Pittsburgh while there on business. Kinzua Township. 477 Jacob Hamlin, a farmer, occupied at. this time the site of the present village of Kinzua, his house standing near the center. He was an uncle of William English. He removed from here to Chautauqua county, in the State of New York, and after several other removals settled in Michigan, the place of his death. Andrew Marsh, a single man, owned and occupied a good farm in the northeast part of the town, on Kinzua Flat. He was not, like so many other farmers of this county at that day, interested in the lumbering trade, but attended strictly to his agricultural occupation, and was successful. He died there. Benjamin Marsh, a half-brother of Andrew, lived very early on Kinzua Flat, and kept the first store, perhaps, in that part of the country. He after- ward became a resident of Elk township. He was drowned between the mouth of Kinzua Creek and Warren. He was a farmer and lumberman. James Morrison, the first settler on what is still known as Morrison's Island, at the mouth of Kinzua Creek, owned the entire island, and on it cultivated an extensive farm. He died there as early, probably, as 1840. Among his. sons were Abel, Elijah, and William. Jeremiah, who was mentioned in the- first paragraphs of this chapter, was a nephew of James. Samuel Morrison- was an early lumberman, and lived in McKean county, at the head of Kinzua. Flat. At a later time he settled on about the site of the railroad station im Kinzua, where he died about thirty years ago. Several of his children are here at the present time. James Sherley lived for a number of years with Benjamin Marsh, after which he removed to Glade township. There he reared a large family, and there he died. These are only a few of the names of settlers mentioned in 1822, but they are the most prominent of those who owned property here at that time, and who remained in town long enough to be remembered by the older inhabitants of the present day. There were others who afterward achieved prominence, who at this time resided in town, but had not risen to the position of property- holders. Of these one of the most prominent was Smith Labree, who was born at Brintwood, Exeter county, N. H, on the 24th of June, 1797, came to Kinzua when he was eighteen years of age, and began to work for Jacob Hook. In one year he returned to New Hampshire, and acted in the service of his father one year. Again he came to Kinzua, and engaged in lumbering with John English. Soon after this he purchased of Archibald Tanner a large tract of land, which embraced nearly the entire site of the present village of Kinzua. His first house stood on the lot now occupied by that of Emory Lyle. In addition to his own lumber interests he acted as pilot for others and made frequent trips down the Allegheny River, once going as far as Natchez, Miss. The habit in those days was to take down on the raft a large canoe, 478 History of Warren County. and bring it back well filled with provisions. This he did on about every trip. On the 31st of October, 1822, he married Susannah, daughter of Comfort Hamlin. Following are the names of his children, together with the dates of their birth, and of the deaths of those who have died : Sally, born December 27, 1824, died July 28, 1825 ; Adaline, born Decem- ber 22, 1829, died August 4, 1833 ; Rosina, born March 26, 1832, died July 7, 1863; Rosetta, born June 19, 1834, now the wife of J. O. McManus, of Kinzua; Loren, born April 20, 1837, died July 27, 1839; Loren, born No- vember 28, 1840, married Mary H. Nett, of Fayetteville, Pa., December 11, 1865, and now resides in Kinzua; Archibald, born September 17, 1846, died April 9, 1 87 1. Smith Labree died on the 27th of November, i860, and was followed by his widow on the 29th of March, 1867. His son Loren, who now owns a part of the old estate, has passed his life thus far in his native place, excepting a period of two years and nine months, which he passed in the service of the Union cause during the Rebellion. He served under Captain D. W. C. James, of Warren, in the last company of volunteer infantry raised in the State, and was also in the last volunteer battery raised in the State, under Captain William Barrows. His civil occupation ' has always been that of a successful farmer. In politics he has been a consistent member of the Republican party, until the principles of the Prohibition party absorbed his political faith. William English, from whom the writer has obtained much of the informa- tion concerning the early settlers of this township, was born in Lycoming county, Pa., on the 3d day of March, 18 18. He was the son of John and Mary English, who were reared in the county of his birth. John English brought his family to Kinzua in the year 1821, and two years later settled on the place still occupied by his son William. John English was an honorable and successful farmer, and was also engaged to some extent in the lumber bus- iness. He died in 1868, and in five weeks was followed by his widow. In 1846 William English married Laura E. Parmenter, of Chautauqua county, N. Y., who has passed an harmonious period of forty years with her husband. They have seven children living — viz : Mary Ella, wife of Thomas Fullerton ; Orren, Solon, George W., Charles Fletcher, Alice L, wife of Hector Strong, and John, who is the only one remaining at the home of his parents. Rice English, now a resident of Kinzua, is a brother of William. In 1 83 1 Claudius English, an uncle of William, came to Kinzua and settled on the site of the village, and passed the remainder of his days within a mile of his first settlement. At the time of the formation of the township there were within its limits but one or two patches of clearing, besides the already large clearing on Mor- rison's Island, which is said by some to have been the work of Indians long before the arrival of the white man. William Morrison had a small piece Kinzua Township. 479 cleared on Kinzua Flat, these two being the only clearings worthy of the name. There was not a road in town, the only means of travel or transportation being furnished by the streams and canoes. Wild beasts abounded — bears, deer, wolves ; while rattlesnakes added the terrors of their presence to diminish the comfort of the human intruders. Wolves were so numerous that it was prac- tically impossible to keep sheep. There was even danger in the necessary custom of letting the cows run in the woods, with no other safeguard against loss than the tintinnabulating cow-bells which depended from their throats. There was not a sign or suspicion of a village. The inhabitants, few and far between, were not accommodated with the convenience of a store and delivery wagons, the nearest place in which to purchase goods and the necessary pro- visions of life being at what was then called a store, kept by Benjamin Marsh, just over the line, in Corydon. Most of the trade of the town, however, was given to Warren, whither the people made frequent trips in canoes. During the rafting seasons, also, it was the custom to bring large quantities of pro- visions from Pittsburgh by canoe. There was no grist-mill here, the grain being taken to Warren for grinding. It was not long after this that John English, Smith Labree, Comfort Hamlin, and John Hamlin built a grist and saw- mill near the site of the present railroad station, and on the ground now covered by the mill of H. A. Jamieson. These mills were the first erected within the present limits of the town, excepting the five mills of Jacob Hook, which stood on the strip afterward set off to Mead township. As early as 1828 John Campbell, James Stewart, and Robert Arthur, all of whom had married daughters of Martin Reese, built a saw-mill in the southwestern part of the town, and operated it until it wore out. Samuel Campbell, son of John, rebuilt it, and operated it until it went down, some ten or twelve years ago. The next mill was built several years later by Andrew Merritt and Robert Campbell about a mile above the mill last mentioned, and near the McKean county line. Then a number of years later still John L. English and Sylvester Strong erected another mill a considerable distance below the John Campbell mill, on Kinzua Creek. About this time Stephen and Jesse Morrison, sons of Samuel, built a saw-mill on the Allegheny River, near the head of Morrison's Island; but this and all the other mills have long since gone to decay, and with the exception of the one first mentioned, which occupied the present site of H. A. Jamieson's mill, their places know them no more. The grist-mill was operated first by John English, then by Anthony Courson and others, until a few years ago Denton & Chattle assumed management and continued their joint labors for some time. Their successor, the present occupant, W. H. Hoxie, is worthy of his precession. The Village. — Until as late as 1850 the town was without the convenience of a business center of any sort. The first settlers directly on the site of the village of Kinzua were Jacob and Comfort Hamlin, Comfort Knapp, and Smith 480 History of Warren County. Labree. Until that time there was no tavern in town, unless the name be ap- plied to the house of Smith Labree, which, during the rafting seasons, was thrown open for their entertainment, and afforded all the comforts, but none of the extraordinary privileges of a licensed tavern. The principal credit of building up the village belongs undoubtedly to Sterling Green. He was the eldest of ten children of Seth and Sarah Jane (Portman) Green, and was born in Pine Grove, Pa., in the year 1816. His father came from Massachusetts and settled in Pine Grove about 1813, and married Miss Portman in 1815. The family removed to the head of Kinzua Flat, in Corydon, where occurred the death of Seth Green in August, 1848. Sterling went to Warren, and was for a time actively engaged in the lumber business. In 1848-49 he kept the Mansion House. In 1849, when he came to Kinzua, he found the site of the village nothing but a farm in the hands of Smith Labree. This land he purchased, and immediately laid it out into vil- lage lots, kept the first store, and built the first hotel, the Kinzua House, in 185 1, and in this way became the author of the village. The year 1851, the. author has been told, is memorable from the laughable occurrence of a dispute within the town limits in the fall of that year. The menagerie of G. C. Quick & Co., en route from Warren to Smethport, was ad- mitted to the privilege (?) of performing and exhibiting to the people of Kinzua and vicinity. The proprietor, however, discouraged at the small num- ber that gathered to see his " greatest show on earth," concluded to move on without giving the exhibition. The boys of the neighborhood insisted upon his fulfilling his contract, but nevertheless he began packing his impedimenta preparatory for departure. He had not proceeded far into the wild road that led from the town before he discovered " the boys " who had opposed his go- ing felling trees across his path. They declared that unless the procession faced about and satisfied the demands of the spectators, they would fill the road with trees from Kinzua to Smethport. The proprietor, considering dis- cretion the better part of valor, yielded to their somewhat peremptory impor- tunities, pitched his tent, performed his agreement, and was permitted to go on his way unmolested. There are undoubtedly many of those " boys " now living in Kinzua, who recall the affair with a smile of satisfaction. Present Business Interests. — Probably no town in the county has received more unmitigated benefit from the opening of a railroad through its borders than has Kinzua. It has created a market for all the products of the town, and has been greatly instrumental in increasing the population of the village. The oldest mill and also the oldest mill site, as we have seen, in town is now owned by H. A. Jamieson, of Warren. Mr. Jamieson became the owner of this property in 1863, and has kept the mill in uninterrupted operation ever since. The grist-mill of W. H. Hoxie has been mentioned. The present pro- prietor has owned the mill, at the present writing, something over a year. The Kinzua Township. 481 handle-factory of Mason Sheldon was started about four years ago, as was also the oar-factory of J. W. Neily. The oldest hotel in town is the Kinzua House, which was erected in 185 1 by Sterling Green. Mr. Green kept the house himself for twenty years, and has been followed successively by Mclntyre & Langworthy, Eugene Marsh, William Fogies, Joseph Clendenning, Joseph Hale, and the present landlord, T. W. Dempsey, who came into the house more than two years ago. The next hotel was the Maple Shade, which A. T. Banks has kept since June, 1886, but which was first opened a number of years ago by J. H. Williams. Follow- ing Williams and preceding the present proprietor was L. W. Siggins. The merchant who has been longest in continuous trade in town is John H. King, who first opened a store here in 1870. The building which he now occupies was built by him about four years ago. Mr. King carries stock worth about $7,000. Sterling Green has dealt in general merchandise in Kinzua village in all about ten years, though he has occupied the present building only since the opening of the railroad and the oil excitement, at which 'time he caused its construction. E. A. Van Scoy and G. W. Morehouse, under the style of E. A. Van Scoy & Co., erected the store building they now occupy as dealers in hardware in 1880, just previous to the opening of the railroad. They have a good trade, carrying stock valued at about $6,500. J. Tate has dealt in general merchandise about five years. D. G. Blackman built the store which he now occupies for mercantile pur- poses in 1882, and after renting it for one year to William Wright, came into the building himself. His stock is estimated to be worth about $3,000. In August, 1883, J. W. Green opened a jewelry and drug store here, and a year later the business was enlarged by the addition of S. Green. The firm name is now S. Green & Co. The harness shop of S. Norton & Co. (S. Norton and Norton Cardot) was established in the fall of 1885. These gentlemen also have shop in Sinclair- ville, N. Y. The first resident physician in town was Dr. Nichols, who practiced here a number of years following about 1850. Before his settlement in town the inhabi- tants were accustomed to call their physicians from Warren, whither they went on floats. One of the oldest inhabitants has informed the writer that he once went to Warren for a doctor in the night, when the darkness was so intense that he could not see the hills on either side of the stream, nor even distinguish the sides of his float. After Dr. Nichols came Dr. Hector Galloway, a single man. who, in connection with business as an Esculapian minister, taught school. He was here four or five years. Dr. Thomas Eddy then came, not far from 1870, and has been here ever since. Dr. J. J. Knapp, who was born in Farmington, 482 History of Warren County. this county, on the 15th of June, 1854, and was graduated in the spring of 1 88 1 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, came to Kin- zua on the last day of March, 1881. Postmasters. — The first postmaster in town was probably Benjamin Marsh, who had his office at his house on Kinzua Flat. Jonathan Marsh then held the office for a time, and was succeeded by Hiram Gillman. Sterling Green received the first appointment after the removal of the office to the village, or rather, he removed the office to the village. He was postmaster for eighteen years. The present incumbent is Mrs. Rose Murray, who owes her position to the present national administration. Following is a list of the present officers of the township : Commissioners, John Smith, L. S. Strong, J. C. Fuller ; judge of election, E. A. Weagraff ; inspectors of election, Lovel Gibson, G. K. Brown ; school directors, Mason Sheldon, J. W. Springer, Stephen Harris, R. P. Vanarsdale, H. W. Neily, G. W. Moorehouse ; treasurer, James Tate ; justices of the peace, R. H. English, D. G. Blackman ; constable, A. J. Williams ; collector, A. J. Williams; assessor, Frank L. English ; town clerk, Frank L. English ; auditors, S. O. Campbell, E. A. Weagraff, J. H. King; pathmasters, district No. 1, Calvin Stoddard; district No. 2, Marcellus English; district No. 3, George W. English. Educational. — The first settlers in this township, from 1822 to 1825, patron- ized a school kept within the present limits of Corydon. In 1825 a rude structure of logs was the first house used for educational purposes in this town, and was the place where all the schools were kept until 1829. They were sup- ported by subscription. The teachers in this house were Nelson Seaver, Pre- sene Corbin, Sophronia Inglesby, and Hiram Gillmore. In 1829 this house was burned, and for five years schools were kept in several houses, according to the immediate convenience of the citizens. Rice Hamlin, Edward Evans, and Amanda Inglesby were teachers during this period. Since 1834 the town has not been without its regular district schools, which, on the whole, have been very creditable. The village of Kinzua is now graced with a fine school-house which was built in the year 1882, and first opened in the fall of that year. The cost of its construction was something more than $5,000. The first principal was O. J. Gunning, who has been succeeded by Firth, Daniel Reeves, and the present principal, Arthur M. Marsh. The school is conveniently divided into four departments. The average attendance is stated to be about 1 50 pupils. Ecclesiastical. — The only church ever within the present limits of Kinzua township is the Methodist Episcopal Church, which, previous to about 1830, like all the Methodist churches, was accounted as a part of a circuit. Services were formerly held in private houses, barns, and wherever convenience, rather than comfort, dictated. Among the first members of the class formed here were John, Jacob, and Comfort Hamlin, Samuel, James, Elijah, and Levi Mor- rison, John Campbell, and John English, with their wives. About 1848 John Columbus Township. 483 English gave the ground on which at that time the present house of worship and parsonage were erected, at a total cost of about $2,500. The present pastor is Rev. Sampson Dimick. The trustees are Loren Labree, Dr. J. J. Knapp, William English, and others. CHAPTER XL. HISTORY OP COLUMBUS TOWNSHIP. THE territory now comprising for the most part the township of Columbus was formed as early as the 8th of March, 1821, by the name of North- west, and attached to Spring Creek. It was organized as a separate township on the 25th day of May, 1825, and from that time was called Columbus. The first township election was held in the spring of 1826, at the house of Cap- tain David Curtis. It is bounded north by Chautauqua county, N. Y., east by Freehold township in this county, south by Spring Creek, and west by Erie county, Pa. The township is said to have received its name in the following manner: David Curtis, from Sherburne, N. Y., and Kimball Webber, from Columbus, N. Y., both wanted to name the town from their former places of residence, and after much hot debate it was agreed that the person who should furnish the most whisky at election day should have the privilege of naming the new township. Webber offered five gallons and named the township. It cannot be learned at this date what the whole result of the first election was, but it is known that Joseph Munroe had already been commissioned justice of the peace by the governor, and officiated in the organization of the election board ; that Edmund Rowe was the first constable ; and that not all the whisky contributed for the first election was then consumed. Early Settlers. — The earliest settlement of Columbus is not well ascer- tained, and at this period in the history of the township the facts are for the most part irretrievably lost. The first instrument procuring the settlement of this portion of the State was the Holland Land Company. Their agent for this territory was William Miles, and it seems probable that soon after the year 1795, though not before, a few settlers succeeded in building their rude huts and clearing each a small space for cultivation. But their stay was not prolonged. Those settling within the present limits of Columbus, so far as known, were Irvine, Call, Miller, two Vails, Daniel Prosser, Maxwell, and Davis. All their supplies had to be brought from Pittsburgh. They suffered privations which can not be adequately described. They struggled on until the cold season in the years 1 805 and 1 806, when they became discouraged, 484 History of Warren County. abandoned their settlement, and sought a warmer climate and an older com- munity. As an example of the effect of those cold seasons, and the conse- quent failures in crops, the settlers had to pay three dollars per bushel for potatoes and transport them from Union, a distance of fifteen miles. On one of these improvements, as late as 18 14, were the remains of a school-house, with its benches of split logs and desks of slabs, formed with the ax in the most primitive style, and fastened to the log walls with large wooden pins. In 1800 and 1801 Nathaniel Frampton, Daniel Horn, Joseph Phillis, and per- haps one or two others, made settlements here and remained a number of years, some of them until their death. In the spring of 1804 Daniel Corbett came from Lancaster county, Pa., and settled on the farm next east of Sample Flats. He weathered through the cold season, and in 1807 built a saw-mill on his farm, which enabled him to construct warmer houses for him- self and others, and to make a little money by rafting lumber down the river to market. His wife was a daughter of Nathaniel Frampton. Corbett remained on his farm until about 1830, or a little later, when he died. John Sample, another early settler, was a son-in-law of Nathaniel Frampton, and settled as early, probably, as 1800, on the tract in the southwestern part of the town, known at the present day as Sample Flats. Mr. Sample was a good farmer, increased his landed property here, and performed his duties as a citizen and a Democrat until his death, not far from twenty years ago. His grandson, John, lives now in the same neighborhood, and other grandchildren are resi- dents of this township. John Sample, jr., was a bachelor son of John, sr., and owned property adjoining his father's farm. He survived his father a few years. The Prosser clearing, named after Daniel Prosser, was about in the center of the township. Daniel Call settled previous to 1800 on a farm about two miles northwest from what is now the borough of Columbus, the place being still recognized as Call Hill. He went away during the cold season of 1805— 6. Daniel Horn lived as late as 1806 about one mile east of the site of Co- lumbus borough, on the farm now occupied by Elmer Crosby. In 1866 he removed to Spring Creek, where his children still reside. Nathaniel Framp- ton was living in this township with his son-in-law, John Sample, until as late as 1825. Michael and James Hare were settlers, previous to 1 806, about a mile south of the site of Columbus borough. Others of the same surname lived near the site of Corry, but they had all gone away before 1 806. Luther Chase settled between 1806 and 1816 in this township, near the line of Spring Creek. Not far from 1 830, it is stated, he removed to Titus- ville. He was not able to accumulate much property, for he had a large family, and when he settled here he was well along in years. He was not a public man in any sense of the word. Columbus Township. 4 8 S James Phillis lived near the Corbett farm for a time, and after that moved around considerably. He married a daughter of James Irvin, near Wrights- ville. He was something of a lumberman, but much more of a hunter. A number of years after 1825 he went West. He has a number of descendants in the county now. Thomas Tubbs was reared by Daniel Corbett. He was born in Lancaster county, Pa., on the 1 ith of August, 1793, and while a small lad was bound out to Daniel Corbett for a term of twelve years. He has written and published a pamphlet memoir of his life, and describes Corbett as cruel, tyrannical, accustomed to steal and lie. Tubbs died but a few years ago near Titusville. These first settlers obtained their property rights by settlement and resi- dence. About the year 1822 Captain David Curtis, as agent for H. J. Huy- dekopper, the successor of the Holland Land Company, proposed to exchange wild lands in the " Brokenstraw country " for improved lands in Central New York, and being a practical surveyor, he came here with some others from Chenango county, N. Y. Soon after this time he sent Jabez Johnson to this township from Chenango county, who settled at what is now the Center. There he built a house and for some time boarded others who had come, while they were erecting houses of their own. Johnson was born on the 18th of November, 1798; was the first Yankee settler in Columbus, and became well known here before he died, on the 12th of February, 1841. He was a shoe- maker by trade and engaged in that occupation after his settlement until his death. About 1823 Captain Curtis, who was probably the wealthiest of the settlers, came here with his family and took the Johnson farm, upon which he passed the rest of his life. He was born on the 18th of August, 1786, and died July 27, 1832. His wife, Delilah, was born September 5, 1791, and died February 10, 1872. In 1823 others came also, most of them under the influence of Captain Curtis. Among them were Aaron Walton, Porter K. Webber, Edmund Rowe, Julius Merriam, and Levi Boardman, all of them single young men engaged in chopping and clearing. The next year Kimball Webber, Matthias Spencer, Aaron Walton, sr., John Dewey, Luther Mather, and probably William Z. Bush, moved their families from New York State and became permanent set- tlers. From that time on the settlements became rapidly thicker and more modern. When Aaron Walton, sr., came here he found no store in the town- ship except a small affair kept by Porter Webber at his house about a mile east of the present borough limits. By the summer of 1825 the lumber trade had not become a very prominent industry, though it was in full tide farther down the river. The little saw-mill which Daniel Corbett had built on his farm had nearly gone to decay, and there was no other in town except the one then in process of construction by Luther Mather, at the falls, in what is now the bor- ough. Mather was also building a grist-mill — the first in the township — on 486 History of Warren County. the site of the mill now owned by Aaron Francis. Mather lived then in a little sixteen by sixteen plank house on the west side of the Brokenstraw, on land now forming a part of the mill property — then the only house within the area of the present borough. The site of Columbus village was covered with an almost unbroken growth of forest ; there was no bridge across the creek, only a rough log thrown over. There was no post-office, the little mail that was obtained being brought from Warren. There was no physieian here, though Mrs. Aaron Walton had quite a practice in attending families at the birth of children. Luther Mather, who took so active a part in the improvement of the town- ship, especially of the village, was a son of Stephen Mather, and was born in Bennington, Vt, on the 24th of June, 1785. He came to Columbus in March, 1825, from Jefferson county, N. Y., where he had been living for a number of years. Immediately [upon arriving here he became the first settler in, and the founder of, the village of Columbus. He built a part of a saw-mill with a little lumber that he had brought with him, and from that sawed out the rest of his building material. Soon after his brother Daniel and Dr. M. F. C. Fitch bought near him, and in a settlement with J. H. Huydekopper for his services as surveyor, Captain Curtis became possessed of lands opposite and also in- cluded in the site of the jhorough. Daniel Mather and M. F. C. Fitch each donated lands for a public square on the west side of the creek, and Dr. Fitch surveyed and plotted that portion of the borough. David Curtis donated a public square and cemetery on the east side of the creek, and surveyed and plotted that part of the borough. Luther Mather married November 7, 181 1, Gabrielle B. Balmat, then of Jefferson county, N. Y., but a native of Paris, France. She died at Columbus in January, 1881, at the age of nearly ninety years. Her husband had gone before her on the 9th of June, 1842. They had six children, of whom five live — Harriet M., widow of Erastus Pearce, in Crawford county; Jedediah P., now of Council Grove, Kan.; Joseph V., now of Bear Lake, in this county; Eliza M., widow of Loren Pearce, now in Columbus, and Arvilla A., now wife of H. A. Baker, and residing in Corry, Pa. Among the settlers who came to Columbus during that flood-tide of immi- gration preceding 1830 was Solomon Dutton. He was born in New Hamp- shire in 1804, of Richard and Sarah (Grant) Dutton, grew to manhood in Co- lumbus, Chenango county, N. Y., and in 1829 married Rebecca Rice and re- moved to this township, where he died in 1857, and was followed by his widow in 1876. They had a family of four children — Sarah E., Adelia A., Hiram R., who died in infancy, and Richard D. After he came to this place he taught two terms of school in a log building in the district now called the center school district. He was an acting justice of the peace for more than twenty-one years, school director several years, and has held the office of assessor. It is said Columbus Township. . 487 that he officiated at the marriage of more than fifty couples. By occupation he was a farmer. L. C. Baker, who lives here now, came to Columbus in 1837, from Catta- raugus county, N. Y., though originally from Chenango county, with his father, Ira, who settled in the southern portion of the township and there died in 1885. D. C. Blair came with his step-father, John Judson, in 1841, and settled in the village, first on the east and soon after on the west side of the creek. Judson died in 1878. He was for years a prominent merchant of the town, associate judge of the county, and in other respects a well-known public man and a life- long Democrat. Although he came here from Bradford county, Pa., he was originally from Madison county, N. Y. Ira Baker was a farmer of large prop- erty and was also a very active man. Messrs. Baker and Blair have furnished the following information concerning the growth of business interests in the ' village and townships since their recollection, and from tradition : " As before stated, the first store in town was kept by Porter Webber. Perhaps the first in the village was kept by William Jackman, on the site now occupied by the store of Baker & Co. He moved to Illinois in 1 846 and died there. For a year or two, about 1843-44 an d 1845, a peculiar industry was carried on here, viz., the manufacture of fanning-mills by John Smith, Charles Anderson, and one or two others ; but it never became very flourishing. Anderson was a great inventor, and only a few years previous to this had invented a new steam engine for propelling boats. He built a steamer here and took it down the river to Beaver for the machinery, but his invention there failed. By 1 840 the village had become at least as large as it now is. At this time Judson & King were the principal merchants in the village and township, their store standing just west of the grist-mill. Besides dealing in general merchandise they bought and sold lumber and shingles, which were then practically a legal tender. About 1848 they sold out to Enfield Leach and Alfred Willoughby. Leach kept the store five or six years and was succeeded by Willoughby. Morillo Woodworth became then a partner of Willoughby, and this firm kept up the business until about 1861. About 1850 Davis Jones and Charles Hewitt opened a store on the site of Yates & Smith's present store, and after some three years were succeeded by - Dyer Elderkin and William Walker. They wound up the business in two or three years. The present building was erected by D. A. Dewey in 1871. About 1876 he was followed by Cyrus Blakeslee, who in turn sold out to George F. Yates. D. C. & G. Blair, brothers, opened a store in a building still standing just west of the hotel about 185 1, and traded in it for nineteen years. Upon the retirement at that time of George Blair, D. C. Blair took his son-in-law, E. S. Royce, into partnership with him, which continued some three years. Royce then purchased the business and property and engaged in it for four years, 488 History of Warren County. when he sold out also to Mr. Yates. For about the fifteen years following 1850, the other part of the building occupied, as last stated, was occupied suc- cessively by D. A. Dewey, Richard Dewey, A. J. Atherly, G. V. N. Yates, Muzzy, Horn & Cady, and Muzzy, Howard & Mallett, the last-named firm finally closing out. In 1867 D. A. Dewey and D. H. Cady started a store " on the bridge " on the west side of the creek, and kept it about two years, after which Dewey continued it alone until 1871. The saw-mill which Luther Mather built in 1825 stood on the east side of the creek until about 1840, when it was rebuilt on the west side, above the grist-mill. The grist-mill has been many times rebuilt. About 1830, or a little later, Mather moved about a mile down the creek, and there erected a saw-mill on the site of the present mill of Russell Clark, and remained there until his death. Meantime William Jackman had succeeded him in the owner- ship and possession of the grist and saw-mill, and kept them in operation until about 1842 or 1843, when he failed, and the property went into the hands of Judson & Hutchins, of Waterford, Pa. Daniel Walton then bought them and operated them until 1864, at the same time doing- a general mercantile and lumbering business.' Stephen Stewart then had the property, and sold the mills to D. C. & G. Blair, who, after running them a few months, sold them to Henry Stevens, also in 1864. In one year they sold to James Smith and John Eason, who operated them five years ; Smith, Eason & Walton, Walton & Eason, A. W. Francis and M. E. Skinner, and finally A. W. Francis alone had charge of the property. Mr. Francis is the present proprietor. The second mill that Mather erected, he and his son, J. D. Mather, oper- ated until 1842, when the latter continued it until 1857. It was then sold by the sheriff to George Cady, Ethan Skinner, and Asa Walton. After several years they sold to George Vermilya, who transferred the property to the present owner, Russell Clark, about fifteen years ago. Captain David Curtis built a saw-mill before 1830 in the village, a little down stream from Mather's first mill, and near the mouth of Coffee Creek,, which passed through many hands, and was burned in 1863. Soon after D. A. Dewey built a steam mill on the site, which was abandoned in a few years. As early as 1830 Elijah Smith built a saw-mill about half a mile east of the village, and connected with it a small grist-mill. Smith & Hull operated the two mills for several years. It was afterward successively operated by Mr. Pinney, of Pittsburgh, and M. P. Osborne, until the decline of the lumber trade, when it was abandoned. At one time, about 1840, Pine Valley, in the northeastern part of the township, was quite a settlement. There were three mills, owned and operated respectively by Justin Danforth, Ezra Beals, and Thomas Barker and his father. About i860 the decline of the lumber business brought this smiling village to dust. The steam mill of D. H. Parker is the only industry there now. About Columbus Township. 489 one and a half miles north from Pine Valley, on what is called the " Sulphur Spring" property, is the steam saw- mill of Clemens, Huffman & Jamieson, which was built in 1885, and is now doing a large business. Chauncey Marble also has a saw- mill in the north part of the township, about four miles from Columbus borough, which he built in 1885, and which is doing a good busi- ness. The height of prosperity of this borough, Columbus, was during the greatest period of activity of the lumber traffic and manufacture between 1850 and 1 86 1. The oil business and the junction of railroads then conspired to enlarge Corry at the expense of Columbus, and with the growth of that place has been a corresponding decline of prosperity in Columbus. The borough was chartered in 1853, and on the 29th of March of that year an election was held in the school-house on the west side. Nathaniel Stacy was chosen judge, Charles Hewitt and G. W. Bracken, inspectors, and E. C. Stacy and Jones Smith, clerks. The officers elected at this time were Ozro A. Smith, burgess; W. L. Weed, William Byington, William Walker, Alexander Barris, and D. W. Elderkin, common council; O. A. Smith and D. W. Elderkin, justices; G. W. Bracken, constable ; A. Barris, F. R. Burroughs, and D. W. Mason, school di- rectors ; John Judson and M. S. White, path-masters ; M. S. White, judge ; W. C. Howard and Asa Walton, inspectors of elections ; Lucius Spencer, assessor; D. C. Blair, D. A. Dewey, and Hollis King, auditors. There being some irregularity in this election, another was afterward 'held with the same result, except that G. V. N. Yates was chosen justice. Present Business Interests. — Of the four stores now open in Columbus borough, the one of longest standing is that of George F. Yates and Albert J. Smith, who deal in general merchandise under the firm name of Yates & Smith. The firm was formed on the 12th of February, 1883, succeeding George F. Yates. The previous history of this store has already been related. Their present stock is valued at about $5,000. The firm of Rhodes & Rowe Brothers, consisting of W. R. Rhodes, C. E. Rowe, and F. M. Rowe, was formed more than two years ago, and deal in stock containing, among other things, drugs and medicines. They estimate their stock to be worth about $7,000. ' The firm of A. Baker & Co. was formed about two years ago. F. M. Rowe had a store in this building before it was occupied by this firm. H. L. Zimmerman, dealer in stoves, general hardware, lime, cement, phosphate, coal, etc.,, began in Columbus township and borough in September, 1885, succeeding F. C. Smith, who had been here for several years. Hotels. — The first tavern or hotel built and kept in the township was that erected in 1826 by Porter K. Webber, which is in part the same building now owned and occupied by H. L. Gordon, on the east side of the creek. In 1844 George Cady succeeded Webber, and remained until 1 860, since when it has passed through many hands. The property came into the hands of Mr. Gor- don in the spring of 1885. 490 History of Warren County. As early as 1 830 Dr. M. F. C. Fitch built the other hotel on the west side of the creek, and after a short time was succeeded by Daniel Walton, who kept it until 1849, an d was followed by William L. Weed. From that time for years it kept changing hands, until H. P. Stevens bought it. He was the last one who kept the house open for guests, and he left in 1884. The house is not now used for hotel purposes. There have not been many hotels outside of the village of Columbus in the township. At Pine Valley Lyman Calkins kept tavern about the year 1840, which was afterward in the hands of Anson Quimby, George Shannon, and others, and was closed before 1 860. It was noticeable for its sign, which read, " Call and See," and the House was designated as the " Call-and-see House." A mile east of the village S W. Webber had a hotel between 1850 and i860, but discontinued it previous to the latter date. The building was destroyed by fire about 1872 or 1873. About three miles east of the village the Kansas House was opened in 1856 by Seth and Delos Wilber. After the lapse of three or four years it was converted into a private house, which it still re- mains. The Tannery. — As early as 1840 Porter Damon built the first tannery in town, on the site of the present one. It was then but a small " pocket " affair. He was followed by Horace English as early is 1 847, who kept it in operation about ten years in connection with the manufacture of boots and shoes, and sold out to Hollis King and Asa Walton. They ran it until about 1864 under the name of King & Walton, and were succeeded by Rose & Hewitt. The senior member of the new firm soon went out, and William Hewitt continued the business for a year or two, and was followed by Nathaniel Pearson. The next proprietor was Byron Pearson, from about 1868 to 1870, when John Williams acquired the property. His son, Frank Williams, is the present owner and proprietor. The Equitable Aid Union of America, which has carried the name of Columbus to all parts of the United States, describes the purpose of its institu- tion in its title. It was chartered on the 22d of March, 1879, under the laws of Pennsylvania, the headquarters of the company being at Columbus. The incorporators were D. A. Dewey, R. Nell Seaver, H. S. Ayer, W. H. Muzzy, and W. B. Howard, all of Columbus. D. A. Dewey was president of the asso- ciation until March, 1886, when he was succeeded by R. N. Seaver, who had been vice-president all the time previous. Mr. Seaver has also been supreme medical examiner during the history of the union. Since its organization, also, H. S. Ayer has held the office of accountant, and W. H. Muzzy of secretary. In addition to the five incorporators, two representatives from New York and two more from Pennsylvania came in in September, 1884, and since that time there have been added one from each State. The organization was introduced for the benefit of persons everywhere who were not able to enter other more ex- Columbus Township. 491 pensive or less liberal associations in other respects similar to this one. It is not introduced as a competitor to any similar order heretofore existing, but solely with a view to extend social and financial benefits to a very large and worthy class of our fellow-citizens entirely cut off and, as the incorporators justly think, unrighteously ignored by other organizations of a similar nature. They started with only the one society at Columbus, but at this writing they have 560 different societies in sixteen States and Territories from Dakota to Massachusetts. They have about 18,000 insurable members in all, besides about 2,000 non-beneficiary members. In November, 1886, they had paid 687 death policies, involving $1,269,705.45 in money. The Post-office. — The first postmaster in this township was Captain David Curtis, who was appointed as early as 1829, and probably earlier. His suc- cessors in the office have been about as follows : Robert Campbell, William Jackman, Mark White, who was appointed about 1845 and served several years, E. C. Stacy, Davis Jones, F. R. Burroughs, Lewis Crosby, W. H. Muzzy, Lewis Crosby, James Hopkins, Lewis Crosby, S. L. Skiff, O. A. Smith, and the present incumbent, Frank O. Howard, who was appointed on the 12th of April, 1886. The office was named Coffee Creek post-office until about 1840, when the present name was adopted. Schools and Churches. — The first school held in the township was at the house of Kimball Webber, in 1824, and was taught by his daughter Sophronia, for thirteen weeks at one dollar per week. There are now in the borough two school buildings, with three departments, and an attendance of more than one hundred pupils. Outside of the borough are twelve schools. A history of the religious movements in this township would be incom- plete without somewhat extended mention of the most prominent clergyman and theologian in the town. Rev. Nathaniel Stacy was born on the 2d of December, 1778, in New Salem, Mass. His father, Rufus Stacy, was a fisher- man, during the seasons, on the banks of Newfoundland, and, like his mother, was a native of Gloucester, Mass. They were probably of Scotch or Irish de- scent. The subject of this notice studied theology under the tuition of Rev. Hosea Ballou, of Massachusetts, and did his first preaching near New Salem. He was always of diminutive stature, being five feet and one inch in height, and weighing for years but ninety-nine pounds. His heaviest weight was 105 pounds. He was active in movement and rapid and nervous in speech, but at the same time was of a very calm and even-tempered disposition. He lived his religion. In the fall of 1798 he went to Bridgewater, Vt, where, for his health, he tried blacksmithing and several other manual occupations. He soon returned to Massachusetts. Then he went to Hamilton, Madison county, N. Y., in April, 1808, after itinerating through Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York, and remained there during a period of twenty-two years. On the 30th of January, 1806, he married Susan, daughter of Perez Clark. In 1830 he 32 49 2 History of Warren County. came to Columbus, Pa. In his Memoirs (page 359) he says of this country- then : " Although the country was mostly in a state of nature, and the roads intolerable, still I was pleased with it. It evidently possessed great strength of soil, with the heaviest growth and the greatest variety of timber I had ever seen, or have since seen, thrown together in any one place." At that time there were here the houses of Luther Mather and Captain Curtis, a build- ing erected for a public house, another for a store, shops for blacksmithing, shoemaking, wagon-making, and other mechanical employments. After five years he removed to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he remained about five years, and then came back to Columbus, where he spent the remainder of his life, preaching, as he says, until spiritualism "broke out," about 1851 or 1852, and his meetings were interrupted. From that time he engaged in only occasional preaching. He died April 7, 1868, and was followed by his widow exactly one year and six months afterward. They had eight children, of whom only three, Judge Edwin C. Stacy, now of Albert Lee, Minn., Clara, wife of John D. Anderson, of Washington, Iowa, and Charlotte, wife of O. A. Smith, of this township, survive. The house now occupied by O. A. Smith in Columbus borough was built by Rev. Stacy in 1832. He was the first Universalist preacher, and the organizer of the Universalist Church, in Columbus. He came at the solicitation of Peter C. Howard, Ezra Dutton, Solomon Dutton, Captain Curtis, Isaac Crosby, and others of that denomination. The house of worship was erected under Mr. Stacy's direction in 1847, and is now a union church. While Mr. Stacy was in Ann Arbor, the spiritual needs of the church were placed in the care of Rev. L. Payne. Since the death of Mr. Stacy the Universalist society has not flourished. Indeed, it is said that all the churches have felt the inroads of spiritualism severely. In 1830 the majority of the settlers were inclined to Methodism in religion, among the early members of that persuasion being James Sears and wife, Sam- uel H. Ayer, Joseph Sheffield and wife, A. Soggs, David York and wife, Mrs. Eli Crosby, Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, Mr. and Mrs. Marsh, Lloyd Smith, Mr. Brightman, William Jackman and wife, and Watson Miller and wife. Joseph O. Rich, the first preacher, was here about 1830 or 1832. The most pros- perous period in the history of the church was about 1840. The house of worship was erected in 1839. The present pastor is Rev. George Hummason. The membership now is about twenty. The only church in the township outside the borough is that of the United Brethren, who have had a church organization in Pine Valley about twenty- five years, and built their church edifice as many as twenty years ago. Limestone Township. 493 CHAPTER XLI. HISTORY OP LIMESTONE TOWNSHIP.i LIMESTONE was formed from the provisional townships of Tionesta and Limestone (see chapter on township organization) in August, 1829. At this time the land was covered with large quantities of pine, hemlock and hard wood. Millions of feet of lumber have been manufactured in this town- ship and run to market, and at the present day quantities of hemlock and some pine cover a large portion of its territory. The land is well watered, and abounding in never-failing springs in addition to the numerous tributaries of the Allegheny River which flow through this township. Years before the township was organized many settlers took up claims along the river, making settlers'. claims, as it was supposed that this land was owned or controlled by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; but some time, later, after many had spent years of hard work in clearing their lands and es- tablishing homesteads, it was ascertained that a large portion of this land hadl been purchased by and belonged to an English landlord by the name of Ma-- ben, and although many of them strongly protested against buying their farms, after spending so many years of work thereon, all those whose farms chanced! to be located on Maben's land were compelled to purchase them. This was done through Alexander McCalmont, agent. Other capitalists became own- ers of large tracts in this township and held the same for years. This retarded the settlement of Limestone, and the effect is still seen at the present day. A few coal mines have been opened and worked upon the more elevated tracts of this township, but with no great degree of success. There were few settlers in the township when it was organized, and these all lived along the river. The following are the names of parties living in Limestone at the time : Richard Arters, Robert Hunter, Arthur Magill, sr., James Middleton, Joshua Richardson, Alexander Magee, and Joseph Huff. Brief sketches of the lives. of most of these old settlers will be found below. The first public road in Limestone township was laid out by order of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Warren county on the 24th day of March A. D. 1824. This road extended from the county line northward along the river to a point opposite the mouth of Tidioute Creek. Early Settlers. — One of the oldest, and perhaps the first permanent settler in Limestone township, was Richard Arters, who with his wife settled in Limestone in 1806. Here he cleared a small farm, which was located nearly opposite the lower part of Tidioute borough. His family was large. 1 By James Kinnear. 494 History of Warren County. Hunter, Robert, another of the first settlers, was born in Ireland in 1758, and his wife, Elizabeth (Park) Hunter, was born in the same country in 1 762. They settled in Limestone, then Deerfield township, four miles below the mouth of Tidioute Creek in 1808. Here they made their permanent home, and by industry and frugality succeeded in clearing a large farm. They had a family of ten children born unto them, consisting of six daughters and four sons, all of whom grew to maturity and married, most of them settling in Limestone and vicinity. Robert Hunter died in 1836, and his wife in 1843. Hunter, Mathew, the youngest son of Robert Hunter, was born in 1802, and after his father's death continued upon the old homestead. Here he farmed and lumbered as his father had done before him. His wife, Sarah (Magill) Hunter, was born in 1809 and died in 1846. Mathew Hunter died in 1872. He had a family of ten children. In 18 1 2 James Magee and wife moved from the eastern part of Pennsyl- vania to Warren county, and settled four miles below the mouth of Tidioute Creek in Limestone, then Deerfield township. His family, consisting of eight sons and two daughters, were mostly grown at the time they settled here, and they all afterwards settled in Limestone and vicinity. Magee, Henry, the seventh son of James Magee, settled three miles below Tidioute Creek, in Limestone township, as it is now called. He was one of the prominent men of that early day, and was instrumental in securing the or- ganization of Limestone township. He was justice of the peace for many years, and held at different times all the official positions of the township. He married Kate Grandin and raised a large family. About the time of the oil excitement he sold his farm and moved west, where he died about the year 1884. Magee, Alexander, the youngest son of James Magee, was born in 1808. He settled four miles above Tidioute Creek in Limestone township. He was a farmer and a lumberman, and a prominent man in his day. His wife, Nancy (Smith) Magee, was born in 1809. He had a family of five daughters, four of whom are still living and reside in Tidioute. Rebecca Magee married John Hunter, and Nancy Magee is the wife of W. C. Mabie. In the year 1854 the Harmony Society purchased about six thousand acres of land in Limestone township, from various parties, paying for the same a large amount of money, but nothing in comparison with what the land has since proved to be worth. Most of this land was well covered with timber, and a large part of it was found to be good oil territory, yielding immense quantities of oil, and affording the owners large profits. This territory was operated in the name of the Economy Oil Company, which company is identi- cal with the Harmony Society, and only given another name in order to keep this part of its business separate and distinct. Limestone Township. 495 Sketch of Harmony Society. The Harmony Society, a body of peculiar organization and interest, was founded by George Rapp and a colony of immigrants from Wurtemberg, who sought in the United States an asylum from hostility to their religious views, and a place where they might enjoy freedom in the exercise of their own re- ligious convictions, by the worship of God according to their understanding of his word. The basis of their association in its inception was a deep and earnest conviction of the necessity of a purer life, and the exercise of practical and personal piety, by a walk and conversation personally and socially in accord- ance with their understanding of the Scriptures. Entertaining similar views and convictions of religious duty and social economy (but views differing in some things materially from those of the recognized religious denominations and organizations of that day), it was natural the different individuals of the colony should be attracted toward each other, and unite for their mutual ben- efit and advantage ; and the causes and influences which thus first brought them together in an associated capacity have ever since operated as a bond that has held them united and firm in their adherence to the principles of the organization. One of the cardinal principles of the association was that of entire com- munity of property, community of interests and labor, and mutual assistance of and dependence upon each other. A formal organization was first effected in 1805, at Harmony, Butler county, Pa., where they first located, by written articles of agreement, signed by all the members, whereby each delivered up and surrendered all property owned and held by him individually to the association thus established, thus forming a common stock or fund, joint and indivisible, held and managed by a trustee therein designated, for the common use and benefit of all members of the so- ciety ; and bound themselves to submit to the rules and regulations established for the government of the society, and to labor for and promote the interests of the same ; and also that if any should withdraw from the society for any cause whatever, those thus withdrawing should not make or have any claim or demand for the labor or services of themselves, their children or families, but whatever they might do or labor should be done as a voluntary service for their brethren, and for the common benefit. In consideration for what each thus voluntarily surrendered and contributed in property, labor, or otherwise, to the common fund, he or she became a member of the society, and entitled to all the rights and privileges of members to maintenance and support in health and in sickness, from the common stock or fund, and to the religious privileges and teachings, etc., etc., established and provided. In 1821, 1827, and 1836 respectively, further and additional agreements were entered into, being signed by all the members, whereby some modification of and additions to the original compact were made, for the furtherance of their views and wishes 496 History of Warren County. and the better establishment thereof, and of a more complete union, brother- hood, co-operation, and mutual assistance. George Rapp, who had been the principal founder of the society, its spir- itual teacher, and also trustee of the property, died in 1 847. After his death a new and more complete system of government for the society and the man- agement of its property and affairs was ordained and established by the mem- bers, all of whom united therein and signed the written instrument in which the same is fully set forth. In none of these instruments or agreements, which were intended mainly for the better management of the social affairs of the society and its business with others, was there any departure from their views of entire community of property, labor and interests, adopted at their organiza- tion ; but they reiterated this as one of their cardinal principles, declaring that all their property was, and was deemed to be, joint and indivisible, the property of the society for the common benefit of all its members, and this has always been regarded and maintained as one of the essential features of their compact. In 1814 and 1815 the society sold their property at Harmony, Pa., and re- moved to New Harmony, State of Indiana, where land was bought as the joint property of the society, and held and used for the common benefit of all under their compact. The location proving unhealthy, this was in turn sold, and in 1825 they removed to Beaver county, Pa., where land was again bought, held, and used as before, and where they still remain. The society has not escaped the fate of other similar associations, but there have been those of its members who became dissatisfied and withdrew, and who subsequently sought to re- cover from their former associates what they claimed they or their ancestors had put into the common stock, together with a proportionate share of the accumulations of the society, or if that could not be, then compensation for their labor and industry while they were members. Different suits were in- stituted for this purpose, some in the courts of the State of Pennsylvania, and others in the courts of the United States, wherein the affairs and management of the society were thoroughly investigated and the validity of the agreement or compact as originally entered into by the members, and as modified and ratified by the subsequent agreements,, was fully and carefully examined by eminent counsel engaged on either side, and on most careful consideration sustained and established. Biographical. — Among the prominent citizens of Limestone township are William Merkle, superintendent of the Economy Oil Company ; John Myres, farmer, owning one of the best farms in the county, consisting of two hundred acres, and located upon the river bottom within a mile of Tidioute ; L. H. Sprague, J. H. McDonald, Michael Merkle, jr., Jacob Eisenbrown, Thomas Stroup, John Shoelkopf, T A. McDonald, and W. S. Thompson. Houser, John P., was born in Venango county in 18 19. He came to Lime- stone township in 1836. He purchased three hundred acres of land on tract Limestone Township. 497 5225, of which he has cleared fifty acres. He was elected justice of the peace in 1 864, and has held that position for five terms. He married Margaret Tut- tle in 1843. They still reside on their farm about four miles from Tidioute. Their children now living are Ordelia Houser, born 1844, married W. J. Slater and lives in Watson township; John P. Houser, jr., born 1854, married and lives in Limestone township ; Margaret E. Houser, born 1 860, married C. A, Buchanan, and lives in Kane, Pa.; Carrie S. Houser, born in i860 and resides at home. L. H. Sprague was born in Jefferson county, N. Y., in 1836. He came to Limestone township in i860, and entered the employment of the Economy Oil Company. He married Cordelia Richardson in 1 862. He has been constable and collector in Limestone for one or two terms. Kelly, Andrew, was born in Clarion county in 1820 ; he came to Limestone township in 1861 and purchased one hundred acres of land, most of which by hard work he has cleared and made tillable. In 1845 ne married Elizabeth Kelly. They have had ten children born unto them. Those now living are Hannah Daubenspeck, John Kelly, Sharron S. Kelly, Flora Kelly, and Madge Kelly, who reside in Limestone township, and Samuel Kelly, who lives in Kansas. Averill, Sylvester, was born in Erie county, Pa., in 18 19, and came to Limestone township in 1840; here he purchased one hundred and ten acres of wild land which he mostly cleared. He died in Limestone township in 1880. His wife, Hulda (Brown) Averill, still resides on the farm. Of the eight chil- dren born unto them there are living Lee Averill, who is married and lives at North Clarendon, Pa.; W. C. Averill, married Ufretta Gilmore and resides on the old homestead ; Lunette Averill and S. H. Averill also reside in Lime- stone ; S. B. Averill married and lives at Grand Valley. Shanley, John, was born in Canada in the year 1848, and came to Lime- stone in 1869. Since that time he has been in the employment of the Econ- omy Oil Company. He served four years and ten months in the Union army before he was twenty-one years of age. In 1879 he married Belle Morrow, and has a family of four children ; at present he is constable and collector in Limestone, which position he has had for two terms. The first oil well in Limestone was drilled by the Economy Oil Company in the fall of 186 1, and proved to be a small well, yielding but two or three barrels per day. On Christmas day of the same year their first flowing well was struck. This produced about fifty barrels of oil per day. The oil business in Limestone township assumed large proportions from this time on ; many different parties became interested, and large quantities of oil were produced. The Economy Oil Company alone drilled about seventy-five oil wells. The territory of Limestone township was lasting, and the quality of the oil-bearing sand was good, though the rock was not thick. The production from the old 498 History of Warren County. ' oil districts of Limestone has now dwindled down very low. New fields with small productions are now being operated in other parts of the township. The general business of Limestone at present is farming and lumbering. A number of saw-mills are kept runuing during a greater part of the year. Within the past few years a number of farms on the lands of the Economy Oil Company have been cleared, fenced, and made tillable. A few years more and the lumber will be gone, the oil exhausted, and then attention will be turned to clearing farms, and tilling the soil. Most of the land throughout this township will make fair farms. There is but one church in Limestone — a Union church, located upon what is known as Economite's Hill. In this church services are frequently held in German, to accommodate the German population living upon and working the lands of the Economy Oil Company. Religious services and Sunday-schools are held in nearly all of the school-houses throughout the township, under the direction of the Evangelical Association. Rev. M. V. De Vaux has charge of the work at present. About the time Limestone township was organized, half an acre of land on the McKean farm was donated for a public cemetery, and has been generally used since that time. In 1886 an association known as the Limestone Ceme- tery Association was incorporated, and purchased the old cemetery and land adjoining, placed the same in good condition, and opened it for public use. There are six schools in operation in Limestone township, and have an enrollment altogether of about one hundred scholars. The population of the township at present is about four hundred. CHAPTER XLII. HISTORY OP ELK TOWNSHIP. 1 THIS township, the organization of which was effected on the 3d of May, 1830 (although formed as "Number Seven" and attached to Kinzua March 8, 1821), is situated in the northeastern part of Warren county, and is bounded north by Cattaraugus county, in the State of New York, east by Alle- gheny River, separating Elk from Corydon, south by Glade, and west by a part of Glade and Pine Grove. In extent .it is one of the largest townships in the county, though for obvious reasons it is not so thickly inhabited as many of the more favorably situated and naturally wealthy towns. In general appearance it is rough, mountainous, and very rocky. Huge boulders scattered 1 Substantially as prepared by Peter Holt, of Elk. Elk Township. 499 over the surface of the township present, superficially at least, the appear- ance of having been set in their beds by the convulsion of some prehistoric upheaval, earthquake, or " tempest, dropping fire." On the Warren and Olean road, about one and a half miles north of Peter Smith's residence, there are several rocks of such immense proportions as to be worthy of special mention. This road was changed by Mr. Cobham to conform to the demands of these silent but immovable sentinels. Two of the rocks are about 100 feet in length and rear their rough shoulders some fifteen or twenty feet above ground. The earth about them is of a beautiful white sand. The roadway here is always dry and smooth. Here are also two cavities shaped like wells, one of which is about five feet in diameter at the mouth, and some twelve feet in depth, after which it diminishes in diameter, though still extending into the bowels of the earth. A pole twenty-five feet in length cannot be made to reach the bottom of this aperture. Near this is another cavity so small as not to admit the body of a man, which is still unfathomable with any pole. A stone dropped in either of these holes may be heard tumbling along its dark descent for a number of seconds. The soil of Elk varies from a light sand to all kinds of clay and black loam, and is well adapted for the cultivation of nearly all the crops raised in the north — wheat, oats, potatoes, onions, grass, clover, fruit, and all the garden vegetables. It requires a good deal of manure, however. The writer has used plaster largely for this purpose, and finds it very effective, though he needs at least five bushels to the acre, rather than half a bushel, as a few the- orists are accustomed to recommend. The principal business of the town is agricultural. The inhabitants, a stranger would think from their polyglot speech, are contributions from many nations, English, Irish, Dutch, German, Swedish, Danish, and Yankee. The lumber trade, at one time thrifty, has now dwindled, and is really unprofitable. The fact is that the timber has all been cut away except small tracts of hemlock and oak, and indeed, the latter is nearly all gone now, owing to the heavy demand for it in the manufacture of railroad ties. There are now about four tie mills in town, which consume all the oak timber, and do not realize very heavy profits. The dairying interest here is in its infancy, the land not having yet been sufficiently cleared for graz- ing large numbers of cattle. The facilities will undoubtedly be good in a few years. No oil has been discovered within the present boundaries of Elk, though many profitable wells have been drilled in that part of the original township which now forms a part of Glade township. Coal Bed. — The Quaker Hill coal mine was discovered about 1834 by one Pond Curtis, who made the discovery while he was digging a well on the west side of the little ridge, about where the opening of Silas Dinsmoor's mine now is. I do not remember how long Curtis operated the mine, but I have been Soo History of Warren County. informed that the coal was used for fuel in the house into which my father moved about 1839 previous to the time of his removal. At the date of my earliest recollection of the mine it was worked by a Mr. Thomas. This was about 1843. William Jones operated the mine next after Thomas. My bro- ther, David Dinsmoor, moved to the mine in the fall of 1847, according to my best recollection. With the exception of about two years, 1854—55, he con- tinued to operate the mine until his death in 188 1, when his son, the present ■owner, Silas Dinsmoor, succeeded to the ownership and operation of it. Township Officers. — There is no record of the first election held in the township, nor of the elections for several years. I cannot find that the first settlers voted at any place for many years. As Elk had been settled many years before the organization of either Kinzua or Elk, and as there were nine years between the organization of Kinzua and Elk, the citizens of Elk must have voted at Kinzua, if anywhere. The first account of any organization that I can find was a school meeting held on the nth month, 26th day, 1835. Of course there must have been an election held in 1831, but no record was kept in the town ; neither does this adjourned meeting give a single name of the members of the board of directors. The writing is Daniel Pound's. The pres- ent officers in the township of Elk are : Justice of the peace, W. O. Martin ; Mrs. Mary Walling, postmistress; constable, E. A. Headly; road commissioners, Jacob Shulers, A. A. Instone, Frank Nelson ; William O. Martin, secretary ; school directors, Andrew Clendening, president ; Charles Frostburgh, A. A. Instone, Stephen Lounsbury, August Fosburgh ; collector, August Fostburg ; treasurer, Charles Fostburg ; mail carrier, John McStraw ; auditors, Jerome Knapp, Lyman Walling ; assessor, William McMahon ; board of election, judge, Peter Larson ; inspectors, George Holman, Daniel McMahon. Charles Fostburg keeps a store on the Warren road near the Roy farm. Mike Quinn also keeps a store of groceries. There are four nearly new church edifices in Elk, besides the holding of meetings in school-houses, and besides the Presbyterian (Indian) church. The Methodist Church stands idle. The Lutheran Church is most largely attended by Swedes. The Evangelical and Catholic Churches have small congrega- tions. The United Brethren have meetings occasionally in school-houses. There were twelve school-houses in town in 1835. I built a school-house at my own expense in 1857 on Cornplanter Run. The present population of Elk may be very near 700. The First Roads. — The first road is called the Old State road, and leads from Erie county, and passes through Warren and McKean counties, I be- lieve, to Philadelphia. This road crosses the Allegheny River near William Marsh's, in Kinzua. The next road leads from the old house of Robert Miles, in Pine Grove, to the house of Benjamin Marsh, in Elk, at the Allegheny River. There was opened a road from Warren to the house of Benjamin Elk Township. 501 Marsh, in Elk, up the Allegheny River, and connecting with the above named road at Benjamin Marsh's. Another leads from Warren to the New York State line at the Allegheny River, near Calvin Webb's. The First Settlers of Elk. — From the best information to be had at this late date, a George Schoonover made the first settlement on tract 5566, on the west bank of the Allegheny, on the farm which is now a part of James Roper's place, and lies opposite the lower Cornplanter Island. Mr. Schoon- over was moving down the Allegheny, either to Franklin or Cincinnati, late in the fall of 1815 or 18 16, and having heard that the river at Big Bend was frozen over, he landed his boat, unloaded his goods and family, made himself at home, and commenced building a log house. It appears that Schoonover and his wife were both young. His wife was a very handsome woman, and gave birth to the first male child of the town. Walter Seaman and Schoon- over were related, and Seaman soon after appeared on the ground, and built another shanty near the first. It appears by recent developments, that Sea- man had three daughters born here, viz., Susanna, Polly, and one other. Susanna was born in 18 19. In the mean time, however, Benjamin Marsh arrived and built a hewn-log house, and, I believe, it is a part of the present dwelling house of Lewis Ladow. It seems that Marsh had a son born here, which died in infancy. It also appears that it became necessary to make some division of the property, whereupon Schoonover sold his interest to Seaman, who in turn disposed of his land to Marsh. Marsh soon after divided this property, giving to his second son, William S. Marsh, some 250 acres at the south end, and himself keeping about 170 or 180 acres — the same piece now occupied by James Roper. He next gave Ira F. Marsh, his eldest son, 100 acres next north. Meantime Enoch Gilman had married Marsh's eldest daughter, and bought of his new father-in-law 270 acres south of the Corn- planter reservation. Hiram Gilman, who married Marsh's youngest daughter (for these giants of other days looked upon the daughters of men that were very fair), received from his father-in-law the 170 acre piece upon which, as we have said, he lived. These transactions took place about 1829 or 1830. Hiram Gilman was the first postmaster in Elk, at that time Kinzua, and was also justice of the peace in the days when justices were appointed by the governor, upon the petition of their neighbors. Mr. Gilman held the two offices for several years, or until 1834 or 1835. Elk was organized as a sepa- rate township on the 3d of May, 1830, having previously been a part of Kin- zua. During the progress of a convivial spree, as it is called, but which our author forcibly and justly denominates a drunken row, Guy C. Irvine stabbed William S. Marsh in the abdomen, a thrust which cost Mr. Irvine $500. So much for whisky, which was a staple article in early times. Benjamin Marsh was drowned in the Allegheny River while on his way to Warren on a float. His body was discovered by Indians, some three months after the fatality, under 502 History of Warren County. an oil boat at Sill's Landing, and was identified by Osmer Hook, John F. Davis, and Abijah Morrison, who sent word to the family. Mr. Marsh was interred in the cemetery at Warren. Enoch Gilman sold his land in Elk, before mentioned, to the writer of this chapter (Peter Holt), and he and his wife are long since deceased. They reared a large family of children, all girls but one, and all of whom have gone to other parts. Up the river, at the State line, Abel Morrison and Russell M. Freeman moved to the place afterward owned and occupied by Calvin Webb, and be- gan to build a saw-mill, but soon concluded that the site was hardly suitable, and therefore with their families crossed the river into Corydon, where they built and operated the mill. The ground they abandoned was next occupied by a John Morris and by Warren Reeves. Reeves kept tavern in the very house that his predecessors had built, and sold large quantities of whisky. Calvin Webb bought the property of Reeves, and also kept tavern and store in the building. It is related that a wayfaring man, who stayed with Webb a few hours, warned him that his house was going to be destroyed by fire, and it is further said that another man, named Levi Leonard, who took supper at Webb's, taking notice of the old-fashioned and broken stove, set up in a box of sand, also informed Webb of the danger to which he was in this careless man- ner exposing the building. Mr. Leonard and the wayfaring man went on to Dalrymple's for the night. About midnight of that same day the house was irretrievably in flames. Some years afterward, when a new house had been placed on the same site, Mrs. Webb took an axe and knocked in the head of a barrel of whisky, with the expressed determination that that should be the last whisky in that house. Mr. Webb kept a store there for many years, and gave the property and good will to his son, James K. Webb, who also engaged in the mercantile business for a long time, though whisky was forever a pro- scribed article in that household. The property has remained in the Webb family ever since, though Mr. James K. Webb has resided in Frewsburg, N. Y. We now come to the Dalrymple place opposite Corydon. Here, in 1832, David Dalrymple built a house, in which for a long time he kept tavern. He also built the saw-mill now owned by his son James. Next below Dalrymple was S. Fisher, who was the father of quite a family, and filled a number of important offices, such as that of school director, justice of the peace, road commissioner, etc. Mr. Fisher came from the vicinity of the Genesee River, in the State of New York. He was killed by the overturning of his buggy in the Narrows. One daughter now lives in town — Mrs. E. Harrington, about half a mile below the old homestead. Dr. Peter Hollister, with his son, now occupies the Fisher farm. He has doctored in the writer's family to the fourth generation. In this neighborhood, and on the Dalrymple farm, a store was kept at a later day by Amos Peterson, who, after a brief experience here, re- Elk Township. 503 moved to Corydon. Jacob McCall also kept store in this town for a time, and went to Corydon, where he was the quondam proprietor of the Corydon House. The Messrs. Morrison, mentioned above, came from the East in 18 17. Going down the river, we next come to the old Elk mill, built very early by one of the Halls, from Jamestown, N. Y. It has been quiet for many years, and the very place can hardly be discovered. Next is the old Merritt or Flagg mill near the Big Bend. At this place was kept the first school under the school law of the State, in 1834. The old tavern house, torn down a few years ago because it was in the way of the railroad near Big Bend, was built by William Culbertson, one of the first settlers, who came to this town at the be- ginning of this century. Another early settler in this vicinity was Devorck Hodges, especially noted in his day for his extreme fondness for liquor. He moved away from this part of the country many years ago. The first settler on Quaker Hill, in this township, was Daniel Pound, who came as early as 1823 or 1824. Upon his arrival, and until he was able to build a rude shanty for shelter, his only house was his wagon. He is remem- bered principally from the fact that he was perhaps the most indefatigable friend of the schools in the township. He and his brothers, Elijah, Asa, and Thomas, with the assistance of their cousin, Jonathan Asher, built a log house on the corners, near the site of the present Evangelical Church, which was used for both church and school purposes. Daniel Pound here taught a night- school for the benefit of the young people of this town, and he also frequently organized and conducted spelling schools. He also erected a building on his farm in which he kept a select school. He and his brothers bought a number of thousand-acre tracts of land from the county commissioners of Warren county. The names of the Pound brothers were Daniel, Thomas, Jonathan, Elijah, jr., and Asa, sons of Elijah, sr. As has been stated, Asher Pound was a cousin of these brothers. Daniel Pound settled on the farm now owned and occupied by William Holman, where he lived until 1844. He was a surveyor, and subdivided the greater part of the township of Elk. Most of the mem- bers of this remarkable family were determined Abolitionists, both in practice and principle. For example, Daniel would use neither clothing nor food that was the product of slave labor. Jonathan Pound lived next north of the resi- dence of Daniel, and cleared the larger part of the farm now owned by Jacob Mack. He afterward exchanged farms with his brother Thomas, who had set- tled the place now owned and occupied by Andrew Clendenning. Jonathan left this part of the country a few years later. Thomas continued to reside on the land which he had obtained by the trade with his brother. He built a saw-mill on a branch of Jackson Run, above Russellburg, and in 1834 sold it to the writer of this chapter. He owned several large tracts of land in Elk township, but he sold them all and removed to the East, and later still to the West. S04 History of Warren County. Elijah Pound, jr., was the youngest son of Elijah, sr., and settled and con- siderably improved the farm that Joseph Clendenning had first cleared in parL Elijah afterward moved to the farm now occupied by William McMahon. In 1838 he and his wife Judith, with their family, removed to Monroe county, N. Y., whence they removed to Rock county, Wis., in 1847. On this farm last, mentioned, on the 6th of December, 1832, a son was born to these good- peo- ple, who was destined to bear an important and conspicuous part in the legis- lation of the nation at a later day. His name is Thaddeus C. Pound, for he is still living. He is now a resident of Chippewa Falls, Wis. He commenced teaching when he was fifteen years of age, attended an academy several terms, afterward taught the union school at Caledonia, Livingston county, N. Y., at- tended the Rushford Academy in Allegany county, N. Y., and went to Chip- pewa Falls, Wis., in the spring of 1856. There he began as a book-keeper, early engaged in the lumber and mercantile business, and continued to ad- vance until he became one of the foremost leaders in public enterprises. He was a member of the Assembly of Wisconsin in 1864, 1866, 1867 and 1869, and in the latter year was elected lieutenant-governor. Since 1876 he has represented, without interruption, his district in the National Congress — the Eighth. Elijah Pound, sr., lived with his son and namesake until his death, at a very advanced age. He had 1,000 acres of land, which he subdivided and sold. Asa Pound, the next brother, lived on land since occupied at dif- ferent intervals by Asa A. Bennett, Joseph Bennett, and where A. H. and D. H. Lounsbury and John McStraw now live. He sold out or exchanged for lands in Ohio with a Mr. Reeves. Asher Pound, a cousin of those whom we have been describing, settled upon the farm now occupied by Mrs. Walling, and which had been first settled by William Shattuck, though he had never lived on it. After a brief residence in Elk, Asher Pound removed eastward. William Shattuck settled on what is now the James Roy farm, and there made extensive improvements. Mr. Roy married one of his daughters. Mr. Shattuck came from the State of New York about 1833, though he had been preceded as early as 1826 by men who were active in his interests. He was a Quaker in religion, an unwavering Abolitionist in politics, with the fiery zeal in that cause that stirred Garrison, and with an ability that might have made him as prominent as Garrison, had he possessed the latter's means and audiences. He was eccentric in his ways, but his eccentricity was ever on the side of the right. He had a large family, most of whom were daughters. He had two sons, the elder of whom was drowned while in bathing at Stump Creek Eddy, and the younger, William, jr., now lives at Salamanca, N. Y. William Shattuck, sr., was called upon at various times to fill nearly all the offices within the gift of the town, such as that of school director, supervisor of highways, etc. He finally removed to a farm near Randolph, N. Y., where he lived to an advanced age. His widow ■■■■;'■■;$%%*'''' *•*%* ty SB£nJls Sons. ITeu/^T-K Elk Township. S°5 is still living, and at this writing is on a visit to one of her daughters beyond Chicago. John B. Hodges lived in what is now Glade township, and had a large, well-conducted farm there. He was a man of large stature, and took a prom- inent part in town affairs. He held many town offices. He finally moved away a few years ago. He had two sons, who lived in Russellburg. William Snyder, another early settler, lived on the farm afterward occupied by Daniel Lounsbury. He removed into what has since become Glade town- ship, and there died. John Snyder also lived in that portion of the original township of Elk, which has become Glade, and thence went west many years ago. Asa Plumb settled early near Cobham Park, where he reached a good old age and died. (For a sketch of George A. Cobham, see the history of Glade.) A. W. S. Bidwell was a brother-in-law of Daniel Pound, and settled at an early day on the MacMahon farm, south of the residence of William MacMahon. He lived many years on this farm, started a good orchard and raised a great deal of excellent fruit. He held several important township offices. He be- longed to the Hicksite Quakers. After many years of residence in this town he removed to the East. John Fitzwater settled on the hill above Cornplanter Run, and east of Bidwell's Settlement, where he cleared some sixty acres of land and built the first saw-mill on the site now covered by the steam mill of Lewis Ladow. Daniel Pound owned a half-interest in this mill, and each part-owner furnished his own stock of timber. Fitzwater was a very thorough man, and performed all his duties with energy and promptness. The writer of this chapter helped in the building of this mill, and operated it half the time for Daniel Pound. It was during the construction of this mill, in 1833, that occurred the memor- able natural phenomenon, the shower of stars. Fitzwater reared a large family of sons and daughters, and finally sold out his mill interests and removed to Ohio, none of his family remaining here. Thomas Fitzwater lived a little way west of his brother, on a small piece of land, but did not stay long. James Headley settled first on fifty acres west of Benjamin Marsh's, and after making improvements traded with Peter Jackson and removed to Quaker Hill, where he died at an advanced age. Elwood Headley now owns the place left by his father. Peter Jackson did not remain in town very long — yet long enough to become distinguished locally for the fact that his two little boys treed an old bear and captured two or three of her cubs, which they took to Warren and sold. This was considered quite a feat for so small boys. Isaac Bidwell came from the East and settled on one of the branches of Ackley Run, where the family of the late Edward Reynolds now live. Here Mr. Bidwell built a small saw-mill and an equally small but serviceable grist- mill. He had not made very extensive improvements before leaving for parts So6 History of Warren County. unknown to the writer. His was the only grist-mill ever in town. Edward Reynolds got the property and made many improvements, besides rebuilding and enlarging the saw-mill, and putting in machinery for manufacturing fan- ning-mills, wash-boards, etc. He died there a few years ago. Edson Hall bought a tract of land just west of the last above named, and erected a very respectable saw-mill, which property afterward came into the hands of his brother, Chapin Hall, of Warren. Both are long since deceased. A Mr. Davis built a saw-mill on the south branch of the run, above the Hall mill, which did a good business for those days. Both these mills are within the present limits of Pine Grove township, though at the time they were built they were in Elk. In this same tract, that was set off to Pine Grove, dwelt Joseph and Reuben Jones, brothers, who are now in Pine Grove. Eli Northrop cleared a farm on the road leading from the old " Pound Meeting-House " to Pine Grove, by the Edson Hall saw-mill, where he died many years ago, though I believe his widow is still living. James Headley came from New Jersey and settled on a piece of land about one and one-half miles west of Benjamin Marsh's, on the Pine Grove road. After making some- thing of an improvement he traded farms with Peter Jackson, taking in ex- change a piece of land on Cornplanter Run. Many years afterward he made a visit to New Jersey on foot, and before starting applied to the writer for a supply of codfish, which, upon obtaining, he pronounced good, saying that he could save money by eating nothing but codfish and drinking nothing but water. During his later years he removed to Qaaker Hill, where he died at an advanced age, and was followed some time later by his widow, who had also reached years beyond the allotted number. Daniel Lounsbury was an early settler from Wayne county, N. Y., and bought out William Snyder, on the corner of the road leading from Warren to the Allegheny River. He had a family of four sons and three daughters, and divided his large farm among the former. He was one of the first road com- missioners under the new road law of 1845. He lived to fullness of years and was survived several years by his widow. Daniel H. Lounsbury now lives on the west end of the old homestead, and is himself getting advanced in years. He has been honored with several township offices. He has one son and one daughter. A. H. Lounsbury lives on the south side of the corner above men- tioned, and is a highly respected citizen. Hiram A. Lounsbury occupies the old homestead proper, and sustains well the family reputation for integrity and industry. He has several children. Harlow A. Lounsbury has been dead several years. His widow occupies a part of the old homestead. Asaph A. Bennett came from Plymouth, Mass., in the thirties, and settled on a part of the Asa Pound farm, and south of Lounsbury Corners on the Warren and Olean road. He was a carpenter by trade. He and his wife have been dead for a number of years. Joseph Bennett now lives on his fath- Elk Township. 507 er's farm and that of William Reeves. The old house burned some years ago. John McStraw, who satisfies the legal needs of the people hereabouts, and is a justice of the peace, lives north of Joseph Bennett. Frederick Kilburn settled near and adjoining the place of Mr. Webb. He was from Wayne county, N. Y. He and his wife have been dead many years. His one son, Allen R., now lives on the old homestead, and has recently put in a saw-mill. A. C. Marsh, who has been in town some thirty-three years, came from New York State, and settled on the Warren and Olean road on the farm originally settled by Samuel Kilburn. Albert Cargill, a peaceable and law abiding citizen, married a daughter of Calvin Webb, and settled on a part of his land. William Roper was a native of Norfolk, England. He came to Elk in Au- gust, 1833, from Canandaigua, N. Y., and cleared a piece of land about two miles east of the Warren and Olean road. He afterward traded this tract for land where George Nobbs now lives, on the Warren and Olean road. He had two sons, James and George, the latter of whom went west, and from all ac- counts was killed. William Roper died in 1878 at the age of eighty- three years. His surviving son, James, married the eldest daughter of William S. Marsh, and now lives on the Hiram Gilman farm. John Nobbs came from the Isle of Wight to Ontario county, N. Y., and thence to Elk in 1835. He and his wife have been dead many years. They had two sons and one daughter. George, one of the sons, still owns the old home, but lives on the old Roper place. Martin Frazer came from England and settled next east of the Nobbs farm, on the Pine Grove and Allegheny road, about four miles west of the Allegheny River. He was an eccentric and humorous man, who would have his joke on all occasions. He was very apt in his expressions. He went west a number of years ago and there died. Owen Feany came originally from County Sligo, Ireland, to the State of New York, and, in 1854, thence to this town. He is now some ninety-one years of age, and lives near Joseph Clendenning. Joseph Clendenning came from Managhan county, Ireland, about 1852 or 1853, and owns the farm first settled by Elijah Pound, jr. Andrew Clen- denning came from Canada and settled on the old Thomas Pound place. Na- thaniel Enos formerly lived in Niagara county, N. Y., and settled on the Shu- ler place in this township about 1830 or 183 1. He built a log house and found it convenient to occupy it before he had finished his fire-place. One winter's night a panther leaped on to the roof and peered through the hole left for the chimney. The tracks were examined by the neighbors next morning. After